Bloodline

"Brother Little White, are you really not coming with me?"

Little One sat on the back of a tall Unicorn and asked Bai Yixin, who was standing nearby, ready to leave.

"No. Take Furry Ball with you. I'll go explore on my own. I hope the next time I see you, you'll have a surprise for me. Then I'll give you one, too." Bai Yixin smiled.

"Mm! Brother Little White, I can't wait for your surprise!" Little One nodded, brimming with confidence.

"Then you'd better work hard." Bai Yixin chuckled.

"Children, don't push yourselves. If you run into danger, make sure you come back right away!"

"Bai Yixin, Little One, be careful on the road. Don't try to be heroes. Make sure you protect yourselves!"

Since Bai Yixin and Little One were both setting off on long journeys, everyone from Stone Village had come out to see them off. They showered them with reminders and heartfelt advice, reluctant to part with them. They were like family, treating Bai Yixin and the others as members of their own household.

Little One rode off on the Unicorn, heading into the distance. His golden Furry Ball gradually disappeared from view.

Bai Yixin waved as well, then headed off in the opposite direction without looking back.

"Roar, roar. I wonder which ancient kingdom I'll reach if I keep heading this way. But it doesn't matter; they're all the same anyway. I'm only traveling to temper myself—and to get a look at the other young geniuses in this world."

Bai Yixin gazed at the morning clouds on the horizon, anticipation on his face.

He had no idea how exciting—or how dangerous—the journey would be. He could imagine it would be a long, long road, crossing countless mountain ranges and facing danger time and again.

But he could picture it: enormous figures soaring between towering mountains, all kinds of terrifying, unknown birds of prey—hmph, appearing one after another.

You could never know when a ferocious bird might suddenly burst out of some mountain range and hunt down a passing bird.

Or when a beast might spring from some hard-to-spot corner of the forest, tearing a whole herd to pieces.

Fortunately, the first month after he crossed over had taught Bai Yixin plenty of hard lessons. He had learned how a weakling could live longer, how to hide himself better, and how to feed on weaker prey so he could survive in these dangerous mountains.

Things were different now. Bai Yixin couldn't claim to dominate this part of the Great Wilderness, but he was confident he could retreat unscathed no matter what unexpected danger he encountered.

That confidence came from money. With enough cash, Bai Yixin could buy suitable lifesaving items from the shop, such as teleportation talismans and Substitute Puppets.

To guard against the unexpected, he had bought three items specifically for saving his life: first, the "Famous Blade," which locked his health and activated automatically; second, the Substitute Puppet, which could block a fatal attack and also activated automatically; and finally, the Omnidirectional Ultra-Long Distance Teleportation Talisman, which could ignore any seal. With this combination, he was basically impossible to kill under ordinary circumstances. As for extraordinary ones...

Of course, he wouldn't use them unless absolutely necessary. They were just a way to leave himself an escape route.

Well, even though they had cost him twenty million—five million, five million, and ten million—Bai Yixin had winced at the expense, but it was worth it. He could earn more money, but once his life was gone, he'd have nothing.

Fortunately, aside from those big-ticket items, his usual expenses weren't high. He still had over forty-eight million left, enough to last him a while.

With those safeguards, and a little strength of his own to go to his head, Bai Yixin charged straight ahead the whole way. Following the rule "Fight if you can win; run if you can't," he had himself a grand old time.

The "grand" part came from all the delicacies he found in the mountains. He ate whatever he came across, leaving nothing behind. There wasn't anything he wouldn't try—only things he couldn't eat.

In just a few short days, Bai Yixin had already traveled tens of thousands of miles. With wings formed by the Luan Bird Method, and his own ability to fly by controlling his energy, he could cover ground incredibly quickly through the skies.

Along the way, he crossed mountains and ridges, avoiding many fierce beasts that couldn't fly. Unless he took a fancy to some prey or a bird blocked his way, he usually practiced the Luan Bird Method as he flew. With the advantage of being in the sky, he searched the mountains below for hidden Treasure Medicine and fierce beasts worth hunting.

In only a few days, his clothes were already in tatters, several garments stained red with blood and torn apart. He only bought replacements from the shop when the damage left him indecently exposed. He'd deal with the rest after leaving this stretch of the Great Wilderness and reaching some ancient kingdom.

"Damn! How did it spot me?"

Suddenly, a bird cried out. The sky seemed to darken, as though a massive black cloud had dropped from above. A gigantic bird, over three hundred meters long, swooped down from the clouds.

Bai Yixin cursed angrily. The thing had been chasing him for two or three days and still wouldn't give up. Was it sick or something?

Bai Yixin plunged toward the ground, preparing to hide in the forest.

At that very moment, the sky-darkening bird opened its beak and sent a galaxy-like beam crashing down. Rocks shot through the air, and an entire mountainside was shaved flat.

Fortunately, Bai Yixin's Luan Bird wings gave him incredible speed. Trailing a clear blue glow, he darted into the forest and vanished without a trace.

"Phew—finally gone. I only stole one of your eggs. You've been chasing me for days!"

Bai Yixin shook the blood-slick palm of his hand and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Beneath him lay a heap of flesh and blood, blasted into a bloody pulp.

Just moments ago, in the blink of an eye, Bai Yixin had pulled a cuckoo's trick: he had slipped into a hidden underground cave and killed its owner, using it to evade the giant bird once again.

That was the Great Wilderness. Danger lurked everywhere. It was kill or be killed; even if you were safe at home, the next moment you could be nothing but a wandering ghost.

[Breath Concealment Art proficiency +1]

[Breath Concealment Art proficiency +1]

[Breath Concealment Art proficiency +1]

The peaceful days of flying through the sky were all too brief. Along the way, Bai Yixin fought countless bloody battles, covered from head to toe in the blood of vicious birds and beasts. There was no chance to relax or enjoy himself; he had to stay alert and ready for anything, never wasting a moment of rest.

This wasn't like being at home. He couldn't sleep without a care in the world. Even a light doze had to be taken warily, with him constantly on guard.

One night, Bai Yixin had nearly been poisoned to death by a venomous python that had crept up on him without a sound. Even his powerful body had been easily pierced by its fangs, and it had injected him with an exceptionally potent venom. If not for the secret of Runes, he might have been poisoned to death on the spot, triggering his lifesaving trump cards.

In the end, Bai Yixin forcibly suppressed the poison with Runes and spiritual energy, then drove his sword intent straight through the python's skull.

As the python writhed and thrashed in agony, Bai Yixin pulled free of its jaws and slashed furiously with his sword, cutting through its body at the seven-inch mark and severing its gallbladder as well, turning the tables on it.

He found an antidote in the shop and cured the poison. After taking quite a bit of Treasure Medicine, he finally began to recover. It took several days of rest before he was back to normal.