Prologue: Winds of Change - Sudden Expansion

The top nine among the Ten Great Beastkin Clans had remained unchanged for a thousand years. The tenth place was the exact opposite, changing every year. After all, there were far too many powerful beastkin clans in this world. Though they couldn't compete with the monsters that held the top nine spots year after year (the Desolate Beasts were on the verge of extinction in the East Emperor Continent, and their standing was already in grave danger), they could still fight for tenth place.

The Giant race was a regular fixture at number ten. Giants sounded like a bunch of louts, but most of them were quite intelligent. They lived in communities and had their own culture and language. The Hundred-Eyed Giants and the Long-Armed Giants were prime examples.

But Mountain Giants were the odd ones out among giants. Their bodies were made entirely of earth and stone, and they were dim-witted—they couldn't even roar. But none of that could hide their formidable strength. Their sheer hardiness was enough to make countless beast hunters turn tail.

Mountain Giants had another trait that set them apart from other giants: they never lived in groups, always going it alone. It had never happened before that more than one Mountain Giant appeared in the same place at the same time.

--That was why everyone had let their guard down after the Mountain Giant fell.

Si Nan Ying felt the ground shudder. A shadow immediately fell over her, and she didn't have time to react!

"Miss!"

Si Nan Yuan was horrified. Almost instinctively, she was about to throw a punch—her ability was to fire shock waves, and at this distance, she could knock Si Nan Ying clear of the spot. It would hurt her, but that was better than being crushed by the Mountain Giant's palm!

But before she could throw the punch, Elder Hong stopped her. He raised a hand, and a hard barrier of light appeared between Si Nan Ying and the giant hand. The hand slammed into it and was forcefully bounced away!

"In the heat of the moment, you forgot I was here. You still lack experience as a team leader." Elder Hong was completely calm. Saving people from danger was old hat to him. Then he turned to Si Nan Jing and said, "Don't blame yourself, either. Mountain Giants are difficult to detect when they're buried in earth and stone. For now, let's deal with this one..."

Before he could finish, Si Nan Jing cried out in shock—

"How can this be? One... two... three... The whole mountainside is full of them!"

"What!?"

"Run!" Elder Hong reacted the fastest. He rushed forward, grabbed Si Nan Ying and Si Nan Jing, and jumped down the steep slope without hesitation. At the same time, the entire mountainside erupted in thunderous booms. Huge cracks crawled across the rocks, and countless boulders crumbled from within, sending stones and dirt flying everywhere! Giant shadows emerged through the clouds of dust—more than a dozen Mountain Giants!

The other team members followed Elder Hong, leaping down the slope one after another. One unlucky fellow was a little too slow and was sent flying by a rocky fist, his fate unknown. Though carrying two people, Elder Hong showed no sign of fatigue. He bounded down the rocks like an antelope, using barriers of light to cushion the fall wherever the drop was steep. His movements were astonishingly swift.

At last they reached level ground. Elder Hong immediately set the two girls down and turned to cast two enormous barriers of light. One, thick as a city wall, stretched overhead to block the Mountain Giants. The other was thin and springy, catching every team member who jumped down.

"Don't get tangled up with these stone heads. The best plan is to run—"

BOOM—!

The thunderous crash swallowed the word "run." A boulder directly above them exploded, and a new Mountain Giant sprang out from inside.

"—!?"

The chain of events that followed unfolded in the blink of an eye:

The Mountain Giant appeared and immediately leaped toward everyone. Its landing spot was—Si Nan Ying.

Elder Hong was strong, but the two barriers he had just cast demanded most of his attention, so he reacted half a beat too late.

Realizing she couldn't dodge in time, Si Nan Ying instinctively sent a bubble above her head.

The bubble wasn't its usual clear and gleaming self. Its outer film was stained a murky black, and it radiated an extremely dangerous aura as it wobbled toward the giant.

Si Nan Yuan, the closest person to Si Nan Ying, sprang into action the moment she saw the bubble.

"Miss!"

A powerful shock wave burst from Si Nan Yuan's palm, instantly blasting Si Nan Ying away from where she stood.

At the same time, Elder Hong cast the strongest barrier of light he had ever made, separating the black bubble from them.

And then—

The thunderclap of an explosion rang clear a hundred miles away. Everyone's minds went blank, leaving only a buzzing in their ears. Then darkness flooded the emptiness. The feeling of falling, the touch of rock, the pressure bearing down on them—all of it seemed to drift farther away as consciousness was slowly dyed black...

My childhood had not been a happy one.

From the moment I could remember, I had lived in a grand and luxurious mansion. There were swarms of maids and servants, delicious food, expensive ornaments—everything money could buy.

Everything, except friends.

I had four older brothers and one older sister. We had the same father but different mothers. My brothers were all much older than me and spent every day in their own quarters, rarely gathering together. Even when they occasionally met, they wore false smiles and exchanged cold pleasantries. There wasn't the slightest trace of brotherly affection between them, and playing with me was out of the question. My sister wasn't as calculating as they were, but she seemed to have been born unsuited to socializing. She hardly spoke and wasn't very active. Every time, she would humor me with a little play before quickly leaving and burying herself in the study.

There were two people closest to me: my mother and my uncle.

My mother was in poor health, but she always indulged me, even when I was being unreasonable. When I played alone in the courtyard, she would sit far away beneath the shade of a tree and watch me. Her illness restricted her movements, so she couldn't play with me, but as long as we were together, she never let me out of her sight.

My uncle was very learned. He was the only person I could sit down and read with. Well-traveled and knowledgeable, he told me many stories about the world beyond: the prosperity of the Central Sea Islands, the religions of the West Saint Continent, the unsolved mysteries of the Far North, the legends of Guixu... That was when I first dreamed of becoming an adventurer.

But the good times didn't last. One day, while chatting with me, my uncle casually mentioned how close he had been to my late father's younger brother—my uncle by blood. The moment the words left his mouth, he clapped a hand over it as if terrified, then hurried away. Later, I saw him enter my father's room. He never came back out. I told my mother about it. Her face grew more solemn than I had ever seen it. She said she was going to talk to my father, and said something about "making sure to take me away"... But when I saw her again, she looked much more haggard. She didn't explain what had happened, only held me and wept in silence.

A few years later, my mother's illness worsened, and she died young.

As I grew older, I finally understood everything that had happened. I understood what it meant to be the daughter of the Si Nan family head, and what I would have to face. The more I understood, the heavier the chains binding me felt. So I simply stopped thinking about it. I stopped worrying over what couldn't be avoided and held tight to every little moment of happiness. I would do what I wanted while I still could, and live in the present...

Still, deep down, I hoped someone would come and carry me far away...

Then I woke from the dream.

Si Nan Ying groaned and opened her eyes. She seemed to have just had a dream, one about unhappy things...

If they were unhappy things, then she wouldn't think about them anymore! Live in the present, live in the present~

She slowly opened her eyes. Everywhere she looked was pitch-black, and the stench of damp earth filled her nostrils. She tried moving her limbs and felt around. A cold, hard surface met her hand, while something rough dug into her back. She tried to sit up, but the moment she shifted her upper body, her head struck something hard. Her vision exploded with stars from the pain.

What had happened...

They had encountered a terrifying number of Mountain Giants on the small mountain. Just when they were about to get away, the giants had caught up with them, and then...

Si Nan Ying's heart sank. Right—then, in her panic, she hadn't even considered the bomb's power. She had used her ultimate move, and now the collapse she'd caused had probably trapped her!

The last time her ability had gone out of control, she had blown down a building in the family compound. What about this time? Had she leveled the entire mountain? If so, then Sister Yuan, Sister Jing, Grandpa Hong, and the rest of the team—could they all be...

Si Nan Ying's emotions spiraled further out of control. Worry for her companions nearly drove her mad. It was all because of her! And she'd talked about leaving the Si Nan family, about adventuring across the world, when she couldn't even control her own ability. She had dragged her companions down with her!

--Hmph! Xiao Ying, before you blame others, look for the problem in yourself! If you could control your ability by now, why would the guard team keep you from fighting?

--So what if you work hard? What good is hard work if it gets you nowhere?

--The weak are at the mercy of others!

--Power you can't control is no different from weakness! That's enough for today. Think long and hard about this!

Elder Hong's old reprimands echoed in her ears, each one stabbing at her heart. If only she had been more useful. If only she had been smarter...

No, she couldn't sink into despair! If she couldn't even make it out alive, then none of the rest mattered! With that thought, Si Nan Ying began feeling around the earth and stones beside her. She didn't dare use her bubbles to blast a way out, and she was afraid digging too roughly might trigger a second collapse. All she could do was feel her way along, figure out where the rocks were supported, and slowly dig with her hands without disturbing the load-bearing stones.

A minute passed, then ten minutes, then an hour. In the pitch-black darkness, time lost all meaning. She had no idea where she'd dropped her compass, so she couldn't even figure out which direction she was facing. Her fingernails had long since split, her once-tender fingers were covered in bloody scrapes, and her palms were bruised all over, but she didn't stop. She didn't know how long she had been digging. The space she could move in had grown much larger, but she was still nowhere near the exit.

Si Nan Ying had run out of strength. She lay aching all over on the rubble, forcing herself to think about where to dig next...

Was this really where it ended?

Was this heaven's punishment for being so useless?

She was so tired, so sleepy. She wanted to sleep...

But if she fell asleep just like this, she would die, wouldn't she...

Crack. "...Huh?"

A sound came from the darkness. It seemed someone else was digging through the rocks, just like her. Had she imagined it?

"...Ying, Xiao Ying, where are you..."

That voice... Xiao Ye!?

Si Nan Ying suddenly felt strength coursing through her body. Summoning all the strength she had, she shouted, "Xiao Ye, it's me! I'm right here!"

The sound of digging stopped. In its place came a melodious female voice: "Xiao Ying? Is that really you?"

"Hurry! I found her! She's right underneath here!"

A flurry of footsteps came from afar. After a series of stones crumbled away, a sliver of white light appeared in the darkness. The light grew brighter and brighter, until at last, with a rumble, a large rock was moved aside. Si Nan Ying saw the outside world again!

The crimson evening clouds met her eyes, along with people hurrying to and fro and her friend in a dark red trench coat. They were sights she had seen every day over the past few days, yet now they moved her to tears.

The beauty in red carefully lifted her into her arms, then whispered in her ear as if she had guessed what was on her mind: "Don't worry. We found the others who were buried, too. A few are seriously injured, but no one has died yet."

No one had died... yet?

"Thank goodness..."