Exiting the game pod, it was already past 5 p.m. Wind Xiao took a short nap, since he hadn’t rested well the previous night due to the excitement of Reincarnation's public beta.

  When he woke up, it was already past 7 p.m. After calling his younger sister, who was still at school, and quickly solving his dinner, he entered a meditative state.

  However, he still didn’t feel any flow of energy. Sighing helplessly, Wind Xiao muttered, "Seventeen years of practicing the Chaos Sutra, and I still can’t break through the barrier, stuck at the first level. My adoptive father must be disappointed."

  Thinking of his adoptive father, his mood grew heavy again... longing, warmth, confusion, sadness, and hatred—all these complex emotions intertwined, and Wind Xiao’s mind wavered with a great disturbance.

  His adoptive father was an extremely mysterious figure, so much so that even after living with him for 22 years, Wind Xiao couldn’t fully understand him.

  At the age of 3, his adoptive father repeatedly told him not to call him "dad," but rather "adoptive father," an archaic term. He also told Wind Xiao that he was adopted, with no regard for the psychological impact on a 3-year-old child.

  By the time Wind Xiao was 4, his adoptive father began teaching him the Chaos Sutra and casually mentioned that this cultivation method could only be practiced by Wind Xiao. Yet, despite practicing for over a decade, Wind Xiao still hadn’t felt the flow of internal energy—his "inner power." However, his physical attributes and speed had drastically improved, even surpassing his adoptive father in these areas.

  Apart from being strict during training, his adoptive father was gentle and caring, making countless sacrifices for Wind Xiao and his sister. He gave up the carefree life, the pursuit of the peak of martial arts, and the chance to marry and have children, choosing instead to raise them alone. Wind Xiao and his sister silently understood the hardships their father faced and were deeply moved by his dedication.

  His adoptive father often spoke strange words, performed unusual actions, and taught him mysterious techniques that even he couldn’t cultivate. He would frequently mutter nguages that Wind Xiao couldn’t understand. The most shocking thing, though, was that his adoptive father occasionally predicted future events. Wind Xiao had always believed that even if someone told him his adoptive father was an immortal, he wouldn’t be surprised.

  Wind Xiao clearly remembered what his adoptive father had said before he was killed three years ago: "Three years from now, the Wheel of Reincarnation will surely appear. Xiao’er, you must become the first in Reincarnation! You must!"

  At that time, Wind Xiao didn’t understand the meaning of these words, and could only nod through his tears, bewildered, until two years ter when Reincarnation’s promotion took over the world…

  Gradually calming himself, Wind Xiao silently whispered in his heart, "Adoptive father, Xiao’er is walking the path you’ve pointed out. Yaoyao is now in her second year of college and will be coming home for summer vacation soon."

  "Adoptive father, if you have any spirit left in this world, please watch over me and Yaoyao, and let us become your pride."

  Thinking of his mischievous, troublemaking sister, Wind Xiao smiled warmly. With her by his side, he would never be lonely.

  The next morning, Wind Xiao woke up te. After a quick wash and breakfast, he y back in the game pod to continue his adventure in Reincarnation.

  A fsh of white light, and Wind Xiao appeared where he had logged off the previous day. The newly respawned white wolves didn’t recognize this human who had sughtered their kin. They were leisurely munching on grass and didn’t react to his arrival.

  There were still no other pyers around, which struck Wind Xiao as strange. "The white wolves respawn quickly and don’t attack first. The experience is decent, so this should be a good pce for a leveling team, but why is there no one here? Doesn’t anyone know this spot? But the beginner vilge map clearly marks this as Sunset Slope, the territory of the level 5 white wolves."

  If Wind Xiao had checked the forum or asked the vilge chief for more information, he would have known that most of the monsters in the northern part of the beginner vilge were docile and didn’t attack unless provoked. However, their drops of money, potions, and equipment were minimal, and new pyers were typically short on funds. Fighting here would lead to a net loss. Only someone like Wind Xiao—a lucky, high-damage, high-speed beginner—could thrive here.

  Not wanting to dwell on it, Wind Xiao patted the twenty or so healing potions in his bag and felt confident enough to venture deeper into Sunset Slope.

  Beyond it y Sunset Gorge, the domain of the level 8 Savage Wolves. Wind Xiao checked his stats—200 attack and 450 health—and felt it should be safe.

  Just as he was about to step into Sunset Gorge, a cave caught his attention.

  The cave was about the height of a person, made of earth and stone, seemingly naturally formed, standing out amidst the green grass of Sunset Slope.

  Wind Xiao vaguely recalled the vilge chief mentioning a cave. Could there be treasure inside? Without hesitation, he ran toward the cave.

  The vilge chief, however, was fuming: "Damn it! I warned you not to approach that cave!"

  Just before reaching the cave entrance, a bloodthirsty, murderous aura suddenly hit him, and Wind Xiao instinctively sidestepped. A sharp, gleaming cw barely missed his face.

  In front of him stood a massive white wolf, twice the size of the usual white wolves. Its eyes glowed with a strange red light, fixated on the intruder. It radiated an intense, brutal aura.

  "System prompt: Pyer Wind Xiao, you have entered the territory of the Bloodthirsty White Wolf King, vioting its dignity. The Bloodthirsty White Wolf King will attack you until you die or leave its territory."

  Ignoring the system prompt and feeling no fear, Wind Xiao's heart surged with excitement: "A boss! It's a boss! No wonder I couldn’t get one yesterday afternoon, it must have been resting in its ir!"

  A boss? That meant huge experience and top-tier gear. Defeating a boss was every pyer’s goal and passion. Even if the boss was too powerful to defeat alone, most pyers would gather a team to fight it. Not attacking a boss meant either being too scared or being a beginner, unless the power gap was insurmountable.

  Bloodthirsty White Wolf King: Level 10 Advanced Boss, HP 1500. The king of white wolves, it has gradually evolved into an advanced boss after years of exposure to the pure spiritual energy of Sunset Slope. It is usually gentle, but will mercilessly kill any intruders in its domain.

  Skills:

  Bloodthirst: Passive skill, converting 5% of damage dealt into its own health.Rending Cw Strike: Active skill, a heavy strike with sharp cws that has a high chance to critically hit."An advanced boss..." Wind Xiao didn’t feel too worried. His current stats were comparable to a level 15 pyer, and with his reflexes, he felt confident he could handle it alone.

  In Reincarnation, bosses were ranked from low to high: Common, Advanced, Silver, Gold. Each rank brought a significant increase in strength. For example, a Silver boss could easily take on three Advanced bosses, and a Gold boss could easily handle three Silver bosses. Above Gold bosses were the powerful Immortal Beasts, and beyond them, the legendary Divine Beasts. At the top were the Super Divine Beasts, which were the supreme beings in Reincarnation.