A New Home in the Wolves' Den
That attack was only the beginning.
Every time the Ohaeng Sword resonated and its dharma pattern seals flashed, golden beams of light shot forward like lightning. The strikes looked almost like the lashes of a whip cracking through the air at high speed.
The wolf beasts charging in were sliced apart with wet thuds. Eight or nine of them died in the blink of an eye. They were cut so cleanly that even the blood spraying from their wounds felt strangely unreal.
It was an overwhelming display of force. No—in this case, it would be more accurate to call it an overwhelming display of waves.
The wolves rushing in from the rear tried to stop abruptly and ended up tumbling down the slope in chaos. Only the ones at the very front, realizing they could not halt their momentum, grew even more ferocious as they lunged forward.
- GRRROOOAAAR!!
The sound was wolf-like in appearance but carried the spine-tingling roar of a tiger. Yet in that very instant, Han Yujin had already responded by altering the dharma pattern seals on the Ohaeng Sword.
The golden light shifted to a deep blue, flashing brightly as sword-shaped energy surged forth like a crashing wave. It smashed into the wolf beasts, turning them into bloody pulp. Then it split into multiple blades in an instant, sweeping across the entire area.
The ground was torn apart. Two or three wolf beasts were horrifically ripped to shreds. The sight of their blood and flesh scattering in all directions like fireworks was both grotesque and intensely threatening.
Only then did every last wolf seem to fully understand. Their opponent was an existence they should never have dared to challenge.
Refiners always possessed greater actual combat power than the aura they displayed on the surface. And although Han Yujin had been detected by their keen sense of smell, he was still under the effects of his concealment technique, which further masked his presence.
Even better, he thought.
If a fight hadn’t broken out, where else would he have obtained such a large quantity of spiritual meat?
Whimpering sounds rose from behind as the wolf beasts began to flee. As expected, Han Yujin immediately activated his wind-riding technique, leaping high into the air while manipulating the Ohaeng Sword that rose alongside him.
The golden energy beams shot out with their usual flashes, slaughtering the fleeing wolves one after another at terrifying speed. In mere seconds, none remained alive.
He landed lightly on the ground but did not move immediately. With both arms spread wide and his head tilted back, he stood motionless for a long time.
He was savoring the thrill of victory.
Whether the fight looked easy from the outside or not, the rush of adrenaline surpassed any extreme sport. The pounding of his heart felt vividly real.
“You really tore them apart, Han Yujin.”
It was an exclamation, but he had literally torn the wolf beasts to pieces.
“That was fucking charismatic.”
He muttered a line from some movie without thinking, then surveyed his surroundings as if appreciating a work of art.
Guilt over taking lives?
He felt almost none. This had been a fair fight in the wild, with both sides risking their lives. Besides, he hadn’t struck first—the arrogant beasts had bared their fangs at him.
After standing still for a while, savoring the afterglow, he finally calmed down and began cleaning up after the battle.
It was time to collect the spoils.
He removed the inedible parts—heads, internal organs, hides, and claws—then used the Ohaeng Sword to butcher and organize the remaining meat. He even set aside the broad bone sections, wondering if they might be useful for making broth.
The description was simple, but actually doing it was no quick task. He wasn’t accustomed to this kind of work, and there were more than twenty wolf beasts. He also needed to stay vigilant of his surroundings.
By the time he roughly finished the job, the sun had set and risen again to a faint dawn. Without the enhanced stamina and mental fortitude of a refiner, he would have needed frequent breaks and taken even longer.
“Hoo…”
He let out a breath that was half exhaustion, half satisfaction while packing the organized meat into his storage pouch. That was when it happened.
Chik—!
The creature that had been circling the area for the past hour or two finally revealed itself. It was that cute yet utterly shameless rabbit-weasel.
It even seemed to be the same one he had caught with his adhesion technique after it touched him.
The creature glanced cautiously at Han Yujin as it approached the pile of discarded byproducts. After more hesitant looks, it snatched a bone fragment with some meat still attached and scampered off.
“Taking it without permission, huh?”
He chuckled softly with a wry smile, but he had no intention of stopping it. They were just leftovers anyway. Whether bugs ate them or the rabbit-weasel did, it made no difference.
He left the area in search of a place to rest.
After resting deeply for half a day on a suitably large and well-shaped tree.
Han Yujin prepared and ate a hearty meal using the wolf beast spiritual meat he had worked hard to obtain, then immediately set out to find their hiding place.
The reason he hurried was the sight of that withered tree and the traces of spiritual-energy-rich fruit seeds he had discovered in the monkey monsters’ territory.
If I’m late, the other beasts might steal something again.
It was just a passing thought, yet…
Because there had been so many of them, tracking where they had come from was easy. The wolf den he inevitably discovered was far more comfortable and safe than he had vaguely imagined.
First, he liked how one side was blocked by a sheer cliff face. The dense trees and tough undergrowth around it formed a natural barrier, leaving only a single entrance. Inside, a decent-sized pond of fresh water—its source unknown—sat peacefully.
The fish swimming leisurely in that pond were spiritual fish brimming with spiritual energy.
“Wow…”
It was the kind of place that naturally drew such an exclamation. It almost felt appropriate to call it a hidden paradise.
The traces proving this was once a wolf den were the scattered bone fragments and clumps of wolf fur in one corner. He found it slightly strange that there were no signs of females guarding the base or young pups that should have been present.
Did they sense danger and run?
After a brief moment of consideration, Han Yujin decided it wasn’t important.
Whether they had truly fled or not, this place was now his territory. Even if every dead wolf returned alive, they would never be able to drive him out.
He adjusted the activation method of his fire technique to burn away all traces of the wolf beasts in the pit. After carefully checking the area two or three times for any other dangers, he finally settled in with peace of mind.
Using the bushcraft knowledge he had deliberately acquired before coming here, he built walls and a roof using wood, mud, and vines, starting from a hollow in the cliff face. His dharma techniques allowed him to work efficiently without special tools.
He transplanted moss onto the roof as if laying sod, creating a shelter as pleasing to the eye as anything in a popular MyTube video.
It might seem a bit crude to an ordinary person, but he was a refiner. As long as the walls and roof kept out wind and rain, daily life posed no problem.
And so.
Han Yujin’s second training life began.
He had a massive amount of wolf beast meat stored away, and fish lived in the nearby pond. If he went out and wandered a little, he could easily gather small red berries with a sweet-and-sour taste. Various fragrant mushrooms were an added bonus.
There was no need to even mention that all this food contained spiritual energy and aided his training.
Aside from occasionally exploring the surroundings to check for dangers, he spent his time inside the new shelter practicing his cultivation method and honing his dharma techniques and dharma energy control.
Feeling his soul slowly but surely sublimating into a dharma soul, he spent each day with a sense of fulfillment.
When he had consumed about half of the wolf beast meat.
Roughly a month had passed.
His dharma soul sublimation rate had reached about seventy percent. It was still far from complete, but the progress was noticeable. At this rate, by the time he consumed all the food, he might achieve not just the expected ten percent but close to twenty percent sublimation.
Chik—! Chik—!
During this period of peaceful yet fulfilling days, one noteworthy change occurred: the presence of that utterly shameless rabbit-weasel.
It seemed to have realized that Han Yujin would not easily harm it. Or perhaps it was simply too stupid to feel fear, acting boldly based on vague instinct alone.
At some point it began circling the area, and before he knew it, the creature was lying on its back at his feet, belly exposed.
“…Are you begging for this again?”
When he lifted the spiritual liquid bottle and shook it lightly, the creature’s pitch-black eyes and head followed the motion.
When he showed no sign of giving it any despite its pleading, the rabbit-weasel bit the hem of his pants and tugged, spun in circles around his legs, stood on its hind legs to stare at him, then threw itself into the air as if fighting some invisible enemy before flopping over. It put on quite the show.
Chuckling, Han Yujin opened the stopper and let a few drops of spiritual liquid fall. The rabbit-weasel, which had somehow heard the sound with supernatural precision, caught them mid-air and squeaked for more.
“No.”
He stroked the creature’s head and body as it looked at him pitifully, feeling considerable satisfaction.
During his earlier forest exploration, he had felt a sense of loneliness.
In fact, that wasn’t the only time—he felt it quite frequently. No matter how enjoyable and rewarding cultivation was, missing other people was an unavoidable human instinct.
Yet.
This single worthless rabbit-weasel that did nothing but steal his spiritual food had alleviated his loneliness far more than he expected.
He was now certain.
This was the same creature that had touched his cheek when he lay collapsed after the previous battle. It was also the very first target of his adhesion technique.
Did it really try to eat me back then, or was it just checking whether I was dead before deciding to eat?
In the end, it didn’t matter. It hadn’t bitten him, after all.
“Want me to give you a name?”
Unable to resist the sudden impulse, he asked. The rabbit-weasel tilted its head at him, clearly not understanding the meaning.
“…Never mind. What’s the point of a name?”
He stood up, brushing himself off. As he walked toward the pond beside the shelter, the rabbit-weasel—realizing he was going to catch fish—followed excitedly.
It knew some fish heads and scraps of flesh would come its way.
Time could feel endlessly slow, yet the moment you regained your senses, it had already flown by.
It had been two months and fifteen days since he had claimed the wolf den as his shelter.
The wolf beast meat had finally run out. The fish that used to fill the pond had grown scarce, making it difficult to catch them with his adhesion technique.
His dharma soul sublimation rate had surpassed twenty-seven percent. With a little more training, he might even reach thirty percent. Fortunately, he had already found a new location that could provide training supplements.
Using his wind-riding technique from the shelter, he traveled about thirty minutes in one direction to discover a lake so vast it was hard to believe it lay in the middle of the primordial forest.
Naturally, such a large lake was teeming with all kinds of spiritually rich food.
“Let’s go together today.”
After visiting the lake about five times, Han Yujin had confirmed there were no major dangers. Bringing along one small, useless rabbit-weasel that only stole spiritual food should be safe enough for him to protect.
When he gestured familiarly, the creature on the ground climbed up his body like a flying squirrel and nestled into his arms. The more he looked at it, the cuter it became, and he couldn’t help giving its head a thorough rub.
It would be nice if I could take it back to Earth.
He wasn’t sure if that was possible yet. He would have to test it himself.
With that thought, he left the shelter and headed for the lake using his wind technique. The rabbit-weasel in his arms showed no sign of fear at the high speed—probably because it had experienced his patrols around the shelter several times.
A short while later.
Upon reaching the lake, he set the rabbit-weasel down from his arms. Then he walked across the sandy soil that resembled a white beach by the sea.
In the far distance, he could see a few unusual animals drinking water or basking in the sun.
Judging the distance sufficient and confident he could handle them if they attacked, he suddenly turned to check on the rabbit-weasel, which had not followed him.
“What’s wrong?”
Of course it couldn’t answer. It simply hesitated, as if something felt off.
Han Yujin scanned the surroundings again just to be sure, but there were truly no dangerous elements. Finding a place this safe in the primordial forest was no easy feat.
“It’s fine. Come quickly.”
He gestured for it, and only then did the creature trot over and rub its body against his leg.
After playing with it briefly, he sat on a rock he had placed there during his previous visit and examined the lake’s interior. The rabbit-weasel followed him up and settled beside him.
What followed was a peaceful fishing session. It also doubled as training.
Using his spiritual eye technique to peer into the deep water at a considerable distance, concealing his presence with his concealment technique, and snatching tasty fish with his adhesion technique to toss them onto the sandy shore.
In this way, three or four forearm-length fish flopped on the ground, reduced to today’s meal.
The rabbit-weasel, which had been twitching while staring at the fish, suddenly turned its head to glance at the seated Han Yujin before darting forward. It seemed intent on securing its own share in advance.
“Look at that greedy little thing.”
Han Yujin was laughing heartily while watching its antics when it happened.
Suddenly.
A chill ran down his spine, cutting his laughter short. His instincts made him turn toward a direction in the lake he had not been paying attention to.
The moment he spotted a dark shape, it exploded out of the water in a massive spray, moving at incredible speed—straight toward the rabbit-weasel that had just grabbed a fish.