Legendary Beast Cultivator

The strange voice faded into the thin air, and silence descended upon the mountain top.

Xiao Yanrui, Chi Fenglian, and Huo Ren stood still on the circular platform, staring at the shimmering, mysterious altar before them. The translucent jade crystal hovering above the stone pillar shimmered with a soothing radiance.

The ancient, shining patterns began moving fastly across the smooth stone ground.

"What... what do we do now?" Huo Ren whispered, his voice stuttered with anxiety.

Xiao Yanrui didn’t answer immediately. He slowly walked around the outer edge of the altar, his eyes meticulously observing every beast carving engraved into the stone.

"This is the Altar of Wisdom," Xiao Yanrui elucidated, his voice echoing in the open ruin.

Chi Fenglian nodded, his face solemn. "The Headmaster said the first group to successfully solve its trial receives the ancient inheritance."

"And once an altar is solved..." Chi Fenglian continued, "no other group can ever claim it again."

"Then what are we waiting for?!" Huo Ren’s frantic expression changed into a sudden grin. "Let’s solve the damn thing before anyone else reaches the peak."

Xiao Yanrui looked back at him, his eyes frowning slightly. "Don’t rush into it carelessly. The altar is testing our wisdom and perception, not our raw strength."

"Ehhh..?" Huo Ren grunted, scratching his head in confusion.

Suddenly, the ancient altar trembled with a loud boom. An explosive wave of golden energy swept across the area.

The crimson maple trees vanished, the crawling bunch of clouds vanished, and even the solid ground under their feet seemed to vanish into nothingness.

"What the—" Huo Ren yelled but something interrupted his scream.

The next moment, the three disciples found themselves standing in the center of a vast, primeval forest, but it wasn’t the forest of Red Sun Peak. It was something terrifyingly different.

Thousands of wild beasts filled across the vast surroundings as far as the eye could see.

Wolves. Boars. Serpents. Falcons. Apes. Bears. Deer. Even a few colossal silhouettes of beasts that none of the three disciples had ever seen in any academy manual are visible far across the area. The thick, mysterious forest extended endlessly in every direction under a pale sky.

"Are... are these things real?!" Chi Fenglian murmured, concentrating into his aperture to summon his beast.

Xiao Yanrui analysed the herd of beasts, his eyes darting vehemently across the area. "No, it’s a grand illusion technique."

An ethereal voice echoed from the sky above, reverberating across the illusion.

"Among these thousands of beasts... Find the one that does not belong."

The three disciples exchanged frantic stares.

"That’s it?" Huo Ren’s voice cracked in anticipation. "That’s the whole puzzle?!"

The eerie voice continued, ignoring his words.

"Strength shall not reveal it. Beast Essence shall not reveal it... Only the true observation shall reveal the truth."

The thousands of illusionary beasts began moving simultaneously in chaotic sync.

Some ran frantically through the thick bushes; some clashed aggressively with one another; some drank peacefully from crystal streams; others slept quietly under a massive canopy. The birds flew above in flocks, and falling leaves lingered gracefully against the wind.

The scenery was more real than an illusion.

"How the hell are we supposed to find one specific, real beast among ten thousand of them?!" Huo Ren stared frantically at the chaos, his head spinning in overwhelming illusion.

"I guess.. we need to observe their habits and patterns..." Chi Fenglian frowned, taking a hazy breath.

Xiao Yanrui immediately shook his head. "We don’t have time to observe all of them. Look for something you think is an anomaly. Look for something that is different from the rules of nature."

They spread across the area, checking on each other while checking different places of the illusionary forest.

Xiao Yanrui observed the beasts gathering near the riverbank. Chi Fenglian carefully observed the land beasts moving through the grassy ground. Huo Ren climbed up onto a boulder to gain a high point over the area.

A few, agonizing minutes passed in silence. Everything seemed natural.

"Wait!" Huo Ren suddenly pointed his finger toward the riverbank. "Look at that gray wolf!"

Xiao Yanrui immediately darted his gaze over. A lone gray wolf was quietly drinking water from the stream.

"What’s wrong with it?" Chi Fenglian asked, taking a step forward.

"Look at its paws!" Huo Ren bellowed, nodding his head. "It isn’t leaving footprints in the wet mud!"

Chi Fenglian’s eyes widened, observing the gray wolf which continued drinking peacefully, but the wet ground under its paws remained smooth and untouched.

"Is that the fake one?" Chi Fenglian asked excitedly, jumping forward.

Xiao Yanrui grinned, a glint of confidence grazing his eyes. "Maybe..."

The moment Chi Fenglian took a step forward toward it, the gray wolf vanished into thin air. The illusionary forest instantly changed and distorted! The thousands of beasts scrambled, changing their positions and actions in a second.

"What the fuck?" Huo Ren’s face turned pale.

"Of course it did," Xiao Yanrui muttered, his fists tightening. "The puzzle is adaptive. A simple trick isn’t the true answer. It’s punishing us for rushing to conclusions."

Another ten minutes passed. They meticulously checked on the beasts.

One deer they found had no reflection in the water, but when approached, it vanished into mist and reset the trial. A falcon flew against a gust of wind, but the same reset repeated. A giant boar’s shadow moved in the wrong direction, and again the trial was shifted.

Every time they thought they had found the correct answer... the illusion started to change.

****

Meanwhile... across the path to the top, the other four groups continued their exhausting climb up the steep slopes.

Group One had recovered from Lin Yuan’s sudden collapse. Lin Yuan’s steps remained steady and calm, despite the lingering, faint weakness in his aperture.

Chen Ming kept checking sideways for every few seconds. "Are you sure you’re okay, man? You still look a little pale."

Lin Yuan let out a calm nod. "I’m fine, Chen Ming."

"You nearly died an hour ago!" Chen Ming shot back.

"I didn’t die."

"Tsk!!"

Lian Nichang laughed out loud, shaking his head. "Just leave him be, Chen Ming. That bastard probably will fall unconscious again if you irritate him."

"Hell nah!!" Lin Yuan smirked, nodding his head.

Behind them, assistant master Qin Yuze stared at Lin Yuan’s back. His expression remained calm and thoughtful.

The group continued their walk upward through the scarlet forest.

****

Back at the top... inside the grand illusion...

Xiao Yanrui suddenly froze, his eyes locking onto a small pond within the illusionary forest. A herd of seven mountain deers stood beside the water, drinking peacefully.

One deer lifted its head to sniff the breeze, another lowered its head to drink, and another took a slow step backward.

"Wait..." Xiao Yanrui murmured, his eyes widening.

Chi Fenglian and Huo Ren cautiously approached him. "Did you find another anomaly?"

"Look at the water reflection," Xiao Yanrui whispered, pointing forward.

They stared at the surface of the pond. Every single deer in the herd had a clear reflection rippling in the water.

Even the shadow, the footprints, and the movement of the wind on their fur were flawless.

Huo Ren looked confused, scratching his hair. "They all look normal to me, Yanrui. What’s the difference?"

"Look closer at their chests," Xiao Yanrui whispered, his voice calm.

Chi Fenglian’s eyes widened as he realized what Xiao Yanrui was pointing at. The six surrounding deer had chest movements while breathing as they inhaled and exhaled the forest air.

However... The seventh deer standing in the center of the herd was still with no chest movement as it doesn’t require breathing.

Its reflection was there. Its footprints were in the mud. Its fur moved with the wind, but its chest was not moving at all.

"It isn’t breathing," Xiao Yanrui announced, his eyes gleaming with confidence. "It’s mimicking every rule of this world... except the main rule of life itself."

"That’s it! That’s the one!" Huo Ren grinned, clasping his hands.

He immediately lunged forward to grab it.

"Stop!" Xiao Yanrui beamed, grabbing Huo Ren’s shoulder tightly. "Don’t touch it carelessly!"

Huo Ren froze, looking back in confusion. "Why not? Isn’t that the answer to our puzzle?!"

"True wisdom isn’t about force or rushing to claim a reward," Xiao Yanrui explained, stepping forward himself. "Just watch!"

Xiao Yanrui simply bowed his head slightly toward the creature, acknowledging its presence with respect.

The moment he performed that simple, respectful gesture, the non-breathing deer raised its head. Its eyes shone with a strange light. Its body didn’t reset the trial. Instead, it gently changed into millions of golden particles that withered up into the sky.

The illusionary primeval forest began collapsing. Thousands of beasts vanished into the air, the trees shattered into particles, and the rivers, sky also evaporated.

Then, the three disciples found themselves standing once again upon the stone ground at the top of Red Sun Peak.

The jade crystal floating above the stone began shining again.

"Wisdom is not merely seeing what others cannot see. It is noticing what others refuse to pay attention to,"

The pristine jade crystal slowly descended from the sky, hovering right before Xiao Yanrui.

Chi Fenglian grinned, patting on Xiao Yanrui’s shoulder. "We did it! Group Two gets the first ancient inheritance!"

Xiao Yanrui remained silent, his chest rising with quiet pride. He reached out his right hand, his fingers gently touching the smooth surface of the jade crystal.

A massive pillar of golden light burst out straight into the heavens from the top of Red Sun Peak! The altar trembled as its knowledge and inheritance surged into Xiao Yanrui’s aperture.

Far below on the mountain slopes... every assistant master suddenly felt the powerful, world-shaking flicker coming from the peak.

Qin Yuze stopped mid-step, looking up toward the peak as his expression broke into shock. "Someone solved the first altar..."

Shen Ruoxi’s gentle eyes widened slightly in surprise. "Already? That was fast..."

He Muran laughed boisterously, shaking his head. "Hahaha! Looks like one group of brats didn’t waste a single moment!"

Gu Su Feng remained silent for a moment before acknowledging the win of a group.

****

Xiao Yanrui slowly opened his eyes, taking in the golden light. He looked across the vast area toward the ridges.

There are two more altars remaining at the edges. One was known to test unshakeable trust, and the final one... was known to be the most brutal trial on the mountain. And four other determined groups were still climbing toward the peak, but the speed of their journey increased knowing that a group claimed one of the ancient inheritances.