Chapter 496 - 495- Wolf Girl

Barely a few moments after she had been knocked unconscious by Iria, the wolf girl suddenly woke with a start and immediately leaped backward.

Her eyes were sharp and alert as she reached beneath her concealed clothes, seemingly intending to pull out a weapon and throw it at them before making her escape. However, before her hand could even slip beneath her clothes, Iria moved.

Her figure blurred.

In the next instant, Iria had already reached the retreating wolf girl and grabbed her by the clothes.

With effortless strength, she lifted the young girl from the ground before slamming her back against the nearby alley wall.

Thump!

The wolf girl squirmed violently in Iria’s grasp, her body twisting and shaking as she desperately attempted to break free. She even opened her mouth and tried to bite into Iria’s hand.

Iria merely let out a cold snort.

With a light tap of her finger against the girl’s forehead, the wolf girl was left disoriented. Her vision blurred momentarily, and her movements became sluggish.

Against a full-fledged Foundation Establishment realm cultivator, her strength and cunning were ultimately nothing to brag about.

Yet even while being completely overpowered, the wolf girl did not surrender. Her eyes remained cold and vigilant. She continued struggling.

Just as Iria was about to tighten her grip around the young girl’s neck and snap it in two, she suddenly heard Grey’s voice.

"Wait a second!"

Hearing his voice, Iria instinctively loosened her grip. The wolf girl immediately fell to the ground and rolled backward before retreating into the darkness of the alley.

She remained silent. Not once had she cried out in pain.

Not even when Iria had lifted her from the ground and slammed her against the wall had she uttered a single word.

Her expression remained cold and composed, as though everything that had happened was merely another obstacle she had to overcome.

A sharp glint flashed through her eyes. Her hand moved smoothly beneath her clothes, and this time, she successfully pulled out a small dagger.

The blade shone with a strange gleam beneath the dim light of the alley.

She held it tightly. Her thin body lowered slightly, her legs bending as she assumed a strange stance.

In that moment, she looked like a cornered beast. Yet there was no fear in her eyes. There was only determination.

It was as though she had already made up her mind to fight until her final breath. Even though she clearly understood that she was weaker than her opponent, she still maintained a bold front.

Seeing this, Grey couldn’t help but feel that this girl resembled him even more closely than he had initially thought.

Her silent and cold expression.

Her willingness to attack without hesitation.

Her ruthlessness.

And, most importantly, her refusal to surrender despite knowing that the difference between their strengths was enormous.

For a brief moment, Grey felt as though he were looking at his younger self from several years ago. The only difference was their circumstances.

Grey had once struggled desperately to survive within the Corroded Zone and the scavenger camp, where death could arrive without warning and trusting the wrong person could mean losing his life.

This young girl, meanwhile, had been struggling to survive within a massive and dangerous city. Their environments were different. Their experiences were different.

But the instinct to survive was the same. From the fluctuations emanating from the girl’s thin body, Grey could tell that she was only at the Fourth level of the Qi Accumulation realm.

However, her speed and reaction time were considerably superior to those of ordinary cultivators at the same level. Her movements were sharp.

Her attacks were decisive. And she clearly had considerable experience fighting against people stronger than herself.

Suddenly, Grey felt a slight burning sensation in his hand. He frowned and lowered his gaze.

The area of skin where he had blocked the girl’s dagger was slowly turning green. A strange numbness was spreading from the wound.

Poison.

Grey’s eyes widened slightly. He hadn’t expected the small dagger to be poisoned. More importantly, he hadn’t expected the poison to affect him so quickly.

He raised his head and looked toward the wolf girl. For the first time since their brief confrontation began, there was a trace of genuine admiration in Grey’s eyes. This girl was interesting.

"Do you want to leave this slum and start a new life in a different city as a cultivator?"

Grey’s sudden question caused Iria to glance at him. The wolf girl didn’t answer. Grey continued calmly.

"If you want to... you can leave this place and follow me to my sect."

Iria was visibly stunned. She turned her head and looked at Grey in surprise. Grey was actually trying to recruit this girl into their sect.

Although it wasn’t particularly common, Foundation Establishment realm cultivators possessed a certain degree of authority within many sects. If they encountered someone with sufficient talent, they could sometimes recommend or invite them to become disciples.

With Grey’s current cultivation realm, he naturally possessed enough status to make such a recommendation. Still, Iria hadn’t expected him to extend such an invitation to a young girl from the slums who had just attempted to ambush them.

More importantly, there was a faint trace of astonishment and approval in Grey’s gaze. It was almost as though he genuinely wanted the girl to accept his offer.

Grey himself wasn’t entirely certain whether he had the authority to recruit someone directly into the Sky Mist Sect.

But he didn’t particularly care. After all, he had the captain. She was probably a Core Disciple of the sect, or at least possessed an equivalent level of authority. If there were procedures he couldn’t handle himself, he could always rely on her to find a way around them.

The wolf girl remained silent. Her wolf-like gaze never left Grey.

Instead, it became even sharper. She crouched slightly, lowering her center of gravity like a tiger preparing to pounce.

She was still prepared to attack. Grey wasn’t offended by her reaction. Instead, he simply watched her for several moments before reaching into his storage treasure.

He took out a slightly damaged jade talisman and casually tossed it toward her. The jade talisman flew through the air before landing several meters away from the girl.

The wolf girl didn’t immediately pick it up. Her eyes remained fixed on Grey.

She slowly retreated instead, increasing the distance between them until her back eventually touched the wall at the end of the alley.

Only after confirming that Grey and Iria weren’t making any sudden movements did she cautiously glance at the jade talisman.

"Take that jade talisman and head to the Sky Mist Sect," Grey said calmly.

"If you use a major teleportation array like the one in this city, you can travel there without paying any fees. During that time, prepare yourself for the entrance examination and try to improve your cultivation."

The wolf girl’s eyes flickered slightly. Grey turned around. He no longer paid attention to her. However, after taking a few steps, he stopped. His gaze remained fixed ahead as he continued speaking.

"You’re still stuck at the Fourth level because you haven’t given your body enough rest." The wolf girl’s pupils contracted slightly.

"Once you calm down and allow your body to properly recover, you’ll find it much easier to break through to the next level."

His voice faded into the darkness. A moment later, Grey and Iria disappeared from the dimly lit alley.

The wolf girl remained frozen in place. She stared at the direction they had disappeared in, her expression revealing a rare trace of confusion.

She had expected them to kill her. She had expected them to rob her to do something completely worse. She had even expected them to ignore her completely.

But she hadn’t expected a Jade slip and an invitation into a sect. And most importantly, advice concerning her cultivation.

The girl stood there silently for several minutes. Eventually, she slowly approached the jade talisman lying on the ground.

Her movements were cautious. She first inspected it from a distance before bending down and picking it up.

There was a mixture of confusion and expectation in her eyes. She didn’t believe the other party would lie to her about something like this. Their cultivation was clearly far beyond hers.

More importantly, they had already possessed the perfect opportunity to kill her.

She had been unconscious and helpless. Completely at their mercy.

If they had harbored malicious intentions toward her, there would have been no reason for them to go through all this trouble. They could have simply killed her and taken everything she possessed.

Yet they hadn’t. Instead, they had given her an opportunity to leave this place. The wolf girl slowly infused her spiritual energy into the jade talisman.

Instantly, information surged into her mind. A detailed map appeared within her consciousness, leading directly toward the Sky Mist Sect.

Several bright dots were also displayed across the map. They represented major teleportation arrays.

The brightest one was naturally the city she was currently in. Her eyes moved across the information carefully.

She inspected every detail. Only after confirming that there was nothing unusual did she finally withdraw her spiritual energy.

The jade talisman was carefully placed inside her bag. Then, without wasting another second, the wolf girl turned around and left the alley.

Her movements were silent and her footsteps were light. Before long, her thin figure had completely blended into the surrounding darkness.

Far above the alley, on the roof of a nearby building, Grey stood quietly. His eyes remained fixed on the direction in which the wolf girl had disappeared.

He didn’t speak for several long seconds. He simply watched. Even after several minutes had passed, he remained there until her figure was completely beyond his immediate perception.

Only then did Iria finally speak.

"Why did you help her?" Her voice contained a trace of curiosity.

She had thought about it for quite some time. She could somewhat understand Grey’s actions, but at the same time, she couldn’t fully comprehend them.

There had been no need for him to interfere. The girl had attacked them first. And judging from her cultivation, bringing her along would hardly provide them with any immediate benefit.

So why?

Grey remained silent for a long while. His gaze lingered on the distant darkness.

"Because she..."

His voice was gentle, almost too soft to hear.

"...reminds me of myself."

Iria’s eyes flickered. Grey’s gaze remained distant.

There was an unnoticeable gleam in his eyes. For a brief moment, he remembered the boy he had once been.

A boy who had possessed nothing. A boy who had learned to remain silent because words could not keep him alive.

A boy who had learned to be ruthless because hesitation could mean death. A boy who had survived because he had refused to surrender.

And perhaps that was why, when he saw the wolf girl standing alone in that dark alley, Grey had been unable to simply walk away.

He had seen a younger version of himself. And this time... He had decided to lend that version of himself a hand.