Chapter Eight: Beaten Up

The golden python surged forward like a tank, while Yi Tian, Yi Feng, and the other two loosed arrow after arrow, weaving a deadly net that rained down upon the serpent’s massive body. In the blink of an eye, its scales bristled with more than a dozen arrows. Yet, the python’s hide was so resilient that, despite the archers’ mastery of the Stacked Waves secret technique—which allowed them to unleash force exceeding a thousand catties, enough to pierce any common beast—their arrows barely penetrated a quarter of their length before losing all momentum. To the golden python, these were mere flesh wounds.

However, every arrow Yi Tian shot was a true threat to the beast. With nearly three thousand catties of force, his arrows shattered the golden scales on the python’s head, even splitting its skull so that white brain matter began to seep out. If only he had more time, Yi Tian was certain he could have brought down this python unaided. But the maddened serpent moved with terrifying speed. He managed only a second shot before the python closed to within thirty feet.

“This last arrow must succeed!”

Suppressing the pounding of his heart, Yi Tian nocked his third arrow. His gaze sharpened, and in an instant, the shaft flashed like lightning through the air, striking precisely the spot where his previous arrow had almost bored through the python’s skull.

With a sickening sound, the embedded arrow suddenly broke through the fissure in the bone, piercing straight into the brain.

With an earth-shaking crash, the charging python collapsed, its colossal body nearly crushing the hidden Yi Tian, Yi Shan, and the others.

The dangerous golden python had been slain.

Witnessing this, a surge of excitement, relief, and lingering fear washed over Yi Feng, Yi Shan, and the others. Yi Tian, too, let out a long breath. Only now did he realize that his energy reserves were nearly depleted; three consecutive uses of the fivefold Stacked Waves had brought him to his limit. Of course, the power of an arrow imbued with fivefold Stacked Waves was immense—it could threaten even a third-tier martial artist, and, if used in an ambush, might even bring one down. It was thanks to the aid of the Astral Clay Avatar that Yi Tian had managed to master the Stacked Waves technique to the fifth level in such a short time. The others, meanwhile, had only reached the second or third stage.

Harvesting two dangerous beasts in one mountain expedition was a tremendous boon for Yi Tian and his companions, but they soon faced a dilemma: together, the golden python and the white giant wolf weighed over ten thousand catties, far beyond what they could carry back to the tribe.

Yi Feng and Yi Shan stood dumbfounded. In the end, they had no choice but to abandon part of their spoils. Yi Tian and Yi Feng set to work skinning the white wolf, discarding its meat and bones. Nearly an hour later, they had finished. The python was also skinned, most of its flesh left behind, and then they started for home.

On the way into the mountains, their journey had been smooth, with only a few minor encounters with wild beasts. But now, the strong scent of blood drew the attention of many predators. Some even dared to attack. These common-grade beasts, however, were no match for the likes of Yi Tian and Yi Shan—each fell with a single arrow, two or three at most.

It took them all afternoon to cover the twenty-odd li back to the tribe, arriving as dusk was falling.

When the four returned to the Yi Tribe, the entire settlement was thrown into an uproar. News of Yi Tian, Yi Feng, Yi Shan, and Yi Li venturing into the outer reaches of the Fulong Mountains and felling two dangerous beasts spread quickly, astonishing many.

As the details of their hunt became known, everyone realized just how fortunate they had been. Even so, for four young warriors—none of whom had yet reached the first tier—to finish off a wounded golden python was a remarkable feat.

That night, the families of Yi Tian, Yi Feng, Yi Shan, and Yi Li did not sleep. They worked late into the night curing the python skin and the white wolf pelt, hoping to fetch a good price when they went to market. The python meat was divided into four shares, with Yi Tian receiving a full third—something the others accepted without complaint, as it was his final arrow that had saved them. In truth, had he taken all the meat, none would have objected.

Yi Tian did not stand on ceremony. He urgently needed the energy-rich python meat to replenish his strength. As for the python skin and wolf pelt, he proposed splitting the proceeds equally.

That night the fragrance of python meat filled the Yi household, and for the first time in a long while, his mother, Su Yue’e, smiled. Little Yi Xiaolong and Yi Xiaoting were overjoyed—the python stew, simmered for hours, was so tender and delicious they could not stop eating. In the end, their bellies were so full they could barely walk.

That night, just as months before, the energy of the python meat seeped into the children’s bodies, refining and strengthening their blood and flesh, making them restless and full of vigor.

Yi Tian’s share of python meat weighed over thirteen hundred catties—enough to feed his family for years in the past. But with his recent training, his appetite had grown. This dangerous beast’s meat would last him only a month or two, but it would allow him to focus entirely on his cultivation during that time.

In the days that followed, Yi Tian immersed himself once more in training. With the help of the Astral Clay Avatar, he continually refined the Blazing Fire Technique—each improvement increased his cultivation speed by ten percent.

A month passed, and Yi Tian had optimized the Blazing Fire Technique to perfection. His speed in absorbing the world’s vital energy and refining true qi now far surpassed that of any mid-grade human-tier technique—at least tenfold. He could not say how it compared to high-grade human-tier techniques, but he believed his was superior, perhaps even approaching a top-grade technique.

Within a single month, relying on his peerless Blazing Fire Technique, Yi Tian advanced rapidly—breaking through to the first tier, mastering it, and soon reaching the peak. Were it not for the immense energy consumed in tempering his body, he would have broken through to the second tier already.

But good fortune did not last.

One day, after returning from his cultivation, Yi Tian was startled to find Yi Feng and Yi Shan bruised and swollen.

“What happened to you two? Who did this?” he asked in surprise.

In the tribe, such things were almost unheard of. The Yi Tribe was united; at most, there were minor quarrels, not deliberate beatings. Their battered state was clearly the work of someone with a grudge.

Yi Li spoke up, “After the hunt, Yi Feng and the others became rather popular. Yi Kuang and Yi Hong—resentful of their newfound prestige—decided to put them in their place. After a few taunts, Yi Feng and the others accepted a challenge to spar.”

“The outcome was predictable—they lost and got a beating!” Yi Li recounted.

“And you! Aren’t we brothers? While we were being pummeled, why didn’t you jump in?” Yi Feng protested.

Yi Li responded coldly, “I’m no match for them. Should I have gone up just to get beaten too? I’m not so hot-headed as to fall for their provocation.”

Yi Feng was left speechless by this.

Was he supposed to say, ‘If we’re brothers, we should get beaten together’?

Yi Tian did not bother to mediate. He knew that such bickering was common among them and wouldn’t affect their camaraderie.

“Yi Kuang and Yi Hong—one the chieftain’s grandson, the other the great chief’s son—you’ve been stealing their thunder lately. No wonder they caused trouble,” Yi Tian mused.

Yi Kuang and Yi Hong, being born to the tribe’s elite, had been raised on the finest meats and medicinal broths. Their bodies were strong and their blood vigorous, giving them a solid foundation. Even Yi Shan, who was innately gifted, was no match for them.

“They’ve already reached the first tier. If not, we wouldn’t have lost so easily,” Yi Feng admitted, his tone tinged with frustration.