While Ye Jingyu was entangled on the Ancient Splendor Continent, Liang Xiaoke and his group ran into some trouble. Due to the impending Soul Fighting War, all the young elites of the Soul Fighting Continent were required to journey to the Demon Realm to seek out the Demon Wolf King. However, the Demon Realm was vast and boundless, and the most likely place to find the Demon Wolf King was the Panbulas Grasslands. Thus, Liang Xiaoke and the others surmised that all those young masters would converge on the Panbulas Grasslands.

The Panbulas Grasslands lay in the northwestern region of the Demon Realm, far from the Leize Circle. To reach it, they had to traverse a massive, imposing forest known as the Heaven’s End Forest. In times of peace, even an ordinary person could easily pass through it, as the forest offered an abundance of wild fruits and small beasts sufficient to sustain them.

Yet, when danger struck, this forest presented a serious challenge even for a Seventh Grade Demon Lord. This is why it earned the name Heaven’s End—implying absolute peril alongside absolute safety.

Liang Xiaoke's party proceeded into the Heaven’s End Forest. Logically, given their combined fighting strength, they should have been able to cross with ease. However, their luck was less than ideal. On the third day inside the forest, they were engulfed by a dense, pervasive fog—a sight rarely seen even once in a thousand years—so thick that one could not see one's own hand before one's face. Furthermore, this mist had the ability to completely block the probing of divine consciousness.

Initially, the group managed to stick closely together. But as beast attacks continued, the formation broke apart, and members gradually became separated. Eventually, Chi Yixiu, Hu Yanzhi, and Hu Yanmeng found themselves together; Liang Xiaoke stayed with Lin Xiaoyi; and Luo Ling'er, Hei Ming Shixuan, and Bing Ming remained a trio.

Though the trio of Chi Yixiu, Hu Yanzhi, and Hu Yanmeng possessed the weakest overall strength, Chi Yixiu boasted astonishing defense, Hu Yanzhi had incredible offensive power, and with Hu Yanmeng’s close-range capabilities, they managed to navigate the Heaven’s End Forest relatively unscathed.

Hei Ming Shixuan’s group, despite most members possessing only average strength outside of Hei Ming Shixuan herself, found that the aura of a high-ranking demon emanating from her kept most demonic beasts at bay. They passed through the Heaven’s End Forest without facing any truly dangerous assaults.

Conversely, it was the seemingly strongest group, Liang Xiaoke’s, that became trapped within the forest. The reason was simple: although Lin Xiaoyi's inherent power had reached the Fifth Heaven of the Martial God realm, this power was not something he had cultivated himself, meaning he struggled to utilize it effectively at that moment.

It was akin to handing a man who had never seen a firearm the controls to an aircraft carrier; he simply wouldn't know how to operate it.

Throughout the journey, Liang Xiaoke acted as a relentless coach, constantly instructing Lin Xiaoyi on how to pilot this massive vessel and master the power surging within him.

Because of this focus, Liang Xiaoke rarely intervened directly, allowing Lin Xiaoyi to fight the beasts of the forest alone. With every skirmish, Lin Xiaoyi’s foundational strength climbed, and his combat prowess soared. However, whether due to Liang Xiaoke’s reckless teaching methods or sheer bad fortune, this method of fighting while moving attracted the most dangerous inhabitants of the Heaven’s End Forest: the Sky Wolf Giants.

These were colossal monsters, standing over thirty feet tall, possessing the head of a wolf atop a humanoid body. Their physical forms were immensely tough, their strength prodigious, and their speed frighteningly high. Most crucially, they were a pack-hunting species. Even a Ninth Grade Demon Lord encountering such a group would instinctively choose flight; nobody willingly engaged them in battle.

Staring at the horde of at least one hundred Sky Wolf Giants before them, Liang Xiaoke and Lin Xiaoyi’s eyes widened. Had they forgotten to burn incense before leaving? How could they encounter a monster that appeared perhaps once in ten thousand expeditions?

“Xiaoyi, you’ve improved rapidly these past few days. This is your final test: slay these Sky Wolf Giants, and you officially graduate. So, don't hold back—go!” Liang Xiaoke delivered a heavy slap to Lin Xiaoyi's back, and then, to Lin Xiaoyi’s bewildered gaze, delivered a mighty kick to his rear. Lin Xiaoyi shot forward like a rocket, straight toward the monstrous pack.

As for Liang Xiaoke, he swiftly vanished, pulling Gongsun Lu along as they made their escape...

Gazing upon the wolf-headed giants, each taller than thirty feet, noting the spiked clubs they hefted, and observing the utterly disloyal Liang Xiaoke fleeing, Lin Xiaoyi’s face turned instantly paler than candle wax.

“Young Master, save me!” Yelling out Ye Jingyu’s name, Lin Xiaoyi drew his blackened battle saber and charged toward the Sky Wolf Giants. He had no other option.

With a resounding clang—Lin Xiaoyi’s saber strike landed directly on the spiked club of one giant. The sharp blade cleaved the club in two, and the dark steel body slammed viciously into the giant’s shoulder.

Crack-hiss! But the giant’s physique was simply too formidable. Despite the extreme sharpness of his blade aura, it only managed to barely score the giant’s outer skin. The black saber even emitted a metallic scraping sound against the monster's hide.

“Awooo-wooo…” The struck Sky Wolf Giant threw back its head and roared, instantly dropping the splintered club and bringing a massive claw down toward Lin Xiaoyi’s body.

Its speed was incredible; the claw arrived almost instantaneously. Lin Xiaoyi felt a surge of terror, trying to wrench his saber free to block, but the blade was jammed fast in the giant’s shoulder bone, making it impossible to pull out immediately.

Forced to abandon his weapon, he narrowly dodged the giant’s strike. Several other Sky Wolf Giants closed in.

Their immense bodies formed a thick wall of flesh, encircling Lin Xiaoyi in the center. Four or five spiked clubs, each as thick as a water vat, smashed down toward his head. If one of those clubs struck him, even with his Fifth Heaven Martial God physique, he would be pulverized into pieces.

The old Lin Xiaoyi would have been utterly unable to withstand so many simultaneous attacks. But having endured Liang Xiaoke’s terrifying special training, a fierce resolution ignited in Lin Xiaoyi’s eyes. Saber energy erupted continuously from his body, and he suddenly transformed into a soaring blade of light, cutting directly toward the one Sky Wolf Giant he had already wounded...

Rumble, rumble... Several massive spiked clubs crashed into the ground where he had just stood, carving deep earth pits. But Lin Xiaoyi’s body slammed into the wounded giant, sending it flying backward. His sharp blade aura scored long, bloody streaks across the creature’s form.

“This kid’s not bad; he figured out to target the weakest link so quickly. To react in time to choose whom to strike—his talent truly is significant!” From a nearby tree, Liang Xiaoke nodded with satisfaction.

“Is that so?” But at that moment, a voice sounded directly behind him...

(This is the chapter that took me the longest to write since I started this novel. I woke up at six to start typing, and it took a full three hours. Tragic. I feel completely exhausted. I’m going to sleep now; expect only three chapters today, but a major surge tomorrow! Keep supporting!)