Chapter 17: The Day of Entering the Mountains

Deep within the ancient forest, silence reigned. Sunlight struggled to penetrate the dense canopy, leaving the ground dark and damp, with patches of snow lingering in shaded corners.

The silver-haired serpent-kin and the black-robed youth stood with weapons in hand, moving with utmost caution.

“Uncle Zong, we’ve been inside for nearly half an hour, and we haven’t encountered a single magical beast yet,” Dongbo Xueying whispered, his voice laced with a hint of nervousness but also eagerness. He longed to test his newly enhanced strength.

“You,” Zong Ling sighed, shaking his head. Though his nephew seemed mature, he still had the heart of a young boy. In a low voice, he replied, “We’ve only just entered the outermost region of the mountains. It’s natural that beasts are scarce here. The deeper we go, the more likely we are to encounter them. When that time comes, it will be your moment to shine.”

“Hmm.”

Dongbo Xueying nodded slightly.

“Shhh~~~”

A faint sound stirred the air. Dongbo Xueying’s ears twitched, and he immediately raised a hand to stop Zong Ling beside him. Zong Ling’s heart tensed instinctively. Though he himself had heard nothing, he knew that since Dongbo Xueying’s awakening of his ancient bloodline, his senses had become exceptionally sharp.

“It’s over there!” Dongbo Xueying fixed his gaze on the left front.

Zong Ling followed his gaze.

From the distant thicket came a clearly audible rustling sound. Slowly, one by one, slender, black-furred quadrupeds emerged. Their forms resembled wolves, but much smaller in size. Their bodies were covered in tightly packed black scales, and their dark red eyes gleamed with coldness. They simply stared at the two humans in silence.

“Blackscale Jackals?” Both Dongbo Xueying and Zong Ling felt a chill. They had barely entered the Ruin Mountains and already encountered a formidable foe.

Blackscale Jackals were third-tier magical beasts. Calm yet ferocious, they excelled in coordination. Their claws and fangs carried deadly venom.

What did third-tier mean? It meant each individual possessed the strength of a Heaven-tier Knight. They lived in small packs, and the group emerging from the thicket numbered no less than thirty-five in total. Even a single fourth-tier beast would be torn to shreds by such a pack.

“This is trouble,” Zong Ling muttered anxiously. “Xueying, be careful.”

“Understood, Uncle Zong. You protect yourself. I’ll handle them.”

Dongbo Xueying took a deep breath, steadying his breath as he fixed his gaze on the approaching pack.

The jackals naturally began to spread out, encircling the two in a fan formation. Under the gaze of so many pairs of crimson eyes, even Dongbo Xueying felt a slight tightening in his chest. His willpower was strong, his spear techniques formidable, but such formidable opponents were a first for him.

“Roar~~~” A low, unpleasant growl came from the largest jackal at the rear.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!!!

All the Blackscale Jackals launched their attack simultaneously from all directions. Even a Meteor Knight would struggle to withstand such an assault from so many Heaven-tier opponents.

“Die!” Dongbo Xueying’s spear moved.

Hiss!

The spear shot forth like lightning, swift as a flash.

As the spear lunged forward, countless snowflake-like petals danced in the air, creating a breathtaking scene.

The targeted jackal immediately swung its claws to block the strike. Clang! As the spearhead was blocked, it suddenly twisted violently, breaking through the claws with a burst of rotational force. With a dull thud, the spear pierced through the jackal’s jaw and exited from the back of its skull. The third-tier magical beast convulsed once before going still.

The moment it died, Dongbo Xueying swiftly retracted his spear and struck again in a flash!

Withdrawing and thrusting in rapid succession, he moved like a venomous snake flicking its tongue.

Thud!

Another jackal fell dead on the spot.

Each of these jackals was a seasoned killer, yet Dongbo Xueying’s spear techniques, honed through ten years of relentless training, were simply too formidable.

“Roar! Roar! Roar~~~” A chorus of low growls rang out. The jackals showed no hesitation as they continued their relentless assault.

In the briefest of moments, Dongbo Xueying had only managed to kill three jackals before eight others lunged at him simultaneously!

“Back off!”

The spear moved like a shadow, striking and sweeping rapidly.

Just as he had done countless times before, mercilessly lashing out at alchemical training dummies, Dongbo Xueying swung his spear and sent four jackals flying with a single strike. Another sweep sent four more tumbling away! In terms of raw strength, Dongbo Xueying held an absolute advantage. Yet, as the saying goes, no matter how strong one’s fists are, they cannot match the relentless swarm of many hands. The true terror of the Blackscale Jackals lay in their sheer numbers and their fearless willingness to die.

“Xueying, speed! Speed! If you can’t hold them off, run!” From a high branch atop a nearby tree, Zong Ling coiled his tail around the trunk. His speed and agility had been the key to his survival during previous ventures into the Ruin Mountains.

“I know.”

Dongbo Xueying’s focus was razor-sharp.

Though his spear techniques were of a high level, the pressure of life-and-death combat still affected him. Moreover, the jackals’ bodies were extremely tough, and piercing through their scales and withdrawing the spear took precious time, slowing down his movements.

“I need to move! I can’t let them surround me!” Gradually, Dongbo Xueying began to apply the sparring training he had practiced within the castle. Back at the castle, he often allowed groups of soldiers to attack him simultaneously, relying on his spear techniques and footwork to evade and counterattack. Of course, during those sparring sessions, the soldiers’ weapons were dulled.

Huff… huff…

Dongbo Xueying gradually adapted. Occasionally shifting his position, he reduced the number of jackals attacking him directly. He evaded their focus, forcing them to lose their target. Now, at most, he only had to face three jackals at once.

“Thud! Thud! Thud!” Snowflakes danced as blood splattered. One by one, the Blackscale Jackals fell.

“Boom! Boom!”

Dongbo Xueying grew more fluid and confident. His spear lashed out with sudden force, its power surging through the entire shaft before striking a jackal. The beast’s body twisted grotesquely, its bones shattering into countless fragments. It writhed on the ground, bleeding and convulsing.

From his high vantage point, Zong Ling looked down with a pleased expression.

“He adapted faster than I expected. Even in such a life-or-death battle, he’s able to display his true strength,” Zong Ling nodded slightly. “In another two or three days, he’ll be fully accustomed to it.”

“Roar!” A short, startled cry came from the remaining jackals, and the survivors immediately scattered and fled.

Dongbo Xueying chased after them, killing two more before stopping.

Huff… huff…

Only now did Dongbo Xueying allow himself to relax slightly, his breathing heavier, his blood coursing faster through his veins.

“How was it?” Zong Ling leapt down from the tree.

“It’s different,” Dongbo Xueying nodded lightly. “Three years ago, when I fought for my life against prisoners in the Domain, I felt this kind of tension. But that was one-on-one! This kind of encirclement and life-or-death battle has given me new insights into my spear techniques.”

A high level of spear technique meant his skills had reached an extraordinary level.

But in actual combat, how did the techniques connect with each other? How did footwork complement them? These were all matters of practical experience.

“And during life-or-death battles, the blood boils, power surges. My control over my body’s strength has become even more refined!” Dongbo Xueying said.

“This is the instinct of living beings under the threat of death!” Zong Ling replied.

“My spear techniques might develop even faster,” Dongbo Xueying felt a surge of passion deep in his heart. Ten years of relentless training, honing his skills to an incredible level—wasn’t this Ruin Mountain the perfect place to unleash them?

“We need to leave quickly. The scent of blood will attract more beasts soon,” Zong Ling urged.

“Hmm.” Dongbo Xueying nodded.

They paid no heed to the corpses of the third-tier magical beasts. Though the beasts had some minor value, how many could they possibly carry? It wasn’t worth the effort. As for storage artifacts, the space inside Dongbo Xueying’s artifact was barely enough to hold a single Blackscale Beast, it was so small.

…

Since entering the Ruin Mountains, Dongbo Xueying had felt like a dragon entering the sea. His combat experience grew steadily, and his spear techniques were constantly refined.

Each night, the two of them had to return quickly to the camp outside the mountains.

One was a royal of the serpent-kin, the other had awakened ancient blood. Their walking speed was extremely fast. Even on their return journey through the Ruin Mountains, they could easily maintain a pace of two hundred miles per hour. Their exploration was slow, but their return along the same path was swift.

They still needed to rest at night, for they required proper rest. It was too exhausting to sleep within the mountains.

…

Time passed day by day.

Dongbo Xueying’s progress left Zong Ling in awe. He could see Dongbo Xueying growing more and more skilled. In every battle, Dongbo Xueying would reflect and learn, striving to perform even better next time.

“He’s always known how to think and summarize. Even in battle, he constantly reflects. No wonder his spear techniques are so formidable!” Zong Ling muttered to himself. He had always believed Dongbo Xueying possessed exceptional intelligence.

He considered himself quite clever too.

He understood the importance of learning from past experiences, a principle many others also understood. Yet Dongbo Xueying’s thinking was more unique, and his efficiency was clearly higher. For example, as a child, while most children reading biographical novels would only remember the exciting tales of extraordinary knights, Dongbo Xueying had discerned the growth patterns of these knights—

For instance, nearly nine out of ten had never attended any academy.

Or, from the scattered hints in the novels, he noticed that many of them placed extreme emphasis on fundamentals, which led Dongbo Xueying to pursue the basics of spear techniques to an almost obsessive degree.