Rise of Humanity

"According to historical data records, the Xiang Dragon is a godly beast, it possesses the bloodline of the dragon, heavenly horse, and Hou Lion, with all these three beasts are all ancient god species."

Among the four Shui Tu Clan Qi Practitioners that were chasing behind Zhong Yue, at the forefront was Shui Anshan, he quickly said, "The Xiang Dragon is uncommonly hard to come by, who knew there would be one in the Great Wilderness, moreover a cub! If we capture it and raise it in our clan, the Shui Tu Clan will definitely be able to rise a few ranks up among the top ten clans. We will trample the Lei Hu Clan and the others beneath us!"

One of the Shui Tu Clan asked curiously, "That Xiang Dragon was over two hundred feet long and it is still a cub?"

"Not only a cub, but it should just be at its early infant stage."

Shui Anshan laughed and said, "A matured Xiang Dragon will be like a god, it's body sized like a mountain, in a single step it could cross over from one side to the other of the sea or mountains. Thankfully, this one is still a cub, or else the elder will not have us chase after it but rather, he'd do it himself!"

The other three Qi Practitioners heaved a breath of relief. They smiled, "A cub at its early infant stage, this will surely be an effortless task, as easy as blowing off dust."

The moment Zhong Yue leaped out from the beast god seal, he instantly noticed the Shui Tu Clan's ship landing down, but he was now assimilated by the beast god essence and had turned into a Xiang Dragon, to the humans, his appearance was exactly like a monster beast. Hence, it was unwise for him to confront them. Plus, he did not have any good impression on the Shui Tu Clan, and so he immediately went away on his own.

I need to find a secluded and uninhabited place to concentrate on my cultivation so that I can refine the beast god essence in my body and revert to my human form as soon as possible. Otherwise, if I get mistaken for a monster beast and were to be wrongly slain by the humans, that would be too embarrassing.

But the Xiang Dragon form was indeed incredibly powerful; its speed was faster than when Zhong Yue's when he rode atop lightning in his human. And this was only the Xiang Dragon's baseline speed without exerting much of its excessive strength.

The Qi Practitioners of the Shui Tu Clan are drawing near!

Zhong Yue turned behind, and his heart rate quickened, What are they trying to do? Slay the monster beast? Oh right, with my current form, I am no different from the monster beasts and even more. If I ever open my mouth and speak, they will surely mistake me as one of the monster race. It would then further ignite their determination to exterminate me!

"He-he, little Xiang Dragon, be a good boy and come to me."

One of the Shui Tu Clan Qi Practitioners stood in mid-air and looked down at Zhong Yue who was rushing through the woods. He grinned as the God of Rivers, Hebo, suddenly appeared behind him. Tthe Hebo was enveloped in water currents, and he reached out his hands toward Zhong Yue!

It was the same visualization of the River God, Hebo, but there were significant differences in the strength of the Hebo cast by the Qi Practitioner and Shui Qinghe. The Hebo visualized by Shui Qinghe was exquisite and replete with flesh, blood, and bones. However, the Hebo visualized by the Qi Practitioner not only didn't lack any of that, but it was accompanied by a holy saint aura that was almost indistinguishable from the aura of a real god!

Hebo was a heavenly god, the ancient god that commanded all waters!

In addition, this Hebo was surrounded by water dragons around him and a sheathed sword on his waist, whether it be its dignified aura or its holy saint aura, this visualization of Hebo was way beyond the level of Shui Qinghe's!

The Hebo's hand extended out further as his arm protracted across tens of miles to grab Zhong Yue!

"Senior Martial Brother Anshan, if we captured this mythical beast, do you think the clan will reward us heavily for it?"

The Qi Practitioner who visualized the Hebo smiled as he said, "Will we be credited if we present such an auspicious beast to the clan?"

"Of course we will. [Wei Water Whiplash] !"

Shui Anshan laughed out loud, he pointed out his finger, and a wave of powerful Wei water current gushed out toward Zhong Yue who had just evaded the Hebo's hand. He laughed, "This beast managed to dodge your Hebo's hand, it is indeed worthy of the godly bloodlines in its body, being able to evade the strike of a Qi Practitioner even at its infantile stage."

The Wei water river was getting thinner and thinner, and eventually, it formed a whip akin to a giant water python capable of flight; it lashed out from behind Zhong Yue and caught up to him rapidly!

Zhong Yue clenched his teeth as he mustered all his strength in his legs and broke into a full sprint, the trees that lined up on the two sides flashed past his vision like a blur!

The four Shui Tu Clan Qi Practitioners were dumbstruck, their mind went blank, and they were stunned in mid-air. They had just witnessed the Xiang Dragon stand up and run away like a human on its rear legs at an inconceivable speed!

A mythical beast that was the amalgamation of the dragon, horse and tiger bloodlines with a long tail stood upright and ran away like a human. This was no doubt the weirdest scene they had ever met with in their whole lives!

"Is this really happening? Do Xiang Dragons stand and run with their rear legs?"

One of the Shui Tu Clan Qi Practitioners was perplexed, he asked, "Shouldn't it gallop like a horse?"

The other Qi Practitioners were as clueless as he was, no one was able to answer his question.

"It stood up… En, stood up and ran, it can't compete with us if we fly, we will chase up to it and capture the Xiang Dragon, we must not let it escape!"

Zhong Yue dashed like a bolt of lightning over the blur of mountains and rivers. Even with the four Qi Practitioners that were flying in the air, they were still unable to catch up to him. The four Qi Practitioners gazed at one another in shock.

"The dragon whistles, the clouds form; the tiger roars, the winds blow; heavenly horse birthed with two wings. The Xiang Dragon is a mythical beast that possesses godly speed, who would know that even with only two legs, it is still capable of such speeds!"

The four of them were shocked and were more convinced that the Xiang Dragon was one of the rarest living creatures to have ever existed in the world; even the Four Ken Beast in Swords Gate could not compare to it. Hence, their determination grew stronger as they resolved to capture it regardless of the cost.

"Gather our strength and power the Water Treader Skiff, actualize the Wei River with our psyches and push the Water Treader Skiff's speed to the greatest extent!"

Shui Anshai hollered, "I don't believe that we can't chase up to a baby Xiang Dragon!"

Another Qi Practitioner quickly said, "Senior martial brother, if we turn all our psyches into the Wei Water, it is true the Water Treader Skiff will tread faster, but the toll it takes on our psyches will also be greater."

"As long as we chase up to the Xiang Dragon, it will never be able to escape, even with our powers compromised. It is impossible for it to slip away from our hands!"

The four Qi Practitioners then visualized all their psyches into a stream of river water, and with the Water Treader Skiff, they chased after Zhong Yue.

The Shui Tu Clan is chasing up! They are closing in fast!

Zhong Yue turned his head and took a glance, and he saw a turbulent wave of water gushing in the air. The four Qi Practitioners were standing on the Water Treader Skiff that was closing in on him at a speed faster than he could sprint away!

Suddenly, one of the Qi Practitioners leaped down from the ship, in mid-air, there was water gushing out of nowhere beneath his feet lifting him up, the Qi Practitioner opened his palm and pressed down heavily, " Ice Crystal Sword Qi—[Twenty-third Sword Style]!"

Zheng-zheng-zheng!

In mid-air, the water vapors in the air condensed and formed into Ice Crystal Sword Qi whirling in the air, all of a sudden the swords all pointed and thrust toward Zhong Yue!

The Ice Crystal Sword Qi covered Zhong Yue, and the swords encircled him and incessantly lunged right at his body, Zhong Yue lifted his dragon claws and dragon tail to defend and crushed the swords into ice flakes.

So painful….

However, there was still some Sword Qi that managed to penetrate his defense and leave a few bloody perforations on his body. The icy and frigid air penetrated his body through his wounds. He felt as if he would freeze from the inside out.

In his psyche ocean, the Beast God Inner Core suddenly quivered a little, it emanated a surge of a burning hot sensation out from it and cast off the cold like a blazing fire melting snows, rendering the frozen effect useless on him.

The Qi Practitioner was shocked, and he shouted out in disbelief, "How could this be? Is this Xiang Dragon really a cub? How is my Ice Crystal Freezing Qi useless against it?"

"Come back junior martial brother. I will capture him alive!"

Another Qi Practitioner leaped down from the ship, he visualized the Hebo body and strode on the water currents toward Zhong Yue.

The water tides rose higher than the trees and gushed over the mountain summit; however, Zhong Yue was already on his way dashing down from the mountain, the Shui Tu Clan Qi Practitioner embedded himself in the Hebo body and threaded on the water waves following behind Zhong Yue. But all he could see was only the posterior view of the Xiang Dragon striding further and further away from him, suddenly, sparks of lightning appeared beneath the Xiang Dragon, and its speed skyrocketed, Peng!

A loud boom was heard as the Xiang Dragon broke through the sound barrier, a dense white vapor cone surrounded it as it flashed away from him, leaving behind only a cacophonous sonic boom that echoed in the ears of the dazed Qi Practitioners long after it disappeared out of sight.

Within a breath's time, the Xiang Dragon sprinted out tens of miles. The Shui Tu Clan Qi Practitioner could not even keep up with its unearthly speed. He stood planted right where he was, helpless like an abandoned child lost on what to do.

"That Xiang Dragon… rode on the lightning and ran away."

The other three Qi Practitioners caught up from behind, they were all stupefied and mumbled, "This beast is only at its early infant stage, and it could manipulate lightning already?"

An old and yet bright voice sounded behind them, "The dragon controls the clouds while the tiger moves the winds—from the clouds and the winds, comes the lightning; it is not a surprise that a Xiang Dragon can control lightning."

The four Qi Practitioners quickly turned around, bowed and revered, "Elder!"

"Behind the alabaster mountain cliff is the beast god seal, it is indeed fascinating, but it was not easy to break into it. I've scrutinized it closely from the outside. There is nowhere I can start breaking the seal from, nothing I can do. Anshan, head to the Xian Kong City immediately and sell this news to the monster race."

Shui Zian placed his hands on his back, he shook his head and said, "That Xiang Dragon is still an infant, the lightning will not last for long, its energy will soon be depleted. You can still catch up to it. Jianping, Jianshu, the two of you will follow its tracks and bring it back. I will return to Swords Gate and await the arrival of the monster race!"

Two of the four Qi Practitioners bowed as they received their instructions, they then turned and followed behind Zhong Yue while Shui Anshan departed toward the Xian Kong City on the outside of the Great Wilderness.

The Beast God Ridge once again regained its peace, but it only lasted for half a month.

Half a month later, a magnate of the monster race from the Xian Kong City, one of the three heads, Yan Yunsheng—the Lord of Sulphur Island, led over hundreds over of monster Qi Practitioners over to Swords Gate!

The whole of Swords Gate was trembling, the aura of the lord of Sulphur Island was immensely wicked and nefarious. The moment Yan Yunsheng arrived at Swords Gate he promptly released his powerful and imposing aura to suppress the human Qi Practitioners, the monstrous clouds overcast the skies of Swords Gate, he intended to demonstrate his superiority to the Swords Gate Qi Practitioners!

All of a sudden, from the golden summit of Swords Gate, a vast and mighty Sword Qi pierced through the skies, turning the monstrous clouds into wisps and casting away the wicked and nefarious aura in the air. A disembodied, old and hoarse voice suffused all over the mountain, "Lord of Sulphur Island comes from afar, I hope that the guest will suit himself at to the convenience of the host and follow the rules set down by the Swords Gate."

In the eyes of Yan Yunsheng flashed a ray of fear, he then laughed and said, "Old geezer Feng, you are still alive, I thought you were already dead! Now there has emerged a holy land of the monster race in the Great Wilderness, the great beast-god of our monster race had fallen in the Beast God Ridge; Old geezer Feng, from now on, the Beast God Ridge will be transferred to the monster race!"

The old and hoarse voice never uttered a single sound, Elder Shui Zian smirked a smile and stepped forward, "Lord Yan, I am entrusted by Swords Gate to handle the matters regarding the Beast God Ridge, between you and I, we will have some discussions."

Not long later, Yan Yunsheng and Shui Zian reached an agreement: The monster race can enter the Beast God Ridge and explore the beast god seal, but they are forbidden to ever step foot on any other place in the Great Wilderness.

A few days later, ship after ship flew into the Great Wilderness toward the Beast God Ridge. On the pale-white skeletal ships, were all the Qi Practitioners of the monster race.

Among the three monster lords of the sacred land of the monster race, Xian Kong City, two had arrived!

Deep in the woods of the Great Wilderness, a strong Xiang Dragon lifted its head and watched as the massive skeletal ships flew past, it shuddered in thrill and mumbled, "Xin Huo, do you think this is a day that blood will be shed…"

From a clump of bristle furs of the Xiang Dragon, out came a little flame, his face was filled with a chaotic joy and excitement, "Finally, I can see the power of the three slaughtering arrays!"