Book I Chapter 41
…
The Outer Sect is a place that is not easily breached just by anyone. It has mazes, traps, and formations being guarded by the Inner sect disciples.
So, upon hearing that beast growl, it made the group feel a dangerous premonition in their hearts.
Without hesitation, Hyuna, Il Kwan, and the rest quickly run in the direction where the growl came from.
But then suddenly, a shadow jumps out from the bushes which startled the group.
Without hesitation, Il Kwan brandishes his weapon along with the others while Hyuna quickly moved out of their way.
She did not know if her strength would be able to fight against that thing that suddenly appears out of nowhere.
When the group saw what that shadow figure was, they were all stunned.
It was a fire wolf.
The creature is 2 meters tall with a fiery glowing tail behind it.
Hyuna could tell that the creature is different from the previous one she has encountered in the forest that day. It is not as strong as the large one she met in the forest.
But the speed of this fire wolf seems to be very fast.
"How could this thing enter the Outer Sect border?" Il Kwan said while glaring at the creature in front of him and standing in front of Hyuna who has already retreated far back.
The others also surrounded the creature with their weapons in hand.
Grrr…
The creature growled and suddenly pounces on the person that is considered the weakest.
As soon as its body moved, three people also moved.
Song Dong and Kil Nam joined together and launches an attack while the other two protected Hyuna.
Meanwhile, Il Kwan jumps high up in the air.
Before the fire wolf could touch Hyuna, Song Dong has already blocked one of its claws with his strong Qi, and Kil Nam's sword blocked its other paw.
Suddenly, Il Kwan's blade descended and targeted the neck of the fire wolf.
However, before the blade could hit its neck, it suddenly shifted its body and turns like a drill which sends Kil Nam and Song Dong flying on both sides.
The two hits the trees and the impact was so strong that they fell unconscious in that single exchange.
Clang!
The mouth of the fire wolf opened and bit the blade of Il Kwan's sword.
Qi energy and fiery flame collided and created a surge of energy which sent Hyuna and the other two taking a few steps back as they tried to fight off the surging energy wave.
Hyuna suddenly grabs the two who were about to fall and jumps high up to a tree.
Upon landing she discovered the two getting dizzy and knew that they had suffered the impact of the violent Qi in the air.
It is making the Qi in their body chaotic which is why it is making them dizzy.
Luckily for her, she did not have Qi in her body which made her able to still move.
Of course, if she is a normal person she would have already lost consciousness or died in that chaotic surge of Qi. But her body is currently surrounded by thin invisible energy which comes from a stone inside one of her pouches.
She suddenly jumps to another tree and watches the battle between Il Kwan and the fire wolf.
Though the fire wolf is not as big as the last one, it seems to be strong, agile and knew how to fight humans.
"This is weird…" she muttered as she felt a pang of suspicion in her heart.
The action of the fire wolf is unlike that of an ordinary animal. Even if this could have intelligence unlike other animals, it is impossible that it was able to detect or even determine the extent of Il Kwan's martial prowess.
However, the truth in front of her eyes made her feel that something is really wrong here.
As she looks at the fight before her, she can deduce that the beast actually knew if Il Kwan is going to attack it or not. It would not even fall to the provocation which is a bit weird.
She frowned a bit then takes out one of the blades on the back of her hip back.
When Il Kwan suddenly delivered a series of techniques, the fire wolf dodges and blacks them like it knew how to counter those techniques.
Il Kwan, on the other hand, felt a little flustered upon seeing that his fighting style could not defeat the creature.
It is only a fierce beast and nearing the savage beast category regarding strength and speed. So, with his spirit refining stage strength, how could he not defeat the creature?
This battle is far too baffling that is it making Il Kwan feel that something is wrong that thing.
Suddenly, it lunges a surprise attack after Il Kwan finishes his technique.
"Iron Turtle Shield!" Il Kwan shouted as his Qi gathers in front of him.
Wheng!
The claw of the fire wolf created a trail of fire that hits the Qi energy which has formed in front of Il Kwan. This type of skill is a higher form of defense that could not be sustained by his Spirit Refining stage energy.
That is why, as soon as the two energies collided, the figure of Il Kwan was quickly sent flying after the destruction of this energy shield.
Il Kwan showed disbelief in his eyes as he could tell that the creature is actually able to control Qi. The energy it uses is not the natural flame of a fire wolf, but instead a Qi flame energy of a cultivator.
Il Kwan landed on the ground while spitting a mouthful of blood.
He held his chest while his other hand held his blade which is embedded in the ground to stop his momentum.
"What… What are you?" he grumbled as he clutches his chest in pain then spat another mouthful of blood.
Meanwhile, Hyuna has already calculated and amount of energy she needed in this battle after observing the fight with Il Kwan.
Since she could adjust the energy she needed to consume, she is able to also calculate how long she needed to take to kill that beast off.
"15 minutes… I need 10 minutes to defeat that thing." She muttered as she held the knife in front of her while her eyes turned into slits.
Suddenly, the fire wolf lunges and attacks Il Kwan who wanted to block. But then he suddenly felt that something is wrong with his body.
"Damn… I overdraft my Qi…" he thought as horror filled his eyes.
But then he realized that something is wrong. It was not him that overdraft his Qi, but it seems that the creature should be the one who did it.
It was that strange energy attack it did that seems to mess with his internal Qi.
Upon thinking about this point, Il Kwan knew that he is now in danger.
"I just hope that Wu Jin has escaped…" he thought as his eyes did not move and watched the growling face of the fire wolf.
Everything is in slow motion as he saw the razor-sharp canine of the beast along with its disgusting drool coming out of its horrible face.
Its fiery fur floated in the air as its body gradually descended upon him.
Its two long limbs with its long extended claws are drawn to the full extent to deliver a powerful slashing effect of its attack.
He knew that if he is hit by this attack, his body would be diced and sliced into multiple small pieces.
"Damn… What a cruel life…" he thought.
While thinking of his death, Il Kwan could not help but remember the time when he met Wu Jin.
Wu Jin is just some scrawny little kid who is a crybaby.
The time they grew up together made him feel that the guy is truly his little brother.
But who would have known that the little brother would slowly grow up into such a beauty that it even confuses him whether the guy is a girl or a boy?
Once again that scene inside the bathroom flashes in his mind making him blush for a bit.
"I just hope that once I'm gone, he would live a good life. Marry a mortal woman and have children…" he thought as a smile unknowingly crept on his face.
"Of course, he should marry someone who is more beautiful than himself, or else people will gossip behind his back…" he chuckled in his heart.
As the figure in front of his eyes gradually became bigger, Il Kwan knew that his demise is finally about to come.
Clang!!!
However, who would have known that strange golden energy would actually appear surrounding his body?
The golden energy stopped the claws of the beast from tearing him apart.
This scene startled Il Kwan and his expression turned into shock.
But before he could react, he found his figure actually flying away as if pushed by a powerful force.
Of course, he knew that the force came from the energy around the beast.
If he was actually hit by those claws, his body would be torn to shred not by the claw alone but by the raging energy from those razor-sharp claws.
Il Kwan just watches in disbelief as he was sent flying away from the creature that wanted his life.
But before he could recover from his shock, he saw a scene that made his heart skip a beat.
And that scene is the weak figure of his little brother Wu Jin charging at the fire wolf from above the trees.
With a blade in his hand, the small guy actually dares to attack the large creature.
As he watches this in disbelief and in slow motion, he notices that the creature actually did not notice this sneak attack.
Il Kwan could not help but show a faint smile on his handsome face and almost chuckle at the craftiness of his little brother.
"Hehe… Great job little brother…" he thought before he felt his back hit something solid and his consciousness became blurry.