The Beast Council
Beyond the bustling stream lay the Gi Clan's encampment.
Gi Gongsu, the Gi Clan's greatest prodigy under eighteen, stood with a frigid gaze fixed on the distant valley. Clad in the clan's distinctive black-and-white martial robes, he held his hands clasped behind his back, a chilling aura rolling off him in waves. Even from here, he seemed to see the despair carved into the faces of the Cheonun Sect disciples trapped in that gorge, and a satisfied smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"Still no word of that Yeop Pung?"
He asked the subordinate standing behind him.
"None, Young Master."
The man answered at once.
"That Yeop Pung brat has probably already fled in terror. Besides, according to the ones we captured earlier, he's a despised nobody even in the Cheonun Sect. He wouldn't come here just to die…"
"Hmph!"
Gi Gongsu could not contain his fury.
"My younger brother may be a worthless fool, but he is not someone those Cheonun Sect dogs can insult at will! If Yeop Pung doesn't show, then the Cheonun Sect disciples will pay the price in his stead. Prepare yourselves. Total assault tonight. Cripple every last one of them — not a single one walks away whole!"
"Understood, Young Master!"
Gi Gongsu turned on his heel and strode back toward his tent in long, purposeful steps. The cold aura pouring off him was enough to raise goosebumps even thirty paces away — a steely presence forged in Fengsang Commandery's strongest legion, a true martial holy land that made the Cheonun Sect look like a joke, a hell that produced nothing but ruthless warriors.
Smash those Cheonun Sect dogs, then head for Taibai Peak.
Gi Gongsu muttered it to himself as he walked. The Cheonun Sect disciples in the valley were no problem at all. If he hadn't been waiting for Yeop Pung to show his face, he would have captured them all long ago.
What truly troubled him was the Ascent Battle that would follow.
Father is far too naive. Does he really think a handful of us can stand against the monsters of the Heavenly Phoenix Legion? Even I am nothing more than an ordinary company commander in the Heavenly Phoenix Legion… And among those competing this time, that one is coming too…
At the thought of the Heavenly Phoenix Legion — and of that person — a flicker of helplessness crossed Gi Gongsu's eyes. It was a truly despairing gulf in ability. With that one entering the hunt, this year's championship was already as good as decided.
Back in his tent, Gi Gongsu drew the blade from his waist and began to polish it with care — a habit drilled into him by the Heavenly Phoenix Legion. Before every training session he would polish the Profound Weapon in his grip, Cheongrin, until it shone, then drench it in the blood of his enemies. With each pass of the white cloth up and down the steel, his mind grew calmer. Everything felt as though it lay in the palm of his hand, and that pleased him.
"Young Master!"
An urgent voice called from outside.
"Our scouts have found Yeop Pung!"
What? Gi Gongsu shot to his feet and burst out of the tent.
"Where is he?"
"He's heading toward our camp. The scouts say he's swaggering over here like he owns the place — looking down on us like we're insects. The scout party is coming back first, so they'll arrive shortly."
"Hmph! Arrogant bastard!"
Gi Gongsu slammed Cheongrin back into its sheath with a sharp click.
"Let's go! Time to catch that insolent dog!"
Some fifty Gi Clan martial artists, murderous intent rolling off them, crossed to the far side of the camp, where a neatly cleared stretch of open ground waited. Gi Gongsu stood ramrod straight, sharp as a drawn blade, and waited for Yeop Pung. Every man among them wore a thoroughly vicious expression.
Dare you think you'll walk away unscathed after seeing our formation, Yeop Pung?!
Sha-sha-shak.
Footsteps sounded in the distance. Then a dazzling golden light filled everyone's vision.
He's here!
The Gi Clan martial artists tensed as one. Some unconsciously rested their hands on their sword hilts.
"Don't make a fuss!"
Gi Gongsu said it with a smile brimming with confidence.
"He's nothing but a first-stage Profound Realm. We'll take our time playing with him."
"Haha, the Young Master is right."
Everyone laughed in relief.
Soon Yeop Pung appeared, golden lightning wreathing his entire body as he raced toward them at high speed.
That one… his footwork isn't half bad…
But Gi Gongsu's face was still full of scorn. To a powerhouse of the 6th Meridian Mysterious Realm, Yeop Pung wasn't even worth looking at. He even intended to cruelly torment the boy who had injured his younger brother. He leisurely advanced a few steps and called out to the approaching figure.
"Yeop Pung. We meet at last. A pleasure."
Ssk.
Yeop Pung stopped dead right in front of him.
"Hah… hah…"
He panted, glancing back for a moment, then blinked at Gi Gongsu.
"Is that so? How pleased, exactly?"
"…"
Gi Gongsu was at a loss for words.
What? What kind of trick is this? Why is he acting like this all of a sudden? Who's supposed to be happy about this?!
Flustered and unsure how to respond, he fell silent for a beat, then decided to simply take matters into his own hands.
"Hmph. Yeop Pung, you're at death's door, and you still have time for word games?"
"Ah, got it. Then I'll stop playing around and go see my fellow disciples first."
With that, Yeop Pung smiled and summoned lightning beneath his feet once more — then leaped clean over the heads of Gi Gongsu and his men.
"Hmph, trying to leave? How naive!"
Gi Gongsu was a prodigy of the Heavenly Phoenix Legion and a 6th Meridian expert. There was no way he would simply let Yeop Pung go. In an instant he drew up his Profound Qi, his muscles swelling with a power far greater than anyone else's, and reached for Yeop Pung's ankle at lightning speed.
"Don't you move!"
His hand was terrifyingly fast, but Yeop Pung had already anticipated it. The moment he moved, he gathered Profound Qi into the Myriad Realms Wrist Ring.
The Myriad Realms Wrist Ring flared. Time within a ten-step radius crawled to a near halt.
In an instant, Gi Gongsu's speed visibly slowed — and in that fleeting breath, Yeop Pung had already vaulted over dozens of heads and was charging toward the camp.
What?
Gi Gongsu stared at his own hand in disbelief.
What just happened? How did I miss him?
The bizarre incident left him stunned for a moment, but he quickly recovered. Even if Yeop Pung had slipped from his grasp, the boy could never escape the palm of his hand. Today he would cripple Yeop Pung and every last Cheonun Sect dog!
"After him!"
Gi Gongsu roared like a beast. But this time, what answered him was not the Gi Clan martial artists in front — it was a beast's roar from behind.
"KRAAAAAH!"
The entire forest shuddered. Gi Gongsu, still in the posture of leaping forward, dropped back onto the ground.
What? What the hell is that?
He looked back, and the sight before his eyes left him speechless.
Two fierce black leopards burst from the forest. One had just let out that threatening roar. The other had been charging in high spirits, then spotted Gi Gongsu and skidded to a halt, leaving vivid paw prints in the earth.
What's going on? Why have profound beasts suddenly appeared?
Gi Gongsu couldn't make sense of it. Instincts honed through years of brutal training in the Heavenly Phoenix Legion were screaming at him: something was very, very wrong.
The two black leopards emerged from the trees, spotted Gi Gongsu, and looked thoroughly bewildered.
Huh? Why are there so many humans here?
Don't tell me! These cunning humans set an ambush?
But they soon put on unconcerned faces.
Today our numbers are greater! And looking at these humans' faces, they seem panicked. No matter how strong they look, they're still our prey!!
"Brothers, come out and eat meat!"
The black leopard roared again, waving a forepaw toward the rear.
Then an enormous host of animals revealed themselves, and the spectacle was nothing short of magnificent: a rabbit with a butterfly bow tied on its head, a wild boar with one tusk snapped off, and a pack of gray wolves snarling with bared fangs.
"This is insane!"
Gi Gongsu was on the verge of losing his mind.
What the hell are those? Does this even make sense?
And then more came — fierce spotted hyenas, nimble monkeys, a pangolin with its long tongue lolling out, and even a gentle-looking flower deer, all appearing in droves. Just looking at the scene was enough to make Gi Gongsu's head explode, and he went even more berserk. He stared at the seemingly gentle flower deer.
And just what are YOU doing here?!
But that flower deer had one hell of a temper. Blue lightning crackled from the two antlers on its head and came crashing down toward Gi Gongsu.
"What! Ra… rabbits eat grass too! They're coming, so why can't I?!"
Gi Gongsu was so aggrieved he thought he might go mad. The Cheongrin Blade he had so lovingly, painstakingly polished was supposed to cut Yeop Pung — not lightning bursting from a flower deer's antlers!
Who the hell wrote this story?
"K-kill them all!"
At this point, what else could Gi Gongsu say? Other than fighting the vicious profound beasts before him to the death, he had no other option. Even if he had grown ten heads, he could never have imagined that every last one of these profound beasts had gathered because they were furious at Yeop Pung. He simply thought he'd had the rotten, filthy luck of stumbling into a profound beast council meeting.
The profound beasts were no better informed. They had no idea that the humans in front of them were also a group trying to catch Yeop Pung. They simply saw Gi Gongsu's party drawing their weapons, and without a moment's hesitation they snarled and charged.
The lesson this tale offers us? When two sides cannot communicate, truly terrible things can happen.
Charge! Kill!
Uwaaaaah! Kraaaaah!
Both sides collided with a force that seemed to shake heaven and earth. A truly terrible, utterly terrible slaughterhouse unfolded.
Yeop Pung, who had been fleeing for all he was worth, suddenly stopped, looked back, and grinned.
"Yeah. That's more like it!"
Truth be told, he'd been a bit scared at first when all those profound beasts were chasing him. He'd just been running blindly when a good idea struck him. He couldn't let such a formidable fighting force go to waste.
And so began the thrilling tale of a colossal battle between man and beast.
Just then, Yeop Pung saw dozens more Gi Clan disciples bursting frantically from the tents ahead — some shouting to catch him, others yelling that they had to go help their fellow disciples. But now they posed no threat to him at all. He moved as fast as lightning. Ignoring the insignificant Gi Clan disciples, he cut through the crowd and headed for the valley.