Seeing the appearance of the big black dog, tears uncontrollably streamed down the old man’s face. He tightly embraced the dog, his only companion for so many years, continually smoothing down its bristled black fur, muttering with a choked, weathered voice, “Big Black, Big Black…”

“Woooo…”

No one knew what kind of chemical had injected into Big Black via the syringe; now the dog couldn't muster any strength, lying limp on the ground, only capable of whimpering miserably. Cradled by the old man, it could only extend its tongue to laboriously lick the old man’s arm.

The reason it hadn't fled immediately was clearly its concern that if it left, that fellow might become enraged and turn malicious toward the old man.

Having lived together for so many years, an incomparably deep bond had long formed between Big Black and the old man. It was indeed a Spirit Beast, but Spirit Beasts possessed emotions too.

“Get away!”

, his face expressionless, kicked the old man who was draped over Big Black. He reached into the pocket of his long trench coat, fumbled for a moment, and produced a small pill.

“Woof… Woof woof!”

Facing , Big Black once again bared its fangs aggressively. Unfortunately, it was utterly weak, and its barks were breathless. barely exerted any effort to force the pill into Big Black’s mouth.

“Woof… Woof… Woooo… Awoooo…”

After swallowing the pill, Big Black’s cries gradually grew shrill. Then, its appearance began to change. Its pitch-black coat slowly faded, finally turning a uniform gray. When it opened its mouth, its teeth began to elongate and sharpen, quickly transforming into a set of vicious fangs.

The old man, violently kicked aside by , watched dumbfounded as the dog that had been by his side day and night for decades underwent such a transformation. He was filled with disbelief. He crawled back to the ground, finally regaining his senses, and stared fixedly at , shouting curses, “What did you feed my Big Black? What exactly are you trying to do? You are not allowed to use my Big Black as a test subject!!!”

The old man didn't think too deeply, instead assuming was experimenting on his Big Black, and that the pill was likely some newly developed compound.

observed the change in Big Black with satisfaction, nodding to himself, “Spirit Beast Phantom Wolf, skilled in disguise. It’s a pity its cultivation is too low; otherwise, it would truly be difficult for anyone to detect.”

After several agonizing screams, the Big Black, which now resembled a wolf more closely, slowly closed its eyes, ceasing to struggle or cry out.

nodded with great satisfaction. He then took out a large burlap sack he had prepared earlier, stuffed the Big Black inside, and prepared to leave.

“Bastard, you aren't going anywhere!”

Just as was about to depart, the old man, somehow summoning a burst of unexpected strength, lunged forward and desperately grabbed hold of ’s leg, preventing him from leaving.

“This suicidal old fool simply overestimates himself!”

A savage look suddenly flashed across ’s face. With a slight twist, he violently flung the leg the old man was clinging to. The old man shrieked as his body was uncontrollably hurled toward the wall of the house.

Thud!

The sound of his body colliding with the wall was deafening, punctuated by the faint crack of splintering bone. That single kick from was more than even a strong young man could withstand, let alone an old man whose vitality was already waning.

“Pfft!”

The elder fell from the wall, knocking over a stack of stools piled in the corner. He coughed up a mouthful of blood, his eyes bulging almost out of their sockets, yet he refused to close them.

, who had been following behind , took in the entire scene!

Crouched against a courtyard wall, his hands were already buried deep into the bricks, veins bulging visibly on his arms. Earlier, he had almost lost control and rushed out to save both the old man and the black dog.

had figured it out: this Korean was here specifically to hunt the Spirit Beast Phantom Wolf disguised as Big Black. But also knew clearly that he was no match for the man before him. Moreover, had repeatedly, painstakingly instructed him: if trouble arises, hide well, and then call him to handle it.

Forcing himself to endure, had only intended to wait until left to call . He never expected to spare no one, not even the elderly man. That kick might very well have caused the old man’s heart to stop immediately.

Previously, lacking concrete evidence of ’s malicious intent in China, neither he nor could easily act. But now? Killing him would barely count as retribution!

If hadn't delivered that final kick, believed he could have held back. But the moment threw that kick, as a man of Huaxia, found it utterly impossible to remain passive any longer!

On the soil of my Huaxia, since when did it fall to some Korean punk to be so arrogant and lawless!

Smack!

fiercely slammed his foot against the courtyard wall, leaping high into the air. Looking down upon , he dove down, aiming the tip of his foot directly for ’s head, delivering a brutal stomp!

In that moment, the Qiao Family's Inner Strength technique spun wildly within his body. He no longer suppressed his aura, nor did he hold back any reserve; his eyes focused solely on !

The corner of ’s mouth curved upward slightly. The instant leaped from the wall, he had already offered a faint smile!

Facing the furious kick from , neither dodged nor evaded, appearing completely confident.

As the kick neared ’s head, even pictured the delightful scene of kicking to the ground and then beating him severely.

“Chirp chirp!”

That strange, odd cry sounded again. ’s expression instantly changed dramatically!

This time, he was absolutely certain he hadn't been mistaken. Back at the entrance of Purple Gold Village, he truly had seen a fox with nine tails.

Because, right before him, the fox—entirely black yet possessing nine snowy white tails—appeared directly in front of his face!

Bang!

Just as the tip of ’s foot was less than half an arm's length from , the Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox slammed headlong into ’s chest, causing his downward trajectory to abruptly change to a horizontal charge. His fate was identical to that of the old man; he slammed directly into the wall behind him.

Boom!

This impact caused the already unstable courtyard wall to collapse completely, burying half of ’s body instantly in the rubble and earth.

Fortunately, had cultivated for many years, and his Third Layer late-stage Inner Strength was substantial. The moment he struck the wall, his full inner strength helped him deflect more than half the force, allowing him only a thin trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth, while otherwise remaining mostly unharmed.

However, at the instant the Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox struck him, clearly saw a puff of black mist exhale from the creature’s mouth. That black mist was evidently highly toxic, and had inhaled it all. This, he realized, was the most fatal element.

“My little fellow already spotted you following us at the entrance to Purple Gold Village. I didn’t drag you out then because I wanted to see what you were up to. Did you think that just because I didn't expose you, I didn’t know you were nearby?”

walked over slowly, grabbed by the collar, and effortlessly yanked him free from the pile of rubble and dirt.

“Speak! Who are you, and who ordered you to follow me!”

suddenly roared, his voice laced with a trace of Inner Strength. However, the power of his imbued Inner Strength was miles behind 's. When infused his voice with Inner Strength, it acted as a powerful mind-confusion spell, capable of compelling a person to reveal everything they knew. But ’s roar only elicited a thick glob of phlegm from !

Face to face, finally recognized the Korean: this was Kim Hyun-shin’s direct superior, one of the hidden CEOs of the Korean Park Group— himself.

Of course, was also aware that Kim Hyun-shin had found a powerful private investigator in Changjing named . It was just unfortunate that had disguised himself when he arrived here, not looking like his former self, so failed to recognize the man before him as .

But as for , couldn't be bothered to utter a single word in response; all he offered was a mouthful of his own foul spit!

Easily dodging the bloody phlegm had spat out, snorted coldly. His patience was wearing extremely thin.

He still had a few more pills on him, some containing drugs designed to paralyze nerves and negate Inner Strength. Naturally, these pills were intended for the Spirit Beast he planned to hunt tonight, not for . simply wouldn't deign to waste a single pill on .

“Since you refuse to say anything, then you might as well follow this old man and die!”

’s face darkened. He violently tossed onto the ground. Since he had already been poisoned by the Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox, he would die shortly from the toxin’s effect. More critically, the Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox’s poison didn't take effect instantly; it first clogged the respiratory tract, then induced subcutaneous blood vessel rupture. This meant that before death, would endure extreme agony—pain comparable to being cut into a thousand pieces.

ignored , turning back to place the Spirit Beast Phantom Wolf, now returned to its original form, into the sack, tying it shut, and hoisting it onto his back. The even more powerful Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox leaped onto ’s shoulder.

“Little fellow, now we head off to catch that Third Layer Spirit Beast. Once we grab it, we can go back and rest. Hahahaha…”

affectionately stroked the Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox and laughed maniacally, incredibly smug.

Behind him, ’s face had turned ashen. Hearing ’s words, he suddenly realized that had no intention of stopping; he was heading out to hunt another Spirit Beast!

“You damned Koreans, stealing the treasures of my Huaxia! Don't celebrate too soon— will not let you go!”

fiercely resisted the pain inside his body, which felt like being gnawed by white ants, shouting the last bit of strength he possessed at .