Chapter 0018: This Viscount Will Slay Wolves Today

Without warning, three majestic wolf spirits burst in.
The guards had not been able to stop them in time and had received fatal bites to the neck for their efforts.

The rest of the guards were too scared to approach the beasts.

“The wolf spirits are attacking! They’re eating us! Help!”

“Run! They are coming!”

“That wolf spirit is huge! Smash it with rocks!”

“It’s just three; we have them outnumbered! Gather the men, and we’ll attack as one!”

——

This block held the weakest prisoners; hardly any of them had the courage to stand up to these vicious wolves.
These monsters could easily tear the guards apart, let alone the frail, helpless inmates.

Frenzied, many inmates tried to escape.
Some of them were not fast enough, falling under the wolf spirits’ fangs.
Agonized screams filled the air as the wolves crunched on the skulls and tore them limb from limb.

Fortunately, only three wolf spirits had ventured to block 68.
More of the creatures had invaded the rest of the cellblocks, leaving more casualties and rivers of blood.

“Xiaoman, take Sooty with you and hide in the stone hut,” Yang Wu ordered, frowning.

He then darted into the hut to fetch his crowbar, calling out to Skinny Monkey, who came running, “Gather our men, and do not split up the team!”

“Big Brother, are we going to face them head-on?” Skinny Monkey asked.

“Don’t worry.
There are only three of them.
I want you to have everyone hurl rocks at the wolves.
If we keep it up, we can even kill a Wolf General!” Yang Wu shouted his reply.

His words reassured his men.
One by one, they began to pick up stones and hurl them at the darting wolf spirits.

With so many prisoners fighting back, stones rained down on the wolves, stopping them in their tracks

One of the three wolf spirits had already reached the Spirit Warrior Realm.
It nimbly avoided the flying stones, wounding six or seven inmates as it barreled toward Yang Wu and his men.
The wolf spirit seemed to recognize that group as the main force and realized it would have to deal with them first.

[TL Note: The Spirit Warrior Realm seems to be an animal spirit equivalent of the Warrior Realm.
I’m not sure if there is any significance in the different nomenclature, so I’m translating it as it is for now.
Do also note that Wolf General refers to a wolf spirit at the General Realm, possibly Spirit General Realm in the case of animal spirits, not a generic general of wolf spirits taking command.]

Seeing how ferocious the beast was, the inmates were too intimidated to take aim.
None of the rocks they had thrown thus far had hit it.

As he watched the wolf in action, Yang Wu thought to himself, Based on its swift reflexes, that must be a Warrior wolf spirit.
If I don’t get rid of it first, the men will be in danger.
I will not let the Wuhou Gang crumble! I’ll just have to confront that monster personally.

“All of you, back away! I’ll take care of it!” With a loud cry, the young man lunged forward with his crowbar.

He moved with such surety and speed that not even the shackles around his ankles slowed him down.
This was one of the benefits of forcing open his Yongquan acupoints.

“Let me help you, Big Brother!” Skinny Monkey refused to let his sworn brother fight the Warrior wolf alone, and he followed Yang Wu into battle.

Skinny Monkey had not been idle for the three days Yang Wu had isolated himself.
He had raised his strength to seven stones and cultivated until he became Established with the Rainstorm Spear Art’s first two moves.
The results of his efforts had greatly boosted his confidence.

Meanwhile, Fei Leng ordered the rest of the men.
“Get your stones ready, everyone! Throw them at the wolves whenever you get a chance!”

The guards worked together to deal with the remaining two wolves.
Unfortunately, most of the usual guards had been dispatched to block 8, and the rest of the crew did not have enough men to help with the Warrior wolf spirit.

Although, these guards might have had another reason for not helping with that fight.
Some of them simply did not want to, hoping the formidable creature would take down Yang Wu.

Yang Wu circulated the Supreme Nine Profound Art, energy gushing through his twelve major meridians; it sounded both like a rushing river and startled birds.
As energy flooded through him, some pooled at his feet in swirling vortexes, pushing his body to its limits.
As he reached the wolf spirit, the wolf pounced, and the two began to tear each other down.

Rolling Thunder Shifting Winds …!

Yang Wu held nothing back.
He knew that if he did not severely injure the beast, it would kill him.
While others would have run away, succumbing to a fear of death he did not have, he relished the battle, wanting to test how much he had grown over the past three days.

The crowbar moved like a spear as thunder roared and the wind howled.
The might Yang Wu displayed was no less than that of a Consummate Grade Foot Soldier.

By now, Yang Wu was Accomplished with Rolling Thunder Shifting Winds, and the move was more powerful than ever.

The young man wanted to knock the beast down with one blow, but alas, the Warrior wolf spirit was too nimble.
The leaping wolf arched his back in mid-air and dodged the blow.
At the same time, it reached out and clawed the young man’s clothes and flesh.
Fresh blood began to flow down his chest.

Gritting his teeth against the pain, Yang Wu spun his crowbar, landing a heavy blow

Just as he thought he had managed to injure the wolf spirit, however, Yang Wu’s crowbar bounced off, almost slipping from his grip.

The wolf spirit ignored the attack.
Jaws spread, it spun and pounced. 

“Don’t you dare hurt my brother!” Skinny Monkey interjected as he attacked.

With how little success Yang Wu had, Skinny Monkey did not stand much of a chance.
Yet, the young man’s intervention was enough to distract the wolf spirit, who abandoned its attack against Yang Wu in favor of facing the new threat.

Unable to block the attack, the wolf spirit knocked Skinny Monkey to the ground, diving for his jugular with glistening teeth. 

“I’m finished!” The young man cried out and squeezed his eyes shut as he waited for his final moments.

“Get lost!” Yang Wu snarled.
He charged toward the wolf as it was about to swallow his friend.

Thud, thud!!

Yang Wu was furious.
He would not allow anything to harm his closest companion.
Wildly, he smashed the spirit wolf with his crowbar until it turned its attention back to him.
Equally enraged, the beast knocked the weapon out of Yang Wu’s hand and threw itself toward him.

The wolf spirit was too fast.
Yang Wu felt ribs crack as the beast crashed into him.
Overwhelmed with suffocating pain, he staggered back two or three meters and coughed up fresh blood.

Realizing Yang Wu was the greater threat, the wolf was determined to finish him off first.

Skinny Monkey, on the other hand, had yet to recover from the shock of his near-death experience.
Seeing the wolf about to pounce, however, he shouted a warning, “Big Brother, be careful!”

At this critical moment, Yang Wu relied on the Supreme Nine Profound Art to circulate the energy within him with astounding speed.
The energy roared from his dantain and through his major meridians before reaching his wounds and easing his pain.

Before the young man realized what was happening within him, the wolf spirit came for him again.
He leapt out of the way as gracefully as if his feet had wings.

The wolf spirit struck nothing but air.
Huffing in anger, it turned and launched an even faster attack.

The more dangerous it is, the more I need to stay calm! Yang Wu recalled his father’s teachings and forced himself to calm down as he continued to dodge.

His reflexes seemed beyond that of a Foot Soldier.
He might even be faster than a Warrior.

Because he had opened the acupoints in his feet, the young man knew he could do this.

Unfortunately, the wolf spirit’s strikes were too powerful to defend against.
Yang Wu managed to avoid most of the beast’s strikes, but it did manage to inflict a few more slashes with its vicious claws.
Blood flowed steadily, only making the fight an even more chilling scene. 

“Prepare to die, wolf spirit!” Skinny Monkey lifted a massive stone and hurled it toward the Warrior wolf.
Emboldened, the rest of the inmates joined in the assault.

While Yang Wu took the chance to catch his breath, he remembered the Dragon Turtle Sea Flipping Art.
Tossing his crowbar away, he arched his body and stood on his toes, taking on the Dragon Turtle Water Suppression Stance and combining it with the Supreme Nine Profound Art.
The thousands of tiny holes in his peach pit dantian simultaneously opened, and the energy at his feet began to spin faster.
He felt his twelve major meridians tremble as energy passed like flying arrows buzzing with power.
This was known as the Screeching Arrow Whistle, a phenomenon that signified he had amassed his fifteenth stone of strength and become a Consummate Grade Foot Soldier. 

“Come; fight me!” Yang Wu’s fighting spirit soared as a warcry escaped his lips, and he charged toward the wolf spirit once again.

The beast revealed its full savagery as it ran to meet him, bearing white fangs and howling its fury.
In the blink of an eye, it was on him.

With a glimmer in his eyes, Yang Wu managed to catch the wolf spirit’s fleeting movements.
Before it got to him, he had extended his left palm, his right fist swinging around to land a punch.
As he struck the wolf spirit nose with his palm, his fist smashing it between the eyes, his hands seemed to flash with light.
The blows flung the beast away but not before it left a few more painful, bloody gashes down the young man’s chest.

Both opponents bounced apart with the impact, but blood leaked from the wolf’s weakest points: its nose and eyes.

A primal instinct woke inside of Yang Wu.
He disregarded his wounds and ripped off his clothes, revealing his bloodstained body.
He then shouted at the creature, “This viscount will slay a wolf today!”

His steps were steady, resembling the movement of a dragon turtle.

In response, the wolf spirit fought with even more fervor.
It growled again, throwing itself toward Yang Wu’s vulnerable throat.

The young man continued to launch palm strikes and punches, but the Warrior wolf was tough.
It endured the assault as it continued to snap and claw.

One man and one wolf exchanged blows.
In such an intense battle, there was no room for anyone to step in and help.

Yang Wu had only managed to grasp the Dragon Turtle Sea Flipping Art’s form, preventing him from exhibiting its true might.
However, it was enough, and his prowess in battle was incredible to behold.

But the wolf spirit was smart and agile, avoiding most of Yang Wu’s attacks while inflicting multiple wounds.
The beast was a Medial Grade Spirit Warrior, possessing astonishing strength.
The young man was no match for the wolf spirit.

If Yang Wu had not opened the acupoints in his feet, he would not have had the speed to survive a fight with the Warrior wolf spirit.

Finally, the other two wolves had been subdued, and a few of the guards wanted to help with the fight against the last beast.
However, their leader, Xu Ziyang, stopped them.
“That prisoner is a decent enough fighter.
Let him handle the wolf alone.”

The guards realized what Xu Ziyang intended with that comment, and they all nodded silently.

“You have no one to blame if a wolf eats you, do you, Viscount Yang?” Xu Ziyang snickered under his breath.

As Yang Wu began to fall in the vicious battle, Xiaoman emerged from the stone hut, joining Skinny Monkey and the others as they watched, helpless.
“I hope Master doesn’t come to any harm,” she said, looking worried.

By her side, Sooty looked toward the side, releasing an echoing growl. Grrraaooo!

The sound, fierce and tyrannical, startled Xiaoman.
It was nothing like the pup’s usual bark.

When the wolf spirit heard the growl, it froze with terror, the whites of its eyes showing clearly.

This is it! Yang Wu saw his chance.
He gathered water-attributed energy to his feet as he slid into the dragon turtle stance.
The energy from his dantian merged with the water-attributed energy instantly, and he attacked, aiming for the wolf’s head.

Thud thud thud!

A flurry of punches and palm strikes, flashing with a blue light that was reminiscent of surging waves, crashed into the wolf.
Under the overwhelming force, the wolf spirit’s head exploded.

At the same time, an arrow sliced through the air, striking the wolf in the rear.
The attacks knocked the beast into the air as blood sprayed in all directions.