Unlike their grotesque appearances, those wolf-like creatures were much more manageable than Ning Shan expected. If anything, they were somehow disappointing, much less dangerous than the previous spider.

As soon as they saw him, one wolf leapt at him, baring its sharp fangs in an effort to feast on Ning Shan's flesh, while the other sought to circle him, attacking him from the side.

Ning Shan sidestepped the first metallic wolf's attack only to grab its jaw with both hands, suspending it in midair by its head. He then turned abruptly, striking the other incoming wolf with its partner's body. While it did next to no damage to both of them, it gave Ning Shan enough time to strike.

By infusing his flesh with the scarce red dust in his qi centre, Ning Shan felt his strength rise, albeit only temporarily. He wrapped his fingers around the beast's upper and lower jaw and tugged with all his strength, feeling the beast's flesh rip apart moments later. To his surprise, the beast was much more feeble than he anticipated.

Still, even with its jaw missing, the beast showed no fear, only an irrational urge to attack Ning Shan despite the disparity in strength. Ning Shan frowned. Never had he seen a beast charge into a situation where defeat was all but certain.

Do these creatures not feel anything? They don't act like living beings but more like puppets.

Knowing that any mercy for his enemies was being cruel to oneself, Ning Shan offered none. Just as the beast with a missing jaw rose to attack him again, he rushed toward it, striking its neck with the side of his hand as he wrapped it in lightning.

His palm slid along the beast's neck, ripping it apart as the lightning dug into it. Once again, Ning Shan saw no blood flow from the wound, only red dust pilling up on the floor before a vortex appeared, pooling it together as if it possessed its own gravity. As it perished, the beast collapsed into a pile of red dust that only added to the newly formed crystal.

Still, Ning Shan had no time to celebrate his newfound victory as the remaining wolf launched another attack aimed at his neck. However, Ning Shan had long been prepared.

Ning Shan raised his arm, protecting his neck by letting the beast sink its teeth into it, yet no blood was drawn as he had already clad his arm in lightning. The sharp teeth struck the limb yet were stopped by the power. Still, Ning Shan could see his dust point rapidly falling. One dust point would be deducted each time the lightning struck back against the beast's teeth.

This power is attractive, but its finite nature leaves a lot to be desired. Defending with it should be used as a last resort.

When the beast saw that its attack was futile, it swung its long tail, aiming for the side of Ning Shan's head. On its tip was a mass of metal resembling a giant flail. Ning Shan knew that not even he could withstand a blow from it. Fortunately, he wouldn't have to, as the beast's actions were much too honest and predictable compared to facing a human opponent.

Ning Shan clad his remaining palm in lightning as he received the mass of metal with it, only for it to disintegrate upon contact, something he found quite peculiar. After all, the teeth on his arm were still struggling against the lightning while the beast's tail burst into a dust cloud.

What’s the difference between the two? Is it just the concentration of dust? Does that mean the more concentrated the dust is, the stronger the beast? It makes sense, but where did all this red dust come from?

Ning Shan had many questions; there was just so much he didn't know about this foreign world. While some things remained the same, he had never encountered these kinds of creatures before. Even in the Nine Abyss Realm, where he was from, where countless species mingled, no such peculiar life forms were discovered.

While his thoughts drifted, Ning Shan’s hand didn’t stop. As the beast’s tail exploded in a cloud of dust, his palm struck the beast’s chest, where he saw that most of the dust seemed to be collected.

Without even a whimper, the dust creature collapsed into a pile of sand as his lightning-clad hand rammed straight through it with almost no resistance, only to congregate again into a floating red crystal.

Ning Shan frowned as he glanced at his dust counter. It showed less than 80. He briefly glanced inward, only to see the red crystal in his qi centre had shrunk by over 30%. Even its power felt much more feeble than it once did just a while ago.

He shook his head, unwilling to dwell on his losses, as he bent toward one of the two hovering red crystals. He wrapped his palm around one, and, just as he expected, the crystal burst into a cloud of dust, infiltrating his body just as it had done sometime prior. Yet, this time, Ning Shan didn't feel the burning heat he once did, just a slight warmth as the dust pooled into his dantian.

He smiled as he noticed the red crystal in his core grow back to what it was before. He could even feel his strength grow as it did. He glanced at his points to see that he now had over 140. It seemed that one of these wolves alone could grant him over 60 points.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

The giant spider was over 100, while these wolves were 60 apiece. It seems the amount I can gain is proportional to the amount they possess, yet it doesn't seem to be all it is. There is some other mechanism at work here.

Feeling the urge to see his strength grow, Ning Shan absorbed the remaining red crystal, only to see most of it wasted as not even the black lightning within his core could dominate this dust. His dust point seemed stuck at an even 200 points, unable to go further.

Required Amount Obtained...

Initiating System Rank Up Function...

Ning Shan’s eyes widened as he saw the now familiar light window show a new announcement. He braced himself for what was to come. After all, each time the system showed a new announcement, a heart-wrenching pain was sure to follow. However, this time, nothing of the sort happened.

Instead, he saw the remaining dust, which he thought had been wasted, flow to his core before solidifying around the rotating red crystal. It formed a thin ring that slowly revolved around the crystal, somehow resembling a planet with a single ring orbiting its surface, except the planet wasn't spherical but now a large red cube.

Ning Shan frowned, unable to understand what was happening, yet it only took him a moment to realize. He suddenly felt his strength rise drastically, as if he had just made a breakthrough in his cultivation. At the same time, he also felt the storm within his inner core rise fiercely as it battled the new celestial object as if trying to restrain it.

He watched his dust points were quickly being consumed while the battle raged as if the lightning was devouring them to fuel its strength. The two opposing forces struggled against each other, yet the world seemed to be in balance. As one grew stronger, so would the other. However, the price would be the dust point that Ning Shan accumulated.

Ranking Procedure Completed...

New Rank Up Goal Determined...

A new window appeared before Ning Shan, and the battle within seemed to calm down. Dark lightning arced upon the newfound ring, keeping it in check akin to a cage. Surprisingly, Ning Shan felt no pain during the whole process. In fact, he felt strangely similar to the numerous times he had broken through a new realm in his cultivation.

He struck the nearby wall with his fist, leaving a small dent on its surface. His eyebrows couldn't help but rise in surprise. While the blow was far from the strongest he could deliver, the impact was still much more significant than expected.

My strength has grown. While it's been a long time, it feels almost like the 2nd level of the Qi Refining Realm. The day I regain my peak may be closer than I once thought.

A slight smile graced Ning Shan’s lips, yet it soon disappeared as he noticed a new number to adorn the floating window of light.

Rank Up Requirement (400 Dust)

His dust points were critically low, less than 10 currently. While not extremely difficult, the fact that Ning Shan would have to expend some money to obtain dust would slow down his growth significantly, especially if he would need to lose most of it every time he needed to break through.

Yet something else caught his attention. The dust around him, suspended in the air as a cloud, could be seen slowly gathering toward him as if trying to enter his body.

It strongly resembled how qi would behave as he used his breathing technique to absorb it, yet he did not need to consciously do so. The red dust seemed more attracted to him now than a moment ago.

The only thing that changed until now was that rank up... Did it rid itself of its weakness of only having a finite amount of dust? How convenient...

Yet, his questions were answered as Ning Shan looked back to the system panel. Next to the amount of dust he possessed was now a symbol consisting of two lines intersecting each other. He extended a finger and pressed it, only for new information to be available.

Dust Point: 8 (+1/hour – Passive)

While he now had a way to recover if he used all the dust he possessed, one point per hour was pathetically low. In fact, if he were to do nothing at this rate, he would only be able to reach strength equivalent to the 3rd level of the Qi Refining Realm in a little more than two weeks.

Ning Shan’s eyes widened slightly.

Thinking back on it, if someone claimed to be able to reach the 3rd level from the 2nd in only two weeks, I would think of him as either delusional or the most talented individual in the history of the Nine Abyss Realm.

Even for Ning Shan, doing so took at least a month. It seemed this ranking-up system was somehow overpowered. Even more than that, it emphasized plundering, something Ning Shan couldn't help but liken to demonic techniques. Except, unlike those evil ways that robbed sentient beings of their cultivation, this one didn’t seem to come with the inevitable mental corruption.

Ning Shan pondered for a bit. There were too many unknowns regarding this system that had integrated itself into him. Still, it wasn't as if he had a choice not to use it. After all, he still couldn't feel spiritual qi in this world, except for the earthly qi below his feet, which he couldn't use as it was much too impure to enable him to cultivate properly.

He could only tentatively rely on it until he could probe its depths. His only saving grace was the lightning that seemed to keep it in check. After all, without it, he could scarcely imagine what would have happened had that dust grew rampant inside his body. Maybe he would be no better than the brainless creatures he had already encountered.

After a sigh and slight expectation in his heart, Ning Shan chose to continue his journey. This time, he could only do so in darkness as he was too reluctant to use the last of his dust. He couldn't feel safe without a safety net to fall back upon. While his body had grown more robust due to his breakthrough, Ning Shan had now grown to rely on his tribulation physique, something he didn't feel that good about.

After what seemed like days of trudging through the darkness, dispatching the occasional creatures that crossed his path—none of which could threaten him in the slightest—Ning Shan finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel.