Chapter 17

"Second-stage Beast, the Clear Wind Wolf King!"

The crowd's faces changed drastically! Dealing with a first-stage Clear Wind Wolf was already exhausting!

A second-stage Clear Wind Wolf King? Even if everyone worked together, it would be impossible to kill it! The gap... is too large!

Is this the Clear Wind Wolf King? Zheng Shiwing sized up the beast not far away. Although it was very robust, its size was smaller than the other Clear Wind Wolves by a circle. The tuft of golden fur on its forehead resembled a vertical eye.

The Clear Wind Wolf King's eyes flashed with a condescending light. Zheng Shiwing felt this gaze was very familiar, like how humans look down on ants.

Intelligence! This thing already has intelligence! Zheng Shiwing carefully mobilized the true qi in his body, ready to use the Eight Directions Step at any moment.

The Clear Wind Wolf King swiped with one paw, striking the large tree blocking its path. The tree, as thick as a bowl, shattered like tofu.

Sharp! A chill ran down everyone's spine. The knives and swords in their hands couldn't possibly cut through the tree so easily! That was an ironwood tree! Ordinary knives and swords couldn't cut it!

"Quick, retreat!"

The martial artists closest to the Clear Wind Wolf King were covered in wounds. If they didn't escape, they would only die. They dragged their injured bodies and quickly retreated backward.

"Roar!"

The Clear Wind Wolf King's eyes flashed with a cold light. Its speed of attack was several times faster than the speed at which everyone was retreating! Its massive figure instantly covered all the members, and no one could escape.

"Beast!"

Huang He, who had never acted before, moved at this moment! His ninth-stage combat power made his speed extremely violent and swift. He passed by the retreating crowd and met the Wolf King head-on, striking it with a powerful Mountain Splitting Hand, sending it flying!

The massive wolf body had no ability to resist, and it flew backward, crashing into and breaking a large tree. Before it could even get up from the ground, Huang He's sword... was already there!

The long sword pierced its throat, instantly penetrating the entire throat of the Wolf King. The sharp tip of the sword burst out from the back of its neck, and bright red blood flowed out along the sword tip, life fading as the Wolf King's pupils dilated.

What a fast sword! Zheng Shiwing's eyes twitched repeatedly, secretly calculating whether the Eight Directions Step could help him dodge the sword speed as swift as the wind if he faced Huang He.

"This is the ninth stage of the Qi Wheel Realm!" Wu Dong drew a deep breath, staring at Huang He as he sheathed his sword and said softly, "None of us together could be his match, right?"

Zheng Shiwing nodded solemnly, "That's why he said he's the leader of the team."

Wu Dong frowned and said no more. Although he didn't want to acknowledge Huang He, he indeed had the combat power to be the leader.

Huang He collected the Clear Wind Wolf King's beast core and looked at the surprised crowd with a disdainful expression. He smiled, enjoying their reactions, and waved his hand to signal the team to continue forward, then retreated to the center of the group.

The beasts they encountered next gradually changed from first-stage to second-stage. Dealing with them was no longer as easy as before. Team members were often injured by the beasts, but fortunately, Su Jingdan promptly treated them.

Huang He and Su Xing no longer watched the team members fight as they used to; they also joined the battles.

They continued to advance like this.

On the tenth evening, they set up camp in a small valley. Seeing that they would reach their destination after crossing the next mountain, the tension in everyone's minds finally eased a bit.

The team members gathered in groups of three or five, some discussing their gains over the past few days, others tending to their wounds.

Wu Dong excitedly took out the beast cores and placed them in front of Zheng Shiwing. He had entered the mountains many times, but this was the first time he had gone so deep, and he had obtained the most beast cores.

Zheng Shiwing flipped through the beast cores in his backpack. This trip into the mountains had also been fruitful. Although the number of beast cores he obtained was not as many as Wu Dong's, the money he would get from selling them would be enough to cover his expenses for a long time, allowing him to focus on cultivation.

"Tomorrow..." Huang He looked into the distance, a smile of anticipation on his face, and said in a slightly low voice, "Finally, we're there..."

Zheng Shiwing curiously observed Huang He. Logically, shouldn't 'Little Flower' be happier? What does he have to be happy about? If I were him, I would be more relieved right now.

"Could someone in his family be sick and need treatment?" Zheng Shiwing rested his chin on his hand, deep in thought, but found it impossible to understand Huang He's emotions.

"He must have something going on!" Zheng Shiwing's frown deepened, "But... what could it be?"

Wu Dong, like a miser, counted the beast cores he had obtained repeatedly, not lifting his head as he said with a smile, "Old Zheng, I think you're overthinking it! He's been working hard these past few days and probably under a lot of pressure. Continuing deeper, his cultivation might not hold up. Reaching the destination now, you would be happy too. Don't overthink it, let's just enjoy ourselves."

Zheng Shiwing shook his head and waved, "No, things aren't as simple as you think."

Huang He, considering himself at the ninth stage of the Qi Wheel Realm, didn't take the team members seriously. He didn't really care about their lives and deaths.

Being able to place weaker members at the front of the team already indicated that he was using them as cannon fodder!

But he didn't really let anyone die in battle! Whenever a team member faced a life-or-death situation, he would always step in to save them!

He looked down on everyone deep down, yet he didn't let them face real death threats! There was only one possibility! He was hiding something from everyone!

Wu Dong put away the beast cores he had obtained, patted Zheng Shiwing's shoulder, and said with a smile, "Are you scared by the beasts? Get some rest early! We have to travel early tomorrow..."

Zheng Shiwing tightly stared at Huang He, who had a solemn face with a hint of joy, a sense of unease surfacing in his mind, "Something will happen tomorrow!"

The next morning, after Huang He counted the team members, the entire team set off again.

The deeper they went into the mountains, the more beasts they should encounter.

But as the team crossed mountain after mountain, they didn't even see a single beast, let alone a beast's hair.

Huang He's joy became more evident on his face as they continued to advance. He constantly urged the team members to speed up their pace.

After crossing another mountain, they still didn't see any beasts.

Zheng Shiwing looked around in confusion. In the past few days, they would encounter large numbers of beasts after crossing each mountain. Today, they had crossed three mountains and still hadn't encountered a single beast!

This could only mean... there was something more dangerous around, making the beasts too afraid to come out!

PS: There's another chapter today

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