Trial (Part 1)

The Youquan Mountain Range is named "Youquan" because there are countless springs within the mountains, and the vast majority of these springs are bottomless, as if they lead directly to the netherworld.

Furthermore, these springs vary in size; the large ones span dozens of meters, while the small ones are no larger than a palm. Any spring that is both large and deep is almost guaranteed to have Magic Beasts living beneath the water.

Therefore, when drawing water, one must always be on guard against sneak attacks from aquatic Magic Beasts.

Leian knows the danger well, so he has always only drawn enough water to drink when thirsty, never daring to go into the water to wash.

Just like this time, he had only lingered by the water for a moment too long when he disturbed a Magic Beast lurking below. As he turned to leave, it suddenly leaped out of the water to launch an ambush.

Fortunately, Leian was cautious enough to detect it immediately and dodge the attack.

It was a giant snake as thick as a millstone, with a massive triangular head and a pitch-black body marked by striking silver rings at regular intervals.

With just one glance, Leian recognized what it was—a level-nine Magic Beast, the Silver-Ringed Poison Python!

This Silver-Ringed Poison Python belongs to the dark-element Magic Beasts and is considered a superior existence among snake-type beasts. Among those of the same level, its strength is a cut above that of lion or tiger-type beasts.

Most importantly, the fangs of the Silver-Ringed Poison Python contain extremely potent toxins. Once bitten, unless a level-nine Light Archmage uses a Purification Spell to remove the poison, anyone below the Saint Realm is guaranteed to die.

"Hiss—"

At this moment, the Silver-Ringed Poison Python seemed to have marked Leian as its prey. Its bright red tongue flickered in and out, and a pair of fist-sized gray eyes glowed with a chilling light, locking firmly onto Leian.

"This happens almost every time I get water; what a damn nuisance!"

Leian's face darkened as he slowly drew the longsword from his back. The Destruction Battle Qi within his body surged wildly, and a layer of purple-black light shimmered along the long blade.

The venom of this Silver-Ringed Poison Python is too terrifying; it is not a good sparring partner, so he intended to end the fight quickly.

As Leian moved, the Silver-Ringed Poison Python raised its head, its coiled body tensed like a drawn bowstring.

Suddenly—

"Whoosh!"

Accompanied by a whistling sound, the Silver-Ringed Poison Python launched its attack. Its hideous triangular head shot toward Leian like a sharp arrow.

At the same time, the python opened its mouth slightly, and two streams of gray air sprayed from the tips of its raised fangs, shooting toward Leian's upper body like two air-arrows.

Before the air currents arrived, Leian smelled a foul, fishy stench. He frowned, held his breath, and swung his longsword.

"Swish!"

The moment the blade fell, a sharp whistling sound rang out. In mid-air, the two gray air currents suddenly collapsed. At that instant, the surrounding space seemed to be under pressure, squeezing toward the triangular head of the Silver-Ringed Poison Python.

The Silver-Ringed Poison Python realized something was wrong immediately. For the first time, its cold eyes revealed a look of terror. It wanted to dodge, but it felt as if it had fallen into a mud pit, unable to move.

"Pfft!"

With a flash of eerie purple-black sword light, the head of the Silver-Ringed Poison Python was split in two instantly. Following that, the heavy snake body slammed hard onto the ground.

"Hoo—"

Leian exhaled a breath of stale air, a look of satisfaction appearing in his eyes. He clearly felt that his ability to draw upon the power of heaven and earth with this strike had become increasingly mature.

He was nearing the Great Completion stage in the realm of "Momentum."

The reason he had progressed so quickly was inseparable from his experiences over this period.

It has now been nearly two years since Leian entered the Youquan Mountain Range. From the moment he stepped into the mountains, he had been searching everywhere for Magic Beasts to fight.

At first, he used level-eight Magic Beasts to practice, ranging from those skilled in speed to those possessing immense strength, and finally those with both; he missed none of them.

Through battle after battle, his combat experience improved rapidly, and his understanding of "Momentum" grew deeper and deeper.

Once level-eight Magic Beasts could no longer provide him with experience, he turned his targets to level-nine Magic Beasts.

The Silver-Ringed Poison Python was not the first level-nine Magic Beast Leian had killed; in fact, even level-nine Magic Beasts struggled to pique his interest anymore.

Lately, he had been spending more time searching for a suitable Magic Beast pet.

Setting aside his own means of transportation, the first requirement for a Magic Beast to be left as a bodyguard for his parents was that it could not be too large—at the very least, it had to be portable.

Secondly, its strength could not be too low, and finally, it would be best if its appearance was relatively gentle.

The three requirements did not seem difficult, but until now, Leian had not encountered a suitable one.

After all, the vast majority of powerful Magic Beasts are very large. There are small ones, such as rodent-type Magic Beasts, but the Youquan Mountain Range is not the Dark Forest; rodent-type Magic Beasts are extremely rare, and they hide very well. Leian had only encountered a few level-seven Shadow Mice, which were not worth him wasting a Master-Servant Contract Scroll on.

"Do I really have to enter the core area?"

Casually digging out the magic crystal core of the Silver-Ringed Poison Python, Leian looked into the distance, weighing the options in his heart.

As far as his eyes could see, the mountains rose and fell, stretching endlessly. Ancient trees as thick as millstones were everywhere, and their massive canopies blocked out the sun, making it seem as if danger lurked in every corner.

According to the geographical layout, the place where Leian was currently located was already the central region of the Youquan Mountain Range. Under normal circumstances, even level-nine powerhouses rarely set foot here.

If he were to go any further, he would reach the true core area.

This core area is a paradise for Saint-level Magic Beasts. While Leian considers himself invincible below the Saint Realm, he still does not dare to enter the territory of Saint-level Magic Beasts casually.

However, walking along the edge of the core area shouldn't be too dangerous.

Thinking this, Leian changed direction and set off once again.

Spring passed and autumn came; in the blink of an eye, another half-year had gone by. If calculated according to the Byron Calendar, it was now late autumn in the year 9884.

In the season when all things wither, the depths of the Youquan Mountain Range remained as verdant as ever, and Leian strolled casually through the forest of giant trees.

For the past half year, he hadn't found a suitable Magic Beast, but he had added two more level-nine magic cores to his spatial ring, which couldn't help but spark the idea in his mind of venturing into the core area.

"Should I go take a look?"

Leian pondered silently, and just then, a black shadow suddenly flashed by not far to his side.

"Hmm?"

Leian raised an eyebrow and suddenly stopped in his tracks, his gaze shooting sharply toward a completely different direction; through the layers of branches and leaves, a black shadow flickered in and out of sight.

At this moment, the black shadow seemed to sense Leian's gaze and shifted its position once again. However, no matter how it tried to hide, Leian was able to cast his gaze toward it the very first instant.

"Come out, your stealth ability is useless against me!"

Seeing that the black shadow didn't seem to want to give up and was preparing to change positions again, Leian advised with a faint smile.

If he hadn't misjudged, that black shadow should be a dark-element level-nine Magic Beast, and its size seemed quite small, which gave him a pleasant surprise.