Chapter Twenty-One: Encountering a Pack of Wolves

“Hmph, old lion, you’re really ruthless. You dared to mess with me again. Next time I come back, I’ll make sure to give you some medicine and lock you up with a sow...” Wang Luo muttered as he held the little white lion cub in his arms, who was excitedly looking around, showing no sign whatsoever of understanding the pain of being separated from its parents. With the cub, Wang Luo slid down the tree.

He was absolutely certain that it was the old lion who had tossed him down so hard. Otherwise, with only about a meter’s distance, how could he have fallen so violently?

As soon as his feet touched the ground, Wang Luo saw a black panther, which had somehow arrived on the forest floor, along with the bone sword that had fallen. The black panther glanced up at Wang Luo and the little white lion, then continued lying there, unsure whether it was healing its wounds or simply sleeping. Wang Luo glanced at the panther indifferently and picked up the bone sword from the ground.

The bone sword had changed greatly compared to before. During the year that his lion parents had secluded themselves, Wang Luo hadn’t fused any new bones or materials into it, but he didn’t neglect the sword either. Every day, he used the Heart Refining Flame to temper and polish it, removing impurities.

Originally, Wang Luo had fused many bones and materials into the sword. Although he tried to keep its size and mass unchanged, it had nonetheless grown larger over time. What’s more, he hadn't realized that the essence of the bones and materials hadn’t truly merged well, which had a significant impact on the sword’s quality.

Wang Luo didn’t understand all these technicalities. One day, he simply noticed the bone sword had become much bigger, so he began tempering it continuously with the Heart Refining Flame. The phrase “tempered a hundred times into steel” came to mind, so he put even more effort into refining it. After all, this was his first weapon, and he was rather fond of it.

Effort never betrays the diligent. After a year or two of polishing, the bone sword not only returned to its original size, but its quality improved to another level. It looked as if it had been carved from jade, with no trace of bone remaining.

Holding the bone sword, Wang Luo and the little white lion curiously examined their surroundings. Like the forest beside the waterfall, trees were everywhere, though not as thick as those near the waterfall. Unknown flowers and grasses grew on the ground. The restless little lion cub was intently inspecting a small purple flower.

Suddenly, Wang Luo realized that despite being in the pitch-black forest, he could see his surroundings with perfect clarity—clearer than he could in daylight. He wondered, “Could this be the effect of Foundation Building?”

Since reaching Foundation Building, Wang Luo had noticed a significant improvement in his senses and hearing. Though he’d observed this phenomenon before, he hadn’t paid it much mind. After all, he had encountered many strange things. Now, discovering he could see clearly at night, he was mildly surprised.

As he surveyed the environment, Wang Luo felt something was off, though he couldn’t pinpoint what. His spiritual perception extended only about twenty meters, revealing nothing unusual.

Puzzled, he called the little white lion cub back from its study of the flowers and grasses, holding it as he stood before the black panther and carefully observed their surroundings. He felt as if hundreds of eyes were watching him, ready to deliver a fatal blow.

The little white lion cub looked at Wang Luo, puzzled by his frown, not understanding why he was being held so tightly. The cub struggled up onto Wang Luo’s shoulder, curiously glancing at the black panther sleeping on the ground. It had clearly seen the panther open its eyes earlier—why had it closed them again?

Ignoring the little lion cub, who was busy counting its own fur, Wang Luo’s expression grew increasingly grim. He was already in a bad mood after being separated from his parents, and now the feeling of being watched by countless eyes made him irritable and even worse.

Nine years of peaceful living, without the threat of death, had almost made him forget he was once an assassin. Now, that shadowy side of him stirred quietly, memories replaying in his mind.

The killing intent buried deep in his soul slowly began to seep out, spreading around him. At the same time, a blood-red thread appeared in his eyes, gradually spreading outward.

Sensing the change in Wang Luo, the little white lion cub whimpered, rubbing its head against Wang Luo’s face as if comforting him. The black panther, at some point, had opened its eyes, gazing at Wang Luo’s back in astonishment.

Hearing the cub’s whimpers, the blood-red thread in Wang Luo’s eyes slowly faded. He soothed the little lion, sighing inwardly: Some things truly cannot be forgotten, no matter how much you wish...

“Roar.”

“Roar...”

As the blood color in his eyes faded in the blink of an eye, a wolf’s howl suddenly echoed, followed by a chorus of howls exploding in the silent forest.

Pairs of glowing green eyes, like ghostly flames, suddenly appeared from the grass, and a wave of bloodthirsty frenzy swept across the area.

Suppressing his irritation, Wang Luo calmly looked at the bloodthirsty blue wolves fifty meters away, while comforting the little white lion cub on his shoulder, whose eyes were filled with eager excitement.

Glancing at the black panther behind him, which was still pretending to sleep, Wang Luo secretly guessed: This must be the old lion’s doing, tossing me into the wolf pack and forbidding the panther to help. Well, I’ll try to protect it, and use this chance to get on its good side—after all, I may need its help in the future...

“Roar!”

Another wolf howl erupted from the back of the pack as the wolves began to close in on Wang Luo step by step. He quickly counted—there were five to six hundred wild wolves in front of him.

Despite the approaching wolf pack, Wang Luo felt little tension. He could sense that the individual strength of each demon wolf wasn’t particularly high, roughly at the late Qi Refining stage.

Though they were numerous, attrition warfare was Wang Luo’s specialty. He was even planning to test the offensive power of his Blood Energy against them. With that thought, the bone sword in his hand began to glow faintly with blood-red light.

During his journey, Wang Luo had studied the use of Blood Energy and found it was similar to spiritual power, capable of covering his fist. After achieving Foundation Building, he could manipulate Blood Energy without his eyes turning blood-red, without exuding a chilling aura, and his hair no longer fluttered wildly. The urge for blood had also diminished.

While experimenting with Blood Energy, he recalled martial arts dramas where experts infused their weapons with internal energy, making them invincible. So Wang Luo took the bone sword in hand and carefully infused a trace of Blood Energy, not wanting to damage his only weapon. At first, the sword did nothing, so he added a bit more, until finally, the bone sword was enveloped in a faint blood-red glow.

Otherworldly Azure Dragon 21_Chapter Twenty-One: Encountering the Wolf Pack—End of update!