The Legend of Min Hong

Chapter 28: The Soaring Cloud Forest

A week later...

Min Rou had already instructed Min Ye on her mission. She was to accompany Min Hong on his journey into the Soaring Cloud Forest to train and gain battle experience.

Min Ye was to take someone who was familiar with life outside the Min Family along. "It should be no more than a three-man journey!" Min Rou's instructions echoed in her head.

Min Hong was walking towards the castle gate with nothing but a map in hand, everything he personally need had been arranged by his mother and he had packed them into his storage ring. She had also warned him about the dangers of the forest and where to meet his escorts.

He was currently checking for the best training spot in the entire forest. Information about the danger zones and types of beasts in each part of the forest had been included in the map. But this map covered the entire Soaring Cloud Village, the forest inclusive.

The map was divided into five regions; the South which belongs to Min Family, the West which borders the sea belonged to the merchant tribes and families, the East which is ruled by the Zhou Family and the North which was ruled by the Wang Family who are every bit as powerful as the Min Family and are also a branch family of the Wang Clan of the Tiandou Kingdom.

Then lastly, the Central region which is the hub of various mercenaries, bandits and criminals. Due to the high presence of valuable resources in the area, ranging from exotic medicinal plants and fruits to the treasure filled spirit beasts, many experts from different villages com to seek fortune in the forest.

Furthermore, the belongings of several dead mercenaries and experts who have ventured into the danger zone of the forests are also up for grabs and they include; different arts, techniques, weapons, pills and so on.

The central region has always been a place of battle as the three Families of the Soaring Cloud village all battle for its ownership. Lives were lost and settlements were destroyed until the King of Tiandou Kingdom stationed one of his Royal Guards who was a Two Element Nascent Soul cultivator in the central region to resolve the crisis.

The Royal Guard then proposed a competition be held every ten years to determine who the central region would belong to for the next decade.

The competition involved only five members of each region to come battle it out and the region the champion hails from would be the owner of the central region for the next decade. But things were going to be different in this upcoming battle.

The central region had never been in control of both the Min Family of the South and the Merchant region of the West, as such both were on good terms and would always come to each other's aid in times of man power.

Since the other two families; the Zhou Family of the East and the Wang Family of the North are also on good terms with each other, the regions of the forest that borders their region are considered danger zones.

Furthermore, the central region is also currently owned by Zhou Family who because of their gold mine are very rich but possess very little military power. So, they struck an alliance with the Wang Family and whenever the battle for the central region comes up, they use their deep pockets to hire mercenaries and as such have been in control of the central region for the past nineteen years.

But this time, the price requested by the various mercenary groups they've invited has bordered on extortion, as they didn't want gold but a certain percentage of the Zhou Family's Gold Mine output.

Thus, the Family Head decided that he would rather make that deal with the royal guard and have the competition rules favor his family than give it to these greedy and ungrateful mercenaries.

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The next competition for the region begins in two years, just about a year after the coming of age ceremony. It would be held in the central region itself and was always presided by the Royal Guard who was sent to settle the regional dispute many years ago.

The royal guard and the Zhou Family head had planned to release the information about the new competition process six months before it begins, so the Zhou Family would have an edge over everyone else.

But Min Rou had already planted a spy amongst them, and the information had now leaked to Min Tian, who was now looking for a very shocking way to stab the Zhou Family where it really hurts.

"I should not bother myself with the ownership competition right now, there are going to be many talented young geniuses there as well and I don't know what grandpa's plans for the competition are. I should just focus on the journey ahead." Min Hong who was now ready didn't hesitate any longer as he approached the castle gate.

His mother had already given him some miscellaneous items and an extra clothing, because even though the Blackstar shirt can transform into any outfit at will, it would still need some time to repair itself when damaged and the duration is dependent on the power level of its user.

As he got to the gate, he saw two unfamiliar figures one male and one female. The male was named Min Hao, whilst the female was Min Ye, they were both in the Death Guards and were sent by Min Rou to take care of Min Hong's menial needs and security.

Min Ye and Min Hao were in their late teens, but they knew everything about the person they were to escort, even though he had never met them before.

He's a young master of the castle, the only son of an elder and the most beloved by the Family Head, since they have been serving Min Rou for a long time now, this task felt like an ultimate honor to them.

In the mountain forest outside the castle, on the other side of Min Hong's training ground

Min Hong, Min Hao and Min Ye were seated on the back of a green spirit beast. The beast was shaped like a donkey, but with a strong build and the color of its body is a perfect camouflage in the forest.

It could climb mountains like flatlands due to its extremely sharp retractable long claws and was extremely fast. It was an excellent mount but was a bit inferior to those tamed spirit beasts.

Given Hong's status, he was being quite low-key riding this sort of mount as it was only in the 5 Star Qi creation stage with a one percent bloodline purity level.

"Min Family Castle." Hong turned to take a last glance at the distant, enormous castle. He had lived here since birth and was about to leave for the first time to go adventuring. "Let's go!" Hong spoke and with a kick to the waist of the beast, the mount galloped forward, whilst Min Hao and Min Ye followed up right behind on a similar spirit beast.

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Seven months later Inside the Soaring Cloud Forest, located on the border between the South and Central region of the Soaring Cloud village.

On a grassy area within a mountain village, there were dozens of fur clad men moving forward happily, half of them carrying burdens on their shoulder poles.

"Uncle Chen!" a clearly young inexperienced, spear-wielding boy called out excitedly, "Before this, you never let us visit Soaring Cloud forest, and you said that it was extremely dangerous. But this time we encountered no danger at all, and we managed to hunt so many beasts. This would be enough for our tribe to eat for a very long time."

A heroic, bear-like figure standing next to him laughed, "Yi Wei, you brought us good luck. This time not a single tribesman died on hunt in the Soaring Cloud Forest. This is very rare.

"Yi Wei, this is the first time you've gone hunting with us. After a few more trips, you'll understand just how dangerous this place can get. When we get back, you need to train more and refine your Qi. Only when you are strong will you be able to live a longer life." A one-armed man next to them laughed as he spoke.

"Yi Wei isn't a child anymore. This time, when we get back, we need to find a woman for Yi Wei. Let's go exchange some of the beast cores at our neighboring tribes for a fertile woman with big buttocks."

"Get a few more women so they can birth a few more children." The older men were all teasing this youth.

Just in this moment, from the brambles and bushes nearby, a spirit beast with black fur was lying in wait. Its fur was extremely smooth and the contours of its body were soft and sleek. It seemed like a jaguar of some sort.

A faint hint of yellow could be seen in its eyes, and its body was about five meters long. Its furry mane was extremely thick and tough, and was shaped like a circular ring of spikes. It was waiting in ambush, waiting for an opportunity.

"Don't worry about that. I'll find one for myself." Yi Wei was a bit embarrassed, and his face was turning red. He hastily called out.

"Haha, he's shy." The older men laughed.

Suddenly

"Roaaaarr!" A black blur suddenly pounced towards the chest of the closest tribesman, a man who was holding a pole.

"It's a spirit beast!" the tribesmen hurriedly roared in anger, and the spears in their hands thrust out like a hungry viper. They had painstakingly trained since they were young, and had been refining their Qi for dozens of years, and now possessed great strength.

"Bang!" the enormous black blur's claws easily swept the spears aside, knocking them to one side.

"Quick!" "kill." The surrounding tribesmen all roared with anger, thrusting out with their spears as well.

A small tribe, they didn't possess any profound techniques or martial art, making the spear and pole type weapons extremely common amongst them. So long as they trained a few simple movements every day, after a few years, their power would still be extraordinary.

"Hua!" Stepping on the polearms, the enormous black blur easily leapt up and pounced into the center of the group of tribesmen.

These tribesmen often went to Soaring Cloud Forest to hunt, and thus they selected a fairly safe return route, one which they rarely encountered spirit beasts.

But caution was bred into their bones, and so the tribesmen carrying poles were all at the center, while the powerful tribal warriors with weapons at the ready were on the outer perimeter.

"A spirit beast!" the one-armed man called out hurriedly. "Careful!" as he spoke, he brandished his single blade, pouncing towards the massive black blur.

"kill!" the nearby tribesmen were all going crazy. All of them knew how powerful the Dark Serene Jaguars were, but it had easily stepped on their weapons and advanced into their centre, causing them all to understand thatit was likely an extremely terrifying spirit beast that had already reached the 7 Star Qi Creation stage. Today, it was possible that several of them would die.

"Grrrrrr." The Dark Serene Jaguar growled angrily. Unlike before, where it moved quickly, this time it stayed where it was, attacking everyone wildly.

"Clang!" the one-armed man was sent flying backwards by the collision, while Uncle Chen continued to chop downwards with his great-axe while roaring wildly.

The Dark Serene Jaguar had also noticed that this great-axe wielding human was the most dangerous amongst the group of tribesmen, and so he didn't pay any attention to the other tribal warriors, using its sharp claws to smash directly against the great-axe, causing its trajectory to be slightly altered.

However, the great-axe still landed on the flank of the Dark Serene Jaguar, chopping out a massive wound. Only, the muscles around the flank of the Dark Serene Jaguar tightened, and very little blood flowed out. The main problem was that the great-axe hadn't landed a deep enough blow.

At the same time the Dark Serene Jaguar batted the great-axe aside, roaring, it opened its massive maw and bit down towards Uncle Chen.

"Uncle Chen!" the somewhat stupefied youngster, Yi Wei was stunned as he hastily called out.

"Chen!" The surrounding tribesmen were also worried.

Suddenly

"Xiu!" something flashed past like a falling star from afar, instantly penetrating the skull of the Dark Serene Jaguar, then flying out from the other side of the skull before piercing through a giant tree as well.

"Grrrr" Uncle Chen fell to the ground, with the massive body of the Dark Serene Jaguar on top of him, blood covering Uncle Chen's face.

"Uncle Chen." The youngster, Yi Wei, immediately ran over. He was at the verge of tears

"I'm fine." The powerful tribesman pushed off the Dark Serene Jaguar, then stood up while rubbing his face, finding that it was covered with blood. "This isn't my blood. It is the Dark Serene Jaguar's blood."

The one-armed man walked over as well and took a glance, first looking at the corpse of the Dark Serene Jaguar, and then at the nearby tree.

His pupils contracted, and he whispered, "For an arrow to pierce through the rock-hard skull of a Dark Serene Jaguar, and then through the green kale-wood tree that's simply terrifying."

"This archery skill Definitely a godly archer."

Huala! Huala! Huala!

Three figures drew from deep within the mountain forests. The tribesmen watched carefully and soon, they were able to see them clearly. Three people, each riding an impressive, green spirit beasts. The spirit beasts moved through the mountain slopes as though they were travelling on flat ground, and quickly arrived before the tribesmen.

"Uh" seeing the three people in front of them the tribesmen were stunned and awestruck. They were riding extremely impressive spirit beasts, and wore extremely meticulous, beautifully made robes. The person in front was a seemingly very young and handsome boy of about nine years, while by his side was an extremely beautiful girl.

Although she was dressed in fighting robes, it couldn't hide her beauty. As for the man on the other side of the youngster, he emitted a fierce, ferocious aura, causing the hearts of the tribesmen to quiver. "Hu." The older man leapt down from his green spirit beast, walking over to the tall, thick green kale-wood tree, snatching out the arrow.

"Young master." The man walked next to the youngster, respectfully offering him the arrow, which he accepted. Although they had prepared many arrows for this expedition, if they abandoned every arrow they shot, they would probably run out of arrows soon.