"Tinayu, someone already entered the cave."

As soon as Zhiran's silhouette disappeared into the cave above, all the core disciples of the four clans immediately noticed it, including Mei Xuan.

She hurriedly pointed at the top in surprise. After all, she didn't know there was someone that strong among their group.

"I know!"

Tianyu also nodded solemnly, wondering who could be faster than him. Since Zhiran was in disguise, he didn't recognize him.

Still, even though someone was already ahead, he didn't seem to care much.

"Don't worry about him. The lair of a Wolf King isn't so easy to navigate, and we will meet him soon anyway. Let's just hurry up."

He spoke lightly before killing yet another group of Wolf monsters effortlessly with his flame technique. Due to his efficiency and strength, they were the closest group to reaching the top.

"Mmm..."

Mei Xuan nodded at his words and earnestly began helping him from behind. But her eyes were clearly fixed on the top, as if thinking about something.

'Hope he won't find that place and take the key away. Then again... according to the map I got, that place is too hidden. I shouldn't worry about it.'

**

"Roar!"

As soon as Zhiran entered the massive cave at the top of the mountain, which also served as the entrance to the mid-grade spirit stone mine, a loud roar blasted through the chamber.

"Whoa... so powerful!"

The roar was so intense that Zhiran almost lost his footing just from the sound.

"Swish!"

Then, before he could even regain his balance, a shadow streaked through the darkness of the cave, lunging at him in an instant.

It moved so fast that even with his Divine Sense, Zhiran struggled to track it.

All he could see was a massive claw swiping horizontally, followed by a gush of spiritual energy and murderous intent.

"Boom!"

"Fuck!"

Fortunately, at the last moment, Zhiran activated the defensive amulet he had bought before sealing himself.

But even though he wasn't injured, he was still thrown back forcefully against the rugged wall of the cave.

"Ugh!"

Zhiran groaned in pain while focusing on the shadow with his Divine Sense, now clearly visible.

'A wolf that is clearly on the verge of promotion to the Foundation Realm. No wonder I was caught off guard.'

The moment he looked at the huge wolf monster baring its fangs at him, Zhiran realized its strength.

But that only made him groan in dissatisfaction.

After all, a monster that strong on the verge of promotion wasn't easy to deal with.

He felt that only by using his sword intent fully and fighting with his life on the line could he kill this beast. Even then, it was uncertain.

'Damn! Should I have waited until they dealt with it?'

Zhiran thought, then shook his head. He had hurried here to get ahead of everyone and reap the benefits. Naturally, he had to deal with the danger.

'Sigh... fine, it can't be helped.'

"Grrrrr!"

Seeing that the human in front, though weaker, had blocked its attack, the wolf monster grew cautious.

But when it realized the block was due to the blue barrier and the human wasn't actually attacking, it regained its confidence.

"Swish!"

Hence, it immediately used its movement technique again, vanishing from its position and reappearing right in front of Zhiran in an instant.

This time, its speed was even greater, and its attack changed from a swipe of its claws to a vicious bite with its teeth.

The wolf was clearly trying to kill Zhiran in one blow. It seemed like it might succeed as its massive jaws were already closing around Zhiran's head, until…

"Shrinking Step!"

Zhiran suddenly disappeared from his position, leaving the space between its jaws empty.

Although the wolf monster sensed something had entered inside its mouth, its target clearly escaped again using his unusual movement technique.

"Raor!"

Angered, the wolf could only roar loudly, its red eyes burning with murderous intent. It seemed clearly offended by Zhiran's repeated escapes.

Just as the wolf monster felt it was enough and was about to use everything it had to kill Zhiran, it suddenly heard a light snap followed by the human's voice:

"Explode!"

"Boom!"

As soon as Zhiran snapped his fingers, the Yin Soul Bead he had left inside the maw of the wolf monster detonated directly within its stomach.

"Kikkkk!"

The explosion wasn't loud or earth-shattering by any means. However, the moment it occurred, the wolf felt its stomach rupture from the inside out, shattering violently.

In an instant, it was gravely injured. But even then, that wasn't enough to kill it completely.

A monster on the verge of reaching the Foundation Establishment Realm was truly tough.

Unfortunately for the wolf, though, that wasn't the main target of the attack.

Rather, the primary target was something else: its soul.

"Thud!"

Sure enough, the explosion of the Yin Soul Bead inside its body shattered the wolf monster's barely condensed soul instantly.

Even though its body remained relatively intact after its gut had been destroyed, it was already deader than it could be.

Such a strong monster on the verge of promotion was dead before even fighting properly. It was truly a pathetic sight.

'Hmm... although the Yin Soul Bead is effective, the explosive power and its effect are still too low,' Zhiran thought, casually walking toward the wolf's corpse.

He realized he needed to stuff those resentful souls he made a little more to make the Yin Bead truly effective.

After all, this much force wouldn't even affect a Foundation Establishment-level cultivator or monster.

Well, if he managed to get them inside the abdomen like just now, it might work, but how could it be that easy?

---

[A fresh brain with a damage level of 65% has been detected.]

[Do you want to perform extraction?]

---

'So much damage?'

Zhiran raised his eyebrows at the damage level on the prompt and shook his head.

Shredding the soul of that wolf seemed counterproductive for brain extraction.

'It seems the soul and consciousness play the major part in brain extraction. Considering the kind of world I am in, it makes sense.'

Zhiran thought, remembering the soul of Han Luo he had absorbed before. Despite Han Luo's body being destroyed, he was still able to gain 100% of his brain through the system.

He really needed to forget the mortal concept of a "brain."

'System, perform Extraction!'

---

[Extraction successful!]

[Congratulations! You have gained a deep memory of Peak Qi Condensation Wolf Monster: Wolf Shadow Step!]

[Your knowledge of this technique has grown significantly.]

---

The reward this time was similar to what he had gained from the mobs before, but the technique, Wolf Shadow Step, advanced further than before.

'Hmm... It's already more powerful than my Mist Step Technique. I can use this movement when I cannot use Shrinking Steps.'

Zhiran thought with a smile, especially when he felt that the pillar raised by this wolf monster in his consciousness platform was taller than any other monster he had killed before.

It was almost rivaling the Wine Monkey, towering over all those wolf heads he had killed and extracted before.

'How wonderful it would be if I could absorb the brain of the Wolf King...'

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