The cold moonlight slowly cascaded from the sky, enveloping the entire forest in a veil of ethereal mystery. “Sss…” On the summit, a young man clenched his shirt between his teeth, his forehead beaded with cold sweat, his hands tightly gripping the tree trunk, veins bulging.
On the bare back of the youth, a red liquid was poured, and an old man with a somewhat translucent body was holding a jade tablet, slowly scraping it. With each stroke of his hand, the youth’s body would convulse violently.
After completely covering the youth’s back with the red liquid, the elder finally stopped, not quite satisfied. He looked down at the young man, whose face was contorted in pain, and chuckled, “Feels good, doesn’t it?”
“Good my ass!” The burning pain on his back made Xiao Yan lash out. The searing pain had left a deep psychological scar on him.
“Hehe.” The Pharmacist Elder laughed, looking down at the red liquid gradually evaporating from Xiao Yan’s back. Nodding slightly, he asked, “How is it? Do you feel like you’re touching the threshold of a seven-star fighter?”
Hearing this, Xiao Yan rolled his eyes, and with a wry smile, said, “I just broke through to a six-star fighter a month ago. Do you think I could touch the seven-star threshold so soon? The last three stars of each tier are the hardest to break through.”
“It’s been almost five months since we started our cultivation, and there’s only less than a year left until your agreement with Yun Yun from the Yunlan Sect,” the Pharmacist Elder said with a faint smile.
Pausing for a moment, Xiao Yan licked his lips and frowned, “I don’t know what level she’s at now. She was already a three-star fighter two years ago. With her talent and the strength of the Yunlan Sect, I don’t think she’ll be weaker than me.”
“Indeed, although I have many ways to boost your strength quickly, they all come with severe side effects. If you use those secret techniques, you might be stuck at that level forever,” the Pharmacist Elder said slowly.
Glancing at the silent Xiao Yan, he continued, “Even if you really lose to that girl, I won’t let you use those secret techniques. The cost is too high.”
“I don’t want to lose to her in that three-year agreement. You know how much I’ve sacrificed… She is the reason I’ve endured these arduous cultivations,” Xiao Yan said, turning over and gazing at the silver moon in the sky, his eyes half-closed.
Taking a deep breath, Xiao Yan turned his head and looked at the somewhat translucent Pharmacist Elder, smirking, “And Master, you promised to help me catch up with her.”
“You little brat…” The Pharmacist Elder shook his head helplessly, his palm reaching out to summon a cold, white flame. His gaze fixed on the leaping flame, a faint smile appeared on his aged face. “Don’t worry, if I can’t even do this, how can I brag in front of you?”
“But I can only boost your strength if you have time to cultivate as I taught. Running around like this is wasting your precious time,” the Pharmaiser Elder said teasingly.
Rolling his eyes, Xiao Yan shrugged, saying helplessly, “If Master just farted, it would kill them. But you insist on being a highbrow and not doing anything.”
*Slap!* A palm hit Xiao Yan’s head, and the Pharmacist Elder scolded with a laugh, “If I solve everything for you, what’s the point of living? Fighting others also helps you grow mentally and gain experience.”
Shrugging, Xiao Yan turned over again, groaning in frustration, muttering, “Those bastards, I’ll get rid of them all eventually. They’re wasting too much of my time… Ah…”
After a brief howl, Xiao Yan suddenly bit his shirt again, mumbling, “Master, continue…”
“Huh?” The Pharmacist Elder paused, “You can still go on?”
“Sigh, I don’t have much time to rest…” The youth buried his head in his clothes, his voice muffled.
Looking at the youth who tensed up again, the Pharmacist Elder was stunned for a moment. The hidden stubbornness in the youth’s bones brought a smile to his face. Nodding, he took another bottle of “Burn Blood” from his storage ring and poured it down.
“Sss…” In the quiet night, the cold breath escaping from the youth’s clenched teeth slowly swirled and dissipated.
…
The scorching sun filtered through the trees, casting countless tiny spots of light in the dense forest, creating a beautiful scene. Hidden in a secluded part of the jungle, Xiao Yan furrowed his brows as he watched the mercenary groups entering and exiting below. This was the main path into the Magical Beast Mountains, and although there were usually many mercenaries, today, Xiao Yan felt something was off.
Staring through the grass, Xiao Yan’s eyes fixed on the passing mercenaries. After a while, his pupils shrank as he realized what was wrong. Many of the groups below seemed to be hastily formed, but their movements betrayed a coordination that only came with long-term teamwork.
“Something really seems off…” Furrowing his brows, Xiao Yan spat out the grass stem in his mouth. His eyes darted, and he carefully emerged from the grass, moving silently into the dense forest.
Xiao Yan had covered his clothes with green stripes of plant juice, allowing him to hide safely in the forest without being detected. Concealed in the dark, he observed several small teams of five. Carefully watching their actions, he confirmed that these seemingly beast-hunting mercenaries were actually searching for something…
Using the cover of the forest and the smell-masking properties of the plant juices, Xiao Yan successfully avoided the mercenary teams and the wandering magical beasts. After half a morning of reconnaissance, he finally learned the identity of the mercenary teams.
“Wolf Head Mercenary Group… Tsk, killing their third-in-command really stirred up a hornet’s nest,” Xiao Yan muttered, slightly surprised by the revelation.
“Damn, hiding for half a day, pent-up anger… It’s your bad luck,” Xiao Yan said coldly as he watched a five-man team enter the depths of the forest from his hiding place.
He had been watching this team for a while. Five five-star fighters, and he believed he could take them on. Being in the dense forest, he didn’t need to worry about being seen by other teams and getting ambushed.
Following the team into the forest, Xiao Yan didn’t rush to attack. He quietly hid in the bushes, like a venomous snake waiting for its prey, patiently biding his time…
After following the team for a while, they finally stopped to rest. One of the mercenaries slowly left his companions and walked towards a small bush. Behind the tree, the mercenary’s face went black, and a sharp pain in his throat quickly clouded his consciousness…
Shortly after, a panicked shout rang out, “A magical beast! A rank three magical beast!”
Hearing the shout, the other mercenaries paused. One of them, laughing, said, “Did a woman suck you dry last night? This is the outer area of the Magical Beast Mountains, there’s no rank three beast…”
Before he could finish, the mercenary rushed forward, and a cold gleam shot out. The curse died in the mercenary’s throat.
Swiftly dealing with one mercenary, the figure shifted, lifting his hand to pull the farthest mercenary. The dagger in his hand flicked, piercing the mercenary’s throat.
“Xiao Yan! Xiao Yan!!” In just ten seconds, two five-star fighters were killed by the disguised Xiao Yan. The other two mercenaries finally snapped out of their daze. The older mercenary kicked his companion toward Xiao Yan, quickly drawing a short flute from his sleeve and placing it to his lips. A black shadow flashed, and a fierce kick landed on his chest.
*Pfft.* Blood spurted from his mouth, and using the force, the mercenary flew in an arc, using his last strength to blow a sharp, short sound.
The sound waves spread out, and Xiao Yan, with a grim expression, dealt the final blow to the gasping mercenary. Looking up, he saw figures rushing towards the forest.
“Damn, underestimated these guys.” Cursing under his breath, Xiao Yan turned and ran.
“Chirp, chirp…” As Xiao Yan fled, more whistles sounded behind him. All the mercenaries rushed towards the forest.
“Get him!” The pursuing mercenaries shouted, chasing the elusive figure.
“Shit, this is getting out of hand.” Glancing at the pursuing horde, Xiao Yan shook his head, running, using the green markings for cover. After running a distance, Xiao Yan’s face changed. Turning back, he saw a middle-aged man with a grim face running towards him. Seeing Xiao Yan turn, he smiled coldly, his roar piercing the air.
“Little bastard, today, I’ll make sure you die in these Magical Beast Mountains!”
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