Sometimes he would slash with his dagger whenever the Yellow-Eyed Direwolf showed huge openings. Clearly, the young boy wasn't a total noob when it came to combat.
As the battle continued, it became evident that the young master, as the elders called him, was being coddled.
Although the elders would correct him whenever he made some huge mistakes, it was full of sugarcoating and their voices were always filled with excessive praise.
It bordered on flattery rather than actual instruction.
Gray's brows furrowed. He didn't care about such things, but something about the way they were instructing the boy felt inefficient.
He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but the way the boy moved and the way the elders guided him wasn't optimal.
Matriarch Zareena, noticing his expression, arched a brow. "What's wrong?"
Gray clicked his tongue in disgust. "All this praise for what? Running in circles? The wolf has given him a dozen kill-shots already, but you're teaching him to ignore them."
Due to the [Street-Smarts of a Thousand Gang Wars], his battle instincts were upgraded massively. Seeing through these elder's battle strategy was like child's play.
Before Matriarch Zareena could respond, the long-haired elder turned towards them, his gaze filled with disapproval. "Oh? Someone who isn't even at the first level of Qi Condensation dares to question our strategy?"
"What the hell do you know?!" the other, bald elder roared, his face turning beet red. "We are ensuring the Young Master's safety while building his confidence! Hold your foul tongue before I tear it from your mouth!"
Gray simply shook his head, deciding it wasn't worth arguing. He had nothing to prove, especially not to people who clearly viewed him as insignificant.
But the bald elder wasn't done.
"This is the most basic strategy to deal with a Yellow-Eyed Direwolf. Everyone has already been using it for centuries. Yet an ignorant child like you dares to question it? How presumptuous. Looking at your age and your current cultivation level, it's obvious that your talent is trash. Didn't your parents teach you not to run your mouth?"
Gray smiled slightly, unaffected. He had dealt with far worse condescension before.
However, before he could respond, the Yellow-Eyed Direwolf made its move.
The Yellow-Eyed Direwolf lunged, aiming directly at the young boy while he was in mid-air. The boy froze, momentarily paralyzed by fear.
"Young master, dodge left!" the bald elder yelled frantically.
"No," Gray's voice cut through the air, calm and unwavering. "Move right and use your dagger to stab behind its front leg."
Perhaps it was the steadiness in his voice, or maybe sheer instinct, but the young boy listened to Gray's voice.
He dodged right, his dagger slicing through the exact point Gray had indicated.
The Yellow-Eyed Direwolf became incapacitated and collapsed instantly.
The entire group fell silent.
The young boy stared at his own hands, dumbfounded. "I... I took it down with just one move?"
As the words left the boy's mouth, a System Notification flashed in Gray's mind.
[Hidden Objective Completed: The Real Teacher]
[Description: You have contradicted the foolish advice of an elder and given a command that led to instant victory, proving your authority on the battlefield.]
[Reward: +5,000 Street Cred Points]
A faint smirk touched Gray's lips.
The system's validation, especially its disdain for the elder's "foolish advice," brought a flicker of satisfaction.
It felt good to be rewarded for simply being right.
Even Ziye and Zareena looked at Gray with surprise. They knew his capabilities the best.
Although he had Perfect Mastery in the Butcher's Elegance, he had no real combat experience, no prior knowledge of how to fight monsters.
Gray had only practiced Butcher's Elegance on the corpses of Fierce Beasts, not with live ones.
Yet, in that brief moment, he had identified the perfect counter to the Yellow-Eyed Direwolf's attack.
If that wasn't a fluke, then it was either an extraordinary amount of experience with Yellow-Eyed Direwolves, which was highly unlikely, or his battle instincts were remarkable.
The bald elder coughed and said, "I-I was about to tell the young master to do the same, of course."
No one believed him.
The young boy ignored the bald elder and turned toward Gray, his eyes filled with curiosity. "Hello, My name is Raven. What's your name, fellow daoist?"
"Gray."
"That was amazing! Where are you guys headed to? Would you like to travel with our group? I'd like to be friends with you. By the way, we're from the Celestial Valley." Raven's voice was filled with sincerity and excitement.
The bald elder who instructed wrongly cleared his throat, visibly uncomfortable with the fact that Gray had outperformed his guidance.
"Young master, I don't think it's a good idea to associate with these people. Who knows if they have ulterior motives?" the bald elder said, his tone dripping with thinly veiled hostility.
The young boy named Raven, however, ignored him and waited for Gray's response.
Gray blinked, caught off guard.
'Celestial Valley? The outer elder from the clan mentioned that it was the strongest amongst the 4 Great Sects, to think that we'd encounter their members out here.'
He glanced at Ziye and Matriarch Zareena, who still had their veils on to avoid attracting attention.
Ziye didn't care while Matriarch Zareena nodded slightly, indicating her approval.
Gray turned back to Raven and offered a small smile. "Sure, let's travel together for a while."
The bald elder scowled but said nothing more, unwilling to embarrass himself any further.
With that, the group set off, now with three unexpected additions in their ranks.
…
The following evening was filled with both tension and camaraderie.
It began, as most new alliances did, with cautious introductions. Gray offered that they should sit down for a while and he'll cook the Yellow-Eyed Direwolf for everyone.
Around the evening campfire, while the Yellow-Eyed Direwolf's meat roasted under Gray's expert hand, everyone sat across from him with wide, expectant eyes.
Gray glanced at Matriarch Zareena as he worked the fire. "I'd like to cook for you all tonight," he said calmly, "this is also to hone my skills. I'd like you all to judge my cooking."
At his words, both Zareena and Ziye raised their brows. The two of them came from the Gluttonous Immortal Sect.
When it came to food, their standards were higher than most cultivators could even imagine.
Ziye chuckled, her eyes glinting. "Are you sure you're not overestimating yourself? We haven't even given you a single recipe."