Volume One, Chapter Three: Slaying the Demon Wolf

Despite his grand ambitions, the current situation remained dire. Since he had not awakened a spirit body, his only path to strength lay in absorbing beast energy, which required him to encounter demonic beasts as soon as possible. Enhancing his strength was the only viable solution.

"Mom, I'm planning to take on some odd jobs over the next half month," he said while eating dinner.

"Suit yourself."

His family had always taken a laissez-faire approach to his upbringing; as long as he returned home on time, they asked no questions.

At the barbecue stall, Lu Jing flipped meat skewers with practiced ease, occasionally sprinkling on cumin or brushing on a secret sauce. The sizzling grease and the fragrant aroma of spices teased the taste buds of passersby, causing many to stop and linger.

Nearby, several simple tables and chairs were filled with customers—some in casual wear, others arriving straight from nearby offices or construction sites—all shedding the day's fatigue to share in this simple pleasure. The crisp clinking of beer bottles, mixed with laughter, chatter, and the occasional cheer, formed a lively symphony of daily life.

"Hey, kid, another two pitchers for table eight!"

"Five chicken wings for table three!"

"Coming right up!"

As Lu Jing stood up with a beer, his peripheral vision caught a figure in the distance. His dark eyes instantly became clearer, with a faint halo of light swirling within them. Since his Spirit Eyes had awakened, his vision had become superhuman. He could see the black sigil on the wolf demon's forehead—the mark of a beast. The wolf demon appeared incredibly robust, its muscles packed with explosive power, its eyes deep and intense, pulsing with a potent energy.

"ROAR!"

With a furious howl, the wolf demon moved. It shrieked at the sky, and instantly, its body began to swell. Dark grey fur erupted from its skin, its upper garments tore apart, and a rich, cyan light burst from its body.

*A Tier 2 wolf demon,* was Lu Jing’s immediate assessment.

The sudden roar plunged the bustling barbecue stall into panic. People screamed and scattered in every direction. Lu Jing glanced at the black security camera under the eaves and narrowed his eyes; he knew this was his chance.

He slowly raised his hands, and when he opened his eyes again, they were glowing with a bright cyan light. Wind elements gathered around him, and a three-inch wind blade materialized in each of his palms.

"Thump!" A chubby boy fell to the ground not far from him, having tripped in his haste to escape.

"Grrr..." The wolf demon opened its massive maw, revealing sharp fangs. A wave of murderous intent washed over the area as it lunged to snap the boy’s neck. The boy was so terrified his mind went blank, his entire body trembling.

At that moment, Lu Jing darted out with incredible speed, emerging from a blind spot. He struck at the leaping wolf demon's eyes with the wind blade in his hand. His judgment of timing, position, and distance was impeccable. The wolf demon hadn't noticed the tiny human until the wind blade sliced its eye. Enraged, it whipped its head around, its sharp jaws snapping toward Lu Jing.

Using his small stature to his advantage, Lu Jing nimbly grabbed the wolf's fur, shifted his momentum, and flipped past the beast's chest, narrowly dodging its bite. He pulled out several iron skewers, infused them with wind-attribute energy, and drove them directly into the wolf’s soft underbelly.

"Squelch!"

The iron skewers pierced deep into the wolf's abdomen, and Lu Jing continuously channeled wind-attribute spirit power into the wound. With its vitals shredded by the internal wind blades, the wolf demon’s roar cut off as if it had been strangled. Its powerful body collapsed to the ground. Lu Jing leaped back just in time to avoid being crushed by the carcass.

He owed this victory to his rich combat experience from his previous life, his meticulous preparation, and his "cheat"—the Spirit Eyes—which had made the wolf's movements appear slow to him, allowing him to strike its weak point and end the fight quickly.

"What are you waiting for? Run!" Lu Jing glanced at the chubby boy on the ground.

"Oh, thanks!" The boy scrambled up and cupped his hands in a gesture of gratitude. "Thanks for the save, brother! Let me treat you to a meal?"

Lu Jing was speechless; did this guy have any idea what was happening right now? "Big brother, can't you see there are more wolf demons behind us? Run!"

The chubby boy’s eyes widened, and he immediately bolted. "Brother, I'm off! I'll treat you another day!"

Watching him disappear, Lu Jing curled his lips into a smile. *Good. Everything is going according to plan.*

Next came the "hunting" phase. With his Spirit Eyes, Lu Jing easily located low-level wolf demons. He made quick work of them and carefully absorbed the bloodline power from their bodies. He didn't dare take too much, as these corpses were raw materials for pills and would be collected by the Health Department. If they noticed anything, it wouldn't bode well for him.

As he moved away, scanning for danger and listening to the system's constant notifications, a smile played on his lips. Suddenly, he spotted a stream of seven-colored heat rising in the distance, causing the surrounding air to distort. He stopped and observed his surroundings cautiously. *What is that?*

With agile steps, he navigated through the alleys and climbed onto the roof of a low shack. He finally saw what it was: a red container pulsating with intense spiritual energy. Lu Jing frowned. Just then, a Tier 3 wolf demon teleported out of it.

*A teleportation array!* His eyes widened. *Someone has betrayed humanity.*

As soon as the wolf demon left, Lu Jing jumped down, grabbed the red container, and fled. A teleportation array required a fixed anchor to function; once the array was moved away from its anchor, it would fail.

"Put that down." A man’s voice rang out from behind him the moment he jumped out of the window.

Lu Jing pulled his hood up and ran in the opposite direction without looking back.

"Damn it, you little brat! Put that down!" The man gave chase.

Hearing the pursuit, Lu Jing ran even faster. The man’s level was high—at least Five Awakenings—and Lu Jing was no match for him. The man seemed afraid to draw attention, relying solely on his physical prowess to chase Lu Jing.

He was getting closer. Lu Jing’s spirit power was nearly depleted. To escape, he had to take a desperate gamble. He turned into a pitch-black alley. Suddenly, his body stiffened; a dagger was pressed against his throat, piercing the skin. The man had caught up, his blade hovering over Lu Jing's carotid artery.

"Give it to me, or die," the man growled.

Lu Jing did the unthinkable: he slammed his throat directly into the dagger. The blade shattered instantly. He then spun around and kicked the man, sending him flying to the ground. Lu Jing didn't hesitate, turning and sprinting away. He could hear the man’s pained wheezing fading behind him.

Lu Jing ran for a long time before daring to stop, leaning against a wall and gasping for breath. He had only survived and secured the item thanks to the "Newcomer’s Gift Pack"—thirty seconds of invincibility and a Strength Pill.

Back home, he eagerly checked his status panel to see his progress.

[Lu Jing]
[Status: Healthy (Mortal Body, limit is 100)]
[Strength: 30 + 8 (38/100) - Weakling]
[Spirit: 11 + 3 (15/100) - Simple-minded]
[Agility: 11 + 8 (19/100) - Feeble]
[Constitution: 9 + 3 (11/100) - Out of shape]
[Perception: 78 (78/100) - Thanks to the Spirit Eyes cheat]
[Sanity: 100/100 (Below 20 leads to madness, below 10 to suicidal thoughts)]
[Blood Qi: 89/100 (Below 20 leads to fainting, below 5 to death)]
[Innate Skills: Spirit Eyes, Beast Energy Conversion, Wind Blade (Wolf Demon skill)]
[Level: First Awakening, Level 3]

Lu Jing was satisfied. Though the attribute increases weren't massive, by the standards of his past life, this one night was equivalent to two months of training. This progress was lightning-fast. While spirit stones could increase attributes, a mortal would need to absorb a hundred of them just to level up once. At a cost of one million per hundred stones, that was an astronomical sum for an ordinary family.

Lu Jing looked at the red container on his bedside table. His pupils constricted, and a sharp glint flashed in his eyes. He hadn't expected the traitor to be who he was. That man held a high position and couldn't be toppled easily. It would be better to track down the source of the teleportation arrays. It seemed it was time to visit an old friend.