Competition Begins

Although Xiao Yan entered the light curtain hand in hand with Xiao Xun'er, the moment they stepped inside, he felt a gentle yet irresistible force forcibly separate them.

Yang Yue had long told Xiao Yan that their locations after being transported into the Ten Thousand Beasts Space would be completely random. He had not held much hope to begin with; it had merely been worth a try. Besides, from what Xiao Yan knew, Xun'er's strength was definitely no weaker than his own, and the faction behind her was likely terrifying as well. It was just that the girl habitually displayed only enough strength to help him.

Xiao Yan remained in the void for a while before the scenery before him gradually returned to normal. A world slightly more yellow than the outside world appeared before his eyes. He could not see its end at all. According to Yang Yue, even a Dou Huang would need at least a month and a half to traverse this world if they did nothing else.

Xiao Yan carefully sensed his surroundings. He heard the occasional beast roar and felt incomparably pure Dou Qi, much richer than outside. However, no one would waste such a treasure merely by cultivating here.

Energy slowly carried Xiao Yan down to the ground. Just as he wanted to speak with Yao Lao, he discovered that he could not contact him no matter what he did. Xiao Yan frowned deeply, took out the ring Yao Lao resided in, and carefully examined it with his soul force. After fully unleashing his soul force, he finally found that familiar aura within the ring, but Yao Lao still gave no response.

However, Yao Lao's soul force had not changed in any way from before. Xiao Yan could only attribute it to the barrier of this space, which might be suppressing Yao Lao.

When Xiao Yan finished investigating, he unexpectedly discovered something else inside the ring, and his furrowed brow gradually relaxed.

"It seems Teacher should be all right. Fine, then this time, I'll rely on my own strength to compete with the prodigies of the Northwest Region!" Xiao Yan was, after all, only a youth who had just turned nineteen. He possessed the vigor of youth as well. Even without being able to borrow Yao Lao's power, he did not think he would fall behind anyone!

Only then did Xiao Yan begin examining his current surroundings. He was in a dense forest that stretched beyond sight. For the moment, he detected no one else nearby. The Ten Thousand Beasts Space had likely done this deliberately, separating everyone first.

He then took out the positioning jade Yang Yue had given him. There was still no sign on the jade ring, indicating that the people from the Heavenly Snake Mansion were not around him either.

Looking over this vast world, he had no way to determine directions. However, when he looked into the sky, he saw a line of striking large characters.

1. Lu Zhi, 25 points.
2. Wan Qing, 18 points.
3. Xu Yingwu, 12 points.
4. Shi Han, 11 points.
5. Shi Meng, 10 points.
6. Lu Xi'ao, 4 points.
7. Xu Ye, 3 points.

...

8. Yang Lingyan, 2 points.
9. Shi Qiandun, 2 points.
10. Chu Qun, 2 points.

This was the ranking list within the Ten Thousand Beasts Space. Scores were assigned based on one's performance within the space, and the top ten were displayed in the sky for everyone to see. Xiao Yan looked at the back of his right hand, where there was also a number—only, it was zero. He tried influencing it with Dou Qi, but in his perception, there was clearly nothing there at all, only emptiness.

"As expected, the things set up by a Dou Di are truly wondrous," Xiao Yan sighed.

Then Xiao Yan spread out his soul perception and shot toward the southeast. The way to raise one's score was already common knowledge throughout the Northwest Region. There was only one method: hunting!

Xiao Yan leaped onto an ancient tree and looked at the enormous creature resting in a cave on the nearby cliff—a fifth-tier Magical Beast, the Mountain-Shaking Ape.

However, Xiao Yan did not attack immediately. Instead, he began observing it. Behind the Mountain-Shaking Ape was a vivid red flower, its brilliant crimson petals seeming to burn—Bloodflame Flower! A supplementary ingredient usable in many sixth-tier medicinal pills.

Xiao Yan pondered inwardly. Magical Beasts are normally extremely territorial. I didn't deliberately conceal my aura. If I encountered this Mountain-Shaking Ape outside, the only possibility would be that it would flee. Yet now, it seems to have noticed nothing and is still resting peacefully in its cave.

"It seems its perception has been greatly weakened. Then let's see how strong you are."

Xiao Yan jumped down from the tree. Only when he approached the Mountain-Shaking Ape's cave did it roar and emerge. As it drew near, Xiao Yan noticed a faint illusionary quality to its body.

"It seems that even though a Dou Di is powerful, they still cannot bring the dead back to life."

The Mountain-Shaking Ape threw punch after punch, each one crashing down like a mountain. Yet Xiao Yan calmly received every attack as if taking a leisurely stroll. He was relying solely on the strength of his physical body to clash with the Mountain-Shaking Ape.

After half an incense stick's time, Xiao Yan, now fully aware of the Mountain-Shaking Ape's strength, threw a fist carrying an overbearing force and directly blasted its head apart.

Unlike in the outside world, the Mountain-Shaking Ape did not collapse or reveal a Magical Core. Instead, its entire body slowly dissipated into two streams of energy.

One massive stream burrowed into the ground beneath the cave. The other, thinner stream seemed guided as it covered the back of Xiao Yan's hand. A number immediately appeared on his hand: twelve.

When Xiao Yan looked back into the sky, he had already reached ninth place. However, everyone else's scores had risen as well. Lu Zhi, who held first place, already had forty-three points.

"Its combat instincts have basically been inherited from when it was alive, and it hasn't lost its innate abilities either. It's merely lacking intelligence. Its strength is probably around eighty percent of what it had outside."

Xiao Yan evaluated the Magical Beast. After all, these creatures would be his main targets over the next three months, so he naturally needed to understand them clearly.

Then Xiao Yan strengthened the suction in his palm, and the entire Bloodflame Flower flew into his hand. A supplementary ingredient for sixth-tier medicinal pills had been guarded by only a single Mountain-Shaking Ape. This Ten Thousand Beasts Space could truly be said to be filled with treasures everywhere.

Xiao Yan could not help but sigh. With Yao Lao restricted and Zi Yan not by his side, gathering medicinal herbs through his own perception alone would be much slower.

"I hope that little Zi Yan finds plenty of medicinal herbs for me. It would be great if I had her kind of miraculous perception too..." After sighing, Xiao Yan fully spread out his soul perception. Sensing that the Dou Qi to the west was especially dense, he immediately shot in that direction.

Hunting Magical Beasts and gathering herbs like Xiao Yan did filled the entire Ten Thousand Beasts Space. Scores here represented one's final ranking, and that ranking represented the future development prospects of each faction for the next ten years. Everyone was giving it their all as they hunted.

Of course, Lu Zhi, who was far ahead on the rankings, was not merely hunting Magical Beasts nonstop. He was also steadily heading in a particular direction.

After effortlessly killing a Magical Beast, Lu Zhi took out a map made from an unusual material. It was a map related to the Dou Saint Ruins, which the Mystic Pattern Sect had purchased at great cost from an auction.

After carefully identifying it, Lu Zhi spread his wings and shot at top speed toward the direction indicated on the map.