In the dead of winter, snow fell continuously.
At the back mountain of the Xiao Clan, the location was remote and few people ever came here.
Having just returned from the testing plaza, Xiao Xun'er stood upon the cliffside, gazing somewhat resentfully at the steep, towering peaks opposite her that were shrouded in white snow. There lay the Magical Beast Mountain Range, renowned across the Gama Empire.
And the back mountain of the Xiao Clan happened to connect to the very tail end of the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
"Why did she suddenly suggest living apart and moving to this isolated courtyard in the back mountain? Does Xun'er really annoy her that much? Big Sister Yue'er, do you hate Xun'er now...?" The girl in the purple dress bit her lower lip, a trace of grievance flashing in the depths of her eyes as she thought with lingering resentment.
Most importantly,
that small courtyard was always empty, devoid of the figure she wished to see, and often days would pass without a glimpse of her.
"Xun'er?"
A melodious and mature voice sounded from behind her.
Hearing this, Xiao Xun'er turned around to see a middle-aged, beautiful woman draped in a white fox-fur cloak, possessing a dignified bearing and a gentle temperament. Two pretty maids in padded cotton jackets followed closely behind her.
"Auntie~"
Xiao Xun'er stepped forward to hug the beautiful woman's arm, greeting her with clingy affection.
Faced with the girl's spoiled embrace, a soft smile could not help but spread across the beautiful woman's face, and she returned the hug. However, when she saw that Xiao Xun'er was alone, her slender willow brows furrowed slightly once more.
"The ancestral ceremony is at the beginning of the year, and that girl Yue'er still hasn't returned? She is getting bolder by the day; previously she would stay away for at most a week, but now half a month has passed and there is still no sign of her..." the beautiful woman said with a frown. Though her words carried a hint of sternness, her tone was exceedingly gentle, and her lovely eyes were filled with helplessness and worry.
...
At the same time,
deep within the outer periphery of the Magical Beast Mountain Range,
this area was a snowy ridge situated at the tail end of the Magical Beast Mountain Range. Winters were long here, surrounded by countless mountains and ravines. Towering peaks pierced the clouds, dense forests stood tall, and snow remained unmelted year-round. With sheer cliffs dropping a thousand fathoms, steep and slick, the region was devoid of human habitation and frequented by magical beasts.
"Bang!"
Accompanied by a loud crash,
a massive beast, a full five meters long and over two meters tall, tumbled heavily into the snow. Fresh blood spurted out. The beast resembled a grey wolf with a single horn on its head, and its sharp claws were like gleaming sickles. A bloody, gaping hole was torn right through its chest.
"Roar!"
Because of the agonizing pain from its wound, the gigantic single-horned grey wolf roared frantically toward the heavens, seemingly trying to make one last struggle.
"Clang!"
A clear cry rang out through the air as a streak of bloody lightning descended from the heavens, clanging as it traced a dazzling blood-red arc and pinned the beast directly to the ground, cutting its roar short.
It was a dragon spear, as crimson as blood, coiled with an infant dragon that spat a sharp, spear-like tip of fresh blood, a truly breathtaking sight.
Following closely behind, a tall figure clad in a black cloak slowly emerged. She was exceptionally tall, and the pair of eyes beneath her hood were the color of blood.
"This Tier 2 Magical Beast, the Single-Horned Grey Wolf, really lives up to its reputation. The grey laser fired from its horn at the very end is indeed terrifyingly powerful..." Xiao Yue muttered to herself as she looked down at the corpse of the magical beast at her feet.
With that,
she stepped forward and slowly pulled out the bloody dragon spear.
At the same time, she pulled off the black hood, revealing a slightly heroic yet stunningly beautiful face, accompanied by a cascading waterfall of silver-white hair down to her waist that drifted down with the motion.
She had already reached the peak of Vivid Force, her Qi and blood exceptionally vigorous. A single wave of her arm possessed the force of ten thousand catties, practically rivaling a flood dragon or an elephant. Although slaying a Tier 2 Magical Beast still carried a certain amount of risk, when combined with martial techniques, she could easily defeat the vast majority of Tier 2 Magical Beasts.
Of course,
among Tier 2 Magical Beasts, there were also those with terrifying bloodlines that could fight Xiao Yue to a standstill, such as the Four-Armed Demonic Ape she had encountered three days ago, which she not only failed to defeat, but which had even inflicted some injuries upon her.
She owed this all to the uniquely blessed environment of this world; otherwise, even if she had polished her Vivid Force and Qi and blood to their absolute peak in her past life, she would have possessed merely a thousand catties of explosive force in a single punch.
Things were different now.
She was able to absorb the essence of heaven and earth to refine her physical body and blood. At this moment, a single swing of her arm carried ten thousand catties of force—truly terrifying. To achieve such a feat in her previous life would have been an unimaginable fantasy.
"Time to head back..."
Xiao Yue grabbed the tail of the magical beast with one hand and slowly dragged the several-ton carcass through the biting, freezing wind back toward the direction she had come from.
Her meat supply for the next three days was secured.
"My word, this little girl possesses truly boundless strength."
Some passing adventurers and mercenaries who witnessed this scene couldn't help but twitch the corners of their mouths in sheer embarrassment.
Moreover,
it was hard to imagine that the other party had just turned fourteen years old this year.
...
"Mother, Xun'er, you're both here?"
When Xiao Yue dragged her massive prey through the snow back to the back mountain, the sight that greeted her eyes was her mother and Xiao Xun'er standing at the entrance of the courtyard.
"Yue'er, you're finally back. Where have you run off to recently?" Seeing Xiao Yue, Liu Yan furrowed her brows slightly, a hint of reproach and worry lacing her tone.
"Didn't I come back safe and sound?"
Xiao Yue smiled faintly and tossed the giant beast aside, instantly kicking up a flurry of snowflakes.
The two personal maids standing behind her mother covered their mouths in astonishment as they looked at the massive magical beast corpse before them.
Seeing this, Liu Yan shook her head helplessly. She knew her daughter had loved adventure since she was young, often sneaking off into the mountain range for experiential training no matter how much she tried to stop her.
"Hurry inside, it's cold out here. A Tier 2 Magical Beast, the Single-Horned Grey Wolf; its meat is tender and delicious, we can have a proper feast tonight..."
With that,
Xiao Yue unceremoniously pulled the beautiful woman and Xiao Xun'er, pushing the door open and walking into the courtyard.
As for the two personal maids behind her mother, they did not follow them inside. Instead, they exchanged glances and, with tacit understanding, pulled daggers from their bosoms, silently crouching on the ground to butcher the huge magical beast carcass. They skinned and cut the meat, stripped tendons and pulled bones, and dug out the Monster Core with practiced movements. Clearly, this was not their first time doing such work.
"This time it's actually a Tier 2 Magical Beast, which is equivalent to a Dou Shi level expert! Miss Xiao Yue's strength is getting stronger and stronger!" one of the maids whispered in amazement.
The other maid nodded in agreement.
At the same time, the two little maids couldn't help but sigh: although both siblings were one-in-a-million geniuses, the gap between them was far from ordinary. The siblings were only two and a half years apart, and while the younger brother had just broken through to become a Dou Zhe, hailed by the outside world as an peerless genius,
the elder sister was already capable of hunting Tier 2 Magical Beasts. If word of this got out, it would cause an absolute sensation. No wonder Miss Xiao Yue kept such a low profile, and Mother Xiao had even specifically instructed the two maids not to spread these matters outside...
Still,
this was also a good thing. As trusted aides by Mother Xiao's side, the stronger Xiao Yue became, the better their own lives would naturally be.
Ah, take today for instance—they were in for a real treat.
Tier 2 magical beast meat, even as soup, was not something ordinary families could ever hope to eat.