The mystic sat on the mountaintop meditating. At this stage of his martial arts mastery, advancing further depended entirely on the concept of “enlightenment.”
Since attaining the Divine Intermediate Realm, his progress had been remarkably slow. Master Xuan was not concerned about this; he held no expectations of reaching the highest Divine Realm in his lifetime—he was already an existence bordering on divinity.
Suddenly hearing Ye Yu’s cries, Master Xuan was startled. “Is he possessed and still shouting? This child is utterly unstable.” He quickly flew down the mountain peak.
The black blade in Ye Yu’s hand emitted a bluish glow, and he shouted loudly, “The color isn’t right—he must have gone mad from a demonic influence.” “What do you mean by ‘going mad like a demon’? Do you sense anything amiss?” asked Master Xuan. In fact, that night, during his state of frenzy, Ye Yu had released blue combat energy, a strange phenomenon that piqued his curiosity greatly.
“No, but Master, you said this color should actually be silver—plus silver light shines far better than blue light,” Ye Yu replied.
“You fool, this isn’t meant for lighting purposes. As your teacher, I can even emit blue combat energy—what’s so strange about that? By the way, try spraying some yourself,” said Master Xuan as he released silver combat energy, which transformed into a protective light shield.
Upon hearing this, Yu Ye felt relieved. He focused his mind, and an intangible force surged forth; his entire body glowed brightly as a burst of blue combat energy erupted—only to vanish instantly before he fell to the ground.
When the mystic approached to examine him, he found that although Ye Yu could barely emit combat energy, he had exhausted all his physical strength.
“I’m so exhausted, Master. I succeeded, didn’t I? Well… let me take a nap first—I’m completely drained. Starting tomorrow, I’ll begin learning how to fly using qi,” Ye Yu said weakly.
“Flying by controlling qi? Ha ha, that’s still a long way off. Generally speaking, anyone who can make their weapon emit light has already attained the rank of a Sacred Warrior. A powerful Sacred Warrior can even release combat qi to protect themselves from physical or magical attacks. To learn how to fly by controlling qi, one must reach the advanced realm of a Sacred-level warrior,” said Master Xuan.
“Ah? So I’ve only just entered this realm—what’s life like at such a high level?” asked Ye Yu.
“Look at me, Ye Yu. Like me, you must not only release combat qi but also maintain it without dissipating, transforming it into a protective light veil. Only by achieving this level can you freely control the qi forces within and around your body and then fly through the air. Once you reach this realm, any powerful mage would keep their distance from you.” As he spoke, the Master gently floated upward, and the light veil on his body vanished. “Of course, when flying using qi control, you don’t need to constantly retain the combat qi—that would be too energy-consuming.” However, regarding Ye Yu’s current state, the Master could not determine whether he had attained the Holy Level; he temporarily regarded him as an anomaly and found it inappropriate to state this explicitly.
“Master, how long did it take you from entering the Holy Realm to mastering qi-powered flight?” Ye Yu asked.
The Master smiled and extended a finger. Seeing this, Ye Yu immediately felt greatly discouraged: “There’s still a month left? It’s too long to wait!” “A month? Ha ha, it’s ten years,” the Master replied. “Naive boy.Since I began my journey across the world, including myself, I’ve only encountered two such individuals. Ordinary warriors may devote their entire lives without ever attaining the Saint Warrior realm.” The Master added with a smile that truly, people with his exceptional talent were exceedingly rare; if Ye Yu could reach the Saint Level High Realm within ten years, he would be utterly satisfied.
“Ten years? Alas, that’s far too long to wait. Master, isn’t the Holy Warrior the highest realm? Then that Qingye certainly can’t match you now… Heh heh, could you help me defeat him?” asked Ye Yu.
The mystic shook his head, “What kind of discipline is this of fighting and killing? Focus on your cultivation and go confront him yourself—your divine eagle is still in his hands,” he said. Yet even having attained the Divine Realm, he still stood no chance against that mysterious Qingye.
“Divine Eagle… Ah, that damned bird. I was just a child and naturally couldn’t defeat Qingye, but it was far larger than that white bird yet still lost—and flew slower too. It truly deserved it,” said Ye Yu.
“Are you really just a divine eagle?” asked Master Xuan.
“Of course you think the Divine Eagle’s easy to care for and eats a lot—hmm, they’re beautiful-looking but utterly useless. If it weren’t for that skeletal frame making sitting uncomfortable, I’d have become an Ischiadragon long ago,” Ye Yu said discontentedly.
The mystic grew increasingly astonished as he listened. “You actually have a dragon? I’ve never seen one before. I’ve heard that deep in the eastern seas of the continent, besides the divine bird Great Wind, there are also divine dragons,” he said.
“Great Wind? Divine Dragon? Haha, I love them. Later, I’ll go and capture a few myself, then take them with me across the land—whichever creature displeases me, I’ll make it eat it,” said Ye Yu, his eyes glowing golden as if he could see numerous Great Winds and Divine Dragons bowing before him.
“Pah, you little wretch aren’t even good enough to fill their teeth!” Master Xuan struck him hard on the head. “Do you really think those creatures are as easy to deal with as your Divine Eagle? Start practicing diligently. Once you’ve made sufficient progress, we’ll head to the Demon City. I’d like to see what kind of person that Demon Lord Mage truly is, and what exactly that Bone Dragon is all about—I’ve never seen a genuine Dragon Knight before,” he said.
“Hmph, what’s so great about being a Dragon Knight? Once I can fly, will I even need to ride a dragon?” Ye Yu said to Master Xuan’s retreating figure. “But if only the Bone Dragon were here—I could fly straight back to the Demon City. Alas, it’s a pity that Moluo couldn’t come find me.” Dragging his black blade, Ye Yu climbed toward a nearby peak, his mind filled with random thoughts. He had suddenly released combat energy earlier, draining a significant amount of his strength, and was now slowly recovering. Hearing from his master that he had become a Sacred Warrior, he was deeply moved and found it impossible to sleep.
The mystic master had already vanished without a trace. Though Ye Yu had initially intended to ask him if there was any quick fix, he now realized it was best to give up.
Night Feather climbed the mountain peak; the moon had long vanished, not a single star was visible. The mountain wind was strong, and from the distance came the indistinct howls of animals. A sense of oppression filled his heart, so he sat down and shouted toward the west, “Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!”
During his time in the Magic Cave, he often used this particular chant. Each time he called out, the Bone Dragon would respond from outside the cave entrance with the distinctive cries of “Ooo! Ou!”
His strange cries went unanswered by the bone dragon, but they startled the group of monkeys resting in the trees.
The mystic master had already departed when he suddenly heard those strange cries; he mistook them for the sound of some formidable monster and hurried back. There he found Ye Yu, who was crying out on the mountaintop, feeling both angry and amused. “When one must make ghostly noises due to martial arts practice, it’s better to focus on cultivation,” he thought, but refrained from disturbing Ye Yu.
The group of monkeys rolled down the tree in one swift motion, stealthily climbing up the mountain peak to see what was happening. When they saw Ye Yu calling out enthusiastically, they found it utterly fascinating and immediately joined in with loud cries: “Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!” “These dead monkeys—I’m calling for the Bone Dragon; why are you here for such a spectacle?” Ye Yu thought reproachfully, but the Bone Dragon was far away in the Demon City, thousands of miles away, and could not hear his call at all.
After a peaceful night, the next day Nightfeather voluntarily requested to intensify his cultivation practice, which Master Xuan welcomed wholeheartedly. “To attain the Holy Realm’s advanced stage, one must endure extraordinary hardships,” he said. “I myself reached this level only after enduring numerous fierce battles on the battlefield; so fear no hardship.”
“Master, do you mean we should fight each other?” asked Ye Yu.
“Heh heh, how can you possibly fight me with such limited skills? I could subdue you in under ten moves—first learn to control your own strength with flexibility,” said Master Xuan with a smile. As he spoke, he performed a somersault, then landed on one foot and stood upside down. “First, learn to concentrate all your strength at a single point. I myself will be in seclusion for a month, so I won’t be here during that time; don’t be lazy,” he added.
“Ah! Master, where are you going?” asked Ye Yu.
“I’m not far away, but you won’t be able to find me. During this period, I have carefully examined the area within a radius of a hundred miles; apart from aquatic creatures, there are no other dangerous animals. Therefore, you must exercise caution and not act recklessly simply because you are skilled swimmers. Deep pools harbor numerous fierce beasts—be careful not to fall prey to them,” said Master Xuan.
“I understand. Now that I’m at least a Holy Warrior, you can rest assured,” Ye Yu replied.
The mystic said nothing more, assuming that Ye Yu had grown up in the West and might possess even greater experience than he did; so he simply flew away.