by Translator: Pokka; Author: 我本纯洁 (I Am Pure); Licensed From: Migu
Chapter 31: This Young Master Cannot Look After You!
Hundred Beast Mountain, a place where nature never rests. Flowers were everywhere, emitting scents pleasant to the nose. Grasses and herbs were scattered all about, filling the air with medicinal fragrance.
Inside a forest, a youth was battling a small demonic beast. The creature he was battling was a pangolin, a demonic beast on the cusps of reaching Intermediate Demon Realm. The scales on its back were extremely thick; normal blades would find it hard to cut into its skin.
This youth was carrying the Heavy Cleave Saber, sending out slash after slash. Every single slash contained more than 500 kilograms of raw power, slowly cutting through the scales of the pangolin. Knowing that it had met its match, the pangolin was constantly retreating, heading straight for a mountain to escape.
“You wish to run? Not a chance! You’ve been chasing me for a long time now! Eat my saber!” Seeing the intention of the pangolin, Xiang Shaoyun yelled as his entire body poised itself, the almost 150-kilogram Heavy Cleave Saber furiously slashing downwards.
Phew!
Peng!
A bright flash of light rushed out from the blade, quickly forming a meter-long string of saber qi that rushed towards the fleeing pangolin, cleanly splitting it into two. This was a pangolin on the brink of becoming an Intermediate Demon. However, even if its scales could withstand the all-out attack of a peak tier-1 weapon, it could not withstand the full strength of this Basic Realm boy. This youth was none other than Xiang Shaoyun, who had entered the Hundred Beast Mountain Range three days ago.
There were numerous demonic beasts within the Hundred Beast Mountain Range. Xiang Shaoyun had lost count of how many times he had been forced to flee demonic beasts over the past three days, even more so of the number of times he had fought with smaller demonic beasts. His entire body was ragged and covered with wounds, and there was an especially large claw mark streaking across his back. This was gotten on the very first day when he had encountered a wolf pack.
If he had not activated the Overlord’s Nine Nether Steps in time, he would’ve become wolf feed a long time ago. Although the past three days had not been kind to him, he started to get used to living within the forest. Furthermore, his foundations had also grown more stable over that period. It would not be long before he could attempt to break through to the eighth stage of the Basic Realm.
After killing off the pangolin, he found several stalks of medicinal herbs nearby. Combining them with a few of his own herbs, he quickly ground a paste to wrap his own wounds with.
“Battle experience truly is the fastest way to temper oneself. In just three days, I can feel that my combat power has significantly risen. Although this isn’t an increase in my cultivation, I feel like my combat senses have increased—a change in terms of my sensitivity and instincts in a life-or-death battle,” Xiang Shaoyun muttered to himself as he sat on the ground and rested.
Bitterly training was not the only way to raise one’s strength. Sitting down once in a while to ponder one’s direction and aim could yield unexpected benefits for one’s cultivation. After sitting down in meditation for two hours, he once again ate dried monstrous beast meat. His condition began recovering to peak condition. Furthermore, the blood within his body was more vigorous than before, making him feel extremely comfortable.
This was the benefit of consuming large amounts of monstrous beast meat. It helped to strengthen his physical body. Just as he was preparing to move out again, he heard a rustling noise not far from his current position. Without even taking a moment to ponder the situation, he immediately ran up the closest tree.
Soon after, he saw a man running over completely covered in wounds, seemingly being pursued by a monstrous beast. Sure enough, Xiang Shaoyun heard a fearsome roar from nearby.
Roar!
This was the roar of a tiger prowling through the woods, seemingly invigorating the heavens and the earth.
“This strong tiger is at least a Great Demon.” Xiang Shaoyun shuddered in the tree. If he were to encounter a high-tier monstrous beast with his current strength, the only result for him would be death. He could only hope that the man being chased quickly got lost. Instead, the man directly fainted near him.
“F*ck! Of all places, why here?” Xiang Shaoyun could not help but curse. Without hesitation, he directly jumped down from the tree and began running as fast as he could. He was very clear that that male had somehow offended the tiger, resulting in that tiger chasing after him. Furthermore, if he himself couldn’t get far away enough, the tiger’s next target would undoubtedly be him! However, as he was running, he felt as though there was something on his back holding him down.
“Dammit, what the hell is going on?! Get lost!” Not daring to turn around, Xiang Shaoyun shook his backpack as he ran, to the point where his belongings began spilling out. However, no matter how hard he shook, whatever was holding onto him was stuck onto him like glue, refusing to budge.
Luckily for Xiang Shaoyun, the creature did not seem to have any evil intent towards him. In the end, he decided to just run as fast as he could while carrying the creature on his back. As he ran, perhaps because of the Great Demon that had appeared, he did not encounter any other demonic beasts along the way.
After running for a long period of time, Xiang Shaoyun finally felt safe after determining that the demonic beast would not continue chasing him this far, and he stopped. Grabbing his backpack firmly with one hand, he grasped the creature with his other hand and pried it off.
“Meow.”
The creature he held emitted a soft and delicate cry. Taking a closer look, Xiang Shaoyun found that the creature he was holding was actually a striped tiger cub. Apart from a few black stripes, it was covered with white fur from head to toe. Its round eyes glistened, cutting a very sorry figure, making it so that anybody who saw it could not bear to hurt it.
“So you’re the brat that was holding onto me! You couldn’t be the child of that large beast, could you? Now this is troublesome,” Xiang Shaoyun bitterly chuckled while holding the striped tiger cub.
This tiger cub was a newborn. That man had probably kidnapped it and unintentionally aroused the ire of the large beast, leading to a life-or-death escape attempt. The cub had probably escaped when the man fainted and found Xiang Shaoyun running away, thus grasping onto him.
Any martial cultivator would love to have a demonic beast as a mount. Typically, one would usually tame a weaker demonic beast. This way, they would be able to obtain a mount in the fastest way possible. The other method commonly used would be to raise a beast from young. Once the beast reached maturity, it would naturally be able to become a mount with high affinity to its owner. That man from just now was probably catching the cub to either raise it himself or sell it off.
Xiang Shaoyun clearly understood this concept, but he also did not wish to become the target of a full grown demonic beast at the Great Demon Realm, especially one nearing the realm’s peak. As soon as it finished off that man, it would definitely follow the scent of its cub over to him.
Xiang Shaoyun immediately made a resolute decision.
“Little one, you’d best stay here. This young master cannot look after you,” Xiang Shaoyun looked down at the tiger and said. Although he would’ve loved to raise a tiger cub, the striped tiger’s lineage was not as noble as he would’ve liked and would at most grow to a Great Demon.
This was a far cry from his ambitions. As such, he put down the tiger cub and once again made a run for it. Only, before he had even run a few steps, he once again felt a weight on his back! The cub had once again jumped onto him.
“Damn it! Do you actually want to get me killed?! Do you want me to just tie you here right now?!” Xiang Shaoyun cursed at the cub as he grabbed it off his back.
“Meow!”
The tiger cub softly mewed as it snuggled up to Xiang Shaoyun’s arm, as if trying to get on his good side. Just as Xiang Shaoyun wanted to ditch the creature once and for
all, in a rare moment of softness, he begrudgingly said, “Forget it then. I’ll keep you by my side first, then give you back to your mother when she comes. I just hope that you don’t get me swallowed alive!”
Chapter 32: Blue Marten!
Deep within the compact forest, Xiang Shaoyun brought his newfound companion, the striped tiger cub, back in the direction of its mother, intending to give it back. He was very clear that demonic beasts had their own sets of rules and feelings—as long as he did not hurt the tiger cub, he believed that the large beast would not do anything untoward to him.
Right now, the cub looked like it was having the time of its life. One moment, it would be jumping and prancing around Xiang Shaoyun, another moment and it would be playing among some rocks, and yet another moment, it would be rolling around in the grass.
Xiang Shaoyun could not be bothered to take care of it. He was on constant vigilance the whole time, waiting to see if any demonic beasts would pop up. A while later, the tiger cub emitted a loud meow, causing Xiang Shaoyun to inadvertently turn in that direction. He saw the cub happily nibbling away at a stalk of yellow ginseng, which was an old medicine it had dug out from god-knows-where.
“Friend, have mercy!” Xiang Shaoyun cried out in shock.
Alas, the cub’s mouth was too quick for him to react. Within a matter of moments, half the old medicine ended up in its stomach.
“Damn it.” Xiang Shaoyun’s expression changed. Grabbing the cub in his bosom, he made preparations to swiftly leave the area.
Screech!
An ear-piercing cry suddenly came from close by as a shadow suddenly leapt out of a hidden corner. The shadow was way too quick for Xiang Shaoyun to react to. The moment Xiang Shaoyun tried to get away with the cub, his shoulder was clawed by the fierce beast, and he bled fresh blood.
Enduring the pain caused by the scratch, Xiang Shaoyun gritted his teeth and tried to get away again. However, the creature once again charged straight at him, hard to even catch sight of. Without hesitation, Xiang Shaoyun jumped to the side, resulting in part of his clothes getting torn to shreds.
At that moment, Xiang Shaoyun finally got a clear view of the shadow that was attacking him. It was a blue marten, a creature with a body about half a meter long. Its blue fur was straight and upright, and it flashed its sharp teeth, staring furiously at Xiang Shaoyun.
To be more precise, it was actually staring at the striped tiger cub in Xiang Shaoyun’s hands. It was the guardian of the yellow ginseng, an extremely important old medicine for its bloodline. Never had it imagined that it would be eaten by this small brat!
This blue marten was a tier-2 Intermediate Demon, comparable to a regular second-stage Astral Realm cultivator. Luckily for Xiang Shaoyun, the blue marten’s offensive power was not its strong suit, or he would’ve been dead meat. It specialized in speed, making it almost as fast as lightning. Normal Astral Realm cultivators would not be able to escape once it had locked onto them.
Screech!
Crying out once again, the blue marten charged at Xiang Shaoyun, increasing its speed by yet another level. It seemed to want to kill both Xiang Shaoyun and the striped tiger cub at once!
Gift of instincts!
Knowing that he had nowhere to run, Xiang Shaoyun’s eyes began to glow, focusing on the blue marten. As he entered a state similar to deep meditation, Xiang Shaoyun’s gift of instincts allowed him to clearly discern the speed and angle from which the blue marten was coming from.
Gale Winds Kick!
A quick kick whipped out, containing all the strength he could send out externally. He wanted to completely incapacitate, if not outright kill, the blue marten with a single kick. Only, the blue marten somehow managed to change direction midair, narrowly dodging Xiang Shaoyun’s kick before charging at him from yet another angle.
Si!
Xiang Shaoyun’s arm was deeply cut; he could almost see the white bone.
“Get lost!” Xiang Shaoyun bellowed, utterly enraged. He sent out kick after kick, forcing the blue marten back quite some distance.
Xiang Shaoyun proceeded to use offense as his defense, sending a barrage of Gale Winds Kicks at the marten. Each kick carried with it 500 kilograms of weight, causing ripples in the air.
The blue marten, however, was way too fast. No matter what he did, his kicks would not connect. At this moment, the blue marten once again seized the opportunity and leapt straight at the tiger cub in Xiang Shaoyun’s hands. It seemed like it wanted to murder the cub that ate its yellow ginseng before anything else.
Xiang Shaoyun’s gift of instinct was not able to react in time. The blue marten’s claws were barely an inch away from the tiger cub, about to claw it to death.
Roar!
All of a sudden, the cub’s cries seemed to become much more imposing, as if it were the king of the forest. Its overbearing aura spread out, striking the opposing party with fear. Although the blue marten was a tier-2 Intermediate Demon, it was scared by the indomitable roar of the king of the forest. It cowered momentarily, not daring to attack the small tiger.
Xiang Shaoyun grasped this once in a thousand opportunity and sent a finger straight at it.
Star Destroying Finger!
Pow!
The blue marten’s strong suit was its speed in combat. However, it was on the weaker side in terms of attack and defensive power. Hence, it was injured by Xiang Shaoyun’s attack. That being said, the blue marten was rather tenacious. After crying out in pain, it escaped into the grass and vanished from sight.
Xiang Shaoyun chose not to press his attack. Blood was rapidly flowing from his body; if he did not deal with the blood soon, it would pose a danger. After he finished briefly wrapping his wound, he turned to look at the cub. When he caught sight of it, it was clawing at a patch of soil.
Eyes shining, he quickly ran over and lifted the cub over to one side. He then began to quickly tear the patch of soil apart, his face glowing with excitement, “S-such a big stalk of yellow ginseng! It looks like it’s just barely 300 years old! It qualifies as a spirit medicine!”
“Meow!”
The cub cried out in dissatisfaction. It had once again reverted to having a cute little kitty’s meow, a far cry from the imposing manner it struck just now.
“Kid, you already ate a stalk of yellow ginseng, leave this one for me. Count it as payment for my troubles,” Xiang Shaoyun said to the tiger cub.
This particular ginseng had the benefit of having been through years of cultivation. It contained numerous benefits in tempering a martial artist’s body, and it could fetch a price of more than 3,000 gold.
Wrapping up the yellow ginseng well, Xiang Shaoyun continued to bring the tiger cub back to its mother. As the two of them drew nearer to the place where he had seen the adult tiger, all he saw was a bloody mess of flesh and meat, a very disgusting sight to behold. Although he had killed small demonic beasts before, Xiang Shaoyun had never once killed a person. Seeing the carnage that had unfolded, he could not help but feel nauseous.
“It’s not like I’ve never seen a dead person. How many people have already died for me? Isn’t the path of the overlord littered with such occurrences? I, Xiang Shaoyun, can handle all this,” Xiang Shaoyun resolved and said as he swallowed his saliva.
His eyes then fell on a sword lying beside the dead man. Picking it up, he exclaimed, “This is a tier-2 sword! I should keep it with me.”
Following that, he caught sight of a bag stuffed with items near the dead man. Running over, he grabbed the bag and opened it. Once he caught sight of its contents, he gasped and said, “This guy’s earnings were quite substantial alright. He actually has quite a few old medicines! What a pity, they all belong to me now!”
Looking through the items again, he found that apart from a huge number of old medicines, there was a jade bottle containing four healing pills, as well as a few golden notes and a battle technique.
“Is this a wealth bestowed upon me by the heavens?” Xiang Shaoyun laughe
d gleefully. Just as he was about to wrap the items up again, he heard a faint rustling and stiffened up.
Whistle!
Out of the blue, a blast of wind shot out from nowhere, heading straight for the back of his head.
Chapter 33: My First Time!
Xiang Shaoyun’s hairs all stood on end as a wave of killing intent washed over his body. Jumping to the side, he barely dodged the killing blow aimed at him. An arrow was firmly lodged where he had stood before.
“What the hell! Who shot that arrow?” Xiang Shaoyun furiously bellowed.
“Leave the items, and I’ll spare your dog life!” a cold voice sounded. After the voice finished speaking, a group of people walked out of the forest. The group of five were all about Xiang Shaoyun’s age. However, their cultivation was equal to, if not higher, than his. The leader of the group was at first-stage Astral Realm while the other four were all eighth- or ninth-stage Basic Realm cultivators.
These youths were not from Wu Town. Rather, they were from the neighbouring town, Gateflag Town. Gateflag Town also had its very own martial arts institute called Gateflag Academy. In terms of martial prowess and achievement, they were neck and neck with Martial Hall Palace. Since this was the case, conflict between the two was something that was inevitable.
The leader of the group, who was also the one who had shot the arrow, was called Luo Liufeng, one of the top 10 outer court disciples of Gateflag Academy. He had only just recently broken through to the Astral Realm and was all set to become an inner court disciple. Xiang Shaoyun was not too pressured by their appearance, thinking to himself, Their strongest person is at first-stage Astral Realm. There’s no need to be afraid of them!
“You wish to steal this young master’s things? Come at me if you are able to do so!” Leaving the bag in its original spot, Xiang Shaoyun stood up, glaring straight at the group of people. He had almost been killed by this same group just now. If he chose to act weak now, he’d be ridiculed.