Devouring The Heavens Chapter 91 – The Mountain of Beasts

The Dragon Scale Horse’s hooves were galloping on the wind towards the Sect, which was hidden among the mountains.
The mountain range where the Sect was located at was surrounded by a thick layer of clouds and fog. Xuanyuan was overlooking the magnificent view while riding through the sky on the horse. He had never felt so free before, it was as if he was always looking down to the ground.
Among the mountains were many white cranes flying casually around. There were also many beasts which Xuanyuan was not familiar with guarding the mountain tops. Throughout the whole area was an extremely dense amount of pure Qi. Xuanyuan could hear the howling of a tiger or ape from time to time.
Beneath them, there were many clear streams. The water was so clear that you could see all of the fish swimming through the water. Those were no ordinary fish though, they possessed the power of master realm fighters. In other words, an ordinary person with no cultivation would never be able to catch a fish from those streams. They might be killed by the powerful fish instead.
All of these observations filled Xuanyuan with inexplicable awe.
“Xuanyuan, look carefully. Inside each of these mountains dwells at least one Xian fighter. Only when you reach the Xian realm, can you have your own mountain. Every one of them is able to disguise themselves as an ordinary person, sometimes they secretly test disciples see if you are suitable to learn their techniques. They only choose from those among the inner disciples of the Sect. I was chosen by the Xian of Wind from the Mountain of Nine Heavenly Winds to be his disciple.” Fung Lie explained to Xuanyuan carefully, there was no arrogance in his voice and he treated Xuanyuan like a brother. “For outsiders, getting through the Forest of a Million Beasts is cruel enough for one lifetime. But inside the Sect lies the most brutal competitions as well as real danger. Beasts will never be as cunning and devious as humans, after all. Xuanyuan, I have high regards for you, but I can’t be there for you every time you are in danger. When we arrive in the Sect, you have to be very careful. I believe in you. With your ability you will become a true disciple very soon.”
Xuanyuan frowned, “Isn’t there a rule to prevent the disciples from killing each other?”
“On paper, there is, but do you really believe that the world is fair? If you kill someone with a background as similar as yours, of course you’ll be punished accordingly. But no one would care if the disciple that is killed came from a humble background. There will only be some minor punishment which is all for show. Among the inner disciples, there’re dozens, even hundreds who are killed every day. They make it through the forest, but not the Sect itself. Not to mention the struggles among the outer disciples. Thousands of them are killed every day. I started out as an outer disciple and I’ve witnessed all of my friends killed around me. This is the real Fighting Dragons Sect. There are eight million outer disciples, eight hundred thousand inner disciples, and nine thousand true disciples. You can imagine the struggles inside the Sect.”
Fung Lie’s voice was calm, but the shock that these words brought to Xuanyuan was immeasurable. He thought that there would be less conflicts in the Sect than in the outside world, but the reality was the complete opposite.
“In the outside world, many people have said that I’m overbearing and cruel, killing everyone that crossed me, but killing enemies is inevitable. If I don’t kill those that cross me, do you think people would respect me? The only way to stop others from killing you is to kill them, so enemies won’t have a chance to harm you again in the future. If you show any sign of weakness, people will only take advantage of that weakness. Do you understand Xuanyuan?”
Xuanyuan sighed heavily, “I understand. I am prepared. I’m not afraid of any inner disciples, but I won’t be able to fight against true disciples.”
“Don’t you worry about that. In the Sect, there are still some strict rules. These rules prevent true disciples from killing inner disciples without a reasonable claim. Also, I brought you into the Sect and the other true disciples will need to give me face. Even someone like Xingyun will think twice before he lays a hand on you. I rank amongst the top twenty true disciples in the Sect, but that’s only on the surface. There’re many disciples of Xian’s that are inside their mountains. They won’t join any fights from inside the Sect. There are many powerful practitioners here and there’s not just one way to gain power.” Fung Lie smiled.
Xuanyuan pondered what Fung Lie said. He needed to consider more carefully how he was going to survive inside the Sect.
After a while, the Dragon Scale Horse descended on a huge mountain top. The mountain was covered with greenery.
“This is the Mountain of Beasts. It belongs to the Xian of Beasts. The Xian asked his disciple, Wan Chou to take care of the mountain. Wan Chou and I are good friends. We’ll get you a good beast for your mount.” Fung Lie smiled, then he announced loudly, “Brother Chou, I’m here to visit!” His voice echoed far and loud.
“I think your visit is a convoluted plan to steal my beasts.” A stuffy voice echoed back.
Fung Lie was visibly embarrassed, “You know me…”
They got off from the Dragon Scale Horse and saw a man wearing the ‘Gown of a Thousand Beasts’ come out. He looked so imposing, like he was the king of all beasts.
“You took away the Dragon Scale Horse last time. It was a breed between a Heavenly Dragon and a Heavenly Horse. Its power can even grow over time. Do you have any complaints?” Wan Chou looked discontented, like he was heartbroken that Fung Lie took away his prized horse, but he quickly sensed Fung Lie’s power and laughed, “Ha! You have broken through to the emperor realm? That’s something to celebrate. All right then, I’ll let you pick a beast today.”
Fung Lie patted on Xuanyuan shoulder, “I’m here to choose a mount for him.”
Wan Chou stared at Xuanyuan. Xuanyuan immediately felt the pressure from his force. Wan Chou, undoubtedly, was a peak imperial fighter.
However, Xuanyuan felt that he had nothing to be afraid of, so he returned the gaze without fear and bowed to him politely.
“Greetings to Elder Brother Wan.”
“The boy’s your new talent? You do remember that the other disciples you brought back all got killed, right? Well, you even gave him your Wind Spirit. Seems like you’re very confident in him.”
“Of course! Stop your babbling, give me a White Tiger!” Fung Lie laughed.
Wanchou rolled his eyes, he wanted to strangle Fung Lie.
“You think it’s that easy to find a White Tiger? If I have one, it would be my mount first.”
“Then a Blue Dragon would do…”
“Quit it…”
“I’m just kidding. See if there’s anything that suits him.” Fung Lie chuckled.
“Him? He’s too weak. A wild fighter cannot tame any of the beasts I have. You think everyone’s like you? A reincarnation of the Wind Spirit? Ordinary people cannot tame spiritual beasts.” Wan Chou was growing impatient.
“Reincarnation of the Wind Spirit?” Xuanyuan immediately asked Greed, “What is that?”
“I knew that Fung Lie was no ordinary boy. Otherwise, being eighteen years old, how can he progress so quickly? He should be hosting the reincarnation of the spirit of a powerful fighting wind.” Greed explained. “There’s a force being suppressed inside him. It should be fighting wind. He will only be able to control it when he matures.”
“Fighting Wind!” In this world, there’re different kinds of fighting forces, gold, earth, water, fire, wood, lightning, and wind. “I wonder what Brother Fung Lie’s fighting wind ranks?”
“I wouldn’t know, but probably among the top thirty-six, otherwise the force wouldn’t have the power to become sentient and reincarnate inside a human.”
Xuanyuan finally understood why the Sect would put so much effort into training Fung Lie.
“How about this? We’ll go pick a beast egg and the boy can train it from infancy. Then the beast will take you as its owner. What do you think?” Wan Chou smiled and added when he saw that Fung Lie was frowning.
Xuanyuan nodded and returned the smile, “That sounds great. Thank you, Brother Wan.”
Fung Lie didn’t say anything since Xuanyuan had already agreed.