Just as the massive wolf mace was about to crush the wolf's head into pulp, the wolf suddenly emitted a faint jade glow, then twisted its body, shrinking instantly to half its original size—now only as large as a common green wolf. The mace skimmed past the wolf's head, missing its body entirely. The green wolf flashed a brilliant emerald light in its eyes, flicked its tail, and suddenly surged forward at remarkable speed, darting past the giant warrior and seizing the officer on the opposite side with its paws. "A spirit wolf!" the officer exclaimed, his face pale with astonishment, as he instinctively raised his arm—his long sword, which had been resting across his waist, now appeared in his hands. With a gentle shimmer of white and translucent light from a spiritual artifact ring on his finger, the sword transformed into a cascade of shimmering sword shadows, forming a protective barrier around him. Even this seemingly unremarkable officer carried a low-tier spiritual artifact. The wolf demon, who had only transformed into an ordinary giant wolf, glanced at the sword shadow formed by this low-tier spiritual artifact with a hint of disdain. With a swift flick of its forepaws, it sent out a cascade of bright green paw-blades that surged toward the officer. As soon as the sword shadows touched the paw-blades, they burst and dissolved in a series of explosive sounds, utterly unable to withstand the assault. The shimmering network of green light only paused slightly before contracting and settling. Though the officer, still holding his sword aloft and charging forward with a final, desperate strike, his face had already turned pale as ashes. Yet at that moment, the officer suddenly felt a flicker of movement before him—another figure, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, surged into the network of paw-blades. A brief, sharp exhalation, though not loud, resonated in his ears like the sound of a bell, causing him to feel dizzy and startled. Then, as if by a simple gesture, the figure raised a golden glow directly toward the advancing paw-blades. With a thunderous roar, the jade-like claws shattered amidst the golden light, vanishing entirely. The officer was delighted, and only upon fixing his gaze did he recognize the figure before him—none other than another man entrusted with guarding him, Han Li. Han Li was slowly drawing his pair of glowing golden fists back into his sleeves, his expression calm and composed, his eyes steadily fixed on the azure spectral wolf hovering mid-air. The wolf, having halted its charge, now regarded Han Li with a look of astonishment. Its back fur, once smooth, now stood upright in large patches, clearly indicating a deep sense of apprehension toward him. Though it could not yet discern Han Li's level of cultivation, an intuitive sensitivity to danger whispered that the human posed an extreme threat—possibly capable of ending its life. Thus, it hesitated. After the giant's attack missed, the sudden transformation of the wolf sent him into a state of alarm. He quickly turned around, facing the creature once again with the demeanor of one confronting a formidable adversary. Thus, with Han Li now positioned to form a flanking attack, merchants from nearby Tian Dong companies quickly arrived, and it was only a matter of time before the beast could be fully encircled. The wolf beast scanned the scene, gazed deeply at Han Li, then suddenly turned and surged forward as a streak of jade-green light, directly charging toward the giant. Du Xiao was startled, raising his wolf-bone staff in front of him and instinctively stepping aside. Yet the wolf merely flashed past, its light gliding over the giant’s head, then swiftly clearing the city wall and leaping down. The several mutated giant wolves that had joined the assault—except for one that was instantly slain—also jumped down and fled. Han Li remained where he stood, showing no intention to pursue. Though he had no magical power, he found little interest in pursuing such a low-tier beast that had never previously drawn his attention. The officer who had narrowly escaped, after regaining composure, expressed profound gratitude to Han Li, repeatedly offering his thanks. "Thank you so much for your rescue, otherwise my life would truly be in danger." Hearing this, Han Li sighed and waved his hand. "Though I've saved you, there are also wolf demons appearing elsewhere—things don't look very promising." "It's impossible! How could so many wolf demons appear?" The officer with the Xiao surname stared in astonishment and quickly looked toward the city ramparts. His face then paled again. He saw that several nearby city ramparts, previously calm, were now in chaos, with thousands of young wolves surging onto them. Floating above the ramparts, several glowing wolf demons hovered—identical in appearance to the one that had escaped from their own location. Not only Han Li and the officer, but also the Tian Dong trading company staff and ordinary soldiers witnessed this scene. As waves of young wolves poured in from the now-defeated ramparts, everyone's spirits sank further. Everyone couldn't help but feel a chill, struck by the thought: "Has the city truly fallen?" Just when all were bewildered, and the defenders on the city walls were heavily wounded, their resistance visibly waning, a sudden series of horn blasts rang out from the various battlements. Then, amid the chaos, hundreds of agile body-builders surged forward from behind—freshly emerging from the rear. Each wore a unique, trial-prototype bone armor, wielding an array of swords and spears, all glowing with a bright, fresh vitality. Though all were equipped with low-tier spiritual artifacts, they appeared uniformly radiant and resolute. As they surged onto the walls, they moved with such confidence and power that they seemed like tigers charging into a flock of sheep—unstoppable. A single flick of their glowing blades would cleave through the young wolves in two, as if they were passing through air. Even the fiercest, mutated giant wolves, who managed to offer some resistance, were swiftly overwhelmed when several of the armored warriors converged upon them—soon reduced to five separate bodies each. The several yō-wolves in the sky naturally grew furious and were about to take action when, suddenly, a group of fifteen body-tempered cultivators rose into the air and advanced to encircle the wolf spirits. At that moment, a long, resonant howl echoed from the rear of the wolf pack below the city. Upon hearing this call, the wolf spirits hesitated only briefly before turning and flying away, making no direct contact with the cultivators. The ordinary wolf beasts still stationed atop the city walls also began to retreat, leaping off the walls in haste. Though the body-tempered cultivators pursued them vigorously, over half of the wolf beasts managed to escape. Not only at this city's ramparts, but wolf packs elsewhere also ceased their attacks and gradually withdrew. Thus, the first day's probing battle ended with the wolf forces in a rather subdued manner. While both the wolf and human forces sustained losses, the overall impression was that the wolves had suffered a slight setback, with the number of young green wolves lost reaching over a hundred thousand. Yet though human casualties were minimal, an enormous number of arrows and defensive equipment had been consumed. It remained uncertain which side truly emerged victorious. At that moment, seven crescent moons simultaneously appeared in the sky. Under the bright moonlight, the fur-covered wolf corpses lay thickly across the city walls. From the retreating wolf herd, one after another, mournful wolf howls echoed, no longer fierce, but filled with an indescribable sense of sorrow and melancholy. The vast wolf horde gradually faded into the cold moonlight, eventually vanishing without a trace. Only then did the soldiers who had fought throughout the day on the city walls finally exhale in relief. They no longer cared about the bloodstains on their armor, and, weary and exhausted, settled down to sit on the ground. Some were so drained that they even intended to fall asleep. Even the specialized body-builders, trained in physical prowess, who had continuously wielded their weapons, found themselves overwhelmed and decided to take a brief rest. Do not lie down—this is no place for sleeping. The replacement troops will be arriving soon. As long as nothing unexpected happens, we can rest for two days after this. Once the replacements arrive, everyone can return to their quarters and settle in properly. For now, however, we must stay alert and remain vigilant. Should the wolf pack suddenly return, our current condition would certainly prove problematic." The officer named Xiao could not relax even slightly, continuing to urge the troops with steady words. Hearing that they could finally rest, both the soldiers and the staff from Tian Dong Trading House were overjoyed, regaining some of their strength and reluctantly standing up again. Han Li had not yet used his abilities several times, so he felt no fatigue. He simply leaned against a nearby city rampart, gazing into the dark, distant stretch where the wolves had retreated, his eyes flickering with thoughts of his own. "Brother Han, this time it truly thanks to you for repelling the wolf demon. Otherwise, we would have ended up in much the same situation as the other outposts." Zhang Kui approached Han Li, smiling warmly from a distance. He held his golden short sword in one hand, half of his armor stained red with blood, clearly having slain numerous Qing Lang during the battle. "It's nothing really—just happened to coincide with the wolf pack's retreat," Han Li said, his gaze sweeping over Zhang Kui with calm composure. "But had it not been for Han brother's timely intervention, even with the 'Spirit Squad' of An Yuan City coming to our aid, we would have suffered heavy casualties. Thanks to you, Zhang brother—had it been anyone else, we'd have struggled to stand a chance against the wolf demon alone. Even with my Golden Ying sword, my odds of victory would have been no more than three out of ten." Zhang Kui offered a wry smile, then flipped his hand, producing a delicate sword scabbard that he carefully used to sheath the short sword, then tucked both sword and scabbard into his coat. Han Li instinctively glanced at the spiritual artifact. He already knew that these so-called spiritual artifacts were actually specialized devices designed by cultivators specifically for physical cultivators. By using specially crafted items such as "spirit rings" and "spirit bracelets," one could directly transfer the spirit stones from the devices into the artifacts without needing any internal spiritual energy, thereby temporarily activating their power. While the artifacts performed well, their power relied entirely on the spirit stones—unable to be fully integrated or sustained over time, and consuming spirit stones at an extraordinary rate. Thus, they were not accessible to ordinary physical cultivators. However, since the power of these artifacts never surpassed that of top-tier spiritual implements and fell far short of true treasures, high-level physical cultivators often regarded them as insignificant. They placed greater faith in the strength they themselves cultivated, viewing it as their ultimate weapon—a perspective that resonated well with certain immortal race cultivators. As Han Li was mentally reviewing the information on the spiritual artifacts, Zhang Kui remained silent for a moment before suddenly expressing something unusual. Han Li heard this and felt a sudden sense of alertness. (Second update!)