Night Feather halted in anger, then looked up at the sky and roared furiously. A tremendous force surged from him; he let out a mighty cry as his entire energy circled upward and downward, releasing a surge of combat energy that emitted blue light, shattering the green vines on his limbs inch by inch.
“Ah! Strange—what kind of realm is this? Could it be magic? Yet how could there exist such a powerful magician whose skills rival those of a Holy-Rank warrior!” Master Xuan marveled inwardly, yet showed no sign of retreat; he even struck his palms twice in succession.
Yet Yu Ye charged straight at him without any defense move. The mystic master shook his head discreetly, then swiftly闪ed forward before thrusting his right leg out like lightning.
Without any attempt to dodge, Yu Ye was instantly tripped and fell to the ground. He performed several somersaults before swiftly rising, striking his palms twice in a row behind him without turning around—then charged forward with all his might.
“What on earth is he trying to do? Is he still thinking about escaping?” Master Xuan wondered inwardly. He watched as Ye Yu moved with lightning speed; when stopped by the palm strike, he ended up falling behind.
Yu Ye leaped high into the air and plunged headfirst into the river. The water flowed swiftly, carrying his body downstream far away.
The mystic master caught up with him in mid-air by controlling his qi flow. He watched as Ye Yu maneuvered through the water with the agility of a fish, skillfully evading each rock that came crashing toward him—a sight that left the mystic deeply impressed.
The riverbed gradually narrowed. Master Xuan tried several times to reach out and grab him, but Ye Yu was completely naked with an utterly smooth body—how could he possibly hold onto him? The sound of water grew louder and louder; clearly, a waterfall lay not far ahead. Undeterred by danger, Ye Yu charged forward relentlessly, leaving Master Xuan to inwardly lament his predicament.
In the blink of an eye, the waterfall was right before him. Only then did Ye Yu turn around in shock and try to stand up abruptly at its summit—but the current was too swift, and the rocks were utterly smooth; there was no way he could hold his ground.
The mystic reached out but failed to catch him; watching helplessly as the man was swept down the waterfall, he had no choice but to plunge down himself using his qi. Below lay a deep pool, eerily terrifying. The mystic circled above the water for some time before seeing Ye Yu emerge from the surface.
“Haha, this boy must have suffered enough,” thought Master Xuan. He then floated across the water surface, grabbed Night Feather, and lifted him into the air.
As he had just left the water surface, a giant crocodile emerged and lunged at Ye Yu with its mouth open. Fortunately, Ye Yu was able to fly swiftly; otherwise, he would have been either killed or severely injured.
Lightning is flashing across the sky, and it doesn’t seem like it’s going to stop anytime soon.
The mystic guided Ye Yu back to his original location, tossed him to the ground, then flew up onto a high rock where he sat cross-legged. By this time, Ye Yu had already fallen into a deep sleep.
Night Yu felt only a drowsy numbness; the dominant force within him gradually dissipated. He dreamed of running incessantly through the darkness, yet that detestable enemy pursued him relentlessly from above. Unable to escape, he broke down in tears from sheer desperation.
The rain fell continuously throughout the night. When Nightfeather awoke, mist rose from the mountains; the sun emerged, and a rainbow descended from the sky, landing on a nearby hilltop. He stood up bewildered, feeling excruciating pain throughout his body.
“Ha ha! I’m out of danger, free!” Ye Yu burst into laughter, ignoring the excruciating pain throughout his body as he jumped around on the ground. It took him quite a while to realize there was another person present.
“Ah! What’s wrong with this man?” When Ye Yu suddenly saw the mystic sitting cross-legged on a large rock more than ten zhang away, he was filled with curiosity. The mystic emitted a soft blue glow throughout his body, occasionally accompanied by faint golden streaks flashing within it.
“This is what a holy warrior looks like? I don’t think it’s anything special,” Ye Yu thought. He only knew that the highest rank for a warrior was the Holy Level, but had no idea that the person before him had already attained the Divine Level and reached the Intermediate Realm.
According to legend, divine warriors who have attained the highest realms possess power akin to that of deities—they can command the spiritual energy permeating heaven and earth, soaring to heights beyond even magicians’ reach with lightning-fast speed, thus becoming true gods; even the mightiest magicians would retreat in awe when encountering them.
Night Feather picked up a stone from the ground and hurled it at Master Xuan’s head. With a loud “bang!” the stone struck the layer of bluish light and instantly shattered into fragments.
The mystic opened his eyes; his gaze flashed like lightning. Ye Yu quickly lowered his head and turned to flee.
“Haha, can you even run?” Master Xuan flicked his hand, sending two pieces of stone flying that struck Ye Yu’s calf. The stones split open, releasing a tremendous force that crashed toward him; Ye Yu had no choice but to kneel down helplessly.
When I looked up, Master Xuan was already standing before me. “Good boy,” he said with a smile, “well done kneeling—go ahead and kowtow.”
“Pah! I’m not going to kneel…” Before Ye Yu could finish speaking, he felt a tremendous force press down on his head as the master extended his right hand and pressed it firmly against his skull.
“Stop rambling—let’s start with a few bows!” The master gently pressed down. Ye Yu couldn’t resist and was firmly held in place, landing three hard blows against the bluestone.
“Hey, you shouldn ‘t deceive others too far…” Before Ye Yu could finish speaking, Master Xuan pressed his head against the blue stone and struck him. “Well, if you’re not obedient, then take a few more blows until you show you’re truly compliant,” he said.
After striking his head dozens of times, the master lifted his head and saw that even his forehead was bruised. He felt a pang of sorrow, but realizing that yielding now would make it even harder to subdue him later, he asked sternly, “Do you submit?” “No! I refuse!” Ye Yu shouted.
“Unconvinced? Then keep hitting him until you’re satisfied!” said Master Xuan, pressing his head down and continuing to strike the bluestone, striking it seven or eight more times with a resounding thud.
“Now you must be convinced!” asked the Master Xuan.
“Damn it! I simply refuse to accept this!” Ye Yu said angrily, blue light flashing in his eyes. The mystic couldn’t help but feel curious, recalling the blue combat energy from the previous night, which only deepened his confusion. Not only had he never seen such a phenomenon, but he hadn’t even heard of blue combat energy before.
Saint-level warriors can emit silver combat energy; advanced saints can retain this energy, transforming it into a silver protective aura. Masters who have attained the intermediate divine realm can sustain a blue combat energy shield for extended periods and may even release golden energy at times—never blue energy.
“Alright, still not convinced? Then let’s continue!” The master said, pressing his small head firmly against the bluestone as he kept crashing forward.
After being struck only three times, Ye Yu let out a loud “Wa!” and burst into tears, crying, “Woo woo! You adults only know how to bully children—what kind of heroes are you? I’ll take revenge; when I grow up, I’ll make sure you all pay the price!” he said while weeping.
“Hehe, let’s wait until you’re older. A real man can cry whenever he wants—after all, many little monkeys are watching!” Then he added, “One more question: do you agree? If not, keep persevering.” said Master Xuan.
From childhood until adulthood, Yu Ye had never suffered such injustice. First, he encountered a mysterious man named Qingye who captured him and sought to take him as a disciple. When Yu Ye refused, Qingye immediately hanged him between two mountains without a word and even seized his sacred eagle.
I had thought Qingye was already a villain, but now another even more tyrannical dark master had emerged. Faced with such an unreasonable and cruel antagonist who constantly bullied children, he couldn’t defeat him no matter how hard he fought. The injustice he endured reached its peak, and he could only burst into tears.
But crying was futile. Seeing he wouldn’t respond, the master pressed his small head against the bluestone and continued pounding it against it, then asked, “Are you convinced?” With no choice, Ye Yu nodded while crying, filled with intense hatred—both for the master’s domineering attitude and for his own inferior skills.
“Alright, since you’ve agreed, go ahead and kowtow to me three times—just so there’s no talk of me forcing you,” Master Xuan said, releasing his grip.
Overwhelmed by his divine presence, Yu Yu had no choice but to kowtow three times in succession, then roll over and crawl away into the woods. In an instant, a deafening cry of anguish echoed through the air.
In the forest, countless monkeys were in a state of panic: some went to fetch peaches, others fled in fear, while still others tried to comfort him but dared not approach him.
“Heh, he’ll just get better after crying for a while,” thought the master. He knew he shouldn’ t push things too far; his son Xuan Yun had once ended up studying magic with Qingxuan precisely because he had pushed him too hard, leaving him deeply disappointed—after all, the master had originally intended to teach Xuan Yun his martial arts skills.”
The master originally had a son and a daughter. Shortly after his daughter Xuan Yue was born, his wife passed away. Being a simple-minded man, he had no idea how to raise a child and thus entrusted Xuan Yue to the couple Qingxuan for care.
The thought of having two children filled me with profound sorrow. My younger brother Qingxuan, with his exceptional wisdom and strategy, certainly wouldn’t have ended up forced to leave like him.
Seeing that Yeyu had been crying for a long time with no sign of stopping, Master Xuan retrieved the black knife from the cliff and handed it to a monkey. The monkey was quite resourceful; it dragged the heavy blade into the woods. After a while, the crying gradually subsided, but Yeyu never came out to meet him.
The mystic did not press him further. As the qi flow swept across the forest sky, he caught a glimpse of several monkeys leaping about beside Ye Yu, piling bright red peaches before him—some even brought them right to his mouth, their expressions filled with profound reverence.
“This child is indeed extraordinary—well, except for his terrible temper and extreme arrogance. After such a violent outburst, he’ll likely be too ashamed to appear in public for several days. I need to find a way to calm him down,” thought Master Xuan.
After flying about two li away, he collided with a group of wild boars. Overjoyed, the mystic picked up a handful of leaves and hurled them. With his advanced cultivation, those leaves pierced the throats of both boars like flying knives; the remaining animals fled in panic.
“Ah, apart from my martial skills, the only thing I’m truly proud of is my barbecue expertise. Strangely enough, the wild pork here tastes far better than anywhere else. This time, I’ll treat my disciple and his group of monkeys to a hearty meal—even if he has some complaints, at least he’ll please those monkeys,” thought Master Xuan.
He pointed at two large wild boars and rushed toward the riverbank. With his hands sharp as knives, he carefully opened their bellies, cleaned them thoroughly, then carried several hundred pounds of meat back to where he had been and started a fire.
Soon, a strong aroma of meat wafted through the forest on the wind. Before long, a large group of monkeys emerged joyfully from the woods and approached cautiously.