Yu Xuan narrowed his eyes and stared directly into the shadows.
With his [Soul Vision] still active, he no longer saw re darkness. Instead, faint, luminous blobs in the shape of wolves shimred within the gloom.
There was an entire second pack hidden there.
Smaller than the one the others were fighting — but still dangerous.
Multiple early-stage Qi Condensation wolves crouched in silence, with a few mid-stage among them. But what caught Yu Xuan’s attention was their leader — a hulking wolf hiding in the deepest part of the shade. Its aura radiated strength and cunning.
It was a Peak Qi Condensation beast. Not quite as powerful as the grey-furred alpha his companions faced — but only slightly weaker.
’If the grey one is ninth substage of the Qi Condensation realm, this one should be in the eighth...’ Yu Xuan calculated quickly.
Though cultivators casually lumped stages into "early," "mid," and "peak," each of those tiers contained three substages — for a total of nine.
And this wolf... was near the summit.
After analyzing them through [Soul Vision], Yu Xuan calmly deactivated the divine ability. He didn’t need to overthink this.
He unsheathed his sword.
Crimson energy flared to life, coating the blade like liquid fire. He raised it, aid it toward the treeline, and released a swift slash.
A red arc of sword energy shot forward with a hum — slicing through the air and streaking toward the shadows.
But just before impact, the shadow twisted — transforming from a flat surface into a do-like, three-dinsional shield.
The red arc crashed into it.
BOOM!
The shield resisted — for a second.
Then both collapsed in an explosion of dissipating light.
The wolves were exposed.
Unlike the previous pack, these wolves had black fur — darker than midnight. Their eyes glowed with eerie intelligence, and their bodies radiated stealth and aggression. The leader bore a long, visible scar across its snout.
Yu Xuan stared.
’This must be a rival pack,’ he thought. ’And they waited — watching. Probably hoping the grey wolf’s pack would weaken us, then swoop in for the kill.’
He smirked. ’How cunning.’
And that strange shadow manipulation... It hadn’t been illusion. The black wolves had hidden their body within the darkness itself.
’Is it bloodline ability? Or an innate talent or sothing other?’ Yu Xuan wasn’t sure.
When he used [Soul Vision], he hadn’t seen their physical forms — only their soul signatures. That made facing them now, in flesh, almost underwhelming.
The wolves growled as they erged from the shadows, their eyes filled with savage bloodlust.
But Yu Xuan wasn’t intimidated in the slightest.
’I’ll end this quickly,’ he thought.
He stepped forward.
Then raised his right hand — fingers curling slightly, as if grasping sothing unseen.
[Telekinesis Activated.]
Suddenly, every wolf froze mid-step.
They floated.
One by one, their bodies lifted off the forest floor — suspended helplessly in midair like puppets cut from their strings. Panic flashed in their eyes. They struggled, thrashed, and clawed at the air — but nothing worked.
Even the peak-stage leader was lifted without resistance.
Then — Yu Xuan closed his fist.
CRACK—!
Their skulls collapsed in unison.
Blood sprayed briefly into the air — but their bodies didn’t fall.
Instead, they hovered, twitching slightly.
Then — CRUNCH. With a subtle twist of his fingers, Yu Xuan crushed their bodies together with his Telekinesis. Bones snapped. Flesh twisted. Energy compressed.
In a minute, it was over.
What remained was a dark, pulsing orb — black and red, roughly the size of a clenched fist — hovering above his palm.
A condensed sphere of beast flesh, blood, and essence.
Yu Xuan examined it casually.
It contained all the spiritual energy and biological material of the wolves — but also impurities, useless for cultivation.
’If I knew alchemy, maybe I could turn this into sothing useful...’ he mused.
With a sigh, he flicked his fingers.
The ball shot into the forest, vanishing among the trees.
’Maybe so lucky beast will find it... A crude lucky encounter, but it might spark a change in it’s life.’
He chuckled lightly.
And just like that, the story had gone from slow-burn cultivation...
...to casually overpowered in one breath.
***
anwhile...
On the other side of the battlefield, the large grey wolf — finally made its move.
With a flash of motion, it lunged directly at Ming Tiani, seemingly designating her as the biggest threat.
Its claws collided with her sword mid-air, sending a shower of sparks flying. Unlike the other wolves, this one’s strength couldn’t be casually dismissed.
Ming Tiani, though physically weaker, countered with sharp technique and calm precision. She parried the strike, skimming backward, her expression focused.
But before the next clash, a sudden figure flew in from the side — Yu Lingluo.
With a clean, well-aid kick, she struck the wolf right in the abdon, pushing it off balance.
"What are you doing?!" Ming Tiani shouted, clearly displeased.
She had just seen Lingluo abandon the wolves attacking her, only to insert herself into her duel.
And sure enough — the wolves Yu Lingluo had left behind imdiately shifted targets, rushing toward the others who were still recovering from their fights.
"Tch," Ming Tiani clicked her tongue. But instead of retreating, she charged the boss wolf again, intent on ending the battle quickly.
The rest of the group watched with mixed expressions.
Each had the sa silent thought:
"Next ti we go hunting... I’m not going if those two are coming."
Now tead up, Ming Tiani and Yu Lingluo launched a coordinated assault, blades and kicks flashing as they surrounded the grey wolf from both sides.
The wolf, sensing true danger, bared its fangs. Regret shimred in its eyes.
Why did I pick a fight with this weird group? it seed to think.
Then, all of a sudden — its fur began to spike.
Thousands of sharp bristles detached from its body, launching in every direction like steel needles.
Both Ming Tiani and Yu Lingluo reacted instantly.
Still, a few of the barbs made contact. They escaped serious injury, but suffered minor cuts — especially Ming Tiani, who now had a faint red scratch on her cheek.
For a mont, the entire battlefield fell silent.
Everyone froze.
A chilling aura suddenly erupted from Ming Tiani’s body — dense, cold, and dangerous.
Her face darkened.
She touched the scratch on her cheek, then muttered under her breath in a voice low and furious,
"Unforgivable... absolutely unforgivable. How dare this mutt scratch my jade-like face... What will he think?!"
Without hesitation — without rcy — she raised her sword.
A shimring silver arc shot forth, faster than the eye could follow.
The boss wolf didn’t even have ti to react.
It exploded into a cloud of blood mist — not even bones remained.
Gone.
The rest of the group watched in stunned silence, shivers crawling down their spines.
No one said a word.
Only one shared thought passed through their minds:
"Never... ever provoke that madwoman."
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