The darkness slowly receded, and the first ray of dawn shot over the mountains like a golden arrow, piercing the clouds and shining straight down onto the earth.
That golden light was like a miraculous bridge linking heaven and earth, heralding a new day and setting the blood aflame.
Facing the dawn from the mountaintop, Lin Fan gazed down at the rolling sea of clouds with a smile spread across his face. He could not help exclaiming, "Ah, another exciting day! Full of energy!"
Last night, he had truly taken in the most beautiful scenery in the world. Both his body and mind had been elevated, and the blood energy within him had rolled like thunder without pause.
He felt that cultivating all day without a break could not match the progress he made from a single night's bath. If he could do that every day, would attaining a hundred thousand jin of strength in each arm not be as easy as reaching out and grabbing it?
Still, Lin Fan felt some regret. A whole pool of full moons and immortal peaches had been right within reach, yet he could only admire them from afar, never touch or play with them!
"You're still young, at the golden age for cultivation. You should focus on cultivating." Inside the dilapidated mountain gate, Qi Daolin opened his eyes and gave him a peculiar glance.
"Dao Master, what are you talking about? I don't quite understand." Lin Fan scratched his head, his expression perfectly calm.
Inside, however, he was cursing up a storm. He seriously suspected that the old fellow had some peculiar tastes. He even enjoyed peeping-what a shameless old man.
Qi Daolin smiled faintly and offered no explanation. "Let's begin today's morning lesson!"
Lin Fan sat cross-legged with a solemn expression, listening to the old man explain the day's runes.
As a competent actor, even if he had been found out, he had to act as though nothing had happened.
"Runes represent the laws and order of heaven and earth... There are innate runes and acquired runes. Certain creatures are born with bone text within their bodies..."
The stars wheeled across the heavens, day followed night, and a year streaked past like a meteor. Lin Fan underwent astonishing changes.
His seemingly small, not particularly sturdy body actually contained primordial might. Each arm possessed fifty thousand jin of strength, and with his physical body alone, he could lift a cauldron weighing a hundred thousand jin. It was terrifying beyond belief.
He was only five years old, yet his blood energy already soared into the sky like a flood dragon, surpassing that of many vicious beasts. A single punch could shatter mountain rocks, and his bare hands could snap divine iron.
"This brat really is a freak. It's as though his body has unlocked a treasure vault. In just one year, he's reached the late stage of the Blood Moving Realm, a level that takes others two or three years of bitter cultivation. And the further he cultivates, the faster he progresses!" Qi Daolin remarked in amazement as he watched the child duel a young Pixiu.
Over the past year, Lin Fan had given him far too many surprises. It was as though he could see hope and light in the boy.
Whether learning bone text or cultivating, Lin Fan had neglected neither, and his comprehension was extraordinary. At this rate, he would reach the Extreme Realm of Blood Shifting within a year.
Buzz!
The earth shook, and rumbling rose one wave after another.
A change came over the battlefield. The fight grew fierce, reaching a white-hot pitch as both sides began fighting for their lives.
"Awooo..."
The grayish-white Pixiu roared wildly. His tiger-and-leopard-like body swelled by a size, his dragonlike tail rose, and the precious horn atop his head released dazzling divine light. Countless showers of light shot out, densely packed.
Their power looked astonishing. They exploded upon striking the ground, sending sand and shattered stones flying and leaving countless craters, some several zhang deep.
Lin Fan frowned, constantly dodging the rainlike attacks. At the same time, he felt that this opponent was extremely troublesome, far from ordinary.
The Pixiu did not look large, only about two meters long, yet he was the strongest vicious beast Lin Fan had encountered in all his training so far. His strength was exceptional. He seemed less like a beast of remnant blood than a pureblood vicious beast.
Though still a cub, he was far from unintelligent. He knew how to use the terrain, mislead his opponent, and lure him in, much like a person. His timing when unleashing Precious Arts was excellent as well.
Whoosh!
Lin Fan surged forward like a ferocious great peng, moving as fast as lightning. Precious light flickered all over him, his muscles were fair and crystalline, and his fist shone with a metallic luster.
The Pixiu reacted just as swiftly, immediately raising his forepaw to defend.
With a thunderous bang, fist and sharp claws collided violently, producing a piercing metallic clang, as though two pieces of divine iron had smashed together. Sparks flew everywhere.
Crack!
The Pixiu grunted in pain. His forepaw broke, blood pouring from it, and even his body was sent flying dozens of meters. He slammed heavily into the ground, then rolled another few dozen meters before finally stopping.
At that moment, Little Pixiu could not comprehend how this human cub's flesh could be stronger than his own. It was so tough that it hardly seemed human. Are you the vicious beast, or am I?
"Awooo..."
A vicious rage rose within him. He should have been enjoying a comfortable life among his clan, yet a powerful expert had abducted him to serve as someone's sparring partner. It was utterly hateful.
And now, he could not even beat a little brat. Falling behind in their fight made the already proud Little Pixiu feel deeply humiliated.
He came from the direct bloodline of the Pixiu clan, the equivalent of royalty, incomparable to those wild beasts with diluted bloodlines. He should have stood proudly above the other races. How could he lose to someone else?
If word reached his clan, how could he ever hold his head high again? Before he had even truly ventured into the world to sweep all beneath heaven aside, he would already be branded a loser.
At that thought, Little Pixiu's resentment surged. Determined to turn the situation around, he actually spoke in human language. "I will not lose!"
"Huh? You're something else. You can even talk." Lin Fan was surprised. This was his first time seeing a nonhumanoid creature speak; he had never encountered it before.
Clearly, his earlier guess had been right. This Pixiu possessed a very pure bloodline. He was a descendant of an ancient vicious beast, not a beast of remnant blood.
To Little Pixiu, Lin Fan's words were unmistakably a provocation, further enraging him. Even with that powerful expert present, he would defeat this human child soundly and trample him.
Rumble!
Little Pixiu's eyes blazed. Silver lightning sprang up between his hairs and around his single horn. Runes condensed one after another, and lightning surged in raging waves, releasing immense power.
Rather than engaging Lin Fan in a physical struggle, he chose to attack with a Precious Art, playing to his strengths and avoiding his weaknesses. He had noticed that although his opponent possessed a powerful body, he had not used a single rune-based Precious Art so far.
He did not know whether the boy was too conceited, had some other reason, or had simply never learned a Precious Art.
Still, this was precisely his opportunity. Only by winning this match would the mysterious expert who had captured him let him go. That had been agreed upon beforehand.
The air rumbled with thunder and flashing lightning. A thick bolt erupted from the single horn atop the Pixiu's head and struck toward Lin Fan.
Unexpectedly, Lin Fan still resisted with his physical body, charging recklessly like a wild bull. Without the slightest fear of the lightning, he rushed straight toward it.
"You're the one courting death! Don't blame me!" Little Pixiu sneered. If his opponent was struck dead, that great figure could not blame him. Who had told the boy not to dodge?
Crackle!
What happened next left one utterly dumbfounded. The lightning struck Lin Fan, yet he seemed completely unharmed, as though he had dissolved the bolt. It could not injure his body.
"Impervious to all arts? How is that possible?!"
Little Pixiu was stunned. He could not believe that a legendary ability had appeared in a human cub. Even those great figures had not mastered such a method.
"Huh... No!" he muttered, rejecting the thought as he noticed green light rippling across Lin Fan's chest. Divine radiance illuminated his body, and faintly visible patches of bone text emerged there.
Little Pixiu suddenly remembered something. "You're a First-"
But before he could finish, Lin Fan had already charged through the lightning and reached him in an instant. Swinging his golden fist with peerless divine might, he struck with all his strength at a vital point.
Bang!
The punch struck Little Pixiu's head, caving the space between his brows into his skull with the crack of breaking bone. At the same time, a spray of crimson blood burst from his mouth as he was sent flying miserably!
He had never imagined that he was actually fighting a First Generation.
And his opponent's ability was not immunity to all arts at all, but a healing Divine Art. Its powerful vitality rendered him virtually immune, leaving him unharmed!
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