16: Legendary Cattle Hunter

Faint mist swirled between the towering ancient trees, and sunlight struggled to pierce through the gaps in the leaves, casting dappled spots of light onto the forest floor.

Zhou Yan lay on the ground, gazing up at the sky, enjoying a moment of tranquility.

The air was filled with the scent of damp earth and the faint fragrance of vegetation, as if he were truly in a primeval forest; it was so natural, so comfortable.

Everything felt so real. If not for the massive light screen in the sky and the token, smooth as jade, in his hand, Zhou Yan would have thought he had Transmigrated again.

The sensation of being sucked in was not pleasant. The vortex had given him a taste of what a pilot might experience, leaving him so dizzy he couldn't even stand, forcing him to "enjoy" the tranquility of nature.

Had his poor condition not triggered combat mode, Zhou Yan might have thrown up.

After lying there for a while longer, he felt his condition finally recover. He stood up, brushed off the dust, and looked around, discovering he was standing under a massive fern.

Zhou Yan did not rush to act; instead, he began to organize the information he had just received in his mind.

The information had appeared in his mind the moment he entered this Secret Realm, but the dizziness had made it hard to focus on processing it.

This Secret Realm was created by the Third Elder, a combination of an illusion and a Secret Realm. Inside this Secret Realm, everyone's cultivation would be maintained at the Qi Refining level 1.

Furthermore, fighting here would not affect one's Physical Body in the real world, so the rules did not restrict killing.

One of the requirements to pass this trial was to reach the high tower standing in the center of the Secret Realm.

Zhou Yan only had to look up to easily see the location of the tower. Although the tower was not particularly magnificent, it could be seen clearly from any angle; this was surely the effect of the illusion part.

However, this trial was not that simple. The light screen in the sky was not just for show; it was the scoreboard for points within the Secret Realm.

In this trial, reaching the high tower counted as passing, but during the journey, one could earn points by collecting Materials displayed on the token, killing Yao Beasts, and completing tasks that randomly refreshed within the Secret Realm.

The more points one had, the higher their ranking on the board. The ranking would affect the rewards obtained after passing and the evaluation given by the Elders and deacons.

It affected the Sect's evaluation, influenced future rewards, and didn't restrict killing; one could imagine that this Secret Realm would be quite lively from now on.

Zhou Yan, however, didn't have many thoughts on the matter. Jiang Hongyue had said his Aptitude would get him started in the inner Sect, and as a fake Prodigy, having that inner Sect status was enough for him.

After all, the game panel allowed him to see himself more clearly; even that single inferior Spiritual Root had a not-so-low bonus.

He dared not imagine how terrifying the panel stats of those true Prodigies would be.

Currently, Zhou Yan had the advantage of being a "mechanic monster," so suppressing those Prodigies who were "stat monsters" at the same level was feasible; after all, if the stats weren't enough, one definitely couldn't beat a mechanic monster.

But he was afraid that if he performed too well and accidentally became a core Disciple, he would be forced to stay in the Sect and lose the opportunity to encounter tasks.

If he relied solely on his own cultivation for a long time, the gap between him and the Prodigies would only grow, and it would be troublesome if, by then, being a core Disciple was worse than being an inner Sect Disciple.

Having made up his mind, Zhou Yan headed straight for the high tower. As for tasks, if he encountered them, he would do them in passing, trying his best to maintain the behavior of an ordinary Disciple and minimize his presence.

However, the tree wants to be still, but the wind will not cease.

"Boom!" Not far to the left, a dense thicket of bushes suddenly exploded, wood chips flying everywhere. Accompanied by a savage roar, a figure shot out like a cannonball.

"You blind bastard ahead, how dare you steal your Grandpa Niu's points? Hurry up and hand over the Fog Hidden Flower!"

The person who arrived was none other than Niu Zhiyuan.

He was tall and muscular, with knotted muscles and a head of red hair that flared like flames. At this moment, his face was full of anger, his nostrils were puffing out coarse breaths, and his eyes were wide as copper bells. He looked even more like the Bull Demon King than Red Boy.

The target he was chasing was an agile young man. The youth looked thin but his movement technique was not slow; those sturdy calf muscles showed he was a good candidate for long-distance running.

Niu Zhiyuan had originally been entangled with a Wood Yao guarding the spiritual plant for quite a while just to get this flower.

After finally smashing the Yao Beast with one punch, he turned back only to find the flower gone. Seeing the person who snatched his flower, he finally couldn't help but go completely berserk, venting all the anger he had suppressed since the incident with Zhou Yan.

Unfortunately, he grew muscles but not brains. Entering the berserk state didn't let him catch up to that guy; instead, his reckless charging led him to discover Zhou Yan.

Seeing Zhou Yan, his anger flared up; his brain was already in chaos, and now he directly mistook Zhou Yan for that person's accomplice.

"Little thief, it's you again! You actually dared to conspire with that bastard to steal my points!"

Zhou Yan frowned slightly, stopped, and explained calmly.

"I am just passing through. What does your points being stolen have to do with me?"

"Bullshit!" Because his rationality was burned away, Niu Zhiyuan didn't believe him at all. He pointed his large, fan-like hand at Zhou Yan's head. "You guy have repeatedly insulted me. This time, we'll settle old and new grudges together and let you turn into my points!"

His language was crude, his movements exaggerated, and coupled with his furious appearance, it looked rather comical.

However, the scorching heat wave that suddenly rose around him and the constantly doubling fist momentum carried a real threat. This power did not look like it was merely at the Qi Refining level 1.

It seemed that having everyone's cultivation controlled at the Qi Refining level 1 didn't have much of an impact on those from Families who possessed secret techniques.

They could still use secret techniques to fight across levels, possessing strength far exceeding level 1. Was this the foundation of a cultivation Family?

On his fists, crimson ripples emerged, the air twisted by the high temperature, emitting faint crackling sounds.

Zhou Yan felt helpless; he knew this reckless man had set his sights on him, and explaining would be futile.

He didn't want to get entangled, and even less did he want to rush onto the scoreboard at the very beginning of the trial and attract attention.

"Niu Zhiyuan, this matter was truly not my doing. The trial time is precious; why not go our separate ways and head to the high tower before discussing right and wrong?"

"Want to run? No way! Take this punch!" Niu Zhiyuan roared, not listening to explanations at all, and directly launched an attack. "Profound Truth: Nine Mountains and Eight Seas Fist Collapse!"

He stomped forward, the ground shook slightly, and his right fist, carrying doubled power and a scorching air current, struck out fiercely! The fist wind was intense, even picking up fallen leaves from the ground and instantly scorching and curling them.

This punch had quite a momentum, and several other trial participants who had just arrived nearby were attracted, stopping to watch.

"It's that Niu Zhiyuan from the Niu Family! What is he going crazy about again?"

"The kid opposite him is going to be unlucky..."

"Look, his fist is glowing! So hot!"

Zhou Yan sighed helplessly. He directly activated his ability to lower the time flow rate in the area of Niu Zhiyuan's fist, arm, and surroundings, with a multiplier of 6 times.

In an instant, amidst the astonished gazes of the onlookers, Niu Zhiyuan's imposing punch seemed to suddenly fall into an invisible quagmire, its speed dropping sharply and becoming incredibly slow.

The scorching fist wind also seemed to be frozen, moving extremely slowly, and even his roar turned into a low, drawn-out, strange tone.

"Awoo—oo—oo—"

The scene was extremely bizarre. Niu Zhiyuan maintained his mighty pose of throwing a punch, but his movements were as slow as a snail, and the angry expression on his face also froze and slowed down, looking somewhat sluggish.

Zhou Yan tilted his body slightly, and that slow-moving fist "slowly" grazed past a few inches from his chest.

He even had time to raise his hand and brush off his sleeve, which had been slightly lifted by the fist wind, his tone carrying a touch of well-timed helplessness and teasing.

"Zhiyuan, the name of your Move is too long; it's really easy to miss the opportunity for battle."

"Pfft..." Someone among the watching trial participants couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Is that young master of the Niu Family... is he performing in slow motion?"

"What do you know? I can tell your Family has never raised cattle. Plowing fields with cattle must be slow; don't you understand that slow work yields fine products? Hahaha."

"But who is that person? His methods are so bizarre?"

Niu Zhiyuan heard the surrounding discussion and was so angry his eyeballs were about to pop out. Yet, his body movements couldn't speed up; he could only turn his eyeballs with difficulty, his throat emitting an even more furious but still slow, guttural sound.

"What... the... hell... are... you... doing..."

Zhou Yan shook his head, said no more, and moved to Niu Zhiyuan's side. He tapped his finger seemingly casually, but Niu Zhiyuan was struggling with all his might against the strange sluggishness, and his body balance was already poor. Being nudged by Zhou Yan's well-timed interference, coupled with the deceleration being lifted...

He suddenly exclaimed, his footing unstable, and his whole body spun in place, carried by the momentum of his own punch, like a clumsy top.

Zhou Yan almost couldn't maintain his calm expression. He suppressed his laughter, turned around, and seemed to continue heading toward the high tower.

"Bastard!" Niu Zhiyuan felt that strange sense of stagnation vanish. Although he was dizzy, his rage was even greater.

Especially when he felt the watching eyes and laughter from those around him, he felt his face burning, filled with shame and anger.

"Second punch! Power doubled! Scorching heat doubled! Coolness doubled! Hit him!" He forcibly stabilized his figure, ignoring his dizziness, and condensed his strength once more.

This time, he threw both fists out, the crimson light flaring brilliantly, scorching waves surging. The power was clearly several times stronger than the first punch, slamming fiercely toward Zhou Yan's back.

Zhou Yan sensed the scorching heat and strong wind attacking from behind, his heart slightly tightening.

This Niu Zhiyuan's brute strength was indeed astonishing, and it seemed to carry some kind of special scorching attribute. He couldn't play around anymore.

With a thought, he activated his ability again. Time flow rate slowed down; target: Niu Zhiyuan's entire body and the range of his fist force; multiplier: 18 times!

Hum! An invisible force field instantly enveloped Niu Zhiyuan. His violently charging figure suddenly stiffened, frozen once again.

The doubled scorching fist force condensed on his fists but could not be effectively released, as if a pause button had been pressed.

His whole body remained frozen in the air in a posture of forcefully throwing both fists, just like Superman's pose.

Zhou Yan didn't even turn his head this time. While maintaining the effect, he slowly and methodically straightened his collar, which had been slightly disheveled during his dodge. His tone remained calm, even carrying a hint of instruction.

"Zhiyuan, do you know why this path is so clean?"

He continued toward the high tower, his voice clearly carried by the wind: "Because there are no pebbles."

Just as Zhou Yan disappeared from their view, almost the moment he vanished, the deceleration effect on Niu Zhiyuan was lifted.

"Awoo—!" Because the momentum of his full-force charge was suddenly released and he couldn't pull back his strength in time, he stumbled forward again in a sorry state. Fortunately, he managed to catch himself with his hands in time, avoiding a face-plant. However, the unreleased scorching force condensed on his fists exploded downward uncontrollably.

"Boom!" The ground was blown into a small pit, dust flying. At the same time, the splashing sparks ignited his trouser leg.

"Ouch! Hot! Hot! Hot!" Niu Zhiyuan immediately scrambled to pat out the flames rising on his trouser leg, looking utterly disheveled.

The trial participants watching nearby finally couldn't hold it in anymore and erupted into earth-shattering laughter.

"Hahaha! Young Master Niu, is your super cool ultimate Move to light yourself up?"

"Young Master Niu, although your fist technique is exquisite, be careful of playing with fire or you'll wet the bed."

"Hahaha, I can't take it anymore, I'm dying of laughter... Who was that Fellow Daoist just now? Having such methods yet I've never heard his name; could he be some low-key Prodigy?"

Niu Zhiyuan finally managed to extinguish the flames on his trouser leg. His face was streaked with black and white, and listening to the surrounding mockery, he trembled all over with rage.

However, there was nothing he could do; there were too many people around. Although he could use his Family's secret techniques and Bloodline Power to make his strength exceed the current Qi Refining level 1 by quite a bit.

If he accidentally offended too many people and was attacked by the crowd, it would be troublesome.

Unable to vent on the crowd, he had no choice but to hold this grudge against Zhou Yan.

He stared fixedly at the direction where Zhou Yan had disappeared, his fists clenching until they creaked, and he roared at the sky.

"Zhou Yan! I, Niu Zhiyuan, am not done with you! You just wait!"

The roar was heart-wrenching, as if he had lost his true love.

Meanwhile, Zhou Yan, who had long since fled, was currently weaving between the ancient trees. His expression had returned to calm, but a trace of solemnity flashed in his eyes.

"Niu Zhiyuan... looks reckless, but it also made him more cautious. This 18-fold impact is actually not very effective against outsiders.

After all, this is the cultivation world; everyone he meets in the future will be a Cultivator, and Cultivators are the most unpredictable.

It's still the Qi Refining stage now. Later on, when most people have mastered various compatible Spells or their own strength far exceeds their peers...

Any random Prodigy will be dozens or hundreds of times stronger than an ordinary Cultivator. Then this thing won't be as useful when used on others as it is for self-enhancement.

Besides, no matter how much is said about this item, it is just a tool. It is hard to truly become a part of one's own strength and cannot grow with oneself. In the end, it might become increasingly useless.

Sigh, it really is a troubled time.

For now, it's better to hurry to the high tower. This 'Prodigy' disguise is truly exhausting...

He took a deep breath and accelerated, dashing toward the depths of the Secret Realm, his figure quickly disappearing into the vast mist and forest shade.

And this initial conflict between him and Niu Zhiyuan, along with that seemingly relaxed and effortless suppression, had already fallen into the eyes of someone outside the field.