Seeing Shi Qingyun approach, Jin Wanwan spoke to him with some concern:
"Are you all right, young hero? I have medicine for your wounds. Here."
As she spoke, she took out medicinal treasures of all sizes, intending to treat Shi Qingyun's injuries.
Shi Qingyun waved a hand and told her with a smile:
"It's nothing, just superficial wounds. A little rest is all I need."
Jin Wanwan nodded.
Then, as though something else had occurred to her, she told him with a smile:
"My name is Jin Wanwan. I'm from the Primordial Roc Mountain, and this is Yuan Sheng."
Yuan Sheng was pulled over. Up close, he took in Shi Qingyun's handsome, striking appearance and sensed the powerful confidence radiating from him.
It stirred a sense of inferiority and an intense feeling of crisis in him, as though something important were slipping away from him.
He merely nodded briefly to Shi Qingyun, then paid him no further attention.
Jin Wanwan noticed nothing amiss and instead asked Shi Qingyun where he came from, her voice tinged with curiosity.
Shi Qingyun thought nothing of Yuan Sheng's coldness. They did not know each other, after all.
He did not conceal anything in response to Jin Wanwan's curiosity, either, openly telling them.
"My name is Shi Qingyun. I'm from the Martial King Manor."
At those words, Jin Wanwan looked at him with some surprise.
"A prodigy from the Martial King Manor! I thought having Shi Yi, the Double-Pupiled One, was already a blessing from heaven for the manor."
"I never imagined it had another genius like you."
Yu Tian, who was on the ground, heard their conversation and blurted out without thinking:
"Brother Qingyun is every bit as strong as Shi Yi."
Even he froze for a moment after saying that, but upon reflection, he felt there was nothing wrong with his words.
After all, he had witnessed Shi Qingyun's strength.
Hearing Yu Tian's words, Jin Wanwan nodded in wholehearted agreement.
Chapter 49: A silhouette beneath the setting sun
After listening for a while, Shi Qingyun really could not bear to hear them keep praising him.
He hurriedly changed the subject. If they kept this up, he would start feeling embarrassed.
Turning toward Yuan Sheng and the others, he asked:
"How did you encounter vicious beasts here? And why were you with people from the Martial King Manor?"
Jin Wanwan and Yuan Sheng exchanged a glance before explaining what had happened.
Shi Qingyun stood there and listened as they took turns recounting the story, finally understanding what was going on.
It had begun when Shi Yi and a prodigy of the Feather Clan discovered a Precious Bone in a valley at the same time.
The two fought over the Precious Bone, and in the end, Shi Yi won and took it away.
During the struggle, Shi Yi also slew the Feather Clan genius.
When the other Feather Clan prodigies learned of this, they surrounded Shi Yi and tried to kill him, both to avenge their clansman and to reclaim the Precious Bone.
According to those Feather Clan members, the Precious Bone might have been a fragment of a Qilin's bone. That was what they had told Jin Wanwan and the others when approaching them for an alliance.
For the sake of that Precious Bone, the Feather Clan allied with quite a few people from the Primordial Divine Mountain and went after Shi Yi together.
Although Jin Wanwan and the others had not gone, the news they heard suggested that the attempt had failed.
They had the advantage in numbers, but Shi Yi was far too powerful for them to handle. They could only change tactics, hoping to capture people from the Martial King Manor and use them to threaten him.
Later, however, the strange fluctuations from the Starfall Mountain Range drew their attention, and they temporarily set the matter of Shi Yi aside.
But after arriving in the Starfall Mountain Range and meeting others from the Primordial Divine Mountain, they once again thought of dealing with Shi Yi, since he would likely be their greatest rival in the struggle for the treasure.
This time, their numbers were several times greater than before, giving them more confidence in their ability to deal with him.
As for their encounter with the people from the Martial King Manor, they had met by chance while surrounded and attacked by a horde of beasts.
Jin Wanwan spoke with some helplessness:
"I don't know what's happened to the Starfall Mountain Range. All the vicious beasts have gathered here."
"And the moment they see anyone, they hunt them down without hesitation."
"Yuan Sheng and I knew we stood little chance in this struggle for the treasure, so we wanted to leave the Starfall Mountain Range with our clansmen."
"We never expected to run into a beast horde along the way."
After hearing Jin Wanwan's explanation, he roughly understood the situation.
No wonder Jin Wanwan and the others were heading out of the Starfall Mountain Range. They had been pushed out.
That made sense. After dealing with Shi Yi, those Feather Clan members might well turn their spears on people like them who had refused to join.
Though they all belonged to the Primordial Divine Mountain, the competition within it was undoubtedly brutal.
Shi Qingyun shook his head. Even with superior numbers, these people from the Primordial Divine Mountain might not be a match for Shi Yi. After all, the might of the Double Pupils was renowned throughout the long river of history.
But his thoughts then returned to the beasts' inexplicable rampage. Shi Qingyun knew that the depths of the Starfall Mountain Range must be extraordinarily dangerous at this moment.
Suppressing the restlessness in his heart, he gathered more information about the Starfall Mountain Range from Jin Wanwan and the others. This was not the first time people from the Primordial Divine Mountain had entered the Qilin Mountain Range.
That much was clear from their extraordinarily detailed map.
After discussing the Starfall Mountain Range with Jin Wanwan and the others, he discovered that although they had explored this secret realm many times,
Their knowledge of the Starfall Mountain Range was scant.
A reminiscent look entered Jin Wanwan's eyes, and her red lips parted slightly.
"Before we came, I heard an elder of our clan say that people had only ventured into the Starfall Mountain Range once."
"But the losses were terrible. Only one person escaped. He was an exceptional prodigy of the Celestial Clan, but sadly, his foundation was destroyed during that expedition."
Regret showed on Jin Wanwan's face. Then she turned to Shi Qingyun and looked straight into his eyes.
"No one knows what happened inside. Only a few rumors about the Starfall Mountain Range spread afterward."
"But it must be incredibly dangerous in there, so we don't intend to go any farther."
Shi Qingyun kept pondering, weighing the gains against the losses.
Feeling the restlessness in his blood and that strange sensation in his heart, he still decided to make the journey.
This time, he would go alone. He had no intention of taking anyone with him.
As for the people from the Martial King Manor, he would have them accompany Yu Tian and follow Jin Wanwan's group outside, where they could wait for the secret realm to open.
Yu Tian, who was tending to his injuries, fell silent for a moment after learning of Shi Qingyun's arrangements.
Along the way, he had come to understand just how dangerous this place was. With his current strength, following Shi Qingyun would be courting death.
He might even become a burden to Shi Qingyun, and naturally, he did not want to follow him only to hold him back.
At this moment, his strongest feeling was that the gulf between people towered higher than even a heavenly chasm.
He understood that his so-called status as a genius was merely the threshold for meeting another genius. In the end, he was still far too weak.
So when Shi Qingyun proposed that he remain outside, he merely fell silent for a moment before agreeing.
Jin Wanwan had initially wanted to persuade Shi Qingyun to leave with them. After all, there was less than a day left before the secret realm opened.
If he headed into the depths of the Starfall Mountain Range now, there was no telling what might happen.
If something unexpected happened to Shi Qingyun, he would have no choice but to wait until the secret realm opened again.
But after sensing Shi Qingyun's unwavering resolve, she chose not to speak.
She understood that she could not persuade him.
After briefly saying goodbye to everyone, Shi Qingyun set off on his own path.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, he slowly vanished into the distance.
Jin Wanwan gazed in the direction he had left, able only to pray in her heart that he would remain safe.
Watching from the side, Yuan Sheng merely folded his arms across his chest and stared at that steadily receding figure.
Although Shi Qingyun's arrival had filled him with a sense of crisis, leaving him with complicated feelings of both wariness and gratitude,
As he watched that silhouette disappear beneath the setting sun, it looked so resolute and carefree, as though nothing could pose a problem for him.
Now, all he felt was envy. With enough strength, even a so-called forbidden land was merely a matter of one punch. He found his earlier behavior somewhat laughable.
Beside him, Jin Wanwan watched that figure as well, knowing that Shi Qingyun's name would one day spread throughout the Great Wilderness.
Perhaps this would be the closest she ever came to a legend.
Perhaps getting to meet such a monstrous genius means I can live this life without regrets.
I wonder when we'll meet again.
By then, perhaps your name will already resound across an entire region.
Watching Shi Qingyun's retreating figure disappear, she thought these words to herself.
Chapter 50: Fishing in muddy waters
"Eight Directions Reverse Step! Maximum speed!"
The Yin-Yang Cave Heaven behind Shi Qingyun spun furiously, rapidly drawing in the vital essence drifting through heaven and earth.
His figure leaped and darted among the towering trees like a phantom, leaving only trails of afterimages as he advanced into the depths.
The secret realm will open soon. I don't have much time left.
I have to hurry. A vague premonition told him that something he needed lay ahead.
If he did not go to the source and take a look, he felt as though something would slip away from him, leaving his heart hollow.
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