“This is a good sign,” Zhu Rhee said as she knelt on the forest floor. A large paw print, the size of the Eight Oaths Resolve disciple’s head, was pressed into the earth, moistened by the morning dew. The two had left their packs at their campsite and departed an hour ago after consuming a quick meal of disgusting moss rocks.

  “Respectfully, Senior Sister, I disagree.”

  Zhu Rhee peered up at him, not offended but confused. “What makes you say that?”

  “The size,” Ishin explained. He wasn’t a skilled tracker—never allowed to leave Pale Fang Fortress due to his inability to cultivate, he knew nothing about hunting beyond the tales his mother had told him. But growing up in a society of warriors and hunters had apparently taught him more than living inside a luxurious city ever could.

  “Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m guessing that a thunder horned wolf cub is around the size of a normal wolf?”

  “Smaller, I think,” Zhu Rhee replied thoughtfully. “And this paw print is from something bigger than that.”

  Ishin knelt beside her. “Senior Sister, have you ever seen a thunder horned wolf before?”

  “No,” she admitted. “But my uncle told me about them.”

  That’s good. That means we’re not going in completely blind. His experience facing the sun tigers out in the Nine Striped Hills had taught him something: the more powerful spirit beasts tended to be bigger. Although tigers are generally larger than wolves… maybe not a perfect comparison. Still, his eyes returned to the massive paw print. There was no way the spirit beast that made it was only in the Initial Realm.

  “Did he mention if their appearance changes after progressing realms?”

  Zhu Rhee shook her head. “They don’t. Well, they do get bigger, but nothing else changes.” After a moment, she added, “Of course, this came from an Adept Realm beast.” Her eyes drifted down, ashamed.

  “It’s okay, Senior Sister,” Ishin offered. “Now we know to be careful.” He stood. “What do these wolves look like anyway?”

  “They have purple fur and a yellow horn protruding from their snout. Otherwise, they look like a wolf.”

  “I’m guessing their horns are dangerous.” Ishin glanced northwest. They were still two miles from the hunting ground, but clearly, the thunder horned wolves didn’t care about artificial boundaries drawn on a map. We’ll need to be careful going forward.

  “They use it to attack,” Zhu Rhee said. “They cycle lightning qi to the horn and then thrust it at their prey. We need to be careful if they start charging at us.”

  That’s very useful. “That might be hard.” He hefted his spear. “This should give me some reach to strike first, but I don’t know any ranged techniques.”

  “What about your lightning bolt technique? The one you used in the training room against me?”

  “I can only really use it once,” Ishin confessed. “It exhausts too much of my qi.”

  “That’s something you’ll have to work on once we’re back,” Zhu Rhee replied simply.

  Ishin found himself unexpectedly touched that she was already thinking about training with him afterward. She’s right, though. His Pale Azure Lightning Force Strike wasn’t very useful in its current state. Still, that wouldn’t help them with their current objective.

  “I can use my Twisting Shadow Snare technique to pin them in place,” Zhu Rhee offered.

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  “You can?” Ishin recalled being trapped by strange tendrils during their duel. That technique would be perfect.

  “Yes, but I can only use it on targets twenty feet away.” She paused, clearly debating how much to reveal. “My techniques are primarily dependent on my shadow.” A spear forged of darkness emerged from the shadow she cast on the ground. “It limits my effective range, but I can stretch it a little beyond its natural length.”

  Ishin was stunned by the level of trust she was showing him. She’s sharing her weaknesses. That’s no small thing.

  “I… thank you for sharing this with me.”

  The shadow spear dispersed, fading into the ground. She looked away and replied, “It’s only right you know. We can’t go into battle without sharing the details of our capabilities.”

  Not afraid of the truth. “I understand.” If he had anything more to share, he would have.

  “Good. So our plan of attack will be for me to trap the wolves in place, and then you attack them from the rear. You’ll have to be quick in killing them. Thunder horned wolves often travel in packs. If they manage to let out a howl and summon the rest, we’ll be in trouble.”

  Ishin nodded. Fighting them one at a time was going to be dangerous enough. They stood no chance against a whole pack.

  “And if we encounter a wolf in the Adept Realm,” Zhu Rhee added, “we retreat immediately. Agreed?”

  “That sounds reasonable.”

  Memories of the sun tiger clawing at his face flashed before his eyes. A shiver ran down his spine. Ishin tightened his grip on the spear. This won’t be like last time. For once, when the angry part of his soul growled, Ishin welcomed it.

  “Let’s go hunting.”

  The two disciples advanced into the hunting ground slowly over the next hour. Focused on stealth rather than speed, their progress was measured. Ishin took the lead, spear ready. Every thirty seconds, both opened their third eye, scanning for hidden dangers.

  Finally, their patience paid off.

  Ishin climbed over a six-foot-tall collapsed log, moss-covered and slick, when he spotted a small purple-haired wolf with a curved yellow horn above its snout. The thunder horned wolf was small—only the size of a dog—and was drinking from a creek, unaware of their presence.

  Zhu Rhee descended the log behind him. Ishin lifted a closed fist, signaling her to halt and stay silent. His gaze met hers and he gestured toward the wolf. Her eyes widened, and she nodded to confirm she saw it.

  Ishin beckoned her behind a nearby pine tree. Still forty feet away from the wolf, it wouldn’t do to charge in recklessly. Scanning the surroundings with his third eye, he found no other spirit beasts. Zhu Rhee shook her head moments later—she hadn’t seen any either.

  Zhu Rhee made a chopping motion at a tree fifteen feet from the wolf, then pointed at herself. Ishin nodded, then pointed at a different tree ten feet away. She nodded in return.

  They moved.

  Ishin crept toward his marked spot, careful not to disturb the underbrush. The wolf remained unaware, still drinking. Through his third eye, Ishin saw the beast’s chakra. It was at the second layer of the Initial Realm—a true cub. It probably hasn’t even learned to survive yet.

  Once again, he felt a twinge of guilt. You don’t have the luxury of feeling sympathy. He needed this wolf’s chakra. Mother wouldn’t have hesitated.

  What does that say about me? he wondered as he crouched behind the tree.

  Zhu Rhee’s shadow stretched across the forest floor toward the wolf. When it was within five feet, the wolf’s head lifted, sensing something.

  Six tendrils shot from the shadow, ensnaring the cub.

  Caught off guard, it was knocked to the ground and began to thrash in panic. Ishin darted forward and stood over it, spear aimed at its chest.

  Its eyes met his—filled with terror.

  This feels wrong.

  A howl escaped its mouth, echoing through the trees.

  Oh no.

  “Kill it!” Zhu Rhee shouted.

  Ishin thrust downward, aiming just beneath its rib cage toward the heart. The beast’s muscles were dense; his spear barely pierced. It continued thrashing, blood spurting, whimpering. Ishin shoved the spear deeper until he pierced its heart. The wolf spasmed one last time, then went still.

  The shadow tendrils receded.

  Zhu Rhee rushed forward. “What was that?”

  Before Ishin could answer, a chorus of howls echoed through the forest—from the west.

  They sounded close.

  “Run!” Zhu Rhee shouted.