A Full-Power Strike, Yet It Couldn't Break His Defense?

These wolf demons were all Wraiths that had just died by his hand. Their wolf bodies were uniformly translucent, looking exceedingly ethereal.

Naturally, that included the Wolf King.

The Wolf King's strength was beyond question. If not for Fat Dragon's two talismans, the two of them could never have killed it. The most important reason they had managed to kill the Wolf King was that this Sixth Level of the Qi Refining Realm Wolf King had only appeared after all its underlings had been wiped out.

Otherwise, if they had attacked together, with the wolf demon underlings providing support from the side, it was hard to say how things would have ended.

Though they did not know the cultivation levels of the three men before them, anyone capable of serving as a young master's thugs was surely superior to ordinary people in both cultivation and combat experience. Who would be the one left standing after this battle of life and death—

Even he was not entirely confident.

But.

With a great battle at hand, they could not allow their own momentum to weaken.

Chen Qiu stood where he was with his woodcutter's blade in hand, gazing calmly at the four people in the distance. He softly said, "Kill!"

As soon as his words fell.

The wolf demon Wraiths behind him seemed to have received an order. They roared and charged forward in unison.

"What kind of method is this?"

Fat Dragon, standing to the side, lit up at the sight. "Brother Chen Qiu, is this the Trait you randomly obtained when you broke through to the First Level of the Qi Refining Realm? You can summon Wraiths? No wonder you said you'd become stronger once you reached the Third Level of the Qi Refining Realm. So that was it!"

"The limitation of this Trait must be that it can only be used at the Third Level of the Qi Refining Realm, right?"

"And since you said it was a late-game Trait, Brother Chen Qiu, the Wraiths you summon must become stronger as your realm rises, right?"

"A growth-type active-skill Trait!"

"Brother Chen Qiu, your luck really is incredible!"

A trace of envy flashed through Fat Dragon's eyes, followed by irritation. Why was his own luck so terrible? What use was Strength of Nine Oxen? Not only was it useless, it was nothing but side effects.

Ugly and uncomfortable.

There was nothing he could do about it. In ancient times, Hou Yi shot down nine suns; today...

Fortunately, the three thugs under this young master had gone through several battles. Their injuries were severe, and their stamina had nearly run dry. Chen Qiu and Fat Dragon had not even needed to join the fight.

The battle was already over.

All three died miserable deaths beneath the Wolf King's fangs.

"Damn it!!!"

Seeing that the Wolf King had already set its sights on him, its scarlet pupils continuously spilling bloodthirst, the young master, Huang Shikai, could not help but let out an angry, high-pitched sneer. "Fine, fine, fine. You've got guts, I'll give you that. But you're still lacking if you think you can kill me."

"Don't think I'm like that wastrel young master. I make my living with my brains!"

The next moment—

Yellow light suddenly radiated from the young man's hands and feet. This was clearly the sign of a cultivation technique being activated. One could learn cultivation techniques at the Sixth Level of the Qi Refining Realm, but ordinary people did not have such wealth.

"Yellow Grade, Lower Class cultivation technique, Iron Sand Palm!"

Then, just as the Wolf King lunged at him, the young master instantly dropped flat onto the ground. His hands and feet stabbed straight into the earth, firmly anchoring himself in place. His entire body was immediately embedded into the surface.

By then, the Wolf King had already pounced onto the young man. Yet strangely, no matter how fiercely it bit or slashed with its claws, it could not leave even the slightest wound on Huang Shikai.

"Hm?"

Chen Qiu noticed something amiss and walked straight over. He lowered his head to look at the young man who had embedded his entire body into the ground. After frowning in confusion for a while, he finally waved his hand, signaling the Wolf King to retreat.

He raised the woodcutter's blade high with both hands, aimed at the back of Huang Shikai's neck, and brought it down with all his strength!

Clang!

The sharp sound of metal striking metal rang out abruptly.

The corner of his mouth twitched slightly. He threw away the woodcutter's blade, whose blade was trembling violently, feeling as though he had struck a steel plate. Huang Shikai was completely unscathed by that blow, while Chen Qiu's arms had already gone numb.

A full-power strike, yet it couldn't break his defense?

Just then—

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!"

With his cheek pressed tightly to the ground, Huang Shikai burst into triumphant laughter at the sight. "I forgot to tell you, my initial Trait is the Yellow Trait, 'No Attacks from Behind or the Sides.' Any attack from behind or the side cannot harm me."

"The Minor World will close in half an hour. You can't do anything to me. I've remembered what you look like. Once I get out, I'll find someone to kill you immediately."

"Don't worry. When the time comes, I'll have a good little game with you."

"Such good luck."

Fat Dragon, who had followed Chen Qiu over, sighed with a complicated expression. "Sometimes I really hate you lucky bastards. The first initial Trait you randomly get is always some top-tier Trait like this."

In truth, he understood.

Many Traits in this world were interconnected. There were no absolutely trash Traits. Even his Strength of Nine Oxen could not be called completely useless. Many Traits could work in tandem with Strength of Nine Oxen.

For example, the Green Trait "In Swarms." Its effect was to mutate the excess organs on one's body, granting them unfathomable, ghostly power.

The more excess organs one had, the greater the power this Green Trait could unleash. It was relatively compatible with his Strength of Nine Oxen.

But the reason he still became irritated from time to time was mainly because if one's first Trait was trash, then even if many later Traits were connected to it, it would still be difficult to survive long enough to meet the realm and cultivation requirements needed to obtain those other Traits.

And he did not fucking want this Green Trait, "In Swarms," either!

Even if it would make him stronger!

The greatest flaw of Traits with such strong interconnections was that without the entire Trait set, a single Trait could hardly display its power. And... there was no guarantee that he would obtain the other Traits in the set.

The randomness was far too high.

He had heard that some Heavenly Dao Secret Realms produced heavenly treasures that allowed cultivators to randomly obtain a Trait even without breaking through a major realm, or exchange for a chance to reroll a Trait during a major realm breakthrough. But such heavenly treasures were immensely valuable, and there was no chance they would fall into his hands.

That was why Fat Dragon's expression had been so complicated when he heard that Huang Shikai's first Trait was actually a Yellow Trait. This kid's luck was a little too good. His initial Trait was Yellow—a true child of the Mandate of Heaven.

Initial Traits could absolutely never be replaced or erased. They accompanied a cultivator for life.

Traits gained during later major realm breakthroughs, however, could be erased and replaced through certain heavenly treasures.

An initial Trait basically represented a cultivator's aptitude.

.