The Summons

Early in the morning, sunlight bathed the land, and mist hung thickly among the trees...

The ancient Great Wilderness welcomed yet another day.

The herb-gathering work had come to a halt. Jiang Xiaorou was making breakfast, while Yi Yun chopped wood in the courtyard.

He did not use a woodcutter's knife. Instead, he aimed his palm at the firewood and struck down!

"Crack!"

With a crisp sound, the firewood split cleanly in two, the cuts perfectly even.

Looking at the two pieces of firewood, Yi Yun muttered to himself, "A warrior who has practiced the Dragon Marrow Tiger Bones Fist to the mastery realm can use both hands to split a tree stump into a pile of evenly sized, uniformly thick chopsticks within a minute. I wonder if I can reach that level after three months of martial training."

As Yi Yun was thinking, he suddenly heard a commotion coming from not far away.

Listening carefully, Yi Yun recognized Zhao Tiezhu's voice—

"Members of the Lian Clan! Listen up! The Clan Elders have issued an order. Ten more strong men are being recruited to refine the Desolate Bone. Those interested may register. The best candidates will be chosen!"

Huh?

Ten strong men were being recruited to refine the Desolate Bone?

Yi Yun's heart stirred. Naturally, he thought of how all the villagers who had refined the Desolate Bone a few days ago had contracted Typhoid Fever.

So many people had fallen ill before, only to be cured by a supposedly "miraculous panacea."

And now they were recruiting new strong men to refine the Desolate Bone. There was probably something fishy about it.

Thinking this, Yi Yun threw down the firewood and walked toward the village's grain-drying ground.

From afar, Yi Yun saw Zhao Tiezhu standing on a raised platform and shouting loudly.

Many clansmen had been alarmed. The villagers who had previously refined the Desolate Bone had received quite a few benefits. Aside from cured meat and that miraculous pill, they often received grain subsidies as well.

Because of the previous exchange for the Desolate Bone, the Lian Clan's grain was now extremely scarce. Being able to receive a little extra grain was something the villagers dreamed of.

"I'm signing up!"

"I'm signing up too!"

The people surged toward the registration booth Zhao Tiezhu had hastily set up, scrambling to be first, afraid that they would not get a place if they were late.

"I, Wang Dahu, am willing to refine the Desolate Bone! I'm a Second-class Male!"

A tall, sturdy man stood before Zhao Tiezhu. Yet, because he had gone hungry for a long time, his face was faintly sallow. He looked at Zhao Tiezhu with eyes brimming with hope.

"Second-class Male... Barely acceptable..." Zhao Tiezhu looked Wang Dahu up and down, his gaze extremely critical.

Zhao Tiezhu did not know that refining the Desolate Bone would cause deaths. This was an absolute secret within the Lian Clan. To prevent the news from leaking, only a handful of the Lian Clan's upper echelons knew about it.

The other members of the Warrior Reserve Camp did not know that this Desolate Bone was filled with lethal cold energy. It would seep into the flesh and blood of those nearby, eroding their lives, slowly sealing away their vitality, and eventually causing their internal organs to fail and killing them.

Thus, Zhao Tiezhu still thought that refining the Desolate Bone was a cushy job.

Having the power to decide who would get such a cushy job made Zhao Tiezhu feel extremely pleased with himself. The immediate benefit brought by this power was that the people around him now looked at him with obvious ingratiation, and their words were full of flattery.

Zhao Tiezhu was exceedingly picky when judging people. "Wang Dahu, go stand over there for now. You're a backup candidate. If no one more suitable comes along, you'll get the spot."

Hearing this, Wang Dahu was overjoyed. He thanked Zhao Tiezhu repeatedly before obediently going to stand to one side.

"Huh? Liu Er, you're signing up too? With those weak legs of yours, a gust of wind would blow you away! Do you know that refining the Desolate Bone requires chopping wood, stoking the fire, and working the bellows every day from morning until night? The temperature around the great cauldron is also extremely high. If you lack stamina, you'll simply faint on the spot!"

Looking at Liu Er, who resembled a monkey, Zhao Tiezhu waved impatiently and told him to get lost.

Lian Chengyu had instructed him to choose strong men wherever possible. Those who were weak and sickly were absolutely unacceptable.

One villager after another rushed to sign up, but more were driven away than were accepted.

Yi Yun stood at a distance, watching coldly. He instinctively felt that there was something wrong with this Desolate Bone!

But even if there was a problem, he still had to investigate it.

Because to Yi Yun, this Desolate Bone was extremely important.

The herbs on Lian Clan Medicine Mountain were almost completely picked clean. If he wanted to continue cultivating, he needed a supply of energy and nourishment. How could he rely on coarse-grain porridge alone?

"Huh? It's you!"

Just as Yi Yun was considering what to do next, he suddenly heard that familiar voice behind him.

The voice was deep yet carried a refined elegance. But when Yi Yun heard it, his expression changed!

It was Lian Chengyu!

Hadn't Lian Chengyu gone into seclusion? According to what Zhao Tiezhu had said, he was supposed to cultivate in seclusion for three months. How had he come out so early?

According to Yi Yun's original plan, by the time Lian Chengyu emerged from seclusion three months later, his own strength should have surpassed Lian Chengyu's. At that time, he would no longer fear Lian Chengyu. But now, Yi Yun had only practiced martial arts for six or seven days. No matter how heaven-defying the Purple Crystal was, Yi Yun could not possibly defeat Lian Chengyu, who had practiced martial arts for ten years and reached the fifth level of Mortal Blood.

But after thinking it over carefully, Yi Yun realized that he and Lian Chengyu did not have any deep enmity. Lian Chengyu had probably killed him on a whim, just as a person might kill a rat found in his house. But if he failed to catch it, he would not tear down the walls and pursue it to the death.

Yi Yun turned around. Before meeting Lian Chengyu's gaze, his expression had already settled into calmness.

Yet after seeing Lian Chengyu, he immediately put on a flustered and terrified look, as though he did not know what to do.

"Young... Young Master Lian?"

Yi Yun took a step backward, seemingly frightened by Lian Chengyu's sudden appearance.

Lian Chengyu frowned. This boy was actually still alive?

Originally, Lian Chengyu had indeed killed Yi Yun on a whim. The main reason was that he felt Yi Yun harbored resentment toward him. Lian Chengyu was worried that during the critical stage of refining the Desolate Bone, the inevitable shortage of grain and deaths would arouse public fury. He feared that someone like Yi Yun, who was skilled at inciting the masses and harbored resentment toward him, might become the spark that ignited a riot.

Lian Chengyu pursued the supreme martial path and peerless glory above all others. With such ambitions, his mentality was like that of certain emperors and nobles. In Lian Chengyu's eyes, someone of Yi Yun's status was utterly insignificant. To eliminate potential dangers, killing him was nothing. Lian Chengyu had killed plenty of people already. Just this round of refining the Desolate Bone would claim an unknown number of lives.

Killing Yi Yun had been a minor matter, and Lian Chengyu had not paid much attention to it. He had not deliberately checked whether Yi Yun was dead or alive. Thus, when he came out of seclusion and discovered that Yi Yun was still alive, he felt puzzled.

He had actually failed to kill a lower-class pauper? How could that be? Could his cultivation be insufficient?

"What are you doing here?" Lian Chengyu asked.

"Answering Young Master, I heard Lord Zhao say that strong men were being recruited to refine the Desolate Bone. I heard that those who went would also receive cured meat, so I wanted to give it a try."

"Oh?" A trace of contempt flashed through Lian Chengyu's eyes. Yi Yun was only twelve years old, but on the day grain was distributed, his words and actions had been completely unlike those of a twelve-year-old child. He had even managed to incite the masses to cause trouble, making Lian Chengyu feel that he was an unstable factor who might cause some kind of chaos.

But now it seemed that Yi Yun was ultimately just a child. What great achievements could someone whose eyes saw nothing but cured meat accomplish?

Lian Chengyu could not be bothered to concern himself with Yi Yun, aside from the inexplicable fact that he had failed to kill him earlier.

"If you want to refine the Desolate Bone, why don't you go inside and register? Why are you standing out here watching?"

"This... To tell Young Master Lian the truth, Lord Zhao requires everyone who registers to be at least a Second-class Male, while I... I..."

Yi Yun's voice grew softer as he spoke, as though he felt ashamed of his lack of strength and found it difficult to say the words.

The contempt in Lian Chengyu's eyes deepened. This idiot. I thought too highly of him before. Of course. He's only a twelve-year-old child. What schemes could he possibly have?

In truth, Lian Chengyu had forgotten that he himself was not very old either. He was only seventeen. Among seventeen-year-old youths, he could be considered knowledgeable, but he was still somewhat immature. No matter how much he dreamed, he could never have imagined that the twelve-year-old Yi Yun before him possessed an adult's soul.

"Since you have this intention and are willing to contribute your strength to the Lian Clan, I cannot bring myself to refuse you. I can see that you have ambition and potential, so I'll make an exception and give you this opportunity."

Lian Chengyu "encouraged" Yi Yun with a few words.

This idiot can barely contribute a bit of strength. Though he's a sickly weakling, he can still be used to absorb the cold poison. There's no need to concern myself with his constitution...