Drums of War: Blue Phoenix, #3

By Tinalynge

Stepping out from the Dungeons of the Divine, Hui Yue found himself in a world unlike anything he had ever seen before. This was a dog eat dog world where he had to fight to prove his worth.

With Lan Feng by his side, Hui Yue continues his adventure, soaring towards the heavens, towards the world where people will sing songs about his achievements and fear his overwhelming strength.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tinalynge
• Release date: Mar 27, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215727614

Book preview

Chapter 1 - A Whole New World

Hui Yue breathed in the fresh, crisp air. He was standing within a mountain range that was filled with ancient trees. No living creatures were near him, and he was standing on shaking legs, unable to fully comprehend that he had finally escaped the underground world.

In the end, three years were spent under the surface, two years together with his friends and one year on his own. The last year had tempered him immensely, and now he dared not befriend anyone, nor stay too long in one place. He knew that currently, his friends were waiting for him at the capital of Taiyang Kingdom. However, Hui Yue was no longer within the borders of Taiyang Kingdom, but in Shenyuan. The most mysterious place on the entire continent.

Around Hui Yue were massive trees. Trees so tall that it was impossible to see the top. They had small vines hanging down them. The temperature was humid, and many plants were growing on the ground. Looking around one could see nothing apart from plants, even magical beasts had long since vanished. As Hui Yue moved around, he felt the fresh air surrounding him. The air was clean after a hard rainfall had cleared it up.

Having stayed within the clearing for some time Hui Yue looked around him, and with a determined nod of his head, he started moving towards the east while staying in the mountain range. He was looking for an area where it would be possible for him to cross the border. A place to leave behind the dangers within Shenyuan and enter the safe and familiar area known as the Taiyang Kingdom.

The landscape which surrounded Hui Yue was filled with an astonishing forest; a forest which had not been touched for eons. The forest was filled with plants of every shape and size. Hui Yue traveled through the forest for a very long time before he came across the first magical beast.

The beast he came across was not a highly ranked beast. It was instead an Iron Blood Bat. It was living its life within the treetops, so far above the young white-haired man that he was incapable of fighting it.

As Hui Yue moved further and further into the forest, he came to see that it was not because there was a lack of magical beasts, but that the forest was so vast that the beasts were few and far between. Some of them lived in small packs while others lived on their own. Some of the beasts were high-ranked, and Hui Yue had to tiptoe past them while others were weaker. Hui Yue could beat these and get a meal with meat for once.

While traveling through the forest, one day took another, and Hui Yue was astonished to see that no matter how far he went it was impossible for him to get past the mountain range. It was as if he was captured within a ravine. A ravine which stretched all the way to the Center Palace, not allowing anyone to enter or exit, that is, as long as they were incapable of flight.

The ravine in which Hui Yue was currently trapped went on and on. The forest which filled the ravine seemed to go on as far as the ravine itself. On the ground, Hui Yue was starting to feel that the only way to exit this dangerous country was through the Center Palace. The palace through which his friends had originally escaped.

Traveling through the tunnel-system had been smooth and straightforward. All the caves and tunnels were created for man to travel through. However, within this forest, it was no longer an easy feat to travel forward. He had to cut his way through each and every bush, finding small animal trails to travel upon, and he could rest no longer than a few hours at a time.

The further into the forest Hui Yue went, the more magical beasts he met on his way. All of them with various levels of strength as though there were no inner or outer areas of the forest. All the beast races stayed living in their own territories.

From time to time, the sounds of battle would echo throughout the forest as some beasts were fighting for new territories. But none of the beasts wished to battle against Hui Yue because the white-haired young man no longer suppressed his Saint ranked aura.

Only now and then would the young man suppress his aura when he needed to hunt, or if he wished to hone his skills.

At first, the travel through the forest was rushed. Hui Yue was determined to hurry his way through the forest. However, as one day took another he no longer rushed. Eventually, he took the time to cultivate for a few hours every day. The more he moved through the forest, the more he allowed himself to return to nature. His affinity with earth was constantly increasing.

Hui Yue also spent time on training his affinity with fire and metal. Although he did not use the metal element much, he still wished to cultivate in every affinity he had. He still wished to merge the three elements together.

Traveling further and further into the distance, more and more elemental affinity accumulated within his body. His strength was constantly rising as the speed with which he was traveling slowed down.

After traveling for three months, Hui Yue reached the eighth star of the Grandmaster rank. His speed of cultivation surged over the past year and three months when he had been traveling on his own. Finally, the young man arrived at a large valley within the forest. A clearing in which a small village was next to the stream of water that Hui Yue was following.

Standing within the forest and looking down over the valley, Hui Yue was suddenly uncertain as to whether or not he should avoid the village. However, before he finished contemplating, a voice sounded out ending the silence, the voice of a small child.

Mother, Mother! A strange beast has appeared! the voice of a small girl rang throughout the valley, and within moments the quiet village became active.

Adults rushed from their houses and looking at these creatures Hui Yue was instantly taken aback.

The adults were all half-animal and half-human. Each was some variation between the two with either more beastly appearance or more human.

As they saw Hui Yue, they all grouped together and stared at him with vigilance. Seeing them all together, Hui Yue paid more attention to their appearance.

There was a woman who seemed a lot like Lan Feng. She looked human, apart from the fact that her entire body was covered in small feathers. The phoenix inside him had celestial, blue feathers, whereas this woman instead had feathers of a more brown, natural color.

There was even a wolf that looked similar to how Hui Yue himself looked when the red mist took over. Except that this beast was gray. It stood on its hind legs, and its hands were very human-like but with sharp claws instead of nails. Its face was wolf-like with a snout and piercing eyes.

Some of the beasts also had tails of different animals alongside fur on their skin. The children all seemed to be more beastly than human. Hui Yue was taken aback by looking at them.

Just as they were alert when they saw Hui Yue, the white-haired man was alert as he saw the beastly humans. He instantly allowed for Lan Feng to release his suppressed aura. An aura which instantly radiated outward shocking every beast in the valley.

Great Lord, we are sorry for mistaking you, one of the beasts cried as the others joined in. Great Lord, please forgive us.

They all seemed to be shocked upon feeling his aura; however, Hui Yue frowned as he heard them call him milord.

Milord, please come stay in our humble village to relax while you are on your journey, the feathered woman said, and Hui Yue quietly nodded his head as he once more suppressed Lan Feng’s aura and stepped forward.

At first after entering the forest, Hui Yue had used Lan Feng’s aura as a means to frighten other beasts. However, once he had accidentally wandered into the territory of another Saint ranked beast. His aura was a challenge to the beast to protect its territory. Had Lan Feng not taken over and fled at their highest speed, then Hui Yue would likely not be alive any longer.

After encountering such a situation, it was obvious that he no longer wished to jeopardize his safety by challenging more Saints.

Having faced death more than a few times during his journey through the forest, Hui Yue was quite astonished to see the way he was treated the moment he entered the village. Everyone called him Lord and they were all frightened by his presence but still excited whenever he was not around them.

Using qi to fortify his hearing, he caught a lot of gossip from within the village. Gossip which just led to more questions than answers for the already confused young man.

We have a Lord of the Forest visiting us, how come such an important person appeared? a raccoon man asked the mouse by his side. The mouse did nothing but shrug, although the whiskers on his face were constantly moving. His nose quivered and the head turned from side to side. Be quiet! he said. What will you do if his Lordship hears us? Who are we to question his actions?

Hearing about the Lords of the Forest, Hui Yue frowned and asked Lan Feng. Though the phoenix was just as uncertain as the human and both of them started to discuss the best way to gain more information.

While being in the valley, it was possible for Hui Yue to see the sky for the first time in years. The sky was vast and blue, a refreshing sight to see. A longing was within his heart as he looked out at the sky, a longing for his friends who were waiting for him at the capital. At the same time, he felt excitement growing within because he knew that he was within Shenyuan. This place was possibly the only place where he could get information about the Great Sin and the Dark Age.

Hui Yue was given a house to stay in, and outside his door was a multitude of different magical beast children. All of them were looking at the door, waiting for Hui Yue to exit so that they could see him once more.

As soon as the young man stepped outside, he was met by ten sets of big black eyes. All of them looked at him with veneration. The small beasts were so adorable that Hui Yue could not help but smile and pat them on their heads. This caused all of the beast children to smile and play around.

After walking past them, Hui Yue’s face no longer looked carefree and gentle, but instead was filled with authority as he asked a passing beast man, Where is the village chief?

The beast man was taken back by the question, and he stood stuttering on the spot for a moment before he finally managed to point towards a house which was slightly bigger than the others.

Looking at the village, and its layout, Hui Yue was reminded of his old home. As he walked towards the village elder’s house, he could not help but think about his mother, father, and younger brother back on the outskirts of the Magical Forest.

Pushing the melancholic thoughts from his mind, Hui Yue headed towards the house with steady steps as he decided to get some more information about these Lords of the Forest.

Chapter 2 - Lords of the Forest

Arriving at the village chief’s home, Hui Yue was taken aback as he saw how many demon beasts were working hard on preparing a banquet. One after another was bustling and rushing about, either setting the table, collecting food, or in some other way ensuring that the gathering they were preparing would be perfect.

Everyone was so busy that none of them noticed the white-haired young man who was leaning against the chilled walls in the shadow of one of the village houses. A smile was on his face as he observed everyone.

Although Hui Yue was in a rush to get information about the Lords of the Forest, he had no intention of interrupting them while they were busy preparing a celebration for him. It had been a long time since he had last interacted with another person and the friendliness he encountered here was enough to touch his heart.

Although the bustling villagers had not noticed Hui Yue straight away, it did not take too long before he was noticed. When he was, the preparations came to a halt, and they all bowed deeply towards the young man; fear and veneration were both present within their eyes.

Seeing the fear, the young white-haired man could not help but sigh. Having been noticed he straightened up and headed towards the village chief who had welcomed him earlier. He gestured towards the village chief’s home and the chief instantly understood as he led the way. The chief’s hands were slightly trembling, and his throat suddenly went dry.

Knowing that he was intimidating the village chief, Hui Yue quickly wanted to get the facts straightened up. He quickly entered the house where he was shown towards the living room with a few wooden chairs.

Taking a seat, Hui Yue gestured for the village chief to do the same. As he did the two were now seated across from each other.

Lord, have mercy, the village chief instantly said as his trembling increasing. No matter what we have done to offend you, master, please take out your anger on this humble servant!

Hearing his words, Hui Yue didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He quickly placed a hand on the chief’s shoulder, a calming hand.

Don’t worry, I am not unhappy, he said quickly. Some of the man’s trembling stopped as the chief lifted his head in surprise. His eyes were round and full of disbelief as they met Hui Yue’s big, blue, honest ones.

You’re not unhappy? a meek voice sounded out, and Hui Yue nodded his head with a gentle smile on his face.

I think there has been a major misunderstanding, Hui Yue said with a sigh. I am not one of these lords you speak about. I am a newcomer to this entire area, he continued. I was born within the Taiyang Kingdom. I grew up and used to live there. Some things happened which caused me to enter Shenyuan, but I am very new to this area.

You are not a Lord of the Forest? the chief was now completely stunned. His eyes were unable to widen any more than they already had. His face was filled with disbelief.

That is correct, but perhaps you could tell me about them? Hui Yue asked politely, and the stunned and confused village chief nodded his head.

Although Hui Yue was not a Lord of the Forest as they had at first assumed, he was still a Saint ranked expert. A Saint ranked beast capable of taking complete human form meant that he was incredibly strong. The village chief had no wish, whatsoever, to anger the man.

Shenyuan is split into sixty-four prefectures, and each is controlled by a Lord of the Forest. The entire Shenyuan is one large jungle with a few clearings, valleys, gulches, and so on here and there. The lord of this Thousand Fang’s Ravine is Lord Yen Zhiquang. He is a Black Breathed Razor Wyrm, one of the strongest beasts we have within the forest. I’ve heard that once he even defeated a divine beast!

After having started speaking about him, it was almost impossible for the village chief to stop. His eyes shone with pride as he mentioned the lord of this prefecture. Taking a quick breath, the elderly man continued his explanation of the place in which Hui Yue had arrived.

The Lords of the Forest are the strongest Saint ranked beasts within Shenyuan. Anyone who feels confident can challenge these lords; however, it is really rare for a Lord of the Forest to lose such a duel. Most of these lords have sat on their thrones for eons already.

Although these areas are prefectures, there is one person with whom even the lords have to respect. Within the deepest parts of the jungle is a prefecture which is controlled by a woman whom everyone respects. She is known as the strongest of all. She is a Single-Horned Jasmine Eagle, and she has devoured many men throughout the years, both men and beasts alike. Her name is Wan Qiao.

As soon as the name was spoken, Hui Yue felt a change in Lan Feng’s soul. His emotions turned into a mixture of panic and dread. These unexpected emotions affected Hui Yue causing the young man’s face to turn unsightly in front of the village chief.

‘Explain it later,’ Hui Yue told Lan Feng before he steeled himself causing a smile to reappeared on his face.

I’ve been traveling by the side of this ravine. Did you call it the Thousand Fang’s Ravine? I’ve spent a very long time traversing it now. How is it possible for me to exit Shenyuan and return to my own home back in the Taiyang Kingdom?

Hearing his question the man was quiet for some time before he finally spoke. Entering into Shenyuan is hard, he started. However, even though it is hard to enter, it is even harder to leave. Only the Lords of the Forest are allowed to leave Shenyuan’s borders, and only if Lady Wan Qiao is in a good mood. Usually, anyone who enters Shenyuan will stay here for the rest of their lives.

Upon pausing slightly, the man pondered for a moment before he continued, I think it is possible to leave if Wan Qiao says yes and helps you, even if you are not a Lord of the Forest. But who has any connection with such an exalted creature such as Lady Wan Qiao.

Having heard the words, Hui Yue quickly thanked the village chief before he went back to the house which had been lent to him. As he arrived, the children once more came to look at him. However, this time Hui Yue had no time to play around with them, and he quickly passed by them going into the house. He sat down with his legs crossed and his consciousness slowly entered the dantian cave where he saw a shocked and horrified Lan Feng seated.

‘I take it that you know this Wan Qiao?’ Hui Yue asked. In spite of being a question, it was much more a statement, but Lan Feng still nodded his head.

‘I never expected that old hag to be still alive,’ he murmured. His face currently devoid of all colors, and his feathers were disheveled as though he had ruffled them but not managed to make them lay as they should afterward.

‘Who is she?’ Hui Yue asked after waiting for a moment. He wondered how any woman could bring the usually loud and arrogant phoenix to such a terrified state.

‘Who she is? Who is she? Do you want to know who she is? She is a monster. I know no one stronger than her apart from my father and the other Gods. She is undefeated, and her methods to get things done are rough, to say the least,’ a high-pitched voice escaped Lan Feng as his eyes were filled with dread.

‘I understand, but who is she to you?’ Hui Yue pressed further, curious to know exactly what could cause this kind of reaction from the bird within him. To be honest, Hui Yue already looked upon the woman with veneration. It was the first time that Lan Feng had seemed terrified.

‘She was my nanny!’ Lan Feng almost screamed in desperation. ‘When I was small, Father did not have the time to look after me so he found a strong woman who he knew could handle a small chick easily. It turned out she was not suited to look after children at all.’

Hearing his words, Hui Yue was deeply astonished to see the shocked bird who had been traumatized by this woman.

Although Lan Feng was traumatized, Hui Yue did not know any of the memories which were currently haunting the bird. Instead, he found the whole thing rather amusing.

Having thought about it for some time, Hui Yue understood that although it might have been traumatizing for the bird, it was definitely certain that both Lan Feng and this Wan Qiao had a relationship which was exactly what he needed right now.

A smile spread across his face as he came to a conclusion about what to do. Although Lan Feng was still reminiscing about bad memories, he instantly became aware of Hui Yue and the white-haired young man’s plan.

No, no, no, no, no! Lan Feng continued saying, but Hui Yue just smiled in reply. He had decided that the two of them were to go to this inner area of the Shenyuan jungle, to the place where he could meet Wan Qiao. Hopefully, he could manage to escape this jungle with her help.

‘Blame yourself,’ Hui Yue said with a shrug. ‘If you were stronger and were able to fly then we could have left long ago. But even if we use my wu wei wings and the wu wei you have refined we will most likely not be able to exit the mountain range. The distance is simply far too vast.’

‘It’s not that I don’t acknowledge that there is a relationship between her and me,’ Lan Feng started frantically. ‘But she would not be very keen on seeing me again. She and I have had quite a bad past. I am quite certain that she would never help us!’ Lan Feng continued. But Hui Yue more or less ignored him.

‘She is our only hope. If she doesn't help you for old times sake, then we’ll have to challenge one of these Lords of the Forest.’

‘Let us just challenge a lord first,’ Lan Feng said, completely confident in his own ability to fight other Saint ranked beasts, but Hui Yue just shook his head. ‘Imagine if we won then we would have to return to this place time after time,’ Hui Yue pointed out. ‘If someone challenges us then we will have to fight them; win or die.’

Frowning slightly Lan Feng, in the end, had no other option than to accept the decision which Hui Yue made. He sighed deeply as he feared a reunion with his nanny, the only woman in this world whom Lan Feng truly feared.

Having agreed on visiting the inner regions of the forests, Hui Yue sat down and started cultivating until he heard someone knocking on his door. Standing up and opening it he found that all the children from earlier were standing outside in their finest garments. Their small faces were beaming with smiles towards the human in front of them.

Come with us! one of the bigger children said. Hui Yue chuckled as he followed behind the children towards the village chief’s house; a house that was filled with the entire village. They were all seated at a long table where they were waiting for Hui Yue to sit in the seat of honor.

Hogs were spit roasted, and many kinds of fruits and berries were placed on the table alongside cooked stews, vegetables, and roasted meat. Although these creatures were magical beasts, they all lived their lives very similarly to that of humans. Hui Yue felt the same atmosphere that his home had.

Letting go of his worries concerning the future, Hui Yue decided to spend the night partying with the villagers who had gone to such lengths to make him feel welcome, something which he could not help but feel very flattered about.

Chapter 3 - Back to Basics

Having celebrated his arrival with the villagers all night, Hui Yue was ready to set off as soon as the sun broke through the sky. With a last respectful bow towards the villagers, Hui Yue turned around and started to walk towards the forest once more. This time, he was no longer looking for a way out of the ravine. Instead, he was moving towards the innermost areas of the forest; the areas controlled by the One-Horned Jasmine Eagle.

Although Lan Feng was still feeling hesitant about the fact that he once more needed to see his old nanny, he also understood that it was their only option to get away from this place. Having accepted that it was the only way, he warned Hui Yue that it was very unlikely that the nanny would help them when she saw them. However, it was also very unlikely that she would kill him as she should still have some affection towards Lan Feng’s father.

Although the sun broke through the dark sky within the valley where the village was located, it still had yet to heat up the forest. When Hui Yue entered, he felt how cool it was as no heat had entered yet. Dew was still visible on the grass and small plants in front of him.

Seeing that it was chilled within the forest, Hui Yue started moving forward at his highest speed and ensured that he made no sounds while moving. His aura was retracted so that only a few magical beasts were capable of detecting him. Those who did were all so far away that given his speed, Hui Yue was easily capable of outrunning them.

Traveling through the forest, Hui Yue was glad that he had Lan Feng together with him. One reason was that two pairs of eyes and two souls were better at recognition than only one person. Also without Lan Feng’s strength and guidance, Hui Yue likely would have succumbed long ago to their enemies.

After having fought a Lava Collared Chimera who ambushed him and caused a long wound to appear on the young man’s chest, Hui Yue sighed deeply and turned around to leave the way he had come.

‘You’re finally giving up?’ Lan Feng asked, his voice slightly mocking because he had long since told Hui Yue that he needed to increase his strength. He needed to increase it through real combat rather than just running forward, pushing through, and losing almost every battle he encountered. He had been doing so for a while now. Having to rely on Lan Feng’s aura to finally shoo them away, something which caused Hui Yue’s ego to suffer greatly.

Thinking about it, Hui Yue gritted his teeth as he realized that the bird was right. Although Hui Yue spent a long time cultivating and he had a deep cultivation base, his combat abilities were indeed lacking.

When it came to a hard battle or a battle in which Hui Yue knew he had even the slightest disadvantage, he would use his red mist or Lan Feng’s strength. None of these were truly his own strength. As he realized this, the young man’s eyes grew determined. He flicked his hand, and a black dagger appeared. He was twirling it around playing with it unconsciously while his eyes sharpened and all his focus was paid to his surroundings. Finally, he noticed movement from the corner of his eye. He slowly turned around to see that in front of him was a small hog-like creature.

Although this creature was small, it was no less ferocious than the largest beasts Hui Yue had seen before. This hog moved much faster than any other beasts he had ever seen, and its agility was astonishing.

Its mouth was filled with sharp fangs and two tusks which seemed much sharper than those of bigger magical beasts.

The hog had long since seen Hui Yue. The white-haired boy activated Velocity Flow, knowing that he would need all his speed to compete against this hog.

Fortunately, he was back in an area where all the beasts were roughly the same strength as himself. The two, man and beast, were looking at one another. Neither had an advantage, nor a disadvantage before the first strike was made.

Knowing this, Hui Yue was not one to wait on the offense. Pushing Velocity Flow to its limits he shot forward so swiftly that he turned blurry to the naked eye. In his hand, the dagger was no longer swirling around but held with a firm grip.

At first, the hog was clearly taken aback by the speed the human displayed. However, it quickly collected itself and used its own speed to escape to the side. It escaped at the last moment. Less than a second after, the air where the hog had been was now sliced apart by the sharp edge of the dagger.

After seeing this, both man and beast were now completely focused on the other. Within moments the only thing visible was two black blurs, one constantly chasing the other, and one constantly fleeing.

Even now after the first exchange of blows, neither of them had an advantage. While Hui Yue was busy focusing on the battle, Lan Feng was busy analyzing the situation. Although he usually made fun of the white-haired boy, he did not wish for him to be hurt. By looking at the hog, Lan Feng was soon certain that this beast was Duke ranked. He was most likely at the peak level as well.

Hui Yue had no time to pay attention to his opponent’s actual rank. He was only interested in defeating the beast in front of him. His eyes turned darker and darker by the minute, but there were no signs of the red mist present. Hui Yue decided only to use it should he have absolutely no other option.

As he narrowly avoided the tusks which were headed his way, Hui Yue struck out with his dagger, but his attack was easily deflected by the miniature hog’s tusks. The two of them continued to exchange blows, but still neither one of them could gain an advantage. Although both managed to scratch and superficially injure the other, nothing was serious enough to make a difference during the battle. This was no longer a battle of strength, but a battle of stamina and internal energy.

Hui Yue spent his entire childhood refining qi of the purest quality. Using qi of such pure quality meant that less was needed to activate his abilities. This allowed him to use his abilities for a longer time and for him to have more stamina.

The hog squealed in anger as it noticed that this battle of stamina was being won by the human. The hog gathered all his remaining mist energy, a black mist which appeared around him. This mist ended up gathering itself on its tusks. These now black tusks shot forward at a speed much swifter than ever before, and the hog used its entire strength in this one attack.

The sudden acceleration took Hui Yue by surprise, but his body reacted on instinct, and he managed almost to avoid it. His side was hit and instantly cut open making blood gush out. A lot of blood was gushing out.  

The hog knew that it was doomed as its final attack had failed. Having used all its energy, it could no longer fight back anymore. Hui Yue took the dagger and with a heavy arm slammed the tip into the forehead of the now fully exhausted animal. He then quickly withdrew a few medicinal pills from his stone which he popped into his mouth. After a moment a chilling, tingling sensation spread throughout his body which stopped the blood flowing out of his wounds and slowly started to heal his wounds.

Although medicinal pills were capable of healing wounds they were nowhere as effective as using a healer and the price was much more extravagant. Sadly, though, Hui Yue had no other option than to use them to stop the bleeding quickly. He hoisted up the miniature hog, swung it over his shoulder, and quickly continued to move within the forest escaping the battlefield as soon as possible.

Moving forward for a few hours, Hui Yue finally stopped. He had carried the hog the whole time. Looking around, Hui Yue noticed that no beasts were nearby, so he made a small fire where he roasted the miniature hog. He allowed himself to enjoy the feast for a whole half hour before he once more stood up. He killed the fire and rushed forward looking to see if he was able to find other beasts to battle, other beasts to help him improve his strength.

Moving through the forest, he met one beast after another. Some of them were rather weak while a few were as strong as the hog he had met. Not all of the strong beasts were dealt with easily, and the amount of scars on his body grew more and more numerous. The green pearl completely ignored all his wounds making the young man rely on his medicinal pills.

Although battle after battle consumed a lot of energy, Hui Yue soon felt the changes within his body, and to his way of fighting; his reflexes became much quicker, his body started dodging on its own, and the attacks he dealt became deadlier. They no longer had any mercy.

Hui Yue finally understood what the old proverb meant. When one was merciful to others, they were merciless to themselves. He had at one point fought against a young wolf, a wolf not much older than a pup. Hui Yue pitied that it would lose its life this early, especially since he was not hungry and the wolf itself had not attempted to attack him.

Unfortunately, the wolf later returned with its family and the battle was so intense that although he used up all his power, he was only able to kill three of them before he was forced to flee while sustaining multiple wounds. So far, this was the most dangerous moment of all within this massive forest.

While traveling further and further into the forest, the beasts became stronger and stronger. With their strength, many of them also became more intelligent. The more intelligent the beasts became, the more it required Hui Yue to improve. Eventually, he was unable to move further because he kept battling early-stage King beasts.

Although beasts did not possess wu wei, they had their own kind of mist energy. An energy which evolved and was strengthened the older the beasts became. This mist energy was at least as strong as the wu wei possessed by humans. No matter what Hui Yue did, he was unable to gain an advantage against these beasts. He decided to flee when he knew he could not win.

Upon sitting down with a heavy sigh, Hui Yue’s whole body was covered in sweat as he had just escaped from a Black Shadow Hellhound. However, this time he had successfully managed to injure the beast although it was just a slight scratch.

‘Maybe I’m just not strong enough,’ Hui Yue contemplated. He looked around, and as he saw no animals within range, he jumped up into a tree where he sat cross-legged on a thick branch and closed his eyes.

As his eyes closed he saw before him Wang Ju Long and behind her was Deng Wu. He saw the Rong twins, Sha Yun, Ma kong, Gao Yan, and even Xu Piao. All of them were there, branded into his mind. He was as determined as ever as he started to cultivate. Only the strong had the privilege of determining their own future. Hui Yue wished to return to his friends, but currently, he was far too weak to even protect himself. Returning to his friends? That was something he could only do once he became strong.

Chapter 4 - To Become Strong

While seated within the tree, Hui Yue’s breathing slowed down and became so shallow that no one, should they pass right below the tree, would be capable of detecting him. During the time Hui Yue was within Shenyuan’s borders, he had come to understand that it was incredibly rare for beasts who were capable of scanning the area with their beast energy to scan up into the trees. They would usually scan the ground and search in those directions while only a few would think to scan into the trees above.

There were multiple reasons for this. First, the price they paid was a severe amount of their mist energy, and at the same time, the forest was split into two main regions; the sea of leaves and the forest floor. Although the two locations never existed without the other, the magical beasts which lived up in the sea of leaves never descended to the forest floor while those on the ground were incapable of climbing into the sea of leaves.

The reason that Hui Yue chose the treetops rather than the floor was due to the beasts who lived here. Although the treetops had an amazing array of bugs, birds, monkey species, and reptiles the majority of them were not territorial. Those who were would only look after their territory not caring about anything else.

The majority of these bug beasts were quite weak. Not one of them was stronger than a Practitioner rank which allowed for Hui Yue to easily protect himself. Even if a full swarm arrived, they would be nothing to the white-haired boy. It was in many ways as simple as swatting normal flies.

The snakes proved a bit more troublesome. However, they, too, were of a relatively low rank. The majority of them had the strength of a Master ranked cultivator. Their venom could be dealt with when Hui Yue allowed his qi and spiritual energy to enter his body to go through the Dai Mai meridian and enter into his muscle, blood vessels, and bones eradicating the poison which struck him.

The most challenging was avoiding the family groups of monkeys. There were so many different types of monkeys and apes. For instance, there was the Mellowed Dawn Ape, an ape which generally would not attack you unless you, in some way, provoked it. Although its normal nature was mellow, that was not the case when it started to attack.

As long as Hui Yue kept his guard up and did not enter the territories belonging to either a strong opponent or a family of monkeys or apes, he knew that he would be fine.

Looking at the branch he just arrived on, Hui Yue sighed deeply as he knew clearly his own inability to fight; how weak he truly was. He sat down and popped a medicinal pill from his bag into his mouth.

‘Wait. Hold on a moment,’ Lan Feng said with a frantic voice. ‘I know we want to get stronger, but you can’t just use pills to increase your strength. Your cultivation base will be unbalanced and eventually broken. You need to fight on your own!’

Hearing the worry in the voice of the phoenix Hui Yue could not help but laugh. ‘I know,’ he said with a gentle voice. ‘However, I’m going to stay here until we break through into the Duke rank. What I’ll do is take one pill a week and spend the rest of the week battling against magical beasts. This way I can gain more real battle experience. I will be able to look after my cultivation base to ensure that it does not break down due to the overuse of pills, and I will also be able to get my hands on more demon cores and materials.’

Hearing his reply, the bird harrumphed a few times but said no more as Hui Yue popped the pill into his mouth where it instantly turned to liquid which entered his meridians. Hui Yue sat down and started to move his qi swirl. This made strands of qi rush through his meridians and as they did the liquid energy latched onto the qi strands, and ever so slowly they took on the same color as the strand. It had the same size and feel after a while.

As it finished copying the original strand, the newly created qi strand let go of the original strand, and together they moved back into the qi swirl within his body.

It had been years since Hui Yue last used medicinal pills as he preferred to use his own strength to cultivate. Using pills, even just one, had the possibility of bringing one's cultivation base into an unbalanced state; a state which was incredibly hard to get free from.

An unbalanced cultivation base did not mean that one could not use their energy. It meant that the energy within them was of various qualities. This, in turn, caused their attacks to be of various quality. This was something which could lead to your death the moment you entered a serious battle.

Although it sounded terrible, there was a very slim chance for this to happen which was why medicinal pills were still incredibly popular. The stronger the pill was, the less likely it was to cause any incidents.

Although Hui Yue knew all this, he also knew that if he relied on one pill a week and then battled beasts afterward, he would likely be able to balance even the slightest imbalance within himself.

As Hui Yue ate the pill, he ensured to activate the blue cloud which was inside his dantian cave. His entire body suddenly felt light as the blue gentle feeling shrouded him. The energies from the heavens and the earth flooded against his body trying to force him to absorb more than what he physically could.

Shrouding himself with the blue cloud, Hui Yue entered into deep meditation while Lan Feng kept watch. He devoted himself to cultivating for some time to truly finish refining the energy he had gained from the medicinal pill.

Being seated for approximately seven hours the day turned to night. Hui Yue exhaled deeply causing a pearl-white steam to appear from his mouth suddenly. This caused both man and phoenix to be taken aback. The steam slowly ascended into the air before it dissipated, turning into nothingness.

As soon as the white steam vanished into thin air, the blue cloud around Hui Yue turned much more solid than it had been before, and sparkling stars started to shine within it. Looking at the cloud, it no longer looked like one, but instead, it now resembled a moonless night lit up by thousands of stars.

Looking at this breathtakingly beautiful scenery, Hui Yue was gaping as he reached out his hand and felt a soft, gentle texture. A texture which he had never felt before making him quite confused. As he touched the cloud, which now looked like a sky, a profound tremor ran through it before the stars all entered into Hui Yue’s body. They moved all over his body and easily bypassing his clothes before they turned into nothingness. It was as if those stars had never existed in the first place.

‘Uhm Lan Feng,’ Hui Yue called out, but the phoenix just shook his head. Even he was dumbfounded. His theory was that each of the gates and items within his dantian came from the lives he had lived previously. So far there was the red mist which clearly belonged to a bloodthirsty magical beast. Then there was the green pearl which most likely belonged to a greedy healer back when he was alive. The wu wei wings were still questionable where they came from; however, the biggest question concerned this blue cloud which constantly evolved.

At first, Lan Feng imagined that it belonged to one of those priests who gave their lives to cultivation. It was tranquil and beautiful, and it improved cultivation speed. Everything matched perfectly. That was until today. Lan Feng had never seen anything like it, and obviously, neither had Hui Yue. But currently, he was feeling much better than he had ever before. It felt as though deep within him something was growing, but he could not explain what it was.

Instead, he decided to leave the sea of leaves and return to the forest floor where he could go looking for beasts. Although it was no longer early morning, Hui Yue did not mind. The beasts were awake by now, and he needed to train.

Jumping down the hundred meters from the tree branch to the ground, Hui Yue managed it without making any sound at all. He quickly looked around him and with a quick scan of his spiritual energy he felt that quite a few beasts were within his range.

There were a lot of lower-ranked beasts, but Hui Yue’s attention was caught by a lynx-like beast which Hui Yue had never seen before. A beast which was slightly stronger than himself and determination grew in his eyes; Hui Yue rushed towards the lynx, silent as a shadow and nimble as a cat. The sounds he made were so minuscule that even the lynx which was stronger than him would have a hard time noticing the human.

Hui Yue felt that his senses were sharper than usual. His body emanated a small humming sound from within, a sound which only Hui Yue and Lan Feng could hear. This humming sound was new. However, it was incredibly gentle. So gentle that every move made from Hui Yue seemed gentle as well.

As he felt the humming inside of him, his movement speed increased rapidly. Although he had moved somewhat fast before he had been more focused on being quiet, but after this humming sound appeared it was as though his body was now incapable of making noise.

Rushing closer and closer, Hui Yue was able to see the lynx. It was a young male, and it had a strength equal to that of a Duke ranked expert. Its eyes were red, its fur golden, and its fangs were incredibly sharp as were its claws. Fighting this beast would require Hui Yue to focus completely. Although he had fought Duke ranked beasts before, the lynx in front of him was without a doubt the most dangerous opponent he could fight on his own.

Hui Yue stood in the shadows while the lynx was laying down relaxing after having successfully caught a beast earlier that day. The remainder of that beast was still next to the lynx, blood still adorning his mouth.

Upon seeing this, a grin appeared on Hui Yue’s face as he stomped the ground and shot towards the lynx. A whole cloud of dust appeared, and finally, the sound of breaking branches was heard. The previously relaxed lynx finally opened its eyes and with vigilance looked at Hui Yue who was rushing forward with a dagger in his hand.

Its agility and speed were astonishing as it instantly came to its legs, and with a swift screeching sound, his terrifying claws unsheathed and scratched at the air where Hui Yue was moments before.

Fortunately, Hui Yue was as swift as the cat, and he managed to use Velocity Flow to help him evade. The claws flashed through the air and released energy waves causing Hui Yue to shudder. Even if he used spiritual energy to defend himself, he was very unlikely to be able to protect himself against the sharp claws in front of him.

Man and lynx were standing in front of one another with their eyes were locked together. As Hui Yue determined that the claws were too sharp, he decided that it would be impossible to fight in close combat. He flicked his hand and stored Black Blood within his storage stone before a blue and yellow flame appeared above his hands.

Chapter 5 - Lynx

The lynx quickly retreated as though it was capable of feeling the danger which the blue and yellow flames contained. Both flames radiated an intense energy, an energy which promised to take the lives of whomever they touched, a promise to devour anything until only ashes remained.

Seeing how the lynx retreated, Hui Yue instantly understood that the beast in front of him was not just a beast. It was not a creature which lived purely on instincts. Instead, it was a beast which had an intelligence equal to that of man. Its cat-like eyes were with knowledge.

Seeing this, Hui Yue became even more vigilant as he held the two flames, one in each hand. He then threw them into the air, and both of them hovered behind the body. Smaller fireballs were produced from within, and they were starting to swirl around Hui Yue’s body. As time went by more and more fire orbs were created, and the lynx retreated further and further away. Looking at Hui Yue, the lynx sneered at him before it turned around to leave. However, Hui Yue refused to let it go so easily and threw a bigger than normal fire orb towards the lynx. It seemed to move as fast as light, and quickly a ring of fire encompassed the two blocking the escape of the lynx. It trapped both man and beast inside; no one could escape before one, or the other had been killed.

Seeing this the lynx no longer attempted to escape; instead, it decided to fight. Turning around its eyes gleamed in the flames, its fur standing on end and it’s mouth opened in a sneer. The lynx understood that fighting at a distance was not a good idea considering that the fire orbs that the man controlled were best for long range combat. The lynx decided to fight close up, but every time it threw itself forwards, Hui Yue would dodge to the side or backward. Hui Yue did everything in his power not to fight close up as he understood that the lynx’s claws could not be allowed to touch him.

Every time the large lynx charged forward, Hui Yue felt a chill run down his spine along with cold sweat on his forehead. The lynx was intelligent and much larger than Hui Yue himself. Its attack speed was so swift that Hui Yue had to use Velocity Flow to its limits to avoid the sharp claws which caused ripples of energy to spread out.

Neither the beast nor Hui Yue had the advantage. The lynx was incredibly swift as it dodged the fire orbs. The orbs which were being made caused the fire ring to soar in strength. The trees close by started to burn, but no fur on the lynx had been touched by the fire, just as Hu Yue had not been touched by the claws.

Seeing that they were getting nowhere and that both man and beast were just wasting away their energy, Hui Yue retreated all the way to the blazing flame ring which surrounded them. As he did, he withdrew his two flames which were currently resting behind him, and a savage smile appeared on his face.

Hui Yue had long since decided that he was going to battle on his own, not relying on either Lan Feng nor the nine mysterious energies within his body. He breathed heavily before he once more withdrew the dagger from his storage stone.

Originally, he planned to rely on distance to use his flames, both the blue flame and the merged earth and metal flame. These two flames should be capable of dealing with the beast. Unfortunately, although they were capable of dealing with the beast, it was of no help because the speed with which the beast moved was simply far too swift. Looking at it now, Hui Yue understood how lucky he had been to entrap the beast beforehand within the circle of flames.

Wielding the black dagger in his hand, the young man made a rapid dash towards his opponent. A move which both surprised and pleased the giant lynx in front of him. Just as Hui Yue was about to reach the lynx, Hui Yue changed his direction and rushed to the side of the beast, dodging under the paw which swiped towards him with a force that would have killed him right on the spot.

Although the force was great, Hui Yue knew that with great danger came possibilities as well. As the lynx, although still able to move, had just exposed its entire side to Hui Yue. He did not wait for a better opportunity and thrust the dagger into its tough skin. The blade cut through and entered the flesh within.

The wound was not deep enough to be considered fatal, but in spite of that, it was still a wound which caused the lynx to let out an agonizing scream as blood gushed from its side. Using its mist-like energy to stop the bleeding, the lynx now looked far more agonized than before. Its eyes now filled with hate and anger.

Although the beast had intelligence much similar to humans it also still had its beastly instincts. Since the lynx was not completely overwhelmed by its beastly instincts, it was clear that the urge to kill Hui Yue awoke something deep inside the beast. Something which Hui Yue noticed instantly.

Running away once more, Hui Yue kicked up small rocks from the forest floor like a barrage towards the lynx. He constantly forced it to either keep moving or to take the hits head on. Being injured already caused the beast not to wish to take on any further damage and it avoided every stone. Hui Yue’s retreating attacks caused the lynx to be incapable of advancing. Its entire focus was given to avoiding these stones which came raining down upon him.

Suddenly a crackling sound was heard. Looking at the lynx, Hui Yue was easily able to see the difference from before. Previously the lynx’s body was filled with beautiful golden fur with a silver line down its spine. However, right now pitch-black mist surrounded its body and it no longer avoided the stones. One stone after another was blown to pieces as they came into contact with the shield around the beast. Hui Yue could not help but be astonished at the strength of the lynx’s defense that it now possessed. But he noticed that now the beast was no longer as swift as it had been before. It was evident that using this energy to protect itself; it was impossible for it to use the same energy to move about swiftly. Having this shield around him, the lynx no longer needed its speed as it could take the majority of the damage head-on.

With a roar, the lynx shot forward towards the dagger-wielding young man. Its mouth open, ready to bite down upon the young man. Its claws were fully exposed sweeping towards the unprotected parts of Hui Yue’s body.

Seeing the teeth and the claws coming towards him, Hui Yue knew it was impossible for him to avoid both. His hand clenched around the dagger where he infused every bit of his spiritual energy. He swiftly avoided the claws, but as soon as he narrowly dodged the claws, the lynx’s teeth sunk deep into his shoulder. A crunching sound was heard as his shoulder blade shattered from the sheer pressure of the strong jaws.

Blood welled up in his mouth, and his eyes turned red, but Hui Yue suppressed the red mist. Instead, he lifted his still-functional arm and wielded Black Blood with his full strength as he thrust the dagger into the forehead of the lynx, right between the eyes.

At first, his speed was slow. He felt the dagger penetrate through countless layers of crystal before it reached the soft fur and skin. As soon as the dagger passed through the crystal layer, the protective layer of the beast, the dagger no longer struggled and easily entered the skull.

The fierce red eyes of the magical beast slowly turned dim as all light left them, its soul lost to the Netherworld.

Looking at the beast, Hui Yue slowly made his way towards a tree where he fell down. He was currently very injured, so he had no intention of removing the flaming ring around the location he was in right now. The flame had kept the lynx inside, but it also kept every other beast outside. This was something which was crucial for Hui Yue currently as his right shoulder was completely shattered.

Looking at the wound Hui Yue could not help but hiss in pain, and after waiting a few minutes, he took a pill. He hoped that the green pearl within his body would help him out. However, seeing that it was not, with a sigh, the strongest healing medicinal pill Hui Yue possessed ended up within his mouth.

As soon as the pill was eaten, something strange happened within. Usually, the energy would enter the dantian after which it would merge with his qi and move through the Dai Mai meridian to the place within his body where the wound was. But as soon as the energy entered his dantian cave, it did not merge with the qi spiral. Instead, it was all sucked into the cave in which the green pearl resided. Seeing this, Hui Yue was completely taken aback, his eyes round and his anger rising.

Hui Yue was severely injured, and he needed help from either a healer or a medicinal pill. He had a healer within his body who refused to heal him. When he used medicinal pills, the green pearl was consuming the