Snow Wolf Leader

"Hmm?"

Ye Qiong frowned. Within the range of his spatial perception, he sensed a pack of Army Wolves—more than a dozen of them—and among them was an enormous Army Wolf.

"Mutated? An Army Wolf Leader?"

After thinking for a moment, Ye Qiong teleported onto a tree beside the wolves.

He crouched directly on a branch, his feet lightly pressing into the snow covering it without making the slightest sound.

Lowering his head, Ye Qiong carefully examined the Army Wolves not far below. Around a dozen rested in the snow. One perched atop a snowy slope was more than three times the size of an ordinary Army Wolf, towering over the rest and drawing the eye at once.

Its body was as huge and imposing as a tiger's. Rings of silvery-white fur gleamed brightly, and every movement was agile and graceful, carrying a faint but oppressive sense of danger.

Whether by appearance or aura, this Army Wolf gave Ye Qiong an indescribably powerful impression.

The Army Wolf Leader took a few steps, then suddenly twitched its ears and turned its head. It slightly raised its muzzle, its wolf eyes shooting over coldly like two sharp beams of frost.

Was I discovered?

Before Ye Qiong could react, he froze for a moment.

Only when he saw the Army Wolf Leader leading the pack to surround his position did Ye Qiong helplessly leap down from the tree.

He really had been discovered. That was a little awkward.

"However..."

Ye Qiong watched the Army Wolf Leader, astonished by its frighteningly keen senses. This wolf was far from ordinary.

"Perfect. I was just in the mood for a satisfying fight."

Ye Qiong clenched his fists, his bones crackling. The battle earlier had already loosened up his body, leaving heat surging through him and driving away the surrounding chill. It felt quite comfortable.

The Army Wolf Leader stared at him coldly. After a low growl, several Army Wolves broke from the pack and lunged at him with snarls.

"Testing me?"

Ye Qiong was surprised again. This Army Wolf Leader was highly intelligent—it even knew tactics.

He watched the Army Wolves pouncing toward him and swung both fists with force.

Bang!

This time, Ye Qiong's blood and qi moved with his fists as he used his full strength. The power contained in his punches was terrifying. Two Army Wolves were sent flying, crashing into the snow and rolling along with clouds of snowflakes until they finally stopped among the pack.

Before another Army Wolf could even reach him, his left leg swept it down. He stomped hard on its body, bursting the snow apart and driving the entire wolf deep into the snow.

Awooo!!!

The Army Wolves were all enraged. Their already crimson eyes became even redder, flickering with a dim scarlet glow.

Yet they did not immediately attack Ye Qiong. They quietly waited for their leader's command. To them, obeying orders was ingrained in their bones.

After pondering for a moment, the Army Wolf Leader let out a low growl. At the sound, every Army Wolf except itself swarmed forward, intending to tear Ye Qiong into pieces.

"Still testing me?"

Ye Qiong frowned slightly. The Army Wolf Leader clearly should have known that numbers alone could not defeat him, yet it still ordered its subordinates to attack.

"Sacrificing so many Army Wolves... is it trying to wear me down?"

A guess formed in Ye Qiong's mind, but it only left him more astonished. If that was the case, then this Army Wolf Leader was either utterly cold-blooded or as wise as a human.

As more than a dozen Army Wolves rushed before him, their fangs and claws bared, Ye Qiong instead closed his eyes.

An aura suddenly erupted from his body. Invisible ripples swiftly swept in every direction, and a vast, oppressive presence descended. The snowflakes drifting through the air instantly froze in place.

Silence!

Dead silence!

Ye Qiong smiled calmly and opened his eyes.

The snowflakes continued to fall, blanketing everything within sight.

The Army Wolves that had charged before Ye Qiong remained in their attacking poses. Their sharp claws and fangs were only a step away from him, yet they seemed to have jammed in place, frozen stiff in the snow.

Expressions of human-like terror appeared on their naturally vicious, fearless beast faces.

It was the fear embedded in living creatures—the fear carved deep into their bones.

Like instinct.

Ye Qiong stepped forward. After hesitating for a moment, the Army Wolves yielded and moved aside submissively.

Thus, an exceptionally strange scene appeared upon the snow. Whenever Ye Qiong took a step forward, the magical beasts either retreated or moved aside, as though terrified of provoking the human before them.

Ye Qiong slowly walked down the path opened through the wolf pack, staring directly at the Army Wolf Leader ahead. Unlike the others, it showed no hint of submission. Instead, it was furious and ready to fight.

"I'm very interested in you."

Ye Qiong studied it with great interest. This Army Wolf Leader might just be an opponent worth taking slightly seriously.

"Awooo!!!"

The Army Wolf Leader gave a low growl and fearlessly met his gaze. Its powerful body tensed, snow-white fangs interlocking. Its dangerous wolf eyes, however, were filled with human-like intelligence, remaining rational and calm.

It was like a top predator standing at the peak of nature—a born hunter.

"Unaffected by my Conqueror's Haki?"

Ye Qiong found things even more interesting. This Army Wolf Leader was truly exceptional.

The cold wind howled, and snowflakes danced through the air.

Ye Qiong suddenly stepped forward, clenched his right hand, and punched straight at the Army Wolf Leader's head.

The punch whistled through the air. The Army Wolf Leader nimbly twisted aside to evade it, and the force of the blow crashed into the snow, blasting up a spray of snowflakes.

The Army Wolf Leader swept him with cold eyes, extending its gleaming claws and slamming them toward his chest. Ye Qiong raised his left fist to meet them.

Clang!

The Army Wolf Leader's claws were far more powerful than steel blades, while Ye Qiong's fist seemed forged from copper and iron. When they collided, they produced the sharp ring of metal striking metal.

Bang!

Ye Qiong followed with a kick that struck the Army Wolf Leader across the back. His power crashed down and sent it flying.

The Army Wolf Leader's massive body rolled across the snow before slamming into a snow mound, scattering snow in every direction.

The next instant, the snow atop that mound was violently flung away.

The Army Wolf Leader shot out like an arrow, ramming its head into Ye Qiong and knocking him into another snow mound.

"Wonderful!"

Ye Qiong leaped from the snow mound amid a spray of snowflakes and tangled with the Army Wolf Leader in close combat.

Puff! Puff! Puff!

The battle on the snowy ground was fierce. Countless snowflakes were flung into the air or scattered in all directions, falling together with the snow overhead.

The longer Ye Qiong fought, the more astonished he became. Though he had not cultivated Armament Haki, his first-level perfected Vajra Body had granted him an incomparably powerful physique, even somewhat stronger than the beast-form bodies of the CP9 members back then.

Yet here, he was locked in an evenly matched close-quarters battle with an Army Wolf Leader.

Rip!

The Army Wolf Leader was savage, fierce, and decisive. It began trading wounds for wounds. Ye Qiong's already torn clothes gained more rips, while several bloody gashes appeared across his chest, limbs, and hands.

It too took quite a few hits in the process, and parts of its silver fur were stained red.

"Very good."

As Ye Qiong fought fiercely with the Army Wolf Leader, he felt a steady stream of heat within his body, offsetting the cold invading him. His blood and qi roiled as he fought to his heart's content!

The Army Wolf Leader grew increasingly enraged, its killing intent as sharp as the surrounding chill.

"Take my Inch-Extreme Collapse!"

Ye Qiong stepped forward and shifted to the Army Wolf Leader's side. As it turned around, power transmitted upward from his feet layer by layer. The strength erupting from every muscle surged through his body like a dragon, gathering in his right elbow before slamming into it.

Ancient Martial Arts, Inch-Extreme Collapse—perfect force!

Bang!!!

The Army Wolf Leader let out a pained howl as the blow struck it, violently sending its entire body flying. Its wolf body smashed through several snow mounds without stopping, detonating snow across the ground before finally sinking deep into a snowbank.

The snowbank was completely still, and the Army Wolf Leader was nowhere to be seen. It was impossible to tell whether it was alive or dead.

Ye Qiong scratched his head. Had he used too much force?

"What a great sparring partner. What a shame."

Ye Qiong felt somewhat helpless. He brushed the snow off himself and prepared to leave, but suddenly stopped. Turning back, he spread his Observation Haki over that patch of snow.

The next moment, the snow covering the Army Wolf Leader exploded apart. Countless snowflakes were forcefully pushed outward as a terrifying aura surged forth.

"Awooo!!!"

A wolf's howl like rolling thunder echoed through the forest of Freezing Hell.