"It was so fast. Did you see it?"
"Fast, precise, and ruthless."
"How did he do it?"
"Maybe he practiced before. But it didn't look like it."
Beasts of the soldier level were a piece of cake to the disciples in Cloud Six.
But it wasn't easy to end the beast's life in only one fatal strike, as Jiang Chen did.
Jiang Chen had no idea how he had done it either. At the moment the wolf started to rush at him, his heart rate began to accelerate, the whole world was moving in slow motion to him, and out of instinct he saw every flaw in the animal's movement, so that he struck it without any hesitation.
"That's how fighting feels. My blood was boiling. Fantastic!"
Jiang Chen had been a graceful child in the Sacred Zone and had nothing to do with killing. He managed perfectly well with only his resourcefulness.
But deep in his heart, he was longing for real power, like any man does.
With that wonderful first step, things started to get smoother. Jiang Chen started to practice Tai Ji Wan on these beasts.
An hour later, the two guards following Jiang Chen were extremely shocked. Although it's easy to kill beasts of the soldier level, the difficulty varies by species.
Killing a wild wolf in one strike doesn't mean you could do the same to other species, like tigers or leopards, which moved with great speed.
However, no matter which species Jiang Chen was facing, he could kill it in one strike.
"A fighting genius?"
"Probably."
Then something made them hesitate.
"He is walking deep into the woods. What shall we do?"
"Looks like beasts of the soldier level are too easy for him and he wants more challenges."
The Wind Move Guard didn't show up unless it was an emergency. They should only head off a danger that Jiang Chen was unable to deal with.
But now, Jiang Chen went into the woods on his own initiative. They felt quite stressed, since they couldn't go ahead to stop him.
"Let's follow him. Let's get closer."
There was more foliage in the remote part of the mountain. It was also quieter, as if all beasts had disappeared.
Jiang Chen tried to be as cautious as possible. Any beast he met there would definitely be a general level.
Jiang Chen would count on his Tai Ji Wan to face a general level beast alone. He had mastered the knack of it during the hunting.
Suddenly, heavy, hard footsteps stomped behind Jiang Chen.
It was a black bear, weighing more than 500 kilograms, as big as a mountain. Nothing on this mountain could stop its path.
"Damn!"
The two guards were quite apprehensive. They had been focusing on Jiang Chen's front side, and had never imagined that the attack would come from behind.
The black bear was big and strong. It seemed clumsy, but could run faster than a horse.
They shot it with two arrows. The black bear sped up just before the arrows were about to hit it, so they dropped to the ground.
"What a shrewd bastard!"
The guards turned pale. If Jiang Chen died in their presence, they would have no chance of surviving either.
The damn black bear was nothing to them. The problem was, it was too far away!
The black bear was only five meters away from Jiang Chen, and it had already started to rush at him.
The 500 kilogram beast started to accelerate instantly. Its steel-like claws could tear apart Jiang Chen's body as easy as pie.
Facing the surprise attack, Jiang Chen wasn't panicked. He took a step back quickly, leaving space in front of him to gain speed. Then he started to rush with his scimitar.
"Don't, Young Master!"
The guards were frantic.
It was a general level beast, and it was a bear! How powerful its impact could be! Jiang Chen, who was still in Cloud Six, was too soft to handle it. He could be crushed into mincemeat.
But it happened before the guard could finish his words.
The two closed their eyes. But the expected noises didn't occur. Instead, it was the black bear that was screaming.
They looked over and found Jiang Chen was getting up from the ground. There was a wound as big as a washbasin in the chest of the black bear.
"What?!"
They took a deep breath upon seeing this wound, not understanding how this was done.
The genuine Qi of Cloud Six plus a scimitar could in no way have made such a big wound. Even a Cloud Nine couldn't do that. A Cloud Nine could kill in one strike, but its genuine Qi couldn't cause such a wound.
"Young Master, are you all right?"
They were more concerned about Jiang Chen's safety than with the bear.
"I am fine. You don't have to rush like this."
Jiang Chen waved at them. He seemed too calm after a fight between life and death.
This was the power of manipulating the genuine qi in a spiral manner. After a long day, he had mastered the Tai Ji Wan.
As he had expected, the holy pulse was able to handle damage perfectly.
"Let's continue." Jiang Chen went ahead.
The two guards came to themselves when watching Jiang Chen going away.
"Could Young Master's state have already been recovered to Cloud Nine?"
"It's impossible. I am sure he is a Cloud Six. He wasn't hiding his state during the fighting."
"But if a Cloud Six could do this, what will happen if he achieves Cloud Nine?"
The two suddenly felt that the east courtyard wasn't so hopeless as they imagined.
…
When dusk was falling, all hunting disciples were coming back one after another. The disciples' winter hunt wouldn't last for days.
Then the Wind Move Guard came back as well. They were finally relieved when the day was over.
The Wind Move Guard would be the ones to blame if any disciple had an accident.
All of a sudden, some news made the whole team of the Wind Move Guard turn pale.
Jiang Chen hadn't shown up yet!
As time went by, many disciples started to have a lively discussion.
Maybe he died inside, Jiang Jian thought. His face didn't show any sympathy. If it were true, he would cheer up at the news. It would be a perfect ending for the west courtyard.
The Second Elder was frowning. Anyone could tell how anxious he was.
But Jiang Chen appeared when the Second Elder was about to search the mountain.
He looked much worse than anyone else, as if he had experienced some serious fighting.
"How slow you are! Why should everyone wait for you?"
Jiang Jian was very disappointed, scolding bitterly. The two guards who protected Jiang Chen whispered something in the Second Elder's ear to explain why they had returned late.
The reason was simple. It was because Jiang Chen had gone too far. Of course it would have taken longer to come back.
The Second Elder looked at Jiang Chen profoundly after the guards' report.
"Fall in!"
All disciples on the lawn stood in their previous positions instantly.
"Now we are going to count the number of the beasts you've killed. For every soldier level beast, you will be awarded ten silver coins. For every general level beast you will be awarded one Gathering Qi Pill. Besides that, the beasts you've hunted will be sent over to your houses."
Many disciples from the ordinary families got very excited at the news with all of the meat and silver coins.
But these were not enough for the disciples from the Jiang Mansion. What they desired was honor.
Jiang Jian especially, who was holding his head high, seemed to have gotten a harvest of beasts.
As soon as the first disciple in the first row made one step forward, a guard started to report her result.
"Five soldier level beasts."
This was a sixteen-year-old teenager girl. She was in Cloud Six of the Condensing Qi State. This was a pretty good result for her. At least she looked very satisfied.
"Any objection?" the Second Elder asked.
"No," the girl confirmed.
It turned out that the Wind Move Guard's job wasn't only to protect the disciples, but also to precisely memorize their results.
"It was so fast. Did you see it?"
"Fast, precise, and ruthless."
"How did he do it?"
"Maybe he practiced before. But it didn't look like it."
Beasts of the soldier level were a piece of cake to the disciples in Cloud Six.
But it wasn't easy to end the beast's life in only one fatal strike, as Jiang Chen did.
Jiang Chen had no idea how he had done it either. At the moment the wolf started to rush at him, his heart rate began to accelerate, the whole world was moving in slow motion to him, and out of instinct he saw every flaw in the animal's movement, so that he struck it without any hesitation.
"That's how fighting feels. My blood was boiling. Fantastic!"
Jiang Chen had been a graceful child in the Sacred Zone and had nothing to do with killing. He managed perfectly well with only his resourcefulness.
But deep in his heart, he was longing for real power, like any man does.
With that wonderful first step, things started to get smoother. Jiang Chen started to practice Tai Ji Wan on these beasts.
An hour later, the two guards following Jiang Chen were extremely shocked. Although it's easy to kill beasts of the soldier level, the difficulty varies by species.
Killing a wild wolf in one strike doesn't mean you could do the same to other species, like tigers or leopards, which moved with great speed.
However, no matter which species Jiang Chen was facing, he could kill it in one strike.
"A fighting genius?"
"Probably."
Then something made them hesitate.
"He is walking deep into the woods. What shall we do?"
"Looks like beasts of the soldier level are too easy for him and he wants more challenges."
The Wind Move Guard didn't show up unless it was an emergency. They should only head off a danger that Jiang Chen was unable to deal with.
But now, Jiang Chen went into the woods on his own initiative. They felt quite stressed, since they couldn't go ahead to stop him.
"Let's follow him. Let's get closer."
There was more foliage in the remote part of the mountain. It was also quieter, as if all beasts had disappeared.
Jiang Chen tried to be as cautious as possible. Any beast he met there would definitely be a general level.
Jiang Chen would count on his Tai Ji Wan to face a general level beast alone. He had mastered the knack of it during the hunting.
Suddenly, heavy, hard footsteps stomped behind Jiang Chen.
It was a black bear, weighing more than 500 kilograms, as big as a mountain. Nothing on this mountain could stop its path.
"Damn!"
The two guards were quite apprehensive. They had been focusing on Jiang Chen's front side, and had never imagined that the attack would come from behind.
The black bear was big and strong. It seemed clumsy, but could run faster than a horse.
They shot it with two arrows. The black bear sped up just before the arrows were about to hit it, so they dropped to the ground.
"What a shrewd bastard!"
The guards turned pale. If Jiang Chen died in their presence, they would have no chance of surviving either.
The damn black bear was nothing to them. The problem was, it was too far away!
The black bear was only five meters away from Jiang Chen, and it had already started to rush at him.
The 500 kilogram beast started to accelerate instantly. Its steel-like claws could tear apart Jiang Chen's body as easy as pie.
Facing the surprise attack, Jiang Chen wasn't panicked. He took a step back quickly, leaving space in front of him to gain speed. Then he started to rush with his scimitar.
"Don't, Young Master!"
The guards were frantic.
It was a general level beast, and it was a bear! How powerful its impact could be! Jiang Chen, who was still in Cloud Six, was too soft to handle it. He could be crushed into mincemeat.
But it happened before the guard could finish his words.
The two closed their eyes. But the expected noises didn't occur. Instead, it was the black bear that was screaming.
They looked over and found Jiang Chen was getting up from the ground. There was a wound as big as a washbasin in the chest of the black bear.
"What?!"
They took a deep breath upon seeing this wound, not understanding how this was done.
The genuine Qi of Cloud Six plus a scimitar could in no way have made such a big wound. Even a Cloud Nine couldn't do that. A Cloud Nine could kill in one strike, but its genuine Qi couldn't cause such a wound.
"Young Master, are you all right?"
They were more concerned about Jiang Chen's safety than with the bear.
"I am fine. You don't have to rush like this."
Jiang Chen waved at them. He seemed too calm after a fight between life and death.
This was the power of manipulating the genuine qi in a spiral manner. After a long day, he had mastered the Tai Ji Wan.
As he had expected, the holy pulse was able to handle damage perfectly.
"Let's continue." Jiang Chen went ahead.
The two guards came to themselves when watching Jiang Chen going away.
"Could Young Master's state have already been recovered to Cloud Nine?"
"It's impossible. I am sure he is a Cloud Six. He wasn't hiding his state during the fighting."
"But if a Cloud Six could do this, what will happen if he achieves Cloud Nine?"
The two suddenly felt that the east courtyard wasn't so hopeless as they imagined.
…
When dusk was falling, all hunting disciples were coming back one after another. The disciples' winter hunt wouldn't last for days.
Then the Wind Move Guard came back as well. They were finally relieved when the day was over.
The Wind Move Guard would be the ones to blame if any disciple had an accident.
All of a sudden, some news made the whole team of the Wind Move Guard turn pale.
Jiang Chen hadn't shown up yet!
As time went by, many disciples started to have a lively discussion.
Maybe he died inside, Jiang Jian thought. His face didn't show any sympathy. If it were true, he would cheer up at the news. It would be a perfect ending for the west courtyard.
The Second Elder was frowning. Anyone could tell how anxious he was.
But Jiang Chen appeared when the Second Elder was about to search the mountain.
He looked much worse than anyone else, as if he had experienced some serious fighting.
"How slow you are! Why should everyone wait for you?"
Jiang Jian was very disappointed, scolding bitterly. The two guards who protected Jiang Chen whispered something in the Second Elder's ear to explain why they had returned late.
The reason was simple. It was because Jiang Chen had gone too far. Of course it would have taken longer to come back.
The Second Elder looked at Jiang Chen profoundly after the guards' report.
"Fall in!"
All disciples on the lawn stood in their previous positions instantly.
"Now we are going to count the number of the beasts you've killed. For every soldier level beast, you will be awarded ten silver coins. For every general level beast you will be awarded one Gathering Qi Pill. Besides that, the beasts you've hunted will be sent over to your houses."
Many disciples from the ordinary families got very excited at the news with all of the meat and silver coins.
But these were not enough for the disciples from the Jiang Mansion. What they desired was honor.
Jiang Jian especially, who was holding his head high, seemed to have gotten a harvest of beasts.
As soon as the first disciple in the first row made one step forward, a guard started to report her result.
"Five soldier level beasts."
This was a sixteen-year-old teenager girl. She was in Cloud Six of the Condensing Qi State. This was a pretty good result for her. At least she looked very satisfied.
"Any objection?" the Second Elder asked.
"No," the girl confirmed.
It turned out that the Wind Move Guard's job wasn't only to protect the disciples, but also to precisely memorize their results.
