The Asura Wolf unleashed its full force.
With a single strike of its massive paw, it smashed into the Dark Illusionary Fox and sent it flying like a dry leaf caught in a storm. The fox couldn't defend—couldn't even react. The blow carried such overwhelming power that the fox was hurled through the air effortlessly, spinning helplessly before crashing straight between two enormous stone pillars. The impact tore through the rock, leaving deep cracks as the fox was slammed underground.
The Asura Wolf had now entered the battlefield of the local beasts.
Its enormous body surged forward, its rage completely unleashed. Anything that came in its path was crushed, torn apart, or sliced down mercilessly. Beasts were dying even before touching it—its aura alone was enough to kill.
What was terrifying was its intelligence.
The Asura Wolf first separated the beasts that were moving in groups. Then, one by one, it brutally slaughtered them. Its movements were calculated, deliberate—almost human. Despite being a low-level beast, its planning, tricks, and battlefield awareness rivaled that of trained humans. Such intelligence was abnormal for a beast.
On the other side of the battlefield, the Golden Wolf and the Illusionary Fox were still locked in combat.
Their powers were evenly matched. At times, one would bite deep into the other, drawing blood. At other moments, they fought with pure rage, tearing at flesh and charging with killing intent. The clash was savage and relentless.
But this battle wouldn't last much longer.
Because the Asura Wolf was heading toward them.
And if the Golden Wolf and the Asura Wolf joined forces, no one—no beast—would be able to stop them. The fox standing against them would be slaughtered without resistance.
Meanwhile, beneath the battlefield, a massive hole had formed under a giant stone slab. Thick smoke filled the area as fragments of rock scattered in every direction. Some unlucky beasts that had been caught in the collapse were crushed instantly. Blood stained the ground everywhere.
Ji-Hoon stood there with a confused expression.
Suddenly—BOOM!
An explosion erupted behind him. Ji-Hoon reacted instantly, raising his arms to shield his face. His eyes shut tightly as darkness swallowed the area. He couldn't see anything, but he could sense it clearly—this destruction was caused by the battle raging above.
Confused, Ji-Hoon muttered,
"Layla… we were underground, right? Then who destroyed the ground from outside? That was a huge attack. Is there some kind of tunnel here?"
His confusion deepened.
Layla stayed silent for a moment—then burst out laughing loudly. Suddenly, her tone shifted to anger.
"Ji-Hoon, have you lost your brain along with your common sense?"
Ji-Hoon frowned even more.
"What do you mean? How did I lose my common sense? I didn't lose my memory—my memory started here! How am I supposed to know what kind of place this is?"
Layla froze, realizing her mistake. Instead of apologizing, she shouted,
"If we were really underground, how could someone break through like that?"
Ji-Hoon sighed lightly.
"Alright, forget it."
Then he smiled bitterly.
"First this place, and now a new problem on top of it."
Layla laughed again.
"Well, maybe a flying beast crashed down here from above."
Ji-Hoon spat out blood mixed with fragments from his shattered meridians. He wiped the blood from his mouth and cleaned his body casually.
Despite everything, his body looked flawless.
There were no wounds. His muscles were perfectly shaped. His hair shimmered faintly, glowing with an unnatural brilliance. He stood there completely naked, yet looked nothing like a wounded survivor—he looked like a flawless, handsome young man.
For a moment, he pushed everything else aside and focused on the present.
Then, as if remembering something important, he turned to Layla.
"By the way… weren't you going to tell me something? About why I'm special?"
Layla forced a fake smile, irritation hidden behind it.
"Haha… Ji-Hoon, I almost forgot—what you gained… and what you lost."
Ji-Hoon listened intently.
Layla began,
"When you were absorbing aura, there were two types—starlight aura and beast aura created from their clash. You tried to absorb both and convert them into Qi."
"But your body wasn't ready. You weren't a ranker, and your meridians weren't fully awakened. As you tried to unlock them using that unstable aura, your control was barely twenty percent."
"You needed special methods. More practice. More control."
"But it was your first time."
"Instead of awakening your meridians slowly… you shattered them."
Ji-Hoon's expression darkened.
"That's why those white veins burst out with blood. Your meridians were destroyed."
He understood everything clearly now.
With a troubled expression, Ji-Hoon asked,
"Then what should I have done to succeed?"
Layla shook her head.
"Honestly? Without experience, there's no way you could've purified that mixed, violent aura into proper Qi. You need to leave this battlefield—far away."
Ji-Hoon chuckled softly.
"Then why didn't you tell me earlier? If you had, none of this would've happened."
Layla went quiet.
"…The truth is—I didn't know either."
Ji-Hoon smiled.
"Then maybe this was meant to happen. If I'm a demonic ranker now, where's the fun without pain?"
A strange smile formed on his face.
Elsewhere on the battlefield, a dense fog gathered in a separate region. Starlight was being absorbed violently. From within it, a massive beast slowly revealed itself.
A fox.
Its entire body was pure white, glowing brilliantly under the starlight. A powerful, unfamiliar aura flowed through it. Its mouth was open, drawing starlight into itself like a vortex.
It looked divine.
Its fangs shone sharply—and behind it swayed not one…
…but two tails.
A Two-Tailed Divine Fox had descended.