Chapter 15

(If today's red ticket count exceeds six thousand, I'll add an extra chapter; if the number of new favorites exceeds one thousand five hundred, I'll add another chapter—brothers, let's work hard!)

Xiaoming stood at the classroom door, took a deep breath, and firmly gripped the secret letter his mother had given him.

After a day of intense struggle, Chen Xun's heart ached as he exhausted the giant eagle. He now wanted to use the Great Peng Secret Fist, but he dared not easily damage his vital energy. Before luring the giant eagle to the cliff cave entrance to fight, he had already pinched a section of Fishyang grass and chewed it in his mouth.

One Fishyang grass plant could be divided into four or five segments, and each segment would allow him to use two moves of the Great Peng Secret Fist without depleting his vital energy. By the end of the day, the few Fishyang grass plants he had on him were all used up.

He was now cultivating his barbarian soul and tempering his muscles and flesh, and he was most in need of spiritual medicines. Otherwise, he wouldn't have risked venturing deep into Python Tooth Ridge, only to use up the precious Fishyang grass in the prolonged battle with the giant eagle.

It was dusk again, and Chen Xun's body was covered in countless injuries, but none of them were serious. He only had one last Black Python Pill left on him.

Chen Xun was worried. If he used the last Black Python Pill and still couldn't kill this fierce bird, once the bird recovered its strength the next day, he would be the one in a passive position. He could see that this fierce bird had a strong physical body, and as long as its vital parts weren't injured, it would recover very quickly.

Even if he managed to escape back to the village, if this fierce bird held a grudge, it would be a huge problem.

As the dusk grew darker, Chen Xun, with determination, put the Black Python Pill in his mouth and walked out of the cliff cave.

The giant eagle, which had been perched on the cliff top, was also fiercely agitated. Seeing Chen Xun appear, it spread its wings and pounced.

Chen Xun visualized his barbarian soul. As the giant eagle approached like a black lightning bolt, he did not punch but instead transformed into a rainbow, leaping onto the eagle's back. He tightly gripped the eagle's neck with his left arm, which was featherless and bald, and pounded the eagle's head with his right fist.

The eagle's head was extremely hard but also feared impact. With the barbarian soul manifesting, Chen Xun's fist glowed with divine light, heavy like a hammer. In just two strikes, he made the giant eagle dizzy and disoriented, causing it to plummet down the cliff.

From a height of forty to fifty meters, they fell in an instant. The giant eagle, along with Chen Xun, crashed into the trees below, breaking branches and scattering leaves.

Chen Xun felt as if his bones were shattered and his internal organs were displaced, his mouth filled with blood. However, the medicinal power of the Black Python Pill spread through his bones and blood, causing the barbarian soul to emit a radiant light, continuously generating strength. This allowed him to keep his left arm tightly around the eagle's neck, clinging to its back like an ant, preventing him from being thrown off.

In the thickening dusk, he focused all his mind and spirit into his right fist, which glowed with a radiant light, hard as iron. Whenever he had the chance, he pounded the eagle's relatively softer neck, causing its flesh to tear and fly.

The eagle, still retaining its nature, endured the intense pain and rolled rapidly in the trees, trying to throw Chen Xun off.

The giant trees by the stream snapped, and Chen Xun couldn't hold on for more than ten breaths. He was thrown ten meters away, breaking through countless branches and crashing to the ground, nearly having his internal organs shaken out of his mouth.

However, in just those few breaths, Chen Xun's fists struck like lightning, delivering dozens of punches that turned half of the eagle's neck into a mess of flesh.

The eagle was now on its last breath, lying by the stream, unable to fly away.

In such a short time, the medicinal power of the Black Python Pill was completely exhausted.

Chen Xun struggled to stand up and cautiously approached the eagle.

The eagle, sensing death approaching, flapped its damaged wings and tried to stand up with its two red-scaled claws, stumbling as it tried to escape the trees.

Thinking of escaping now?

Chen Xun spat out a mouthful of blood, ignoring his injured foot, which exposed white bone, and pursued the eagle north, determined to kill it.

The eagle, fighting like a cornered beast, had a beak as hard as a spear. Chen Xun dared not approach suddenly but instead kept it engaged, trying to exhaust its last bit of strength.

Just as Chen Xun was carefully guarding against the eagle's desperate struggle, two sharp whistles came from behind him.

Chen Xun's hair stood on end, and he slightly turned his head to the side. Two extremely cold beams of light grazed his cheek and pierced the eagle's chest.

They were two iron arrows.

The wind from the iron arrows stung Chen Xun's cheek.

Chen Xun was drenched in cold sweat, unsure whether the arrows were aimed at his neck or the eagle's chest.

Chen Xun was furious. Turning around, he saw several figures emerging from the northern trees. Two young men, each holding a large black bow, led them.

The two young men stared at Chen Xun with caution, ready to shoot him dead if he showed any abnormal behavior.

Chen Xun didn't recognize the material of the black bows, but after a day and night of fighting the eagle, he knew how hard the eagle's bones were.

To shoot an iron arrow so deeply into the eagle's chest, these two young men must have had arms as strong as his.

Chen Xun suppressed his anger, bowed, and thanked them: "Thank you for your help..."

The two young men were about fourteen or fifteen years old. One had particularly broad eyebrows and cold, merciless eyes. Seeing Chen Xun not angry but thanking them, he thought Chen Xun was a fool and said to the other young man, "He's a barbarian!"

"This is Python Tooth Ridge. If he's not a barbarian, what else could he be?" The other young man corrected his companion, glancing at Chen Xun, who was covered in blood, and felt secretly alarmed, but said, "Why are you thanking us? We were hunting, not helping you."

Chen Xun was so angry he could spit blood. These two brats had shot two arrows without a word, and if he hadn't reacted quickly, his neck might have been pierced. They showed no remorse and even tried to claim the prey he had fought for a day and night as their own...

"What, are you dissatisfied?" The broad-browed young man glared at Chen Xun, his eyes full of menace, as if he would order his companions to kill Chen Xun on the spot if he said anything out of line.

Among the various tribes of the Python Tooth Ridge, fighting over prey was common.

In the past three years, the Black Mountain Tribe and the Black Python Tribe had fought over hunting grounds, resulting in dozens of casualties, and they had become bitter enemies.

These two young men were not to be trifled with, especially since they had more people with them.

Chen Xun suppressed his anger and bowed his head, saying, "I thank you for saving my life. If you hadn't shot the bird in time, I would have been torn to pieces by now..."

"The bird? This guy thinks the Green-Eyed Eagle is just a big bird. He's a barbarian!" The broad-browed young man laughed at his companion, no longer bothering to pay attention to the barbarian youth, and went to check their "killed" prey.

Chen Xun, dragging his injured leg, managed to sit by a tree root, watching the group from a distance.

The two young men's bows were not ordinary, and their silk armor, which looked like iron or leather, had strange, dark runes engraved on the chest, subtly drawing on the mysterious forces of heaven and earth, emitting a powerful aura far beyond their own strength over the past three years.

Chen Xun, with his keen spiritual senses, knew that the silk armor these young men wore was not something a small tribe in the northern mountains of Python Tooth Ridge could possess.

The others who emerged from the trees seemed to be the attendants of the two young men.

Only two of them were dressed as barbarians, wearing colorful animal skins, with half-exposed, hairy chests and necklaces made of animal teeth.

Wearing the teeth of hunted fierce beasts around the neck was a custom of the Black Mountain Tribe.

Seeing the two towering figures, standing like iron towers, each over two meters tall, with large iron spears in hand and several short bone spears on their backs for long-range attacks, and their blue-black totems on their faces, Chen Xun recognized them as the upper-class barbarian warriors Gu Chen and Gu Hu of the Black Mountain Tribe, who were even stronger than Zong Sang and Nan Liao.

Chen Xun was secretly alarmed. The Black Mountain Tribe and the Black Python Tribe had been enemies for years, fighting over hunting grounds. If Gu Chen and Gu Hu knew he was from the Black Python Tribe, they wouldn't let him go easily.

Fortunately, Gu Chen and Gu Hu were focused on the giant eagle, worried it might not be dead and pose a threat to the young men. They didn't have the time to closely examine Chen Xun, who was sitting under a tree.

Besides the two upper-class barbarian warriors from the Black Mountain Tribe, the other six armored warriors who emerged from the trees, though not as tall and strong, emitted a more terrifying aura of killing, not weaker than Gu Chen and Gu Hu.

They were all peak barbarian warriors, and they were from Canglan!

Their armor and weapons matched what Qingmu Daoist described in the silk book. The closest land to Python Tooth Ridge in Yunzhou was Canglan, which was also the gateway to the Western Wasteland.

However, the tribes in the southern plains of Python Tooth Ridge were under the control of Canglan. Why were they in the northern foothills of Python Tooth Ridge, and why were they with the barbarian warriors of the Black Mountain Tribe?

Judging by the young men's attire, they might even be nobles from Canglan City.

Chen Xun never expected to encounter noble youths from Canglan and two peak barbarian warriors from the Black Mountain Tribe in the wilds of Python Tooth Ridge.

Chen Xun was no longer angry about losing the prey he had fought for a day and night. He was only thinking about how to quietly escape.

"This kid is not bad!" One of the armored warriors, about forty years old, with a gaunt face and large hands gripping a saber at his waist, walked over to examine the bloodied eagle and looked at Chen Xun with appreciation, asking, "Which tribe are you from?"

Chen Xun's scalp tingled. Although there were nearly twenty tribes in the northern mountains of Python Tooth Ridge, the closest ones were the Black Python and Black Mountain Tribes. If he lied, would Gu Chen and Gu Hu see through it?

However, the middle-aged warrior was waiting for his answer, so Chen Xun had to respond, saying in a low voice, "Black Python."

"Oh, so you're from the Black Python Tribe. No wonder you dared to enter the mountains alone and fight a fierce bird like the Green-Eyed Eagle in the wilds!" The middle-aged warrior nodded in approval, seemingly unsurprised by the Black Python Tribe producing such a talented youth. He then asked, "Your injuries are severe. Do you want to leave the mountains with us?"

Chen Xun looked up and saw that Gu Chen and Gu Hu were both looking at him with unfriendly eyes. He dared not leave the mountains with them.

With his severe injuries and broken bones, if Gu Chen and Gu Hu decided to harm him on the way, he would have no chance to resist. He played a trick and declined the middle-aged warrior's offer, saying, "Thank you, but I need to wait here for my uncles to come."

"Ge Yi, why are you paying attention to this little barbarian?" The broad-browed young man asked the middle-aged warrior impatiently, "I wanted to skin the Green-Eyed Eagle and make a feather coat for Qingxuan, but this kid ruined it. I'm so angry!"

This brat not only took his prey but also blamed him for damaging the Green-Eyed Eagle!

Chen Xun was furious. He couldn't believe there were such unreasonable and shameless people in the world!

However, Chen Xun knew that in this world, the strong ruled, and the weak were prey. There was no logic in the face of the strong. Although he was extremely angry, he lowered his head to hide his indignation.