Chapter Six: Teasing the Lord of the Gale Wolves
Qin Chuan crossed the small grassland and entered the forest ahead. The trees in this forest were denser and taller, with undergrowth and shrubs growing in tangled profusion, and a faint sense of danger hung in the air.
Suddenly, a faint tremor rippled through the ground—somewhere in the distance, a herd of spirit beasts was running. Qin Chuan’s eyes lit up, and he rejoiced inwardly. “Excellent, looks like there are quite a few spirit beasts here. I’d better go take a look.”
He walked along the edge of the grass, but to his surprise, the grass ahead shook violently, and out leapt a panicked wild boar.
“Ding! Detected a Tier One, superior mutated wild boar. Quality: Excellent. Level: 7.”
The sudden encounter startled Qin Chuan. “Well, what do you know—ran right into me!”
“Savage Charge!”
Without hesitation, the mutated wild boar unleashed its skill and barreled straight at Qin Chuan, closing to within a meter in the blink of an eye.
“Damn, in such a hurry to die? Dodge!”
Qin Chuan instantly activated his Blink skill, teleporting four meters to the side.
“Flowing Strike!”
A sharp cry split the air.
Since trouble had come to him, Qin Chuan showed no mercy.
Bang!
“Heh, another fool rushing to his death.”
The mutated black-dragonwood sword that was his true body pierced the wild boar’s back, leaving a deep wound.
“Aaagh! That hurts like hell!”
The piercing effect of Flowing Strike tormented the wild boar, making it howl in agony—this one blow had nearly cost it half its life.
Ordinarily, a mutated wild boar would not let such an attack go unavenged. But this time, it scrambled to its feet and kept running, utterly ignoring Qin Chuan.
“What the…? Trying to run? Stay right there!”
“Heavenfall Flowing Strike!”
Qin Chuan cast his ultimate skill on a designated area. Blue light flashed, and a hundred phantom swords rained down, sealing off the boar’s escape.
“Damn you, if you want to die, I don’t!” the wild boar roared, its eyes blazing as it turned its massive body and bellowed at Qin Chuan.
Qin Chuan asked curiously, “Tell me, what’s going on?”
Knowing the black-dragonwood sword was not to be trifled with, the wild boar replied honestly, “There’s a pack of Gale Wolves behind me, led by their lord. Shouldn’t you be running?”
Qin Chuan was delighted—he’d been looking to gain some experience, and here came spirit beasts delivered to his door. Truly, fortune favored him.
“Oh, so that’s how it is. Allow me to see you off, then. Farewell!”
The mutated wild boar wasn’t stupid; it eyed him warily. “What are you planning?”
“Why, your life, of course! Go—Flowing Strike!”
After a short delay, his skill had refreshed.
A cry, a splatter—the heavily wounded wild boar, too close to dodge, was struck through the heart by Qin Chuan.
This boar was truly unlucky—having just escaped the wolves’ jaws, it met its doom at the hands of Qin Chuan.
“Ding! Critical hit triggered.”
“Ding! Killed Level 7 mutated wild boar. Gained 500 experience.”
“Ding! Gained 10 Rage from slaying mutated wild boar.”
“Devour the Source!”
The black-dragonwood sword that was Qin Chuan’s true body trembled, swallowing the wild boar’s origin force.
“Ding! Devour successful. Gained 100 evolution points.”
“Yes! Mutated beasts are the best—so much more experience and source force.”
Evolution Points: 390/1600
Experience: 2750/12800
Rage: 90/100
Qin Chuan glanced at his stats and felt a surge of satisfaction. “Ah, a critical hit is just around the corner!”
By now, the sound of beastly pursuit and wolf howls grew clearer and clearer. Narrowing his eyes, Qin Chuan decided to go for a big catch.
He moved through the woods to a clearing and soon saw over thirty Gale Wolves, led by a massive Gale Wolf Lord, chasing eight Spirit Fang Bulls. Other spirit beasts scattered in panic.
“Ding! Detected Tier One, supreme Gale Wolf Lord. Quality: Excellent. Level: 9.”
“Ding! Detected Tier One, superior Gale Wolf. Quality: Excellent. Level: 7.”
“Ding! Detected Tier One, superior Gale Wolf. Quality: Excellent. Level: 7.”
“Ding! Detected Tier One, superior Spirit Fang Bull. Quality: Excellent. Level: 8.”
…
Spirit Fang Bulls were among the weaker of the assault types—they were thick-skinned and sturdy, but lacked formidable attacks. They liked to graze and strengthen their origin force, living in large herds. Consuming their flesh could yield a trace of origin power.
Thus, every so often, the Gale Wolf Lord would organize a hunt in its territory: the core of the spirit bull would nourish itself, while the flesh was divided among the pack.
There was a subtle difference between spirit weapons and spirit beasts: for spirit weapons, all energy was concentrated in the intelligence core, while for spirit beasts, some was scattered throughout the body.
Refining the intelligence core took time, so the Gale Wolf Lord only hunted periodically.
As for the corpses of spirit beasts felled by Qin Chuan, the wolf lord instinctively ignored them—the meager source force left was negligible.
“Brothers, surround them all—we feast tonight!”
“Howl! Don’t worry, boss, none will escape!”
On the wolf lord’s command, the pack howled and encircled the Spirit Fang Bulls.
“Not bad. Other than that level 9 Gale Wolf Lord, the rest shouldn’t be much trouble,” Qin Chuan mused, making a bold decision.
At this moment, the Gale Wolf Lord stood outside the circle, watching its underlings attack the bulls. After refining this meal, it would soon reach level 10, ascending from a Tier One lord to a Tier Two.
“Not a true Tier Two lord, perhaps, but far better than those useless wretches. Ha! Soon, I’ll rule the neighboring territories!”
The Gale Wolf Lord was already dreaming of its glorious future. Though not yet the strongest Tier One lord, ascending to Tier Two would set it apart.
But fate is ever unpredictable.
Just then, a black sword whistled toward the Gale Wolf Lord’s back.
Indeed, Qin Chuan had launched Flowing Strike at that very moment.
Shoot the horse before the rider, capture the king before the thieves!
A shrill whistle, a heavy blow—even with its formidable resilience, the Gale Wolf Lord was wracked with agony, suffering a grievous wound.
“Howl! Who dares ambush me?”
“Your granddaddy, that’s who!”
“Wretch! A rotten wooden sword dares to court death?!”
The Gale Wolf Lord was incensed. Howling, it burst into blue light, its speed surging by thirty percent as it lunged at Qin Chuan with lethal intent.
This time, Qin Chuan did not choose to kite his foe. To slay the wolf lord quickly, he was willing to take a risk.
With a sly smile, the black-dragonwood sword that was his true form met the wolf lord head-on.
In scarcely two seconds, they would clash.
“Bold fool, you dare face me head-on? A mere level seven spirit weapon—know your place!”
The Gale Wolf Lord’s eyes glinted with anticipation, already picturing the scene of Qin Chuan’s destruction.
But in the next instant, the tide turned: Qin Chuan sidestepped with a flawless dodge, evading the wolf lord’s pounce, then thrust his sword into the wolf’s flank.
“Don’t kid yourself—my speed is every bit as good as yours. Besides, I’m the king of basic attacks!”
Qin Chuan’s spirits soared. Since his evolution, his speed had risen dramatically—just what he needed against the Gale Wolf Lord.
“Howl! The pain is unbearable! How can a rotten wooden sword be this strong? It’s not fair!”
“I refuse to believe I can’t kill you!”
The wolf lord was boiling with rage. Even though Qin Chuan’s basic attack wasn’t as fearsome as Flowing Strike, it still stung badly.
“Come on, bite me if you can!”
Qin Chuan began to taunt, infuriating the wolf lord nearly to the point of collapse.
“Curse you! Die for me!”
“Ah ha, I’m dodging, I’m weaving—so close, but you can’t touch me!”
“Howl!”
With agile maneuvers and infuriating tactics, Qin Chuan drove the wolf lord to distraction. Gradually, he lured the wolf lord away from the pack.
The rest of the wolves, oblivious, were locked in a frenzied slaughter.
Soon, Flowing Strike was ready again.
“Go—Flowing Strike!”
Seizing on a botched pounce, Qin Chuan struck the wolf lord hard.
“Howl!”
The wolf lord rolled across the ground, the piercing effect tormenting it horribly.
Qin Chuan’s relentless attacks had nearly cost the beast its life.
Now, the Gale Wolf Lord felt fear. It wanted to flee.
“No, curse it, I need backup! Brothers, to me!”
“Now taste my ultimate—Three Wolves Strike as One!”
With a furious roar, the wolf lord unleashed its ultimate: three wolf phantoms materialized, leaping at Qin Chuan.
“Damn, what an ultimate!”
Having already used Blink to surprise the wolf lord earlier, Qin Chuan had no way to dodge—the skill was still on cooldown.
Gritting his teeth, the black-dragonwood sword spun furiously, bracing for the assault.
Bang!
A tremendous impact rocked him, but his sword body remained unscathed—such resilience!
Looking back, he saw to his surprise that the Gale Wolf Lord had bolted, fleeing at startling speed.
“Damn, running so fast? Stop right there! Heavenfall Flowing Strike!”
Qin Chuan had no intention of letting this nearly-dead wolf escape. Rage flared in his heart.
“Ding! Congratulations, Rage is full.”
Up ahead, blue light flashed and a hundred sword shadows rained down, blocking the wolf lord’s escape.
“Take this, you wretch!”
Without hesitation, Qin Chuan used his freshly-readied Blink, stabbing the wolf lord mid-flight.
“Ding! Critical hit and knockback triggered.”
“Howl!”
The wolf lord, struck by a critical, was nearly killed outright. But it was not yet slain.
At that moment, knockback sent the beast hurtling away, out of its own control.
“Yes! The farther, the better—what a skill!”
The Gale Wolf Lord was almost relieved—once it landed, it could dash back to the pack in a heartbeat.
“Wretch, soon you’ll taste the wrath of my pack! You’re dead meat!”
“Oh? Enjoy it while you can.”
Qin Chuan was done. The wolf lord was doomed.
“Howl!”
Before it could finish savoring its escape, the wolf lord crashed into the area covered by Heavenfall Flowing Strike.
“No! Please—!”
In a chorus of anguished howls, the dying Gale Wolf Lord was blasted to pieces.