White Dress Girl, Purple Wing Resonance!

The scorching sun baked the mottled stone paths of Qingshan Town.

Xiao Yan, clad in a black robe, stepped into Qingshan Town.

Heat waves rolled through the air. Gazing at the endless stretch of the Monster Beast Mountain Range in the distance, he squinted:

"With such a vast area, finding that cliffside cave won't be easy."

He'd make do. At this stage, a Flying Fighting Skill would undoubtedly be a huge help.

He'd barely taken two steps when a harsh, grating laugh rang out from the street:

"Old fool, this basket of Snake Saliva Grass covers your half-month tribute!"

"You'd better thank Young Master me!"

The sound of iron-studded boots crushing herbs stabbed at his eardrums.

Mu Li grabbed the white-haired herb farmer by the collar, the wolf-head token at his waist digging into the old man's bony ribs.

Pedestrians scattered to avoid provoking the young master of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group.

Xiao Yan looked away. He wasn't one to meddle.

He walked past nonchalantly.

"Hey! You there, you look unfamiliar!"

Xiao Yan stopped in his tracks.

Mu Li released the old man, his boots smashing the stone slab beneath him:

"See the Wolf Head Mercenary Group emblem and still not come kneel and pay respects?"

The harsh shout rang out. Xiao Yan stood still, silent.

Mu Li raised a hand and waved. The twelve mercenaries around him instantly formed an encirclement.

"Looks like we've got a deaf one."

Mu Li's palm churned with Dou Qi, a Triangular Thorn spinning at his fingertips:

"I just lost a few thousand gold coins gambling, and I'm in a foul mood!"

"Since you don't know your place, let me teach you the rules of Qingshan Town..."

Before he could finish, Xiao Yan sighed:

"So there really is such a thing as protagonist's luck."

"But I don't have time to waste on you."

His black robe swept down like an Owlman. The gale from the Heavy Black Ruler sent three mercenaries flying.

"Chi!"

As the ruler's edge grazed Mu Li's right arm, a burnt smell rose in the air.

The severed arm's cut was as smooth as a mirror, the heat-sealed blood vessels gleaming an eerie amber under the sun.

"In your next life, learn to control your temper."

Xiao Yan used the ruler's tip to lift the basket of trampled herbs.

Flames shot from between his fingers, burning the Snake Saliva Grass to ash and scattering it over Mu Li's twisted face.

Another swing of the ruler cut through the air. Mu Li, already mute from the pain, lost his head the next moment.

The entire street fell into dead silence. A nearby woman selling flatbreads dropped her rolling pin onto the board.

The hot bread rolled in the dust.

The surrounding mercenaries stood frozen, too stunned to move.

Without a glance at the fallen head, Xiao Yan strode toward the Monster Beast Mountain Range.

No one dared stop him. No one spoke.

Three days later:

Morning mist from the Monster Beast Mountain Range dampened his robes. Xiao Yan crouched on a horizontal branch of a Century Ironwood.

He shot a fruit pit with precision into the eye socket of a Magic Ape thirty zhang away.

A long streak of blood spurted from the socket, and the three-zhang-tall ape crashed backward.

Xiao Yan sighed.

He'd grown sick of killing magical beasts over these past few days.

He still hadn't found a way to boost his panel fusion rate, though it was sufficient for now.

But who didn't want to get stronger faster?

Lost in thought, a thunderous roar suddenly erupted from the southeast.

Startling a flock of blood crows into the sky, he spat out a fruit pit and frowned.

"A Peak Third-order Jade Scale Python?"

"How did this beast end up on the outskirts?"

As if struck by a thought, Xiao Yan's eyes lit up, and his entire form dissolved into an afterimage, vanishing from where he stood.

At the cliff's edge:

A lithe young girl in a white dress, stained with blood, clutched a jade box from which purple mist seeped.

Despair filled her pupils—the gap between her and a third-order magical beast was simply too vast.

She couldn't even flee.

A faint glow pulsed from the Jade Scale Python's forehead; where its tail swept, the cliff face cracked and crumbled.

The girl stumbled backward, her embroidered shoes already teetering on the brink of the abyss.

"Help!"

Xiao Yi Xian's cry was cut short by a gust of bloody wind, the python's vertical pupils flickering dimly.

Its massive tail lashed out with the force of a thousand jun!

A sharp whoosh split the air, and Xiao Yi Xian squeezed her eyes shut.

"Boom!"

A thunderous crash rang out, but no pain followed.

Bewildered, she cracked her eyes open—and the first thing she saw was a young man's straight-backed silhouette.

Xiao Yan's Heavy Black Ruler swept horizontally, blocking the serpent's tail, then he shot toward the giant python like an arrow.

The Jade Scale Python's vertical pupils contracted sharply. Its tail swept again, carrying the fury of wind and thunder.

With an Instant Step, Xiao Yan turned into a blur.

Like a ghost, he stepped up the serpent's body, charging against its momentum, and brought the Heavy Black Ruler crashing down!

Blazing flames coiled around the ruler's shaft, and the entire giant python was severed in one clean strike!

A Kirin Phantom rose behind him, and the ten-zhang-long serpent body convulsed violently.

"Hiss! Hiss!"

It let out a piercing, agonized wail.

Flames swelled like clinging bone worms, burning and coiling around it, turning it to charcoal in the blink of an eye!

A magic core rolled out, smoking.

Xiao Yan turned and walked toward Xiao Yi Xian, taking in her expression—stunned yet wary.

He couldn't help but chuckle lightly:

"Miss, I am your lifesaver."

"Don't move."

The words had barely left his mouth when he vanished from where he stood.

In an instant, he was beside the girl, gently catching her wrist.

"You—"

Xiao Yi Xian looked at him, flustered, barely getting a word out.

A Second-grade Rejuvenation Pill slid smoothly into her mouth.

Then she saw the young man turn and raise his hand. Instinctively, she shut her eyes.

But she only felt a light release at her shoulder—Xiao Yan had already let her go.

"Tsk, tsk, that's no light injury you've got."

"Lucky for you, you ran into a kindhearted alchemist like me."

He deliberately put on a troubled expression:

"But... how should I calculate my consultation fee?"

Xiao Yi Xian snapped back to her senses, a faint blush creeping across her fair cheeks.

She clasped her hands and bowed to Xiao Yan:

"Thank you, young master, for your aid. I am an apothecary from the Myriad Medicine Hall in Qingshan Town."

"Just call me Xiao Yi Xian. I will surely repay this life-saving grace."

"Once I return to Qingshan Town, I will do everything in my power to reward you, young master."

Seeing her solemn demeanor, a glint of amusement flickered in Xiao Yan's eyes:

"No need for payment just yet. But..."

"There's a nice spot in the cliffside. You're badly hurt—would you care to accompany me there?"

"It'll serve as a place to recover as well."

Perception spread like ripples in water. With his current cultivation as a Great Dou Master Eight Stars, he easily detected the hidden cave on the cliff face.

Xiao Yi Xian hesitated slightly. But she was badly injured, unable even to walk steadily. Let alone leave the Monster Beast Mountain Range—and besides, it was this young man before her who had saved her.

There was nothing to worry about, then.

She gave a light nod. "I am gravely wounded. Traveling with you, young master, would be for the best."

Her crisp voice reached his ears, and Xiao Yan curved his lips into a faint smile. Before Xiao Yi Xian could react, he swept one arm around her waist and lifted her.

Without waiting for her response, he leaped off the cliff in a single step.

Instant Step carried him nimbly across the cliff face, shifting and turning.

Flames of Crimson Flame flickered at Xiao Yan's fingertips, burning away three feet of the poisonous vines blocking the cave entrance.

What came into view was a second-order snake-type Magical Beast coiled at the mouth of the cave. It didn't even have time to react—its eyelids had just lifted when it saw the Heavy Black Ruler wrapped in Crimson Flame come crashing down. The second-order Magical Beast didn't even let out a whimper before it was cleaved in two.

Magical Beast: ...

Xiao Yan carried her into the cave.

A spark of firelight flickered in the darkness as Xiao Yan gently set Xiao Yi Xian down. Only then did she open her eyes, feeling the warm touch at her waist fade away.

She turned her head to look at Xiao Yan, saying nothing, just staring straight at him.

Xiao Yan couldn't help but rub his nose awkwardly. "Xiao Yi Xian, this was a special case. If I hadn't done it this way, that cliffside cave entrance would have been far too dangerous for you."

Only after Xiao Yan spoke did Xiao Yi Xian shift her gaze. "Mm."

Her voice was soft, but he could hear a hint of shyness in it.

Neither of them spoke again as they walked deeper into the cave.

Droplets from stalactites glistened with an eerie light in the glow of the flames.

At the deepest part of the cave, a skeleton sat cross-legged in the center. Before it stood three stone platforms.

Three wooden boxes revealed their true forms beneath the dust.

Xiao Yan stepped forward and opened them one by one.

The box on the left held a scroll bearing purple cloud patterns.

A ancient tome appeared in the middle box.

The jade box on the right sealed a Dragon Beard Ice Fire Fruit—a rare third-grade medicinal herb.

"A Flying Fighting Skill?" Xiao Yan unrolled the scroll, and the words Purple Cloud Wings met his eyes.

A sudden tremor stirred in his heart, and Old Yao's voice came from the ring. "Boy..."