The raging battle between one boy and eight murderous wolves continued for almost two hours. At first, Zi Ming was able to strike down his enemies in quick fashion.

In about half an hour he'd been able to kill the most inexperienced and impetuous wolves from the pack. In the beginning, the wolves thought he was easy prey, so the alpha tried to use him as target practice for the young ones. This mentality changed after they tested the waters though.

No matter how obnoxious and simple these creatures appeared, they were vicious predators with honed carnivorous instincts.

The alpha wolf didn't panic after he got an idea of his opponent's strength. He wanted their prey to waste stamina before he engaged in the battle as well. When Zi Ming understood his stratagem, he started saving strength. Before he did so, he had already slaughtered three of the weakest beasts. The wolves began to calm down when they understood he was no pushover. That was also when the battle became really hard for Zi Ming.

Wolves once calmed down, are extremely tough opponents. To make matters worse, their teamwork was maximized with the presence of an alpha. The sly animal kept issuing strange sounds from behind, as his minions began to attack from various angles, and retreated when in danger.

"This could go on for quite a while. I might die at this rate." Zi Ming analyzed the situation. He had to admit that he was in quite the quagmire.

"If only I could get rid of that pain in the ass first..." He thought while catching the commanding wolf in his field of view. Right now, Zi Ming couldn't afford the luxury to look away for a second. His eyes had already adapted to the darkness, but these opponents would surely catch him off guard if he didn't use proper caution.

The battle still had to come to an end, but he already felt as if his battle senses had experienced a considerable leap. His vision and reflexes in particular. Right now, he felt like he almost had eyes behind his back. Sometimes he didn't even need to move his eyes, in order to launch an attack in one of his blind spots.

Combined with his 400 kilograms of strength, the wolves could only accept their death once they met with the end of his spear. Each level of body refinement granted around 50 kgs of strength for people with poor constitutions and 80 for heaven-defying geniuses.

Zi Ming had more than 80kgs of strength at age ten when he first started body quenching. By the time he was about to experience his first breakthrough, he had gained about 20kgs of raw power. Adding the 60kgs he accumulated for each level he advanced, his strength approximately totaled for 400 kilograms.

In contrast, wild animals didn't experience huge leaps in their strength before they formed a "demon core". Matched up against humans of the same level or higher, they didn't possess much of an advantage. Zi Ming also mastered the use of his weapon to a high level.

"Demon cores", were the equivalent of world embryons for animals. Once they broke through body refinement level nine, beasts had the chance to evolve another step. Beasts didn't possess Martial Spirits, but their savage strength and eerie magical powers more than made up for it. A fabled immortal even once said that martial spirits were only gifted to mankind to rival demonic beasts.

Beasts didn't need to cultivate in order to become strong; they only ate magical treasures, hunted other beasts, or slept. The older they grew, the stronger they became according to their own grade and potential. If a beast had a noble bloodline, it was guaranteed to grow extremely powerful as long as it didn't fall from the sky.

 "My stamina will run out at this rate..." Zi Ming was drained. Each thrust of his spear was less precise than the last.

"Wuu...!"

His attacks finally connected with one beast. The beast's stomach was transpierced as it was lifted from the ground. Zi Ming didn't stop moving yet; it was the most dangerous time for him. He couldn't remove his weapon from the impaled wolf fast enough.

He let go of the spear as he felt a quick attack coming from his back. He didn't have the leisure to try and evade, the wolf's assault was too sudden. Zi Ming clenched his teeth and crooked his elbow.

"Crunch!" The vicious fangs pierced the arm and reached a bone.

"Dammit!"

Zi Ming was too angry to care about the surge of pain. He endured the urge to cry as he lost his balance and fell close to the wolf he massacred previously.

The other one didn't seem to notice nor care about the fall. Despite dropping down back first, it still hadn't let go of the arm. It was gnawing at it savagely, not wanting to let go.

Seeing the perfect opportunity to strike, the rest of the wolves were preparing to pounce on their prey.

"To hell with you all!" Zi Ming's survival instincts kicked in. He used his other hand to grab the wolf's neck. It was completely vulnerable since he was biting from a reversed position.

Zi Ming's strong grip made a complete mess of the wolf's throat organs.

The wolf wasn't dead yet but had finally let go. The boy immediately got up and freed his weapon from the impaled wolf.

There were only three wolves remaining now, but he didn't feel confident at all in his current state.

"Cling!"

After another five minutes of battle, Zi Ming was able to exterminate the two remaining betas. His only opponent left now was this body refiner level 6 wolf.

Zi Ming had to admit that it was extremely strong. In his normal state, he would be able to kill it under twenty moves. The battle had been too hazardous, however. He'd also lost some blood after he was bitten by one of the beasts.

His accuracy and strength had taken a hit. The wolf was even capable to parry some of his horizontal blows with the help of his claws. His only chance to win now was a clean spear strike in the creature's vitals.

Running away wasn't an option he needed to consider. As he was now, he would probably faint before reaching the village or be attacked by another beast. He only wanted to kill this wolf quickly and find a safe place to rest.

....................................................................................

At the other end of the forest, the gates of Zi Village.

"Sister Fei, hasn't my brother appeared yet?

A young woman with long purple hair and a saber on her back turned around at the sound of this voice.

"It's you, sister Yurou. Sorry, but he still hasn't come down from the mountain." She responded with assurance.

"That idiot....." Zi Yurou's face showed a trace of worry.

"What are you doing here at this hour?" A tall man with broad shoulders who was walking their way asked.

"Clan head!" The guards at the gate greeted him with respect. Zi Fei's was a bit less constrained due to her friendship with his daughter. She executed a slight bow and merely gave him way unlike the rest of the guards, who gathered in a row.

"Zi Fei, How have your parents been doing?"  The man tickled his beard and asked.

"Very good, thanks to your care, clan Head!" She answered politely. She had obtained this safe position at the gate thanks to him. She didn't need to hunt for daily necessities and was paid a daily income either in food or other necessities. With her sickly parents and young siblings, this was the perfect job for her.

Everyone in the village knew she was receiving favored treatment thanks to Zi Yurou, but no one was voicing their thoughts. She had the strength to back up this treatment. Zi Fei's cultivating talent was on par with the village chief's son after all.

At age sixteen she had already reached body refinement level six. Some people even suspected that she would have reached a higher level if not for her special circumstances. Taking care of an entire family was harsh for a girl that young.

Zi Tao was hoping for her to grab a spot to go Thousands Rain City along with his children. He certainly had high hopes for her.

"Father! This isn't the time for chitchat." The young girl at their side was growing angry.

"Hm?" Zi Tao was perplexed.

"Brother has gone missing." She finally said.

"What?!"