“Rip!”
Li Xingyun’s sword pierced into the body of the Moon-Howling Wolf.
However, it only went in about half an inch before it could go no further.
The terrifying defence of a fourth-level demonic beast—its bones were so hard they were no less tough than the sword in Li Xingyun’s hand.
“Howl—!”
The Moon-Howling Wolf yelped in pain, opening its mouth to roar, and once again, gang qi blades shot out.
Li Xingyun hurriedly pulled his sword back to block, but he still took a hit. Though he had clearly cultivated a defensive technique and wasn’t seriously injured, the wound was still rather gruesome.
Combined with the terrifying force from the gang qi blade’s explosion, he couldn’t steady himself. He was sent flying backwards, crashing into a tree.
For a peak third-stage martial vein warrior, such an injury might not be a big deal, but in a fight between experts, life and death hung by a thread.
He was already no match for the Moon-Howling Wolf, and now, knocked down like this, the beast wouldn’t miss its chance. With a fierce leap, it pounced.
“Senior Brother Xingyun!”
The Li family disciples gasped in horror—some even covered their eyes.
“Clang!”
Just as it seemed Li Xingyun was about to meet a grisly end in the Moon-Howling Wolf’s gaping maw, a streak of sword light suddenly flashed by, weaving around obstacles and striking the beast.
“Howl—!”
The Moon-Howling Wolf let out a hysterical scream, so piercing it made several Li family disciples foam at the mouth and faint on the spot.
The surrounding grass and trees rustled as if trembling in fear of the howl.
The Li disciples looked on in shock, noticing the sword light had flown off, but the wound on the wolf’s forehead was noticeably deeper.
This strike had landed precisely on the wound Li Xingyun had left earlier on the Moon-Howling Wolf’s forehead.
The sword light came and went in an instant. When the wolf tried to find its attacker, there was no one to be seen.
Meanwhile, Li Xingyun seized the chance to break free.
He was a clever one—someone had helped him, and regardless of who it was, preserving his life came first.
But the Moon-Howling Wolf clearly wasn’t about to let him off easily.
Unable to locate the sneak attacker, it turned all its hatred onto the Li family disciples.
It chased them down in a frenzy!
“Ah—!”
“Ah!”
Screams rang out one after another.
In mere moments, two more Li family disciples were dead.
Li Xingyun, though desperate to stop the wolf, was powerless. Blood loss was making him dizzy.
It looked like every Li disciple present was about to be slaughtered.
Suddenly, that sword light appeared again!
“Clang!”
Once more, it struck the same wound with unerring accuracy!
“Howl—!”
No matter how strong the Moon-Howling Wolf was, it was still just a fourth-level demonic beast.
Ling Xiao’s “Hundred-Step Flying Sword Technique” had reached the ninth level of perfection. With the Qingfeng Sword’s power boost and the “Explosive Qi Technique” amplifying its strength even further, striking the already-opened wound twice in a row—
Even with its tough bones, they were still pierced through!
Of course, thinking this alone could kill the Moon-Howling Wolf was a bit fanciful.
But the wolf was out in the open.
Ling Xiao was hidden, continuously unleashing the Hundred-Step Flying Sword.
Each time he attacked, he changed position. By the time the Moon-Howling Wolf reached his last spot, all it could do was howl skyward in frustration.
When the wolf finally turned its attention to Ling Xiao, the Li family disciples had already started retreating. They’d just witnessed the beast’s terror firsthand.
If they didn’t flee now, there’d be no chance later.
“Let’s go, Senior Brother Xingyun! Whoever’s helping, we’ve got our lives back today!”
Seeing Li Xingyun lingering, unwilling to leave, the others urged him on.
Li Xingyun grunted in agreement, but he was clearly reluctant. The Moon-Howling Wolf’s aura had weakened considerably—it was on its last legs.
Leaving now felt like such a waste.
Truth be told, the initial wound on the wolf had been his doing.
“Howl—!”
Just then, the Moon-Howling Wolf let out a cry and suddenly turned, fleeing into the depths of the forest.
“Hahaha, I’ll wear you down!”
With a loud laugh, a figure chased after the fleeing wolf.
Using “Soaring Cloud Steps”, Ling Xiao’s speed far outstripped the Moon-Howling Wolf, which was now unsteady from blood loss.
This wolf was a treasure trove—worth over forty or fifty thousand taels of silver. He couldn’t let half a day’s effort go to waste.
After all, he hadn’t stepped in to save Li Xingyun—it was about seizing the chance to kill the wolf.
“Isn’t that the Ling family disciple from earlier?”
Someone recognised Ling Xiao.
“Right, I think his name’s Ling Xiao. His movement technique is terrifying—how’s he so fast?”
“That flying sword technique earlier must’ve been him too. Where’d he get such a martial art? I’ve never heard of the Ling family having a sword skill like that.”
“Hmph, if it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t have lost so many people!”
“Yeah, if Senior Brother Xingyun hadn’t wounded the wolf first, what could he have done?”
Some Li family disciples—stronger than Ling Xiao—were clearly displeased.
Aside from Li Xingyun, who was at peak third-stage martial vein, three others were also third-stage cultivators.
They naturally looked down on Ling Xiao, feeling he’d just taken advantage of the situation.
“Heh, but it’s fine. Once he kills the Moon-Howling Wolf, we’ll just swoop in and take the spoils.”
A third-stage Li disciple sneered.
Li Xingyun’s face darkened—he seemed to share the sentiment.
“It’s not swooping in. The Moon-Howling Wolf was ours to lure out and kill in the first place—no one asked him to interfere!”
Another chimed in.
“Howl—!”
At that moment, a mournful cry echoed from a few hundred metres away. Anyone could tell it was the beast’s final wail before death.
“It’s dead?”
“Let’s go see!”
Li Xingyun waved a hand, and the group followed. Though they’d lost three people, they still had about ten left—no fear of Ling Xiao there.
Nearby, Ling Xiao wiped the sweat from his forehead, sitting cross-legged on the ground.
He was using the “Qi Recovery Technique” to restore his true qi.
To kill the Moon-Howling Wolf, Ling Xiao had repeatedly used the “Explosive Qi Technique”, draining his true qi heavily.
Now that he’d finally killed it, his reserves were nearly depleted.
He was wary that the Li family disciples might cause trouble, so instead of tending to the scene, he focused on recovering his true qi.
If they did come looking for a fight, he’d be ready.
Besides the “Qi Recovery Technique”, he chewed on a herb—one used to refine “Qi Recovery Pills”.
Though its effect was far weaker than an actual pill, something was better than nothing.
Killing a fourth-level demonic beast like the Moon-Howling Wolf with only peak second-stage martial vein cultivation was pure luck.
Without Li Xingyun’s initial sword breaking its defences, his attacks wouldn’t have even scratched the wolf.
As much as it irked him, that was reality.
The gap in cultivation was too wide—even with superior techniques, it was hard to bridge that divide.
It seemed raising his cultivation was more urgent than ever.
Moments later, the Li family disciples arrived at the scene.
Leading them was, of course, Li Xingyun.
“Brother Ling, we spotted this Moon-Howling Wolf and lured it out. Since you helped kill it, we’ll naturally give you some compensation.”
Li Xingyun’s words were calm and composed.
But in Ling Xiao’s eyes, this guy had gone from a refined gentleman to a steaming pile of rubbish.
Shameless git!
