Chapter 59: Luring the Snake Out of Its Hole

Now was certainly not the time for conversation. The Shadow Wolf, having missed its first strike, lunged forward again. This time, its target was once more Shen Yao. Almost ambushed a moment ago, Shen Yao was burning with unspent fury, and now the Shadow Wolf had delivered itself right to her.

“Power Surge! Force of the Mountain Breaker!”

In an instant, Shen Yao unleashed two of her augmenting spirit arts. Lin Xiao recognized the Power Surge—it was the first-level spirit art that came with awakening a power-type ability. The Force of the Mountain Breaker, however, was a skill Shen Yao had acquired herself by absorbing a spirit pearl.

It was clear her family background was anything but ordinary; to be able to absorb spirit pearls at this stage, her family was at least comfortably wealthy.

Lin Xiao stood quite close to Shen Yao and could clearly see her arms swell visibly after activating her spirit arts.

Shen Yao collided head-on with the Shadow Wolf. The beast clearly hadn’t expected her to meet its strength with her own—there was no attempt to dodge.

What a joke. Though it wielded shadow abilities, it was still a spirit beast. When it came to raw force, how could it fear a human?

After a single, violent clash, the two parted quickly. Shen Yao staggered back three steps before regaining her stance, but the Shadow Wolf fared even worse, being sent flying several meters before tumbling across the ground to shed the force.

Lin Xiao had intended to help, but Shen Yao was too swift; by the time he was ready to move, the Shadow Wolf had already been sent reeling.

This sight made Lin Xiao gasp in astonishment. He’d known from their handshake that Shen Yao was strong—at least as strong as himself. But this was something else entirely.

That was a level two Shadow Wolf, yet Shen Yao had completely overpowered it. Clearly, when Shen Yao used her spirit arts, there was still a considerable gap between their strengths.

Lin Xiao, however, did not belittle himself. He’d only been training seriously for a week; given time, he didn’t believe he’d fall short of her by much.

“Are you alright?”

Shen Yao raised her chin proudly. “That beast may be a level two spirit creature, but when it comes to strength, I’m not afraid of it! Don’t just stand there—let’s surround it! No matter what, we have to finish this thing today!”

Lin Xiao nodded. This time, the two of them took the initiative and launched an attack on the Shadow Wolf.

The Shadow Wolf was momentarily bewildered. These two young ones were proving troublesome.

But that was as far as it went. Strength wasn’t everything. If it couldn’t win by force, so be it—it was a Shadow Wolf, a king of the darkness. Shadows were everywhere here; this was its true domain.

With that thought, the Shadow Wolf activated its power and vanished into a patch of shadow, causing Lin Xiao and Shen Yao to lunge at empty air.

Both were left speechless. Shadow abilities were truly vexing—if it couldn’t win, it would resort to tricks!

Fortunately, they were close enough to sense its spiritual energy. Though the Shadow Wolf was hidden, they could roughly gauge its location by the fluctuations.

Shen Yao, ever hot-tempered, stomped on the ground and shot toward the shadow where the wolf was hiding, launching a fist at it like a cannonball.

Shadow abilities did not make one invincible; if struck, the Shadow Wolf could be forced out.

Bang!

Her blow gouged a shallow pit in the earth, but the wolf had already slipped into another shadow by the time she struck.

Shen Yao shook her head and shrugged at Lin Xiao. “Troublesome!”

Lin Xiao understood completely. As Shen Yao attacked, he had activated his own ability.

He discovered yet another use for his power.

Normally, once the Shadow Wolf merged with the darkness, it was almost impossible to track it except by sensing spiritual energy. But Lin Xiao found that he could see it.

Though the wolf blended with the shadows, he could perceive where its darkness seemed just a shade deeper than the rest.

This discovery thrilled him. To be able to pinpoint the wolf’s location at this moment was undeniably a boon.

For this reason, he did not attack like Shen Yao, but instead quietly observed the wolf’s movements.

Shen Yao also noticed something different about Lin Xiao—there was a strange light in his eyes, a depth that was oddly captivating.

How had she not noticed before that his eyes were so beautiful?

Lin Xiao returned to Shen Yao’s side. He could see where the Shadow Wolf was hiding, but seeing it didn’t mean he could deal with it—the shadow ability was too agile.

Lin Xiao didn’t hide his discovery; he told Shen Yao he could locate the Shadow Wolf’s hiding place.

Shen Yao was stunned. Was that really possible? Was his awakened ability truly only rank F?

Lin Xiao’s power was a tremendous help. Shen Yao had only been able to sense the Shadow Wolf because it was so close; if it had kept a greater distance, they would have been blind.

Just as now, after her missed strike, she could no longer locate the beast. All they could do was guard against a sneak attack—a passive and perilous position.

But now things were different. With Lin Xiao able to determine the wolf’s position, their task became much easier.

For the first time, Shen Yao felt that they might truly have a chance to slay the Shadow Wolf together.

“Excellent! So what do we do next—should I attack wherever you indicate?”

Lin Xiao shook his head decisively. “That won’t work. It would only waste your spiritual power. Even knowing its location, it’s hard to hit, and if we alert it that we can track it, things will get even harder.”

Shen Yao conceded he had a point. But if they didn’t attack, what could they do? They couldn’t simply wait forever.

“So, what’s your plan?”

Lin Xiao’s gaze never left the Shadow Wolf. He realized they were waiting for an opportunity—and so was the wolf.

That made things simpler. All they needed was to lure the wolf into making the first move.

“There is a way, and it’s very simple—we draw the snake from its hole. We’ll give it an opening, make it think it has a chance, and it won’t be able to resist.”

Shen Yao’s eyes lit up. Risky, perhaps, but there was no better option.

The Shadow Wolf’s greatest threats were its stealth and sudden attacks, but now that Lin Xiao could see it, the wolf had lost its greatest advantage.

“Alright! I’ll follow your lead—this time, we won’t let it get away!”