Being a zealous and well-prepared martial arts cultivator, Austin was about to start his training.
However, a loud voice echoed across Beast Mountain.
"I am Theon from Sun Sect. Unusual phenomena have been reported in the Grand Desolation Mountain. All outer disciples from Sun Sect are required to leave the mountain as quickly as possible and return to headquarters. Any outer disciple who violates this direct order will be expelled from Sun Sect." Theon? The name sounded familiar to Austin, but he couldn't quite remember the person.
All outer disciples who were practicing martial arts in the Beast Mountain knew the name.
"Theon, the Sect Leader, has come here," somebody whispered.
Theon was the leader of Sun Sect. He controlled everything and was respected by all the disciples.
As the words were said, a distinguished, middle-aged man glided overhead. He radiated a commanding aura as he stood on a white disc that glimmered in the light as it flew past.
The expression on the faces of the outer disciples that had caught a glimpse of Theon conveyed the awe they felt for him.
He was admired and respected by both, inner and outer disciples, as well as cultivators and ordinary people.
It seemed that the battle occurring on Grand Desolation Mountain had drawn the attention of high level cultivators. It must be significant enough for the leader of Sun Sect to investigate it personally.
Long after Sect Leader Theon had flown past, the disciples were still gaping in his direction. They had the rare opportunity to see their Sect Leader, and each disciple was filled with a sense of admiration.
They wondered if and when would they acquire abilities equivalent to their Sect Leader's. Perhaps they would never achieve such a high level.
Their Sect Leader's orders couldn't be defied.
On top of that, Sect Leader was flying overhead, supervising the retreat.
Within an hour, all disciples of Sun Sect had left the mountain.
To display their capabilities before Theon, the disciples used their best skills when withdrawing from the mountain.
Austin followed orders as well. He used his martial arts to leave Beast Mountain.
However, to hide from Marvin, Austin had gone deep into the mountain to practice.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtSince ordinary disciples weren't capable of protecting themselves from second-grade diabolic beasts, they couldn't risk going deep into the mountain. Austin was different. He could afford to venture into the mountain.
When it was time to leave, Austin was further away than the other disciples. Hence, he fell behind and couldn't catch up with them.
He used the Wind-commanding Skill to move forward as quickly as possible.
Suddenly, a red light appeared.
It was headed straight for Austin! He hadn't been expecting such a thing and hence, found the situation to be strange and a bit terrifying.
Austin became anxious as the red light closed in on him. At the last minute, he managed to move aside and avoid it.
However, the red light was quicker than Austin.
"Bang!" The red light hit his body.
In the second before impact, Austin was able to summon his vital energy to protect the vital and vulnerable parts of his body.
Austin had expected some injuries after the collision.
However, the red light hit his body and disappeared.
It was strange that he felt nothing—no pain, no itching, nothing.
Austin examined his body. He even pulled off his trousers and looked at his penis. But he couldn't see any injuries on his body.
What the hell was this red light? Was he just hallucinating? Had he been hurt by this light? Austin was both, shocked and scared.
Although Austin wanted to stay and figure out this mystery, he knew he would get into trouble if he didn't hasten to leave the mountain. And so, he summoned the Wind-commanding Skill a second time and continued on his journey.
Austin knew that his speed had increased as he had now reached the sixth-level of the Energy Gathering Realm.
Half a day after he left Beast Mountain, Austin finally arrived at his shabby cottage located at the foot of Sun Sect.
Austin had been practicing martial arts in Beast Mountain for a dozen days before Theon asked the outer disciples to leave.
Earlier, Austin had intended to leave the mountain only when the competition for grunt disciples started. He knew it was a month and a half away, and Austin had wanted to use the entire duration to ensure that his cultivation base got stronger.
Standing before his shabby cottage, Austin sighed with relief.
No matter how unfurnished it was, Austin felt comforted by the sight of his shabby cottage.
Austin had been dreaming about his bed for so long. Now, all he wanted to do was sleep on it for several days and nights.
Austin lived a hard life when he trained on Beast Mountain. He fought with some diabolic beasts, and killed evil apes. All the while, Marvin was hunting him.
Every nerve in his body had been tense. He was exhausted. As a result, he fell asleep quickly. When he woke, Austin looked outside and found that the moon was high in the sky.
The starlight poured into his cottage through the window. It was beautiful, peaceful, and wonderful.
He got up and started sorting his trophies from his trip to Beast Mountain.
With his left hand, Austin groped for the Space Ring.
He uttered spells under his breath.
A second later, a heap of things appeared before him.
Austin estimated that he had twenty-two white earth spirit fruits and dozens of beast cores.
There were also some dead bodies of diabolic beasts, and a variety of organs severed from those beasts.
Austin also saw some low-level spiritual flowers such as vital energy wort, netherworld flower, and phoenix wood.
Since he hadn't been able to collect many, the few low-level flowers he did have would probably fetch Austin less than 100 vital energy crystals.
On the contrary, the twenty-two earth spirit fruits were the most expensive things he had acquired from the mountain. Austin wasn't ready to sell them in the market just yet.
He had planned to use them to refine his martial arts. No matter how much those earth spirit fruits were valued in the market, he would use them to advance his cultivation base. With a satisfied smile, Austin took one last glimpse at his treasures and then returned them to his Space Ring.
Austin estimated that the beast cores, dead bodies, organs of beasts, and spiritual herbs were worth about 1, 000 vital energy crystals.
This would be a considerable fortune for him.
Just as Austin was returning those items to his Space Ring, he remembered something.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmBefore entering Beast Mountain, he had given his Jade Badge to the mountain keeper.
As stipulated by the rules, all disciples practicing on the mountain should report to the mountain keeper before leaving.
Then, the mountain keeper would give every disciple contribution credits according to their performance and gains.
However, an emergency had occurred this time, and all disciples training on the Beast Mountain had to retreat quickly. As such, none had thought of reporting to the mountain keeper or collecting their Jade Badge.
At Sun Sect, Merit Hall was responsible for managing the Jade Badge for its disciples.
Therefore, Austin thought he should visit Merit Hall, and ask its manager to return his Jade Badge.
The Jade Badge was extremely important to Austin because it was one of those few things that could prove his identity as a Sun Sect disciple.
Having reached the sixth level of the Energy Gathering Realm was a significant accomplishment during his training on the Beast Mountain.
Before he journeyed to the mountain, Austin had reached the fourth level. However, after a dozen days of practice on the mountain, he had climbed two more levels. This was an unprecedented achievement at Sun Sect.
Austin wasn't satisfied with his progress because he had been at the ninth level three years ago. So, he had to find other effective ways to get to higher levels.
If Austin hadn't wasted those three years, he would be a revered cultivator of the Earth Realm.
The thought depressed Austin. Now, even his gains from Beast Mountain couldn't cheer him up.
Therefore, as soon as he finished sorting his items, he started to practice his martial arts.
Austin sat down with his arms crossed before his body and concentrated. Then, he used the Purple Yang Formula.
Immediately, he could feel the vital energy flowing inside his Elixir Field.
A frown appeared on Austin's face when he felt as though there was something strange inside his Elixir Field.
Then, he found himself capable of seeing his Elixir Field clearly, which was unexpected.
A palm-sized shining substance was lying inside his Elixir Field for unknown reasons.
It looked extremely strange. It wasn't made of iron, copper, jade, or timber. Austin had no idea of what this substance was.
It was hanging there in his Elixir Field, with gentle and warm lights. It seemed to have those special capabilities of calming a worried mind and cheering people up.
Besides, some ancient, mysterious, and complicated lines were seen on its surface. It must come from ancient times. Perhaps it existed even before any people had ever lived on Earth.
This was... What was it? Austin was confused, surprised, and a bit afraid.