Chapter 036: Little Beast

Yang Tian's departure did not disturb many people. The youth wrapped the broken sword in black cloth, carried it on his back, and under the respectful gazes of the guards at the city gate, gradually disappeared through the entrance of Qingshi Town.

The Martial Dao Mountain was a full ten thousand li away from Kuangyun City. Even with Yang Tian's pace, it would take over a month to arrive. With three months left until the Martial Dao Mountain opened, Yang Tian had an abundance of time and began his journey of arduous training.

As night fell, in a towering mountain range, a figure walked through the forest. Counting the time, ten days had passed, but Yang Tian had only traveled a hundred li, and he had chosen to cross a vast mountain range.

Pat... pat...

With every step Yang Tian took, a faint shockwave rippled across the small area around him. Grains of soil leaped up as if dancing, and the ground he walked on bore footprints three inches deep.

This was the result of Yang Tian's extreme control over his body. After observing for the past few days, Yang Tian discovered an extremely strange thing: the broken sword on his back seemed to be increasing in weight! He had not confirmed this doubt, but in recent days he could clearly sense his physical strength growing.

Bang!

He threw the broken sword straight onto the ground, and it carved a deep trench, the entire blade sinking into the soil. Panting heavily, Yang Tian lay on the ground, looking at the full moon in the sky, surrounded by stars, and let out a deep breath.

After resting for half an hour, Yang Tian got up, and a feeling of hunger struck him. After walking nonstop all day, his stomach was long empty. He then dashed into the forest.

Before long, he came running back carrying two wild rabbits.

The night was enchanting, with countless stars shining brightly. In a serene and peaceful atmosphere, moonlight poured down, draping the entire mountain range in a layer of silver gauze.

A campfire blazed, and the aroma spread. Over the fire, the rabbits had turned golden all over, and the scent of meat wafted continuously.

Pat... pat...

Just as Yang Tian was about to take a bite, a barely perceptible sound of footsteps came. Yang Tian frowned slightly and cast a discreet glance at the source of the sound. To his right, a beast that looked like a small dog, pure white all over, no more than a foot long, with two pointed ears and four furry little legs, a nose as big as a thumb, and eyes as bright as black gems that shone with a dark luster in the night.

"What kind of beast is this?" Looking at the exceptionally cute beast, which was now staring intently at the food in his hand with a hint of drooling, Yang Tian ate the rabbit leg calmly.

Seeing this, the little white beast blinked its big black eyes, a drop of crystal-clear liquid suddenly dripping from the corner of its mouth. Its two front legs lifted slightly off the ground, and a pitiful look flickered in its eyes.

"Drool is already coming out..." Noticing the beast's greedy appearance, Yang Tian was momentarily stunned, then couldn't help but chuckle, chewing even louder.

Crunch, crunch!

Chewing vigorously, Yang Tian quickly finished one rabbit leg and was about to start on the second when—

"Aoow!" With a beastly roar, the little white beast suddenly pushed off with its hind legs, leaped into the air, and with a whoosh, Yang Tian stared blankly as the other leg disappeared without a trace.

"So fast!" Quickly coming to his senses, Yang Tian stared at the leg on the rabbit, startled. His eyes darted around rapidly, but the little beast's figure had already vanished.

"What kind of beast is this? How is it so fast?" Smacking his lips, Yang Tian couldn't help but exclaim. With his eyesight, he hadn't even seen how the little beast had torn off the leg meat.

"Creak, creak."

While Yang Tian was devouring his food, his eyes kept darting around. After about half a cup of tea, the little snow-white beast appeared before him again.

"Let's see where you can run this time." Taking a fierce bite of his food, Yang Tian pretended not to notice and continued eating.

Whoosh!

A sound of something cutting through the air rang out. Yang Tian spun around abruptly and reached out to grab, but only saw a white flash dart past his eyes and into the surrounding woods.

Swish! Without time to think, he leaped forward. His body surged with speed as he gave chase.

Through the endless forest, Yang Tian dashed ahead swiftly until, after several li, the white shadow vanished without a trace, leaving everything pitch black around him.

"This little thing's speed is terrifying—can it rival a martial artist?" Yang Tian gulped, amazed by the beast's speed. With no cultivation at all, it was as fast as a martial artist; it must be a rare breed of the cultivation world.

Checking his path, Yang Tian turned back. When he was a hundred zhang away, he stared dumbfounded at the campfire, where the snow-white figure was clutching a wild rabbit and tearing into it.

"What a cunning little thing, it actually tricked me." Yang Tian was thoroughly amused. The beast had no cultivation but had awakened its intelligence, which sparked an idea in his mind.

Yang Tian crept forward inch by inch, trying not to make a sound. When he was ten zhang from the beast, he lay flat on the ground, eyes fixed on it.

Whoosh! He pushed off the ground with all his strength, his speed surging again as he shot forward like an arrow from a bow.

"Awoo!" The little beast was instantly startled. Its fur bristled, and panic flashed in its big eyes, but its movements were anything but slow—it darted backward like an arrow.

Swish, swish! Two figures chased in succession. Before long, Yang Tian returned dejectedly, his face dark as he stared at the bones scattered on the ground, every shred of meat licked clean by the beast.

"Sigh." Letting out a sigh, Yang Tian shook his head slightly. His idea was thoroughly dashed. He found a quiet spot and sat down cross-legged.

Inside the Ancestral Dragon Ring.

The space inside had now expanded to forty zhang. About two hundred types of spirit herbs were planted ahead. The fruits on the vermilion fruit tree had matured for a hundred years, but Yang Tian hadn't picked them, waiting for their age to increase further.

Beside the vermilion fruit tree, a small sapling absorbed the essence of heaven and earth at a much faster rate. But a heavenly treasure like the Fire Dragon Divine Fruit couldn't be formed overnight; the one Yang Tian had swallowed had also gone through a long, long time.

Next to him was a small pile of blood stones—the reward for winning first place in the martial arts tournament. Now he was one of the top rich men in Kuangyun City.

Yang Tian flipped his hand, and a mid-grade blood pellet he had obtained from the competition appeared in his palm. The qi and blood inside were very rich, and the patterns on the pellet were clearer.

The higher the grade of a pellet, the more pill patterns it bore. It was said that some sixth-grade pellets required the engraving of divine patterns. Generally, alchemists who could do this had extremely high-level fire control techniques, and ordinary alchemists were not even qualified to learn.

Just as Yang Tian entered his cultivation state, a snow-white figure appeared not far away. The little beast crept stealthily over to him, blinking its big eyes, staring longingly at the bones on the ground, drool once again dripping down.

Its curled tail kept wagging, betraying its nervousness. It stared at the bones before it, hesitating to take them.