Chapter 4: The Young Taoist

Hiss!
The branch in his hand was thrust out at high speed. No matter how lethal it was, it carried all of Su Che’s physical strength and internal energy.
Thud!
It hit its target precisely—the branch, less than two feet long, pierced deep into the green wolf’s neck, about half its length.
Howl!
The green wolf let out a pained cry typical of canines, leaped back several feet, fell with a thud, and immediately got up to dart into the bushes.
With a series of rustling sounds, it seemed to have fled far away.
This strike would hurt it badly. Even if it didn’t die right away, it wouldn’t survive long. A wild beast suffering such severe injuries would have no one to treat it, and death was inevitable.
“Luck was on my side; the strike was quite accurate.”
Su Che was secretly relieved. After all, he was reanimating in another body, and his control over it was still imperfect. That strike indeed relied somewhat on luck.
After the attack, he felt like a deflated ball, with all his remaining energy exhausted, leaving only heavy breathing.
The wound from the beast’s bite didn’t bleed much, as this body already had very little blood left—proof of how dire Su Che’s situation was. He wasn’t much better than dying slowly.
“Thankfully, it’s just an ordinary wild beast. Good thing it’s not a demon beast…”
Having absorbed knowledge about cultivation, he now knew there existed extremely powerful demon beast clans—beasts that also knew how to cultivate, belonging to a race with considerable wisdom.
Not to mention his current state, even an unharmed Su Che would face certain doom if he encountered even the lowest-level demon beast, unless that beast was too proud to bother with him.
“I don’t want to think about it. The worst thing is when good luck turns bad. I’d better focus on healing…”
That strike had drained much of Su Che’s energy—not just physical strength and internal energy. The subsequent discomfort was indescribable. Without the strange warm current supplied by the mysterious little tower, he might have actually died.
Time passed slowly. Night turned to day, bringing another sunrise.
It was quite fine—no incidents except for a venomous snake crawling across his stomach.
The warm current from the tower was miraculous. Before dawn, Su Che felt he could move his legs again. Several fractures had miraculously healed, and walking slowly should no longer be a problem.

However, Su Che patiently waited until dawn before daring to take action, as the day was relatively safer. He got up and tried taking a few steps—it went fairly well. With an additional walking stick, it would be even better. After much effort, he found a suitable branch nearby to use as a stick. He searched for a relatively flat area, avoided the huge boulders in his path, and headed toward the exit of the valley. With endless mountains and a long journey ahead, at this pace, it was unclear when he would be able to escape. Fortunately, his injuries were healing well. The warm current provided by the mysterious little tower continued to nourish his body. He estimated that in another three to five days, he would be fully recovered and no longer have to fear the wild beasts in the mountains. Of course, except for the demon beasts. Sigh, why did demons come up again… As he was pondering, he heard a deafening roar of a beast. It seemed not far away, possibly right outside the valley. “Do I really have to be this unlucky?” Su Che’s expression changed drastically. Just from that roar, he could tell this wasn’t an ordinary wild beast. Its voice was incredibly powerful, far more terrifying than he had imagined. Boom! Another crash sound came, like a thunderbolt, sounding extremely close, even nearer to the valley entrance. Su Che staggered and hid behind a huge boulder, gripping his walking stick tightly. His trembling body resembled that of an elderly man on his last legs, filled with helplessness and desolation. Whoosh! Rocks flew everywhere as a strong wind blew, and a mountain of flesh rushed into the valley with a roar. It was a giant bear with brownish-red fur. Its height when lying on the ground was nearly ten feet—what if it stood up? Clearly, it was a demon beast of considerable strength! Su Che had enough insight to recognize this. Although he couldn’t determine its rank or name, just from its appearance and the force it used to shatter rocks, he knew that no ordinary bear, no matter how large, could create such a terrifying presence. The bear charged toward Su Che, crushing everything in its path. Yet, Su Che felt relieved; his initial tension diminished significantly. This was because the bear’s massive body bore several obvious wounds. The depth of those wide gashes was unknown, but it was clear it had fled in disarray, likely pursued by others. Boom! The bear shattered a nearby large rock and fled straight into the depths of the valley. As it passed by Su Che’s hiding place, it noticed this weak and pitiful human, but it was too busy to come and comfort him.

Su Che wrapped his arms around his head as flying debris struck his body, causing excruciating pain. A wound that had just healed was shattered again.
“Damn it!”
Gritting his teeth, Su Che managed to utter a hoarse curse through his chapped lips.
“Brute!”
A loud curse echoed loudly, followed by someone shouting, “This is a dead end! Where do you think you can escape?”
The voice seemed to come from the sky. Su Che peeked cautiously from behind a boulder and saw a young, handsome Taoist priest flying on a sword, gracefully soaring into the valley.
A sage!
This was a true cultivator—able to fly on a sword. At the very least, he must be at an advanced stage of Qi cultivation, above the seventh level.
The seventh level of Qi cultivation… Killing a warrior like himself would be as easy as squishing an ant.
As the young Taoist said, this was indeed a valley surrounded by mountains on three sides. The bear, in its panic, had ended up in a dead end.
Swiftly!
The young Taoist raised his hand and sent out a beam of golden light aimed at the bear deep in the valley. He had also noticed Su Che’s presence, but like the bear, he hardly gave Su Che a second glance.
To avoid being caught in the crossfire, Su Che, already weak, curled up and hid in a crack at the bottom of a boulder. His body was too fragile to take any more strain. It was better not to watch the battle at all than to die accidentally out of curiosity.
With thunderous roars, the battle in the valley was intense. In just the time it took to drink a cup of tea, the last shrill roar was heard, and silence settled over the valley.
After a while, Su Che guessed that the young Taoist was stripping the bear of its flesh and bones to claim the spoils. It was not the right time to sneak away like a thief. In fact, with his speed, he couldn’t escape anyway, and it would only arouse disgust.
Staying put was the wisest choice.
“Come out. It’s safe now.”
Soon, the young Taoist came out of the valley and called out softly in this direction, his voice not loud and tone gentle.
Su Che emerged from behind the boulder, tidied up his tattered clothes, and bowed respectfully, saying, “Disciple Su Che, salutes your uncle.”
Why call him uncle?
It was because, through his memories, Su Che recognized that the Taoist robes he wore were those of the Tianxuan Sect. The two silver lines on the collar and cuffs indicated that he was an inner disciple of the Tianxuan Sect. By convention, a mere registered disciple like himself should indeed address him as uncle.

If I’m fortunate enough to become an outer disciple in the future, then I’ll be qualified to call them senior brothers.
“Are you a self-training disciple of my sect?”
The young Taoist’s gaze was sharp. “It seems you’re badly injured. How did you dare to venture into the Blood Veil Mountains alone? Don’t you know there are extremely fierce monsters here?”
“I entered here to complete my sect’s mission and accumulate contribution points. I’m taking this risk… I just want one last chance. I must meet the two conditions for formal entry before the age of fifteen—only then do I have a chance…”
Su Che’s voice was hoarse, making it very difficult for him to speak. Having lost so much blood and gone days without drinking water after being seriously injured, his throat hurt as if cut by a knife whenever he spoke.
“I understand. You needn’t say more.”
The young Taoist waved his hand, a hint of sympathy in his eyes. Compared to him, he could consider himself lucky—having endured few hardships and trials so far in his cultivation. He had long heard that the situation of these self-training disciples was often extremely dire…
Of course, that didn’t mean he was someone prone to sympathy. The path of cultivation didn’t require compassion or being pitied.