Mountain-Guarding Ferocious Beast

Dawn was just breaking. Gauzy, mist-like fog shrouded the rolling mountains, while faint light pierced the luxuriant branches and leaves, stamping mottled flecks of light below. A youth with a coarse hemp rope wound around his waist was swiftly weaving through the lush forest.

The youth looked somewhat haggard. Messy bangs half concealed his sharply defined face. He was Jiang Shuo, who had escaped from the Coming-of-Age Ceremony yesterday.

"Almost there..." Jiang Shuo exhaled a breath of foul air, raised a hand to wipe the sweat from his brow, then followed the marks he had left behind through the maze of tangled Woods. The people of Chiyun Village were forbidden from leaving, and having grown up within the village, Jiang Shuo had always been fiercely curious about the unfamiliar world outside. He had tried more than once to leave the village, carving marks along the way each time. Those marks now came in handy. After entering the forest, Jiang Shuo gradually shook off the rule-bound clansmen pursuing him.

After climbing a higher slope, the morning light suddenly pierced the layered mountain mist, unveiling a winding, magnificent vista. A cool breeze carrying a refreshing fragrance brushed across his face. Jiang Shuo straightened and gazed into the distance. Before his eyes, the sky and Sea of Trees were joined by ethereal clouds and mist, like a vast mirage filled with countless unknowns. The towering forest sea and mountain range stretching for thousands of miles left him more lost than ever before.

The other side of the slope was exceedingly steep. Jiang Shuo untied the Hemp Rope around his waist, fastening one end around the trunk of an ancient tree near the cliff's edge and tying the other around himself. Then he spread his legs apart, gripped the rope with both hands to control his speed, and carefully slid downward.

At that moment, Jiang Shuo was like a nimble ape, leaping among jagged, uneven rocks. Beneath him lay the bottomless Mist Abyss, and his only support was the thin Hemp Rope in his hands.

Jiang Shuo was choosing each foothold with utmost care when a strange gale suddenly swept across him. A bird's shriek rang out, and an irresistible force shoved Jiang Shuo away from the cliff face. The Hemp Rope swung his body like a swaying pendulum, slamming him heavily against the hard Stone Wall with a bang. Sharp rocks, like keen daggers, sliced open his calf, and blood gushed forth. The impact left him dazed and disoriented, his head buzzing as the sky spun and everything seemed to twist out of shape.

"What's going on?" Jiang Shuo raised his head, and the sight before him left him dumbstruck—a Giant Roc soared with its wings spread wide, whipping up a violent hurricane while casting a shadow that blotted out the sky and sun. "The mountain-guarding ferocious beast the Great Elder spoke of is actually real!"

At that moment, the Giant Roc suddenly lowered its head and glanced at Jiang Shuo. Its round eyes flashed with savage light. It circled once in the air, then dove straight at him. The biting gale pinned Jiang Shuo firmly against the cliff face, leaving him seemingly no choice but to sit and await death.

In the blink of an eye, the Giant Roc was upon him. Its hook-like beak could easily peck a bloody hole through Jiang Shuo's body. At the critical instant, Jiang Shuo abruptly released the rope, dropping several feet. With a light clang, the roc's beak struck the Stone Wall and sent shards of rock flying. Having missed its strike, the Giant Roc flew into a rage, screeching harshly as it soared skyward. Then it wheeled around and lunged viciously for Jiang Shuo. Its talons gleamed with cold blue light under the sun, like a Giant Net covering heaven and earth as it closed in on Jiang Shuo from all sides.

"You cursed bird, just because the tiger hasn't shown its might, you really think I'm easy to bully?" Jiang Shuo gritted his teeth, bent his legs, and kicked off the ground with all his strength. Fixing his eyes on the Giant Roc's charge, he rushed out against the wind. The Giant Roc had not expected such a tiny human to be so bold. After a brief hesitation, its movements became even more violent, its outstretched claws seeming determined to tear Jiang Shuo limb from limb.

Jiang Shuo remained calm in the face of danger. Just as the two were about to clash at close quarters, he violently twisted his body and narrowly evaded the attack. A wind blade sliced a wound across his cheek, but he successfully closed in on the soft underside of the Giant Roc's abdomen. A glint flashed through Jiang Shuo's eyes. He clasped his thumb and middle finger together, and a golden wheel materialized out of thin air, slowly spinning around his palm. Then Jiang Shuo struck, aiming not at the Giant Roc's belly, but at the junction between its wing and chest.

With a snap, the wheel shattered, transforming into streams of intricate, bloated characters that seeped into the Giant Roc's body. The Giant Roc suffered a tremendous blow and let out a pained wail. Its wings abruptly ceased flapping, and its body tilted sharply. Jiang Shuo seized the chance to wrap his arms around the Giant Roc's neck, allowing countless wind blades to slice across his face. The scenery around him rapidly rose. Finally, as darkness fell before his eyes, a muffled thud sounded beside his ears. At the same time, the violent impact turned Jiang Shuo's insides upside down, and salty liquid surged into his mouth. Then Jiang Shuo rolled uncontrollably downward, dirt mixed with plant roots constantly filling his mouth and nose, while his bones collided with rocks in a series of crisp cracks. After tumbling and crashing all the way down, with a plop, Jiang Shuo plunged headfirst into the Pool Water. In an instant, bone-piercing cold wrapped around him, madly devouring his warmth and will.