Chapter Sixty-Three: The Donkey-Headed Wolf Chooses Its Master

In the span of just one day and night, he had ascended six levels—a tremendous gain from this journey to Shennongjia. At this moment, his four attributes stood as follows: Strength, 68 (10); Agility, 61 (8); Constitution, 79 (10); and Spirit, 69 (7). His Spirit was now on the verge of crossing the tenfold threshold. Li Yunfei sensed that once his Spirit truly reached ten times that of an ordinary person, some extraordinary ability was likely to manifest. As for what exactly this extraordinary ability might be, he already had a fair guess.

When he reached level 29, he felt a faint swelling in the spiritual center of his mind, as if something was about to burst forth from between his brows. Seeing his Spirit nearly ten times the norm, a glimmer of understanding dawned in his eyes. Upon consulting the description of realms in the “Supreme Purity Grand Cavern Imperial Court True Canon,” he found that his speculation was correct. The next realm was called “Spirit Animation.”

Spirit refers to spiritual consciousness. Upon reaching the Spirit Animation realm, one could condense spiritual consciousness and direct objects with the mind as easily as moving one's own limbs. This was the foundation for controlling magical treasures and celestial artifacts at higher levels. Though initially, one might not be able to wield such treasures, even using spiritual consciousness to manipulate objects for attack would greatly boost combat capability.

This was exemplified in the movies about Ninth Uncle, who could wield the coin sword to attack enemies from afar—a clear demonstration of controlling objects with spiritual power. In other words, as soon as he reached level 30, Li Yunfei would also be able to control the coin sword to strike at enemies from a distance.

However, the coin sword was ultimately just a string of copper coins bound with red thread, inherently fragile and mainly intended to combat spirit entities with its exorcising power. So, while it appeared to be a lofty method worthy of a sword immortal, it was only effective against ghosts and useless in other kinds of battles. Still, he could perhaps fashion a small knife to imitate the legendary Li Flying Dagger’s unfailing strike—fitting, since he too was surnamed Li.

A pity, though—if only there had been another hundred or so wild boar beasts, he could have reached level 30 and entered the Spirit Animation realm. This realm was a true watershed, granting not only the ability to condense spiritual consciousness and diversify attack methods, but more importantly, access to a broader range of practical Daoist arts, talismans, and even the ability to set up magical formations.

Now, returning to grind the wild boar forest dungeon would be pointless; aside from a few rending-type weapons, there was nothing left to gain, and no more experience to be earned. That one last level—how could he attain it? Eating wild boar demon meat? Who knew how much he would have to consume to level up?

Just as the battle subsided and Li Yunfei was standing there, perusing his system panel and pondering how to level up, the Donkey-Headed Wolf King approached him with all the donkey-headed wolves in tow. The little fox, seeing all the wolves lower their heads and stick out their tongues as they drew near, couldn’t help but reveal a smile, sitting proudly at Li Yunfei’s side as she watched them.

The donkey-headed wolf pack stopped about ten paces behind Li Yunfei and all lay down, leaving only the Wolf King to advance. Disturbed by the movement behind him, Li Yunfei turned to see the donkey-headed wolves, and a smile appeared on his face.

Although classified as clawed-hoofed beasts, donkey-headed wolves leaned more toward the canine family. When canines lower their heads and stick out their tongues, it’s a gesture of friendliness—sometimes even fawning, much like how pet dogs behave. If only they could wag their tails, the Wolf King’s tail would surely be wagging furiously right now.

Li Yunfei’s intervention had saved the entire donkey-headed wolf tribe, making him a great benefactor in their eyes, and every member of the pack felt deep gratitude toward him. Wolves were, by nature, highly intelligent and valued both gratitude and vengeance. There’s an old saying about wolves: “If a wolf looks back, there must be a reason—it’s either for gratitude or for revenge.”

As beasts who had awakened their intellect, the donkey-headed wolves were even more so. The Wolf King came before Li Yunfei, bent its hind legs, and sat on its haunches, emitting a braying sound akin to a donkey.

“Eeyore... eeyore...”

Li Yunfei, of course, had no idea what the Wolf King meant by these noises and was just wondering how to communicate when a sudden system prompt sounded in his mind, filling him with joy.

“Congratulations, Host. The donkey-headed wolf tribe, grateful for your salvation, wishes to pledge allegiance to you and serve at your command. Host has awakened the talent ‘Heart of the Wolfhound,’ enabling smooth communication with all canines.”

As soon as this notification faded, the meaning behind the Wolf King’s series of brays became clear in his mind.

“Noble human warrior, thank you for saving the donkey-headed wolf tribe. All my people are willing to follow you and heed your command.”

Li Yunfei scratched his head in mild embarrassment. The donkey-headed wolves were certainly formidable, but unlike the little fox, they were not his exclusive spirit pets and could not be sent into a pet space. He couldn’t very well parade around with a pack of donkey-headed wolves!

Li Yunfei hesitated, then said, “Wolf King, I came here merely to clear out the wild boars and will soon return to human territory. It wouldn’t be convenient for me to bring you all with me. Let’s be friends instead—when I have free time, I’ll come visit you.”

The little fox looked at Li Yunfei in surprise. She could naturally understand the Wolf King’s words, but hadn’t expected her master could as well. Since her master could understand the Wolf King, what about her own words? At that thought, her eyes lit up.

The Wolf King cried out anxiously, “Eeyore... eeyore... (Why not? Don’t the iron-eating beasts also serve as mounts for humans? Why can’t the donkey-headed wolves? Does the warrior look down on us?)”

Iron-eating beasts? Li Yunfei was baffled for a moment before realizing what the Wolf King meant, and couldn’t help but laugh.

He waved his hands quickly. “No, no, it’s not that I look down on donkey-headed wolves—quite the opposite. You’re too powerful, and not every human is as strong as I am. I’m afraid you might scare them.”

The Wolf King asked doubtfully, “Eeyore... eeyore... (But in the stories passed down in our tribe, iron-eating beasts are even stronger than us. Don’t they scare the weaker humans?)”

Li Yunfei’s mouth twitched as he replied, a strange look on his face, “Actually, iron-eating beasts no longer serve as mounts or even participate in battle. They’ve degenerated into pampered pets, kept by humans for their cuteness, spending their days eating, playing, and sleeping in endless rotation.”

The Wolf King’s eyes widened in astonishment. What had it just heard? Pets? By the ancestors—had the mighty clan of iron-eating beasts really sunk to such depths? Yet... how enviable!

After swallowing hard and struggling internally, the Wolf King could not let go of its innate pride. They were powerful war beasts—becoming mere pets was out of the question, no matter the comforts.

With resignation, the Wolf King said, “Eeyore... eeyore... (Very well! We won’t go to human territory, but we still wish to acknowledge you as our master. Should you ever need the aid of the donkey-headed wolves, you may call upon us at any time.)”

The Wolf King’s stubborn loyalty made Li Yunfei both amused and impressed. Among humans, gratitude is often fleeting, yet these beasts knew the meaning of repaying kindness—a fact that warmed Li Yunfei to the nature of wolves.

He replied cheerfully, “Very well, if I ever need you, I’ll come find you. If, in the future, you cultivate enough to take human form, you’ll be welcome in human lands—I’ll make arrangements for you then.”

The Wolf King’s spirits soared upon hearing this and it exclaimed joyfully, “Eeyore... eeyore... (Thank you, Master. Please allow my children to memorize your scent.)”

Li Yunfei agreed, “No problem.”

With his permission, the Wolf King turned and called out. The donkey-headed wolves approached one by one, sniffing Li Yunfei from head to toe before moving away.