Once the fine Longsword felt lighter in his hands, Li Heng’s execution of his basic Swordsmanship techniques became even more fluid, his speed increasing.
This second wave of five sturdy wild wolves was clearly much luckier than the first. Although none of them ultimately escaped Li Heng’s blade, they didn’t suffer much pain.
Judging solely by the number of wounds, these five sturdy wild wolves had almost all been dealt fatal blows to their necks and abdomens, with only one or two gashes on their heads.
After finishing off the last sturdy wild wolf, Li Heng didn’t move immediately. Instead, he stood in place, leaning on his Longsword.
Li Heng was still immersed in the feeling from moments ago—the sensation of his Longsword becoming lighter, his sword moves flowing as smoothly as water.
The scenes of him killing the sturdy wild wolves flashed through his mind, over and over again.
About three minutes later, Li Heng finally emerged from his immersed state. The moment he did, a system notification sounded in his ear.
[DING! You have gained enlightenment in battle. Basic Swordsmanship has been upgraded to Lv. 5.]
Basic Swordsmanship Lv. 5!
The max level for a basic skill in the Alliance’s compulsory education!
Without relying on any equipment or items, his Strength, one of his three core attributes, had finally reached 10!
Li Heng looked at the Longsword in his hand, his heart filled with joy. ’Never mind any potential gains later on; just entering this Dungeon and maxing out my Basic Swordsmanship is already a huge harvest!’
"Huh? Something dropped?"
Shifting his gaze from his personal attributes, Li Heng noticed a green orb of light emerging from one of the wolf carcasses. He walked over and touched it.
Name: Sharp Wolf Fang
Category: Soul Energy Item
Value: Common
Effects:
1. The main material for crafting Wolf Fang equipment.
2. Has ordinary collection value.
[Consume 100 Soul Energy to upgrade this item?]
Li Heng gave it a quick glance and realized this Soul Energy Item wasn’t of much use to him at the moment, so he stuffed it into his Space Stone.
Besides maxing out his Basic Swordsmanship and obtaining the Sharp Wolf Fang, Li Heng had also gained 40 Soul Energy Value. Added to his previous 70, he now had enough Soul Energy to enter the Dungeon next time!
Li Heng’s school uniform was stained with some wolf blood, and the metallic scent on him had grown stronger. However, he felt completely unaffected by it and continued deeper into the valley.
Perhaps it was because there were simply too many sturdy wild wolves on Wolf King Mountain. Li Heng estimated he had only walked about 200 meters before encountering another wave of them, this time a pack of six!
Li Heng was already confident in taking on six at once. Now that his Basic Swordsmanship was maxed out, killing these six sturdy wild wolves was even less of a problem. After a few minutes of battle, he had gained another 48 Soul Energy.
He flicked the wolf blood off his Longsword and continued forward.
After advancing about 200 meters: 48 Soul Energy, one piece of common-value Soul Energy Wolf Hide!
After advancing about 400 meters: 40 Soul Energy!
After advancing another 400 meters: 56 Soul Energy, a piece of common-value Soul Energy Wolf Meat!
After advancing about 600 meters: 40 Soul Energy, one common-value Soul Energy Wolf Head!
As of now, Li Heng had accumulated a total of 342 Soul Energy. After storing the Soul Energy Wolf Head in his Space Stone, he paused.
There were two reasons for his stop. First, the prolonged fighting had left him somewhat fatigued, his limbs aching, and he needed a rest. Second, he had arrived at a boundary.
Behind Li Heng was a green, lushly vegetated area. In front of him, however, was a mix of bare rock and sparse shrubs. Looking up, the shrubs grew even scarcer, and more and more rock was exposed.
It wasn’t just the difference in vegetation density. The reason Li Heng’s gaze was directed upward, not forward, was because a steep incline had appeared before him.
From Li Heng’s current perspective, this incline looked like a very long slope.
Wolf King Mountain!
’This long slope must be Wolf King Mountain!’
Li Heng rested for over ten minutes but ultimately chose not to ascend the mountain. Instead, he turned around and continued to roam the flatter, more vegetated area to grind mobs.
Li Heng sensed it—the same scent of blood from when the heavily injured Blood Wolf King first appeared!
And the closer he got to Wolf King Mountain, the stronger the scent became! This led Li Heng to guess that Wolf King Mountain was likely the territory of Blood Wolves, and there were probably two Blood Wolf Kings on the mountain!
Although he didn’t know why he hadn’t encountered the scene of a heavily injured Blood Wolf King being exiled this time, Li Heng had no intention of heading up the mountain just yet.
’Blood Wolves are Tier One Low-Grade Soul Beasts, and they even have soul skills!’
Li Heng couldn’t guarantee that the Blood Wolves would be solitary. With his current strength, even when bullying sturdy wild wolves, he tried to stick to groups of fewer than ten.
He wasn’t afraid of a one-on-one fight with a Blood Wolf, but he was worried about running into two or three at once. That would probably be a bit too much for him.
If he encountered a whole pack of Blood Wolves, he might not survive even if he fought with all his might.
To be on the safe side, Li Heng thought it over for more than ten minutes and decided to continue grinding sturdy wild wolves to collect enough Soul Energy and bolster his own strength.
Before he resumed grinding, however, Li Heng first spent 100 Soul Energy to upgrade his fine Longsword. Remaining Soul Energy: 242.
Name: Cyan Blade Longsword
Category: Soul Energy Item
Value: Rare
Effects:
1. Wearer’s Strength +3, Agility +3.
2. Swordsmanship Suitability +6.
3. Increases the wearer’s ability to comprehend rudimentary Sword Intent.
[Consume 1000 Soul Energy to upgrade this item?]
’Sword Intent!’
Li Heng hadn’t expected that spending 100 Soul Energy to upgrade his fine Longsword would result in something related to Sword Intent!
’It might be rudimentary, but it’s still Sword Intent!’
Those two words were both familiar and distant to Li Heng.
Familiar because, back when he read novels on Earth, he had often seen descriptions involving those two words.
Distant because, to Li Heng, anything related to Sword Intent seemed too fantastical. He didn’t really understand it.
Holding the Cyan Blade Longsword, aside from feeling that his swings were faster and his strikes more powerful, he couldn’t sense any Sword Intent at all.
Li Heng didn’t think much of it. After all, the word "comprehend" was itself quite mysterious. ’For now, I’d better just stick to grinding sturdy wild wolves.’
Now that he had the Cyan Blade Longsword, Li Heng reassessed his strength. If he encountered a pack of more than eight sturdy wild wolves, he should probably make a temporary retreat and stick to farming groups within the eight-wolf limit.
After all, when facing a large pack, a few extra attribute points really couldn’t stand up to "wolf-sea tactics." Li Heng had no desire to be overwhelmed by a tide of wolves.
After upgrading his Longsword, Li Heng felt more than ever that he didn’t have enough Soul Energy.
The Blood Wolf Fang Bracelet, the leveled-up Wolf Walk Technique, the Space Stone, and now his newly upgraded Longsword—every single one of them required 1000 Soul Energy Value for their next upgrade!
’1000 Soul Energy is equivalent to 125 sturdy wild wolves.’ The thought made Li Heng feel like he was about to start another period of "dancing with wolves."
The last time he’d danced with wolves was during the secret realm exam, spending six days in the forest with Bai Shasha.