Wolf packs were considered the sole overlords of the Cloud Ridge Mountain range. Although fierce beasts like tigers, leopards, and bears could kill individual gray wolves, even these apex predators wouldn't provoke a full pack easily. Yet, now, something in the forest had caused the wolves to panic.
Su Yan's eyes flickered. He raised his hardwood bow and drove the Dark Water Centipede and the Velvet Fire Scorpion Bug to rush towards the ravine where the sound originated. The ravine wasn't far from his current location, and since he couldn't descend the mountain overnight, his best option was to investigate proactively and decide whether to retreat later. Dealing with trouble was always better than waiting for it to find him.
His speed was incredible, moving like a shadow under the moonlight, threading through the trees and rapidly closing in on the ravine. As he got closer, the wolf howls became clearer, accompanied by a deep, rumbling growl, a sound distinctly different from the wolves' high-pitched cries.
'It's a wild beast, but not an ordinary one. Otherwise, it absolutely couldn't force the wolf pack into such a desperate state.' He rushed forward, gripping his longbow and an arrow. The commotion suggested the presence of a Desolate Beast.
'If it's First-Order Early Stage, I'll figure out a way to fight it. If it's anything stronger, I'll retreat immediately!' With his decision made, Su Yan's eyes shone brightly, his courage surging.
He passed through a thicket and stopped behind a large tree on a small slope. The moonlight was clear, casting dancing shadows. The ravine was barely a hundred meters in front of him. He saw a clearing surrounded by trees, filled with low-lying bushes and vines. It was a flat area next to a rock wall, clearly a common habitat for group animals.
'This is the wolves' den.'
Su Yan stared intently, his pupils contracting with surprise.
He saw a ferocious ape, two to three meters tall, covered in long, bronze-colored hair, its muscles bulging. Its face was slightly fox-like, with a sharp snout and fangs, but its body resembled a powerful mountain ape. This vicious ape was immensely strong. A single grab from its millstone-sized hand snapped the spine of a gray wolf attempting a sneak attack. Blood-soaked bone shards scattered, and the ape wielded the still-twitching wolf carcass as a weapon.
As three or four gray wolves lunged, the ape roared in fury and swept the wolf carcass in its hand outward. Muffled impacts and bone-breaking sounds arose, and blood and flesh splattered the ground under the moonlight.
"Awoo!"
A final wolf howled. The remaining twelve or thirteen gray wolves gathered, led by a thick-maned gray wolf, almost the size of a tiger, its eyes cold and steady, fixated on the ferocious ape.
'What a large Wolf King!' Su Yan was startled. It must have consumed some Treasure Plant or other heavenly material; the Wolf King's size exceeded its natural limit, suggesting it was nearing the First-Order rank.
The wolf pack rallied, but the ferocious ape grabbed the dead wolf, chewing and swallowing the flesh, seemingly not taking the remaining pack as a serious threat.
Thump, thump, thump!
It tore the wolf carcass, chewed twice, discarded half the body, and charged forward. Its body was immensely heavy, and its footsteps thundered.
The Wolf King howled, and all the gray wolves attacked simultaneously, rushing for the ape's arms, ankles, and neck. The ape's massive arms swept out like stone pillars, knocking the gray wolves flying. The Wolf King seized the chance, leaping from a rock onto the ape's back. Its movement was swift, like a shadow.
But just as its fangs clamped onto the ape's neck, the ape's massive hand knocked the Wolf King away. It charged forward, planting a foot on the Wolf King's spine, instantly crushing it. Flesh and blood turned into a bloody mash. The remaining gray wolves whimpered, tucked their tails, and scattered into the forest, giving up the fight.
Su Yan's eyes lit up at the sight, a sharp glint rising in them. The bronze-colored ferocious ape was facing away from Su Yan under the moonlight, and blood was trickling from its neck. Though the wound was small, it showed its defense had been breached. The Wolf King could hurt it, meaning its strength had a limit. Furthermore, the power displayed during the fight hadn't exceeded his estimations by much.
'It's my turn to be the mantis stalking the cicada.'
He quickly knocked an arrow on his hardwood bow. Under the moonlight, he fired three arrows like shooting stars.
The ferocious ape heard the whistling through the air and was instantly alert, but having never encountered an arrow attack, it couldn't react in time. The arrows were upon it.
It instinctively blocked the first arrow, which struck its massive, hairy palm. The wooden shaft snapped, and the arrowhead barely pierced the skin, but failed to penetrate deeply. The remaining two arrows struck, and the Bronze Fox Ape was hit.
"Roar!"
The Bronze Fox Ape instantly erupted in fury. It knocked the arrows off with a swipe of its hand. The torn wounds bled freely, and the pain made it even more aggressive. Its eyes, large as copper bells, blazed with menace. It immediately spotted Su Yan on the slope. It charged forward, moving like a meteor, shattering trees in its path, rushing like a battering ram.
Su Yan leaped aside, using the light footwork of the Ape Leap Step and Basic Archery Great Accomplishment to move rapidly. His longbow fired arrows like a machine gun, launching five arrows in quick succession. The Bronze Fox Ape grabbed a broken tree branch and swung it, deflecting three of the arrows. Only the remaining two barely struck its body, and having lost their momentum, they only managed to scratch the skin.
"Roar!"
The ape smashed the broken branch towards Su Yan. Su Yan leaped backward, avoiding the attack. The distance between them was only ten steps. The ape's towering figure, its terrifying face clearly visible, roared, shaking the very air.
Su Yan was too close to shoot again. Instead of retreating, he charged forward. His Stance Skill was active, his form like an old ape. With a look of challenge, he raised his hand for an Old Ape Striking the Crown strike. The blow was powerful, and even the Bronze Fox Ape sensed the threat. It raised its massive, hairy hand to block the attack. However, the hand was already injured, and the blow further tore the wound, driving the arrow tip deeper into the bone.
The Bronze Fox Ape roared and wildly pounded its fists. Su Yan quickly dodged, moving to its side, and without hesitation, delivered a Ferocious Ape Elbow to its ribs. His stance was rooted, and the force rose from his waist. The strike had a thousand jin of power. With a loud crack, even the Bronze Fox Ape, with its copper skin and iron bones, suffered broken ribs.
Wounded and enraged, the ape lunged wildly. Su Yan's previous move had exhausted his strength, leaving him vulnerable. Unable to dodge, he could only raise his arms to block. With a dull thud, his bones ground audibly. He staggered back three steps, his foot sinking into the earth to fully absorb the force.
"This beast has immense strength." Just a single attack showed it possessed far greater power than a bear or a tiger. This ferocious ape was definitely a First-Order creature, likely in the Early Stage.
Su Yan's eyes were blazing, his fighting intent resolute. His body darted like a spiritual ape dancing in the wind, attacking the Bronze Fox Ape from all sides. It was a fierce exchange: the ape's blows were like falling meteors; Su Yan's punches were hard as iron. They fought back and forth, toppling countless trees. In the process of offense and defense, they both acquired new wounds.
Su Yan's ferocity rose. He ignored the Dark Water Centipede and Velvet Fire Scorpion Bug, letting them watch. His Fist Art and Stance Skill seemed forgotten as his blood energy surged like a flood, his breathing rising and falling like a sharp arrow. He fixed his eyes on the ape, watching it charge.
He stepped forward to meet it, using a clever grab to twist its wrist, then used the Old Ape Flip to slam it to the ground. He leaped up, clenching his fists like hammers, and delivered a final Striking the Crown blow. With a loud crack, he crushed a significant number of the Bronze Fox Ape's chest bones.
Su Yan checked himself. His skin was bulging, as red as fire, and his blood energy was steaming like smoke. His posture was the stance, his movements were the stance, and even his stillness was the stance. Stepping forward, he saw the ape trying to struggle up. He landed a final heavy punch. His Fist Art was now completely fluid, having achieved mastery through this combat. The Stance Skill and the Fist Art were perfected on the Bronze Fox Ape's body.
He shattered the ape's massive, thousand-jin fist, then stomped on its neck, crushing its cervical spine. With this final blow, the ape was dead.