Chapter 028: Let Go of My Leg

The most awkward expression of his life was witnessed by Zashi, whose keen sense of smell could rival that of a dog—something that filled Lin Zhan with admiration. At this moment, Lin Zhan himself could no longer detect any lingering fragrance in the air.

"No, the reason Zashi is upset must be that I absorbed the spiritual energy from the spirit stones!" Lin Zhan abruptly stood up, pointed at the fragments of stalactites scattered around, scratched the back of his head, and said sheepishly, "A lot of these spirit stone stalactites had their energy absorbed by me..."

"Shh!" Zashi gestured for Lin Zhan to be silent, patrolled the hidden cave carefully, then returned.

"Strange. It seems as if a stranger has been here, but then again, perhaps not," Zashi said, circling Lin Zhan twice more and examining him from head to toe. "Not bad—looks like your strength has increased a great deal in just these few days!"

Lin Zhan understood. Just like the matter of that “Wind Step” movement technique before, and now the spiritual energy of the stalactites—whenever he brought it up, Zashi always pretended not to know what he was talking about.

Since Zashi clearly chose not to care, Lin Zhan saw no need to dwell on the topic. He kept his gratitude deep within, just as he did for the “Blazing Fist Technique” gifted by Qingxuan Tan. To Lin Zhan, both were invaluable treasures.

"Give it a little more time, and perhaps I won’t be able to beat you anymore!" Zashi grinned, his tone full of teasing mischief.

Lin Zhan didn’t care whether Zashi was trying to find out what advanced techniques he’d received from Qingxuan Tan. Dispirited, he asked, "Tenth Senior Brother, didn’t you say you’d be away for a long time this time? How is it that we’re already meeting again so soon?"

It was a casual question, but Zashi seized on it immediately. "Heartless brat, are you tired of living? You don’t want to see me, do you? I was going to take you hunting, but now I suppose I’ll forget it..."

Hunting? Hunting wild beasts?

Lin Zhan’s eyes lit up, and his whole spirit revived.

"Tenth Senior Brother, Boss Ten, Big Brother Ten, is it true, what you said about hunting?"

Zashi shot him a sidelong glance. "Of course it’s true. Otherwise, if you keep looking after spirit herbs like this, how many contribution points can you earn? To exchange for a good cultivation technique, you’d be waiting forever! But the corpses of wild beasts, and beast crystals, can all be traded at the Hall of Honor for contribution points."

"But for hunting, do we have to leave Red Inferno Valley, or even Fiery Ice Mountain? If we go too far, First Boss Zha might punish us." Lin Zhan, after all, was still a novice and not yet a seasoned hand. He still felt compelled to follow the rules of the Miscellaneous Hall.

"If you’re scared, then don’t come." Zashi didn’t give Lin Zhan any more time to consider, setting off first.

"Ah, I knew it would be like this!" Lin Zhan gritted his teeth, feigning hesitation, but inside he was already boiling with an uncontrollable hunger for wild beasts.

Go, then! After all, I’ve trained in martial arts now!

With a thought, the “Wind Step” technique activated. Though his speed was slightly inferior, Lin Zhan chased after Zashi in the direction he’d vanished.

Deep within Red Inferno Valley, in the Crimson Palace, a phantom took form atop a lotus dais. Then a pair of delicate, fair feet extended from the lotus seat and descended the steps.

"Master, how could you go out to play without taking me with you?" cried a young woman, fresh-faced and inexperienced, who dashed over and clung to the legs of the woman with the fair feet.

"Let go! How many times have I told you to act with calm and composure? Such noisy behavior—be careful, or you’ll be expelled from the sect!" The one addressed as Master, whose leg was being fiercely hugged, was none other than Ning Wanqing, the Mistress of Crimson Palace on Fiery Ice Mountain, known as Mistress Fragrant.

She had just returned from Lin Zhan’s Hero’s Pool secret cave. Her usual air of detached, ethereal beauty—an immortal untouched by the mortal world—was impossible to maintain in front of her disciple Shui Xinxin.

She didn’t know what karmic debt she had incurred to end up with such a scatterbrained disciple; her life felt close to collapse. Were it not for this, Ning Wanqing wouldn’t have cast her gaze upon another’s disciple, and having discovered Lin Zhan, such a promising seedling, she had willingly offered him hellish training.

"Master, if you were going to expel me you would have done it long ago—you wouldn’t have waited until now…" Shui Xinxin sprawled on the ground, tugging so hard at her master’s white robe that it was nearly pulled off.

"I said let go!" Ning Wanqing finally lost her temper. With a casual lift of her bare foot, Shui Xinxin—still clinging on—was flicked clear out of the hall, flying a great distance.

"Hee hee, Master, your Flying Kick is getting better and better! This is so much fun..." Shui Xinxin clambered out of an icy ditch, wiped the water from her face, and began to dance with glee.

It had to be said that Shui Xinxin was actually rather refined and proper in appearance. At fifteen or sixteen, she was the very image of a sweet, adorable young girl.

"Go to the Northern Forest and secretly protect a daisy-class disciple named Lin Zhan from the Miscellaneous Hall! If Lin Zhan so much as loses a hair, clinging to my leg won’t help you!" A fierce wind swept through the hall, making the doors rattle.

Shrinking her neck and sticking out her tongue, Shui Xinxin sped away without a word, vanishing in a blink...

Red Inferno Valley, like Fiery Lake, was situated between Fiery Peak and Mount Westward. Fiery Peak was the main summit, the highest among the Five Sacred Mountains.

Since joining the Miscellaneous Hall, Lin Zhan’s range of activity had been limited to work areas—at furthest, the medicinal fields in Red Inferno Valley, always on the western side of Fiery Peak.

The territory of Fiery Peak was vast, and like the other four mountains, its entirety was unknowable to ordinary folk.

Now, following Zashi along the valley where Fiery Peak and Mount Westward met, running beside the intricate terrain of Red Inferno Valley and Fiery Lake, they traveled for two full hours before reaching the northern side of Fiery Peak.

The farther north they went, the thicker the ice, the more impassable the peaks.

Throughout, Zashi continued to test Lin Zhan’s movement skills—occasionally displaying dazzling feats that left Lin Zhan gaping in awe. Moved, he began to imitate.

Wind, cloud, rain! Lin Zhan had mastered the first two forms.

Rain required the perfect fusion of wind and cloud, after which resonance would arise naturally.

Wind rises, clouds surge, rain forms.

Lin Zhan inhaled and exhaled, silently reciting the core formulas, striving to harmonize his body with the surrounding energies.

After passing through a snowy, mist-shrouded forest shielded by giant trees, Zashi and Lin Zhan halted on a stone cliff jutting from the mountainside.

Before them lay an endless, vast forest, astonishing Lin Zhan.

So this was what lay to the north of Fiery Peak—a true land’s end!