North Hunting Forest Destiny Alteration

Severe injury. Today.

Lu Yuan lowered his gaze and stared at the lines of gray text floating above Shao Ping's head, holding his composure until the spirit master in front of him turned around and spoke, prompting him to quickly catch up with the group.

"What are you zoning out for? Are we really just going to ignore those tracks from earlier?"

Shao Ping neatly folded his map and tucked it into his bosom, his tone calm and steady. "You came out here to learn, not to throw your life away. We'll bypass that area for now and leave it for the patrol team to handle later."

Hearing this, Lu Yuan asked no further questions. The team detoured half a mile to the west, leaving the drag marks on the ground and the scraped dwarf trees all behind them, but the gray destiny prompt above Shao Ping's head remained clear and unfaded.

[Today]

[North Hunting Forest]

[Destiny Node: Severe injury]

Changing routes was useless.

Lu Yuan tightened his grip on the piercing spear, his pace pausing slightly. The spirit master walking alongside him in front noticed the anomaly and turned around to banter, "Gottin' spooked after slaughtering just one iron-backed jackal?"

"A little." Lu Yuan answered frankly.

The man had originally worn a teasing smile, but at this reply, he was instead left speechless. Without even turning his head, Shao Ping's detached voice cut through the forest wind. "Being a bit scared is a good thing. Most of those who enter the hunting forest for the first time and think they are invincible don't live very long."

The team marched another few dozen yards when a spirit master on the right suddenly stopped, crouched down, and stared intently at the low bushes. "There are signs of monster beasts passing through here."

Lu Yuan stepped closer to examine them. Scattered jackal paw prints of varying depths were distributed across the mud, and one string of prints far exceeded the rest, appearing exceptionally large. A few strands of fresh, grayish-black short fur hung from the shrub branches, exuding a living aura.

Shao Ping brushed away the surface fallen leaves, revealing densely packed, overlapping paw prints underneath.

"Iron-backed jackal?" Lu Yuan asked in a low voice.

"Mm." Shao Ping raised a hand to measure the largest paw print, then stood up with a slightly darkened expression. "The one just now was in its juvenile stage, merely scouting ahead at the very front. Iron-backed jackals never act alone."

The spirit master beside them looked around, his tone grave. "There are definitely quite a few of them, more than three or four."

Shao Ping made an immediate decision. "That's it for today. We're heading back."

Lu Yuan felt a mild sense of surprise. "Head back just like that?"

"What, do you want to stay behind and feed the jackal pack?" Shao Ping asked flatly in return.

Lu Yuan shook his head instantly. "I wouldn't go that far."

"If you wouldn't, then move."

No one raised any objections. Their original intention today was to bring Lu Yuan out for practical training and familiarize him with actual combat against spirit beasts. Pressing forward recklessly while knowing full well that a beast pack lurked ahead was certainly not training; it was courting death.

The team quickly turned around to head back. They had traveled less than two hundred paces when a subtle, crisp snap suddenly echoed through the quiet forest, resembling a dead branch being crushed under heavy weight. Lu Yuan instantly glanced sideways behind him, but the woodland in the rear was completely empty, showing no movement at all.

Just as he took two steps forward, the bushes on his right side suddenly shook violently.

"They've caught up," Shao Ping said in a deep voice.

Two spirit masters immediately split up, taking positions on the left and right to shield Lu Yuan in the middle. Shao Ping glanced at the long spear gripped tightly in Lu Yuan's hands, leaving behind only one crucial instruction: "When the fight starts later, hold your ground fiercely. Don't chase the enemy."

"Understood."

Before his voice even faded, the bushes on the left burst apart violently, and an iron-backed jackal lunged out fiercely, skimming across the ground. The spirit master on the left was already on guard, sideways shifting to precisely slam into the lunging beast shadow. At almost the exact same instant, two grayish-black residual shadows darted out from the right.

"Watch out!"

The spirit master on the right steadily intercepted one jackal beast, but the remaining one moved with nimble detours, abandoning the others to lunge straight for Lu Yuan standing dead center.

Lu Yuan stood firm, showing not a shred of panic or retreat. He held the piercing spear horizontally, steadying his breath. Just as the iron-backed jackal lunged within inches of him, he stepped aside and twisted his stance, the spear tip driving fiercely upward to thrust at the beast's forelegs.

This jackal beast was far more astute and ferocious than the previous one. It twisted its body abruptly mid-air, narrowly dodging the fatal spear tip, and accumulated strength the moment it landed to lunge into attack once more with rapid, ferocious momentum.

The yellow spirit ring at Lu Yuan's feet suddenly lit up, triggering his soul skill instantly.

Piercing Edge!

Carrying potent momentum, the piercing spear thrust straight forward; its speed and force far surpassed an ordinary stab. The iron-backed jackal failed to dodge in time, and a deep, long gash was carved across its chest. Overcome by pain, it tumbled into the bushes with a roll.

Remembering Shao Ping's instruction, Lu Yuan did not pursue, instantly raising his eyes to look at Shao Ping. The gray text overhead predicting severe injury remained condensed and unfaded.

The battle was currently locked in a stalemate. Shao Ping was engaged in close-quarters combat with an iron-backed jackal, raising his arm to block a bite and taking advantage of the moment to kick the beast shadow toward a tree trunk. On the other side, a spirit master was tightly entangled by two jackal beasts; a jackal's teeth had already locked onto his bracers, while the other beast was stealthily detouring to watch for an opening and launch a sneak attack.

"Ah..."

Hearing the cry, Shao Ping immediately rushed to reinforce his teammate. Lu Yuan's gaze followed his movement, suddenly locking onto a spot not far behind him. A broken log lay horizontally in the grass, its fractured end sharp and jagged with edges already blackened and decaying. Behind the log was a dense, low-lying patch of bushes pressed extremely flat.

Just as he focused his gaze, a pair of cold, ferocious beast pupils suddenly lit up within the gloomy bushes.

Lu Yuan's heart tightened severely.

A massive grayish-black figure darted out without a sound, launching a surprise attack while hugging the ground. This jackal beast was nearly half larger than the other individuals, its back spines thick and menacing, and its aura was completely different. It was none other than the owner of those giant paw prints—the jackal pack leader.

"Behind you!"

Shao Ping whipped around into a defensive stance, but the pack leader's surprise attack was extremely fast and had already closed the distance. Instead of rashly swinging its paws to claw and bite, it gathered its strength to charge straight ahead. Given its massive bulk and rapid momentum, even if Shao Ping could barely block and dissipate the force, his body would inevitably be forced backward.

And that sharp broken log was precisely a few paces away right behind him. Once he collided with it, the consequences would be unthinkable.

In the nick of time, the yellow spirit ring beneath Lu Yuan's feet flared once more.

Piercing Edge!

The piercing spear pierced through the air, grazing past Shao Ping's flank to target the pack leader's braced left leg with absolute precision. The sharp spear tip instantly drove into flesh and blood, the shaft vibrating incessantly.

Thwack!

The potent momentum carried by the soul skill forcefully deflected the pack leader's charging trajectory. The fatal blow that had originally locked onto Shao Ping's waist brushed past his side, tearing away a large swath of fabric and whipping up a fine gust of wind.

Leveraging this fleeting opening, Shao Ping staggered to steady his stance, then whirled around to smash a heavy fist fiercely into the side of the pack leader's neck.

A muffled impact reverberated through the forest.

The pack leader lost its balance from the blow and tumbled heavily into the grass. The webbing between Lu Yuan's thumb and index finger went numb from the rebound force, but he gritted his teeth and gripped the spear shaft steadily. By this time, Shao Ping had already followed up with a pursuit, landing another heavy strike before the pack leader could push itself back up.

This time, the giant pack leader collapsed completely to the ground, unable to get back up.

With the leader fallen, the remaining few iron-backed jackals instantly lost their morale, and their offensive collapsed. The two spirit masters seized the opportunity to unleash their strength and drive back their opponents. The surviving jackal pack dared not linger, hastily turning around to bolt into the depths of the dense forest, vanishing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

The forest wind gradually calmed, and the smoke of battle dispersed.

Shao Ping lowered his gaze to look at the torn and tattered fabric at his waist, then turned to look at the sharp broken log close at hand. Just moments ago in that perilous instant, it had been a mere few paces away from ending in severe injury. He remained silent for a moment before turning his gaze to Lu Yuan.

"How did you spot it?"

Lu Yuan exercised his numb fingertips, his tone steady. "Among the previous paw prints, one set was far larger than the rest and never showed up the whole time. It was way too abnormal."

Shao Ping followed his gaze to the jackal pack leader's corpse and nodded slightly. "Keep that habit of observation and prediction."

The spirit master whose bracer had been bitten with deep tooth marks stepped over, looking at the broken log with lingering fear. "If that hit had connected solidly just now, Captain Shao, you probably would've had us carry you back today."

Shao Ping cast a sideways glance at him, his tone flat with a hint of banter. "Take care of yourself first."

"Can't I still fight and run?" the man argued with a smile.

"Then shut up."

The man sensibly closed his mouth at once and dropped the banter.

Yet Lu Yuan could not smile at all. He stared intently into midair, where the floating gray characters were shaking violently and fading in layers.

[Shao Ping]

[Today]

[North Hunting Forest]

[Severe injury]

The final two characters representing doom completely dissipated, and after a few breaths, brand-new text slowly emerged.

[Shao Ping's severe injury node has changed]

[Obtained Origin of Destiny]

A gentle, familiar warmth instantly surged through Lu Yuan's limbs. The piercing spear in his palm vibrated lightly, causing the hidden dark gold patterns along the spear body to light up. Their color grew deeper and brighter than usual, swirling with fine, minuscule light. The faint light vanished in an instant, and the long spear returned to tranquility, as if the strange transformation from moments before had never happened.

Lu Yuan lowered his head to glance briefly at the long spear without saying much, then turned his gaze to the jackal beast's corpse.

Shao Ping stepped forward to nudge the thick spines on the pack leader's back, rendering a grim judgment. "An iron-backed jackal leader with over three hundred years of cultivation."

The spirit master beside him furrowed his brows tightly. "Why would a high-tier monster beast of this age roam the outer perimeter with a pack? It's far too abnormal."

Shao Ping raised his eyes to look deep into the forest toward the direction where the drag marks had previously been discovered, his expression grave. "It's most likely related to the disturbances deep within the forest. We'll report this back to the patrol team, and newcomers will be barred from training in this area for the near future."

With those words spoken, he looked at Lu Yuan. "Can you still walk?"

"No problem."

"Then don't just stand there. We're heading back."

Lu Yuan walked over to the jackal corpse, planted a foot firmly on its shoulder and back, and gripped the piercing spear tightly to pull it out with steady force.

Squelch...

The chilling spear tip, coated in warm beast blood, cleanly slipped out from the wound on the jackal's neck, dripping droplets of scarlet.