Eternal Evil Emperor

Nature is the best teacher.

Xie Tian, who studied diligently, had gained a lot from his ten-day experience in the Anlan Mountain.

For example, he had learned that lower-level fierce beasts fled at the sight of him, not because he looked formidable, but because his body was smeared with the blood of the Qianji Snake. After realizing this, he washed himself and changed into a set of clothes stripped from a corpse.

For example, he had learned that you should never get injured unless absolutely necessary because he had witnessed a young panther get its hind leg bitten off by its struggling prey, and within two hours, the powerful panther was torn to shreds by other fierce beasts.

For example, he had learned that the most ferocious beasts were those trapped in a desperate situation. A mother bear fought to the death against eight predatory wolves to protect her whining cubs, and he believed that if he were in a dire situation, he would do the same.

He was learning from the wild beasts as well as the martial artists on Anlan Mountain. What made the deepest impression on him were not the master beasts of Anlan Mountain but the myriad martial artists who were guests there.

He had seen a group of martial artists kill an injured brother because the injured man was a drag on the group. He had seen two friends who called each other brothers turn against each other, drawing their swords for a well-preserved tiger skin. He had also seen a woman whose companions were all killed, who herself was robbed and held down by several men, screaming miserably, but at night, the woman cut off the heads of these men.

What he remembered most vividly was the woman, because she was the final victor and, more so, because of the triumphant smirk on her face as she held the heads in her hands.

Xie Tian believed that what he had seen was the true nature of the world; the six years of happy life with the Xie family were just an illusion. Everywhere was like the present Xie family and the present Anlan Mountain, filled with slaughter, deceit, and mercilessness.

When the mad old man noticed that the murderous aura permeating Xie Tian was gradually stabilizing, he nodded in satisfaction. Ten days of experience had led to the killing of sixty-eight fierce beasts below the fourth level of brute force, three beasts at the fifth level of brute force, a total of twenty-three injuries, and four near-death experiences.

What satisfied him most was that the first twenty injuries were all sustained in the early days of training. Starting from the third day, Xie Tian had been very careful in protecting himself and had not been injured again. The three remaining injuries were granted by those three fifth-level brute force fierce beasts.

In a word, in the eyes of the mad old man, Xie Tian was the child with the greatest battle talent he had ever seen.

After finishing the rhinoceros wolf leg in his hand, Xie Tian, who was eighty percent full, packed up everything and looked up at the sky. Then he turned and headed up the mountain. Not long after he left, the mad old man arrived at the place. He glanced at the burial mound of dirt covering the campfire and bones and nodded slightly.

Returning to Beast Cliff for the second time, the corpses of the Qianji Snake and the Green Striped Tiger were long gone. Xie Tian did not pay much attention to these details. He lay prone on the edge of the cliff and peered down, looking for the creek mentioned by the mad old man.

The reason he lay down was that he was afraid of heights.

The mad old man was caught off guard and somewhat inclined to laugh. He never would have thought Xie Tian was afraid of heights, but he knew that Xie Tian wasn't afraid of anything, because Xie Tian was afraid of death.

Because he was afraid of death, Xie Tian would not let himself die. As for the cave next to the creek at the bottom of the cliff, Xie Tian would certainly go there. Therefore, this path down the cliff was indispensable for Xie Tian, the only way to go.

Shaking his head to dissipate the dizziness, Xie Tian rose to his feet. He looked around Beast Cliff, regretting not finding anything like vines, because in the last ten days, he had found a long hemp rope on a corpse.

This was a lesson, and a very serious one for Xie Tian, who was scared of heights. He closed his eyes and deeply etched this lesson into his heart. Then, after practicing the cultivation of the Source Cultivation Technique for a time equivalent to burning a stick of incense and ensuring that his inner strength was sufficient, he cautiously extended his right leg over the edge of the cliff.

His heartbeat was faster than ever, the mountain wind by his ears drowned out all other sounds, and a sensation of weakness pervaded his body. Xie Tian's eyes were wide open, fixated on his ten fingers that clutched the cliff's rocks, which he found were slowly relaxing without his command.

He was about to fall.

"Ah!"

A long, angry roar burst from his mouth. Within this cry was a childlike voice, but more than that, it was a determined declaration, a shout to charge forward courageously!

Just as Chen Qin was about to leave Anlan Town, he suddenly turned his head and looked back at the waist of Anlan Mountain. He thought he heard a distinctive sound, but sadly, he saw nothing.

Dozens of people had searched for ten days to no avail. Following the orders of the Family Head, he had to return to Yangshuo City to prepare for the martial arts competition in half a month. For him, the competition was not important; the crucial thing was to find the ruthless man who ate Dragon Leopard Wood as food.

But he was a member of the Chen family, and even as a genius, he had to consider the interests of the clan. He knew that the Chen family was his most critical support; without the Chen family, he was nothing, just like Xie Tian, who had been abandoned by the Xie family.

"Brother Feng, you stay here and continue to watch," Chen Qin sighed and said to the young man beside him, "Remember what I said, if you encounter Xie... Xie Tian, you must not offend him. If the Xie family doesn't want him, our Chen family does!"

Brother Feng was six years older than Chen Qin, with a cultivation about to break through the ninth level of the brute force boundary, making him a cornerstone of the Chen family. However, the ninth level of brute force was his limit; with his talent, it was very unlikely that he would ever break into the Inner Qi boundary. Therefore, in front of the boundlessly promising Chen Qin, he was always very respectful.

However, upon hearing what Chen Qin said, Brother Feng's face changed slightly, and he said with a forced smile, "Rest assured, little brother Qin, I will act according to your instructions. It's just that I am worried that Xie Tian might not appreciate it."

"I don't need his gratitude," Chen Qin sighed and once again looked towards the waist of Anlan Mountain, murmuring softly, "I only want him to be forever separated from the Xie family and to never be an enemy of my Chen family."

"Why?"

"Because I feel that Xie Tian is more terrifying than Xie Yun and Xie Shuai."

When Xie Tian was still three zhang high from the creek, he finally couldn't hold on any longer, let go of his grip, and crashed into the bushes next to the creek. Ignoring the severe pain in his back, his entire body trembling violently, he took deep breaths, inhaling vitality and exhaling fear.

For someone afraid of heights, climbing down a hundred zhang cliff for the first time alone was, in the eyes of the mad old man, also a miracle, even if the final three zhang abandonment had some flaws, he was still satisfied and his eyes squinted with a smile.

After resting for half an hour, Xie Tian finally got up. After checking his surroundings and seeing no danger, he began to practice the Yuan Nourishing Technique to replenish his primordial yang. Then he got up and walked along the brook until he came upon a hidden, pitch-black cave hidden behind some bushes.

The cave was very dry and dark. Taking a flint from his backpack, Xie Tian continued deeper inside. Twenty yards in, at the bottom of the cave, he saw a pile of books on the bluestone, around a dozen of them, some new, some old.

Xie Tian was both delighted and puzzled. Having already cultivated four cultivation techniques at the ninth level of the Brute Force Realm, he expected only five books from this place. Could the extra volumes be even more profound techniques?

He eagerly picked up the books, inspecting each one. Unfortunately, he found only five coverless cultivation technique scrolls, while the remaining seven or eight all had covers.

It seemed to be a rule that the books he needed to cultivate had no covers. Setting aside the five cultivation techniques, he picked up the first book with a cover and the title caught his eye.

"Jianghu Chronicles."

Two hours later, Xie Tian reluctantly put down the "Jianghu Chronicles." To him, this book, which introduced the powers of the Jianghu in the Song Country and Chu Country, as well as various knowledge about cultivation, was as important as those five books.

Like a sponge, he tirelessly absorbed all the knowledge within the books. It took him a whole night to finish reading them. Stretching contentedly, he got up to check the surroundings of the cave entrance, resprinkled some insect repellent powder, then curled up under the bluestone and fell asleep.

Through these books, Xie Tian finally understood that cultivation progress didn't need to be rushed. Greedy advancement with an unstable foundation would hinder breakthroughs. After waking up, he did not look at the fifth cultivation technique, but instead started over with the Mixed World Bull Demon Power to solidify his foundation.

Mixed World Bull Demon Power, Golden Snake Skybound Fist, Dragon Form Soft Body Technique, Shaking Heaven Bear Earth Palm—he deepened his understanding with each practice. After nearly a month of cultivation, he experienced the pleasure he had been desperately longing for.

Of course, after practicing each technique, he had to replenish his extensive consumption of primordial yang with the Yuan Nourishing Technique. However, Xie Tian, immersed in joy, didn't realize that the cultivation technique that he had practiced for six years had become almost instinctive; even when he stopped practicing, the production of primordial yang would continue a little longer before ceasing.

Four days later, Xie Tian's slender body looked more spirited, and there was a touch of masculine vigor in his movements. Looking at his slightly lustrous skin, Xie Tian knew he was finally ready to start cultivating the fifth book.

The first four levels of the Brute Force Realm focused on tempering the flesh, while the fifth and sixth levels were about refining the bones. In the world of martial arts, only crane and tiger bones were regarded highly. The fifth book was titled "Crane Dance Nine Heavens," deriving its essence from the noble and ethereal nature of a crane, resulting in bones that were hard and yet retained their lightness.

For ordinary people, bone refining was extremely painful, but for Xie Tian, the pain was negligible. When there were only around ten rods of Dragon-Boar Wood left in his bag, the crazed old man's jaw dropped in shock. Xie Tian had managed to successfully cultivate the technique and advanced to the fifth level of the Brute Force Realm in just one day.

In just one month, Xie Tian had transformed from a dying cripple to the same level as Chen Qiang and Xie Bao, an achievement bestowed upon him by the Xie family.

However, he did not plan to thank the Xie family; instead, a fierce rage surged within him.

After neatly burning the books, Xie Tian went to the same spot where he had first descended the cliff. The lightness afforded by the Crane Dance Nine Heavens technique allowed him to easily climb back up. No sooner had he steadied himself on Beast Cliff than his gaze was drawn to a young Martial Artist not far away.

Then he closed his eyes because the young Martial Artist was also looking at him, and the mocking look in his eyes caused Xie Tian's eyes an intense pain.

A formidable enemy!

The intent to kill!

A strong intent to kill!

"Xie Tian, oh, my mistake, Xie Tian," Chen Feng apologized, patting his forehead with a smile, "but whatever your name is, it's all the same to me."

Xie Tian took a small step backward, his voice trembling slightly, "You want to kill me."

Chen Feng chuckled and nodded, moving forward, "Remember this name, Chen Feng, from the Chen family of Yangshuo City. What's funny is that the one who ordered your death is the eldest young master of the Xie family."

Xie Commander! Xie Tian's eyes snapped open in rage, but as soon as the flames of anger began to flicker in his heart, he ruthlessly suppressed them. To get angry now would be akin to seeking his own demise.

"Take this!"

A dark shadow was thrown from Xie Tian's hand. Chen Feng chuckled again and raised his fist to smash the incoming shadow. At that moment, Xie Tian leaped down from Beast Cliff!

"Damn it!"

Chen Feng had thought the shadow was a concealed weapon but discovered it was just an egg. Flinging the egg whites from his fist, he hurried to the edge of the cliff and saw Xie Tian quickly descending the cliffside. He scoffed, "Such trash, and yet they send me after him. Well, it's your lucky day, Xie Commander, that you're going to that place..."

Meanwhile, outside the gates of the Xie family in Yangshuo City, every member of the Xie family was prostrate before a visitor. This time, neither the garrison nor the Chen or Jin families came. The Xie family was receiving someone from the greatest sect in the Song Country—Bai Ju Cliff.

"Your name is Xie Commander?"

The prostrate Xie Commander respectfully kowtowed and answered, "It is."

"Come with me."