Atmosphere

Natan City is a city built on the outskirts of the Youquan Mountain Range.

Because of its unique geographical location, a large number of adventurers enter the city every day to rest; they are either just coming out of the Youquan Mountain Range or waiting to enter it.

This evening, Leian finally arrived outside Natan City.

Not far from the city gate, Leian watched the adventurers riding magical beasts as they lined up to enter Natan City, and he felt a strange sense of emotion in his heart.

Along the way, it wasn't as if there weren't others walking on foot like him, but the vast majority of them were adventurers with level five or six strength. Anyone with level seven strength or higher almost always had a mount, especially those flashy mages, whose mounts were more imposing and powerful than the last.

A few days ago, Leian even saw a level eight Dragon-Tooth Elephant, which belonged to a level eight magus.

This Dragon-Tooth Elephant was known for its massive size, with a body comparable to a three or four-story stone building. When it ran, the ground would tremble slightly, and anyone who saw it would have no choice but to steer clear.

"What, are you envious? With your strength, finding a mount would be a piece of cake!"

Beside Leian, a burly, golden-haired man glanced disdainfully at the youths riding magical beasts in their gorgeous clothes, then patted Leian on the shoulder and said with a grin.

Leian turned his head and smiled, but did not speak.

The man was named Derrick, a rare level eight warrior who did not have a mount. During the journey, perhaps seeing that Leian possessed extraordinary strength, he had deliberately sought to befriend him, and the two could now be considered friends.

Derrick looked down upon those aristocratic youths who were surrounded by attendants; in his view, those people weren't going to the Youquan Mountain Range for training, but for a vacation.

Seeing that Leian didn't speak, Derrick didn't mind and instead asked, "Planning to enter the city?"

Leian glanced at the sky; it wasn't long before nightfall. For someone entering the Youquan Mountain Range for the first time, this wasn't a good time. Thinking of this, he asked casually:

"If I don't enter the city, do you have somewhere else to go?"

Derrick chuckled, "Of course. A true ascetic sleeps wherever they happen to be."

As he spoke, he turned and walked toward the direction of the Youquan Mountain Range. "Follow me, and I'll let you experience the atmosphere of the Youquan Mountain Range at night."

Although he didn't say it explicitly, with Derrick's wealth of experience, how could he not see that Leian was a greenhorn just starting out?

Although Leian didn't trust Derrick completely, seeing that he wasn't the only one heading in that direction, he took long strides to follow.

The two walked one after the other, and before long, they arrived in front of a sparse forest. Stepping into the forest meant they had truly entered the Youquan Mountain Range.

At this moment, quite a few people had already gathered at the edge of the forest; some were sitting in circles in groups of three or five, while others sat cross-legged alone.

Perhaps because they were still outside the Youquan Mountain Range proper, many people had lit campfires, roasting food while whispering to one another.

The firelight illuminated their faces, allowing Leian to clearly see that the vast majority of them were experienced adventurers, with only a few individuals showing signs of nervousness and longing.

Derrick picked up a few pieces of wood, walked to an unoccupied spot, sat down cross-legged, and lit a small fire. Then, he took a piece of dried meat from the leather pack on his back and began to roast it over the flames.

Watching Derrick's actions, Leian also picked up some dead branches and wood, and sat down opposite him.

He followed Derrick's lead, taking a piece of cooked dried meat from his own pack and slowly roasting it.

Although he had a spatial ring, for the sake of safety, Leian still carried a leather pack as a disguise.

Next, the two chewed on the dried meat while whispering to each other. Most of the time, it was Derrick doing the talking, mainly sharing some of his past experiences.

Leian responded with a word or two from time to time, but in his mind, he was pondering the goals of this trip.

First, he needed to find magical beasts of similar strength to spar with, to hone his combat techniques and perfect his comprehension of the realm of "momentum."

Second, he needed to hunt some magic cores so that he could buy a house of his own in the imperial capital upon his return.

Finally, he needed to contract at least two level nine magical beasts—one as a mount, and one to stay in the imperial capital to protect Barry and the others.

Thinking of contracting magical beasts, Leian's thoughts drifted further, and he began to consider which beasts would meet his requirements.

Time passed bit by bit, and soon, the earth was shrouded in darkness.

Under the cover of night, the Youquan Mountain Range lost its daytime solitude; from deep within the mountains, hair-raising roars echoed from time to time.

At this moment, the surrounding chatter suddenly quieted down, until only an occasional whisper could be heard.

Derrick stopped talking as well, sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, though it was unclear whether he was resting or cultivating.

Is this what Derrick called the 'atmosphere of the Youquan Mountain Range at night'?

Leian glanced at Derrick, gathered his thoughts at the right moment, and closed his eyes, allowing himself to fully merge with nature and feel the changes in his surroundings.

The night grew deeper. Perhaps because they were gradually getting used to those eerie roars, people around them began to fall asleep.

It was unclear when it happened, but a slight dissonance in the natural environment suddenly reached Leian's heart. His heart stirred, and he opened his eyes abruptly, looking toward the depths of the forest.

A few breaths later, a faint sound drifted over.

"Hurry, we have to go, huff, we're almost out of the mountains. Everyone, huff... just a little longer!"

The voice was intermittent and carried heavy panting; clearly, the person speaking had run quite a distance.

As this commotion arrived, the people around them also woke up one after another, eyes wide open, staring intently at the forest, with some even drawing their weapons.

Not long after, six people emerged from the forest.

The state of the six was poor; they were covered in blood, supporting each other, and stumbling as they walked. One of them had even lost an arm, and the wound hadn't been bandaged, with the broken bone clearly visible.

Looking at the miserable appearance of the six, some remained indifferent, while others were terrified, their faces filled with shock.

Although they had successfully made it out of the Youquan Mountain Range, the vigilance on their faces did not diminish in the slightest, especially when facing those around them; their gazes remained cold.

At the same time, they had no intention of stopping to rest, still insisting on walking toward Natan City.

"Not much luck there!"

Just as Leian watched the six people walk away, Derrick's faint exclamation reached his ears. He turned his head to glance over, only to see Derrick squinting his eyes and staring intently at the woods, though it was unclear whether his comment was directed at those six people or something else.

With such a sudden interruption, most of the people present lost their sleepiness and began chatting softly among themselves once again.

Time slipped by until the second half of the night, and seeing that dawn was not far off, a commotion suddenly erupted from the depths of the woods once more.

"Quick, hurry!"

"Ah—"

Panicked screams rose one after another; it was clear that this disturbance was much greater than the one from the first half of the night.

And just at this moment, suddenly—

"ROAR!"

A terrifying roar abruptly drowned out the screams and reached everyone's ears.