Late at night, just as the zi hour began, a black shadow flashed across the foot of the Gongxu Mountains.
After a few "shasha" sounds, Lu An stopped under a large tree, leaning on his knees, panting heavily to calm his Qi.
On his way back to the dormitory, after saying goodbye to Gao Dashan and the others, Lu An did not return to the dormitory but instead turned back directly to the Gongxu Mountains.
He knew that Gao Dashan and the others were right; as long as there's life, there's hope, but he was different from them. Although they were from poor families, they still had some money in their pockets, enough to live on for a while if they were frugal. But he couldn't; he was truly penniless. He couldn't always let Fu Yu treat him to meals, could he?
Moreover, ever since entering the academy, Lu An's mindset had undergone a tremendous change.
He wanted to change his Destiny Wheel, and for that, he could endure even more than before, but he also had an ambition he'd never possessed!
Since he was going to change his Destiny Wheel, he would change it thoroughly. He wanted to become a true powerhouse, and a powerhouse wouldn't even dare to enter the outer reaches of the Gongxu Mountains.
After a short rest, Lu An felt much better. But he didn't rush on his way immediately; instead, he raised his right hand and kept staring at it.
After about half a minute, a tangible flame suddenly appeared on it, and then the flame flashed, turning into ice that emitted endless coldness!
Clench!
Lu An tightly clenched his fist, and the ice in his hand instantly disappeared. He had been practicing releasing his Destiny Wheel repeatedly on his way here. After more than two hours of practice, he finally shortened the time to release his Destiny Wheel from two minutes to half a minute!
Lu An knew that instantly releasing Heavenly Origin was a basic skill for every Heavenly Master, and even in the academy, everyone above a Level 5 Sky Realm could do it. He was still far from instant release. But at least upon arriving at these Gongxu Mountains, this was one of his life-saving methods!
Taking a deep breath, Lu An stepped out from behind the tree and looked at the pitch-black Gongxu Mountains. The moon above his head was gradually covered by dark clouds.
Lu An frowned slightly. Since he had come, he couldn't turn back, so he cautiously began to ascend the mountain.
That seductive woman had said that although Strange Beasts rarely appeared in the outermost mountains, there were tigers, leopards, jackals, and wolves. Although Lu An had ambition, he also knew his current strength. If he encountered tigers, leopards, jackals, or wolves, he would only be able to turn and run. So he could only try to avoid them as carefully as possible, without alarming them.
In the pitch-black forest, Lu An would quickly hide under a large tree every few steps he took, confirming repeatedly that there were no wild beasts before continuing forward. Although this speed was slow, it could ensure his safety as much as possible.
Slowly, Lu An had entered deep into the Gongxu Mountains. Every mountain in the Gongxu Mountains was very high, and even the outermost mountains were over three thousand meters tall. Now Lu An had reached one-third of the way, still extremely careful and cautious.
"Caw, caw, caw—"
Suddenly, a crow's cry rang out, like a clap of thunder in the silent night, scaring Lu An into quickly running behind a tree to hide, his constantly tensed nerves making him pant heavily.
And Lu An didn't notice that in the distance, in the darkness, several faint lights were shining, but with ordinary human vision, one couldn't see clearly in the dark.
Lu An took a few more deep breaths, looked around, and finding nothing unusual, continued on his way. He rushed forward for more than forty meters in one go before slowly stopping, listening carefully to the sounds around him.
Shasha—
Is that the sound of wind?
Lu An stopped, quickly hid behind a large tree, and frowned, listening intently to the sounds around him.
There was clearly no wind, so why was there the sound of wind?
Looking around, Lu An still found no wild beasts. He couldn't help but frown, poked his head out, looked up the mountain, and then walked out again, continuing his ascent.
Shasha—
The sound appeared again, and it was louder than the last time. Lu An's body stiffened, and he sharply turned his head to look!
This time, he saw them!
Four gray-maned wolves slowly appeared from behind a large tree. Each wolf looked to be about two meters long and one meter tall.
The eyes of the four wolves emitted a faint, pale light, saliva dripped from their open mouths, their bodies were slightly crouched, and their throats made a purring sound.
Lu An's brows were tightly furrowed, and his eyes were solemn. This wasn't the first time he had seen wild wolves; he had encountered them before in the Tabukal mountains, but that was with his father. This time, he was facing them alone, and there were four of them!
Taking a deep breath, his gaze fixed on the four wolves slowly approaching, Lu An didn't even think, he just turned and ran!
"Awooo!!!"
The four wolves behind him let out a long howl to the sky, then suddenly lowered their heads, a fierce glint flashing in their eyes, and quickly rushed towards Lu An!
The wolves in the mountains were incredibly fast. No matter how good Lu An's physique was, he was still just a twelve-year-old boy. How could he compete with wolves in speed in the pitch-black mountain forest? In just a few tens of meters, the distance rapidly closed. In the blink of an eye, the four wild wolves appeared not far behind Lu An!
Lu An ran while looking back. He saw that the wild wolves were about to catch up to him, knowing that he couldn't run anymore, so he quickly leaped onto a tree, then rapidly climbed upwards, quickly reaching the top of the large tree!
This large tree was more than ten meters tall, and its trunk was half a meter thick. Lu An squatted on the trunk, panting heavily, while frowning and looking down at the base of the tree. The four wild wolves were still circling at the base of the tree, their heads raised, staring at Lu An, with no intention of leaving.
As Lu An's breathing gradually stabilized, he completely calmed down. He knew the habits of these beasts: they were extremely patient and would never give up easily. If he waited on the tree for them to leave, it would probably be until tomorrow noon, but that was still the best-case scenario. If he stayed on the tree and attracted other wild beasts or more wolves, then there would truly be no way out!
Neither outcome was acceptable to Lu An, so there was only one path left for him—to slaughter these beasts!
Lu An's eyes gradually turned cold. It just so happened that after learning to release his Destiny Wheel tonight, he hadn't had a chance to test whether his Destiny Wheel was truly as powerful as the Black Mist Person said.
Taking a deep breath, Lu An opened his palm, and soon a red flame appeared in his palm, burning silently, emitting a light of destruction.
"Nine Heavens Holy Fire," Lu An thought as he looked at the flame. "Let's see if you can truly burn everything!"
Then, Lu An's eyes narrowed, and with a wave of his large hand, the flame left his hand and flew straight towards one of the wolves beneath the tree!
The Nine Heavens Holy Fire was incredibly fast, far exceeding Lu An's imagination! His strength alone could not possibly throw something so quickly. The only reason might be that the Nine Heavens Holy Fire was too light, almost weightless!
Whoosh—
The Nine Heavens Holy Fire fell from the tree and instantly reached one of the wild wolves!
The wild wolf saw a small ball of flame suddenly appear and seemed to have no intention of dodging. Instead, it bared its ferocious fangs, its contemptuous gaze seemingly mocking Lu An's tiny flame.
Bang!!
After the Nine Heavens Holy Fire touched the wild wolf, it instantly emitted an explosive sound, and then the flame suddenly grew larger, instantly engulfing the entire wild wolf!
"Awooo! Awooo!!!"
Immediately, a cry of agony came from the wild wolf's mouth. The red flame instantly swallowed the wild wolf, which frantically rolled on the ground as if trying to extinguish the flames on its body!
However, everything only lasted a few seconds before stopping, and the world returned to quiet. The wild wolf lay on the ground, having lost all its strength. The red flame burned on its body, and after about another half a minute, this wolf left no even bone ash.
Deep fear finally appeared in the eyes of the other three wild wolves. They cried out "awooo awooo," turned and ran, quickly disappearing from Lu An's sight.
When Lu An saw the three wolves leave, he still didn't come down from the tree but instead looked down at the black mark beneath the tree.
A wild wolf, just like that, died?
A wild wolf that even his father had to gather several people to dare to hunt, just died so easily?
Lu An lowered his head, looking at his palm, staring for a long time before slowly raising his head, his brows furrowed even more deeply.
He turned his head and looked towards the distant mountaintop.
Tonight, he must retrieve that waterskin!