Winds Gather, Shall I Tame a Mutant Beast as a Mount? (4k)

Silence!

Absolute silence!

The Unicorn Giant Wolf King was dead, its bones reduced to dust.

It hadn't even lasted a single breath before its body exploded, leaving nothing behind.

Everyone stared at the scene, stunned, their eyes filled with terror.

The power of that attack was simply too great.

It was beyond imagination.

Could a human really wield such power?

Nearby, the summoned Mutant Beasts fell silent, too. They stood there dazed and at a loss.

That single arrow had shaken them to the core, making their very souls tremble involuntarily.

For a moment, Zhu Qingyu and the others abruptly turned around.

They saw the man still standing proudly atop the building, surrounded by lightning, as though a Heavenly God had descended.

Who was this man?

Since the mutations began, they had never heard of anyone like him.

Above them,

Lu Yuan furrowed his brow slightly.

"I overdid it. I didn't even leave a scrap of flesh behind."

It seemed he was still too strong. He should've known better than to add Thunder Force.

He shook his head and stopped paying attention to them, instead looking at the Mutant Beasts spread across the mountains.

Suddenly, another aura burst from his body, powerful and terrifying.

It was a show of intimidation.

Thud, thud, thud!

And in the very next moment,

the hundreds upon hundreds of Mutant Beasts turned around without the slightest hesitation.

They fled even faster than they had come. In less than a minute, every last one had vanished into the forest.

That man was too terrifying. If they stayed,

they would die.

Mutant Beasts possessed a degree of intelligence. Their leader was gone.

Were they supposed to wait around to die? They had to seize the chance and run!

Seeing this,

Lu Yuan reined in his aura.

Without the Giant Wolf King leading them, the Beast Tide was unlikely to form again.

In other words, this region would remain very safe for some time.

"The crisis is over. Time to leave."

He thought for a moment.

Then he put away the Sky Shaking Bow and leaped, vanishing into the darkness.

Lu Yuan knew that his display of power would leave Zhu Qingyu and the teachers and students of Zhendan Academy deeply shaken. But he had no intention of approaching them for now. There would be plenty of time later.

More importantly, he had finished what he'd come to do. Now he needed to head to Chang'an.

The Mount Li Imperial Tomb was drawing closer, and he couldn't afford to miss it.

"Teacher Zhao, that person's gone."

Seeing Lu Yuan leave,

Zhu Qingyu spoke, then looked into the distance and murmured, "And the Beast Tide crisis is over, too."

"Yes, it's over. One person, one arrow, less than a minute from start to finish."

Zhao Wuji's eyes were still clouded with bewilderment. He wondered if he'd been dreaming.

Everything that had just happened felt too unreal.

They had been willing to pay with their lives, yet they'd been helpless. Then, with a single arrow, it was all over.

The Giant Wolf King—a Mutant Beast of the Awakening Realm, an existence so powerful that it had driven everyone to despair.

And now? Only scraps remained.

"Did any of you get a good look at that person?" Zhao Wuji finally came to his senses and asked.

No matter how you looked at it, that person's strength was inconceivable, and he was definitely human.

If someone like that could join or help the academy,

it would be enormously significant.

Unfortunately, before Zhao Wuji could react, the man had already left.

Now all they could do was remember what he looked like and try to find a way to approach him!

"No."

Qin Lan and the others exchanged glances, then all shook their heads.

The lightning was too dazzling, and the man's aura too powerful. They weren't strong enough to make out his features.

The only thing they could be sure of was that whoever had slain the Giant Wolf King had probably evolved to a terrifying degree.

Zhao Wuji was at a loss.

There was nothing he could do.

If the man truly didn't want them to know who he was, then there was nothing anyone present could do about it.

He regretted letting such a powerful person slip away.

"Forget it. Let's go calm the civilians first."

The Beast Tide crisis had ended, but many people still didn't know.

Zhao Wuji took some healing medicine, treated the other students and teachers, then went into the city to help the civilians settle down, at least for the time being.

Zhu Qingyu and the others helped nearby.

Before long,

the troops they had called for arrived, along with several deputy deans from Zhendan Academy's Chang'an branch.

When they heard about the Beast Tide, they had raced over at full speed, bringing armored vehicles and all kinds of heavy weapons. They even had an armed helicopter.

But when they reached Qingyang City and made all their preparations,

they found—

there was no Beast Tide at all.

They couldn't even see a single Mutant Beast.

Of course, looking at the damaged roads and buildings,

the deputy deans knew the city had indeed suffered a Mutant Beast disaster.

But for some unknown reason, it was already over. They found this very strange.

In the end, Zhao Wuji and the others met up with the reinforcements.

Only then were the newcomers given an explanation.

When they heard that a powerful Awakened had slain the Giant Wolf King with a single arrow and driven off the Beast Tide, everyone was shocked all over again.

They hadn't seen it with their own eyes, but they could still imagine what it must have been like.

They were certain that the mysterious archer was an incredibly powerful figure.

So,

the deputy deans decided to use every resource at their disposal to find a way to contact him.

Even setting aside his strength, he had saved tens of thousands of civilians.

That alone made it worth doing.

They also decided to announce the incident online, hoping to show their goodwill and see if anyone recognized him.

Of course, they knew it might not have much effect.

But it still had to be done.

Soon,

with Zhendan Academy taking the lead,

news of the Beast Tide attack on Qingyang City spread across the internet.

Beast Tides had frequently attacked cities since the mutations began.

Every day, there were reports from all over the country. At first, people had paid close attention, since no one knew when they might be next.

But as time went on, many began to grow accustomed to it. With the Five Super Cities under construction, public interest began to fade.

Previously, every Beast Tide had caused tremendous destruction and severe casualties.

This time was different.

People from Zhendan Academy claimed that, at a critical moment, a mysterious person had stepped in and slain the Beast King with a single arrow, saving hundreds of thousands of civilians. The incident drew more attention, and everyone began to speculate about the mysterious person's identity.

It also made more people realize that surviving in this new era required absolute strength.

More and more people began looking for every possible way to embark on the path of evolution.

In the early days of the mutations, all kinds of Spiritual Fruits and Exotic Grasses were plentiful.

Some people had been lucky enough to become Awakened.

As a result, more and more people gained extraordinary powers, and the number of Awakened continued to grow, though most of them were still weak.

[Qingzhou City was attacked by Mutant Beasts. Teachers and students from Zhendan Academy fought the Beast King without regard for their lives. At a critical moment, a mysterious person appeared and slew the Beast King, saving hundreds of thousands of civilians.]

Several days later,

inside a desolate mountain,

Lu Yuan glanced at the news pushed to his phone and couldn't help smiling.

He could tell that his arrow had left a deep impression on Zhendan Academy.

He just hadn't expected

them to publish the story.

Were they trying to get his attention?

He shook his head.

Lu Yuan thought no more of it. He knew Zhendan Academy represented the authorities.

And the authorities, wanting to stabilize the situation in this new era, had indeed been recruiting powerful Awakened.

But he had no interest in that.

So he paid it no mind.

Lu Yuan put away his phone, checked his bearings, and set off at full speed.

His physique was far too powerful. Every stride carried him nearly a hundred meters, and at full speed even a high-speed train couldn't catch him. Under the circumstances, there was no need for a car or anything like that. The only downside was that it was a bit tiring.

"Running everywhere on my own won't do. When I get the chance, I should find a Mutant Beast to use as a mount or something."

Lu Yuan muttered to himself. The world was growing larger, and relying on his own legs was too much trouble.

He couldn't fly through the air just yet, either.

Finding a flying beast to ride was clearly the best option.

Of course,

he couldn't just pick any mount. He couldn't settle for second best.

In fact, Lu Yuan already had one in mind. It would definitely be suitable.

Its bloodline was incredibly strong, its potential immense, and its combat power high.

But he would have to wait until after his trip to the Mount Li Imperial Tomb before making any plans.

Lu Yuan kept planning as he pressed onward.

About half an hour later,

he stopped and gazed into the distance. Chang'an City lay ahead.

There, a vast city loomed in the distance, dotted with countless high-rises.

More importantly, a colossal steel wall encircled the city, standing a full hundred meters tall. It was made entirely of steel, unlike any city he'd seen before. At that moment, Chang'an City looked like a city of steel.

However, the walls weren't finished yet, and construction was still underway in many places.

But at this rate, with Awakened appearing in increasing numbers,

it shouldn't take much longer.

In fact,

before leaving Shanghai, Lu Yuan had seen massive defensive works being built everywhere.

The sites chosen for the Five Super Cities were excellent, spanning east, west, north, south, and center. Two were even along the coast, where they could fend off Mutant Beasts from overseas and prevent invasions.

However,

the plan to build the super cities

had, for now, only taken place in China. Other countries had barely reacted.

That was only natural. After all, only China had such organizational power and determination.

Lu Yuan paused, then quickly approached Chang'an City.

But he deliberately slowed his pace.

Along the way,

he spotted many people heading toward the city on foot.

Some drove cars, some ran, and some even rode horses. A few helicopters flew overhead, too.

Now and then, he also saw Awakened who had embarked on the path of evolution.

Most of them were only at the Initial Realm.

Some had horns growing from their heads.

Others had grown long tails.

In short, they all had their own strange features, and you could tell at a glance that they were Awakened.

That was normal. They hadn't fully mastered the power and bloodlines within them; they were still at a very early stage.

After all, not everyone could be like Lu Yuan.

"Looks like the news about Mount Li Imperial Tomb has completely leaked out," Lu Yuan sighed.

At first, only the major factions knew about it, but the matter couldn't be kept secret forever. People still lived around Mount Li, and as time passed, more and more were bound to learn of it.

There was another possibility: perhaps some powerful faction wanted the news to spread, drawing out more Awakened.

As long as enough people took part, a chaotic battle was sure to break out.

Some people could then fish in troubled waters.

Mount Li Imperial Tomb.

The resting place of the Ancestral Dragon had always been extraordinary.

If anything strange happened there, something remarkable must have gone wrong. It was no less significant than any famous mountain or great river.

And the more famous a mountain was, the more likely it was to harbor powerful Mutant Beasts.

By comparison, Mount Li Imperial Tomb might not be as dangerous.

Under these circumstances,

Mount Li Imperial Tomb had become the focus of the whole world, drawing together all kinds of forces. By then, even more Awakened would surely appear—and they would be stronger.

But Lu Yuan didn't care about any of that. He was determined to claim what lay inside. No one could stop him!

Giving it no more thought, he walked straight toward Chang'an City.

At that very moment,

in the sky,

several helicopters appeared, then slowly approached Chang'an City.

Someone saw that the way was blocked and was about to speak.

But when he saw the words "Wuzhou Group" on the helicopters, he immediately shrank back and slunk away.

Before the cataclysm, Wuzhou Group had already been a well-known domestic company. After the cataclysm, it rose rapidly and gained many Awakened. The Zhou Family, which controlled the group, was especially powerful, possessing a mysterious bloodline that had awakened the ancestry of several family members.

More importantly, rumors had it that Winged Sky God, one of the Five Great Supremes, had deep ties to Wuzhou Group.

Soon, the helicopters touched down.

Several figures stepped out.

Three people led the group: two women and one man, all around twenty years old.

The two women looked somewhat alike, like sisters.

But the older sister was clearly more striking.

Her clothes were simple, but she had a slender figure and long hair cascading like a waterfall. Her beauty was breathtaking, and her cool demeanor made her seem like a celestial maiden descended from the heavens—someone no one dared approach.

After stepping off the helicopter, she looked toward the city gates.

For a moment, she seemed to spot Lu Yuan's back among the crowd, but he quickly disappeared.

The woman stopped in her tracks, her brows drawing together slightly.

"Yunqiong, what's wrong?"

The man walked over, looking a little puzzled.

He was striking in his own right, with sharp brows and bright eyes, fair skin, and an imposing air between his brows. He carried himself with the lofty dignity of someone born to rule.

It was hard to imagine someone around twenty possessing such an air.

Especially if you looked closely—

you would notice that his pupils were golden!

"Nothing. I thought I saw someone familiar, like a college classmate, but I'm not sure," Zhou Yunqiong said. When she looked again, she couldn't find him.

"A college classmate?"

The man smiled. "Wasn't that just some ordinary person? Why pay attention to him?"

His voice was steady, his speech unhurried, and he radiated absolute confidence.

"Maybe I was mistaken."

Unable to find the person, Zhou Yunqiong shook her head, deciding she must have been wrong.

After all, Lu Yuan had fused with several divine objects.

His temperament and every other aspect of him had changed dramatically. Unless she stood right in front of him, it would be hard to recognize him.

So she said no more and returned straight to the helicopter. She had only gotten off to take a closer look at the construction of Chang'an City's walls and get some fresh air.

But Zhou Yunqiong's actions

made the man furrow his brows.

Zhou Yunqiong had always been calm and unruffled, but now her emotions had stirred.

Whatever the reason, he couldn't just ignore it.

He turned to the other woman beside him. "Biqiong, does your sister have any college classmates who left a deep impression on her?"

"How could she? Her classmates were all ordinary people who weren't worth paying attention to."

The woman was Zhou Biqiong, Zhou Yunqiong's younger sister. She wore a jade-green dress and was quite beautiful, though her temperament was different—rather haughty. She answered at once when she heard the man's question.

But then she seemed to remember something and added, "Still, my sister did mention a name before. Someone called Lu Yuan."

"Lu Yuan?"

"Right!"

After confirming the name, the man narrowed his eyes slightly. "I really don't like this person!"