The remaining Shadowmane Wolves stood in the distance, watching. Looking at the corpse of the Wolf King on the ground, the weakly breathing Phoebe, and the calmly standing Bai Xuan, not a single one dared to step forward.
Bai Xuan leaned down to pick her up, letting her rest securely against his chest.
The young girl's body was still trembling slightly, every muscle retaining the tense aftermath of the extreme battle.
As Bai Xuan turned to leave, the surrounding pack of wolves parted on their own, opening up a clear path for him.
He stepped into the ruins of Ancient Glay, walking through the broken walls and shattered debris.
The sky shifted from a grayish-blue to a deep purple, and the distant mountain ridges blurred into dark silhouettes in the gathering dusk.
Knowing that Phoebe was in terrible condition and couldn't travel a long distance, Bai Xuan did not head back to the barrier camp.
He found a relatively intact stone hall, most of its roof collapsed, with only a few crumbling pillars supporting the broken beams.
The floor was paved with dark, ancient flagstones, and the magical relief carvings on the walls were still faintly visible.
He gently laid Phoebe down on a stone platform against the wall, retrieved a soft fleece blanket from his Space Ring, and gently draped it over her.
Phoebe's eyes were closed, and her breathing gradually stabilized, but her brow remained slightly furrowed, refusing to fully relax.
Bai Xuan knelt down, reaching out to gently brush away the dried blood and messy, stray hairs clinging to her cheek.
Her skin was pale to the point of being translucent, and her lips were coated with dried blood, fully exposing her exhaustion and vulnerability after the death match.
The sky slowly darkened.
Bai Xuan pulled a waterskin and a clean, soft cloth from his Space Ring, wetted the cloth, wrung it out, and carefully wiped away the remaining blood on Phoebe's face.
Phoebe's skin was naturally very fair, and the evening light accentuated the sharp lines of her brow and jawline, making her look exceptionally cool and clean.
Bai Xuan still remembered what she looked like when he first met her.
Back then, she was locked in an iron cage, her face completely devoid of color. Having been isolated from human contact for so long, she had resembled a dusty, forgotten, delicate ornament.
But now she was completely different. Having been tempered by battle after battle, she had shed her former dullness, harboring a resilience that others could not see.
When Bai Xuan's fingertips brushed past the corner of her mouth, he suddenly paused.
There was a slight curve at the corner of Phoebe's mouth, like the exhaustion of relaxing after a battle, yet also resembling a faint smile, quietly frozen on her face.
In an instant, the image of Phoebe fighting just moments ago flashed through his mind.
A silver figure carrying a massive battleaxe, weaving nimbly through the wolf pack, her eyes dyed red with intense battle lust, letting out a low chuckle from her throat, fierce and domineering.
The wildly ferocious girl on the battlefield and the quiet girl resting against him now were completely two different people.
At first, Bai Xuan had thought her condition was some kind of curse, or perhaps a secret she was deliberately hiding.
Only later did he learn that this was an innate bloodline ability of the Glay Royalty, one that even Phoebe herself was unaware of.
Previously, on the crumbling walls of the ancient ruins, he had seen faded murals and difficult, ancient writings.
Although most of the traces had been blurred, he had still managed to piece together the entire truth through his status panel.
The power of the Glay Royalty came from the absorption and storage of emotions.
On normal days, they would unconsciously accumulate their own emotions as well as those of all living beings around them. Consequently, they were usually aloof and reticent, appearing cold as ice.
But once they entered combat, all the accumulated emotions would erupt, causing their combat strength to instantly skyrocket, making them look like a completely different person.
The exclusive Class, Sentiment-Forged Weapon, was specifically tailored to adapt to this unique racial talent, but not just anyone could acquire it.
It required not only scarce cultivation resources and a complex awakening ritual, but most crucially, one's personal talent and bloodline compatibility had to meet the standard.
For this reason, most Class holders in the Glay Kingdom were ordinary Warriors, Mages, Shield Guards, and Archers.
Sentiment-Forged Weapons were extremely rare to begin with, and those who could reach high ranks were as rare as phoenix feathers. Even in the records left behind in the ancient ruins, almost no relevant information could be found.
Bai Xuan flipped the soft cloth to a clean side and continued to carefully wipe the blood from her arm.
Phoebe's left arm had previously been gouged with a deep wound by the wolf's claws. It had already healed now, leaving only dark red scabs clinging to her skin.
He patiently wiped away the blood crust bit by bit, revealing the newly grown skin underneath.
The healing effect of the Holy Light was always reliable, but the burning pain that accompanied the healing process was exceptionally intense.
Yet Phoebe never cried out in pain. While she was fearless and fiercely aggressive on the battlefield, she was quiet and well-behaved during her recovery.
Her extreme ferocity on the battlefield and her unreserved trust in him complemented each other perfectly.
She channeled all of her excitement, violence, and intense emotions into combat.
Only when she shed all of her sharp edges did she leave her most pure and peaceful reliance entirely to him.
The sky grew darker, the Wolf King's corpse slowly grew cold, and most of the Shadowmane Wolves lingering in the distance dispersed.
Having wiped away the last of the bloodstains, Bai Xuan put the dirty cloth back into his Space Ring and opened Phoebe's personal status panel.
【Phoebe Xi】
【Class: Sentiment-Forged Weapon Lv.9 (12%)】
【Race: Glay Royalty】
【HP: 1950/2180】
【Mana: 130/760】
Traits: 【Emotional Resonance: Absorbs and stores emotional energy from oneself and surrounding creatures, using it as reserve power for combat.】
【Potential: 5-Star (Skycrown)】
Class Traits: 【Sentiment Conversion: Comprehensively converts stored emotional energy into personal combat strength, utilizing the emotions of both allies and enemies.】
Combat Skills:
【Unyielding Bastion Lv.2 (66%) Greatly increases own defense.】
【Flaw Strike Lv.2 (11%) Converts emotions into attack power, dealing high damage to the target. The stronger the emotion, the higher the damage.】
【Wail Lv.0 (51%) Releases all stored emotional energy at once, erupting with oneself as the center, causing enemies within range to briefly fall into a state of extreme fear or depression.】
【Heartfire Combustion Lv.0 (31%) Enters a highly efficient combat state, comprehensively boosting all attributes.】
Passive Skills:
【Strength Enhancement Lv.4 (43%)】
【Physique Tempering Lv.1 (25%)】
Now, Phoebe had already reached Level 9 Transcendent Rank. Two months ago, she was only a Level 3 Awakened Rank without an exclusive Class.
If such a leveling speed were to spread to the surface world, it would be enough to shock all the top adventure teams.
Using the barrier as a safe point, the two of them explored and pushed outward bit by bit. They first fought Level 7 Shadowmane Wolves, and then gradually challenged Level 8 and Level 9 monsters, with the difficulty increasing step by step.
Although the Wolf King they fought this time was marked as Level 10, as the leader of the pack, its true combat power far exceeded that of ordinary Level 10 monsters, comparable to a Level 11 high-rank beast.
It was the same for the Black-Armored Crawler King they had slain in the Glay Dungeon previously; all boss-level monsters of a species came with their own combat power bonuses.
Phoebe's current way of fighting was already completely different from two months ago.
Rate on N.U.
