The group soon reached a circular hall, a hundred zhang across, with long corridors connecting it at the front and rear.
To proceed, they had to cross the hall and enter the passage opposite them. But three enormous gray wolves with red-glowing eyes sat or lay in the hall, guarding it.
Moreover, a conspicuous mass of black mist swirled in the opposite passage. The Grotto-Heaven Laws had sealed it off; unless they killed the demons in the hall, they could go no farther.
"Those are first transformation wild wolves, just beasts that mutated after being infected with demonic qi. Junior Brother Fang, try your hand against them first!" Wei Wen said after a glance.
"All right!" Fang Qianyuan replied.
He surveyed the terrain. A similar sealing light shimmered at the passage entrance on their side, but it was a one-way seal that would vanish automatically once they passed through.
Apparently because of the seal across the doorway, none of the three enormous wolves had noticed them.
Fang Qianyuan quickly formed a plan. Silently circulating his spirit essence, he rose upright, his whole body tingling as though a current had passed through it.
While the gray wolf beneath him was still running, he had already formed the weapon seal, circulating spirit essence throughout his body.
"I'm going in!"
An azure glow rose beneath his feet, and the power of the wolf spirit enveloped him.
Even as he spoke, he shot forward like a cannonball. His instantaneous speed startled even the teammates beside him.
"Junior Brother Fang, wait for us!"
Ding Long and Wei Wu were startled and hurried after him, only to see that Fang Qianyuan had already used his explosive speed to rush up to one of the enormous wolves near the entrance.
Wolf Rush Strike!
In an instant, wolf claws formed over his hands. Fang Qianyuan gathered his spirit essence, curled his fingers, and struck with a vicious clawing blow.
The enormous wolf's body was pierced at once, leaving a gaping, bloody hole.
It was, after all, merely a first transformation demon born from a mutated beast. Caught off guard, it died immediately, without the slightest chance to resist.
The other two enormous wolves started in alarm and scrambled to their feet. Rather than retreating like ordinary beasts, however, they charged wildly at him.
But Ding Long and Wei Wu had caught up by then. They quickly intercepted the wolves and began fighting them on the move.
Fang Qianyuan steadied his breathing, drove his spirit essence again, and surged forward with Wolf Lunge.
Once again, his clean strike killed instantly. Within the space of a breath, two enormous wolves had fallen in succession to the same method.
"Junior Brother Fang, you..."
Ding Long and Wei Wu looked at Fang Qianyuan with somewhat complicated expressions.
"Hahahaha! Junior Brother Fang, nicely done! You really do deserve to be called this year's extraordinary genius. Now I truly believe it." Wei Wen's laughter came from behind. He told the other two, "Your reactions were slow. You should have followed him immediately."
"You flatter me, Senior Brother," Fang Qianyuan said. "I did get a little excited and rushed into attacking."
"No, you made the right choice," Wei Wen said seriously. "An opportunity waits for no one. Who knew whether that enormous wolf might move away the next moment? If it hadn't been by the entrance, dealing with it would have taken more effort."
Ding Long and Wei Wu silently felt ashamed. In truth, they had just been about to blame Fang Qianyuan for being too hasty, but Wei Wen had a point. In actual combat, the situation changed constantly. How could anyone afford to dawdle?
They had not fallen so far behind that they could not act in time. Only if they had been far behind and Fang Qianyuan had insisted on attacking anyway would it have been reckless.
Just then, blood-red spheres of light quietly emerged above the wolf corpses. Inside each sphere was a dark red crystal the size of a fingertip, its center glowing faintly as though a flame burned within.
These were soul crystals, formed from the demons' remnant souls mingling with the laws of heaven and earth. They were vital resources that aided the growth of spirit creatures, with effects no less potent than spirit stones.
To a large extent, disciples undertook these trials precisely to gain practical combat experience and acquire such soul crystals.
Ning Yuerong stepped forward, collected the three soul crystals, and tossed them to Wei Wen. "Well done, Junior Brother Fang," she praised sincerely. "When I first killed a demon, I certainly wasn't as clean and decisive as you."
There was a trace of emotion in Ning Yuerong's eyes.
When she first learned that Fang Qianyuan would be joining them, she had been somewhat reluctant. Disciples of the Training Institute might share the bonds of fellow students, but they were neither family nor close friends, after all. They could hardly be so selfless as to give everyone meticulous care.
A genius with boundless prospects, however, was another matter.
Now that she had seen Fang Qianyuan's potential, she naturally regarded him in a different light.
Fang Qianyuan, meanwhile, was silently savoring what he had just experienced, increasingly convinced that actual combat truly honed a person.
Though I'm already proficient at performing Wolf Rush Strike in practice, I always lacked the feeling of bringing everything together. But when I used it in actual combat just now, it felt as though my body had memorized it and made it part of my fighting instincts.
No wonder Elder Gong arranged for me to train in the Demon Suppression Cavern. Practicing some things properly isn't enough. Only by testing them in actual combat can they rise to a higher level.
Besides, the soul crystals we obtain are important cultivation resources too. The sect can't supply these things to its disciples for free; everyone has to earn them through their own efforts. Especially for disciples from poor families, who have no financial support, trials like these are an important source of income.
After that, the group cleared several halls in succession, with Fang Qianyuan taking the lead in every battle.
Not only did Fang Qianyuan continue using the moves he had already mastered, trying to bring them together into a seamless whole, but with Ding Long, Wei Wu, and the others looking out for him, he also frequently varied his moves to explore his own path.
Before everyone's eyes, his movements gradually became flawless, like those of a veteran tempered by a hundred battles.
What seemed incredible was that, in just a few short battles, Fang Qianyuan had already begun to master a fighting style suited to himself.
His exceptional physique gave him enduring strength, making repeated uses of Wolf Rush Strike—which consumed considerable stamina and spirit essence—no trouble at all. Thus, he made it the cornerstone of his attacks, meeting every enemy with a crushing head-on blow.
If a strike missed, he used the Wolf Spirit Movement Technique to maneuver nimbly, opening up distance before seeking another opportunity.
Some elite disciples could also use this fighting style, but it consumed tremendous strength. They could sustain it briefly only by controlling their rhythm and regulating their breathing in time to recover.
For the moment, Fang Qianyuan did not need to master that rhythm. He forced the technique through with his exceptional physique, making his bursts even swifter and fiercer.
Most of the enemies they encountered in the halls on this level were beast-class first transformation wild wolves, occasionally interspersed with stronger second transformation wild wolves. Yet Fang Qianyuan swept through them all like rotten wood and withered weeds, killing them with ease.
Fang Qianyuan was neither flushed nor out of breath. He remained so calm that he almost seemed not to have fought at all, drawing another wave of envy from the others.
"He really is a prodigy blessed with extraordinary gifts!"
"I thought Junior Brother Fang was only gifted at cultivation. Who knew he had such talent in actual combat too? He's truly impressive!"
"How is he a novice? He's clearly a veteran of a hundred battles! He's already grasped the knack of controlling his energy flow and setting his rhythm between attacks, and he kills his enemies cleanly, without any mental hesitation."
Their praise was not misplaced. Although Fang Qianyuan had benefited from the Mysterious Treasure Pill, his own performance in actual combat was also worthy of commendation.
This seemingly innate talent for combat would naturally have been difficult to bring out in a disciple of mediocre aptitude. But supported by his mutated physique, it was displayed to its fullest.
Without realizing it, everyone had already accepted this newly joined junior brother.