Python Mountain

It rained heavily throughout the entire night.

It continued until around eight o'clock the next morning, when the sky gradually cleared.

After practicing the Five Elements Stance Training all night in his room, Lu Chuan slung his bow and arrow over his back, called out to Mother and Younger Sister, then headed straight out the door toward the outskirts.

Everything in the slums seemed normal, except that he could faintly hear groups of aunties whispering among themselves.

"Did you hear? Yang Zuo of the Fierce Tiger Gang was killed last night. An arrow blew his head apart..."

"I heard it from my man first thing this morning. They say Hall Master Liu Bao of the Fierce Tiger Gang flew into a rage and personally led people to investigate. Everyone should be careful lately. Don't provoke anyone from the Fierce Tiger Gang, or disaster might come knocking."

"Hmph... Good riddance. That Yang Zuo was garbage. There isn't a single good person in the entire Fierce Tiger Gang. It'd be best if they all died."

"Shh, keep your voice down. Do you not want to live? If anyone from the Fierce Tiger Gang hears that, your whole family will suffer."

From the streets and alleys came the occasional low murmur of discussion.

A faint smile crossed Lu Chuan's face. Cultivating Internal Strength and reaching rank in martial arts did not merely strengthen the body—it was a comprehensive transformation.

His five senses, speed, physique, even his neural reactions and more had all undergone a metamorphosis. Even from ten meters away, he could faintly hear the flutter of a fly's wings.

Not to mention the gossiping chatter of those aunties.

"Liu Bao was actually stirred into investigating personally. Yang Zuo may have been one of Liu Bao's underlings, but that shouldn't have warranted Liu Bao personally looking into it!"

Hearing the aunties' discussion, Lu Chuan immediately frowned.

The Fierce Tiger Gang had five halls in total. Liu Bao was the Hall Master of the East Hall. Rumor had it that he had long cultivated Internal Strength and reached rank in martial arts—a true Martial Artist.

He had no fewer than eighty or a hundred minor leaders like Yang Zuo under him.

If he personally handled the death of every minor leader, wouldn't that exhaust him to death?

"Something's wrong. When things are abnormal, there must be a monster in the shadows. Liu Bao and Yang Zuo's relationship was definitely not ordinary. I need to be careful."

Lu Chuan was meticulous by nature, and in an instant, he inferred a great deal of information.

Yet his feet did not stop. He continued onward, darting through the streets and alleys like a civet cat, and soon arrived at the city gate.

A considerable number of people had gathered there. Most were hunters heading out to hunt and guard, some traveling alone and others in groups of three or five.

Lu Chuan even saw several Martial Artists recruiting people.

The Wilderness was no backyard garden; danger lurked everywhere. Especially in the depths beyond a hundred li, where true Fierce Beasts roamed. Even Martial Artists rarely dared enter alone.

Most traveled in teams.

Yet when Lu Chuan passed those Martial Artist teams, he did not pause for even a moment or spare them a second glance. Carrying his bow and arrow, he entered the Wilderness alone.

For the past year, he had always acted alone and had long grown accustomed to coming and going by himself.

Even today, when he planned to enter the depths of the Wilderness, he had never considered forming a team. First, he was unaccustomed to it. Second, he carried too many secrets; acting alone was far freer, and he would not have to worry about being stabbed in the back.

Of course, the danger increased severalfold as well.

But Lu Chuan was not afraid in the slightest.

"Although I've only just entered the Ninth Rank Skin Refining Realm, my physique is extraordinary, far surpassing that of an ordinary Ninth Rank Skin Refining Initial Stage. In terms of physical strength alone, I've probably already reached two thousand jin..." As Lu Chuan followed the main road into the Wilderness, he silently calculated everything in his heart.

Though he had only just entered the Ninth Rank, Lu Chuan was confident that his Combat Power far surpassed that of an ordinary Ninth Rank Skin Refining Realm Martial Artist.

As long as he remained careful, there should not be much of a problem.

After leaving the city gate and traveling roughly ten li, Lu Chuan immediately veered off the main road, slipped into the Wilderness Area beside it, and accelerated forward.

After advancing to become a Martial Artist, not only had his physical strength increased, but his speed, eyesight, and more had also improved dramatically. He raced through the Wilderness, weaving about like a tiger or leopard.

Wherever he passed, it was as though a gale had swept away the clouds.

From time to time, beastly roars rang out through the Wilderness as wild beasts howled and lunged at Lu Chuan.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

With a movement of his mind, Lu Chuan nocked an arrow and drew his bow. In an instant, the bow became a full moon, the arrow a shooting star, piercing through the throats of one wild beast after another.

[Archery +10]

[Archery +10]

...

For a time, the proficiency of his perfected Archery rose at an astonishing speed.

About an hour later.

Lu Chuan had already crossed a hundred li of Wilderness and finally arrived beneath a towering mountain.

The vast mountain rose a thousand zhang high and stretched across an unknown number of li.

Like a giant python coiled between heaven and earth.

Thus, this enormous mountain had a perfectly fitting name.

Python Mountain!

Though called a mountain, Python Mountain was actually a mountain range stretching for a thousand li. It was a true Wilderness, where Fierce Beasts ran rampant. Even Martial Artists had to tread carefully within it.

"I've heard that beyond Python Mountain lies another world. Unfortunately, the thousand-li Python Mountain is far too perilous. Ninety-nine percent of the Martial Artists in Fengle City lack the strength to cross it."

Lu Chuan muttered to himself, "With my current strength, I can at most operate around the outskirts of Python Mountain.

I hope my luck is good enough to hunt a few Fierce Beasts..."

After taking a deep breath, Lu Chuan did not hesitate. With a swift leap, he rushed into Python Mountain.

The moment he entered the forest, Lu Chuan immediately sensed how different Python Mountain was from the outside world. Every inch of it exuded Fierce Fiend Energy and a bone-piercing chill.

That was only because he had now cultivated Internal Strength and reached rank in martial arts, his physique far stronger than that of an ordinary person.

If an ordinary hunter had come here instead, they would likely have been corroded by the Fierce Fiend Energy and chilling aura in the forest and died an unnatural death before ever being devoured by a Fierce Beast.

The forest was dim, with towering ancient trees spreading their canopies and blocking more than half the sunlight.

Lu Chuan immediately slowed down and carefully proceeded forward, his sharp gaze scrutinizing everything around him.

The cold Sha Qi stimulated his heart and lungs, causing every nerve in Lu Chuan's body to tighten completely.

"Hmm..."

Suddenly, before he had advanced three hundred meters, a faint rustling sound came from ahead, as though some living creature had stepped on dry branches.

Immediately afterward, a surge of Fierce Fiend Energy rushed into his nostrils.

Lu Chuan's entire body tensed. He performed a lazy donkey roll, using the momentum to tumble more than ten meters to his left.

Boom... Bang...

At that moment, a wolf-like beast with the body of a tiger or leopard and a hide resembling rock dropped from above. With a vicious swipe, it struck the spot where Lu Chuan had just been standing.

Its blade-sharp claws slammed down, instantly gouging out a pit over a meter deep. Dust and dirt flew everywhere.

"A First-Rank Fierce Beast, a Rock Wolf. It resembles a tiger or leopard, its whole body like stone, bloodthirsty and savage."

More than ten meters away, Lu Chuan rolled again and sprang up from the ground, widening the distance once more. Only then did he clearly see the Fierce Beast that had ambushed him, as well as the meter-deep pit, and could not help sucking in a cold breath.

Luckily, his reaction had been fast enough. Otherwise, if that claw had struck him—

Even as a Martial Artist, he would have been smashed into a pulp!

"Brute, die..."

Lu Chuan flew into a rage. His bow became a full moon, and the arrow shot forth like a rainbow piercing the sun, flying straight towards the Rock Wolf.