However, it was merely a slight improvement; he was still at the mid-Bronze level. Yet he could clearly feel his own strength. If he were to encounter the Spirit Slayer Henry Carter—whom he had killed—again, even without resorting to tricks and facing him head-on, his chances of victory would now exceed sixty percent.

For humans, cultivating battle qi from nothing is itself a way of breaking through one’s limits. On the path of battle qi cultivation, every step forward is a breakthrough of the self, an elevation of one’s life level. And each breakthrough is never easy—it requires constant tempering, accumulation, and a bit of luck.

Countless people have been stuck at a certain bottleneck, unable to break through for their entire lives; such cases have been as numerous as the fish in the river since ancient times.

Some may say that one can seek to break shackles and unleash potential by facing life-and-death trials, but in reality, that is nothing but wishful thinking. To truly stimulate potential through mortal danger, one must genuinely feel fear, peril, and the sense that life could end at any moment.

Life is but one; when hanging by a thread, in extreme danger, ninety-five percent of people end up dead. Of the remaining five percent, only one or two out of ten can actually unleash their potential and break through. So, those who choose this method must be prepared to die at any moment. Between life and death lies great terror.

If he had any other choice, William Reed would never have willingly let himself be hunted for months just to seek a breakthrough.

Fortunately, he had managed to survive the crisis for now, and had become even stronger. But before he could enjoy his excitement for long, his expression stiffened. His stomach was already growling with hunger—he hadn’t eaten properly for two days, and his recent meditation and cultivation had consumed even more energy. His body was now reminding him with intense hunger that he needed to eat as soon as possible.

But with the snow falling thick and fast, and the Heavenly Ridge Plateau buried under three feet of snow, where could he possibly find something to eat?

Helpless, William Reed could only dig out a chunk of snow and swallow it, replenishing some water.

Forcing himself to endure the hunger, he tapped his feet lightly and his figure flickered as he continued toward the Heavenly Ridge Mountains. Although the snow was heavy and visibility was poor, by his calculations, the nearest foothills were still about eighty or ninety li away. Near the foot of the mountains, there would obviously be much more food available.

With William Reed’s current battle qi cultivation, plus his mastery of the Thunderbolt Flash movement technique, if he went all out, he could dash nearly four zhang in a single instant. At that speed, he could theoretically cover nearly two hundred li in an hour, so eighty or ninety li should take at most half an hour.

But such calculations were pure nonsense. Human stamina is limited, battle qi is limited, and the body’s endurance is also limited. If he burned his battle qi to move at full speed, he could only maintain it for the time it takes to burn one or two sticks of incense; after that, his battle qi would be depleted, and his body would be exhausted and sore from the intense exertion—especially in this harsh, snowy weather and the thin air of the plateau.

The normal way to travel was to use only a small portion of battle qi to perform movement techniques and boost speed, while adjusting and replenishing battle qi through breathing as he went.

The best approach was to maintain a pace where the expenditure and replenishment of battle qi were balanced—this was the most efficient, sustainable, and safest way to travel.

William Reed adjusted his speed and breathing slightly, maintaining a pace of about eighty or ninety li per hour. At this rate, he could travel for an hour or so with just a short rest.

Although William Reed’s stomach was already unbearably hungry, the principle of “more haste, less speed” was clear enough. Enduring his hunger, he made his way toward the foot of the mountain at a steady pace, leaving a trail of faint footprints that quickly disappeared in the swirling snow.

After more than half an hour, he had covered several dozen li. Only a small portion of the battle qi in his qi sea had been consumed, but his body was beginning to feel a bit fatigued.

Woooo—

A series of low, continuous wolf howls suddenly rang out, causing William Reed to stop abruptly. With a clang, he drew his battered longsword, Iceflame, his expression growing a bit grim.

Wolves are plentiful in this world. They are pack animals—vicious, cunning, hierarchical, and organized. They possess an extremely keen sense of smell and decent eyesight, move at high speed, excel at tracking, ambushing, and encircling, have a strong sense of territory, and are highly vengeful.

Humans can cultivate, and so can animals. Once an animal’s body contains battle qi, it gains a special designation: demonic beast or demonic bird. Both are extremely formidable. In fact, humans first learned and imitated battle qi from demonic beasts.

To trespass into a wolf pack’s territory—unless your aura is strong enough to intimidate them—means a fierce battle, as their keen sense of smell can detect scents from dozens of li away with the wind.

This was the snowy region of the Heavenly Ridge Plateau, so this wolf pack was clearly the famous plateau snow wolves—a breed known for their large size, speed, and savage, combative nature. In the snow, this was their home turf.

That earlier round of howling signaled the alpha wolf’s rallying of the pack and declaration of war. Clearly, the alpha did not believe William Reed’s aura was enough to suppress them. Thus, it regarded William Reed as either an enemy or prey.

…