The Imperial Martial Pill Venerable

"Li Yi, stand back." After ordering the young Li Yi aside, Zhang Chuda drew the great blade from his back. With a deep shout, his True Essence surged. "Earth-Splitting Slash!"

A colossal, phantom-like blade condensed from thin air and chopped down onto the ice sculpture. With a thunderous CRASH, the sculpture instantly shattered into countless shards of ice.

"Collect the Golden Python’s corpse," Zhang Chuda said in a low voice. "That expert probably hasn’t gone far. Let’s all be on high alert."

"Yes, Captain."

"A Martial Artist with this kind of power... They must be at the Celestial Essence Realm, at least."

.........

The adventuring party continued onward, eventually reaching a mountain hollow.

"Captain, look! There’s someone up ahead," said a team member, Yujing, pointing forward.

Zhang Chuda followed her finger and was surprised to see a young man in white robes sitting atop a large boulder.

’This is Ku Mountain. Even we have to tread carefully. How can a boy, no older than fifteen or sixteen, sit there so brazenly, without a care in the world?’

"Heh, there’s no shortage of people with a death wish these days," Li Yi said with a laugh.

SCREECH! At that moment, a piercing eagle’s cry echoed through the air.

An enormous eagle with a wingspan of over a hundred feet dove toward Qin Ya like an arrow. Its black feathers seemed forged from iron, and its golden talons gleamed with a metallic luster. "An Iron-Backed Golden Clawed Eagle!"

"Sky Splitting Slash!"

Just as the Golden Clawed Eagle was about to snatch Qin Ya, a wave of Blade Qi tore through the air.

The immense Blade Qi forced the Golden Clawed Eagle to retreat. It had no choice but to abandon its imminent prey, and with a flap of its wings and a WHOOSH, it soared high into the sky.

Zhang Chuda and his party walked over. "Are you alright, young man?" he asked.

Qin Ya smiled. "I’m fine. Thank you for your help."

"Ku Mountain is a dangerous place. What brings you here, young man?"

Qin Ya asked, "Do you happen to know where Xing Peak is?"

"Xing Peak?" Zhang Chuda frowned. "That’s one of the most dangerous places in all of Ku Mountain. You’re heading there?"

"Yes." Qin Ya nodded slightly.

"Hmph. Kid, if our captain hadn’t saved you from that Golden Clawed Eagle, you’d be dead already. Xing Peak is incredibly dangerous. Do you really think you can make it there alone? I suggest you turn back now," Li Yi said, looking at Qin Ya with a disdainful tone.

In his eyes, Qin Ya was just some arrogant young master from a Noble Family.

"Thank you for the warning. Still, could I trouble you to tell me the way to Xing Peak?"

Qin Ya just smiled faintly, his expression unchanged, showing no trace of anger. His composure impressed the others, making them see him in a new light. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Zhang Chuda considered it for a moment before saying, "To get to Xing Peak, follow the river from here for about twenty li. Coincidentally, we’re heading to the outskirts of Xing Peak ourselves. It wouldn’t be safe for you to travel alone. Why don’t we go together?"

"Then I’ll have to trouble you." Qin Ya could tell the burly man was kind-hearted and didn’t refuse the offer. After a short rest, the group set out.

......

"Sky Splitting Slash!"

Zhang Chuda’s blade flashed, cleaving a giant, calf-sized wolf in two. Guts and entrails spilled across the ground.

This was already the sixth Fierce Beast they had encountered on their journey. Zhang Chuda took out an Elixir and swallowed it, wiping the sweat from his brow. He turned to Qin Ya and said, "Brother Qin, we’re at the edge of Xing Peak now. The peak itself is just ahead. Are you sure you still want to go on?"

Qin Ya gazed ahead at a towering, blood-red peak. A flicker of anticipation crossed his eyes as he said, "My thanks, Brother Zhang."

"You’re really going?" Zhang Chuda asked again.

"Hmph. Some people just don’t know what’s good for them," Li Yi said coldly.

"Brother Qin, it’s truly dangerous there. You really shouldn’t go," Yujing added, sheathing her longsword as she too tried to dissuade Qin Ya from going to Xing Peak.

Qin Ya smiled slightly, retrieving several bottles of Elixirs from his Storage Ring. He handed them to Zhang Chuda, saying, "Brother Zhang, thank you all for your care along the way. Here are a few bottles of Elixirs. Please, take them."

Zhang Chuda could see Qin Ya’s mind was made up, so he didn’t try to stop him further. However, he pushed the Elixirs back toward Qin Ya. "Xing Peak is very dangerous. You should keep these for yourself. They’ll be a good safety net."

Qin Ya was taken aback for a second, then smiled. "Don’t worry, Brother Zhang. I have plenty of these Elixirs, so I won’t miss a few bottles. Please, you should take them."

"Hah, just what you’d expect from a young master of a Noble Family," Li Yi sneered.

"ROAR!!"

Just then, a roar thundered through the woods as a massive black shadow burst forth. The colossal figure was like a small hill, snapping every tree in its path. The color drained from everyone’s faces as they braced themselves for a fight.

BOOM...

The black shadow came to a halt before them, stomping its hooves heavily and making the ground tremble.

Only then did the group get a clear look at the black shadow’s true form. It was a Fierce Beast resembling a wild boar. Its black bristles stood on end like steel needles, and its inhuman, blood-red eyes held nothing but Destruction and savagery. Two massive tusks, like a pair of long spears, radiated a cold, chilling glint.

"It’s... the Black Armored Wild Boar King!"

The pupils of Zhang Chuda and his party constricted.

"Damn it, of all the things to run into,"

The Wild Boar King was breathing heavily, and only then did the group notice the mottled bloodstains hidden beneath its steel-like bristles.

"It’s injured. Who did this?"

"This Wild Boar King’s strength is at least equivalent to the Earth Element Perfection realm, yet someone beat it into this state. Who in the world could have done this?"

They had no time to ponder, for the Wild Boar King before them was already launching its attack.

With a roar, the Wild Boar King’s bristles stood erect, then shot out like sharp arrows. A dense barrage of quills rained down upon them like a torrential storm.

"Quick, take cover!" Zhang Chuda roared.

Hearing his command, the party scrambled behind a massive boulder. The rain of needles pelted the stone with a series of sharp CLANGS, sending countless rock fragments flying.

"Captain, look!"

In the midst of the needle storm, they saw the white-robed young man standing still, neither dodging nor evading.

"Brother Qin!" Zhang Chuda cried out in alarm. Even he wouldn’t dare claim he could emerge unscathed from such a dense volley.

Just as they thought Qin Ya was about to be riddled with holes, he let out a soft, indifferent command. A thick wall of ice instantly condensed before him!

The needles hammered against the ice wall with a series of THUDS, but the wall itself stood like an insurmountable mountain, protecting the unharmed Qin Ya.

"That ice wall!"

The pupils of Zhang Chuda and his companions contracted violently, as if they had just realized something.

"Captain... doesn’t that ice wall look a little like that Golden Python Ice Sculpture we saw earlier?" Li Yi swallowed hard, his voice suddenly hoarse.

Zhang Chuda’s eyes were wide with shock. "You’re right," he said. "It can’t even be pierced by the Wild Boar King’s quills. It has to be him."

The group was floored, especially Li Yi. He had personally experienced the terror of that Cold Ice—just a single touch had been enough to frostbite his finger. An expert of that caliber was someone he couldn’t even begin to fathom.

’And yet, I’ve been mocking this expert the entire time we’ve been traveling together.’

Just thinking about it now sent a cold chill down Li Yi’s spine.