Chapter 1

Dark clouds pressed against the sky, obscuring the golden glow that had just filled the eyes, heavy as if they were about to fall, making the whole world seem eerily quiet.

A cold wind blew fiercely, leaving behind the chirping of birds and the buzzing of insects. The delicate flowers and grass had already trembled and bowed to the ground, a sign that a storm was brewing.

In the dense ancient forest, a figure darted through the trees, aiming for the black-scaled lion running ahead.

The black-scaled lion was fast, but the figure was faster. When it was still about twenty feet away from the lion, the figure raised its right arm and swung it forward. A sharp whistle tore through the air as a black iron spear, nearly half a丈 (zhang, an ancient Chinese unit of length, approximately 3.3 meters) long, caught up with the black-scaled lion, piercing through its back and emerging from its front abdomen, pinning it to the ground.

The black-scaled lion roared and struggled, but it couldn't pull out the black iron spear that had pierced through its body and pinned it to the ground. Its breath grew weaker and weaker. At this moment, the figure arrived in front of the black-scaled lion. It was a boy dressed in rough hemp clothing, with clear and bright star-like eyes, black hair flowing behind his head, and a face that still retained a hint of childishness.

Looking at the black-scaled lion that had already died, the boy grabbed the black iron spear with both hands, shook it, and threw the lion over his shoulder before turning to leave.

If anyone had seen this scene, they would have been shocked. The black-scaled lion was a large beast, weighing several hundred pounds. Ordinary adult hunters wouldn't dare to provoke it without a team, yet the boy had easily killed it.

Lightning flashed and thunder roared as heavy rain poured down like a deluge. Fortunately, the boy had already reached the shelter of an ancient tree.

"Really not a good day, but at least I have something to show for it." The boy looked at the black-scaled lion's paw on his shoulder and muttered to himself.

After the rain stopped, the boy carried the black-scaled lion's body and hurried in a specific direction.

An hour later, a small village appeared in the boy's line of sight.

"Yeshang! Brother Yeshang is back!" The children playing at the village entrance shouted loudly when they saw the boy.

"Call Uncle Niu to come and divide the black-scaled lion's meat!" Yeshang, the boy, put down the black-scaled lion's body, pulled out a short knife from his waist, cut off a lion's leg, and left.

Seeing Yeshang leave, the children's eyes were filled with admiration.

In the village, boys under the age of fifteen were not allowed to go hunting. Even at fifteen, they had to go with the village's hunting team. However, Yeshang was only fourteen and already had over a year of hunting experience, always returning with a full load.

This was a common village called Zhuyuan Village, with about forty to fifty households, all of whom lived by hunting. Seeing Yeshang, the village's aunts and uncles greeted him warmly.

After greeting everyone, Yeshang arrived at the western end of the village, where his home was. There were only two people in the house: Yeshang and his adoptive father, Old Ge.

"Back!" Old Ge lifted his eyelids slightly, acknowledging Yeshang's return.

"Father, I'm back." After greeting, Yeshang started a fire to process the black-scaled lion's hind leg.

Since there were only two people in the house, Yeshang had only brought back one of the lion's legs, leaving the rest for the villagers.

The two were father and son, but not by blood. Yeshang was an orphan, picked up by Old Ge, who was the village chief of Zhuyuan Village.

"Father, you didn't finish telling me about the last time. Who won the competition between the Holy Light Sect's protector and the woman from the Nandou Sect?" Yeshang asked, his face full of curiosity, as he lit the fire and roasted the black-scaled lion's hind leg.

"It was a draw. Don't talk about it now, clean your face first." Old Ge came to the fire and handed Yeshang a towel. After running through the rain-soaked forest, Yeshang's hair and face were still damp.

The evening after the rain was a bit cool, and the wind made the bamboo in the courtyard sway. The flickering firelight illuminated the faces of Old Ge and Yeshang.

Old Ge, roasting by the fire, looked at Yeshang. "You're very interested in this?"

Yeshang nodded and continued to turn the lion's leg on the fire.

There was a silence between the two. Old Ge knew Yeshang's thoughts: Yeshang wanted to go out and explore, to become a warrior. Yeshang also knew Old Ge's thoughts: he didn't want Yeshang to go out because the outside world was very dangerous.

"Sigh, how much do you really know about the outside world?" Old Ge sighed.

The Nine Domains and Eighteen Provinces were vast and boundless. It could take a lifetime to walk across just one domain, and no one knew how truly vast it was. The vast mountains and marshes seemed endless.

The vast mountains and marshes were full of dangers: wild beasts, demonic beasts, and even ancient mythical creatures, the lords of the forests, which even highly cultivated practitioners dared not provoke lightly.

Zhuyuan Village was located in a remote area of the northern part of Dongxuan Province, over a thousand miles from the nearest town and ten thousand miles from the nearest cultivation sect, the Medicine Valley.

"I have to change my life, change my situation. Isn't it said that joining a cultivation sect can bring protection? If I had that protection, the tragedy from a while ago could have been avoided." Yeshang sighed and spoke.

A while ago, Zhuyuan Village was attacked by a demonic beast, causing heavy losses. The village lost three good hunters, and it was only with the combined efforts of Old Ge and the village hunters that they managed to drive the beast away.

Old Ge didn't say anything, lost in thought.

Seeing Old Ge in deep thought, Yeshang didn't continue. He knew Old Ge's character: if he agreed, he would agree; if he didn't, further persuasion would be futile.

After eating, Yeshang returned to the western room of the three bamboo houses, his room. This was a characteristic of Zhuyuan Village, where all the houses were made of bamboo, a rarity in the vast wilderness.

The rain in the mountains and marshes came and went quickly. Looking through the cracks in the bamboo walls at the starry sky, Yeshang's mind was filled with the images of the high-level battles that Old Ge had described.

Unable to sleep, Yeshang got up, put on his coat, and walked to the back of the bamboo house, where there were two solitary graves.

Looking at the graves, Yeshang touched his side, where there was a nasty scar.

According to Old Ge, when he found Yeshang during a hunting trip, the two people in the graves were already dead. A steel knife was embedded in Yeshang's side, and he survived only because the knife had missed his vital organs by a little.

The tombstones read "Yeshang's Ancestors." Old Ge had learned their surnames from the tokens they carried. Yeshang also had a jade pendant with the character "Ye" on his neck.

Touching the tombstone, Yeshang bit his lip. He knew that his survival was not only due to Old Ge's adoption but also because of the people in the graves. When Old Ge found him, one of the men in the graves was lying on top of him, and the steel knife had pierced through the man and into Yeshang's side.

"Near death," this was the origin of Yeshang's name.

"It seems your mind is hard to change. I originally planned to let you live a peaceful life in Zhuyuan Village, marry, have children, and live out your days like an ordinary person. But you are not the offspring of ordinary people, so I won't insist anymore." Old Ge patted Yeshang's shoulder and sighed.