The screams of Yang Kai became fainter, not because of the reduction of pain, but because he was losing consciousness as a result of the loss of blood and advanced stage of shock.

  His leg... what remained of his leg... was a mangled mess, the alpha had torn away it completely at the thigh.

  Chen Wu couldn't look away from the sheer brutality of what he'd just witnessed. The Alpha stood over Yang Kai's convulsing body, blood dripping from its jaws and those grinning eyes fixed on Chen Wu and Su Ling.

  You're next..

  Behind them, the pack of young wolves were still fighting, relentlessly pressing the attack on Zhao Wei and Liu Chen — the two disciples barely holding on.

  Su Ling stepped forward, her hands moving as she gathered qi around her palms —

  "Barrier Art - Iron Shell!”

  In an instant, spiritual energy crystallized before her, forming a translucent wall between them and the Alpha — however, the Alpha didn't hesitate, charging at full speed and then slamming into the barrier with three massive strides — the Barrier Art lasted maybe two seconds before it shattered like glass, fragments of spiritual energy dissipating into nothing, and as a result, Su Ling stumbled backward from the backlash, her face going pale.

  The Alpha closed the distance —

  "Su Ling, move.” and immediately Chen Wu grabbed Su Ling's arm and yanked her aside, the two of them rolling just as the Alpha's claws came down, tearing through the ground where they'd been standing and leaving deep gouges in the earth.

  Su Ling recovered first, her hands moving again — faster this time —

  "Qi Needle Strike!"

  And in an instant, five thin needles of condensed spiritual energy materialized in the air around her, each one about the length of a finger, glowing with pale blue light.

  She thrust her palm forward and all five needles shot toward the Alpha — they hit, striking the creature's shoulder, flank, hindquarters — yet the Alpha didn't even flinch, the needles embedding themselves maybe an inch deep before dissolving, the wounds they left superficial at best.

  Foundation Establishment techniques against a Core Formation beast. It wasn't enough.

  Su Ling's expression twisted with frustration. "It's too strong!—"

  The Alpha's paw came up, aimed at her face — but Chen Wu's sword intercepted it barely, the impact sending shockwaves up his arms as his blade screamed in protest — and with that, he activated his movement technique and a burst of qi shot through his legs.

  "Cloud Step!"

  He shot backward five meters, dragging Su Ling with him — yet the Alpha pursued, each of its strides covering twice the distance Chen Wu could manage with his technique —

  they were going to die, all of them.

  Chen Wu's mind started racing, trying to find ways out of this situation — Lin Mei was down, Yang Kai was dying, the other disciples were overwhelmed, and on top of that, Su Ling's Arts couldn't penetrate the Alpha's cultivation level advantage.

  And Chen Wu himself was nearly out of spiritual energy, almost empty from the earlier fighting.

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  There was nothing left — but how could that be for a chosen one — and yet, right at this moment, his system had already started working, trying to save its host —

  Ping….

  [ Player in a serious situation.]

  Achievement unlocked…

  Calculating rewards..

  [Temporary Ascension Token]

  One-time use item.

  Seeing this item on his screen, a glimpse of hope flashed in his eyes — and without hesitation, he immediately used the token —

  [Temporary Ascension Token]

  [Effect: Elevate cultivation to Core Formation realm for 10 minutes. Warning: Extreme exhaustion and qi depletion after use.]

  Chen Wu's hand closed around empty air, the gesture that activated system items — and then he shattered the token as power flooded through him, hitting like tidal waves.

  His Foundation Establishment cultivation base cracked and expanded, reforming at a higher level: Core Formation, temporary but real.

  Chen Wu's entire body burned with spiritual energy, his meridians feeling like they were on fire — his qi reserves weren't just refilled, but rather doubled — meanwhile, the Alpha sensed the change and stopped mid-charge, those intelligent eyes narrowing — and as if responding to the shift, Chen Wu's sword started glowing, white spiritual energy wrapping around the blade like a living flame.

  He moved and the Cloud Step movement technique at Core Formation level was completely different, crossing twenty meters in a single burst and appearing directly in front of the Alpha.

  His sword came down and the Alpha tried to dodge — too slow. The blade cutting deep into its shoulder, through fur, through muscle — the Alpha howled and lunged with its jaws, but Chen Wu was already gone, another burst of movement carrying him behind the creature — and from there, his sword struck again, across the hindquarters, leaving another deep wound.

  The Alpha spun, trying to track him — but Chen Wu was everywhere, moving so fast he left afterimages, each strike of his glowing blade opening new wounds —

  Shoulder — Flank — Leg — Neck.

  The Alpha's regeneration couldn't keep up now, the wounds just too many and too deep — and so it tried to retreat, backing toward the forest — but Chen Wu cut off the escape, another burst of speed carrying him directly into its path —

  "You're not leaving." — his voice came out cold, hard, nothing like his usual tone.

  The Alpha snarled desperately, gathering spiritual energy in its throat — some kind of technique — but Chen Wu didn't let it finish, charging with his sword raised, qi pouring into the blade until it burned so bright he could barely look at it, the Alpha met his charge with jaws open wide and claws extended as they collided.

  Chen Wu's sword plunged into the Alpha's mouth, through the roof of its throat and up into its skull — its momentum carrying it forward and driving the blade deeper as they crashed to the ground together, the Alpha on top and Chen Wu underneath.

  For a moment everything was still — and then Chen Wu felt it, the Alpha's cultivation base collapsing and its spiritual energy dissipating —

  it was already dead.

  Chen Wu pushed the massive corpse off himself and struggled to his feet.

  His temporary Core Formation cultivation was already fading, draining away with every passing second — the ten minutes weren't up yet, but the intense combat had accelerated the process — and around him, the pack wolves were already fleeing, their leader dead and with no reason to stay.

  They scattered into the forest.

  Chen Wu stood there breathing hard, his sword still glowing faintly — and then the exhaustion hit, his legs giving out as he dropped to his knees.

  His cultivation base was reverting, Core Formation collapsing back down to Foundation Establishment — but it felt wrong, like something had been stretched too far and couldn't quite snap back into shape.

  "Chen Wu!”

  Su Ling hurriedly came running toward him, her face covered in blood and dirt — and she dropped to her knees beside him, hands checking him for injuries.

  "Are you hurt? Are you—"

  "I'm fine. Just... tired."

  "That power. What was that? You were Core Formation for a moment. How did you—"

  "Just a technique" He couldn't tell her about the system.

  "Is everyone..."

  Su Ling's expression darkened — "Yang Kai is barely alive and Liu Chen is trying to stop the bleeding. Lin Mei is unconscious but breathing and Zhao Wei has some injuries but nothing critical.”

  Chen Wu closed his eyes.

  "We need to get him to the sect. To Elder Han. If we don't..."

  "I know. We'll move at first light."

  Chen Wu nodded and tried to stand but failed and Su Ling caught him, helping him stay upright.

  "You did it," she said quietly, "you killed it, you saved everyone" — trying to encourage him but had he though?

  Yang Kai had lost his leg and the village was completely destroyed, this didn't feel like a victory.

  Still, the Alpha was dead, the pack had fled and the mission was technically complete — a system notification appearing in his vision.

  ______

  [QUEST COMPLETE: Investigate Iron Fang Wolf Attacks]

  Calculating rewards

  500Spirit Stones,

  Sword Art Manual - Intermediate Grade]

  [Additional Achievement: Defeated Core Formation Beast While Foundation Establishment]

  Bonus Reward: Cultivation Technique - Blade Resonance Method

  ________

  The notifications kept appearing, rewards stacking up — but Chen Wu dismissed them with a thought as exhaustion overwhelmed him completely, his vision blurring. Su Ling caught him before he fell,"Chen Wu!”

  She helped him walk back toward where the others were gathering, toward where Yang Kai was lying and the wounded were being treated and as they walked, Su Ling's grip on him tightened slightly and the last thing he felt before unconsciousness took him was Su Ling's arms wrapping around him, pulling him close, even if it didn't feel like one.

  Six days had passed—Clouded Peak Sect.

  Fu Yang sat in his prison cell, staring at the system screen floating in his vision.

  [CHOSEN ONE PROFILE: CHEN WU]

  [Recent Quest Completion: Investigate Iron Fang Wolf Attacks - SUCCESS]

  [Rewards Acquired: Multiple]

  [Current Status: Recovering from temporary cultivation elevation]

  [Corruption Progress: 50% - STALLED]

  Chen Wu had completed the quest while he had been sitting in a prison cell for six days on false charges that no one had even bothered to properly investigate.

  He closed the system screen, his eyes shifting to the iron bars of his cell, and Fu Yang's hands clenched into fists, his expression remaining calm and neutral but his eyes were cold, glaring at those iron bars with an intensity that wanted nothing but a bloody corpse.

  Author note: sorry for the long wait we will continue our journey now.