Forged by battle! / Wolverine?!

Shen Xiu fought the wolf for a few minutes claw for claw. She would shoot Fireballs but the wolf would time its Ice Claw to neutralise them, creating a stalemate. Shen Xiu was getting irritated by the fact that she had so much trouble defeating a wounded demon beast. Still, she remembered Hong Yue Xian's warnings and kept looking for an opportunity.

Soon it came, when the wolf cancelled out another Fireball and pounced on Shen Xiu with its Ice Fang ability. Shen Xiu used her Flame Tail and parried its attack, while shooting the Fireball at it in almost point blank range. Before the wolf could recover from being burned again, Shen Xiu appeared on top of it and used her Fire Claws to hit its back repeatedly.

After a dozen hits the wolf finally stopped moving. Shen Xiu gasped for breath as she was drenched in blood. She got off the beast and smiled at the rest. What she did not notice was that the wolf's eye suddenly opened and it used its last strength to bite her from behind.

The wolf was so close to swallowing her whole, when the shocked Shen Xiu was shoved away by Yang Xin, before she was swallowed by the wolf's jaws. Shen Xiu was horrified and shrieked, wanting to tear the wolf to pieces, but was stopped by Hong Yue Xian who pointed to the side of the wolf, where Yang Xin was standing perfectly fine.

Shen Xiu was relieved and felt guilty, as she rushed to Yang Xin and embraced her, thanking for saving her life. Meanwhile, the wolf looked at both of them hatefully before the life left its eyes and it fell dead.

The company cleaned up the field and left for the base camp. By the time they returned the sun was already setting, bathing the world in red and orange colours, before the world was slowly swallowed by darkness. With the revenge finished, the group went to the stream and washed themselves of all the blood and dirt, before swiftly returning to the cave and celebrating, which lasted late into the night.

In the next three weeks, Hong Yue Xian and his little harem went around the St. Ancestral Mountains and hunted several demon beast groups. Among them were Snow Bears and Snow Cats. If the Snow Wind Wolves taught them how to fight against hordes of demon beasts and conserve their energy, while killing them with minimal effort. Then Snow Bears taught them how to fight a strong opponent one on one.

The Snow Bears were lone demon beasts, but they were very strong. Alone it could rival a small pack of wolves. The girls fought the Snow Bears individually, even Huyan Lanruo was told by Hong Yue Xian to use her illusion abilities and kill the bear. As for Shen Xiu and Yang Xin they had to use their agility and wits to outsmart the bear, and wear it down.

Hong Yue Xian observed them and was ready to intervene if their life was threatened, but otherwise he let them fight their own battles. It was a great experience for them, and they spent close to a week before they finally managed to kill the Snow Wind Bear easily by themselves. They were constantly whetted in battle, perfecting and polishing their combat techniques and their ability mastery.

The real test, however, came when they encountered the Snow Cats. The Snow Cats resembled large wildcats, except their fur was white as snow, blending easily in a winter landscape. They could also move silently through the snow and were masters of sneak attacks. The Snow Cats liked to hide in a snow pile and wait for their prey before pouncing on them from the snow. Moreover, they were also excellent climbers and would often perch on the tree branches high up in the air, from which they could observe and afterwards attack their prey.

Hong Yue Xian had absorbed a Snow Cat demon spirit before so he decided to hide in the background and let the girls enter their territory. Their goal was not only to survive the ambush but also to kill the Snow Cat, which liked to escape if things went bad.

After three days of constantly being ambushed and many times being saved by Hong Yue Xian, the girls finally managed to react to a sneak attack appropriately. Yet it took another five days for them to finally kill their first Snow Cat.

By the time they left the Snow Cat territory, the girls completely changed. They would always stay alert of their surroundings. They would constantly listen to subtle noises and would unconsciously survey the terrain. When they walked or rested, the girls would position themselves in a way that would reduce the chances of being sneaked up on.

Hong Yue Xian marvelled at their change and could not help but sigh in his heart. 'It's true what they say, the best way to become an expert is to be forged by battle. I can feel a bit relieved now for their safety.'

The last week the company spent searching around an area but at first they could not find any other demon beasts, which made them feel strange. After several days of exploring they finally saw a peculiar demon beast. It was Legend rank and had some similarities with the Snow Wind Wolves, except it had much bigger and longer front claws as well as spiky black fur.

Hong Yue Xian and the girls came to a conclusion that this demon beast was the ruler of these parts and all the other demon beasts left it alone, which spoke of its strength. The moment the demon beast took notice of them, it raised its front claws, with huge tripled ice blades appearing on both of its paws as it charged at them with a loud growl.

"Wolverine!?" Exclaimed Hong Yue Xian as he looked at the way the beast attacked them. The beast indeed looked like a mix of a wolverine and a porcupine, yet it reminded him of something or rather someone else entirely. Still astonished Hong Yue Xian jumped back to avoid its long sharp claws, before starting to think on how to kill it.