Chapter 43 - Insignificant

"Are you sure?" the wolf asked as he looked at Yun Ling in surprise.

Yun Ling nodded.

There was a good reason why he gave the longevity fruit to the wolf. Even though the longevity fruit was valuable, the wolf proved to be even more valuable to him. The fact that he was able to escape from the clutches of the Immortal Willow Tree without losing his life whereas many lesser beasts failed to do so was something worth commending. The Goliath Mountain King, a powerful lesser beast at the Sacred King Realm met its demise in the Immortal Willow Tree's hands but the wolf didn't. Although he didn't exactly come out unscathed, the wolf was certainly not just a regular lesser beast.

"You should consolidate your realm first before eating it. For now, we leave. It's too dangerous to remain here for even a second longer with an immortal on the loose," Yun Ling said grimly. He didn't like being helpless. Inside the Thousand Mountain Valley, his life rested on the whim of the Immortal Willow Tree and there was no telling when it would take, or attempt to take his life.

Cold sweat trickled down at his temple. One more thing he was concerned about was whether the Immortal Willow Tree was already aware of their presence there or not. Yun Ling wasn't sure.

The Thousand Mountain Valley might be large but to an immortal whose capabilities span even more than that, it was nothing. It wouldn't be strange to assume that the Immortal Willow Tree might know everything that happened inside the Thousand Mountain Valley. Perhaps while they were talking, it might have been observing them without their knowledge.

That was a terrifying thought. One that made him be on edge.

Yun Ling took a deep breath as he tried to calm himself once again. On the back of his mind, he couldn't help but ridicule himself a little, 'This isn't like me at all. To think I would be this terrified when I hadn't even met that entity yet…'

Back in the capital, many were terrified of him. No one among his generation could compare to him. Due to his excellence, Yun Ling couldn't help but look down on most people around him. He was a genius far superior to the other so-called geniuses in the empire. Because of that, he had a too high evaluation of himself. He wouldn't even bat an eye when facing others far more powerful than he was for he believed he could surpass them sooner or later.

However, upon finding out that there was an immortal indiscriminately killing everything in the Thousand Mountain Valley, Yun Ling was reminded of one thing;

His mortality.

In the grand scheme of things, he was merely an insignificant existence. Although immortals possessed powers far beyond his comprehension, there were beings even more powerful than them. Compared to those beings, he was nothing more than a speck of dust.

Veins bulged in his hands as he clenched his fist. Then, he loosened his fist as he let out a sigh.

"Pathetic. I'm no good the way I am right now. I have to get stronger so I will not feel this way again," Yun Ling said to himself with conviction.

He suddenly let out a frown. The wolf hadn't said anything for a while already. Yun Ling looked beside him only to see the wolf lying unconsciously on the ground. The wolf's presence had considerably gotten much weaker than it was before. Never mind holding on for three days, it would be impossible for the wolf to live past that day if no action was taken.

Yun Ling quickly helped the wolf. He had already decided to take the wolf under his wing since he deemed him as someone more valuable than the longevity fruit. There was no way he was just going to watch and let him be.

Yun Ling sighed. The wolf must have been running purely on adrenaline before. After everything was over, and he was sure that his son was no longer in danger, the tension in his body had probably disappeared and his body finally gave in. Well, that was his take on his condition.

He immediately brought the wolf's body inside the cave as Yun Ling tended to him.

…

Several hours later, the wolf weakly opened its eyes only to see Yun Ling sitting beside him with his hands on his body.

"You finally woke up," Yun Ling simply said.

"I'm sorry to have troubled you," the wolf apologized, shame evident in his voice.

"Don't be. It's already amazing you're able to last this long despite your condition," Yun Ling said sincerely. He was even more assured that he made the right choice by choosing the wolf over the longevity fruit.

The wolf seemed to notice Yun Ling's hands glowing as it held his body down. Strangely, the wolf slowly felt his body getting better, albeit only by a small margin.

"I had taken the liberty of consolidating your realm for you while you were unconscious. It's not as effective as you doing it yourself but it's much better than nothing. Now that you're awake, you should do it yourself so you'll finally be able to eat the longevity fruit without any problem," Yun Ling instructed as he took his hands away from the wolf's body.

The wolf sighed. He no longer knew how to repay Yun Ling after all that he had done for him and his son.

"Can you consolidate your realm while you're running? I want to leave this place as soon as I can. I cannot be at ease as long as I'm inside this place."

The wolf nodded, "With my current condition, I can if we're not going too fast."

"That's good. We're leaving right now. I'll hold onto your son in your stead so you just focus on yourself first."

The wolf had no problems with that. He was fine leaving his son to Yun Ling. Besides, he already asked him before to bring his son along with him should he die. That was no longer needed though since Yun Ling decided to save him by giving the precious longevity fruit to him.