"This is already the forty-eighth level." Wu Shentong silently counted in his mind.
He came from the Wu Family. The Wu Family was the number one super clan in the Southern Border, deeply rooted and a Righteous Path colossus in every sense of the word. And he himself was a Slave Path Gu Master whom the Wu Family had invested heavily in cultivating — his attainments in the Slave Path were far from ordinary.
Wu Shentong's name sounded imposing, but in reality, the man was as thin as a rake, his complexion sallow and waxy, like a sickly scholar.
The truth was, he had once been broad-shouldered and lean-waisted, with an athletic build. But during a battle, he had been struck by Long Qingtian's Azure Sky Gu Poison.
He had sought out the Saint Hand Divine Doctor for treatment.
The Saint Hand Divine Doctor had pressed a hand to his chest, eyes gleaming, and sighed: "You've come too late. The Gu Poison has already sunk deep into your marrow. I can preserve your life and cultivation base, but the residual poison has taken deep root and cannot be fully eradicated. From now on, you must come in for treatment at regular intervals. I will help you purge the toxins periodically."
It was precisely because of the Azure Sky Gu Poison that Wu Shentong had grown thinner and weaker with each passing day, until he had become the wretched figure he was now.
"I wonder which Gu Master will be my opponent next?" Wu Shentong walked through the mist, his gaze deep and unfathomable.
Just moments ago, from the three paths presented to him, he had deliberately chosen the one straight ahead.
In the Dog King Inheritance, the further one progressed, the more choices there were. But most Gu Masters would err on the side of caution and choose to face a pack of dogs instead. Only when absolutely forced would they opt to fight another Gu Master head-on.
No matter how large a dog pack might be, they were still just beasts at the end of the day. But put them under the command of a Gu Master, and even the weakest pack could pose a certain threat.
Yet Wu Shentong did the exact opposite. Whenever he had the chance to fight another Gu Master, he would never choose any other path.
"In terms of attainments in the Slave Path, I rank among the very best in the Southern Border. Here in this Three Fork Mountain, I am virtually number one. There are only two opponents who can pose any threat to me. One is Wu Gui — a Fifth Transformation Gu Master who was once a Slave Path Gu Master himself. But the Slave Path is extraordinarily resource-hungry, and he was forced to switch to a different path midway. The other is Zhang Sansan — a genuine Slave Path Gu Master, though his cultivation is inferior to mine."
Wu Shentong held an enormous advantage in the Slave Path. In terms of seniority, Zhang Sansan was still his junior. And in this Dog King Inheritance, even if he clashed head-on with Wu Gui, he wouldn't flinch in the slightest.
With such formidable strength at his disposal, his priority was naturally to strike at his opponents first, eliminating as many competitors as possible.
Until only he remained, claiming the Dog King Inheritance all for himself.
That was Wu Shentong's shrewd calculation.
"Let me count — this next opponent should be the twenty-third person I've eliminated. Hmph, running into me is just your bad luck."
Wu Shentong snorted coldly in his mind and came to a stop.
Beside him, a dog pack stood in perfect order, forming a protective ring around his position.
He gazed toward the other end of the mist. Within the fog, shadowy figures were gradually materializing — a group of dogs with bluish-purple skin and rotting flesh emerged one after another.
"Oh, Corpse-Eating Dogs." Wu Shentong let out a light chuckle.
He knew these canine beasts. They were quite useful in the earlier stages of the challenge, because Corpse-Eating Dogs could devour corpses to rapidly accelerate their recovery from injuries.
But the further one progressed, the more useless Corpse-Eating Dogs became. Because these dogs were slower than Lightning Dogs, lacked the defense of Iron-armored Dogs, and couldn't match the unity of Chrysanthemum Akita Dogs.
"It's only those Gu Masters who dabble in the Slave Path as a hobby that go crazy for these worthless Corpse-Eating Dogs. A mile apart, and a thousand differences lie between. Without decades of immersion in the Slave Path, how could they possibly grasp its true essence?"
Wu Shentong thought of those Gu Masters and smiled with disdain.
But the next moment, his brow furrowed slightly.
From ahead in the mist, more and more Corpse-Eating Dogs kept pouring out.
"That's a rather large number. It seems I'll have to pay a small price for this victory." Wu Shentong mused.
However, even as a massive horde of Corpse-Eating Dogs appeared, an entirely different breed of canine also entered his field of vision.
"Chrysanthemum Akita Dogs! Quite a large number, too. Hmm… it seems this person has some minor attainments in the Slave Path as well." Wu Shentong nodded mildly.
"The opponent is running a Corpse-Eating Dog and Chrysanthemum Akita Dog combination. Despite the large numbers, the lineup is actually flimsy beyond belief. When the time comes, I just need to send a few Dog Kings charging forward in a blitz, scatter the pack with a hard push, and the victory will be mine."
"Hm? The opponent actually has Hedgehog Dogs too?"
Wu Shentong spotted yet another wave emerging from the mist — Hedgehog Dogs.
These dogs were covered in sharp spines from head to tail. Attacking them meant injuring yourself.
If the defensively powerful Iron-armored Dogs were a tough nut to crack, then Hedgehog Dogs were a tough nut covered in thorns. To take down a Hedgehog Dog pack, one had to be mentally prepared for the pain of spines lodged in one's throat.
"There are this many Hedgehog Dogs! This person's luck must be quite good, managing to recruit such a large pack. Why can't I ever get that kind of luck?"
Wu Shentong sighed, then immediately adjusted his tactics.
"The opponent has Hedgehog Dogs, so I'll use the Iron-armored Dog pack as the vanguard, with Lightning Dogs deployed on both flanks. Once the engagement begins, the Iron-armored Dogs will push forward steadily while the two wings sweep in — the Lightning Dogs flanking around to encircle them, and the victory will be sealed!"
But after the Hedgehog Dogs, yet another massive wave of Lightning Dogs materialized from the mist.
Wu Shentong's expression turned grave.
The appearance of the Lightning Dogs meant that his previous tactic was now completely unviable. Because the opponent also possessed fast Lightning Dogs capable of executing their own flanking maneuvers.
"The Lightning Dogs are this numerous as well!" The more Lightning Dogs appeared in his vision, the darker Wu Shentong's expression became.
In his mind, he reasoned: the opponent being able to field so many canine beasts could no longer be explained by good luck alone. Clearly, this was also a Gu Master who had mastered the Slave Path, and now posed a genuine threat to him.
"Who is the opponent? Could it be Wu Gui, or Zhang Sansan? Regardless, this will be a bitter fight. I'll have to improvise and adjust on the fly. But fortunately, I still have my trump card!"
Thinking this, Wu Shentong's resolve settled.
He glanced toward the center of his main force, where a group of roughly one hundred and twenty dogs lay sprawled.
These dogs were enormous, twice the size of ordinary canine beasts. They possessed sharp claws, broad and thick backs, and snouts like those of lions.
These were Heavy Tai Dogs.
In terms of defensive power, Heavy Tai Dogs were on par with Iron-armored Dogs. And in terms of unity, they could even rival the Chrysanthemum Akita Dogs.