The Monsters’ Route
The food that they prepared was something simple. Zheng-Fu gave some of the meat from the lower-level monster to Tong-Kaung so he could give it to his teammates to cook…
“This is a higher-level monster’s meat!”
Ji-Zhung-Gong: “Yeah. Just a bite of it, I could feel the tenderness and sweetness of the meat. It’s like the meat is dancing in my mouth. It’s full of energy too…”
“That’s right!”
Yan-Yu: “What is this meat, brother Tong-Kuang?”
Tong-Kuang smiled at Yan-Yu and said, “It’s the meat from a monster that possessed the higher level of the Foundation Building stage. Before it died, its energy level was as high as the ninth level of the Foundation Building stage.” Tong-Kuang then took a big bite of the meat and turned to look at Zheng-Fu…
Wu-Xiao: “And how did you get its meat? I thought you said its energy level was very high…”
“Well, that…!”
Tong-Kuang did not say anything further but turned to Zheng-Fu’s direction with a very respectable eye. Everyone in the group turned to look at Zheng-Fu after Tong-Kuang. All of a sudden, they had the same thought and realized why Tong-Kuang turned to look at Zheng-Fu after Wu-Xiao’s question…
The group did not want to believe what they had in mind. It was unlikely that a kid would defeat a monster of that level. They thought that the boy’s energy level was only at the Qi Gathering stage. When compared to Tong-Kuang’s level, Zheng-Fu could not possibly take down the monster…
Tong-Kuang: “You might not believe me, but Young Master is much more than you see him. He is very smart and skillful. I can never catch up with what he has in his mind…”
Dan-Chun-Gu: “If that’s how you see him, I believe you. Even though I don’t know him well, he makes me feel like there’s something special in him…”
When Dan-Chun-Gu said that, Lang-Guang-Kuang, the solitary man, nodded his head in agreement. That made the rest of the group stunned for a while. They thought it was not normal to see a quiet guy like Lang-Guang-Kuang give an agreeing opinion about a kid…
Everyone started to talk about Zheng-Fu. Tong-Kuang played the part of a storyteller. Zheng-Fu, on the other hand, excused himself from the group to cultivate his Qi energy. He could sense a very strong Qi energy that circulated throughout the forest…
Zheng-Fu rushed to sit down in a meditation position. He did not want to waste precious time. He must race against time to improve his energy, so he could protect himself against the prospective monsters or strong enemies…
The darkness had turned into dawn. The sun started to rise. Its light reflected on the dews on the tips of tree leaves, creating sparkling lights. Birds in the areas chirped and flew in a cool breeze…
“It’s morning already?” Zheng-Fu took a deep breath in to let his lungs enjoy the freshness of the morning air…
He cultivated his Qi energy all night, which initiated faint bright lights in his energy range. Zheng-Fu had now reached the highest level of the second level of the Foundation Building stage. He expected to move up to the third level soon…
Zheng-Fu’s speed of energy cultivation was faster than other martial artists. Compared to the ones about his age, no one possessed the level of energy he did, not even the martial arts genius from the other four influential clans. It was not easy for the martial artists his age to reach the Foundation Building stage. Most kids who reach that stage must be at least 10 to 11 years old…
Zheng-Fu could move up to the second level of the Foundation Building stage at the age of only eight or almost nine years old. If anyone around his age knew about this fact, they would feel jealous of him…
Tong-Kuang: “We are all ready, young master!”
“Ok!”
“Let’s move then.” Zheng-Fu got up slowly and told Tong-Kuang to start the trip. He did not forget to smile at Tong-Kuang…
The group started to move as soon as they got everything ready. It took them about four to five shichens to go from the campsite to In-See city. Many people were using the same route and the group encountered those people along the way to the city. Everything was going well. Most people traveled with their bodyguards too…
Zheng-Fu continued to cultivate his Qi energy even in the carriage, on the way to In-See City. He was protected by Tong-Kuang and his team on the trip…
Boom!
About two shichens after the carriage started to move, Zheng-Fu could progress to another important point in the cultivation of Qi energy. Just one more step, he would be able to penetrate to the next level. The third light of his energy range started to shine brighter…
Thud!
All of a sudden, the carriage halted, which made Zheng-Fu lose his balance in there. He began to open his eyes and got out of the carriage to see what was going on…
“What’s the matter, brother Tong-Kuang?”
Tong-Kuang: “It’s the bridge that we have to use to cross to the other side, young master. It’s broken and being fixed…”
“A bridge is broken!?”
Zheng-Fu looked up to check out the bridge that was quite far away ahead of him. He could see a lot of people flocking around the bridge. He then started to walk towards the crowd. Once he got there, he asked…
“What’s the matter, uncle?”
Villager: “The bridge is broken, boy. I heard that a few days back, some monsters passed by and they destroyed the bridge!”
Another Villager: “Yeah. Everyone had to wait. It’s too bad!”
Zheng-Fu heard the story, so he made sense of what happened and then asked, “And is there any other way that we could use?” He did not forget to make an innocent face again when he asked…
Villager: “There is a way actually, but…”
“But what, uncle!?”
Zheng-Fu noticed that the villagers started to have a scared look in their eyes. It made him wonder very much why…
Villager: “The other way to use to cross to the other side is full of danger because there are a lot of monsters in the area. It is the shortest route to In-See City, but not a lot of people are brave enough to use it. Anyone who wants to use that route must be accompanied by high-level bodyguards…”
Another Villager: “And from what I heard, even high-level bodyguards could not defeat those monsters…”
Villager: “That’s right, boy. Don’t think about using that route! The area is now empty. No one is brave enough to live there!”
“Thank you very much uncles and aunties.” Zheng-Fu appreciated the villagers’ suggestions. He thanked them with an innocent smile before walking back to his carriage…
Tong-Kuang: “How was it, young master?”
“I checked with the villagers. It turned out that the bridge was destroyed by some monsters.”
“Monsters!?”
“Yes. It will take many days until they fix the bridge. We don’t have that much time to wait, so I think we should use another route to the city.”
Dan-Chun-Gu: “Don’t tell us that you are thinking about going through the monsters’ route!”
“The monsters’ route!?”
When everyone heard of the monsters’ route, they got chilled on their skins. Even people who were capable like them still thought that it was too scary to go through that route…
Ji-Zhung-Gong: “I heard that there are so many kinds of terrifying monsters throughout that route. If we go there, I think…”
Yan-Yu: “Are you afraid, crazy chubby!?”
Ji-Zhung-Gong: “Who said that I am afraid? I’m never afraid!”
Wu-Xiao: “I myself want to know what the route is like…”
Fu-Tao-Qi: “It’s fine by me either way. It’s all good to me!”
Lang-Guang-Kuang only nodded in agreement to the idea of going through that route…
Dan-Chun-Gu: “If everyone agrees to the idea, then I have nothing to say. Let young master Zheng-Fu lead us the way…”
“Thank you to everyone who agrees to come with me. Please take these!” Zheng-Fu smiled while handing the pills that he produced to everyone…
The group looked at the pills with wonder. But when they smelled the pills, they all realized instantly that the pills were not just regular pills…
Grab!
“These are second-rank pills. They help heal physical ailments and they work very efficiently. Please keep it and use it when you need it.”
“Thank you very much, young master!”
The group took off and headed to the route that is called ‘the Monsters’ Route’ right away. When they entered the route, the villagers who were watching the bridge turned to look at Zheng-Fu’s group…
???: “Where do they think they are going?”
???: “Are they going to use the monsters’ route!?”
???: “Are they mad? There are a lot of horrifying monsters there. Do they want to die?”
The villagers started to gossip about Zheng-Fu’s group. Some people looked sad to see them heading there, but some had some kind of satisfied facial expression because they believed that Zheng-Fu and his group would be killed on that route…
Wu-Xiao: “Tsk! I despise those people. They are cowardly people who don’t wish well for others…”
She said and made an uncomfortable face…
Yan-Yu: “Just ignore them! As human beings, we’ll die one day. It depends on whether we die sooner or later. But if I have to die, can I die on your breasts, dear?”
Yan-Yu said while making a perverted face, but he did not dare to get close to Wu-Xiao because he feared for his manhood…
When the group walked onward long enough, they reached the point where there were fogs all over the place. The atmosphere started to chill them to the core. They started to hear moans and shrieks from monsters too. The whole thing made the scene something haunting…
Everyone started to put their guards up because they did not know when a monster might jump at them. They prepared for any kind of unexpected situation…
Zheng-Fu, on the other hand, could sense something like obscuring energies since the group entered the land of the monsters. He could not pinpoint what kind of energy he received in there. However, he knew for sure that the Qi energy in the area was stronger than the one outside this route…
Even though the obscuring energies bothered him, he did not want to waste any more time, so he started to absorb the Qi energy instantaneously. As soon as he started the absorption, the natural Qi energy flew into his energy range violently…
Boom!
Whoosh!
The third level of the Foundation Building stage!
Zheng-Fu finally broke through to the next level. He could feel the tremendous amount of energy that got boosted within him. The natural Qi energy continued to flow into him without stopping too. And it looked like it would never stop…
If the group crossed the bridge, it would take them only two shichens to reach In-See City. But since they took the monsters’ route, they needed to move more carefully along the way, which consumed them more time…
If they did not have to watch out for the monsters, it would take them only one shichen to get to In-See city…
The fog started to permeate the space and they prevented Zheng-Fu’s group from seeing things clearly in front of them. Everywhere was filled with thick fog…
Dan-Chun-Gu: “What should we do now, brother Tong-Kuang? We can’t see the way.”
“Yeah!”
Tong-Kuang did not feel too well because he could not see either. The deeper they walked into the route, the harder they could see the way. If it continued this way, they would get lost…