Divine Wilderness Dragon Emperor

Ling Fei traveled alone through the mountain forest.

After traveling for fifty miles through the mountains, he finally came upon a valley.

Two days had passed since he set out on his own.

AWOOOO!

Just as Ling Fei entered the valley, a wolf's howl rang out from the forest ahead. It was a sharp, piercing sound that sent a chill down his spine.

'Demon Wolves? So the game has finally begun?' The howl brought Ling Fei to a halt. He looked up, a cold smirk playing on his lips as he gazed ahead. Simultaneously, he extended his Heart Spirit to scan the area, searching for any trace of Liu Yuan and his group.

As his Heart Spirit spread, Ling Fei finally spotted a group of young men on a mountaintop behind him and to the right.

There were twenty-four of them in total, ten more than the fourteen he'd seen before.

Evidently, these were people who had joined Wang Dongyang later.

It was only with so many people scouting that they were able to keep track of his whereabouts.

'Ten more people. Looks like I'm in for a bloody battle.' A grave expression appeared in Ling Fei's eyes.

The newcomers were all at the Late Stage of Innate or the Perfection Realm.

Among them were geniuses from Tianyan Academy, as well as people from the Royal Academy.

But things had already come to this, and Ling Fei had no intention of backing down. His Blood Qi surged, and his fighting spirit blazed; he had long been prepared for a bloody battle. 'If I don't meet their challenge, if I don't fight back after being pushed this far, how can I ever hope to reach the peak of Martial Arts?'

Retreating?

It would only lead to being obstructed at every turn, controlled by others.

Only by carving out a bloody path could he secure a Heaven-Reaching road for himself.

As killing intent coalesced within Ling Fei, Demon Wolves began to appear in the forest ahead.

The first thing that entered his vision were pairs of eyes, glowing with a vicious light like bronze bells.

Only then did he see the giant wolves themselves—ferocious and baring their fangs.

The wolves were massive, standing five to six feet tall. Their paws were broad, and their claws, sharp as blades, were clearly longer than a normal wolf's.

Most importantly, their fur shimmered with a dark golden luster, like flashing metal. One look was enough to know their hides were incredibly tough; ordinary swords would be unable to injure them. Clearly, this was a pack of Demon Wolves that had reached the Innate Realm, and they were now advancing on Ling Fei.

'Fifty-two Demon Wolves in total!' With a sweep of his Heart Spirit, Ling Fei had counted the entire pack.

Fifty-two of them...

Twenty-one of them were at the Early Stage of Innate, which wasn't much of a threat.

The real threat came from the seventeen that had reached the Late Stage Innate Perfection Realm.

"Heh heh, with these sixty-two Innate Realm Demon Wolves on the attack, even if they can't surround and kill Ling Fei, they can at least make him exhaust a huge amount of his True Qi," Liu He said with a grin from the mountaintop. "Once his True Qi is spent, killing him will be a simple matter. This valley will be Ling Fei's burial ground today."

"I bet we won't even have to lift a finger. Those Demon Wolves can kill him on their own," a young man beside him sneered.

How could a single Innate Realm Cultivator possibly fend off so many Innate Realm Demon Wolves by himself?

Unless he retreats!

But under siege from a pack of Demon Wolves, a hasty retreat would only put him in an even more perilous situation.

'These people are circling nearby, waiting to strike when I'm exhausted. That being the case, I need to feign weakness and hide my true strength for now.' Ling Fei's Heart Spirit picked up every word from Liu He and the others. He mulled it over, and a strategy began to form in his mind.

Then, he drew the Celestial River Sword, his gaze hardening as he stared down the wolf pack before him.

AWOOO!

The wolves howled, their eyes filled with malice. The sight of Ling Fei unleashed their savagery.

These Demon Wolves were territorial. Anyone who intruded upon their domain would be attacked.

That was why Cultivators exploring the mountain forests were generally careful to avoid such Demon Beasts, lest they be attacked by a whole pack.

As the howls rang out, three giant wolves at the Late Stage Innate Perfection Realm lunged at Ling Fei, their massive claws extended.

The giant wolves leaped through the air in a graceful arc, but as their massive claws lashed out, the very air seemed to tear with a rushing sound. A burst of fierce, tyrannical True Qi erupted from their talons. It was easy to imagine that anyone struck by it would be severely injured.

Behind these three Late Stage Innate Perfection Realm Demon Wolves, another group lunged forward. They attacked as a pack, giving their prey no chance to catch its breath. This was why, even though the Demon Wolves knew no advanced Martial Arts, even a Cultivator at the Perfect Innate Realm would have to face them with extreme caution.

Celestial River Nine Swords!

Ling Fei's gaze hardened, and with a flick of his long sword, he launched a powerful attack.

SWISH!

He unleashed the Celestial River Nine Swords. His long sword swept out, and Sword Qi surged forth like a tidal wave, crashing directly toward the three Demon Wolves.

It was the most brutish and direct form of attack.

BANG!

The immense wave of Sword Qi swept over them, sending the three giant wolves flying. The raging energy left a series of gashes across their bodies.

However, because this wave of Sword Qi was vast and unfocused, its Attack Power was not as lethal as his Sword Qi Silk technique.

THUD!

The three Perfect Innate Realm Demon Wolves were sent flying and crashed to the ground.

Afterward, Cold Qi spread over their bodies, and ice crystals began to form in their wounds.

AWOOOO!

As the Cold Qi spread, the three Demon Wolves howled, having clearly lost their ability to fight.

However, these Demon Wolves possessed considerable intelligence. As soon as the Cold Qi invaded their bodies, they immediately circulated their own True Qi to resist and expel it.

SWISH!

After routing those three Demon Wolves, Ling Fei had already unleashed his second strike.

This strike was even more powerful, knocking back the next seven pouncing Demon Wolves.

However, the remaining Demon Wolves learned their lesson. They stopped attacking from a single direction and spread out to assail Ling Fei from all sides.

This way, Ling Fei could no longer defeat several Demon Wolves with a single swing of his sword.

The pressure on him increased dramatically.

But Ling Fei was, after all, a Late Innate Stage Cultivator. Moreover, his Soul Power surpassed the Innate Realm.

His perception was incredibly sharp; he had every attacking Demon Wolf's position and trajectory under his control.

And so, his body moved like the wind, his long sword striking out continuously at the besieging Demon Wolves.

This time, he stopped using Celestial River Nine Swords.

Celestial River Nine Swords was only suited for frontal assaults; it lacked the necessary agility.

Sword Qi Silk!

Sword Qi Rain!

Sword Qi Transformation Curtain!

Ling Fei struck out again and again, dealing with the encircling Demon Wolves one by one.

Any Demon Wolf hit by his Sword Qi immediately lost its ability to fight.

At first, the sheer number of Demon Wolves left Ling Fei hard-pressed. But as they were injured one by one and the Cold Qi invaded their bodies, he found the fight becoming much easier. His only regret was that, being one man against a whole pack, he couldn't find an opportunity to deliver the fatal blow to those he had injured.

Even so, Wang Dongyang and the others on the mountaintop frowned as they watched.

"This Ling Fei's Cold Dao True Qi seems stronger than we thought!" Only now did they realize just how formidable his Cold Qi was.

"He's certainly a formidable figure, stronger than most. But there are still more Demon Wolves coming from the forest ahead. They should be able to exhaust a great deal of his True Qi and Heart Spirit," Liu Yuan said with a raised eyebrow. "We just have to wait until his True Qi is nearly depleted. His combat power will drop, and then we can all strike together and kill him just the same."

SWISH, SWISH!

In the valley below, Ling Fei struck relentlessly, felling one Demon Wolf after another.

Sporadically, he managed to slay thirty-one of the Demon Wolves.

However, a few more Demon Wolves were still trickling in from the forest. Though there weren't many, their continuous arrival still caused Ling Fei a great deal of trouble.

Worse, many of the injured Late Stage of Innate Perfection Demon Wolves managed to suppress the Cold Qi and began attacking Ling Fei again.

AWOOO!

The howls were incessant, each cry enough to make one's skin crawl. Facing the Demon Wolves alone, Ling Fei's aura clearly began to weaken.

The power behind each of his sword strikes was steadily diminishing.

"Heh heh, he's starting to run out of steam," Liu He chuckled upon seeing this from the mountaintop.

"Controlling Sword Qi for attacks doesn't just consume True Qi. More importantly, it takes a massive toll on one's Power of Heart and Soul. If one's Heart Power is insufficient, they can't exert their full might even if they have True Qi. Ling Fei has been fighting these Demon Wolves alone for half an hour now. It's about time he was exhausted," Liu Jingyun said with a smile.

In his eyes, it was a miracle that Ling Fei had lasted this long.

Finally, after a few more moments, Ling Fei had slaughtered the last of the Demon Wolves.

By now, Ling Fei's hair was a mess, his robes were stained with blood, his eyes looked weary, and even his breathing had become ragged.

He was the very picture of exhaustion.

"Heh heh, he's exhausted." Seeing this, Liu He couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"To kill seventy-nine Innate Realm Demon Wolves all by himself... that level of combat prowess is astonishing," Wang Dongyang remarked on the mountaintop, nodding slightly.

In total, more than ninety Demon Wolves had appeared in waves. The last few, completely terrified by Ling Fei, had fled back into the forest.

"Now, it should be our turn to finish him off, right?" Qin Rong's eyes flashed as he shot a savage look at Wang Dongyang.

Nearly four months had passed since Qin Hui was killed.

During that time, Qin Rong thought of nothing but revenge.

But because Ling Fei was at Celestial River Academy, he never had a chance to act.

After waiting for so long, he finally had his chance!

"Alright. Let's go send this genius on his way," Wang Dongyang said with a raised eyebrow.

"Heh heh. To be able to snuff out such an astonishingly brilliant genius... Looking back on this in the future will surely be one of life's great pleasures, right?"

His face was a mask of savagery.

Then, with a flicker of movement, he shot down toward the valley below like the wind.

The others followed suit.

'So they're coming?' Down in the valley, Ling Fei took it all in.

He then took out a few Spirit Fruits and consumed them, replenishing his Blood Qi and energy.

After consuming the Spirit Fruits, Ling Fei nonchalantly walked over to a few Demon Wolf carcasses, tidied them up, and stored them in his Sodium Ring.

He looked for all the world as if he were cleaning up the battlefield.

"Heh heh, Ling Fei. Death is at your doorstep, and you still have the heart to collect Demon Wolf corpses? You've got quite the leisurely attitude!" A chilling voice rang out from behind him just as he was storing the corpses. It was Liu He, staring at him coldly. Beside him, Liu Yuan radiated an even more intense killing intent.

The twenty-four geniuses appeared in the valley together.

Every one of them wore a mocking smile, staring at Ling Fei as if he were cornered prey.

But at the sound of his voice, Ling Fei simply turned around, perfectly calm. A cold light glinted in his eyes, sweeping over them like the edge of a blade. This calm, icy demeanor made Liu He, who had just been sneering, flinch. The smile froze on his face.

'How can he be so calm?' An inexplicable unease crept into Liu He's heart.

Ling Fei's attitude was baffling.

Logically, he should have been shocked, stunned even!