Chapter 104: The Clash of Tigers and Wolves (9)

The blades spun in reverse, white shadows fluttering amid the jungle, where danger flickered incessantly. Though only three wolf soldiers faced them, the atmosphere was thick with the tension of being surrounded by enemies on all sides.

Fortunately, Luo Dunzi was not only a master of the Great Stonefall Palm but also well-versed in Plum Blossom Palm—an illustrious martial art style from Guangdong’s theatrical troupes, renowned as a leading form of footwork combined with palm strikes.

His footwork, known as the Plum Mysterious Five Steps, was hailed as the foremost among all schools’ stances—an ancestral root of the mountains and the great source of water. It was a core technique derived from the fusion of alchemy and martial arts, distilled from the ancient “River Diagram,” “Luo Book,” “Nine Palaces,” and “Eight Trigrams.”

With his feet aligned along the meridian, occupying the five key points of the plum blossom stance and moving through the four gates with eight angles, the wolf soldiers’ fierce charge was met with Luo Dunzi’s seamless transition from outer to inner stances. His footsteps struck in rapid succession, leaving a trail of shifting prints that turned the tide, pushing the wolf soldiers back with commanding momentum.

One of the wolf soldiers halted, revealing a massive wolf beneath him—far more ferocious than the others, with a coat predominantly white but tipped subtly with gold. This was the mount of each generation’s wolf clan leader, or rather the next great elder of the wolf tribe. Legend held that this mount was the offspring of the Wolf God, a blood-sacrificed, lascivious deity worshipped secretly by the people—a great demon in the eyes of the world.

The wolf soldier, a young man covered in wolf fur, was Zhao Pi’er, the human-wolf of the Four Tigers and Eight Wolves. He commanded the Water Dragon Gang’s elite forces, the mysterious “Wolf Army,” descendants of the ancient wolf soldiers.

Grinning wickedly at Luo Dunzi, Zhao Pi’er taunted, “The Burned Body Martial Hall does have some skill. Who would’ve thought a blockhead like you could master the Mysterious Steps? Your entire boxing and footwork are but fleeting, repetitive stumbles—yet there’s a hint of technique.”

Though he spoke thus, his sharp claws raked wildly across Luo Dunzi’s neck like a staple gun. Even Jiang Yazi, the monkey-shaped expert known for his evasiveness, couldn’t shake off the grip.

Among the Four Tigers and Eight Wolves, the wolves gather in packs while the tigers dominate mountain peaks. The Four Tigers surpass lone wolves in strength, with two exceptions: the Fish Head Wolf, who commands the overseas fleet of the Water Dragon Gang, and the Human-Wolf, who controls the gang’s only private army. Both rank just below the Four Great Refineries in power.

Although monkey boxing is an animal-style form, and Jiang Yazi’s monkey shape is distilled to the extreme, allowing joints to slip and slide with agility, his version was not the ancient eight-style monkey form but rather an ordinary monkey boxing elevated by innate talent. Thus, he had not transformed his body as thoroughly as the true monkey shape.

More importantly, the wolf clan’s ancestral Wolf Claw Fist, besides being animal-style, possessed a strange, unfathomable power. As Zhao Pi’er smiled eerily, his eyes gradually morphed into vertical pupils unique to the wolf tribe, his gaze filled with a seductive, uncanny allure directed at Jiang Yazi.

“I know what you are. Stop holding back. Stop hiding. Come out, come out!”

With those strange words, a bizarre spiritual aura radiated from Zhao Pi’er, reminiscent of the Divine Fist of the Trickster Saint, yet lacking its void and absurdity or the sacrificial rites—this was saturated with the cruel and brutal essence of demons.

Zhao Pi’er seemed to fully control this state, as if beneath his human skin lurked a savage, feral wolf demon.

Under this oppressive atmosphere, Jiang Yazi’s monkey form faltered, his movements slowing. His eyes glazed over, drool trickled down, and even when Zhao Pi’er tugged and tore at the skin around his neck, revealing raw muscle and blood vessels, he showed no reaction—like the dead.

Zhao Pi’er laughed arrogantly, “Just as I thought. You’re one of us, our kind!”

Nearby, thanks to the precision of the Mysterious Steps, one wolf soldier’s leg was broken. Without its mount, the wolf soldier was like a fangless beast, his arrogance vanished.

Luo Dunzi’s eyes flashed with killing intent. Just as he prepared to finish the foe, a shrill cry rang out. A small figure was hurled over, and Luo Dunzi, gripping a thick tree branch, narrowed his eyes and halted midair.

It was Jiang Yazi, his life hanging in the balance.

“Old Eight—”

“Roar!!!!!!!”

A savage roar exploded, accompanied by the snap of the tree branch. Luo Dunzi saw those eyes again—hunger, cold and merciless!

Unexpectedly, Luo Dunzi’s chest was struck with fierce pain. His muscular “iron ribs” caved slightly, and with a guttural cough, blood was spat as he was slammed into a nearby haystack, his fate uncertain.

Before the onlookers stood no longer the lively Jiang Yazi, but a creature covered entirely in black hair. Its limbs had grown at least three inches longer, palms and soles broad, dark, resembling those of apes and gorillas, marked by pronounced knuckles and joints.

“Senior Brother Eight! Senior Brother—”

A martial hall disciple hesitated to call out, but before he could utter a word, a black shadow flashed. With a vicious gnawing sound, a large chunk of muscle from the shoulder and neck was torn away.

“Ah!!”

“Senior Brother, no!!!”

The sounds of biting and tearing echoed among the disciples, blood splattering as even the hardest bones were snapped by sharp teeth.

“Old Eight, don’t go crazy!”

With another explosive thud, Luo Dunzi delivered a heart-stopping hammer blow, slamming the monster against another tree.

Bloodied and grimy, Luo Dunzi twisted his forearms inward, straightened his left leg, fingers poised like a phoenix—ready for battle, eyes wary.

Before him stood a monkey-shaped demon, possessed only of hunger and cruelty.

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