21 The Battle Between Man and Beast 1

The world was now covered in an ominous-looking hue of pure dark red, and the atmosphere began to change as if warning the world of something nefarious. From an obvious glance, one could see that the end of twilight, drew near…

Screeeechhh!

With a loud whistle tearing through the air, an arrow soared across the sky instantly traversing the distance of 800 meters from a faraway tree. It penetrated deeply into a large rock causing a massive explosion destroying not only the 10-meter boulder but all rocks and trees within the area of 15 meters around.

Swish!

Shortly after, a robust-looking figure wearing a sleeveless shirt and loose-fitting pants appeared. This figure glanced towards the destroyed area and noticed a crater that was roughly about 15 meters in length.

"Whew! The 3rd bolt of my <HuiMan Bow Arts> has finally reached its crescendo. Now I can say that I am about ready for the selections. Still, it's far away from cultivating to the next stage which requires - Bow Intent," Hui Ying said as he waved his hand, which then released a strange ripple of essence energy into the air causing the arrow that was previously shot to fly back towards him. He grasped the shaft and carefully adjusted it before placing it back into his quiver.

"Oh well, one step at a time. I wonder if fellow Daoist Feng had already left," Hui Ying said while looking towards the blood-red sky that drifted into the darkness of night.

∞∞∞

Flash! Flash! Flash!

Like a ray of light, a figure beamed itself across the mountain range, flowing through the large shrubberies, maneuvering itself across tall ancient trees. Soon, however, it came to a stop resting atop its destination.

Flap! Flap! Flap!

Standing on top of an ancient tree that was 20 meters tall with a thickness that would require more than eight men to circle their arms around, Feng Yu stood silently with the resulting wind blowing his hair. His robe was making 'flap-flap' noises, as he solemnly glanced at the slope of the mountain below him.

It was a mountain valley, with a flattened section of land that was around 5 kilometers in length. The wild meadows that grew around it gave it a feeling of the savage wilds, but sadly, this area was occupied by more than just 'uncivilized' creatures.

Dozens of Silver Furred Apes were congregated around a central platform, and they were kneeling on the ground in reverence to the form that sat on top of the platform.

The Golden Furred Ape King sat in crossed-legged position as if it were pondering the mysteries of the world. But, looking closely at this ape, one could see that it was very upset, as its brows were furrowed intensely as if trying to suppress an uncontrollable amount of rage. Briefly, it opened its eyes and glanced towards the destroyed cave that was a few meters distance from its, following a series of deep craters, destroyed boulders, and fallen trees.

"Hmph! Golden Furred Ape King, you think I'd leave this mountain and not pay you back for my previous injuries. Today is the day we settle our score." With a snort, Feng Yu instantly declared his resolution towards the Golden Furred Ape King in his mind. As he remembered his previous dire straits because of the monkey liquor, a strong killing intent arose from deep within his being.

"Huuum..." After inhaling a deep breath of air, Feng Yu looked towards the Golden Furred Ape King and shouted with all his might, "Golden Furred Ape King! I Feng Yu Have Come!"

"I Feng Yu Have Come!"

"Come!... Come!... Come!"

The loud shout resounded throughout the entire valley leaving echoes that repeated itself over and over through ears of the Silver Furred Apes and Golden Furred Ape King.

Hou! Hou! Hou! Hou! Hou!

The Silver Furred Apes were sent into a panic but soon became furious because of the sudden shock caused by the shout. They began to look around the field in madness and fury. Soon, they found the source and started to make threatening noises.

Noticing their reactions, Feng Yu felt pleased. He shifted his vision back to his target, the Golden Furred Ape King, and saw that it too was looking at him with its eyes radiating with great fury that seemed to be capable of reaching out to even the deepest reaches of the universe. It swiftly got up and roared at the human that dared to sully its honor and prestige for the second time.

"HUMAN! YOU DARE SHOW YOURSELF TO ME ONCE MORE! YOU COURT DEATH!"

Swwiiiiiiiiiiii! Blinding golden energies shot towards the sky, as the color of gold blanketed the entire valley, causing the region to erupt with a miniature earthquake.

Rumble! Hou! Hou! Hou!

The weaker silver-furred apes were sent into disarray once more as they scampered away from their king in an attempt to save their lives.

As he saw the situation below him, Feng Yu smiled. Taking a big leap, he jumped from his current position, descending into the valley and landing softly on the floor, roughly a few hundred meters away from the blinding lights erupting from the Golden Furred Ape King. Gathering his essence power, he pushed himself to an optimal condition in an attempt to reduce the Golden Furred Ape King's building momentum.

Bang!

The power of the initial stages of 8 Tier was released from his body, which then grew to form an endless amount of fire essence energy. It then expanded from his position and clashed towards the growing golden essence energy of Golden Furred Ape King. As the two powers crashed together, they began to wind around each other transforming into a pillar of golden-red light that soared towards the far reaches of the sky.

∞∞∞

Somewhere within the mountain range, a few men in hooded cloaks stood still. One of the figures was sitting on a tree stump holding a large piece of meat, eating away joyfully. He was then interrupted by the bright light that lit up the central region of the mountain range.

The hooded figure frowned.

Swish!

As another figure appeared, he knelt before the seated figure and said respectfully, "Young Master, after inspecting the entirety of the outer and middle regions of the mountain range, we have not found any trace of the Feng Clan's Young Master. It is highly probable for him to have gone to an even deeper area of the mountain range. Therefore, I suggest that we leave here rather than continuing to search pointlessly and set up a net on the returning route. Since we have roughly less than two weeks of time until the talent selections, he should already be preparing himself to head back by now."

Hearing his servant's suggestion, the seated figure pondered for a moment before raising his head and looking towards the distant light shining from deep within the central region.

"Fine then! We will have it your way, but only after we inspect that strange phenomenon going on in the central regions," he said as he waved his hands and placed them behind his back as he glanced at his subordinates.

"Yes Sir!" The servants replied in unison.

"Hehe! Who would have thought my luck would be so good? That light must be a sign of the birth of a treasure, who knows what kind of benefits I would receive if I successfully capture it? It's possible that I may even find the key to beating that damn, Xiang Shu." He said as he clenched his fists tightly with a look of greed, as he dashed off towards the central region followed by his subordinates.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

∞∞∞

In another location, a strange old man sat on top of a tree meditating amongst a few other cultivators. At the center position of the area was a peculiar cauldron 25 meters in size marked with ancient runes that glowed with the profound truths of the world. They were all trying to grasp principles from these runes. As this old man pondered the mysteries that lay within the heaven and the earth, he noticed the changes in the atmosphere, and a solemn expression came across his aged face.

"A Nefarious Aura.... How strange? How could this be?"

Swish! He vanished into nothingness as if his existence here was nothing more than an illusion of time.

∞∞∞

As cultivators from all over gathered towards the central region, the collision of the energies between Feng Yu and the Golden Furred Ape King reached its climax.

Like two beams of light, they both collided into each other back and forth. Feng Yu unleashed his palm techniques hitting the Golden Furred Ape King's Fist techniques. Their collisions were creating aftershocks that rumbled throughout the area creating craters on top of holes as the essence-energies were still in conflict. One trying to suppress the other.

Fwooosshhh!

Soon, like the wind, the energies that were contending for supremacy faded, leaving only the aftermath of their destruction in their wake.

The Golden Furred Ape King looked towards Feng Yu with shock and fury. It thought to itself.

"How can this puny human withstand my 9 Star essence power with his 8 Tier strength? The last time we fought, he was nothing more than a small bug at the 5 Tier. I cannot let this damn humanity escape alive. I must kill him here!" Amidst its fury, a dense desire to kill radiated from its soul as it decided to use its full power to destroy the potential threat before it.

It looked at Feng Yu and sneered, "Human! You are the first one I have seen with so much potential. First, you were capable of surviving my assault previously with such low cultivation and little strength, only to come back to stand before me at such an incredible level. Sadly, no matter how much of a genius you are, a dead genius will no longer be a genius. The reason you were able to escape with your life before was due to me not taking you seriously. Now, I will let you understand why it is I am called the Golden Furred Ape King. Variant Transformation: Battle Form!"

Observing the confident Golden Furred Ape King and hearing him shout, Feng Yu responded with a smile, "Finally assuming your battle form. Very good, I would not have it any other way! My bloodline against your heavenly blessing."