The Heavenly Tiger Sect
At the outer sect's mission hall, disciples moved in and out like a restless tide, most dressed in plain black outer sect robes.
Jiang Chen stepped forward without a word and placed a thin wooden token on the counter.
Behind it sat an outer sect attendant, a middle-aged man with sunken eyes and a faint scar across his brow. This was not the same worker from the other day. There were many who worked here in rotating shifts.
The man picked up the token and casually glanced at the mission details carved onto its surface.
Mission number: One Hundred Twenty-Nine
Mission rank: Second Order
Mission target: Copper Bone Wolf Cubs. Dead or alive.
Mission reward: 25 spirit stones.
His fingers paused briefly.
"Are you taking on the mission alone?" the man asked, eyes narrowing slightly.
Jiang Chen nodded.
The man leaned back ever so slightly. His brows twitched, but he quickly suppressed the movement and returned to his usual impassive posture.
'He doesn't even look twenty. But already tired of living.' The man sighed internally.
He could clearly sense that Jiang Chen's cultivation was only at the Fifth layer. Yet he was taking on a Second Order mission alone.
'Normally, two or even three disciples at this level would form a temporary team before attempting a second order task. Copper Bone Wolves are not only violent, but extremely protective of their families. Hmph, these reckless youngsters die every year overestimating themselves.'
Still the man said nothing further. His face remained expressionless as he pressed the token onto a small jade platform, confirming the mission had been accepted. Next, he recorded Jiang Chen's details on the mission scroll and pushed the mission token back to him.
Jiang Chen accepted the mission token and wordlessly walked out of the mission hall.
'Once again, head back to the wilderness. Sigh, most of my time in this Heavenly Tiger Sect has been spent in these damn mountains... Fortunately, during my last visit, I came across a Copper Bone Wolf family in the Scarlet Mud Mountain. Let's try my luck searching for them there.'
Jiang Chen didn't waste time and quickly made his way into the wilderness.
But it still took him an entire day to reach his destination.
The Scarlet Mud Mountain earned its name from the reddish hue of its cliffs and the dark red blood soil everywhere, said to come from ancient battles between Devils and Immortals that stained the earth with blood long ago.
Right now, Jiang Chen stood atop a tree, his cold gaze cast down on a natural den beneath a shattered boulder.
A pair of copper-furred wolves lay sprawled in the clearing.
The male wolf stood alert, shoulders broad as a small ox. Its golden eyes burned with the calm malice of a born killer. The oppressive aura it radiated was unmistakably that of peak stage Rank One. In human terms, it was a match for a ninth to twelfth stage Qi Condensation cultivator.
Beside it, the female wolf crouched lower, but its presence was no less deadly. Jiang Chen perceived her to be middle stage Rank One. A level akin to a fourth to eighth layer Qi Condensation cultivators. The female wolf watched over their two small cubs, who tumbled playfully in the red dirt, growling at leaves and snapping at butterflies.
Jiang Chen's face remained expressionless.
This was a Second Order mission. Normally, he would not have accepted it alone. But this time was different.
He had a plan.
Naturally, Jiang Chen's plan didn't include fighting both wolves at once. That would be suicide.
He moved the spiritual essence in his dantian, activating his mirage tiger bloodline trait. In a blink, a figure stepped out beside him, perfectly identical in face and form.
With a nod, he sent it down.
The clone leapt from the tree, landing with a deliberate thud that echoed through the clearing.
The male wolf lifted its head and snarled with bloodthirsty fury. In the next breath, it surged to its feet and gave chase, tearing through the mountain slopes like a bronze-furred thunderbolt.
The clone spun and fled toward the valley's edge, leading the predator away with deliberate movements. Dust flew behind them as they quickly disappeared from the area.
The female stood protectively before her cubs, snarling at the fading footsteps.
That was Jiang Chen's cue.
He dropped soundlessly from the tree and landed in a crouch.
The female Copper Bone Wolf spun instantly with teeth bared, fur bristling. Her golden eyes narrowed as a low, warning growl rumbled from her throat.
Jiang Chen moved.
At once, 5th layer Qi Condensation spiritual essence surged from his dantian. Before condensing along his right arm, gathering like clouds before a storm. A golden phantom burst forth, coiling around his fist. It took the form of a tiger's snarling visage— ferocious, majestic, and wild.
Heavenly Tiger Fist Technique.
With a roarless boom, he struck first.
The female Copper Bone Wolf reacted in kind, rushing forward to intercept. Her bronze skin hardened like armor, a sturdy defense born of her flesh.
They collided.
Jiang Chen's tiger-covered fist struck the side of her skull. The sound was like stone cracking under a hammer. She staggered, but did not fall. With a twist of her body, her claws lashed toward him.
He bent at the waist and slid under her swipe. His left hand grabbed her hind leg as his right fist smashed into her ribs with another surge of golden tiger Qi.
Crack.
A short yelp escaped the beast's throat, but her eyes gleamed with unyielding fighting spirit. Even wounded, the wolf fought with the desperation of a mother defending her young.
From behind, the cubs had crawled out of the den.
They barked and yipped loudly, their tiny voices filled with cheer and blind courage. One pawed at the dirt, mimicking its mother's stance. Another howled weakly, eyes fixed on the human who dared attack their protector.
Jiang Chen's eyes remained cold.
Another step forward. Another surge of Qi. Another roaring strike.
The female wolf retreated back, her movements slower now. Blood leaked from her jaws. Her breaths came in uneven gasps, body trembling from exhaustion.
Yet the female wolf still bared her fangs ferociously, refusing to fall.
Jiang Chen gritted his teeth. His Qi was draining at an alarming pace.
He moved again.
The beast faced him directly. Golden eyes locked on his.
Suddenly, Jiang Chen's pupils shrank.
The connection to the spiritual clone snapped!
A cold pulse surged through his skull. A brief image flared in his mind. Shattered earth, a massive claw, and then a wolf's howl.
'It caught up.'
Some distance away, the male had found the clone and destroyed it.
The oppressive aura of peak stage Rank One would soon return.
He had only moments.
The instant he faltered, the female Copper Bone Wolf pounced. Claws like curved daggers raked across Jiang Chen's sleeve. A deep cut opened on his forearm.
"Tch, annoying beast." Jiang Chen twisted his body mid-step and retreated five meters with a burst of wind.
Blood ran freely from the gash on his forearm, staining his robe crimson. If he had been a fraction slower, the entire limb would have been torn off.
The female wolf gave chase, her body bruised and battered, yet her killing intent burned brighter than ever.
'It's lost all reason.'
Jiang Chen's breath came sharp. The male would return in moments. One wrong move and he'd be trapped between two dangerous beasts. He narrowed his gaze.
No more hesitation.
"Let's end this."
He gathered his Qi into both arms. Spiritual power surged like a tidal wave, converging into his fists. Twin phantoms of roaring tiger heads formed, golden and snarling, covering both hands like heavenly gauntlets.
With a thunderous roar, he charged.
And the beast met him head-on without fear.
Just as Jiang Chen and the female wolf were about to collide, a second figure stepped out from his body.
His clone. It immediately dashed toward the den without hesitation.
The female wolf froze for a split second. Her eyes locked onto the clone as it rushed toward her defenseless cubs. Rage and terror surged within her. She broke from her original path and lunged toward the clone, abandoning Jiang Chen entirely.
But that was exactly what Jiang Chen wanted.
As the female wolf closed in, the clone raised its fist, golden Qi exploding from its arm. The tiger phantom struck her with terrifying force. The blow stopped her cold, staggering her backward.
She tried to regain balance.
Too late.
The real Jiang Chen was already behind her. Both of his hands gripped together, veins bulging, golden tiger phantoms roaring along his arms. With brutal force, he brought his fists down like a falling mountain, crashing into the center of her spine.
A sickening crunch rang out.
The wolf collapsed instantly. Her lower body was crushed beyond repair. She writhed in the dirt, letting out a blood-curdling howl, clawing helplessly at the soil in sheer agony.
Jiang Chen stood in silence, watching the wolf writhe in the dirt. There was not a trace of sympathy in his eyes.
He did not even care to finish her off.
There was no need. The mission only required the cubs, dead or alive. The mother was irrelevant.
The clone hurried to the den.
The cubs whimpered and snapped their tiny teeth. The clone reached down and snapped their necks in a clean motion, without even a second thought.
Carrying their limp bodies, the clone returned and placed them before Jiang Chen. He stored the corpses in his bag of holding, as if bagging vegetables from a market.
Then he turned and vanished into the forest, the clone trailing silently behind him.
The female wolf's ragged breaths echoed behind him, filled with hate, filled with pain. But she no longer mattered to him.
After traveling a hundred meters, Jiang Chen looked at the clone and gestured once.
The clone nodded and sprinted off in another direction for five hundred meters before dissipating into mist.
If the male wolf returned and gave chase, the cub scent on the clone would lead it away.
As for Jiang Chen, he took a quieter route through the trees.
His expression never changed. His footsteps were light.
He left the Scarlet Mud Mountain carefree.