Spring gave way to autumn, and cold gave way to heat.
A full six months had passed since Qin Chen broke through to Late Xiantian.
Over those six months, life at Cloudmist Manor had been peaceful yet fulfilling.
Qin De, the East-Subduing Prince, rarely visited the remote Cloudmist Manor, occupied as he was with military affairs and secretly preparing his great undertaking of raising an army against the Xiang clan. This instead gave the brothers, Qin Chen and Qin Yu, an excellent space to grow undisturbed.
Before the morning mist had dispersed, heart-stopping bursts of wind-splitting noise were already coming from the training grounds.
"Hah!"
A bare-chested boy, his muscles as sharply defined as a leopard's, was furiously punching a row of training posts forged from refined steel. His punches were so fast that they left afterimages in the air, each blow accompanied by a muffled sonic boom.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The incredibly hard refined-steel posts actually caved beneath his fists, leaving deep fist marks.
This boy was none other than Qin Yu, now nine and a half years old.
Six months earlier, Qin Yu had taken the Three-Hundred-Year Scarlet Blood Ginseng Qin Chen had given him. Supported by its tremendous medicinal potency, his almost self-torturous method of external cultivation had finally produced a terrifying surge in growth.
His strength, speed, and ability to withstand blows were all soaring at a rate that defied common sense. Even now, there was still not a trace of internal energy within him, but through physical strength alone, a swing of one arm carried several thousand jin of force. An ordinary Mid Houtian martial artist probably could not withstand even one of his punches.
"Whew..."
After completing a set of fist techniques, Qin Yu exhaled a long stream of white vapor. It shot several feet like an arrow before dissipating.
"Good. Your control over your strength is growing more precise. Not a trace is leaking out."
A gentle voice came from beside him. Dressed in white, Qin Chen had appeared at the edge of the training grounds at some point, holding a steaming bowl of medicinal food.
"Brother!" Seeing Qin Chen, Qin Yu's stern little face immediately broke into a radiant smile. He hurried over, took the bowl, and began gulping down its contents.
A trace of gratification flashed through Qin Chen's eyes as he watched his younger brother gulp it down.
"Xiao Yu, now that your external cultivation has reached this stage, simply training yourself to death will hardly bring any major improvements. What you need is actual combat, tempering on the edge between life and death," Qin Chen said calmly.
Qin Yu wiped the medicinal liquid from the corner of his mouth and nodded earnestly. "I know. Master Zhao Yunxing said the same thing. He plans to take me to the outskirts of the mountains behind Cloudmist Manor in a while, to hunt some low-level demonic beasts for practice."
At the mention of the mountains behind the manor, a nearly imperceptible flicker passed through the depths of Qin Chen's eyes.
The mountains behind Cloudmist Manor stretched on without end, reaching all the way to the fringes of the Primordial Wilderness, the most dangerous region on the Qianlong Continent. Demonic beasts ran rampant there, and danger lurked on every side.
Judging by the timing, it seemed that Qin Yu would soon discover the mutated divine beast Hei Yu in those mountains-the companion who had stayed with him throughout his life in the original story, sharing life and death with him.
Xiao Hei... Qin Chen silently repeated the name.
He knew full well how extraordinary Xiao Hei's origins were. He was a descendant of the Dark Lightning Roc King of the Immortal, Devil, and Demon Realm, possessing extremely rare inherited memories and terrifying evolutionary potential.
In the original story, Xiao Hei had not only been Qin Yu's most loyal companion, but also his strongest source of aid in the early and even middle stages.
If things follow their original course, Xiao Yu will meet Xiao Hei by chance. But now that I have the Tenfold Return System, how could I pass up such a perfect opportunity to farm rewards? Qin Chen calculated inwardly.
His plan was simple: get to Xiao Hei first, then give him to Qin Yu as a gift in his capacity as an elder brother!
That way, Qin Yu would still gain his destined brother and battle companion, the course of fate would not veer disastrously off track, and Qin Chen himself could obtain a super divine beast with a superior bloodline to Xiao Hei's, one even more heaven-defying, through the system's critical-multiplier return!
A win-win!
At that thought, Qin Chen patted Qin Yu on the shoulder. "Go take a bath and give yourself a day off. I'm going for a stroll in the mountains behind the manor. I'll see if I can bring back some game to add to your meal."
"Brother, you're going into the mountains?" Qin Yu was slightly startled. "There are demonic beasts out there. It's too dangerous to go alone. How about I come with you?"
As far as Qin Yu knew, although his brother was a genius at internal cultivation, he rarely fought actual battles, after all. A place like those mountains was no joking matter.
Qin Chen could not help laughing. He was now an expert at Late Xiantian. He could count on both hands everyone in the entire Chu Dynasty who could threaten him, let alone anything in the mere outskirts of those mountains.
"Don't worry. Your big brother is very strong. Be good and wait for me at the manor."
With that, without waiting for Qin Yu to persuade him further, Qin Chen flickered and vanished from the spot like a breeze, leaving only a faint afterimage behind.
Qin Yu rubbed his eyes. Looking at the empty courtyard, he could not help exclaiming, "Brother's movement technique... has gotten faster again. When will I ever catch up to him?"
In the mountains behind Cloudmist Manor, ancient trees towered into the sky, blotting out the heavens and the sun.
The deeper one went, the dimmer the light became. The air was thick with the rank stench of rotting leaves mixed with beast droppings. Occasionally, a few hair-raising beast roars came from far in the distance, making the leaves rustle and tremble.
Whoosh!
A white figure flitted like a phantom between thick tree trunks. With a light tap of his toes against the leaves, he could sweep dozens of zhang away without knocking down even a single leaf.
It was Qin Chen, who had entered the mountains to search for Xiao Hei.
According to the original story's description, Xiao Hei should have been found near a steep cliff. He had only recently hatched at the time, and there were no adult divine birds protecting him.
One two-hour stretch passed... then another...
Qin Chen swiftly searched the depths of the mountains. Along the way, he encountered a few Houtian demonic beasts that had no idea they were courting death, including Azure Shadow Wolves and Iron-Armored Bears. He casually flicked out a strand of Xiantian Sword Qi at each, killing them instantly.
"Hmm? That's..."
Suddenly, Qin Chen's speeding figure stopped short atop a towering tree dozens of zhang tall.
At the foot of a cliff roughly three li ahead and to his left, his spiritual sense detected an extremely faint yet unusually violent pulse of life, brimming with lightning and sharpness.
Accompanying that pulse was another demonic beast aura-cold, immense, and filled with greed!
"Found him!"
A sharp gleam flashed through Qin Chen's eyes. Without the slightest hesitation, the purple-gold Xiantian True Essence within him erupted, and his entire body became a streak of purple light that tore through the air toward the cliff.
Boom!
In just a few breaths, Qin Chen crossed the distance of three li and landed at the edge of the cliff.
He looked down, and the sight before him confirmed his guess.
On a huge rock jutting out below the cliff sat a crude nest built from unidentified dead wood and spirit herbs.
Inside the nest, an eaglet no bigger than a palm, covered in black down, was letting out shrill yet stubborn cries.
Before you continue