Lin Yuan had no time to think; the wolf’s maw was already at his leg.
He used the recoil from Awakening of Insects to pivot and slash diagonally...
“Thunder Walk Through Nine Heavens, Second Form: Thunder Arc.”
A crescent-shaped blade of lightning flew out, striking the Shadow Abyss Wolf on the right square in the face.
The arc exploded, forcing the wolf to shut its left eye. Its head jerked to the side, causing most of the force behind its bite to dissipate.
However, its right front claw swept across simultaneously. The tips of the claws grazed Lin Yuan’s right arm. His bones, tempered by nine rounds, let out a muffled thud, and three shallow bloody gashes appeared on his skin.
In the first exchange, Lin Yuan had blocked the combined attack of two Royals.
But he hadn't gained any advantage.
The injured Shadow Abyss Royal lowered its head to lick the wound on its claw, a trace of surprise flickering in its emerald-green eyes.
It couldn't believe a Tier 1, Level 9 ability user could produce an attack of this caliber, especially when his ability was only F-rank.
The other two Shadow Abyss Wolves repositioned themselves, surrounding Lin Yuan in a tight triangular formation.
The Shadow Abyss Royal that had been injured by the Thunder Arc stepped forward, its emerald eyes locking onto Lin Yuan’s.
“A strong combat technique,” it said seriously. The disdain from before was gone, replaced by earnestness. “To be able to unleash a technique of this power at Tier 1, Level 9... you are indeed stronger than those useless trash.”
It paused. “But that ends here.”
As soon as the words left its mouth, the three Shadow Abyss Royals moved simultaneously.
This time, the attack wasn't a probe or an individual effort. The three Tier 2, Level 5 Shadow Abyss Royals launched a coordinated assault from three directions.
Shadow energy condensed at the tips of their claws. One blocked the front while the other two flanked him from the sides, their coordination seamless.
Their rhythm was nearly perfect—one forced him to parry, another forced him to dodge, and the third waited for him to reveal a weakness.
Faced with this lethal move, Lin Yuan pushed the Sands of Time to its limit.
Instantly, the air within a four-meter radius around Lin Yuan became viscous. The speed of the three Shadow Abyss Wolves plummeted, but their Tier 2, Level 5 cultivation allowed them to push through the deceleration and continue forward.
Lin Yuan moved rapidly through the gaps between the six claw-shadows, Purple Lightning swinging in his hands.
Awakening of Insects parried a claw from the left; Thunder Arc forced back a pounce from the right; and a pale purple lightning needle from Running Thunder Finger flicked toward the eyes of the one in front, forcing it to blink.
For a moment, lightning flashed throughout the lobby as the Shadow Abyss Wolves’ claws clashed repeatedly with the tip of Purple Lightning.
Lin Yuan defended against six attacks, but unfortunately, he couldn't stop the seventh.
The Shadow Abyss Wolf in front seized an opening and whipped its tail heavily against his right shoulder.
The force was so great that even his bones, tempered by nine rounds, let out a heavy, muffled thud.
Lin Yuan was sent flying, slamming into a load-bearing pillar in the lobby. Cracks spiderwebbed across the surface of the pillar.
“Senior!” Bai Li cried out.
Lin Yuan slid down the pillar, propping himself up with one hand as he gasped for air. Agony radiated from his right shoulder.
It wasn't a fracture—bones tempered by nine rounds didn't break that easily—but the muscle and ligaments had been severely strained.
The range of motion in his right arm was clearly restricted. Every breath tugged at the contusion on his shoulder blade, sending beads of sweat rolling down his forehead.
One against three, with a five-level gap in cultivation.
He held no advantage in timing, terrain, or support.
He wiped a smear of blood from the corner of his mouth.
“Damn it, those novels really lie about how easy it is to challenge higher levels. Is fighting three-on-one really this hard?”
The moment he finished speaking, Lin Yuan felt a surge of killing intent coming from the shadows behind him.
The Shadow Abyss Royal talent—Shadow Traverse.
Unlike ordinary Shadow Abyss Wolves that could only teleport short distances within shadows, a Royal’s Shadow Traverse allowed them to emerge silently from any shadow during battle.
Having just been injured, Lin Yuan didn't have time to turn around. He managed to sidestep half a pace, relying on the perception of his space-time ability.
Claws grazed his back, tearing three gashes into his skin.
The golden bone patterns of his Nine Rounds of Bone Tempering flashed brilliantly. He tanked the hit, preventing himself from being impaled, but several bloody gashes opened up over his ribs, and blood began to flow down his side.
It hurt. It hurt like hell.
But there was a sensation even stronger than the pain—the bone at the center of his back was burning.
It wasn't the searing pain of an injury, but a heat burning outward from deep within the marrow.
Lin Yuan’s progress in Nine Rounds of Bone Tempering had been stuck at 99% for a long time. That small patch at the center of his back had remained uncovered by the golden bone patterns.
But now, that gap was burning, as if something deep within the bone patterns was stirring.
Just a little more! This final step required a more intense fire of battle.
On the other side of the lobby, Bai Li still stood where she was.
Her legs were trembling, but she refused to move, her teeth biting her lip until it almost bled.
Xiaxia used the Azure Peak Sword to push herself up and grabbed Bai Li’s wrist. “Go!”
“I won't—”
“I can't cut loose with you guys here!” Lin Yuan rasped, sidestepping a descending shadow claw.
“I finally found a chance to act cool; don't make me mess it up!”
Xiaxia took a deep breath and turned to the dozens of citizens in the corner. “Follow me!”
Only then did the crowd help each other up and start moving toward the old airport.
Jiang Ran slung one of the injured Chen Mo’s arms over his shoulder and stumbled after them. Song Zhiyi held her last arrow, covering their retreat.
Bai Li was the last to leave, looking back as she ran.
Moonlight filtered through the cracks in the broken walls, illuminating her tear-streaked face.
Lin Yuan didn't look at her. The three wolves were relentless, and the lobby was a chaotic mess of exploding lightning and shadow.
Suddenly, a streak of shadow light veered off, chasing after the direction Bai Li had gone.
Lin Yuan’s eyes widened.
Lightning exploded beneath his feet, and he instantly appeared in the middle of the three Shadow Abyss Wolves.
With his left hand, he whipped a card shimmering with pale gold light out of his pocket.
Tier 2 Peak B-rank defensive card—Golden Bell Shield.
This was the card he had won from Zhao Tianyu in a bet back in the wilderness of Donghai City.
At the time, Zhao Tianyu had been incredibly arrogant, claiming his B-rank fire ability would easily crush Lin Yuan’s F-rank lightning system.
Then Zhao Tianyu lost, and the card ended up in Lin Yuan’s pocket. He had been reluctant to use it until now.
He was using it now, but not to protect himself.
The pale gold barrier expanded in mid-air, forming a hemispherical dome.
Then, with a flick of his wrist, Lin Yuan didn't place the shield over himself. Instead, he slammed it down over himself and the three Shadow Abyss Wolves.
The massive inner walls of the defensive shield trapped all four of them inside, the golden light cutting them off from the outside world.
The wolf that had been chasing Bai Li slammed a claw into the inner wall of the barrier. It vibrated violently but didn't break.
It turned around, its emerald eyes looking exceptionally grim under the golden light.
All three Shadow Abyss Wolves stopped.
They realized they were trapped in a cage.
Not caged by humans, but trapped together with a human they considered an ant.
Rate on N.U.
