Heavy snow fell, the biting cold thick with killing intent.
On the ground, one man faced a pack of wolves. An unseen tension filled the air, a battle on the verge of erupting.
Qin Ya struck first, charging toward the Wolf King. Not to be outdone, the wolves swarmed to meet him. With a shift of his Body Technique, Qin Ya moved like a floating feather, drifting on the wind and weaving playfully through the pack. It was none other than the Profound-Level Upper Class Body Technique... Carefree Travel.
With the Carefree Travel technique in use, despite the pack's numbers, not a single wolf could even touch the hem of Qin Ya's robes.
In the blink of an eye, Qin Ya slipped past the pack and appeared before the Wolf King. With a faint, indifferent smile, he raised his hand and unleashed the Profound-Level Upper Class Martial Skill, Overlapping Waves Palm. His Palm Force surged forward like rolling waves.
The Wolf King's pupils contracted, its hackles rising. The Palm Force sent a shiver of fear through it. The beast retreated explosively, attempting to dodge, but Qin Ya stuck close. Relying on his Carefree Travel Body Technique, his speed was in no way inferior to the Wolf King's.
Unable to dodge, the Wolf King abruptly raised its front paws to meet Qin Ya's palms!
BOOM! A violent shockwave kicked up a furious gale of wind and snow.
'Impressive!'
Qin Ya thought to himself. 'This Wolf King's strength has reached over three thousand jin. Even an ordinary Profound Origin Realm Martial Artist wouldn't possess such power.'
'It seems this Wolf King has had some other fortuitous encounter!'
While the Wolf King and Qin Ya were locked in a stalemate, the other wolves stabilized themselves from the shockwave and prepared to rush forward to help their king.
Qin Ya noticed and snorted coldly.
"Overlapping Waves Palm, Fourth-Layer Wave."
The reason the Overlapping Waves Palm was classified as a Profound-Level Upper Class Palm Technique was its ability to stack a Martial Artist's Palm Power. Each layer greatly enhanced its strength.
The Overlapping Waves Palm was divided into seven layers. When cultivated to the Seventh Layer, the Palm Power was seven times stronger than the First Layer, as unstoppable as an ocean tide.
Feeling the terrifying power surging from Qin Ya's palm, the Wolf King was sent flying back dozens of feet before it could even react. At the same time, the Palm Power invaded its body, wreaking havoc from within.
After knocking back the Wolf King, Qin Ya's figure shifted. His True Essence circulated rapidly as he unleashed the Overlapping Waves Palm once more, slaughtering the wolves that were charging from behind.
Blood sprayed as the Snow Wolves were sent flying. Qin Ya remained silent and impassive, his killing intent so thick it was almost tangible. The pack, stunned, did not dare to move forward.
"Heh, so you do know fear."
Qin Ya glared down at them, a veritable War God.
The Snow Wolf King let out a low growl. It felt a trace of fear, but its pride as a king would not allow it to retreat.
"Come on. Let's continue."
Qin Ya bellowed, kicked off the ground, and charged forward once more.
Fight! Fight! Fight!
Man and beast, their figures a blur of motion. The force from the occasional clash of palm and claw tore through the snow and kicked up violent winds. The surrounding wolves watched in fear, not daring to approach.
"Overlapping Waves Palm, Fourth-Layer Wave!"
"WHIMPER..."
BOOM! The Snow Wolf King was sent flying once again. The surrounding pack grew restless and agitated. They couldn't understand why their normally invincible king was being beaten back time and time again.
The Snow Wolf King let out a low howl. Now dozens of yards from Qin Ya, it kept its body low, its paws nervously scraping the snow. It was actually afraid of him, hesitating to move forward.
The Wolf King had long since lost its earlier elegance. Its fur was a mess, even violently torn in places to reveal the raw flesh beneath.
It looked more like a mangy stray than the king of a pack.
"Heh, die, you beast."
The longer Qin Ya fought, the more excited he became. The bottleneck in his Cultivation even showed faint signs of loosening.
Just as he was about to press his advantage, the Snow Wolf King flinched, then turned tail and fled. Qin Ya was stunned. 'The Wolf King actually ran away.'
With their king gone, the remaining wolves looked at each other for a moment before scattering in all directions.
"Trying to escape? No chance."
Qin Ya unleashed his Carefree Travel and immediately gave chase.
In the snowy forest, Qin Ya gave chase across the snow. Surprisingly, while the Wolf King's tracks were clearly visible, he left no footprints of his own behind.
Stepping on Snow Without Trace!
Clearly, Qin Ya had already cultivated his Carefree Travel Body Technique to an extremely high Realm.
'Damn, this thing is fast when it's running for its life.'
Faced with a life-or-death crisis, the Snow Wolf King burst forth with unprecedented speed. If not for Qin Ya's mastery of Carefree Travel, he likely would have lost the trail long ago.
Soon, the man and beast passed through the snowy forest and arrived at a Cold Pool.
The water of the Cold Pool was frigid, emitting a white, frosty mist.
Surprisingly, while the area around the Cold Pool was completely barren, a single Snow Lotus grew in its center, swaying in the frigid wind.
The lotus was pure white, its eight open petals gleaming with a radiant light.
After a moment's thought, realization dawned on Qin Ya.
'No wonder this Wolf King is so unusual. It was all thanks to this Ice Lotus.'
The Ice Lotus was one of the world's rarest Spiritual Treasures. For a mortal, consuming it could cleanse their muscles and marrow, completely remolding their body. For a Martial Artist, it could greatly increase their True Essence and advance their Cultivation. For a beast, it could purify their bloodline and even grant it Awakening.
In short, the Ice Lotus had many uses.
'My luck is incredible! I can't believe I found an Ice Lotus here.'
Qin Ya was filled with joy, but his expression quickly changed to one of heartache and fury. "This damned Wolf King! What a monstrous waste of a priceless treasure! It's infuriating!"
He could clearly see the Ice Lotus was imperfect and incomplete; it had obviously been used. 'Who else could it have been but the Snow Wolf King?'
"This should have been a twelve-petaled Ice Lotus, but now only eight petals are left."
If he had used those four petals for Alchemy, their value would have multiplied several times over. Seeing the Snow Wolf King approach the Ice Lotus in the Cold Pool, Qin Ya's anger flared.
"Beast! Get away from the Ice Lotus!"
Qin Ya suddenly erupted, unleashing his Overlapping Waves Palm to send the Wolf King flying.
With a flicker of movement, Qin Ya skimmed across the Cold Pool like a dragonfly on water. He plucked the Ice Lotus, examined it for a moment, then placed it in his storage bag.
"You damned beast. You've incurred the wrath of an Alchemist."
To an Alchemist, anyone who destroyed a Spiritual Treasure was a villain.
In his past life, an Extraordinary Strong Person had destroyed a stalk of Starlight Spirit Conceal Grass in Qin Ya's spiritual medicine garden and was blacklisted for it. That Extraordinary Strong Person had begged him for three days and three nights, but it was useless.
In the end, the Extraordinary Strong Person tried to threaten him with Martial Power, but was sent flying by a single palm strike from Gu Hanyan. His Cultivation was completely destroyed, reducing him to a mere mortal.
Even a cornered rabbit will bite, to say nothing of a proud Wolf King.
The Wolf King cast aside its fear of Qin Ya. Its pupils filled with bloodshot veins, emanating a tyrannical aura. With a furious roar, it charged at Qin Ya, its claws carrying the Power of Shattering Stone and Breaking Gold, determined to rip the human who had humiliated it to shreds.
"You still dare to resist? Overlapping Waves Palm, Sixth-Layer Wave!"
Qin Ya's True Essence surged. He broke through his limits, reaching the Human Element Realm Eighth Grade. He then unleashed his full power. The Sixth-Layer Wave of the Overlapping Waves Palm erupted to meet the charge.
Because Qin Ya cultivated the Nine Heavens Shocking God Record, his True Essence was already far stronger than that of other Martial Artists at the same Realm, making him comparable to a Profound Origin Realm Martial Artist. Now, with his Palm Power erupting as the Sixth-Layer Wave, its might was something that even an ordinary Profound Origin Realm Martial Artist could not withstand.
To say nothing of a Wolf King already weakened from a prolonged battle. The instant palm met claw, the bones in the Wolf King's paws shattered, and it was sent flying.
It landed on the ground, blood pouring from its throat. After a brief convulsion, it breathed its last and died.
"This is the price for angering an Alchemist."