Demon Wolf

Wolf stepped into the world of flowing white fog.

“Test?” he said, but only the rustle of vapor ebbing against his earlobes entered his ears.

“This fog devoured my voice?” he shouted, checking once again.

Not a sound. Despite yelling loud enough for a regular human to hurt their throat. I can’t sense warmth or cold either. Either the ambient temperature matches my body or the fog blocks my senses.

Wolf took another blind step, rubbing his fingertips. I can clearly feel the resistance beneath my feet and the pressure against my fingers. What happens if I change direction?

Wolf followed an erratic route in silence until a verdant world of perpetual dusk opened before him. Flourishing primeval plants replaced the resentful trees and along with the moist smell of rot and vegetation, an intoxicating surge of World Energy gushed into Wolf’s body through his pores and orifices. Simultaneously, a sudden maelstrom of rustling leaves and chirping birds replaced the oppressive sound of imaginary waves crashing against Wolf’s eardrums.

As he took in the surrounding lush jungle and searched for hints of lethal threats, a spicy floral scent entered his nose. He drew a deep breath, then exhaled.

Seems safe enough. With that thought, Wolf scaled the fifth widest tree he saw, hiding within its crown.

The odds of someone checking the canopy are low. Even then, they would only check the one or two thickest trees around before moving to the next zone.

He sat cross-legged and inhaled, calming his mind and entering a meditative state in moments.

Inhale. Now, condense the scattered clouds of Qi into narrow currents matching the bones… Wolf followed the routine he had developed while performing the Supreme Earth Order’s technique for condensing Qi vessels. The fluffy, vaporish nebula of Qi obediently withdrew and compressed within his bones, forming a closed circuit.

Thanks to abundant practice, the exercise took five minutes before Wolf formed the embryonic double tubing channels throughout his skeleton.

I finished the simple part. Now, it will take two days to reinforce the nascent Qi vessels into their permanent shape. I have to make certain my Qi core can send a strong enough surge of Qi into my clavicles and ribs, so I can quickly circulate Qi when I need it.

Time passed. The pulsating channels composed of energy overlapped with Wolf’s bones, feeling uncomfortably solid and material.

This is really weird. Wolf’s lips twitched at the disquieting sensation of artificial organs forming within his body. If someone else did this against my will, I would likely scream and resist with all my might; yet here I am, doing something revolting to myself once more.

In response to that thought, Wolf forced an image of a smiling brunette rubbing her nose with a cooing toddler into his mind’s eye.

Why are you whining? It doesn’t even hurt. Wolf focused on his objective and redoubled his effort.

While Wolf, with his titanic soul and overbearing perception observed the minute changes occurring within his body, around two hundred thousand others were trying to reach the same goal.

A quarter of the disciples in Corpsewood lacked the willpower to endure the advancement. What people outside wasted exorbitant wealth on, they could mimic for free, yet this boon was also a curse.

Advancement through Spell Formations saturating you with Qi reduced the process to several hours of intense concentration. Staying focused for two days was much harder, albeit more beneficial as Qi vessels and Qi core would be much tougher and better defined.

A quarter of the disciples failed, most of them from various second or third rate forces. Their realm would forever remain at half-step Blood Saturating and their sects would kick them out, assuming they survived the gauntlet, which was Corpsewood.

Yet these disciples were not the unluckiest. A tenth of the entrants died to Monster Beasts and other contestants in the first minutes after entering the secluded world, never getting the chance to attempt their advancement.

Roughly six in ten survivors succeeded, but created faulty Qi vessels or Qi cores; they had reached the Blood Saturating realm’s nascent stage, however, their future prospects were glum. Without expending an outrageous sum on medicine to fix their condition, they would never reach late stages of Blood Saturating.

The rest passed with various degrees of success. Their futures were bright, assuming they lived long enough to leave Corpsewood and walk further down the path of cultivation.

The majority of the first-rate powers’ disciples belonged to the last group, and after two days of seclusion, some of them already exited their hiding places.

Wolf tarried compared to them. Because of the three additional stages of Qi Gathering he had completed, his advancement took three days instead of two as the manual described.

Flexing his hand, Wolf sucked in a breath of World Energy-rich air then stuffed a breaded Sprinting Peacock nugget into his mouth.

I’m so hungry, my head is spinning. Still, after these months of continuous eating, I’ve got my hunger under control. And, as if that wasn’t enough, I can feel my body lacks Qi, yet there’s no sign of Qi deficiency symptoms. And even the Qi from the air I breathe seems to stick to my blood like glue. It’s only trace amounts, but even so, I can sense it.

After taking another couple breaths, he climbed to the top of his hiding-place and examined the surroundings.

What appeared before Wolf was a sea of green, ending in the pale mist. The sky above was the same shade of white, and a sun stood behind his back, illuminating the world. Wolf turned around and noticed the wall of fog grew further and further away, until it disappeared in the distance, becoming a white horizon.

The books stated Corpsewood’s five hundred kilometers in radius, and has a stationary sun at the center of the artificial celestial dome. The cycle of day and night doesn’t exist, and the only shade one can expect to see above the canopy comes from the clouds, which unleash short torrential downpours at irregular intervals.

Wolf trained his gaze towards the fog-obscured area beneath the static sun, at Corpsewood’s center. The benefits of absorbing a secluded world’s core are said to be enormous amounts of World Energy, which directly infuse the conqueror’s body.

He smiled, sensing his restless streak acting up. Be patient. If you claim it too soon, the world will immediately collapse and you will miss out on other opportunities and treasures. Before you reach the Four Immortal Realms, you’re not even qualified to consider looking for a way home, so amass power and prepare for the future.

Wolf randomly went right, instead of heading straight towards the center and the Gilded Ape colony. He summoned his callingjade and saw Jakob’s name had become gray.

I guess he’s more than twenty kilometers away. Wolf shrugged and continued on his way. He was fairly certain Jakob could handle most minor trouble just fine.

***

Bitches! Amelie grit her teeth and suppressed her tears as she careened through the forest. She wore the black Quickdraw Gate’s uniform adorned by a red sword insignia on her left breast, denoting her an inner disciple.

Mid-jump, she sent a surge of Qi into her hand and reinforced the rest of her arm. She clawed at a towering tree to her left, digging her fingers into the smooth bark. The maneuver allowed her to turn midair and open half a second’s distance from her pursuers. A moment after the tall, lean seventeen-year-old woman rounded the ancient palm’s thick trunk, four others ran after her.

Amelie’s enemies wore deep-red uniforms with flowing silver dots forming the Gate constellation. Colette, the group’s leader, summoned a throwing dagger into her hand.

In a well-practiced motion, she infused it with Qi and flicked it at Amelie’s back.

The aspiring Blademaster sensed the threat before her ears picked out the screaming of the knife whizzing towards her upper spine. Gracefully, she drew the sword hanging from her hip. Without turning, she swept the blade behind her back, blocking the treacherous missile.

Yet, no matter how fluent her swordplay, the move consumed the split-second she had bought herself by the sudden change of direction.

Bitches! They’ve been using underhanded tactics the entire time. Why don’t you fight me one at a time!

Yet Amelie did not shout to vent her frustration. She knew why her enemies used treacherous tactics. She knew why they refused to fight her in single combat. They wanted her life, not to exchange pointers, and matters of life and death left little room for fairness.

They will catch up in half a minute. She summoned her callingjade and glanced at it. Only two names were green. Louise and Camille are already dead. If not for Louise’s hasty warning over the callingjade, these bitches would’ve killed me too.

Suddenly, another name on the jade strip turned green. With a smile, Amelie tapped ‘Ines’ with her thumb.

“Amelie?”

Amelie stuffed the white jade into her breast pocket and spun, slashing her sword. “You Brilliant Gate she-whores! I’ll drag two of you down with me and profit!”

sleepydad88 Random Roll -

Spoiler

Wolf’s shelter was safe.

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