Chapter 222: Ten Thousand Chances

Awooo~ woo~

A chilling, drawn-out wolf howl suddenly echoed as more than a dozen dark figures surged toward the village from all directions.

It was springtime, and most villagers had yet to turn in for the night after dinner. Some were gathered in their courtyards chatting, while others strolled through the village, enjoying the evening breeze with their wives and daughters.

“Wolf demons are attacking! Hurry and call upon the Universal Immortal!”

“Quick!”

A burly middle-aged man shouted as he pushed his daughter into his wife’s arms. “Wife, take Little Min to the temple and hide there—pray for divine protection!”

“Alright! Be careful!” Hugging Qiao Min tightly, the middle-aged woman ran toward the Universal Temple.

Clinging to her mother’s shoulder, Qiao Min watched as her father grabbed an iron rake and charged at a wolf demon the size of a small hill.

Slash!

Blood sprayed through the air!

The middle-aged man had no time to resist before a massive wolf claw pinned him to the ground and began tearing him apart, bit by bit…

Qiao Min’s pupils widened in horror as she screamed, “Father! Father!”

Hearing her daughter’s cries, the woman fought the urge to look back and ran even faster.

Before long, she reached the temple and placed Qiao Min inside. Before leaving, she lit an incense stick and pressed it into her daughter’s hands, instructing her, “You must not leave the temple, and you must pray sincerely for the Universal Immortal to save us!”

Watching her mother’s retreating figure, Qiao Min couldn’t stop her tears from falling. But still, she turned around, knelt before the stone statue alongside the other praying villagers, and silently pleaded…

With her eyes tightly shut, she repeated “Universal Immortal” over and over. She could clearly feel the warm blood splattering onto her, hear the agonized screams ringing in her ears, and smell the overpowering stench of the wolf demons.

She didn’t know how long had passed when, suddenly, the world fell silent.

Instinctively opening her eyes, she saw a man in white—the “Universal Immortal.”

Clang!

An iron sword dropped before Qiao Min!

“I give you ten thousand chances. Take this sword and go kill the wolf demons in the stone cavern.”

Staring at the iron sword before her, Qiao Min was about to ask something when the “chaos” around her resumed.

Behind her, the villagers’ agonized screams and the sound of flesh being torn apart filled the air. Unable to help herself, she turned around.

The kind, familiar faces she had seen every day were now being “ripped apart.” Her bloodshot eyes were filled with fury!

Grabbing the sword—nearly as tall as she was—she let out a fierce cry of “Kill!” and rushed out of the temple…

Yet the moment she stepped beyond the temple’s doors, her vision blurred. The screams, the blood, the wolf demons—all of it vanished.

Instead, she found herself surrounded by the scent of grass and earth, standing before a towering stone cave.

Breathing heavily, her bloodshot eyes swept across the area. On her face was a murderous intent far beyond her years.

Ten thousand chances… kill the wolf demons in the stone cavern!

Universal Immortal… was he truly the Universal Immortal, or was he Mr. Gu?

Fragments of memory surfaced in her mind, filling her gaze with momentary confusion.

Awooo~ woo~~

A deep, resonant howl echoed from within the cavern!

Qiao Min’s eyes turned icy.

“Kill… stone cavern… wolf demons… kill!”

…

“Old Six, what are you howling for?”

“Are you afraid people don’t know we’re here?”

The lead wolf shot an annoyed look at the “wise” Sixth Wolf.

The latter sighed helplessly. “Can’t help it. We’re stuck here, and it feels like crying out to the heavens with no answer, calling to the earth with no response.”

“I just thought a couple of howls might ease the mood…”

Hearing this, the other wolves cast disdainful looks at Sixth Wolf.

Kill~~ wolf demons~~

A voice filled with murderous intent drifted into the cave from the entrance.

The wolves’ expressions turned grim as they all snapped their gazes toward the entrance!

The limping wolf lowered its voice. “Why does that voice sound so… sharp? Big Brother, what should we do…”

The lead wolf glanced at it, ears twitching as it listened. “The footsteps are soft yet firm. This is probably an expert!”

An expert!

For someone to be deemed an expert by the lead wolf, they had to be a serious threat!

The wolves’ vertical pupils shrank as they fixed their gazes on the cave entrance, yet none of them dared to approach and set up an ambush.

Seeing this, the lead wolf turned to the limping wolf and ordered, “Old Nine, you go set up an ambush.”

The ninth-ranked limping wolf stiffened. If they really wanted a successful ambush, they wouldn’t send an injured wolf to do it.

But the fact that they did… meant only one thing—it was cannon fodder.

Even though it was unwilling, the lead wolf’s orders were absolute. A crippled wolf had no right to defy them.

Reluctantly, it crept toward the cave entrance, hunching its body like a drawn bow, ready to strike at the first sign of the “expert” emerging.

The next second, a shadow burst from the entrance!

When the wolves saw who it was, they all twitched their mouths in disbelief…

The girl standing before them—they recognized her. After all, she was the only survivor they had deliberately spared.

Originally, they had planned to use this girl to test whether the so-called “Universal Immortal” was real.

But now, it seemed like they had provoked a being far beyond their ability to handle!

Yet, even though the girl was covered in blood, her once fair face now stained with dried, darkened patches of it, she still looked small and… rather cute.

Even though she held an iron sword in her hands, none of the wolf demons took it seriously.

Weapons could harm them, but it depended on whose hands they were in.

And this girl—just gripping the sword seemed like a struggle, let alone swinging it hard enough to hurt them.

Their wariness dropped significantly.

Even the limping wolf, who was supposed to be on ambush duty, didn’t make a move despite being within arm’s reach of her.

After all, who could say whether the “Universal Immortal” was watching from the shadows?

“…Big Brother, is this the ‘expert’ you were talking about?” The limping wolf twitched its mouth, glancing at the lead wolf.

The lead wolf shot it a glare, just about to speak—

But before it could, Qiao Min had already swung her sword at the limping wolf’s leg!

Her swing was slow—painfully slow—but it was clear she was giving it her all.

The limping wolf didn’t dodge or block. It let her strike.

As expected, the attack was so weak that it hurt less than a branch scraping against it while running through the forest.

The lead wolf’s brow twitched violently.

It had no idea what kind of scheme that “Universal Immortal” was playing at.

The girl was barely ten years old. The village was a hundred miles away. Even if she somehow knew the cave’s location, there was no way she could have walked here so quickly.

That meant… the “Universal Immortal” had brought her here.

And considering what the Universal Immortal had said—“The one who will kill you is arriving soon.”

It was becoming clear…

This girl really was sent here to kill them.