After Zhang Yang's relentless efforts, two days later, he finally gathered all the fragments needed for the Tough Skin talent.
Tough Skin (Intermediate): Passively increases fur/pelt defense by 50%.
Then, after another three long days of searching, he finally completed the Swift Agility talent as well.
Swift Agility (Intermediate): Passively increases agility by 50%.
Both talent skills were very simple passive abilities, but at the same time, they were extremely powerful.
Although Zhang Yang's current base stats weren't particularly high, after the amplification from various talents, his overall strength had undergone a tremendous change.
Five days ago, when dealing with crocodiles, he still had to be very cautious and absolutely could not let them surround him.
Now Zhang Yang had become arrogant. He was still careful, but nowhere near as afraid as before. He could now confidently fight two crocodiles at the same time.
To test his Tough Skin, he had even deliberately taken a direct tail swipe from a crocodile.
The result was… somewhat disappointing.
His fur was fine, but his internal organs were badly shaken and hurt like hell.
Tough Skin only increased the defensive power of the fur and skin — it did not improve impact resistance or internal durability.
The concussive force was still fully transmitted. After getting smacked by that tail, Zhang Yang grimaced in pain.
...
Six days after the "wild boar blocking the door" incident.
Inside the wolf den, Zhang Yang looked at Lang Qing with satisfaction.
"You little guy have grown quite a bit these past few days. Here, eat this stone."
After several days of feeding, Lang Qing's body had grown explosively — from a one-meter-long pup to nearly two meters now, not far from a fully adult jungle wolf.
But Zhang Yang knew that Lang Qing's strength had already surpassed that of an ordinary adult jungle wolf.
Because Lang Qing also possessed a talent.
"Yes, Big Brother."
Lang Qing had zero doubt toward Zhang Yang. Besides, eating stones wasn't exactly a new thing for him — why overthink it? Just eat.
What Zhang Yang gave Lang Qing was a Thick Skin & Tough Flesh (Intermediate) talent stone — something he had farmed in large quantities from wild boars and had long decided to give to Lang Qing.
"Big Brother, I've become stronger again!"
After swallowing the talent stone, Lang Qing's eyes sparkled. He didn't quite understand how he had become stronger, but stronger = good. That was enough.
"Getting stronger is the right answer. From now on, you lead the pack and hunt in this area. Don't go too far. I'm going out for a few days."
Zhang Yang gave Lang Qing his instructions and informed him that he would be leaving temporarily.
Of course, Zhang Yang wasn't abandoning the pack.
He just wanted to travel farther and find new prey worth killing.
The crocodile population in the area had been dropping rapidly these past few days.
Although he only killed three to five each day, the problem was — he came every single day.
The total number of crocodiles in this small tributary branch near the jungle edge was only about a hundred to begin with — it couldn't sustain that kind of daily harvest.
After losing roughly one-third of their numbers, the crocodiles finally got scared. They stopped coming to the shallows. Even when tempting food appeared there, they refused to approach.
That was the main reason Zhang Yang decided it was time to explore farther regions.
"Big Brother, are you leaving?"
Lang Qing showed strong reluctance.
He knew Zhang Yang was a lone wolf — and definitely a lone wolf with a story.
He was afraid Zhang Yang might suddenly disappear one day. He didn't feel confident that he could hold the pack together by himself.
"I'm not leaving — at least not for the short term. I just want to go take a look around, see if there are other wolf packs active in other areas."
"Big Brother, I know about that. My dad told me — northeast of the wolf den, there is a wolf pack. A much larger one than ours." Lang Qing happily shared what he knew.
Was this the prelude to annexing other wolf packs?
Lang Qing was very much in favor.
When he was very young, his father had warned him sternly: the wolf pack to the northeast was very terrifying, and they disliked their branch coming anywhere near, so never go northeast.
Lang Qing had always obeyed his father and had always been afraid.
But now Lang Qing wasn't afraid anymore. He felt strong enough. More importantly — he believed his Big Brother was invincible.
What had he been eating these days?
Leopards. Crocodiles. Foods they never even dared dream of before.
"Northeast, huh? Alright, I'll go check it out. The pack is in your hands while I'm gone."
Zhang Yang raised a paw and rubbed Lang Qing's head — a very warm gesture.
"Big Brother, rest assured. Nothing will happen to the pack."
Lang Qing gave his solemn promise.
Zhang Yang didn't say much more. He simply handed Lang Qing another stone.
"Eat this one tomorrow. Alright, I'm leaving now."
This time it was a Tough Skin (Intermediate) talent stone.
He had come to realize that gathering enough fragments for an Advanced-level talent stone in the short term would be very difficult.
The crocodiles had learned their lesson and stopped surfacing — making them extremely hard to kill.
Even with his current arrogance and inflated confidence, Zhang Yang wasn't delusional enough to think he could fight crocodiles underwater.
If he really dared jump into the river, he'd be dead in minutes.
So since he couldn't gather enough fragments quickly, he might as well make full use of what he had — giving the pack an extra layer of insurance.
He didn't let Lang Qing eat it immediately because he was worried the pup might not be able to digest two talent stones in one day.
"Understood, Big Brother."
Lang Qing obeyed Zhang Yang's orders unconditionally.
Before leaving the den, Zhang Yang made one final announcement to the pack:
While he was away, everything inside the wolf den was to follow Lang Qing's lead.
None of the jungle wolves objected. Lang Qing was already the former Alpha's son, and now he had the backing of Big Brother Wolf King — who would dare disobey?
As for Lang Qing's actual strength… they hadn't witnessed it yet. Once they did, they would likely become even more obedient.
Zhang Yang didn't bother explaining further.
After leaving the wolf den, he headed straight northeast.
He still carried the system's mission to strengthen and expand the wolf pack — which meant annexing other packs.
Now that he had information about another pack, of course he had to go take a look.
He didn't have any specific destination anyway.
About 500 kilometers northeast of the wolf den lay the territory of a pack of Azure Wolves.
Azure Wolves were a branch of the wolf species with a higher rank in the sequence than jungle wolves.
Whether in individual strength or pack power, they were far beyond what Lang Qing's jungle wolf pack could compare to.
This was exactly the pack that Lang Qing's father had warned him to stay away from.
The Azure Wolf pack numbered over a hundred, and every single one had a physique comparable to Lang Qing's father.
"King, that jungle wolf pack near the forest edge has been very active lately. Their activity range is already approaching our territory. It seems they've forgotten the lesson we taught them before. Should we give them another warning?"
In front of the 4-meter-plus-long Azure Wolf King, one of the azure wolves lowered its head slightly and spoke.
"Just approaching? Never mind. We'll deal with them if they actually cross the line."
The Azure Wolf King didn't take the bait. He had more pressing matters to worry about and had no time for such trivial issues.