Madness

Awooo!

The low, brief howl made Gu Sheng instinctively hold his breath, not daring to make a sound. He could only hope this wild wolf had merely wandered into his small courtyard by mistake.

However.

The sound of the wolf's four paws scraping against the dirt kept growing louder, making Gu Sheng's pupils slowly contract.

He held an instinctive fear of such ferocious beasts. Whether in his past life or this one, he had never faced a beast like this head-on.

Gu Sheng lowered his breathing as much as possible and gradually relaxed his muscles, lest he fail to bring out his proper strength.

He understood now.

This wolf had likely followed its nose here. Help from within the village would not arrive anytime soon; he could only rely on himself!

Gu Sheng tightened his grip on the wood-chopping knife.

Though it was not especially sharp, the knife was heavy. His greatest reliance now was his mastery of Chopping Wood. With the wood-chopping knife in hand, his combat strength would be far greater.

The wolf continued approaching, and Gu Sheng could even hear its heavy breathing.

He turned his head and swiftly glanced through the crack in the door, terror appearing in his eyes.

Only when the wolf came close did Gu Sheng realize that it looked about the same size as an ordinary wolf. Yet its eyes bore an unnatural color: its green pupils were suffused with deep blood-red. Its jaws hung open, exposing sharp fangs, while strands of thick, foul-smelling saliva dripped down.

Hiss!

Gu Sheng's heart shook, and his fear deepened. This thing looked nothing like an ordinary wild beast.

But he had no time to think further.

The wolf had already fixed its gaze on the battered wooden door. Given its size, the door would never withstand its charge.

Gu Sheng forcibly suppressed the fear in his heart.

Although his arms trembled faintly, he gripped the wood-chopping knife tightly. His gaze gradually took on a hint of madness.

When the world refuses to let a man live, madness is his only path!

Awooo!

The wolf's nose twitched, as if it had finally confirmed there was tempting prey inside.

Its powerful hind legs slowly bent. Its pupils, mingled green and red, held not a trace of emotion as it suddenly charged!

Whoosh!

The wolf moved with startling speed, fast as lightning.

Its gray fur was inconspicuous in the night sky as it slammed viciously into the wooden door.

Bang!

The wolf was already heavy, and with the force of its accelerating charge, it instantly smashed the wooden door apart, sending splinters flying.

Gu Sheng only saw a gray body crash in, tumbling hard to the ground amid the wreckage of the door. Only then did he see it clearly.

The wolf's gray pelt was mottled with bloodstains. Its body was not particularly massive, and its shoulders stood roughly as high as Gu Sheng's thigh.

The wolf slowly rose after crashing inside, shaking its head in a daze.

Strike while it was down and take its life!

Though he did not know why this wolf seemed rather stupid, this was Gu Sheng's only chance. Once it recovered, there was nowhere for him to dodge in such a cramped space. It would be almost certain death!

Under the threat of life and death, a trace of madness filled Gu Sheng's eyes. He let out a low shout to bolster his courage.

In his eyes, the wolf seemed to become a log of wood.

After chopping wood day after day, the muscle memory had long become instinct, and he could exert force as naturally as breathing.

Mastery of Chopping Wood allowed him to mobilize the strength of his entire body!

Gu Sheng was only fourteen, and his arm strength alone was not great. Yet once the strength of his whole body was fully gathered, it could not be underestimated, surpassing the power of an ordinary adult's chopping stroke.

Holding the wood-chopping knife, Gu Sheng's mind gradually steadied. The fear and panic in his heart unconsciously faded away.

He watched the slowly rising "wolf-log."

Gu Sheng struck decisively. His right foot kicked off the ground, his thigh muscles trembling. He twisted his body and drew strength from his waist and abdomen, channeling it through both arms, every muscle in them pushed to its limit.

Gripping the wood-chopping knife, Gu Sheng hacked down viciously, the fierce whistle of wind filling his ears.

Straight for the wolf's waist!

Copper Head Iron Bone, tofu waist. Gu Sheng naturally knew this saying. With all his strength behind the blade, he aimed directly at its weak point.

Having just smashed through the door, the wolf was still disoriented.

At the arrival of danger, it instantly woke, letting out a low roar as it tried to evade.

But Gu Sheng's strike came incredibly fast. With the strength of his entire body behind it, it was heavy and powerful. Seizing this perfect opportunity, the wolf only had time to turn before the blade came down upon it.

Driven by tremendous force, the thick, somewhat blunt wood-chopping knife sank viciously into the wolf's waist and abdomen. It could split firewood in two with a single blow, so naturally it could cut through the waist of a wolf, said to be as soft as tofu.

Though it did not sever the wolf in two, it cut more than halfway through.

Splat!

Bright red blood burst forth in an instant. Organs and fluids of various colors spilled out, and a foul stench spread through the room.

Having landed the blow, a flicker of joy crossed Gu Sheng's eyes. By now, the fear in his heart had unknowingly dissipated. Reason took hold of his mind, and without the slightest hesitation, he immediately released the knife and retreated.

His steps were unsteady, and he scrambled back in a near crawl, but he withdrew in time.

He narrowly avoided the wolf's jaws as they whipped around.

Feeling those icy fangs brush past him, cold sweat ran down Gu Sheng's back.

The wolf wailed and growled, still trying to pursue him, but with a thud, it collapsed to the ground.

Gu Sheng staggered back and steadied himself. He picked up a stone from inside the room and hurled it at the wolf.

With its waist and abdomen nearly severed, the wolf's vitality kept it from dying immediately, but it had already become a living target.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The sound of stones striking flesh was dull and heavy.

After several breaths, the wolf's low growls finally vanished. Gu Sheng panted heavily, grabbed a wooden pole beside him, and poked the wolf several more times. He even turned its body over before finally confirming that the wolf was dead.

A sense of relief from the depths of his soul surged through Gu Sheng. He slowly sank to the ground, feeling weak all over.

First, he had delivered that full-force strike; then he had lifted stone after stone to smash the wolf. The brief but intense exertion had left even Gu Sheng struggling.

He looked at the wolf's corpse, let out a long breath, and finally broke into a grin.

"I survived!"

He felt an urge to weep with joy.

Thinking back on the battle just now, he had killed the wolf in a flash. Gu Sheng realized that the wolf had not been as terrifying as he had imagined. His earlier fear had mostly stemmed from never encountering one before.

With that thought, the courage in his heart grew much stronger.

Mastery of Chopping Wood had made Gu Sheng more formidable in combat than an ordinary adult.

"Good thing my Chopping Wood reached mastery. If it had only been at the minor level, I wouldn't have been able to cut through its waist. I probably would've died today."

Gu Sheng felt somewhat fortunate.

Strength surged back into his body. He slowly stood and looked at the mangled wolf corpse, then warily glanced toward the huge hole where the door had been, preparing to find something to block it.

In the night sky.

Wolf howls rose from every direction. He could also hear people screaming, while the smell of blood gradually spread.

Gu Sheng fell silent.

If he had not possessed a useful skill today, then upon encountering this wolf, he would have been no different from everyone else.

In this world.

Natural disasters, man-made calamities, beast riots, demons...

For ordinary people, simply staying alive required exhausting every ounce of strength—and even then, it depended on luck!

Gu Sheng clenched his fists, his yearning for power growing even stronger.

Suddenly.

His expression changed as he looked toward Gu Erniu's home. It was less than a hundred meters away, yet the wolf howls and a woman's cries were clearly audible.

"Erniu's wife!"