CHAPTER 40: CHAPTER 40: THE SUBLIMATION OF FRIENDSHIP_1

After a short while, Lo Qianxue retrieved a Qiankun Bag and handed it to Qin Feiyang. She then concisely explained the current situation of the Lin family to him. Qin Feiyang thanked her and left the Treasure Pavilion with the Wolf King. As for Lo Qingzhu, she didn’t appear again. But that was for the best; considering what had transpired, meeting again would undoubtedly create an awkward situation.

「The Lin family.」

The main gate was tightly shut, and an eerie silence permeated the surroundings. With two War Kings now stationed there, guards were no longer necessary. Qin Feiyang stopped on the street before the main gate, his gaze fixed on the closed entrance, his eyes flickering with indecision.

"Karma always catches up," he murmured to the gate. "Lin Chang, this is all your own doing. But rest assured, I will take good care of Yiyi."

"Brother Wolf, let’s go."

The man and wolf quickly departed Iron Bull Town, disappearing into a dilapidated forest.

Upon entering the ancient castle, Qin Feiyang emptied out all the Qi Gathering Pills. "Brother Wolf," he said with a smile, "feel free to refine these."

"ROAR!"

The Wolf King let out a low growl and, without any ceremony, snatched up a pill and swallowed it.

Qin Feiyang chuckled and walked over to the iron box, where he once again saw the envelope.

How odd. he thought. Why would Uncle Yuan leave an envelope here?

He frowned. There wasn’t a single word on the envelope. He couldn’t understand if Uncle Yuan had truly left it for him.

Never mind. Even if it’s Uncle Yuan’s private matter, I’ll just take a peek. He probably won’t blame me.

After a moment of contemplation, he steeled his resolve, picked up the envelope, carefully opened it, and tipped out a sheet of paper. Qin Feiyang took the paper and unfolded it, his expression wary. Lines of small script met his eyes.

"Feiyang, Uncle Yuan is leaving. I cannot accompany you on the road ahead, but I believe you will be able to walk it strongly."

Reading this, Qin Feiyang’s face instantly turned deathly pale. He continued reading.

"Feiyang, Uncle Yuan knows that when you see this letter, you will surely be very sad.

But a fish must eventually return to the sea and face the unknown dangers alone. Uncle Yuan cannot be with you forever.

You must remember what Uncle Yuan has always told you: you can know a person’s face, but not their heart. Don’t trust anyone easily.

No matter how dire the straits, you must never give up.

Actually, these past five years, Uncle Yuan has been tempering you, and you haven’t disappointed me. Time and again, you’ve climbed out of despair.

With your current abilities, you are more than capable of standing on your own.

Don’t worry about Uncle Yuan, and more importantly, don’t try to find me. When the time is right, Uncle Yuan will naturally appear before you."

Reading to this point, Qin Feiyang was utterly stunned. The letter slipped from his grasp and fluttered to the ground, but he was completely oblivious.

So Uncle Yuan really left without saying goodbye... He found it hard to accept this reality.

Uncle Yuan had promised him countless times that he would never abandon him. But now, he had not only left, but had done so without a sound.

"Uncle Yuan, why did you lie to me..." he choked out, crouching on the ground and clutching his head, his face contorted in agony. "If you couldn’t keep your promise, why did you give it to me? Why give me hope!"

「Five years ago.」

The great upheaval had caused him to be driven out of the Imperial Capital, losing everything. But with Uncle Yuan by his side, a spark of warmth had remained in his heart. Now, even Uncle Yuan was gone. He was truly alone.

At this moment, his heart filled with unprecedented panic. He feared solitude. He didn’t know what to do next. He was like a headless fly, lacking a target and a sense of direction.

The Wolf King soon noticed his strange behavior, stopped cultivating, and walked over to him, looking at him with confusion.

"Brother Wolf, Uncle Yuan left," Qin Feiyang said, looking helplessly at the Wolf King. "What should I do?"

No matter how mature his mind or strong his character, he was still just a child. He too had a vulnerable side.

The Wolf King paused, then lifted a forepaw and gently patted Qin Feiyang’s shoulder, as if consoling him, a questioning look in his eyes.

"I don’t know why Uncle Yuan left either..." Qin Feiyang shook his head. "He didn’t tell me when he would return..."

His despondent state made the Wolf King anxious.

ROAR!!

It growled at Qin Feiyang, as if trying to convey something.

Qin Feiyang watched for a long moment before understanding: the Wolf King was telling him to be strong, to pull himself together, and not to disappoint Uncle Yuan.

A tremor ran through his body and mind.

That’s right!

Uncle Yuan had placed all his hopes on him. For the past five years, he had painstakingly guided him. He couldn’t give in to despair. Besides, he didn’t have the luxury of wallowing in despair now!

"Brother Wolf, thank you!"

His confidence rekindled, he picked up the letter and continued reading.

"Feiyang, you must mature as quickly as possible.

Because your mother is still waiting for you in the Imperial Palace.

Haven’t you always wanted to know the origin of the Marrow-Cleansing Pill and Blue Snow?

Uncle Yuan will tell you now: it was your mother who secretly gave them to me when we left the Imperial Capital.

One last thing, you must engrave this in your heart:

Never tell anyone your true identity, or the name you bore five years ago.

Until you return to the Imperial Capital, these secrets must die with you!

The Emperor’s power is ultimate; it’s not something you can challenge right now!

Remember this, remember this well!"

That was the entire content of the letter.

"Mother!" Qin Feiyang exclaimed, hastily taking out Blue Snow. He hadn’t expected this dagger to have been left to him by his mother. No wonder Uncle Yuan had urged him to treasure it.

"Mother, it’s been five years. Are you well?" he murmured, gazing at Blue Snow, his eyes gradually moistening. "Your son misses you terribly."

Suddenly, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes! He abruptly rose, his hand clenched fiercely, and the letter instantly turned to ash!

"Mother, you must wait for me! I will return soon!"

In that instant, his confidence and fighting spirit surged back.

Pushing aside all distracting thoughts, he turned, opened the iron box, and focused intently on tracing the second stroke of the ’Counter’ character. As for his name from five years ago, it had become a thing of the past the moment he was expelled from the Imperial Capital.

Now, his name was Qin Feiyang. And no one could change that!

「Time flew by.」

Ten days later, Qin Feiyang withdrew his finger, his brow deeply furrowed. For ten days, he abstained from food and drink, consuming 1,500 Qi Gathering Pills, but he was still just short of successfully tracing the second stroke. The first stroke had consumed 500 Qi Gathering Pills. The second stroke, which he still hadn’t mastered, was estimated to require another 2,000.

Such terrifying consumption was an immense burden for Qin Feiyang at present. More importantly, the 3,000 Gold Coins he had taken from Cao Lang were gone. To master the Counter Curse Manual quickly, he had to find more Gold Coins.

The remaining 500 Qi Gathering Pills had been refined by the Wolf King. As a result, his strength had increased even further. His progress had been incredibly rapid. He now possessed the strength of three Savage Elephants! This made even Qin Feiyang envious.

After leaving the ancient castle, Qin Feiyang looked at the Wolf King with a heavy heart. "Brother Wolf," he said somberly, "I’m afraid we’ll have to part ways."

"ROAR!" The Wolf King growled lowly, as if asking why.

"I need a lot of Gold Coins. There’s nothing truly valuable in the Iron Bull Town region. The most valuable things are the fierce beasts, but even killing all of them wouldn’t be enough. I’m going to Black Bear City to try my luck," Qin Feiyang explained. Black Bear City was a small city nearby with a population of hundreds of thousands. Its prosperity and economy far surpassed those of Iron Bull Town. Besides, with two War Kings from the Lin family stationed in Iron Bull Town, staying here meant he’d be on edge constantly. It was better to leave as soon as possible.

The Wolf King lowered his head, silent.

"Sigh!" Qin Feiyang sighed inwardly, then forced a smile. "Brother Wolf, we’ll meet again."

With that, he turned and, feigning nonchalance, ran into the forest without looking back. In truth, his heart ached. Although he hadn’t known the Wolf King for long, they had shared hardships and joys. In his heart, he already considered the Wolf King one of his most important friends. But all good things must come to an end; they would have to part ways eventually.

"ROAR!" Behind him, a loud, clear wolf howl echoed.

"I will come back," Qin Feiyang muttered. "I promised to take you to raze the Lin family in Yan City." He turned to look back, but just as he was about to turn away again, a white shadow shot through the air towards him like a lightning bolt.

It was the Wolf King!

"Brother Wolf, don’t see me off," Qin Feiyang said with a smile.

The Wolf King ran up to him, adopting an arrogant stance, as if to say, ’Who said anything about seeing you off?’

"What do you mean?" Qin Feiyang asked,愣staring at him in confusion.

"ROAR!" The Wolf King ran ahead of him, growled, then turned and continued running.

Qin Feiyang caught up, puzzling over it for a long moment before exclaiming in surprised realization, "Brother Wolf, you don’t mean you want to come to Black Bear City with me, do you?"

The Wolf King gave him a toothy grin.

Seeing this, Qin Feiyang was overjoyed.

"Haha..."

"ROAR..."

The man and wolf sprinted wildly, their laughter and howls echoing freely through the jungle. In that moment, their bond deepened.

「Six hours later.」

They arrived before a desolate mountain range called Iron Bull Ridge. It was the only area near Iron Bull Town where fierce beasts congregated densely. Qin Feiyang had initially planned to hunt some fierce beasts along the way and look for any rare treasures. To his surprise, however, the area had been decimated by the Lin family from Yan City. Looking around, he couldn’t find a single trace of a fierce beast. With no other choice, the man and wolf crossed the mountain range and continued onward.

「Two days later.」

They finally emerged from the mountains and entered a barren forest. There were quite a few fierce beasts in the forest, but none were very strong. They were either scared off by the man and wolf or killed by the Wolf King’s fangs.

At the far end of the barren forest lay a massive city, spanning hundreds of square miles, majestic and magnificent!

That was Black Bear City!

"THUMP! BANG! THUMP!"

"CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!"

The man and wolf sped towards the city, but the sounds of fighting suddenly reached their ears. Qin Feiyang paused. Listening carefully, he determined the sounds were coming from his left.

"Let’s go check it out."

Moments later, they stopped on a small hill and looked ahead. Before them lay a valley, enclosed on all sides by steep cliffs, with only one narrow entrance and exit. The sounds of battle emanated from within the valley, and they sounded intense.