by Tinalynge
As he laid the stones on the floor that he had built from several heavy branches, the floor sunk slightly, but managed to hold the weight of the stones. After a moment, dried branches were placed upon the stones and lit up for a small bonfire. A stone was put inside the fire and the eggs were cracked upon the stone, cooking deliciously under Xu Min’s watchful gaze.
The fire was somewhat risky because there was a chance that it would set the rest of the tree on fire; however, Xu Min had some experience in setting up bonfires in the treetops and he knew exactly how to deal with the fire after he had finished cooking. After a short while, he placed more stones on the fire, killing off the flame, and sat down to eat the miniature flying horses eggs and the fruits that he had picked up.
The night was once again spent cultivating; however, as the next day arrived, Xu Min waited before he went into the forest to look for more prey. He took a stance that was unfamiliar to him and, at the same time, closed his eyes to feel his Qi flowing through his body, gathering behind him like a blanket that slowly transformed into small beads of white, slightly translucent arrowheads.
The difficulty of the movements took quite some time for him to get to this stage; however, he tried his very best to remained focused, enabling him to slowly create the thousand arrowheads behind his body. With but a thought, those thousand small arrowheads showered down in the direction that Xu Min had intended.
Succeeding in performing the ability, Xu Min was incredibly exhausted; however, his eyes were glistening with satisfaction. A smile adorned his lips as he slowly leaned back against the big tree trunk where he had built his lair.
He quickly entered a meditative state to replenish his Qi. After an hour, he had fully recovered. Slipping down the tree trunk, Xu Min once more made his way through the outskirts of the forest. As he looked around with alert eyes, his heart beat with excitement because he could not wait to see what would attack him next, whether it was a demon beast or human cultivator.
As he traveled in the outskirts of the forest, Xu Min came across a few groups of people; however, these groups paid no attention to him, and he did nothing but nod to them in recognition. Because he had the physical strength of a Two-Star Warrior and speed that he had diligently trained during his time working at the docks, Xu Min had a feeling of safety. As long as he did not run into a Three-Star Warrior, he should be capable of escaping with his life.
Soon, he found an area where there were no other humans. After a short while, another Pest Hog appeared. This one was slightly smaller than the previous one; however, although it was smaller, it was not necessarily any weaker.
“Boom!” A boom resounded as he drew his sword. With a swift strike, he swung his sword out in front of him, carving a large crack in the ground. However, he missed the Pest Hog because it was swifter than the Pest Hog he had encountered yesterday.
Seeing this, Xu Min knew that the possibilities of being able to defeat it using his sword were slim. He needed to kill the pig quickly or else other people would find his location.
Seeing this, he activated his Shattering Palm once more. As soon as he was about to use it, a young man appeared on the small animal trail, his eyes glistening with excitement. However, he was not looking at the Pest Hog. He was looking at Xu Min instead. His eyes sent a chill through the body of the young, black-haired man as Xu Min felt the killing intent from the bystander.
The killing intent from the man caused the Pest Hog to squeal as it escaped into the vegetation of the forest, leaving Xu Min and the man who clearly enjoyed whatever was happening in front of him.
Looking at the man, Xu Min could easily tell that he was of a higher rank than him. He was most likely a Two-Star Warrior. It was clear that he was no Three-Star Warrior. However, he still looked down on Xu Min because the aura Xu Min had was that of a One-Star Warrior.
“You should never have entered the forest with such weak strength,” The man laughed as he flicked his hand and a knife appeared out of nowhere. Looking at this, Xu Min’s eyes narrowed slightly before he gripped the handle of the sword with both hands, lifting it in front of him. He calmed down. His eyes never once left the man in front of him.
“Clang!” The sound of metal colliding could be heard as Xu Min’s broad sword collided with the other man’s knife. The sword managed to push the Two-Star Warrior back. Disbelief was evident in the opponent’s eyes as he realized that this One-Star Warrior in front of him was in no way inferior when it came to physical strength.
Xu Min was aware that he did not have much of a choice but to kill the man quickly. This was a battle to the death. Even if he were to escape, the man he was battling was a Two-Star warrior, who was capable of catching up to the young man.
The man’s dark eyes grew darker as a chill flashed through them. The smile on his face vanished, and a serious expression was shown. Whether or not this guy had companions, Xu Min did not know, but he had no time to truly care about others as his full focus was laid upon the opponent in front of him.
Both hands gripping hard on his sword, Xu Min took a stance that he was not very familiar with as he knew that his Shattering Palm was nowhere enough to deal with this man.
Standing with the sword in front of him, his feet found the right stance. Without closing his eyes, he felt his Qi rush out behind him, creating a blanket that quickly gathered into multiple white, translucent arrowheads that aimed straight at his opponent.
Unlike the first time, Xu Min had managed to make these arrowheads appear in a few seconds. His opponent did not create any countermeasures. The opponent’s eyes glistened with self confidence, and a mocking smile was seen on his face as he too took a stance, his Qi billowing out from behind him, taking the shape of a wolf head before it gathered around his fist.
Seeing the formidable attack of the person in front of him, Xu Min felt a cold shiver run down his spine, but he knew that he had to put everything he had into this attack. The thousands upon thousands of arrowheads suddenly shot through the air at a high speed.
“Woosh,” “Woosh,” “Woosh!”
The wind was crying with each arrowhead’s formidable speed as the thousand arrowheads showered down on the opponent. Following behind these arrowheads was Xu Min. The young man used his physical strength to its limit as he gripped the sword and swung with all his might at the enemy in front of him.
Feeling the translucent arrowheads pierce his body, the young man soon found that this attack was not to be looked down upon simply because it was executed by a One-Star Warrior.
What was even worse was that just as he had realized that the arrowheads were capable of doing some damage to him, he noticed that the sword was coming straight for him and did not manage to fully guard against it. His entire chest was sliced open by the heavy sword.
Xu Min was not satisfied by the result he had produced. The Radiant Jade Shower had injured his opponent, but none of the jade arrowheads had managed to penetrate deeply enough to seriously wound him. Although the opponent’s chest was cut open, the biggest danger was only the loss of blood. The wound alone was too shallow to be considered lethal, and Xu Min had run low on energy.
Looking at the wounded man, Xu Min could see the shock and disbelief in his face so he decided to pick this moment to escape. Sheathing his sword on his back, he turned around and ran as quickly as he could, relying solely on the speed of which he was proud, running as far away from the opponent as he could.
The wounded man was left back on the animal trail. His face turned increasingly sour as he picked up his sliced robe and made some makeshift bandages before he looked in the direction Xu Min had fled with hateful eyes.
Shortly after, the wounded man vanished into the thick forest. However, it was in the opposite direction of the one in which Xu Min had run off. The wounded man’s face was increasingly ugly to behold, but at the same time, a hint of astonishment remained within his eyes.
Xu Min rushed away as quickly as he could, never once turning around to see whether
or not he was being chased. He returned to his lair and patiently waited to see if anyone was chasing him. However, after waiting for a better part of an hour, no one came. His breathing finally returned to normal, and his vigilance became slightly more relaxed, as he could confirm that no one was after him.
Sighing deeply, Xu Min looked at his own hands. He had managed to kill one Pest Hog so far, but he had not managed to gain anything, apart from the one beast core when he had salvaged from the kill. Secondly, he had run into a Two-Star Warrior who was clearly far stronger than he was. Finally, he had expended his energy without being capable of killing his opponent and obtaining anything from the fight.
As he thought more about it, he understood that he had indeed gained something from both battles. He understood that it was important for him to change his way of fighting. He needed to be far more decisive and ruthless. Closing his eyes for a moment, he remembered how Xu Wu died right in front of him, and his eyes turned as cold as the deepest winter. His muscles tightened as he prepared for one more hunt. A hunt that he was certain that he would defeat his opponent.
Chapter 15 – Demonic Golden Collared Wolves
Having understood that it was impossible for him to continue fighting the way he had so far, Xu Min entered the thicker parts of the forest again.
Once again, his eyes were alert. However, they no longer just contained an alertness, but also a coldness that had not been there before. Looking around, the young boy was no longer hoping to quietly find a beast that he could attack and then eat later. No, he wished to find anything that was alive so that he could hone his skills and temper his personality.
Xu Min had lived in a forest before. As he moved through the forest, not a single sound was heard. No leaves were rustling and no branches were snapping. The surroundings were as quiet as if no one was there.
Looking around him, he quickly located a living being somewhere by his right side. The aura had not reached him yet; however, the sound of rustling leaves could be heard in the distance.
Xu Min was incredibly vigilant as he strained his senses to their limits. This was the reason why he managed to located any beast or animal that was moving towards him.
Smiling slightly, the young man felt that the gods were with him as he quickly blended into the dark shadows of the forest. He stood right by the side of a massive oak and allowed his aura to become one with the tree.
Truthfully, Xu Min was not erasing his aura. Everything within the world absorbed essence from the heavens and the earth and created an aura of its own. Because he was a One-Star Warrior, his aura was still incredibly weak. He was capable of masking it with the aura of the tree behind him as he used the forest’s aura to hide himself.
This was something Xu Min previously needed to do a lot when he was escaping from the guards back at the Zhong Family. Even after all these years, he still remembered how he had managed to survive. He could sense the iron will in his eyes as they were focused in the direction from where the sounds could be heard.
Although he wished to have an even fight against his opponent, Xu Min had long ago admitted that he was nothing more than a One-Star Warrior. Although he had broken into the ranks of a warrior, he was one of the weakest bottom feeders around.
Xu Min was a One-Star Warrior, but his body was as strong and tough as a Two-Star Warrior. However, his Qi was still weak and it was not even enough to place him around the mid stage One-Star Warriors. Without a doubt, he was in the early stages of being a One-Star Warrior.
Coupled with his experiences from the last couple of days, this was enough to make him understand that he had been lucky to still be alive. What he needed now was to stay alive and defeat the challenges he came across.
After having waited for some time, the rustling sound came closer and closer. After only a few minutes, a small beast appeared in front of Xu Min. It was a winged hare. Although they usually lived within the sky, they sometime came to the ground to find delicacies.
Seeing this, Xu Min ever so slowly unsheathed the sword from his back and gripped it between his hands as he waited for the beast to inch closer. His eyes never once left the beast in front of him. He lifted the sword as to be careful not to hit any branches or any leaves. His movements were slow and precise while being as quiet as the still wind.
Standing so close to the tree had helped Xu Min tremendously. He managed to perfectly conceal his aura as the beast walked right past him.
“Bang!”
A loud bang sounded out from the force of the sword hitting the ground. The sword managed to completely cut the beast into two halves. Guts and intestines fell out from inside the animal.
Seeing the sight, Xu Min was slightly nauseous from the blood and the foul smell. After instantly turning around, he proceeded to quickly remove the beast core. Swift as a bird, he darted away from the location where there was nothing more than the corpse of a demon beast and a long crack in the ground left behind.
Xu Min was incredibly excited as he had managed to succeed in his ambush. However, he was slightly bothered that he had aimed at the body rather than the head. Having cut the intestines and the stomach, the beast was not worth eating. On the bright side, he gained a demon core in the end and had managed to escape without any dangers following from behind.
After escaping the old location, Xu Min once again started to walk through the forest while looking around for targets to improve, He noticed the dwindling daylight and knew that though the forests seemed deserted during the day, the night wouldn’t be the same. During the day, the demon beasts were hunted by man. At night, it was the exact opposite.
It was important to be in a group of men or hide somewhere where the beasts could not find him. This was if one wished to persevere through the night.
Thinking about this, Xu Min deserted his old hiding place and ended up climbing up other tall trees around him. This was a new place where he could build a different platform and rest for the night.
He finished building the new platform and not a moment too soon. The howls of Demonic Golden Collared Wolves started to echo through the forest. Having moved from his location, Xu Min clearly felt that he was now in a much more populated location. A wry smile appeared on his face. This was indeed much more dangerous than staying where he was before; however, danger came great benefits. It did not take him long to decide to stay within the area where he was currently located.
Knowing that the Demonic Golden Collared Wolves were unable to climb trees, Xu Min calmly closed his eyes. Once more, he started breathing heavily and entered into a deep trance-like meditation. He spent every night working on advancing his rank.
The following day was much like the previous one. Xu Min spent his time hunting down beasts and he managed to kill quite a few of them. Only a small amount sensed him in time. They managed to depend on their abilities and escaped from the young man who was hiding in the shadows of large and ancient trees.
For the first time since Xu Min entered the forest, Xu Min ate fresh meat. This was meat he had managed to slay himself. As he was thinking about it, the young man’s face was filled with pride and satisfaction. He began eating the meat that was burning in front of him on the make-do stove built from heavy stones he had carried up to his nest.
Eating the meat, Xu Min started wondering how it was possible that during the last two days, no humans had made their appearance. So far, he had encountered quite a few beasts. On the first day, lots of humans had been around but now the situation was somewhat different.
Xu Min knew that he was still quite far away from the inner ring of the forest. After realizing this, he believed that the surrounding areas should be infested with both humans and demon beasts alike. Xu Min saw that no other human was cautious of him. Usually, they would only stay away if there was something dangerous. There could be an incredibly strong demon beast or perhaps a group of mercenaries that had taken the area as their territory.
Seeing that this was most likely the situation, Xu Min sat
still for quite some time to decide what he was supposed to do. He knew that he had too little strength to deal with a group of mercenaries. If the area belonged to a strong demon beast, Xu Min knew that he would have no chance of defeating it.
Filled with hesitation, a small part of Xu Min was burning with curiosity to see exactly who and where the owners of this small piece of land were.
Having decided to figure out who the owner was, Xu Min started to traverse across the treetops and through the forest. The further in he went, the more deserted the surroundings became.
The location where he had first rested during the night had quite a few demonic beasts with the strength of a One-Star Warrior. To his surprise, he further in he went, the more sparse these demonic beasts had become. He had travelled the last hour without seeing neither a beast nor a human on the way.
As the lack of beasts became more and more obvious, Xu Min slowed his speed down. This was so that he was not rushing into something he could not escape from. Looking around him, there weren’t any sounds or movements to reveal that there were living creatures around this area. As he moved closer and closer, he suddenly found a small valley.
