Fighting the Rock Wolf

The stench of blood-laced wind hit him full in the face, along with the pungent reek wafting from the wolf's jaws.

The Rock Wolf leaped at him with astonishing speed, its sharp claws raking straight for Shen Yuan's chest.

Had it been the powerless cripple he was before falling from the cliff, this pounce would have torn his chest apart outright.

But now, Shen Yuan had broken through to the First Stage of Body Tempering. Every move of the Perfect Tiger-Subduing Fist was already engraved in his mind.

At the critical moment, Shen Yuan slid sideways, dodging the main line of the wolf's claws.

Whoosh!

The wolf's claws grazed Shen Yuan's shoulder, shredding his coarse cloth shirt and leaving a shallow bloody gash.

Pain flared through him, but Shen Yuan gritted his teeth without retreating a single step.

Seizing the instant when the Rock Wolf missed its pounce and lost its balance, he clenched the sharp black stone in both hands, pouring all the blood and vitality in his body into his arms. Subduing Tiger Fist—Tiger Crashes the Mountain!

Bang!

The black stone smashed viciously into the side of the Rock Wolf's neck.

Awoo!

The Rock Wolf howled in agony. Its massive body staggered into the cave wall, sending shattered stones raining down.

Having landed a blow, Shen Yuan did not dare relax in the slightest.

A First-Order Demon Beast possessed tenacious vitality. Such a heavy injury was still not enough to kill it.

Enraged, the Rock Wolf's emerald eyes filled with bloodshot veins. It twisted its body and head around, then lunged at him again with savage ferocity.

The cave's interior was narrow, making it difficult for the demon beast to maneuver on a large scale. Instead, it became Shen Yuan's advantageous terrain.

Shen Yuan dodged while striking without pause. Every punch used the force angles optimized through the Heavenly Stele's deductions, wasting not a shred of strength. Each strike drove straight at the demon beast's weak points: its eye sockets, neck, and soft ribs.

Man and wolf battled fiercely in the dim cave.

Several more claw wounds appeared on Shen Yuan's shoulders and arms, blood continuously seeping out.

On the level of his soul, he endured the pain brought by combat again and again. The feedback from the Heavenly Stele's simulated battles now intertwined with this real fight to the death.

More than a dozen exchanges passed.

Blood poured unceasingly from the Rock Wolf's neck. Its movements grew slower and slower, its breathing rough and heavy.

Now!

Shen Yuan seized the opening in the Rock Wolf's pounce. He ducked beneath its fangs and threw both fists at once, slamming them heavily into the demon beast's soft chest and abdomen.

"Awoo—!!"

With a mournful cry, the Rock Wolf's huge body crashed heavily to the ground. Its limbs twitched a few times before it finally went still.

The battle was over.

Shen Yuan's entire body went limp. He staggered back several steps, pressing his back heavily against the cave wall as he gulped down air. Wounds covered his body, and sweat mixed with blood streamed down his skin.

[Killed First-Order Demon Beast Rock Wolf. Martial Dao Points gained in actual combat +2.]

Within his sea of consciousness, the phantom of the Heavenly Stele glimmered faintly as a cold notification appeared.

Shen Yuan's heart leaped with joy, and he hurriedly checked it.

Current Martial Dao Points: 3.

At last, he had obtained new Martial Dao Points.

"With Martial Dao Points, I can continue deducing." Shen Yuan suppressed his excitement and lowered his gaze to the Rock Wolf's corpse on the ground.

With demon beast flesh, the problem of food was temporarily resolved as well.

Enduring the pain from his injuries, he used the sharp stone to painstakingly carve apart the Rock Wolf's hide and flesh. There was no source of fire in the cave, so he could only eat the meat raw. The bloody stench was overpowering, and it was difficult to swallow. But in order to survive, Shen Yuan could only suppress his nausea and force down the warm beast meat.

The warm beast blood entered his stomach, and a robust surge of blood and vitality slowly nourished his hollow body.

After eating, his strength recovered considerably.

Shen Yuan sat cross-legged, sinking his consciousness into the Martial Arts Simulation Space.

"Consume two Martial Dao Points to continue deducing and perfecting the Subduing Tiger Fist, further excavating this fist technique's blood-and-vitality nourishing effects."

As the thought fell, two Martial Dao Points were instantly deducted. Remaining Martial Dao Points: 1.

Within the Martial Arts Simulation Space, countless phantoms once again practiced the fist technique madly. This time, the Heavenly Stele focused on adjusting the inner circulation within the technique. It no longer blindly pursued killing power, instead magnifying its effects in nourishing the bones and meridians.

Countless improved versions rapidly iterated, and failed paths were eliminated one by one.

Time slowly passed in the outside world.

Who knew how long had passed.

Shen Yuan abruptly opened his eyes, a flash of brilliance glinting within them.

The Modified Tiger-Subduing Fist was complete.

The same moves now carried a completely different circulation of blood and vitality. Whenever the fist technique operated, the warm current would wash over every crack in his shattered innate foundation with far greater precision.

He immediately began circulating this modified fist technique.

A warm current several times stronger than before flowed throughout his body, surging toward his dantian and innate foundation.

Crack, crack...

Faint, nearly inaudible crisp sounds came from inside his body.

His broken ribs were healing faster, while fresh vitality within the cracks of his shattered innate foundation grew ever more vigorous.

"At this recovery rate, my serious injuries should mostly heal before long," Shen Yuan calculated silently.

Yet the problem before him remained: how was he supposed to leave this cliff?

He walked to the cave entrance and looked out at the cliff face once more.

Suddenly, his gaze shifted. On the rock wall to the left, he saw a large tangle of old vines winding upward along the cliff face. They stretched intermittently all the way up, seemingly capable of leading to the cliff top.

"That vine... might be a way out."

But the vines looked old. He did not know whether they could bear his weight, and many protruding rocks lay along the way. One careless mistake, and he would be doomed beyond redemption.

As Shen Yuan considered his plan for climbing the cliff, everything that had happened at the Servant Compound surfaced involuntarily in his mind.

Liu Er, Zhou Hu, and Zhao Kun lurking behind the scenes.

Everyone believed he had fallen to his death.

Once he returned to the Azure Cloud Sect alive, those people would absolutely not sit by and do nothing.

After returning, how should he act? Should he tear away all pretenses and confront them directly, or continue hiding his strength, posing as a lowly servant while secretly gathering evidence?

Shen Yuan's brows knitted tightly as he weighed the pros and cons.