Chapter 4

When Bai Chen and A Lan returned, Yuan Long was lying in the room, humming and muttering about wanting to come out and bask in the sun.

Bai Chen felt that he had become much more familiar with Yuan Long, and the latter had become much more meddlesome. He wondered why he hadn't noticed how much trouble this guy could be before.

The afternoon sun was quite intense, but Yuan Long said he liked this temperature.

Bai Chen picked some herbs he recognized, crushed them, and applied them to Yuan Long's body. A Lan had already gone to prepare dinner.

"Junior Brother..."

"You should still call me by my name; it makes me feel uncomfortable," Bai Chen rolled his eyes at Yuan Long.

"I won't be able to get out of bed for the next half month, so you'll have to take care of things on the mountain."

Yuan Long's tone was softer, lacking the usual toughness. Bai Chen pursed his lips, "Don't worry, with me here, A Lan won't go hungry."

"What about me?"

"You won't starve either."

Yuan Long struggled to move his body and said, "Have you thought about the future?"

"Don't expect me to have any grand goals. My goal is just to live," Bai Chen said lazily. "It was just me before, but now there's A Lan too."

"Aren't you going to take care of me? I'm still your senior brother," Yuan Long complained, his eyes filled with resentment.

"You're not handicapped. Do you want me to find you a wife and even a son for you?"

At this moment, A Lan came from the backyard carrying a large pot, "Brother, we're out of rice."

"Watch your brother, I'll go find a way," Bai Chen sighed, wondering how he ended up in such a mess.

Bai Chen took two third-stage spirit herbs and went down the mountain to sell them in the nearest Clear Water Town.

According to Yuan Long's instructions, it should be ten miles south. He walked for a few miles but didn't see any sign of Clear Water Town.

The sky was gradually darkening, and Bai Chen's heart began to race, "Did I take the wrong path?"

The mountain ravine under the night sky was like the bloody mouth of a giant beast, dark and foreboding, making people hesitant to approach.

Bai Chen rarely walked at night, especially in such mountainous terrain.

Suddenly, a pack of wolves howled in the distance, and Bai Chen's skin crawled.

"Am I that unlucky?"

A black wolf the size of a calf appeared in front of Bai Chen, its eyes glowing with a bloodthirsty growl, exuding a terrifying wildness.

"Speak of the devil..."

It wasn't just one, but a pack! The forest behind the black wolf began to glow with pairs of eyes, making Bai Chen's scalp tingle.

Suddenly, the black wolf charged, bursting with energy, and pounced right in front of Bai Chen.

But Bai Chen didn't feel any pressure, as if the thing pouncing on him wasn't a ferocious hungry wolf but a kitten.

Without hesitation, Bai Chen kicked the black wolf in the abdomen. The wolf yelped and landed several feet away, tearing open Bai Chen's chest as it flew.

Health: 1875/1900

Pain! Bai Chen winced, but his fear diminished.

When the black wolf pounced again, Bai Chen was much calmer. The wolf had no advantage in strength or speed.

Bai Chen seized the opportunity, grabbed the black wolf's head, and squeezed hard.

Crack—

The wolf struggled a few times and then stopped moving. Bai Chen casually tossed the wolf's body aside and turned his gaze to the pack of wolves emerging from the forest.

This time, it wasn't just one but three wolves pouncing. Bai Chen grabbed one with his hand, while the other bit his arm.

Desperate, Bai Chen ignored the pain, threw the wolf he held at the one biting his arm, and kicked the third wolf away.

This time, Bai Chen's attack was powerful, and the three wolves died instantly.

Health: 1848/1090

Bai Chen wiped the blood from his hands. The injuries weren't severe and wouldn't affect him much.

Most importantly, the loss of health points wasn't serious. It felt like a high-level player killing low-level monsters.

Such a loss of health points was negligible.

After losing three more companions, the pack of wolves finally launched an attack.

This time, it wasn't just a few but over a dozen hungry wolves attacking Bai Chen.

Bai Chen underestimated the ferocity of the pack. One or two wolves might not pose a threat, but over ten wolves attacking simultaneously was a different story.

Bai Chen began to panic. After knocking down the ninth hungry wolf, his health was 880/1090.

Due to the injuries, the malevolent aura in his body began to accumulate, 13/100.

Unconsciously, Bai Chen's true qi increased again.

True qi increased by 1 point...

True qi increased by 1 point...

As his true qi increased, Bai Chen's strength grew, and he almost one-hit killed the hungry wolves.

Suddenly, a surge of power rose within Bai Chen.

True qi increased by 1 point...

Bai Chen's true qi finally reached 100 points, and his internal cultivation advanced to the Second Stage of the Postnatal Realm.

Cultivation Level: Second Stage of the Postnatal Realm.

Internal Cultivation Technique: "The Art of Healing" Lower Rank, Growth Value 1/1/2

Health: 1800/2000

Internal Energy: 1000/1000

True Qi: 100/500

Malevolent Aura: 1/100

Constitution: 100+100

Strength: 100+100

Speed: 100+200

Insight: 16+2

This time, in addition to the slight increase in attributes from the First Stage to the Second Stage, his insight increased by 1 point.

The pack of hungry wolves seemed to sense the change in Bai Chen, and a primal fear spread through the pack.

Suddenly, a high-pitched howl sounded from behind the pack, and a huge, ferocious wolf quickly pounced out of the forest.

This giant wolf was twice the size of the others, with strength and speed several times greater.

In the dim light, Bai Chen could see the giant wolf's body glowing with blood, indicating some injuries.

"Was it this one that injured Yuan Long?"

While Bai Chen was pondering, the giant wolf pounced and knocked him to the ground. The giant wolf's strength was on par with his, but its speed was slightly inferior.

Bai Chen quickly grabbed the giant wolf's jaw and pushed upward.

The giant wolf, in pain, swiped at Bai Chen's chest with its claws, tearing off a large piece of flesh.

Health: 1799/2000

Malevolent Aura: 8/100

Just one attack reduced Bai Chen's health by over 1000 points, and his malevolent aura increased by 8 points.

Bai Chen's body sprang up, and this time he went on the offensive, pouncing on the giant wolf and smashing a fist into its eye.

The giant wolf staggered, and before it could regain its footing, Bai Chen clamped its head with his legs and smashed another fist into its forehead.

This giant wolf was a Second Stage Li Wolf. Although Bai Chen was also at the Second Stage, the Li Wolf's strength was on par with his, mainly due to the low growth rate of the "Art of Healing."

Bai Chen didn't dare to be careless, swinging his fists repeatedly until the giant wolf lay on the ground, blood seeping from its nose and ears.

He then got off the giant wolf, kicked it a few more times, and turned his gaze to the pack.

The pack of wolves immediately howled in alarm and scattered in all directions.

No matter how fearless they were, seeing their leader defeated terrified them.

"Looks like these wolves will provide enough food for a few days." Bai Chen examined his injuries, which weren't too severe.

With the "Art of Healing" protecting him, these injuries would eventually become part of his internal cultivation, so it wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

In fact, after this battle, his cultivation advanced another level, which excited him.

Bai Chen looked at the giant wolf and the dozen or so smaller wolves, picked two of the larger ones, and carried them along with the giant wolf back to the mountain.

When he entered the Wu Liang Sect, he saw that the lights were still on in the room, so he carried the wolves inside.

At this moment, Yuan Long and A Lan were still awake, anxiously waiting for Bai Chen's return. Seeing Bai Chen, A Lan immediately called out in surprise.

"Brother, Brother Bai Chen is back."

"You little brat, don't you know how dangerous it is in the mountains at night..."

Yuan Long's words were cut off, unable to continue as he saw Bai Chen, who looked like a demon from hell, covered in blood, even more terrifying than during the day.

It wasn't until the candlelight illuminated the giant wolf and the two smaller wolves on Bai Chen's shoulders that Yuan Long could see clearly.

"Did you go wolf hunting?"

Bai Chen smiled bitterly, threw the three wolves to the ground, and sat down to catch his breath, "I didn't go wolf hunting; I almost became wolf food."

"Is this the Li Wolf that injured you today?" Yuan Long's face was filled with shock and disbelief.

"Brother Bai Chen, are you hurt?" A Lan's eyes were misty, having seen both her brothers return covered in blood within a day.

Even if she was strong, her heart couldn't take it.

"See which parts are valuable and tell me. The rest will be our food."

"The fur of these three wolves is valuable, especially the Li Wolf's. It's so intact, it could probably sell for twenty to thirty taels of silver."

Yuan Long couldn't help but get excited. Twenty taels of silver would be enough for them to live well through the entire winter.

His gaze on Bai Chen became even more intense, "Kid, I didn't expect you to have such courage. You actually dared to hunt wolves. By the way, there's a more ferocious mountain tiger in the mountains. How about..."

"Get lost. I still want to live, and I don't want to go looking for death," Bai Chen rolled his eyes at Yuan Long and turned to A Lan, "Find a sharp knife. Tonight, we'll gut these beasts and avenge our brothers."