“Wha—what just happened? Why did the boss knock that human into the lake?”
“Maybe the boss is trying to kill two birds with one stone? As expected of our leader!”
“Idiots! Go save them, quick!”
The Wolf King, now submerged in the water, snapped back to reality and frantically searched for Xue Ji, who had been sent flying by the impact.
But the sight that greeted her was far from reassuring—only a tuft of white hair remained on the surface, struggling desperately not to sink. Bubbles gurgled upward, indicating that Xue Ji was already choking on water.
Fortunately, a few quick-thinking wolves had already swum to her side and lifted her up. However, the sheer force of the Wolf King’s collision, combined with the near-drowning, had left Xue Ji unconscious.
After a chaotic scramble of paws and claws, they finally managed to drag Xue Ji back to shore.
There, she lay motionless on the grass, surrounded by a pack of wolves who had no idea what to do.
“Boss, what now? She looks like she’s dying…”
The Wolf King stared at Xue Ji’s deathly pale face. This human had gone to such lengths to help her, only to nearly be killed by her recklessness. Guilt gnawed at her heart.
“Does anyone know how to save her? Speak up, now!” Her voice trembled with urgency as her body shrank back into her petite, childlike form.
“Uh, Boss… I once saw something like this in the old murals of our clan,” said a scrawny wolf known as the “Know-It-All” among the pack.
Like a drowning wolf clutching at straws, the little Wolf King’s dimming eyes reignited with hope.
“How? Tell me!” Her voice shook with barely contained desperation.
“Mouth-to-mouth. It’s like… blowing air into their mouth,” the Know-It-All explained.
Without hesitation, the tiny wolf pried open Xue Ji’s mouth, took a deep breath, puffed up her cheeks, and pressed her lips against Xue Ji’s—only to end up blowing so hard that Xue Ji’s cheeks inflated like balloons. In her frantic attempt to prevent any air from escaping, the Wolf King even started gnawing on Xue Ji’s face, leaving visible teeth marks. Any onlooker would’ve rushed to pull her away.
“Is the boss… hungry? Is she starting with the human’s face?” The surrounding wolves couldn’t help but entertain some rather bizarre thoughts.
Miraculously, despite her delicate appearance, Xue Ji’s body—strong enough to house a formidable soul—was far from fragile. Even under this wild, unorthodox “rescue,” she gradually began to recover.
In her unconscious state, Xue Ji felt a sharp pain on her lips, as if some creature was nibbling on her. Then, an overwhelming rush of air forced its way into her lungs, making her feel like she’d burst if she didn’t wake up soon.
“Cough—cough—!” Xue Ji convulsed, hacking up water. Still disoriented, she only remembered being hit by what felt like a truck. As she coughed out the water, she took in the sight of the wolves surrounding her—and the excited little loli Wolf King hovering nearby—before recalling what had happened.
Without wasting a second, she staggered to her feet and stumbled toward Scar-Eye’s motionless body.
Scar-Eye remained frozen in place, a sword radiating an eerie chill piercing through its heart, encasing it in ice. When the Wolf King had first seen Xue Ji suddenly appear before Scar-Eye, she had been holding Fenrir’s Winter—and despite the ensuing chaos, Xue Ji’s plan had succeeded.
She had seized the thing masquerading as a heart.
The disaster that had claimed thousands of lives in City A, the monstrous uprising in the underground tunnels, the unsettling premonition gnawing at her instincts—just how much more chaos was about to unfold?
Xue Ji drew a gray dagger—a weapon forged for her by Blade’s faction. While it couldn’t compare to the equipment in her storage space, it was perfect for handling demonic beasts. More interestingly, the residual toxicity in the material hadn’t been fully purified, leaving behind a mild paralyzing effect. It doubled as a makeshift scalpel.
“Now, let’s remove this filth,” Xue Ji said to the Wolf King.
“But… my brother’s life…” The Wolf King hesitated. Her true nature wasn’t as aloof as she had previously appeared.
After taking human form, her emotions had become far more expressive. Paired with her small stature and those large, watery eyes, the slightest frown made her look heartbreakingly vulnerable.
“Do you want to save him?” Xue Ji asked softly, rubbing her still-throbbing chest.
The little wolf nodded without hesitation.
“Even if it means losing Fenrir’s heart?” Xue Ji pressed.
The Wolf King couldn’t help but feel a pang of longing for that immensely powerful heart—yet she still nodded firmly.
‘How interesting. Do beasts really share such bonds?’ Due to her experiences in another world, Xue Ji had always assumed demonic beasts lacked human emotions. But everything she’d witnessed today had shattered that preconception.
“I’ll replace that corrupted thing with Fenrir’s heart. But there’s a risk of failure. Are you sure?” Xue Ji studied the Wolf King with curiosity.
“Absolutely. At this point, there’s no turning back. Even without this heart, I’ll still become one of the strongest!” Though small, her words carried the unwavering authority of a true leader.
The heart replacement began.
First, Xue Ji needed to reinforce the seals on Fenrir’s heart. The gap in power was too vast—if the heart started beating at full force, Scar-Eye’s body might explode.
This time, she didn’t use her staff. Thanks to the Taoist seals left behind by ancient cultivators, reinforcing them required minimal spiritual energy. Step one: complete.
Next was extracting the corruption—but doing so would mean the already barely alive Scar-Eye would die instantly. To prevent this, Xue Ji summoned the Monarch Stag. As a master of forest energy, sustaining Scar-Eye’s life temporarily was no challenge.
But the danger didn’t end there.
Scar-Eye’s body would have to conquer the heart’s power, while his mind endured the erosion of Fenrir’s lingering will. The worst-case scenario? A frenzied Scar-Eye would perish in a violent rampage.
Frankly, Xue Ji didn’t believe the dim-witted Scar-Eye had the ambition or dominance to overcome Fenrir’s consciousness. She doubted he’d survive.
Yet the Wolf King insisted they proceed. She knew her brother better than anyone—knew the strength hidden within him.
“Begin,” she said calmly.
Xue Ji cut open Scar-Eye’s chest, enchanted the dagger with holy flames, and thawed the corruption. The Monarch Stag stood guard alongside the Elder Ape and Explosive Bear, ready to intervene if things went wrong—if only to protect Xue Ji. The stag could already sense her waning energy and didn’t want such an intriguing human to perish here.
With her right hand, Xue Ji plunged the dagger into the corruption while pulling out Fenrir’s Winter with her left, waiting for the thaw. Her nerves were taut, every sense focused on the corruption’s movements.
The moment it twitched instinctively, Xue Ji yanked it out with a surge of spiritual energy—along with the tendrils still embedded in Scar-Eye’s veins. The Monarch Stag placed a single leaf from its antlers onto Scar-Eye’s chest. The leaf’s veins spread across his body, locking his life force in place.
Xue Ji stabbed Fenrir’s Winter into the corruption again, leaving the Monarch Stag to guard it, then personally placed [Fenrir’s Heart] into Scar-Eye’s chest.
Following the method from her memories, she formed a series of hand seals, undoing one of the restraints. As an Eight-Trigrams array flashed and vanished, a single, thunderous heartbeat reverberated like a warhammer, slamming into Xue Ji and the beasts. The already weakened Xue Ji collapsed to her knees.
The Wolf King could feel it—an overwhelming presence had descended. The primal fear in her blood was far worse than when she’d fought Xue Ji. But she couldn’t retreat. For her brother’s sake, even if she had to face a demonic god, she would fight.
A suffocating pressure enveloped the area. A blizzard erupted around Scar-Eye, yet the sheer intensity of the presence drew all eyes toward him.
Then—two glacial eyes snapped open, piercing into the minds of every beast present.
Fear.
In its most humiliating form.
“It’s coming!” the Monarch Stag warned.
No sooner had it spoken than a claw brimming with murderous intent lashed out at the Wolf King.