A Small Light Orb emitting a faint white glow was gently tossed by Yuxuan, ultimately falling into a crystal-clear stream.
With a crisp "splash," the light orb scattered instantly like fireworks, turning into countless brilliant points of light that vanished into the river water.
It seemed to have only shape, but apparently lacked any real power.
That was fine, though; she would just practice for a few more days and see.
As things stood now, she had neither a mysterious old grandfather hidden in a ring to teach her how to study, nor was she some uniquely talented darling favored by the heavens.
It didn't matter. After all, she had gritted her teeth and made it through all these years entirely on her own; how could she possibly be knocked down by such a tiny difficulty right now?
To skillfully wield the magic within her body...
No, it should be called Arcane here. To use it, she had to banish all stray thoughts and concentrate entirely on sensing her connection with it.
After trying on the morning of the first day, Yuxuan was pleasantly surprised to discover that she was already capable of exerting basic control over the small light orb in her palm and endowing it with a certain degree of destructive power.
Throwing the orb would trigger a certain level of explosion effect.
At noon on the second day, Yuxuan decided to try another kind of Arcane power—though it might not be called by that name, it was presumably an innate ability of hers.
Suddenly, several black tentacles sprouted from behind her, writhing like agile snake demons.
Yuxuan gave these tentacles a simple, easy-to-understand name: Black Hand.
By the night of the third day, Yuxuan's control over the Black Hand and the small light orb had grown increasingly proficient. She could even effortlessly have them cooperate to perform various high-difficulty maneuvers, such as tossing the light orb and making it play juggling games.
"The Black Hand is so useful. It completely solves the problem of getting my hands dirty when eating."
Inside the small tent, the light orb floated mid-air, casting a ring of white radiance.
Yuxuan lay quietly on top of the quilt, her two pale little legs swinging casually, looking both leisurely and comfortable.
She held a thick book in her hands, the pages turning softly between her slender fingers with a rustling sound.
It was only now that Yuxuan realized a problem... why could she read the writing here?
Perhaps it was because she had devoured a few humans back then. Following that thought, she controlled the Black Hand to pick up a nearby fruit and bring it to her mouth to eat.
To call it a book would be rather inaccurate; it was more like a travel journal filled with colorful fantasy.
When she saw the title of this chapter, the three characters "Guardian Deity" leapt into view.
In many cultures and traditions, a Guardian Deity was regarded as a symbolic existence. It not only represented the protection and blessing of a specific individual, place, or thing, but also embodied a power and wisdom that transcended nature.
People believed that as long as they were pious enough, they could create the existence of a god, granting them safe shelter and spiritual solace.
Every place had its own revered Guardian Deity, a faith with a long and ancient history, but everything changed with the emergence of the Church of Light.
Ever since the Church of Light rose to prominence, the entire nation gradually turned its gaze of faith toward the Goddess, witnessing numerous miraculous divine manifestations descend upon the world to bring well-being to the people.
Consequently, the once-revered Guardian Deity gradually faded from public view, and nowadays only a small fraction of people still held fast to that faith.
However, among the legends forgotten by time, there was such a saying: those Guardian Deities who lost their believers would eventually converge in a special place—the "Land of Abandoned Gods".
Rumor had it that this mysterious realm was hidden deep within the Redmond Mountains. There was once a child who got lost in the forest within the mountains and was later brought back by a creature.
Was that place truly the final resting place of Guardian Deities? Or was it merely an illusory legend? The answers to all this perhaps could only be unveiled by stepping foot onto that land oneself...
The Redmond Mountains? Wasn't this precisely where she was currently staying?
"Thud!"
A sudden sound snapped Yuxuan back from her thoughts.
What kind of ghost noise was that?
"Boom!"
Another loud crash, and this time even the ground was trembling.
Was there an earthquake?
Yuxuan pulled back the corner of the tent. Stretch after stretch of trees collapsed in succession, and the birds that had been sleeping in the trees flew up into the air in a panic.
No, this was deeply abnormal!
Yuxuan put on her coat at top speed, preparing to turn on her heels and bolt,
only to suddenly realize that if she fled deeper into the forest right now, wouldn't her chances of survival still be grim?
Better play it safe and find a place to hide first.
Looking into the distance, it closely resembled a Saber-toothed Tiger, with golden-yellow fur, muscular limbs, and sharp fangs, bearing a black iron headpiece across its forehead and a blue X-shaped beard.
Wasn't this Raikou from those pocket monster games? Even the spark-shaped tail was faithfully recreated.
"Rumble!"
A deafening crash echoed across the sky as thunder roared, and the skies instantly poured down in torrents of rain.
What on earth?! Was there any need to be this faithful to the reference?
Thunder...
No, that Saber-toothed Tiger-like beast walked with heavy steps toward the stream, and then ruthlessly electrocuted the tent that dared to block its path into smithereens.
Damn it all!
What should she do now? It was raining this hard, and although the tent might not be of much use, it was still better than nothing.
This Saber-toothed Tiger was simply barrelling forward recklessly without watching where it was going at all.
It slowly strolled over to the stream near the spot where Yuxuan was hiding and began to drink water in large gulps.
Yuxuan cautiously watched the Saber-toothed Tiger drinking water, pondering to herself that she was currently hiding in a bush about ten meters away from it.
With those sharp fangs in front of its mouth, piercing clean through her body probably wouldn't be the slightest problem, right?
No, she had better sneak away quietly while she could...
"Bang!"
Suddenly, a dazzling streak of lightning tore through the night sky, striking squarely onto the tree right beside Yuxuan.
"Ow!"
Startled out of her wits by the sudden turn of events, Yuxuan slipped and fell to the ground, letting out an involuntary shriek.
That Saber-toothed Tiger, which had originally been concentrating on drinking, seemed to sense some abnormal noise. It immediately stopped what it was doing and turned its head to stare in the direction where Yuxuan was hiding.
That lightning bolt really picked a great time to strike. Truly, heaven was determined to finish her off.
"Zzzzt!"
Currents of electricity discharged from the Saber-toothed Tiger's fur radiated outward, washing over Yuxuan's body and leaving a lingering tingling sensation.
It noticed her, right? It definitely noticed her!
Yuxuan's heart rate spiked frantically, and she desperately fought down the impulse to run.
What if it hadn't?
The Saber-toothed Tiger slowly stood up, rainwater streaming down its fur as thunder continuously rolled. Seeming to have confirmed the direction, it began marching toward her spot with heavy paces, the ground trembling slightly with every single step.
The rain was falling so hard and the ground was so wet—surely a tiger like you is bound to slip, right?
Hahaha... Yuxuan instantly couldn't force out a smile anymore.