Chapter 90: What Day Is It Today?

Watching the six black wolves charging ferociously toward him, Xiao Nan knew that something unexpected had happened here. What happens after one kills too many wolves?

Zhang Shu’s incessant chatter was not just out of fear of the bloodthirsty black wolves, but also because of the wolf king. When Han Zhang and his team of five went out hunting wolves, Zhang Shu was among them, accompanied by another first-rank martial artist. They left as five, but returned as only four. The first-rank martial artist who had temporarily joined them lost his life on the meadow.

Zhang Shu had once lamented that, under normal circumstances, one might go out hunting ten times and never encounter the wolf king. Their luck that day was particularly bad.

In Xiao Nan’s view, that wooden-headed Zhang Shu was actually quite fortunate. While the first-rank martial artist died, Zhang Shu survived. Last time, when hunting with Xiao Nan, Han Zhang and the others all perished, but Zhang Shu alone was spared. If one judged by intelligence alone, Zhang Shu should have been the first to die.

A pale shadow flickered before his eyes, a foul wind rose, and a mournful howl sounded from the grass. A huge wolf with strange coloring suddenly leapt up, its claws catching the sunlight, dazzling and sharp.

A tearing sound ripped through the air. This wolf was even larger than the five black wolves in pursuit, nearly half again their size. Its head and neck were covered in white fur, its body mantled with oily black hair—a formidable sight. When it landed, its shoulders nearly matched a human’s height.

Moreover, the white-headed wolf was cunning, having gathered a pack of black wolves, yet it itself had somehow circled around to ambush Xiao Nan from behind. Most likely, it had looped around.

Xiao Nan ran low to the ground, never once pausing, his body twisting into a slanted bow as he slashed back with his sword.

Claw met steel with a clang, sparks flying. The white-headed wolf’s attack was astonishingly fast, its forelimbs leaving afterimages as it swung. It raised its head and howled, then kicked off with all four limbs in a wild charge, its massive jaws snapping toward Xiao Nan’s throat.

“Even fiercer than lions or tigers—charging straight on without any hesitation,” Xiao Nan thought, squinting his eyes into a narrow slit, feeling a fierce jolt in his arm and wrist. His sword bent into a curve from the force, but he leveraged it to spring away, dodging the wolf’s pounce like an arrow.

Without looking back, he landed and ran. “Its strength is twice mine, its speed a bit faster, and even its body is much tougher than an ordinary bloodthirsty wolf.”

The sword forged from chrysanthemum-patterned steel was indeed extremely sharp, able to cut iron as easily as mud. But its effectiveness still depended on the opponent. Xiao Nan struck the wolf’s paw with a slash, leaving only a shallow wound on its forelimb, barely cutting through the fur. Not only did this further provoke the wolf king, but his sword arm was left numb and tired.

“How did Han Zhang’s team escape the wolf king last time? They must have started fleeing the moment they saw it.”

The first-rank martial artist who died likely acted on impulse, trying to cover the retreat, and was betrayed by his own team. As he ran, Xiao Nan guessed at the events of that day. He realized that more than just Zhang Shu was lucky—Han Zhang’s group, too, had escaped disaster time and again, never abandoning their reckless ways, until one day their luck finally ran out.

Having tested the wolf king’s strength and defenses, Xiao Nan had lost all desire to fight. Behind him, six black wolves kept close pursuit, and from afar came the varied howls of wolves. Had he provoked an entire den of bloodthirsty wolves?

Xiao Nan ran swiftly, his senses razor-sharp, able to perceive everything around him, his reflexes incredibly quick. Facing the white-headed wolf king’s chase, he wasn't in grave danger. Though he couldn’t defeat it, he was confident he could preserve himself.

But the wolf king wasn’t alone.

After several attacks, his body ached as though it would fall apart, but he could already see the edge of the ten-mile meadow.

Suddenly, the white-headed wolf stopped, gazing skyward and howling wildly, no longer pressing the chase. The black wolves behind also ceased their pursuit.

“Perhaps this place holds some legend? The beasts dare not cross its border? That’s fortunate.”

Xiao Nan looked around, catching his breath and steadying his energy. He knew the wolf-killing operation in the ten-mile meadow was finished—unless his strength surpassed that of the white-headed wolf. Without slaying the wolf king, there was no point in venturing further.

Of course, as wolf king, it couldn’t possibly guard the meadow day and night. If Xiao Nan hadn’t hunted so fiercely, drastically reducing their numbers, he likely wouldn’t have drawn out the wolf king.

In any case, he’d achieved his goal, and had no need to provoke such a hard foe. Watching the white-headed wolf vanish, Xiao Nan turned and left the ten-mile meadow, heading back to the city.

That afternoon and night, Xiao Nan went nowhere—he focused solely on refining the Essence Grass.

Once his physique was optimized, his resilience grew ever stronger. The chilling energy of the Essence Grass was no longer so unbearable. As his vitality increased bit by bit, his strength and physique rose in tandem.

When dawn broke, Xiao Nan stopped his cultivation and stood up. He carefully placed half a piece of Essence Grass into a jade box, exhaled deeply, a frosty mist appearing in the air.

He took up his stance, swinging fists and kicking, lowering his waist, shifting his steps. His bones crackled in a continuous chain. The robust energy within him, guided by his mental force, surged like a tide—breaking through every remaining blockage.

Strength slowly permeated his entire body, making his flesh lighter and more agile. From start to finish, he practiced the eighty-one forms of the Body-Forging Method, a misty white vapor rising above his head—the chilling energy of his surging vitality.

His life force finally accelerated, though exactly how much was hard to estimate. His strength, however, could be gauged: after refining half a stalk of Essence Grass, with his enhanced vitality coursing through every fiber, his power rose accordingly.

His sustained strength could now reach about 1,400 pounds.

For an ordinary human, a vitality value of 5.0 is the limit, and the closer one gets to that peak, the slower the progress—this is a challenge everyone faces.

Yet Xiao Nan wasn’t worried. He estimated that with the immense medicinal power of the Essence Grass, once fully refined, he would reach the peak of 5.0 vitality.

During this period, he drank wolf’s blood, ate wolf meat, and even chewed raw leaves, never missing a chance for nourishment. With abundant nutrition and restored energy, plus repeated battles, he finally achieved some results.

Still, the Essence Grass was not easy to digest. Its chilling energy was especially taxing—after ingesting half a stalk, even with his beast-like constitution, it took more than a day to dispel the cold.

This was merely a minor inconvenience compared to the increase in vitality—a slight hindrance, nothing more.

He glanced at his reflection; his face was paler than before. Previously, his cheeks had grown ruddy with increased vitality, but now they seemed dusted with frost. Under his eyes there was a faint bluish tinge, as if he’d indulged in excess.

“Xiao Nan, what were you doing last night? Why does your face look so pale?” After washing, Xiao Nan grabbed a meat bun and stuffed it into his mouth. Xiao Bei, the little sister, paused her soup, looking at him with disgust.

“What else? Cultivating… When you learn the Divine Intent Body-Forging, you’ll look the same.” Xiao Nan replied, brushing her off.

“Really?” Xiao Bei eyed him suspiciously, touching her chubby cheeks, a bit worried.

“Of course. Think about it: Divine Intent Body-Forging moves your vitality—doesn’t that consume energy?”

“Oh.” The little girl nodded, then frowned. “But you didn’t used to look like this. After training, you seemed energetic. And I see all those martial artists with rosy faces.”

“That was because my cultivation efficiency was low before. The other martial artists are just lazy, you know?” Xiao Nan nearly failed to brush her off. The little girl turned into a thousand questions, her curiosity unbounded.

He grabbed another bun and stuffed it into Xiao Bei’s mouth. “Eat up—kids shouldn’t ask so much. You’ll understand when you train yourself.”

With her mouth full, Xiao Bei finally fell silent.

“Xiao Nan, are you malnourished? I’ll buy a couple of mountain ginseng roots and make soup later,” Tan Qiuyi said, worried, as she came over to look at Xiao Nan’s complexion.

“No need. I’ll be fine in a few days—cultivation always does this. Don’t worry, Mom.”

It was just a bit of penetrating cold, but hardly something he could explain at home. How could he tell them he ate Essence Grass raw? Where would he even get it? Wouldn’t eating it raw be dangerous? If your constitution is strong enough, you can handle it—so why doesn’t anyone else eat it raw? Well, a basket of questions…

After breakfast, Xiao Bei prepared for school. At the door, she called out ingratiatingly, “Brother, do you remember what day it is?”

“What day? Oh, it’s Friday—Four Seasons Sword Hall starts a new class. Alright, alright, once I learn the sword technique, I’ll teach you.”

She was truly attentive. Xiao Nan was speechless—if his sister hadn’t reminded him, he might have forgotten. He had been planning to visit the school to ask Tang Zhixuan what preparations were needed for the Blood Trial.