New Crisis

Great Wilderness Mountain, eastern mountain range.

Between the mountains, morning light broke through the mist, gentle winds melted the frost and snow, and a hundred flowers competed in spring splendor.

Amid the vast forests and ravines, someone sang loudly.

"Azure clouds drift into the deep mountains, rainbow clouds beyond the sky hide the rivers.

"Half a life bound by storms, fame, and fortune—better to sing aloud and drink to joy."

A wolf-headed, tiger-bodied Fierce Beast raced through the forest, pursued by five youths riding wolves.

"Feng Xu, you're spouting nonsense again. You're only sixteen this year—how can you call it 'half a life'?"

Kunmu, at the very back, shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Hehe, it's better if you don't understand. If even you could understand it, how would I show how profound my learning is?"

The youth in the middle burst into laughter.

"Who said I didn't understand? You want to treat us to drinks, right, Jiang Ming?"

"Right, that's exactly what it means. Feng Xu, you can't go back on your word."

Jiang Ming immediately caught on, and the others chimed in as well.

"Fine, you little brats have been eyeing it for so long. If you shoot this Fierce Beast first today, I'll let you taste my Two-Liang Immortal."

Two-Liang Immortal was a liquor that made ordinary people lose their minds after drinking just two liang, after which they would begin bragging about themselves.

"We're counting on you, Lin Feng. Take down that pig thief before Feng Xu makes his move."

Tie Zhao, the youngest among them, shouted at the youth in front.

"Alright, leave it to me."

Lin Feng agreed confidently. Pulling the reins, he lightly patted the gray wolf beneath him on the neck and urged it faster.

The Fierce Beast gradually ran out of strength. Once Lin Feng entered range, he drew his bow and nocked an arrow.

Whoosh—

Just as Lin Feng was about to fire, an arrow suddenly flew from behind him, carrying a trace of watery vapor as it brushed past him.

The Fierce Beast was struck in the hind leg, lost its balance, and crashed to the ground.

The arrow Lin Feng instinctively released missed by a hair.

Whoosh, whoosh—

Two more arrows struck vital points in succession, and the Fierce Beast completely stopped breathing.

"Feng Xu, you cheated!"

Lin Feng stopped beside the beast's corpse and shouted indignantly.

"Fair, just, and open. I hit the prey fair and square, so how can you call that cheating?"

Feng Xu spread his hands. Seeing Lin Feng's furious expression and the others' frustration, he took pleasure in their misfortune.

"Looks like certain people won't be getting any drinks."

With a casual gesture, Feng Xu pulled the three arrows out of the Fierce Beast, and they flew back into his hand.

"The Dragon-Snake Bow and Mysterious Feather Arrows you use are both Dharma Artifacts. Of course they can shoot farther than mine."

Lin Feng was clearly unconvinced.

"You only realized that now? I held off on shooting earlier to give you a chance. What a shame—you were useless even with the chance."

"You!"

Lin Feng turned away, unwilling to keep arguing.

"Alright, alright. We'll say you hunted it."

"What do you mean, 'we'll say'? Don't insult me like that."

Feng Xu jumped onto Lin Feng's mount. Before Lin Feng could react, he took three arrows from his quiver.

He walked over to the Fierce Beast and inserted them into its wounds.

"This Fierce Beast was hunted by you. Happy now?"

Feng Xu said with a smile.

"Then it's settled—you have to treat us to drinks."

Tie Zhao said excitedly.

"Dream on. I gave you the credit, and you still want my liquor? No chance!"

"Then there's not much point in you giving it to us."

Lin Feng muttered with pursed lips.

"Just tell me whether you want it or not. When we get back, we'll all stick to the same story: Lin Feng caught this prey."

The youths looked at one another before finally silently agreeing.

Lin Feng hoisted the Fierce Beast onto his back and climbed onto his wolf again, feeling as bold as the clouds, as though he had truly hunted it himself.

"If Feng Xu hadn't cheated, this prey would have been mine anyway."

The youths rode their wolves back.

On the way back, Jiang Ming moved closer to Feng Xu and whispered, "What a clever move, Headmaster. Not only did you make someone else do the work, you made them do it willingly."

"Jiang Ming, don't slander me. Do I look like that kind of person?"

Feng Xu glanced at the people ahead. Seeing that they did not seem to notice their conversation, he deliberately slowed down.

"Bai Hao has powerful Demon Race blood. Among the tribe's dogs, Bai Hao is the fastest and has the most endurance. Yet you stayed behind Lin Feng the whole time. You did that on purpose, didn't you, Bai Hao?"

Bai Hao was Little White. Since Little White had grown into a large dog, Feng Xu felt he deserved a more formal name.

Jiang Ming leaned halfway over and lightly patted Bai Hao on the head.

Bai Hao gave a chuckle, which was as good as admitting it.

The tribe's spoils were distributed collectively. If Feng Xu wanted to, he also had authority over their distribution.

So it did not matter much who the prey belonged to. The power was in Feng Xu's hands, and Lin Feng could at most show off for a while.

Feng Xu, meanwhile, could save himself the trouble of carrying the prey back.

To make sure more people knew about it, Lin Feng deliberately took a detour down the mountain to the rice fields, pretending to merely be passing by.

He also mooched off them for lunch.

"I caught this pig thief today and happened to pass by here. Keep working, don't mind me."

"Oh, you have no idea how fierce this thing was. Luckily my archery was superb, or I never would have taken down this villain."

"Hehe, my archery is only so-so. It's just a tiny bit better than Feng Xu's."

"Sigh, such a huge prey. How long will it take to finish eating it?"

As the sun set beyond the western mountains, the five returned to Vermilion Ridge.

Vermilion Ridge was Wild Boar Ridge. Feng Xu thought Wild Boar Ridge sounded unpleasant, so he changed its name.

They handed the prey over to the patrol team, then hurried back to Bamboo Mountain Academy.

As its name suggested, Bamboo Mountain Academy was filled with bamboo.

The bamboo had been transplanted from near the Marsh Tribe. After six years, it had spread across several nearby mountains.

Bamboo Mountain Academy, rear courtyard study.

Feng Yuqi looked at the four students who had skipped class for an entire day without saying a word.

Beside her, Feng Xu lowered his head and flipped through a dictionary.

As early as two years ago, when the academy was founded, Feng Xu had made white paper and bound it into books.

At present, there were only two books. One was the Record of the Great Wilderness, which documented all manner of things from the Primordial World. It was both the first book of the Primordial World and its first encyclopedia.

The other was the Great Wilderness Dictionary, which mainly recorded the characters Feng Xu had created. It currently contained more than five thousand characters.

It contained not only explanations, but also relatively standardized pinyin.

The textbooks at Bamboo Mountain Academy drew all their content from these two books.

"Why is no one saying anything? Have you all gone mute?"

Feng Yuqi leaned back in her chair and looked at them. Though she was not angry, she carried an imposing authority.

"Lin Feng, weren't you feeling quite proud just now? You skipped class for a day and hunted a Fierce Beast. You think you've become capable now? Did you really kill that Fierce Beast? I'll give you one chance. Tell the truth."

"Teacher, I really killed it. I even made a bet with the Headmaster. If I won, I could drink liquor..."

"You still dare drink liquor!"

Feng Yuqi suddenly raised her voice, making the people beside her shudder.

Feng Xu covered his mouth and snickered. This fool—the academy rules prohibited drinking, yet he had exposed himself.

"I said they didn't mention you, but did you think that meant you were fine?"

Feng Yuqi turned to Feng Xu.

"Huh? How is this related to me too?"

Feng Xu replied awkwardly.

"As the Headmaster, it would already be bad enough if you failed to set an example. Yet you even took students out to skip class. Is that any way for a Headmaster to behave? How are we supposed to teach and guide students like this?"

Feng Yuqi slapped the table and pointed at Feng Xu as she scolded him.

"Students can't be taught only in classrooms. They need to learn through practice, and education should be enjoyable. I took them out so they could personally comprehend the truth."

"Then what did you comprehend?"

Feng Yuqi looked at the four again, her expression stern.

"Uh... well, we comprehended..."

Lin Feng turned to look at Feng Xu.

I'm asking you. Why are you looking at me?

Feng Xu complained inwardly, but still answered, "The techniques of mounted archery."

"That's right, mounted archery. We deepened our understanding of mounted archery."

"What else?"

"And also..."

Lin Feng glanced at Feng Xu again.

Feng Yuqi stepped between the two and pointed toward the door while looking at Feng Xu.

"You, get outside and wait."

Feng Xu slunk out of the study. After the four had finished being lectured, he slunk back in.

"Don't take the students running around during this period."

Feng Yuqi sighed. She had to maintain the image of a strict teacher before the students, but privately, she was not as harsh with Feng Xu.

"Is something wrong?"

"Feng Sui came by today with news that a Middle Earth Immortal Demon Beast had been drained dry twenty li west of here. Its body was covered in bite marks. It was probably some kind of venomous insect that traveled in swarms.

"Judging from the locations of similar corpses, they're heading this way."