Chapter 4: Spring Thunder Suddenly Appears

Amidst the vast falling snow, several dark shadows appeared faintly, moving steadily and vigorously, seeming quite unhurried.

They were indeed creatures skilled in tracking and ambush; Lei Qing sighed with emotion, realizing the wolf pack had unknowingly surrounded him. purely in terms of tracking and stealth skills, the Ghost Wolf Scott could not compare with these guys.

Lei Qing did not dare look down on this wolf pack; the natural world enforced the most primitive law of the jungle, survival of the fittest. No creature that could survive and reproduce could be looked down upon, and wolves were a very intelligent kind of animal.

Low rumbling sounds from deep within their throats mixed with the sound of falling snow, seeming so ear-piercing and dangerous. But Lei Qing kept his eyes on his nose and his nose on his heart, his right hand holding the long sword pointing diagonally at the ground. His posture seemed tense yet relaxed, his chest rising and falling steadily with his long breaths.

He had not thought about escaping; in this environment, trying to escape the tracking and hunting of the snow wolf pack was purely a joke. Since he could not escape, he could only choose to fight.

“Whoosh~”

A gust of strong wind mixed with a fishy stench pounced rapidly from behind Lei Qing; the wolf pack had started to attack, but the first to strike were not those few visible shadows, but one he had not sensed. Clearly, the wolf pack had already begun to implement tactics silently.

“Clang~”

With a light flick of his wrist, the damaged long sword Ice Flame trembled and let out a crisp humming sound. Ice Flame stabbed swiftly toward his back like lightning, slicing falling snowflakes into two halves, which then scattered and continued to drift down.

“Howl~” A snow-white large wolf, strong as a small calf and beautifully built, roared in pain as it brushed past Lei Qing’s body and pounced over. After landing, it rolled over a few times, staining the pure white snow with a shocking scarlet. Its pair of intimidating green eyes, when staring at Lei Qing, held both anger and some fear, and blood was constantly dripping from its shoulder. Clearly, the sword strike Lei Qing had just made had left a deep impression on it.

Lei Qing also frowned slightly; just now, he had listened to the wind to locate the position, and that sword strike was clearly aimed at the heart of this Plateau Snow Wolf. The greatest characteristic of the sword technique driven by Thunder Fighting Qi was speed; lesser Bronze experts might have found it hard to dodge.

However, this snow wolf had twisted its body in mid-air at the most critical moment, dodging the fatal sword strike.

Although this snow wolf was not small in size, judging by its aura, it should still be at the wild beast level and had not condensed Fighting Qi. Even so, it could actually rely on instinct or intuition to dodge that dangerous sword strike.

Such a situation could not help but make Lei Qing sense danger, because among the several dark shadows roaming nearby, Lei Qing could faintly feel a trace of Black Iron-rank Fighting Qi aura from two of them. This did not include the alpha wolf of unknown strength hiding behind the heavy snow.

Clearly, the first snow wolf to appear should be the lowest-ranked one, used to test the enemy’s strength.

Perhaps sensing that Lei Qing’s strength seemed extraordinary, the wolf pack did not attack rashly again, but they were also unwilling to leave. However, Lei Qing also knew that he could not retreat now, otherwise the wolf pack would mistakenly think he was afraid and weak, and immediately hunt and encircle him. For a moment, the two sides fell into a stalemate.

But Lei Qing was not in a hurry; although he was hungry, these wolves were hungry too, otherwise they would not have come out in this weather to try their luck hunting. The hard life of being hunted for several months had long made him understand the importance of patience. Perhaps the wolf pack was hungrier than he was.

After confronting for the time it takes to burn an incense stick, the wolf pack seemed unable to bear the hunger anymore. After a howl from the alpha wolf in the distance, those few looming shadows began to circle around him, accelerating and approaching bit by bit.

Sigh~

Lei Qing had to let out a sigh; he originally wanted to force them to retreat. He did not want to fight to the death with a pack of hungry Plateau Snow Wolves in this icy and snowy environment. However, the wolf pack had already made the choice for him. The world is just like this; for many things, one does not have the turn to make choices for fate.

In this instant, Lei Qing moved.

The peculiarity of the Thunder Flash movement technique lay in this: quiet as a maiden, moving like a fleeing rabbit. The accumulated snow beneath his feet exploded with a boom when he suddenly stomped on the ground, and his figure shot out like a cannonball, targeting the injured snow wolf.

The pale blue Ice Flame sword appeared especially gorgeous amidst the sky full of snowflakes. It was the matching combat formula of the Lei Family’s cultivation mental method Three Changes of Heavenly Thunder, the first move of the Heavenly Thunder Combat Code—Lightning Flash and Thunder Clap. That was a sword move that prioritized speed; it was said that when cultivated to the highest realm, one sword strike would create a sky full of sword shadows like thousands of lightning bolts illuminating the night sky, accompanied by rumbling thunder, making it impossible to dodge or block.

It was by relying on this sword move that Lei Qing had killed the Ghost Wolf Scott in a sneak attack; that time, he had struck out seven or eight sword glows in an instant.

Of course, against this small wolf that had not even reached the Black Iron-rank, Lei Qing naturally did not need to go all out and waste Fighting Qi; with one strike, he merely flashed out three pale blue sword glows. Even so, it was not something that unranked wild beast snow wolf could dodge by instinct.

Brilliant blood flowers danced in the sky, and the snow wolf was thrown aside like a dead dog, still whimpering and groaning. But with its heart pierced through, even a great god could not save it.

Lei Qing did not even glance at it; under the Thunder Flash movement technique, his figure rushed towards a snow wolf on the left that possessed a Black Iron-rank Demonic Beast aura as fast as lightning. When his speed exploded to the limit, he could run nearly four zhang in a single breath, and that snow wolf was also rushing towards him, its speed equally not slow, almost comparable to an ordinary Entry-rank Bronze human.

With the combined speed of the two, in less than two breaths, they slammed into each other fiercely. Wolf claws flew, and sword shadows flickered. In just an instant, the two separated from each other. The sturdier snow wolf with the dangerous aura landed directly, wailing.

But Lei Qing did not feel good either; his high-quality rhinoceros leather armor was torn with several gashes by the sharp wolf claws. No blood flowed out because that Black Iron-rank snow wolf’s Fighting Qi contained a trace of Frost element. In an instant, it froze his wounds, and the invasion of Frost Fighting Qi made his whole body shiver, and he stumbled after landing.

But fortunately, the richness of his Fighting Qi far exceeded that of the snow wolf; the Thunder Fighting Qi circulated slightly within his body, dispelling the cold air, and at the same time, he used Fighting Qi to seal the wounds. Lei Qing’s expression was stern; the snow wolf’s combat was indeed direct and brutal, very formidable. He reckoned that if he wanted to kill that Black Iron-rank snow wolf head-on without a scratch, it would take at least seven or eight rounds of entanglement.

Facing a wolf pack, the most fearful thing was being besieged by the pack, forcing him to trade injuries for time. But he hadn’t expected to be injured this badly; the speed of that wolf’s claw swing had exceeded his estimation.

The battle had only started for a few short breaths, and Lei Qing had already taken out two. This was the cruelty of fighting; life and death were often decided in that instant, in a split second. But he had no time to stop and sigh and think; within his sight, there were at least three more snow wolves, one of which was Black Iron-rank. In addition, there was an alpha wolf of unknown strength eyeing them covetously from the dark.

It was indeed worthy of being near the Heavenly Ridge Mountain Range; this wolf pack was truly formidable, with at least three Demonic Beasts among its members.

Lei Qing’s next target was the other Black Iron-rank snow wolf; as long as he killed it, the remaining two ordinary snow wolves would not pose much of a threat, and he would only have to face the unknown alpha wolf. Wolf packs were not like people imagined, often having dozens or hundreds. In fact, they mostly consisted of four, five, or six; eight or nine was considered a super large clan, and it was rare to exceed ten.

It seemed this wolf pack should consist of six.

Lei Qing’s figure moved swiftly, but just as he was about to pounce on that Black Iron-rank snow wolf, a low roar and the sound of breaking wind came to his ears. Faintly, he sensed a huge white shadow pouncing from the side, with pale sharp teeth mixed with a fishy smell and a wave of coldness, targeting his neck straight.

“Not good, it’s the alpha wolf.”

That thought flashed through Lei Qing’s mind like lightning; clearly, the alpha wolf lying in wait on one side saw Lei Qing so fiercely killing its clan members, and it, not lacking in intelligence, was enraged. It prepared to take action personally to end the enemy.

It was extremely difficult to change direction in mid-air; one could only dodge or attack by twisting the body within a small range.

“Spring Thunder Suddenly Appears!”

Also a matching combat formula in the Three Changes of Heavenly Thunder, this second move was a boxing technique. Any qualified expert could not just know one kind of weapon. Even tigers take naps; who could guarantee their weapon would never leave them or never break? Similarly, when anyone cultivated, after cultivating their main weapon, they must also minor in one or two boxing or kicking skills; this was one of the important rules for saving one’s life in battle.

“Boom!”

An ear-splitting thunder sound suddenly exploded as Lei Qing threw a punch, shaking the air so much that it trembled, and snowflakes were blown back by the punch’s power.

Unlike the first move, Lightning Flash and Thunder Clap, this move focused on momentum and might, especially that burst of thunder, which came so abruptly and violently. Enemies would often pay a heavy price for it, either having their eardrums pierced and losing hearing, or being stunned into a daze.

A wolf’s senses were very sharp, and they suffered particularly under this punch move; one could see that huge snow-white wolf paused slightly in mid-air, its eyes looking a bit hazy and dazed, likely still hearing rumbling sounds in its ears.

At the same time, Lei Qing’s punch power hit its head. The fierce punch power stopped its leaping momentum, and it fell to the ground. Lei Qing also used the reaction force to perform a backward flip in the air and land on the ground. With a push of his foot, the long sword Ice Flame turned into a bolt of lightning, chopping towards its waist. All animals have weaknesses, and Demonic Beasts are no exception. The general weakness of wolves is the waist; as the saying goes, “Copper head, iron bones, tofu waist,” which refers to wolves. Even if it evolved into a Demonic Beast, the weakness would not disappear.

Calling it a copper head was really not wrong at all; although Lei Qing’s boxing skills were not practiced to perfection. But driven by his Mid-stage Bronze Fighting Qi, that punch could shatter a boulder. However, after it landed, apart from shaking its head slightly, there seemed to be no problem, whereas his fist was in great pain. From this, it could be seen how hard the head of this snow wolf was?

…