The Immortal Path Is Crowded

The guard’s world had shrunk to a single moment.

Lying on the ground, his body numb from the blow and his sword out of reach, air escaping from his lungs as he tried to rise, his arm refused to respond, and in front of him the wolf opened its jaws, its hot, fetid breath striking his face.

So… is this how it ends? That thought crossed his mind with cruel clarity, and at that precise moment he heard something.

A furious, violent neigh, followed by the sound of hooves pounding the earth, came from behind along with something else… something that cut through the air with a sharp whistle, making his eyes widen.

A black steel spear flashed across his field of vision in a blink.

Just as the wolf prepared to attack, it was impaled without even a whimper, and the force of the impact was so brutal that the beast’s body was sent flying backward, pierced from side to side and dragged along by the spear as if it weighed nothing.

CRACK!

The spear sank deep into the trunk of a thick tree, vibrating with a metallic hum, while the wolf’s body hung impaled, blood splattering the bark.

The guard froze, eyes wide and breathing uneven, having gone from a breath away from death… to seeing it nailed to a tree before him.

Stunned by the situation, he turned his head, still dazed, searching for the person responsible for the attack, and through the dust and leaves kicked up by the impact, he managed to make out in the distance the silhouette of a young man on horseback approaching at full speed.

…reinforcements? No… the guard swallowed hard and, with a trembling voice, murmured, "Who…?" — while the chaos of the battle seemed to have shifted in a single instant.

---

From the guards’ perspective, the situation had gone from dangerous to desperate in a matter of minutes.

It was a road cutting through the forest, yes, but it had always been relatively safe, with at most a solitary beast, nothing a well-armed group couldn’t handle, so when the wolves emerged from the trees like living shadows, the psychological impact was devastating.

"Formation! Protect the carriage!" one of them had shouted at first, but the formation broke too quickly.

One of the horses fell first, its throat torn out, the carriage came to a sudden halt, and from there everything became chaos, as the wolves did not attack haphazardly, but moved with disturbing coordination, flanking, pushing, and forcing them to retreat.

When one of their comrades was knocked down and lay on the ground, the others saw and shouted: "Get up!" — "Hold on!" —

They tried to advance toward him, swords raised and shouting to intimidate the beasts, but every step forward meant leaving a flank open, and the wolves lunged fearlessly, teeth clashing against steel and bodies crashing into shields.

They were being overwhelmed, not by individual strength, but by numbers… and by something else none of them wanted to admit aloud: fear.

---

From the perspective of the two cultivators, the scene was even graver.

Both had been brought as extra protection; they were not members of any great sect, but genuine cultivators, and that was normally enough to deter any bandit or common beast.

Except this time… before them, the blood-red wolf advanced with firm steps.

Its crimson fur seemed to absorb the light, while a faint reddish glow ran across its body with every breath, and its eyes were not those of an ordinary beast, for in them was a calculated coldness, almost human.

"It’s a spirit wolf…" one of the cultivators growled, wiping blood from the corner of his lips, "and it’s not at the initial stage."

The other nodded, clenching his teeth as he channeled his Qi, preparing for another exchange, as every clash was brutal.

Sword and technique against Qi-reinforced fangs, while the blood-red wolf moved with terrifying agility, leaping and twisting in the air, using the terrain to its advantage, each swipe leaving deep marks in the ground… or on their weapons.

One of them was pushed back several steps, feeling his arms tremble from the impact, intermediate stage of Qi Condensation… at least he thought, if they let their guard down for a single instant, they would die.

While they fought, both were aware of what was happening around them, guards being slowly surrounded and the carriage holding out, but not for long… and the man who had fallen to the ground…

"We can’t help him!" one of the cultivators shouted, narrowly dodging a deadly bite, "if we fall back, that bastard will tear us apart!" — the suffocating feeling of a perfect ambush… until a sound broke the scene.

A violent neigh, full of momentum, followed by a sharp whistle that even made the blood-red wolf tilt its head slightly.

The pressure on the battlefield shifted in an instant.

To their surprise, the guards saw the wolf about to finish off their comrade impaled and nailed to a tree like a worthless piece of meat.

Meanwhile, the cultivators felt someone with stronger Qi than theirs approaching, not overwhelming or dominant, but sharp.

---

From Jin’s perspective, everything happened with unsettling clarity; the closer he got, the faster his heart beat—he was certain it wasn’t fear or tension, but as if something inside him was awakening.

The sound of the battle was the first thing he noticed: clashing steel, savage growls, muffled screams, followed by the metallic scent of blood, thick and hot, so real that Jin frowned unconsciously, his grip on the reins tightening as his eyes scanned the scene at full speed.

He saw the halted carriage, the guards retreating exhausted, the cultivators fighting a beast that was clearly not ordinary… and then he saw it: a guard on the ground, a wolf leaping with fangs bared, promising certain death.

In that instant, something boiled inside him; there was no time to think or doubt, he let go of the reins, twisted his body with almost instinctive fluidity, and grabbed the spear, without using Qi or activating any deep techniques.

Just a mundane technique, one he had repeated thousands of times in his past life and again in this one, refined, corrected, and distilled to its purest form: movement, angle, breath… everything aligned with terrifying perfection.

For a moment, the world seemed to slow down; the wind brushed his cheek, his arm extended, his wrist twisted at the exact angle… and the spear flew.

It wasn’t a violent or exaggerated throw; it was clean, direct, so precise it would have been worthy of any world championship in his past life on Earth. The spear sliced through the air with a dry whistle, invisible to most.

An instant later, the wolf was impaled without even having time to whimper, its body dragged by inertia until it hung against a thick tree, motionless and dead.

The silence that followed was brief but heavy. Jin watched the scene from his horse, breathing calmly… and then he felt it: his eyes glowed with a strange, deep, almost completely golden light.

He didn’t understand why; he had never felt this while cultivating, nor training with elder sister Mei, nor even when breaking his own physical limits. This was something different: pure, intense, burning emotion.

A primitive and powerful sensation coursed through his blood, as if every fiber of his body shouted that this was the right place, the right moment, no doubt or fear.

Only a dangerous, intoxicating certainty.

This…

This is living.

Eyes fixed on the battlefield, he inhaled deeply, pressed his heels against the sides of his horse, and charged forward. After approaching to a certain distance from the conflict, he yanked the reins violently.

The horse neighed, dug its hooves into the ground, and stopped abruptly; in that same instant, he used the momentum: he let go of the mount, twisted his body in the air, and shot forward, leaving the animal behind.

He wasn’t going to risk it; this battlefield was no place for an ordinary animal.

His body traced a clean arc, and upon landing, his feet sank slightly into the damp forest floor, the impact of the landing light and controlled… but something other than the fall shook him.

It was his blood; it boiled stronger than before. The sensation made him frown: this time he felt it clearly, a dense heat running through his chest, down his arms, tensing his muscles. It wasn’t his Qi out of control.

He felt it more like instinct, and he obeyed it: without a single word, he launched himself at the wolves.

He knew it was reckless, that there were safer options—assess, coordinate, observe—but something inside him screamed that this was not the moment to think, it was the moment to advance.

The wolves detected him instantly.

Their ears perked and their growls shifted in tone. The pack reacted with unsettling coordination: six of the eighteen separated, turning their bodies toward the new intruder, teeth bared, eyes glowing with cold ferocity.

Jin watched them advance in a semicircle and then noticed something unusual: there were no normal wolves.

All those moving toward him emanated a faint but clear pressure, equivalent to first, second, and even third stage of Qi Condensation: beasts that had already crossed the threshold and were no longer mere animals.

For a brief moment, an almost incredulous laugh escaped Jin’s mouth as he muttered, well… so this is the standard. He tightened his grip and adjusted his stance; the spear wasn’t in his hand, but his body was already ready.

The six wolves lunged simultaneously, kicking up dirt and leaves around them, and Jin, heart burning and eyes glowing like golden embers, didn’t move.

He stood there, back straight and breathing slowly, as the six wolves closed in, their low growls mixing with the crunch of leaves under their paws, forming a tense rhythm.

Jin could feel his Qi flowing smoothly within his body; just releasing a little pressure would be enough to intimidate them, a bit more and he could kill them effortlessly, he knew it—and precisely for that reason, he didn’t.

“For now, no,” he muttered; he wanted to feel it, to know if all that pain, those months of brutal training, elder sister Mei’s strikes that left him seeing stars… if it had all been worth it.

He wanted to see if the Jade Dragon Body truly deserved to be called the strongest body art of the Jade Peak, so he emptied his mind and let his body speak.

The first wolf hesitated, the second circled to the left, and the third lowered its body, ready to pounce; Jin didn’t look at them directly, his focus dispersed like a still lake reflecting everything.

Then he felt a subtle change in the air, a weight descending from behind, from a blind spot. Jin reacted instinctively.

His body twisted just enough, his foot pivoted on the damp earth, and in the same motion he dodged, his arm swung backward; it wasn’t a graceful strike or a technique, it was a pure punch.

All the force of his physical body—muscles, bones, tendons, and blood—compressed in that instant and exploded forward, the impact dry, followed by a muffled sound as if something had been struck from within.

And then…

BOOM.

The wolf that was hit exploded; it wasn’t thrown back or launched through the air, it simply burst like an overinflated balloon, blood, flesh, and fragments of bone scattering in all directions.

Jin froze, confused, his fist still extended, while hot blood splashed his face, chest, and arms, thick drops sliding down his cheek and hitting the ground with a heavy thud.

His eyes widened slightly and he thought, unable to finish the sentence: “…What…?”

The other wolves froze. Their growls died in their throats, and their bodies tensed as they instinctively recoiled, pupils wide, reflecting a scene they couldn’t comprehend. One of their own had ceased to exist in an instant.

Slowly lowering his gaze to his own fist, smeared with blood and tiny fragments of flesh, Jin’s mind was blank with sheer astonishment.

The Jade Dragon Body wasn’t just strong—it was monstrous. Yet… honestly, Jin didn’t know if that really made him powerful. He had no real point of comparison; he had never fought someone of his own level with the intent to kill, nor had he seen another seventh-stage Qi Condensation cultivator fight at full strength.

Was it luck? Or… really?

He shook his head lightly, dismissing the useless thoughts before they could take root. This wasn’t the time for philosophy. He raised his gaze.

Five wolves remained around him, forming an irregular semicircle, bodies taut, hind legs more ready to flee than to attack. The scent of fresh blood hung heavy in the air, and Jin could clearly see the fear reflected in their eyes.

For a moment, the battlefield fell into an eerie silence—and then—Auuuuuuuu—a deep, rough howl, thick with a wild pressure, echoed from ahead. Jin turned his head toward the sound, unsurprised to find the Blood-Red Wolf.

Its reddish fur seemed darker than before, soaked in blood—mostly from the cultivators, not its own. Its eyes shone with a fierce light as it observed the nonexistent corpse of its subordinate, before locking its gaze directly on Jin.

Realizing that this howl wasn’t mere intimidation but a kind of command, Jin noticed a change.

The five wolves surrounding him shivered as if something had ignited within them. Their backs arched, muscles bulging slightly, veins standing out beneath the fur. Their previously hesitant eyes now filled with blood, the fear replaced by raw, chaotic aggression.

“A technique…?” Jin thought, frowning. It didn’t seem like a refined human cultivator technique, but it was clear the Blood-Red Wolf had activated some innate ability.

The wolves no longer moved in coordination, but each one radiated slightly more power—just enough that, in a real fight, it could mean the difference between life and death. One lowered its body and lunged without warning, another attacked from a different angle, and a third opened its jaws, aiming straight for his neck.

Jin inhaled slowly. His blood still boiled, a faint curve tugging at his lips. “So… you want more?” He flexed his fingers, feeling the solidity of his bones and the perfect tension in his muscles. This time, he didn’t wait.

With a firm step forward, Jin advanced into the pack, ready to test just how far this body, forged through pain, could really go.

The first wolf leapt with jaws wide, aiming for his throat. Jin twisted his torso slightly, just enough, and his fist traced a short, clean arc, striking directly at the side of the skull.

Crack!

Like a comet, the wolf shot backward into a tree, leaving a headless corpse.

Another wolf came from the right. Jin lifted his leg in a high kick, his heel cutting a perfect line through the air; the strike met the snout with a dry smack, snapping the beast’s neck at an unnatural angle before its body rolled several meters away.

A third and fourth wolf attacked almost simultaneously.

Jin stepped forward calmly, weaving between them. His hand closed around the neck of one, feeling the muscles tense and the bones resist. With a low exhalation, he applied just a little more force.

Craaaack!

The neck snapped like a dry branch, and the body fell limp before hitting the ground.

The last wolf hesitated, trembling under his gaze, but Jin paid it no mind. He stepped forward and delivered a straight, raw punch to the skull. The wolf exploded backward, leaving a trail of blood and fragments. Moments later, a dense silence filled the area.

Standing there, Jin breathed normally. He had not a single new scratch, and though his clothes were stained with blood, none of it was his own.

For a moment, he remained still, then lifted his gaze. The main conflict continued: the human guards, though injured, still defended themselves in a fragile formation around the carriage, holding… for a little longer.

But further ahead—

The two cultivators were clearly at their limits.

Moving like a crimson shadow, the Blood-Red Wolf attacked at high speed, each charge forcing them back. One struggled to breathe, the other already bled from the side, their techniques barely enough to defend themselves.

Squinting, Jin thought that if this continued… they would die. He hesitated only a few seconds, but his body vibrated, his blood growing wilder at the sight of the Blood-Red Wolf.

“Tch…” he clicked his tongue softly. “I guess I’m in over my head now,” he muttered to himself.

He flexed his legs and, with a controlled explosion of force, vanished from the spot, propelling himself forward; the ground cracked beneath his feet as he launched straight into the most dangerous part of the fight.

Jin arrived just as the first cultivator was hurled through the air after colliding head-on with a claw shrouded in bloody Qi. Though he managed to cross his weapon before his chest, the impact was brutal.

The dull sound of the collision rang like a drum. Before the cultivator hit the ground, Jin appeared beneath him. The cultivator barely had time to open his eyes before Jin’s firm arms caught him. With a swift motion, Jin cushioned the fall, twisting his torso, stepping back several paces, and planting his feet firmly, stopping the momentum completely. The ground cracked slightly beneath his heels.

Almost at the same moment, Jin saw the other cultivator exposed; the Blood-Red Wolf lunged forward, jaws wide, aiming straight for his head, crimson Qi swirling around its fangs like a living blade.

Seeing that, Jin released the first cultivator and propelled himself forward. His fist moved in a straight line, this time not only with raw physical force but infused with a touch of Qi. Unnoticed, the wolf’s eyes flared.

With an absurd speed for its size, the Blood-Red Wolf twisted midair, narrowly avoiding the blow; Jin’s fist grazed its fur, sending a ripple of air that made the nearby trees tremble.

But that was exactly what Jin wanted. Instead of chasing the wolf, he used the instant, stretching out his free hand to grab the second cultivator by the clothing, yanking him out of reach just as the wolf’s jaws snapped shut with a sharp crack.

The cultivator was thrown through the air, landing beside the first. Jin stepped forward, planting himself firmly between them and the Blood-Red Wolf.

His stance was relaxed, yet his center of gravity was low, solid as a mountain. His golden eyes never left the wolf, which now studied him with a mixture of fury and caution.

Without turning his head, Jin spoke in a firm, clear voice, as if he were not facing a bloodthirsty beast: “You’re not finished yet.” The two cultivators, breathing heavily, their bodies covered in wounds and their Qi in disarray, clenched their teeth at his words.

“They can still move,” Jin continued. “Go with the guards and help finish off the rest of the wolves.”

As if he understood, the Blood-Red Wolf growled, scraping the ground with a claw, its crimson Qi thrashing violently. Jin smiled, a hint of exhilaration flashing across his face.

“This… is mine.” A confident, slightly crooked smile stretched across Jin’s face.