Chapter 78: Mount

All the Qingwolf Beasts fixed their gaze on the Ring on Li Bucai's finger; when the eighteen Qingwolf Beasts reached ten steps away from him, they halted and circled around him.

"He actually walked through that cave alive."

"Yes, and he succeeded, opened her tomb and even put on her Ring."

Li Bucai could sense that the voice was transmitted from those Qingwolf Beasts. Could it be that after wearing this Ring one can comprehend the voices of beasts? Why are the sounds emitted by the wolves behind still just wolf sounds, while the murmurs of these eighteen giant wolves are understandable? It must be that these eighteen are different, due to a Spirit Beast relationship.

At that moment, a low, snarling laugh came from the mouth of the snow‑white Head Wolf: "Brothers, let us first get a glimpse of our new master and see exactly how much skill he possesses."

All the Qingwolf Beasts raised their heads and howled toward the sky, the eighteen Qingwolf Beasts silently stepped back, clearing a large space beside Li Bucai; upon the Head Wolf's command, a pack of Qingwolf Beasts lunged at Li Bucai together.

Li Bucai had already pressed his hand against the hilt, but when he heard that the wolf called itself the new master and saw the pack surge forward, he drew his sword from the scabbard, flipped the blade, and used the back of the sword to strike the Qingwolf Beasts so as not to kill them. He executed a 'Swing Sword Style', the sword light whirring around him, accompanied by a series of "pa‑pa" sounds. The sword back swept the first row of attacking wolves, instantly blasting them away; they collided with the wolves behind like bowling balls, toppling a large group. Where the sword passed, a blade aura burst from the blade, sweeping even the eighteen giant wolves, causing them to stagger a few steps before regaining footing, while the Qingwolf Beasts hit by the sweep vanished one by one like bubbles before his eyes.

Li Bucai was also startled—how could there be such great power? It seemed as if the true Qi in his body had multiplied several times out of nowhere, yet he could not feel that flow. He glanced at the Lord Token; it displayed: Martial God Mantra, No Level; Swing Sword Style, No Level; all other skills, all No Level. Could this also be the effect of the Ring?

In fact, this was not because of the Ring; it stemmed entirely from the effects of the Refining Realm's ice and fire. Those who enter the fire sea of the Refining Realm either die there, but if one manages to walk out alive, it is equivalent to a year's cultivation under normal circumstances. Yet to fully unleash the power, one must break through the threshold; before that, it is hard to sense any true Qi in the body, as it is actually hidden in every cell, even the Lord Token cannot detect it. Once the threshold is broken, one can wield it freely.

These small Qingwolf Beasts were merely phantoms conjured by the Void Illusion; his single strike shattered the front portion, and the remaining ones broke apart one after another.

The Head Wolf let out a roar, leading the eighteen Qingwolf Beasts to charge at Li Bucai together.

After witnessing the power of that strike, Li Bucai realized that the Martial God Mantra had not completely vanished. When the Head Wolf rushed forward, Li Bucai, employing the "capturing thief, capturing king" technique, gave a light tap with a single foot, leapt onto its back as if riding a horse, gripping it tightly. The Head Wolf thrashed wildly for a long time but could not shake him off. Suddenly it lunged forward, sprinting through the cave, with seventeen Qingwolf Beasts following closely.

The Head Wolf carried him along the rightmost of the six tunnels, ran a distance, and after emerging from the cave, came to a stop.

"Alright, from now on I will acknowledge you as my new master, my seventeen brothers, and we are ready to obey your commands at any time. Now, you may treat me as your mount, but the others cannot, unless you can also tame them. I know this poses no difficulty for you, but I think having me is already enough. Know that our Qingwolf Beasts have only one master—the one who tames them." As the head of the Qingwolf Beasts, it does not wish to ride side by side with its subordinates.

Li Bucai patted its head, jumped down from its back, examined its muscular form, and praised: "Its shape is like a bull, its might surpasses a tiger; truly it has a king's aura. I'm delighted to become your new master. Of course, one good mount is enough; as for the others, if possible I would leave them to my servants."

The Head Wolf frowned and said, "I have found that you are not as greedy as I imagined; I am beginning to like you. This is exactly the result I wanted."

Li Bucai patted its broad back in response, and the other Qingwolf Beasts nodded in agreement.

Li Bucai said, "Since you have no objections, I'll first take you to meet my group of girls."

The Head Wolf lowered its body, waiting for Li Bucai to mount its back, and said, "Very well, sit securely." Then it turned, raised its four claws, and raced into that tunnel.

"By the way, who is the person in the spirit coffin? Were they your former master?" Li Bucai asked while walking.

The Head Wolf, carrying him at a swift pace, felt no heaviness, and in a calm tone said, "I was about to explain that person is the master of our ancestors. We are merely following the orders of our ancestors to guard this place, so she cannot be considered our master, because we were not tamed by her personally. Therefore you need not worry; each Qingwolf Beast is loyal to only one master. It's like this: if my brothers are tamed by your servants and become their mounts, they will first obey the commands of their own master, and only then heed yours."

"I'm not really worried about that. By the way, why does everything that originally existed in the cave suddenly vanish? Is it all set up by the person in the spirit coffin?"

"It should be so. Since my records began, this place has always been like this, including those little wolves, which have existed since my birth. Our ancestors said that only after a new master arrives will everything here disappear, because we will then leave this place and live outside. Since you entered this Territory twenty days ago, we have been watching you from the shadows, hoping to become your master. I know you need mounts. Our pack is too small; on this land we are often suppressed by many races, so we can only stay here. These phantoms deter other races from entering easily; we can only go out for food when other races are resting. Originally we had thirty‑six brothers; some refused to stay here and sought the Cold‑blooded Elf as master, but shortly after they fell in battle. I've heard the Cold‑blooded Elf is unfriendly to our Qingwolf Beasts. A good Qingwolf Beast should find a good master. After you passed that waterfall, I knew you would be a fine master. You didn't thrust the thunder directly into the waterfall; instead you looped it with a rope. I know you wouldn't kill it, and you also did not kill me."

The Head Wolf, carrying him, sped like lightning; in an instant he glimpsed a flickering blaze ahead, anxiously waiting there.

After Li Bucai removed the Ring, all the hallucinations in the cave vanished, and the place reverted to its original state: no floating jellyfish, no flora or trees, only a barren stone cavern remained.