The Exalted Cat seemed to be staring far into the past, as a look of reminiscence filled its face.

"Talent… in our Scarlet Phoenix Empire, there are over 50 million cultivators. With so many people, there is no shortage of talent. Yet, in his generation, your father was number two, which is no small accomplishment. That being said, it was just in his generation. If he were born a decade earlier, or a decade later, that title wouldn't go to him."

"In the long history of our empire, considering the billions of cultivators who have lived and died, countless geniuses have appeared and left their mark in history. Your father… unfortunately, he cannot be considered one of those geniuses."

"Your father was number two, and of course, your mother was number one. But the difference between them was like the difference between the mud and the clouds. Even considering those billions of cultivators, those historical talents, your mother would have her place."

"Plenty of people have great talent in cultivation, and can reach great heights in short amounts of time. And plenty of people have great talent in alchemy, and can reach great heights there in a short amount of time, too. It's rare for someone to walk on both the path of cultivation and Alchemy. Nonetheless, your mother did it."

"Not counting your mother, your father's cultivation was well ahead of his peers. But your mother left even James in the dust, without even trying. Watching the two of them… ah, it was like watching a man sprint as fast as he could, while a bird casually outflies it."

"Sometimes, it seemed like Lily didn't care for cultivation at all. Her main interest was in Alchemy, where her accomplishments were far greater. If she wholeheartedly focused on cultivation… who knows what level she could have reached? And of course, James couldn't concoct a pill to save his life. He spent all his energy cultivating, yet paled in comparison to your mother, who spent her time making pills. Slughorn would always boast about her to me, knowing I couldn't respond."

As the Exalted Cat spoke, Harry grew more and more shocked. As a child, he always thought of himself as some unimportant orphan, without any special background. He never imagined his parents were actually among the most talented cultivators in the empire.

After all, if the Exalted Cat was saying that his mother was talented, then she must have been extremely so. The Exalted Cat had yet to give him any real praise.

"How did they meet?"

"They were both disciples at one of the empire's sects. Slughorn was the Alchemy Master and in charge of the Alchemy Hall, which Lily was in. I was in charge of a different branch, which James was in. As for how they met, well, everyone knew about Lily. James was hopelessly in love. She ignored him, for like five years, until one day they got together. That day was a shock to both Slughorn and me – Slughorn even thought James fed Lily some sort of love-inducing pill – then it was my turn to tease Slughorn, about how my disciple got the better end of the bargain, and how his disciple married an idiot… haha, how time flies," the cat wistfully sighed.

"Damn, both your parents were tigers, but they actually gave birth to you."

Harry's face stiffened a bit, even though he was used to the cat's insults. The words coming out its mouth could be truly merciless at times.

"Do I have any other family, besides my aunt?" he asked, trying to change the subject.

"Not that I know of. The Potter Clan declined even in your father's generation, until it was just him and your grandparents. Your grandparents died well before you were born. They were called Fleamont Potter and Euphemia Potter, though I didn't know them very well."

"What about my mother's family? And can you tell me more about her?"

"As far as I know, she only has a sister. Unlike your father, who had a strong background, she came from obscurity. Her parents were just ordinary cultivators, so everything she had was something she earned herself. As a result, her character was better than your father. In fact, she was everything your father was not. Humble, modest, determined, actually listened to her teacher, ah, my student really lucked out when finding a partner," the Exalted Cat lamented.

"What sect were they in?"

"Boy, you should develop some situational awareness. Now's no longer the time for talking."

Harry looked around, only to see that dozens of wolves were at the edge of the clearing, just barely visible in the firelight. He was so engrossed in the cat's story that he forgot to check his surroundings. He immediately unsheathed his sword, and prepared for battle. All distracting thoughts were removed from his mind.

The last time he saw these wolves, there were only four of them. This time, he counted well over twenty. There were plenty more rustling noises and growls from deeper in the woods.

"How many are there?"

"I count 44," the cat casually responded. "Around half are middle-level Ordinary Grade, the others are in the high-level. And there are more coming."

44 and counting! He only needed a single Beast Core to test if the Nameless Seed could absorb the Fire Qi within. If it could, then that would be great. But if it didn't, he'd just be wasting his time.

'Well, if it doesn't work, I can give them to Slughorn for pills,' he decided.

Lifting his sword, he charged at the nearest wolf. In response, it howled and charged towards him.

Strengthening Flesh!

His flesh instantly became as hard as wood, and he leapt into battle without fear.

The first wolf scratched at his body, but its claws failed to penetrate him. A slash of his sword sent its head rolling.

That was the signal for all the other wolves to leap into the fray. Unlike some other beasts, wolves were pack animals, living and hunting together. They worked in teams to take down stronger enemies. Attacking one wolf was the same as attacking them all.

One wolf was coming from the left, and another from the right. His sword stabbed into the one on the right, while the one on the left bit into his left arm. It was like the scene with the Orange Tailed Fox, except this time, Harry was much tougher. The wolf's teeth weren't even able to penetrate his skin.

The wolf on his arm was stabbed through the heart, instantly killing it. In its last moment, it didn't understand why its attack failed.

By now the rest of the wolves caught up. A crowd of them nipped and bit at Harry's legs, while others leapt at this head. Yet, their claws slid off his skin, while their teeth bit uselessly against hard flesh. A few moments later, Harry's blade severed through the bodies of all the wolves surrounding him.

He was already caked in blood, and corpses were littered all around him. The rest of the wolves backed up, forming a circle around him but not daring to attack. One by one, they started howling. Their cries were answered by further howling, from deeper in the forest.

Harry responded by leaping into the fray.

He lost track of the battle after that. He didn't remember how many times he was scratched or bitten by the wolves, or how many fatal injuries he would have received, if not for Strengthening Flesh. All he thought about was how to kill the wolf in front of him. After it died, he charged towards the next.

Wolf after wolf leapt at him, and wolf after wolf was slain. Another wave of them rushed out of the forest, but Harry just fought on. Under the night sky, lit only by the glow of a massive bonfire, one man waged a war against packs of vicious Scarlet Flames Wolves.

Each of these wolves were capable killing a cultivator at the high-level of the Body Tempering Realm. Yet, someone at the middle-level was slaughtering them all.

This was only possible due to the Nameless Technique, more specifically, Strengthening Flesh. For normal cultivators, when they fought, they focused on both offense and defense. Even the most skilled fighters couldn't go all out on attack, since they needed to hold some of their power back for defense.

But Harry had an impenetrable defense. All he did was attack, and didn't need to worry about being injured. As a result, his fighting style was reckless and full of openings. He allowed himself to get hit, yet suffered no injuries, and put all his strength into offense. This sort of fighting style was perfectly suited to him, and allowed him to slaughter these wolves.

Further, the Nameless Seed was constantly generating energy for his body. Other cultivators would grow tired after a few minutes of intense combat, and their battle efficiency would decline. After killing the first few wolves, they'd get tired, which would lead to carelessness and injuries. But with the Nameless Seed providing energy, Harry didn't have that problem. Though he hadn't tested his limits, he knew he could fight for many hours.

His sword flashed in the fire light, each swing cutting into a wolf. Everything he learned in the past few months was accumulating into this one battle. Every sword move, every fighting trick, honed over the months, came together to deal killing blows.

The corpses of slain wolves around the bonfire only continued to grow. Initially there were just a couple, but they started to pile up. 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, it wasn't long before corpses and body parts were littered all over the battlefield. As Harry was fighting the 60th wolf, an ear-splitting howl came from afar.

It was so loud that it caught Harry by surprise, and he slipped out of his fighting trance. The remaining Scarlet Flame Wolves also lost their fighting intent, instead, they seemed to be scared. Yelping, they backed away and ran off into the woods.

Another howl echoed through the forest, then a massive silhouette leapt into the clearing. As it stepped into the firelight, Harry gulped as he laid eyes upon the largest wolf he had ever seen. Anger was reflected in its eyes as it saw the bodies of its dead kin.

Harry stared right back and observed his enemy.

The wolves from before only reached Harry's waist, but this one was far larger. It almost reached his chest, and each of its paws was as large as Harry's head. The color of this wolf was also different. The weaker ones were reddish-grey, like the color of smoke, but this one lost the grey, and was just a dull red. It looked like the wolf was coated in dried blood.

'This wolf has just reached the Qi Absorption Realm,' the cat's voice said in his mind. 'Do not think this wolf is like the others. You are on your own.'

This wolf was actually in Qi Absorption Realm!

Gripping his sword tighter, Harry readied himself for the most difficult fight of his life. The last time he met a creature in the Qi Absorption Realm, he ran away without even attempting to fight. This time, he wanted to see what he could do.

He raised his sword and charged towards the wolf, who just stood still. As Harry got near, it opened its mouth, revealing two rows of wickedly sharp teeth and a massive throat. At the end of the throat, Harry could see an orange light.

'Is that fire – oh shit!'

Harry hastily leapt to the side with all his strength. A moment later, a ball of fire whistled through the air, right where his chest had been. It sailed past and hit a tree, setting it ablaze.

Harry stared behind him in horror. This wolf could spit fireballs?

The other wolves didn't have that ability!

'Do not think this wolf is like the others,' the Exalted Cat had warned him.

'Weren't your words too unclear there?' Harry wanted to scold the cat. He thought it was just saying this wolf was physically stronger. He didn't expect this wolf could shoot fire out its mouth!

Another fireball launched through the air, and Harry ducked just in time.

'Well, there can't be that much fire in its body,' he reasoned. 'Surely it'll run out.'

10 fireballs later, two of which nearly took his head off, Harry was no longer so sure.

'Idiot boy, the wolf's body generates fire for it,' the Exalted Cat suddenly said.

'Damn, it can even do that?' Harry swore.

Didn't that mean it had an endless supply of fire? How was he supposed to fight against that?

With its long-range attack, Harry couldn't get close enough to use his sword. As it stood, all he could do was dodge, which wouldn't work forever. Eventually, he'd be too slow and get roasted.

'Should I throw my sword?' he wondered, but decided against it. This beast was different from all the others he had fought. Since it was so big, even if he impaled it, it was unlikely to kill the wolf. And once he lost his sword, he would lose his only weapon. Without a sword, he couldn't even kill high-level Body Tempering Realm beasts. He would have no chance against this one.

Before Harry could plan his next move, the wolf leapt at Harry. It must have decided that launching ranged attacks wouldn't work, and switched to close combat.

'It's fast!' Harry was startled. The wolf was a blur of motion, leaping so quickly that he couldn't dodge.

Strengthening Flesh!

It was just in time. A massive paw swatted his side and sent him flying. He crashed into the ground, and rolled a dozen meters.

'Owwww, I felt that,' Harry groaned. The pain was slight, but still there.

An Earth Grade beast could kill a middle-level Body Tempering Realm cultivator like him in a single hit. If not for the Nameless Technique, Harry would already have died.

Sensing danger, he hurriedly rolled to the side, but he was too late. The wolf was too fast and lunged forwards, snapping its teeth. A dozen sharp teeth clamped into his arm. Yet the teeth only slightly penetrated his skin, as if they bit into a tough piece of wood.

Harry sighed in relief. Strengthening Flesh had yet to let him down –

Then the wolf flung him through the air, and once again he was flying, until he smashed into a tree.

'Idiot boy, dodge!'

Without any hesitation, he scrambled up and leapt away, but was again too slow. This time, a ball of fire set the tree alight, along with part of his leg.

"AAAAAAAAAGH" Harry screamed as he rolled away. He swatted his leg, trying to put out the fire.

As he frantically rolled around the ground, desperately trying to extinguish the fire, a miracle happened. He felt the Nameless Seed stirring, and then a suction force came from his abdomen, sucking the Fire Qi out of the flames burning his leg. The fire immediately went out.

Inside his veins, drops of blood were being transformed at an incredible rate. With the Yellow Ember Berries, each berry was only able to transform a couple drops. But the flame Harry just suffered from was produced by a beast at the Qi Absorption Realm, and had far more potent Fire Qi. It could be considered an Earth Grade flame, an entire grade higher than those berries. Drops of blood were being formed by the hundreds.

Harry was stunned for a moment, then burst into a grin.

This was it! This was how he could cultivate Burning Blood!

This issue had been worrying him for the past week. It was easy for him to get Wood Qi, since he was in the middle of a forest. There was Wood Qi literally everywhere he looked.

But because he was in a forest, it was very difficult for him to get Fire Qi. The challenge of obtaining resources to cultivate Burning Blood gave him an enormous headache. But if he could use this wolf's fire, he could save himself weeks of effort!

All he had to do was endure a bit of pain. Well… maybe more than just a bit.

The wolf launched another fireball at him.

'This is going to hurt like hell,' he mentally groaned, then leapt straight into the attack.

The fireball crashed against his chest, and Harry let out a howl of pain. He thought opening the 6th Meridian was the most painful thing he experienced, but this was somehow even worse.

His chest was on fire, burning, flames licking against his neck and face. He gritted his teeth and tried to ignore the sizzling sound, and willed the Nameless Seed into action. A moment later, the fire disappeared, and Harry collapsed onto the ground.

Though the fire was extinguished, the pain wasn't. His chest was burned red and black, and pieces of his flesh were melted and scarred. But inside his body, the blood in his veins was undergoing a rapid metamorphosis. He could feel his blood vessels vibrating as they greedily absorbed the incoming Fire Qi.

Across the clearing, the wolf was visibly dumbfounded. Its fire, which should have roasted the human, disappeared without a trace! But being a Magic Beast, it had low intelligence and fired another shot.

'Again!' Harry gritted his teeth, and stood back up.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH" he screamed. He was on fire, he was burning alive, he was melting, then the Nameless Seed sucked the Fire Qi in, and the fire disappeared.

'Again!'

'Again!'

'One more!'

Thousands of drops of blood were transforming every second. His bloodstream was being cleansed by a baptism of fire.

After he reached his limit, Harry lay there on the ground, in too much pain to move. Just his raw, burned skin contacting the air was agony. But despite the pain, he smiled. Absorbing the fire of this Scarlet Flame Wolf was equivalent to eating thousands of Yellow Ember Berries.

'Have I become a masochist?' he wondered. But he didn't get the chance to answer his question.

From across the clearing, the wolf howled and charged. It must have realized its fire attacks no longer worked.

As it got closer and closer, Harry forced himself to get back up, and stood on his feet, staring at the charging beast in the eye. He didn't know where he dropped his sword, but right now, that didn't matter. The distance between them rapidly shrunk, until the wolf was practically on top of him… and then…

Burning Blood!

The Nameless Seed burned, his veins burned, his body burned, and power surged through his arms. His fists shot out, one smashing the wolf's snout and the other its jaw. An enormous force transferred from his body to the wolf, and it was knocked back a couple meters, howling in pain. Under Harry's strike, its face was clearly deformed, and blood even poured out its nose. But a moment later, it shook off the pain and lunged right back at him.

'I… I am still too weak.'

He felt his vision fading, his body toppling over, unable to defend against the charging beast.

'Exalted Cat, my life is in your hands now.'

And then he fell to the ground, unconscious.