The Magical Beast Mountain Range lay just east of Wu Tan City. After leaving the city gates, it didn't take long for Zhou Changqing to officially enter the outskirts of the mountain range.
The terrain was a series of rolling hills and dense woods, filled with green grass, vibrant flowers, strange rocks, and azure vines. A fresh, natural fragrance filled the air, mingled with the earthy scent of soil and the faint, decaying smell of leaves and undergrowth.
Night fell.
Deep within the forest, Zhou Changqing cleared a patch of ground of stones and weeds before lighting a campfire. He sat beside it, eating his rations. The firelight flickered across his fair face, casting it in a crimson glow.
As he chewed on the slightly tough flatbread, Zhou Changqing stared blankly into the flames, lost in thought.
"I wonder if those two beasts are still in the same place, or if they're already dead. I hope this trip isn't for nothing."
The thought flashed through his mind, and he glanced toward the deeper parts of the mountain range. For the first time, a savage, brutal killing intent appeared on his nearly-matured face. He took a deep breath, his expression returning to its usual calm, but the murderous glint in his eyes did not completely vanish.
Just as he had told Ya Fei and Xiao Yan, he wasn't leaving Wu Tan City solely because he had killed Jia Lie Ao and feared that old bastard Jia Lie Bi would disregard all pretense and come after him personally. The main reason was that he had his own business to attend to. The Jia Lie clan's attempt on his life was merely the catalyst that had pushed him to leave sooner.
Otherwise, he could have easily hunkered down and cultivated at the Miteer Auction House until he broke through to the Da Dou Shi realm before settling the score. Or, he could have used Miteer's protection to wait for the Jia Nan Academy enrollment in a couple of months and then departed for the academy. At that point, what could the likes of Jia Lie Bi do to him?
The reason he chose to leave now, at the optimal time to join Jia Nan Academy and acquire better cultivation resources, was for one thing and one thing only: to avenge his parents!
In the past, when his strength had stagnated, he might have waited for this opportunity, traveled to Jia Nan Academy to obtain a new cultivation method, and returned for vengeance only after he had grown powerful. However, once a student joined Jia Nan Academy, returning was not so simple.
Unless one was like Xiao Yu, who happened to time it with the academy's recruitment drive in the Jia Ma Empire region, one might get a chance to request leave and follow the recruitment team back through the Black-Corner Region. Otherwise, for a mere three-star Dou Zhe like Xiao Yu to attempt a solo journey back to the Jia Ma Empire from Jia Nan Academy was fraught with danger, even for a student of the academy. After all, as famous as Jia Nan Academy was, it couldn't protect its students from every lecherous, brainless fool they might encounter on the road.
As for why Xiao Yu had arrived in Wu Tan City four months ahead of the recruitment team, it was because the team had to stop and recruit in several other empires along the way. Once she entered the relatively safe northwestern region, her status as a Jia Nan Academy student granted her smooth passage. She was thus able to leave the main group early and take a large merchant guild's flying transport back to the Jia Ma Empire.
Without a similar opportunity, if Zhou Changqing joined Jia Nan Academy, it would likely take him a long time to return to the Jia Ma Empire—at least a year or two. And that was assuming he could obtain a cultivation method higher than the Huang-rank High-tier and increase his cultivation speed. Otherwise, it would take even longer.
But now, thanks to Xiao Yan, the constraint of a cultivation method was gone. Furthermore, with his successful research into forging, there was no need to wait any longer.
Now, he couldn't bear to wait another moment.
For the past seven years, there hadn't been a single day he didn't think about doing this.
In any case, he wasn't lacking resources at the moment, and his current cultivation method and Dou Techniques were sufficient for the Dou Shi and Da Dou Shi realms. With his current income, Xuan-rank Mid-tier and lower cultivation methods and Dou Techniques were no longer out of reach; it was just a matter of forging a few more Monster Core Armaments. As for higher-tier methods and techniques, even if he went to Jia Nan Academy, he wouldn't be able to obtain them in a short time. He would still have to compete for them himself.
For him, Jia Nan Academy was no longer a necessary choice.
After finishing his rations, Zhou Changqing set his thoughts aside and sat cross-legged to cultivate. Finding the two beasts that killed his parents in the vast Magical Beast Mountain Range would not be easy. During this search, he would raise his strength as much as possible to increase his chances of success.
To one day avenge his parents, Zhou Changqing had begun preparations long ago. Not only had he learned the approximate location of the incident from the mercenary who had brought him the tragic news, but he had also paid the surviving mercenaries from that expedition to describe the two beasts' features in detail, even hiring an artist to sketch them.
With these two things, he had a chance of finding those beasts. After all, given the territorial nature of Magical Beasts, they would not typically abandon their territory unless faced with a major crisis or driven out by a more powerful beast. This was precisely why Yun Yun had been able to pinpoint the Amethyst Winged Lion's location in the original story.
Holding a map of the Magical Beast Mountain Range near Wu Tan City that he had purchased, Zhou Changqing sped toward the general area where his parents had fallen. Upon arriving, he began his search of the vicinity.
A few days later.
In the outer region of the Magical Beast Mountain Range, the sky was filled with dark clouds, and the faint rumble of thunder promised an imminent downpour, casting the forest in a dim light.
A figure darted through the trees, moving with considerable speed, covering a hundred meters in just a few breaths.
Glancing up at the sky, Zhou Changqing finally stopped. He took out some items from his storage ring and began setting up a tent to shelter from the rain. He had entered the area marked on his map two days ago. Unfortunately, while he had encountered many Magical Beasts in that time, they were all Rank One or Two, not his targets.
This was within his expectations. After so many years, and considering the vast territory of a Rank Three Magical Beast, finding those two specific brutes was never going to be easy, even with a general search area and a sketch.
But no matter how large the area, it was still finite. He would find them eventually, bit by bit, unless they had already left or died. If that was the case, his only recourse would be to wait until his strength was unparalleled, then use his powerful perception to scour the entire Magical Beast Mountain Range. Even if he couldn't find them, he would wipe their entire species from the mountain range!
RUMBLE!
Pitter-patter…
At last, the dark clouds gathered to their thickest. The moisture in them reached its limit, and after a loud crack of thunder, massive raindrops began to hammer down.
Inside the tent, Zhou Changqing ignored the patter of rain against the fabric and began to cultivate. Over the past few days, he had used nearly all his time outside of searching for cultivation. Although it wasn't as much time as he had in Wu Tan City, he had still managed to successfully break through to the five-star Dou Shi realm the day before.
"Awooo!"
"Roar!"
Just as Zhou Changqing was focusing on his cultivation, two beastly roars, mixed with the sound of the rain, traveled from a distance.
"A wolf and a leopard type Magical Beast?!"
Hearing the two piercing howls, Zhou Changqing's eyes snapped open, a bright light flashing within them. The two beasts that had murdered his parents were precisely of these two types!
"Could it be them? It doesn't matter if it is or not, I have to go see!"
With that thought, Zhou Changqing ignored the pouring rain. He packed up his tent and, braving the downpour, sprinted in the direction of the sounds.
He would rather kill the wrong one than let the right one escape. Even if the chance was slim, he had to confirm it.
What if?