Mountain Survival

A new friend had arrived at Long Jiuyyao's Courtyard: Qing Yu, Lan Xinhuang's Lifebound Spirit Insect.

No one was allowed to bring anything to Mountain Survival—not even their own spiritual treasures, let alone their Lifebound Spirit Insects. So Qing Yu had to stay behind in Long Jiuyyao's Courtyard, too.

The first time Long Jiuyyao saw Qing Yu, he was a little surprised. Aside from looking very much like Zi Lin, Qing Yu was even stronger, with the strength of the Qi Creation Realm.

" hiss!"

But when Long Jiuyyao tried to touch Qing Yu, the usually docile insect behaved completely out of character and showed him nothing but hostility.

Long Jiuyyao was baffled. Hadn't this been our first meeting? Why was it so hostile toward me?

He had no idea that this was all thanks to Lan Xinhuang. Qing Yu disliked Long Jiuyyao because, before ever meeting him, Lan Xinhuang had privately said all sorts of bad things about him.

Just as Long Jiuyyao was pondering this, a man dressed in hemp clothes appeared out of thin air.

"Blue Girl, what do you think of this brat?" Uncle Yuan said with a chuckle as he appeared.

"Uncle Yuan, what nonsense are you talking about?" Lan Xinhuang said, her jade cheeks flushing as she glared at him.

"Haha! Blue Girl, stay here with Jiuyyao, and go compete with him in three days." Uncle Yuan stroked Lan Xinhuang's hair.

At this, Yuan Xin was unhappy.

"Dad, what about me? Every time Sister Lan comes over, you only know how to fuss over her," Yuan Xin complained indignantly.

Uncle Yuan immediately scooped Yuan Xin into his arms. "How could I forget you? Of course you're the one I care about most. I misspoke, I misspoke. The three of you can go together—all three of you."

"Blue Girl, make yourself at home. You can stay as long as you like. Don't go back. Let that old Bai Shan stay there by himself," Uncle Yuan said solemnly.

Lan Xinhuang was tempted. Apart from her father, hardly anyone ever visited that place. She had always had only Qing Yu and Blackback for company.

Blackback had once been her companion, but Long Jiuyyao had taken him away, and he was now Zi Lin. Qing Yu was the only one left with her. That was fine for a short while, but she was bound to feel lonely after a long time.

"Great! Sister Lan, don't leave. Stay and play with me," Yuan Xin urged when she saw Lan Xinhuang wavering.

"Um, isn't this my Courtyard? Couldn't you at least ask what I think?" Long Jiuyyao interjected, scratching his head.

Uncle Yuan was instantly furious. He had finally managed to convince Blue Girl to stay here, and this brat still dared to complain?

"I make the decisions in the Dragon Clan. You think you have a say?" Uncle Yuan smacked Long Jiuyyao on the head.

"Blue Girl, settle in. I'll talk to your father. If this brat dares to bully you, tell Uncle Yuan, and I'll teach him a lesson," Uncle Yuan said kindly.

Seeing Lan Xinhuang nod, Uncle Yuan pulled Long Jiuyyao aside and whispered, "Brat, I think Blue Girl is wonderful. You have to seize this opportunity."

"Um, isn't that a little inappropriate? I'm still young, I..." Long Jiuyyao stammered.

"Smack!" Before Long Jiuyyao could finish, Uncle Yuan smacked him on the head again. "Brat, so what if you're young? Blue Girl isn't old either. Don't you dare be ungrateful. I'm telling you, if you fail to win Blue Girl over, you'll answer to me."

Lan Xinhuang, who had been chatting with Yuan Xin, glanced over. Uncle Yuan smiled and nodded to reassure her that nothing was wrong.

"Brat, I've got my eye on Blue Girl. Just look at her looks and strength—where else are you going to find someone better? You'd better seize this opportunity," Uncle Yuan continued to urge him.

"I actually know at least two who are no worse than Lan Xinhuang," Long Jiuyyao muttered under his breath.

"Oh? You know two? Where did you meet them? Where have you even been? Who have you met? You think I wouldn't know?" Uncle Yuan immediately challenged him.

Long Jiuyyao thought, Of course you wouldn't know. I haven't even met them yet! But judging by the timeline, they're only a few years old right now.

There was no way Long Jiuyyao could explain. Uncle Yuan wouldn't believe him anyway. Those two were in the Eastern Xuan Domain, at least an immeasurable distance away from the Demon Domain, and Long Jiuyyao hadn't even left the Dragon Domain.

Uncle Yuan didn't stay long. He simply reminded Long Jiuyyao to make the most of this opportunity.

Long Jiuyyao's Courtyard was spacious enough to accommodate all these people, spirit insects, and demonic beasts.

Night fell quickly. Since this was Lan Xinhuang's first time staying away from home, she felt a little awkward, especially in the home of Long Jiuyyao, who had made a poor first impression.

Lan Xinhuang didn't ask Yuan Xin to leave. Instead, she planned for Yuan Xin to stay with her in Long Jiuyyao's Courtyard.

In the end, Long Jiuyyao's Master Bedroom became the two girls' bedroom, and he had to sleep in the Side Room.

Every night at midnight, Long Jiuyyao went to the mountain peak to cultivate his spiritual power under the moonlight.

Three days passed in a flash. Today was the start of Mountain Survival.

The three of them set off early for Dragon Clan Plaza, ready to go. It was Lan Xinhuang's first time seeing such a stunning sight, and she couldn't begin to describe it.

Long Jiuyyao, on the other hand, looked completely calm. He had taken part in a Clan Competition before, after all, and knew how to keep his composure. Lan Xinhuang beside him was not nearly as calm.

"Country bumpkin." Long Jiuyyao took the opportunity to tease Lan Xinhuang.

"You jerk!" Lan Xinhuang refused to be outdone. She pinched the soft flesh at his waist, making him grimace in pain.

Yuan Xin had gotten used to it. After the past few days, she was immune to the pair's flirting. At least, to her, they really did seem like a couple.

Over the past three days, Long Jiuyyao had shown Lan Xinhuang countless novel things, each one making her curious. He'd seized every opportunity to tease her for being a country bumpkin who knew nothing.

Up on the platform, Uncle Yuan watched the two of them bickering below and felt quite pleased. At least the brat hadn't forgotten the task he'd given him.

Time passed, and the crowd gradually filled in. A wave of aura swept from Uncle Yuan, the Dragon Clan Chief on the platform, and the noisy crowd below fell completely silent.

Even Long Jiuyyao and Lan Xinhuang stopped bickering. Everyone looked toward Uncle Yuan on the platform.

"Mountain Survival is a grand event held by our clan once every five years. Eleven groups of contestants will compete in a month-long test of survival in Rock Mist Mountain Range."

"There are three hundred Demonic Beasts of varying strengths in the mountains. The group that kills the most will win. The three members of the winning group will each receive a Spirit Martial Art of their choice. Fight for the championship!" Uncle Yuan said solemnly.

"Contestants, board the ship!" the Dragon Clan Great Elder, Tian Sha, shouted.

A luxurious Dragon Clan Warship, a thousand zhang long, appeared above Dragon Clan Plaza. Countless beams of light shone down, and Long Jiuyyao and the others were teleported straight onto the ship.

This was Lan Xinhuang's first time aboard a Dragon Clan Warship, and she couldn't help looking around curiously. When she looked down, Dragon Clan Plaza was nothing but a dense mass of tiny black dots.

Just as Long Jiuyyao was about to tease her, a young man in a green shirt came up beside him.

"Jiuyyao Clan Brother, it's been a year. Your strength is still quite impressive," the Green Shirt Youth said softly.

"Clan Brother Liu Qing, your talent and strength are truly exceptional. You're impressive, too," Long Jiuyyao replied with a smile.

The two of them exchanged a few compliments.

"Xin'er, Miss Lan, long time no see," Liu Qing said, turning to the two girls beside him.

"Brother Liu, you're competing too?" Yuan Xin asked.

Liu Qing nodded. He had just come out of seclusion, so he figured he'd use the Demonic Beasts in Rock Mist Mountain Range to test his skills.

"I wonder if Jiuyyao Clan Brother still remembers the promise we made," Liu Qing asked.

"Of course. I'm looking forward to fighting you, Clan Brother," Long Jiuyyao replied with a smile.

"Good. I'll be waiting for you to reach the Creation Three Realms. Hahaha!" Liu Qing laughed and left.

Lan Xinhuang looked confused, so Yuan Xin told her the story of the two men.

While Yuan Xin was talking, the Dragon Clan Warship had already reached its destination, high above Rock Mist Mountain Range.

The contestants weren't all dropped in one place. They were scattered across the mountains.

Rock Mist Mountain Range covered five thousand li. It wasn't huge, but it certainly wasn't small, either. At every sunrise, a yellow haze the color of stone rolled over the range, and the thick woods made it extremely difficult to find one's bearings.

The yellow haze vanished for only two hours at noon—four hours in total. That was the best time to search for food and water.

The number of people aboard the Dragon Clan Warship dwindled. At last, it was Long Jiuyyao's group's turn. Once the ship descended to a certain height, the three of them leaped off.

When their feet touched the ground, the warship flew away. They all understood that Mountain Survival had officially begun!

Long Jiuyyao and the two girls stood among the mountain forests. Yellow haze filled their view, and visibility was less than five meters.

Long Jiuyyao's first task was to find a suitable place to live and start building a shelter!

This step was crucial. If they couldn't manage it, they might as well give up on Mountain Survival.

Long Jiuyyao led Yuan Xin and Lan Xinhuang through the forest. They also had to watch out for Demonic Beasts. With the haze concealing them, the beasts' attacks were strange and hard to predict—you never knew which direction they would attack from.

Fortunately, they could still use Yuan Power, which at least gave them a chance to fight back. But they wouldn't go looking for trouble with the Demonic Beasts—not yet.