Legendary Beast Cultivator

The afternoon sun hung above Azure Mist Peak, radiating the golden light onto the dense forests. The streaks of light pierced through the azure leaves, casting shimmering beams across the moist grass.

Every group had begun realizing that surviving inside the mountain was far more exhausting than simply cultivating in the quiet halls of the academy.

Xiao Yanrui continued walking at the front, carefully observing every detail left upon the damp earth. His posture was still, his mind constantly analysing their path.

Behind him, Chi Fenglian’s stomach growled violently again and again.

"...Sigh~" Huo Ren let out a long, weary sigh, shaking his head. "That’s the seventh time."

"It isn’t my fault!" Chi Fenglian muttered, his voice full of anger and panic. "My cultivation burns energy quickly! You know how much Beast Essence my Boar consumes!"

"You’ve said that six times already," Huo Ren sneered, nodding his head.

Chi Fenglian rubbed his belly pitifully, a sorrowful gaze on his face. "I miss the cafeteria... They had those giant steamed pork buns on thurdays..."

"Focus," Xiao Yanrui didn’t even turn around, his sharp gaze remaining locked on the path ahead. "We’re here to survive, not to think about the food."

From a tree branch above them, Assistant Master Gu Su Feng leaned against the trunk, chuckling softly.

"Hahaha!" Gu Su Feng’s mocking voice drifted down. "I’ve seen young disciples cry because of poisonous mountain fog... but you’re the first one crying because lunch is late."

Chi Fenglian grunted, pointing up toward the trees. "Food is crucial for physical strength, master Gu Su Feng! A hungry warrior was considered as a dead warrior!"

Suddenly, a rustling hum came from the bushes. Everyone froze.

Xiao Yanrui raised his hand, gesturing to the group to stop instantly. A strange, shining plant swayed gently beside the path, under the afternoon light. Its crimson stem held three silver leaves, each covered in small, sparkling droplets of liquid that glinted against the streaks of sunlight.

Huo Ren crouched down, his Fire-Falcon beast reacting to the plant’s strange sway. "What is this?"

Gu Su Feng descended silently from the branch, landing on his feet without making a sound.

"Silver Mist Plant," Gu Su Feng explained, squinting at the leaves. "A Rank Two medicinal herb. It rapidly improves recovery after excessive Beast Essence consumption. It is a quite valuable herb for young cultivators like you."

Xiao Yanrui meticulously analysed the surrounding ground, looking for whether something is there or not.

"No beast footprints... I guess it is safe to collect." Xiao Yanrui grinned, turning his head slightly, nodding toward Huo Ren. "You harvest it."

"Hahaha!" Huo Ren smirked, clenching his fists. "Got it!"

He knelt beside the plant, pulling out a small wooden digging tool to gently dig around the roots without damaging them.

Gu Su Feng nodded as he watched Huo Ren’s careful hands. "Good. Always preserve the roots of the herbs. If you greedily strip only the leaves or tear the root... the herb will die."

Huo Ren completed taking out the herb with a grin, carefully wrapping the Silver Mist Plant in a cloth before storing it in his storage pouch.

The group continued walking into the rocky, bushy territory.

After a few minutes, Chi Fenglian suddenly cried out in pain. "Ouch! Ah— damn it!"

He hopped around on one foot, swinging his arms wildly. A bunch of hidden thorny vines had wrapped tightly around his foot and ankle. Tiny droplets of blood quickly stained his lower robes, dripping down.

"Hahaha! Look at you! You survived an Iron-Tusk Boar region only to get defeated by a bush!" Huo Ren pointed at him, laughing loudly.

"I’m seriously injured here!" Chi Fenglian yelled, his face turning red.

"It’s literally a mere scratch," Huo Ren snickered, nodding his head.

"It hurts like a demonic beast bite!"

Xiao Yanrui sighed, turning around and calmly kneeling beside Chi Fenglian. "Stop moving around like an idiot. You’re tightening the vine."

With a calm effort, Xiao Yanrui carefully unhooked the sharp thorns from Chi Fenglian’s robes before reaching into his storage pouch at his waist. He took out a few crushed healing leaves and rubbed them meticulously between his palms into an emerald-green liquid.

He pressed the liquid onto the small wounds on Chi Fenglian’s ankle. The cool green liquid immediately dripped into the wound, causing the burning pain to fade and stopped the bleeding.

"You’re surprisingly gentle... Yanrui," Chi Fenglian blinked, staring down at Xiao Yanrui’s calm face in awe.

Xiao Yanrui stood up immediately, wiping his hands on a cloth and maintained his cold demeanor. "I simply don’t want to carry a hundred-and-fifty-pound deadweight up the mountain."

’Bastard’ Chi Fenglian thought, placing his foot slowly down and his mouth twitched.

Above them, Gu Su Feng’s boisterous laughter echoed through the trees once again.

The mountain path split widely into two directions. One path climbed upward along a jagged cliffside, while the other descended gently toward a misty valley below.

Chi Fenglian immediately pointed toward the lower path, his eyes gleaming. "The valley looks way easier! Plus, down there, the soil is rich, and there must be wild berries to eat!"

Huo Ren nodded along, smearing sweat from his forehead. "For once, I actually agree with him. Climbing that cliff face will drain too much of our physical strength."

"No!" Xiao Yanrui shook his head, his eyes widening.

"Why not?" Chi Fenglian groaned, his face twitching in confusion.

"The map provided by the Headmaster shows higher humidity in that valley," Xiao Yanrui elucidated, pointing his finger toward the mist below. "Higher humidity means a higher concentration of venomous insects. And where there are insects, there are larger predators that will gather to hunt."

Chi Fenglian folded his arms. "But... hear me out... there will be more fruits, and we can eat."

Huo Ren immediately muttered, clapping his hands together. "I support the fruit theory of Fenglian!"

Xiao Yanrui let out a heavy breath slowly, his body straightening with authority. "I am the leader of Group Two. We are taking the upper path."

The two exchanged helpless, defeated glances before slumping their shoulders in resignation. "...Fine. You’re the boss."

Gu Su Feng, watching from high above, smiled quietly to himself.

’A true leader isn’t someone everyone agrees with at every second...’ Gu Su Feng thought, watching the three walking up toward the steep path. ’It’s someone willing to make the difficult decisions to keep their mates alive.’

****

A few paces away, near the mountain cliff ridge, Ying Yue jumped lightly beside a winding mountain stream. Beside her, her Lightning Wolf lingered around happily, leaping into the air to snap playfully at shimmering butterflies dancing gracefully in the forest breeze.

"It seems so happy out here," Yun He smiled, watching the wolf’s energetic tail wag sluggishly.

"My wolf is usually happy whenever we get out of those academy training fields," Ying Yue chuckled, patting her wolf on the head as it ran back to her side.

Ahead of them... Xiao Lanxue suddenly raised her hand, her expression freezing. "Quiet!"

The two girls immediately obeyed, their playful grin vanishing instantly as they dropped into low crouched stances, concentrating the faint beads of Beast Essence to their feet.

The thick bushes ahead rustled gently. However, instead of a terrifying beast leaping out, the bushes swayed to reveal a hidden place filled with pale-blue flowers. Hundreds of them swayed at a time under the gentle breeze, shimmering with a soft, ethereal light.

The sweet fragrance brushed over them, refreshing their tired minds and clearing their fatigued bodies.

Yun He’s eyes widened in sheer awe. "So many spiritual herbs..."

Shen Li Xiaoran landed gracefully beside them, her dark robes fluttering against the wind. A rare, gentle smile appeared on her face.

"Moon Fragrance Blossoms," Shen Li Xiaoran identified softly. "An exceptional Rank One herb used for soothing violent Beast Essence and aiding meditation."

However, her eyes narrowed slightly as she pointed toward a nearby trunk. The deep, trenched claw marks were gouged into the wood. "...Someone else has already been here."

The three disciples immediately jolted into alert, their eyes skimming the surrounding bushes.

"There are fresh footprints," Ying Yue ducked down, analysing the soil near the edges of the herbs.

"It was a rabbit," she continued, touching the small footprint. "There are many of them, and moving in a group."

"They’re fresh," Ying Yue paused for a bit, looking up. "They passed through here less than an hour ago."

Xiao Lanxue nodded at Ying Yue’s quick understanding. "Harvest what we need, but leave the young buds. We take only the blossoms."

Working as a team, the girls carefully harvested a bundle of Moon Fragrance Blossoms, leaving the younger plants untouched to preserve the natural field.

Shen Li Xiaoran watched them, a look of profound satisfaction in her eyes.

"Good," Shen Li Xiaoran murmured quietly. "The mountain always rewards restraint. Greed is what kills most hot-headedcultivators."

The group resumed their journey northward along the riverbank.

Splash!

"Ah!" Yun He suddenly lost her balance, and fell backward into the water with a loud splash, soaking half of her robes and sending droplets flying around.

Ying Yue immediately burst into giggling laughter, pointing at her friend. "Hahaha! Look at you, Yun He! You’ve officially evolved from an Earth type to a Water type!"

Yun He pouted, sitting up in the cold water with dripping hair and wet leaves stuck to her sleeves. "I hate slippery rocks...!"

Xiao Lanxue walked over without a word, a tiny smile lingering on her lips as she extended a steady hand down toward Yun He.

Yun He accepted it with an embarrassed smile. "...Thank you, Lanxue."

"No problem. Watch your footing next time," Xiao Lanxue said, pulling her up effortlessly.

Shen Li Xiaoran, observing from a distance, smiled warmly to herself.

’Leadership isn’t always about shouting commands or displaying authority...’ Shen Li Xiaoran grinned softly. ’Sometimes, it’s simply about extending a hand when your teammate stumbles.’

As the late afternoon slowly faded into early evening, the atmosphere across Azure Mist Peak changed once again.

The cheerful chirping of mountain birds disappeared into nothingness. The buzzing of forest insects had become strangely silent.

Ying Yue stopped mid-step, her eyes furrowing as her Lightning Wolf growled softly.

"Do you guys hear that?" Ying Yue whispered.

"Hear what?" Yun He tilted her head, straining her ears to listen to the surrounding woods.

"Exactly," Ying Yue said, her voice quivering. "Nothing."

Even Xiao Lanxue’s calm posture vanished, her hand resting on her storage pouch as she analysed the canopy.

The forest had become suffocatingly still.

Suddenly, far off in the northern region, the massive flocks of wild mountain birds burst out from the canopy, screaming frantically as they scattered in all directions across the sky.

They weren’t flying toward the disciples, they were flying away from something within the mountain.

Shen Li Xiaoran’s warm smile disappeared, her sharp eyes narrowing as she stared toward the distant, mist-cloaked northern peaks.

"Interesting," Shen Li Xiaoran muttered under her breath, her aura flaring up for a fraction of a second.

Without another word, she gestured for the girls to stay close as they continued their stroll.