She had a lot to thank him for, but the word "challenge" pierced her mind like a thorn, squeezing every word of thanks out.
Challenge.
She lowered her head and looked at her hands. Her five tails swayed gently behind her, Moon Qi circulating steadily within her body. The pool of water in her dantian was countless times deeper than before. She remembered the gray-black wolf demon from five days ago—its speed, strength, and experience. She remembered being sent flying into the Light Wall, the instant she had blasted the wolf demon away with Moon Qi, and the slash she had carved across its shoulder blade.
That slash.
Her fingers twitched unconsciously.
The Wolf King saw it.
"You've developed something of your own," the Wolf King said. It was not a question, but a statement.
Su Wanwan raised her head and looked at the Wolf King. Her reflection was mirrored in those golden eyes. In them, she saw herself—a little fox standing straight, five tails spread behind her, Moon Qi flowing around her body. The wariness in her eyes that had once said, "I'm ready to run at any moment," was gone, replaced by something quieter and deeper.
She had not come to give thanks.
She had come to confirm something.
To confirm just how far she had progressed over these five days. To confirm whether she had truly put down roots. To confirm whether, from now on, she could stand firm without needing someone else to shield her.
"Yes," she said. "I came to challenge you."
The Wolf King lifted its chin from its forepaws and slowly rose to its feet. It rose slowly, like a mountain gradually rising from the earth. Its shoulder blades stood two palms higher than its spine, its limbs as thick as four stone