Xiao Wu's Breakthrough

[Dark Moon Howl], the only enhancement skill mastered by Nether Wolves.

Not just any Nether Wolf could learn it. The one Lu Shiyuan faced could be considered a prodigy among Nether Wolves.

[Dark Moon Howl] increased a Nether Wolf's speed and strength by 10%, while also granting its attacks an armor-piercing effect.

Lu Shiyuan had originally been able to slightly suppress the Nether Wolf in both speed and strength, but after that howl, he was starting to struggle.

At that moment, Lu Shiyuan had only one thought in mind: stall!

Any enhancement skill was bound to have a time limit.

Even Tang Hao had to remain weakened for a long time after using Ring Detonation, much less a mere three-thousand-year Nether Wolf.

As long as he could drag things out until the enhancement ended, he would have a chance of winning!

His idea was sound, but putting it into practice was difficult.

The Nether Wolf's claws were already excellent weapons, far superior in quality to the dagger in Lu Shiyuan's hand.

When the battle entered its third minute, the dagger in Lu Shiyuan's hand suddenly shattered into fragments.

Empty-handed, Lu Shiyuan was struck several times in succession by the Nether Wolf.

That was after the Soul Bone skill [Stellar Orbit Bastion] had failed. Before that, the barrier had blocked several attacks for him.

Wounds appeared on his arms and legs. He would not lose anytime soon, but as time passed and blood continued to flow, his condition would only worsen.

Lu Shiyuan gritted his teeth. He had no better options now.

In the end, his raw strength simply could not compare. If he had the cultivation of a Soul Ancestor as well, he would have had a hundred ways to deal with the Nether Wolf before him.

Unfortunately, he was only a level 20 Soul Master.

Fortunately, at the crucial moment, the Nether Wolf's enhancement expired.

It seemed [Dark Moon Howl] could only provide three minutes of attribute enhancement. As the effect faded, the Nether Wolf's aura weakened drastically.

Lu Shiyuan's eyes lit up, and he immediately unleashed [Time Blade Pierce].

This was a Soul Skill granted by a fifteen-hundred-year Soul Ring. Not only was it more powerful than other Soul Masters' first Soul Rings, it also consumed far less energy.

Just as he had expected, the Nether Wolf, which should have easily dodged the attack, suddenly had its front legs go limp like a whoremonger who had fought for three days and three nights straight, taking Lu Shiyuan's attack head-on.

"Awooo!!!" Another miserable howl rang out, but this time, it was nothing more than a howl of pain.

Enhancement skills could not be used repeatedly within a short period of time.

Seeing that his test had worked, Lu Shiyuan continuously flung blade after blade, then lunged forward and mounted the Nether Wolf, beating it viciously.

His fists rained down on the Nether Wolf until the system issued a notification, at which point he finally stopped, panting heavily.

The Nether Wolf now resembled Tang San from a year ago, lying on the ground like a dead dog and gasping for breath.

Lu Shiyuan collapsed to the ground as well, taking huge gulps of air.

Fighting a three-thousand-year soul beast had truly been difficult for him.

Only after noticing Xiao Feiyu's gaze did he weakly say, "Sister Feiyu, let it go."

Hearing his words, Xiao Wu's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Brother, you aren't going to kill it?"

Lu Shiyuan rubbed Xiao Wu's silky hair. "What are you thinking? Your brother only wanted to defeat it, not kill it. I have no use for its Soul Ring, and it might not even have a Soul Bone. Why would I kill it?"

The task was already complete, so why create more needless slaughter?

Xiao Feiyu smiled and released an aura that enveloped the Nether Wolf.

The heavily injured, dying Nether Wolf had already fallen into despair. After being enveloped by that aura, faint currents of electricity spread through its body, and its wounds actually began showing signs of healing.

In less than a minute, the half-dead Nether Wolf was already able to move.

Most importantly, it felt as though it vaguely showed signs of breaking through.

Did this count as a blessing in disguise?

"Go. Your task is complete."

The Nether Wolf raised a front leg in a remarkably humanlike gesture and pointed at its own nose.

It was as if it were asking, Are you sure you're letting me go?

After seeing Xiao Feiyu wave her hand, the Nether Wolf fled at top speed.

Obtaining an opportunity certainly made the wolf happy, but it had paid for it with its life.

That kid had hit far too hard. It had nearly been beaten to death by his fists.

After healing the Nether Wolf, Xiao Feiyu did not tend to Lu Shiyuan's wounds.

Lu Shiyuan understood her intentions. Being injured was certainly painful, but it was also a rare experience.

By experiencing the state of being injured, he could understand how much strength he could exert under different degrees of injury.

The recovery process was also a way of understanding his body.

Xiao Feiyu hoped that Lu Shiyuan could comprehend these insights while his level was still low.

They would be greatly beneficial to his future growth.

Relying on his robust physique, Lu Shiyuan recovered most of the way in just two days.

During that time, Xiao Wu also successfully condensed her second Soul Ring.

"Brother, my second Soul Ring is purple!" Little Rabbit grinned so widely that her back teeth were nearly visible.

"Congratulations." Lu Shiyuan wrapped an arm around Xiao Wu's waist and softly asked, "What skill is it?"

Xiao Wu's original second Soul Skill had been Charm, a form of mental control skill.

Its advantages were obvious, and so were its shortcomings.

It could produce remarkable results against enemies with lower spiritual power than hers. But against enemies with greater spiritual power, she could easily suffer backlash.

Lu Shiyuan wanted to know whether Xiao Wu's second Soul Skill was the same as in the original story.

Xiao Wu happily nestled into his arms and rubbed against him. "Brother, my second Soul Skill is called Soft Bone. It can be used together with my first Soul Skill."

Soft Bone: every successful attack reduced the enemy's defense by 10%, stacking up to five times. Once the stacks were full, it triggered a joint-shattering effect, forcibly inflicting three seconds of control that could not be cleansed.

When paired with the improved Waist Bow, not only could it stack at incredible speed, it could also deliver an unexpected control effect whenever an enemy wanted to counterattack. The results were truly impressive.

It seemed Xiao Wu was no longer following her original path either.

He wondered what Tang San in the original story had been thinking, willingly watching Xiao Wu wrap those long legs around her enemies and flirt with them.

Could he have had a cuckold fetish?

Now that Xiao Wu had successfully condensed her second Soul Ring and reached level 22, Lu Shiyuan felt it was time for him to absorb a Soul Ring as well.

He did not expect his second Soul Ring to break through ten thousand years, but he still hoped to obtain a high-year thousand-year Soul Skill.

Preferably one over five thousand years.

With that in mind, he spoke to Xiao Wu for a little longer before having her leave the tent.

This absorption would definitely take quite some time. He hoped the final result would be worthy of his efforts.