Chapter 1

In the land of Zhongtu, outside the imperial city of the Great Qin Dynasty.

This is a primeval forest near the imperial city. There are few shrubs in the forest, only towering ancient trees that reach into the clouds. The branches intertwine, and the lush leaves spread out like green clouds, completely blocking the blue sky.

"Chirp chirp..." In the forest, a small, thin macaque swings from vine to vine, scratching its ears and rubbing its cheeks, looking very at ease.

Suddenly, its eyes darted around, as if it had discovered something. It leaped onto a branch and looked down, its eyes showing a strange expression.

After a while, it seemed a bit impatient and slowly swung down the tree trunk, landing in the soft leaf mud below. It slowly approached a figure it had accidentally discovered a few feet away.

Qi Yun felt cold all over, dazed and confused, trying to wake up but unable to open his eyes. At this moment, his nose suddenly itched, and he sneezed, abruptly waking up.

"Where am I?" Qi Yun opened his eyes, a hint of confusion in his gaze. However, this confusion lasted only an instant, and he instinctively sat up, moving quickly.

"Chirp..." His instinctive reaction startled the macaque, which jumped onto an ancient tree in panic. Only after feeling safe did it look down at Qi Yun with lingering fear.

"Hiss." Qi Yun had no time to pay attention to the monkey. As soon as he stood steady, he drew a sharp breath, his entire body aching as if his bones were about to shatter. This feeling made Qi Yun frown deeply.

Qi Yun, who hadn't been injured for over a hundred years, was undoubtedly surprised and puzzled by his current physical condition.

"What is this?" Sensing something wrong with his body, Qi Yun quickly reacted. He looked down and was greatly alarmed. When did he become this way?

His slim figure was dressed in fine silk, the fabric of the highest quality, clearly something only the wealthy could afford. Although it was torn by tree branches, it still exuded a sense of luxury.

"Where is the Flowing Cloud Battle Robe? Where are the Ascending Cloud Boots? And the Heaven-Cleaving Axe is also gone." Qi Yun pinched his fingers, trying to stay clear-headed. He knew something extraordinary must have happened to him.

As he thought this, a sharp pain shot through his head, and the original memories of this body flooded into Qi Yun's mind. He had roamed Zhongtu for over a century, with an exceptionally strong will. Even with such bizarre events happening to him, he maintained his rationality and tried to accept these chaotic memories.

After an unknown amount of time, Qi Yun opened his eyes, his gaze complex.

Having accepted those memories, Qi Yun realized he had been reborn, his soul transmigrated into the body of another Qi Yun.

"I wonder what year it is in the Divine Martial Era, and how long it has been since I perished in the Yun Dang Mountains in my previous life." Qi Yun shook his head, seemingly sighing.

He quickly regained his composure. He didn't want to think about his past life for now; it was more important to deal with the current situation.

"The Great Qin Dynasty, the son of the Minister of War, Qi Yun?" He smiled wryly. "This identity is far superior to what I had in my past life, but it's a pity that, despite the noble status, this body's talent and abilities are quite lacking."

Qi Yun examined this body, frowning slightly. At fifteen years old, this Qi Yun hadn't even reached the Warrior Apprentice realm, which was truly a waste.

In Zhongtu, both the demon and human races coexist, and their conflicts are intense. Large-scale battles break out almost every month, and small-scale skirmishes are constant. In such a brutally competitive environment, all dynasties place great importance on martial cultivation. Children begin practicing martial arts at the age of ten, and some major families start training their next generation as early as seven or eight.

As the son of the current Minister of War, Qi Yun should have reached at least the lowest Warrior Apprentice realm by fifteen, but the current situation clearly indicated some hidden circumstances.

Searching through the memories in his mind, Qi Yun finally understood. "So, he is a concubine's son, with a bit of mental retardation, and not favored by the family. No wonder."

The current Minister of War, Qi Zhan, oversees the entire nation's military administration and is a high-ranking official of the second rank. Moreover, the Qi family is an old-established family in the Great Qin Dynasty, so Qi Zhan naturally has many wives and numerous sons. A concubine's son with no standout qualities naturally wouldn't attract his attention.

Understanding these things, Qi Yun shrugged and laughed to himself. "I never thought that I, the mighty Heaven-Cleaving Martial Saint, would be reborn in such a state, not only having to start my cultivation from scratch but also facing the intrigues of the noble families. Truly uninteresting."

Although Qi Yun is a concubine's son, he is still the son of the Minister of War. How could he have been abandoned in such a primeval forest without reason? Clearly, someone had harmed him.

"The General's Mansion, Lord Pang Li." Qi Yun shook his head, a hint of a cold smile on his lips. He knew that this person had harmed Qi Yun and discarded his body here.

Now, he is no longer the former Qi Yun, so some things need to be changed. Only by doing so can he regain his former strength as soon as possible.

After all, the resources and influence of a family are there for the taking.

"Still, I should leave this place first." Qi Yun looked around. According to his memories, the forest he was in should be the Ten Thousand Feet Forest, not far from the imperial city.

There are many tigers, leopards, and wolves in this forest, and deeper in, there are some powerful demon beasts. It is an ideal hunting ground for the nobility.

However, it is not hunting season now, so there are few people around.

The macaque was leisurely gnawing on an unknown fruit on the tree, while also observing Qi Yun. This little creature seemed to realize that Qi Yun posed no threat, so it calmed down.

"This little thing is quite interesting." Qi Yun, who was about to leave, glanced at the small monkey, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

As this thought crossed his mind, Qi Yun quickly scanned the surroundings. Although this area was not deep in the Ten Thousand Feet Forest, there should still be some fierce beasts. However, Qi Yun had seen none during his time here.

Generally, when this happens, it means that a powerful beast or demon beast has claimed this area as its territory, so other beasts would not dare to enter.

However, Qi Yun had seen no other animals besides the macaque.

Realizing this, Qi Yun's gaze gradually took on a hint of a smile. If his guess was correct, this macaque should be the owner of this territory.

"From what I know, there aren't many apes that can dominate among demon beasts. I wonder what kind of divine being you are, little one?" Qi Yun became interested.

This macaque was clearly still in its juvenile stage, and there aren't many ape demon beasts that can dominate in their youth. This would only be possible for some extremely high-tier demon beasts, such as the dragon clan, the nine-tailed clan, the Kunpeng clan, and a few rare apes.

For example, the four great spiritual monkeys of the ape clan. In his past life, Qi Yun had only seen the Tongbi Ape, and the other three he had never encountered.

Qi Yun narrowed his eyes and examined the macaque on the tree. In appearance, there was nothing unusual, except that it was a bit thin and looked very clever, not much different from other monkeys.

He thought for a moment, moved his mouth, and uttered some strange syllables, a sound very different from human language.

The sound was short and somewhat uncomfortable to hear, but the macaque was stunned for a moment, and its yellow-orange eyes, like field yellow stones, quickly showed a hint of joy.

"Chirp chirp." The little monkey dropped the fruit in its hand, leaped up, and jumped around on the tree, looking extremely happy, like a lonely child who had suddenly found a playmate.

Qi Yun smiled. In his past life, he was one of the few martial artists in all of Zhongtu who could understand and speak the language of beasts. Although he had a new body, it did not hinder his ability to speak the language of beasts.

The language of beasts is the common language of demon beasts with initial intelligence and those that can transform into humans. Unlike human language, few people can understand it, let alone speak it. Qi Yun's fame in Zhongtu was not only due to his cultivation to the Martial Saint level but also because he could speak the language of beasts.

The little macaque had now jumped onto Qi Yun's shoulder, playing with his long black hair, completely at ease and without any suspicion.

Seeing this, Qi Yun was somewhat surprised but quickly understood. The little monkey was still young and didn't understand the dangers of the human heart. It also seemed to be the first time it had encountered a creature that could communicate with it, so its behavior was understandable.

"Do you want to come with me?" Qi Yun felt that this monkey was extraordinary and gently asked in the language of beasts.

Although humans and demon beasts are enemies, some powerful martial artists have life-and-death companions among demon beasts, so Qi Yun extended the invitation.

The macaque seemed very happy and immediately nodded. Its intelligence was just beginning to develop, and it could only understand the language of beasts but not speak it.

Qi Yun was also very pleased. This macaque, still in its youth, could already scare other fierce beasts away. When it grows up, it will surely be a great help to him.

"Wait..." Just as Qi Yun was about to leave with the macaque's consent, he caught a glimpse of its ears out of the corner of his eye and was slightly startled.

At first glance, this macaque looked no different from other apes, but upon closer inspection, he noticed that it had two additional ears below each of its main ears!

They were small and not very noticeable, which is why Qi Yun hadn't seen them before.

He swore that even when he first met the dragon clan leader in the demon race, he wasn't this surprised. This macaque was actually a six-eared macaque, a rare existence in the demon race that appears only once in a thousand years!

The six-eared macaque is not only one of the four great spiritual monkeys revered by the ape clan in the demon race but is also considered one of the few beings with the potential to ascend to the rank of Demon Emperor in the entire demon race.

Qi Yun said with a complex expression, "It's actually a six-eared macaque. No wonder there are no other fierce beasts or demon beasts around. Those creatures would be terrified by this aura and wouldn't dare to come near."

The demon race has a strong taboo regarding bloodlines. A being like the six-eared macaque, a top-tier existence in the demon race, exerts a significant suppression over other demon beasts.

Although he was extremely surprised, he quickly regained his composure. The six-eared macaque, though a divine being born of heaven and earth, still needs to cultivate step by step, just like other demon beasts.

The six-eared macaque before him was still in its youth and was clearly still quite weak.