The day of the battle came. Sister Yu Chen’er came to fetch us.

Byakko, Xue’er and I moved out, with Ling in her egg form in Xue’er’s hand. She would hatch today. There shouldn’t be any battle. From what I could guess, it should mostly be setting up the camp. It should be safe for Ling if she hatched.

“Is it really alright?” Sister Yu asked, indicating Xue’er.

I nodded. From the extent I had seen of her strength, Xue’er shouldn’t have any problem defending herself against Core Formation Stage cultivators. That was enough. If Ling hatched, with her strength, Xue’er should have a decent chance.

“If that’s what you think, then it should be fine.” Sister Yu led us out of the gate.

A huge crowd was gathered there. It was mostly men but there were women, too. There were people who appeared rough. There were also people who looked refined and high class. From what I could, the youngest among them appeared about fifteen to sixteen years old. There were at least five thousand here. Too bad, most of them were in Foundational Stage. I couldn’t help but feel that the upper echelons were cruel. Most of the people would end up being cannon fodder.

“What’s a bunch of kids and their pet doing here?”

“Do they think we are going on a picnic or something?”

“They have no idea how savage it is going to get.”

I heard whispers around us. It was not like I didn’t understand where they were coming from. Byakko and Xue’er were rearing to attack the crowd to prove their strength. But I stopped them. It didn’t matter what they thought of us. We were here to fight the demons and gain some battle experience, not to quarrel with some small fries.

“Will you shut up for this young lady?” Yu Chen’er, who was beside in front of us, glared at the crowd.

Her prestige proved effective. Those voice around us died down.

“Don’t bother about these narrow-minded people.” She turned to me with an apologetic look on her face. “They mouth off whatever comes to their mind.”

I shook my head to show I didn’t mind.

Sister Yu Chen’er took me to the Yu Clan and introduced me to her troops. We exchanged some simple greetings but that was all. I could see the condescension and derision in their expression. In their eyes, I was a simple pet their young mistress found on the roadside. As for me, I was never good with other people. The only reason I was here was to assist Sister Yu Chen’er. As for others, I didn’t care.

Accompanied by Byakko and Xue’er, I moved a little further from the Yu Clan troops.

Sister Yu looked awkward when she saw that I had drawn a clear line between Yu Clan and us. She sighed and came to where we were.

I saw Mu Lanran a little further away with people from her Mu Clan. She saw me at the same time. She gave a nod in greeting, which I reciprocated. I sensed a familiar aura from the Mu Clan area. I promptly opened [Kaleidoscope Eye: Mode White] and identified it. The missing puzzle in my head slowly started to fit in.

After a few hours, the crowd started to move towards the magical forest.

While, we were on the move, Sister Yu Chen’er shared the plan the higher levels of Red Dawn City had come up. “If everything goes as planned, we wouldn’t have to fight at all. The true elites have already gone ahead to carry out covert operations. We are just supports. Our main duty is to take care of the remnant demons.”

That made sense.

The troops that I saw were made up of different forces. There was a lack of cohesion between them. If they were to enter battle in this mess, a miserable ending was all I foresaw.

The camp was several kilometers away from the city, about twenty kilometers, if I had to put it in numbers. The different forces of the city chose their area and started to set up tents.

As for us, we set up our tents a little distance from Yu Clan’s area.

“Young master, Ling will hatch in an hour,” Xue’er told me, still holding onto the egg.

I opened my [Kaleidoscope Eye] and surveyed the area. I found a deserted place that was a little further from the camp. It looked like we wouldn’t be disturbed there.

I nodded. “I found a suitable place. Let’s go there.”

Byakko and Xue’er agreed to my suggestion.

After talking briefly with Sister Yu about it, we made our way towards it. I had already told her that Ling was undergoing evolution, so it was relatively easy to slip out quietly from the camp with her assistance. Naturally, she was unable to come with us. She would draw too much attention if she did.

I took out some clothes from my spatial ring and laid it out on the floor like sheet. Xue’er gently put the two-colored egg on it.

Now, there was only one thing left for us to do but wait.

Time slowly ticked away and the hour passed.

Crack! A tiny fissure opened on the egg. It slowly widened. A tiny exquisite figure like a fairy – no, she was a fairy, appeared from it. She was fifteen centimeters tall. She wore a white dress that looked like it was made of delicate petals. She had a fiery crop of hair that reached her feet. She had a pair of odd wings; one was made of flame and the other, ice.

The fairy opened her eyes. Her heterochromic pair of eyes, one red and one silver, stared quizzically at the three of us.

I felt an unknown pressure weigh on me. There was a strange majesty to all her action. It was like we were standing in front of royalty. From the silence, I knew Byakko and Xue’er were thinking along the same line. Is this the same Ling? I wondered.

The little figure opened her mouth. “Ling!” she said. “Ling is hungry!”

And that broke the spell.

Ling was the same. She might have gained a lovely appearance but her essence was the same. I felt a tad disappointed. But most of all, I was relieved. Our Ling was back.

“Welcome back, Ling,” I said with a smile.

“Welcome back, Ling,” Byakko echoed.

“Now that you are back, Xue’er will prepare a delicious meal for you.” Xue’er smiled.

Ling flapped her wings and fluttered into the air. “Ling! Ling is back! Now Ling wants to eat!”

We laughed.

I took out the cooking utensils, meat, spices and condiments from my spatial ring. Xue’er got to cooking and under the darkening sky, the four of us feasted. As we did, I activated [Kaleidoscope Eye: Mode Black] and examined Ling.

To my surprise, she actually had a proper status window this time.

GENERAL

Name

Ling

Age

4 Months Old

Race

Divine Yin-Yang Butterfly

Essence

Yin, Yang

ATTRIBUTES

Movement

53

Control

56

Soul

321

Comprehension

21

Charm

93

Fate

67

INNATE TRAIT

Yin-Yang Entity

Mu Long trudged his way through the forest. The heavy injuries he sustained were making it difficult for him to move freely. There had been many times where he had been on the verge of giving in to the pain. But each time he recalled his son, granddaughter and his clan, he felt bursts of energy that enabled him to keep on moving.

He had to pass on this information or else a huge calamity would befall Red Dawn City.

He had lead four Nascent Soul Stage cultivators with more than five hundred Core Formation Stage cultivators on a night ambush on the demons’ camp. Under the cover of the darkness, they had been able to approach the demon camp without any incident. Unlike hearsay that said demons were creatures of the darkness, Mu Long knew there weren’t many differences between humans and demons. The path they traversed was different, that was all.

Everything had gone according to plan until then.

They had attacked the demon camp with their full force.

Mu Long cursed under his breath when he recalled that moment.

The demon camp had been empty! They had tried to retreat as soon as they found it. But alas! They were too late. They had been surrounded.

With no other alternative left to them, they could only fight. A fierce battle ensued. They had killed many demons. In fact, Mu Long himself had slain two Nascent Soul Stage cultivators. But they had to pay a huge price. All the elites who were on this mission, except for him had been killed. They had sacrificed themselves to pave way to his escape.

The ambush had been a top-secret plan. Although many clans knew that there was an advance troop before them, the plan to ambush the demons had been kept in absolute secrecy. This only meant, there was a mole among the upper echelons of the city!

Moreover, the demon’s army was still there. There were at least seven Nascent Soul cultivators remaining, with more than three hundred Core Formation Stage cultivators remaining. It would be difficult for the hastily gathered army to face the demons. If the demons attacked by surprise, it would be a huge tragedy.

He had to tell his son, Mu Yan that the mission had failed. The worst scenario they had envisioned had played out.

How could this happen? City Lord Mu Yan asked himself. The mission had failed. The demons were undeterred. Including him, there were only three Nascent Soul Stage cultivators remaining in the city force. Even the number of Core Formation Stage weren’t high. What could he do against the demons?

Everything was falling apart.

He smelled the sweet fragrance of the incense stick in his tent. His daughter, Mu Lanran must have lighted it when she came by earlier. His mind went back to a few hours ago when his father returned all injured. It had caused a huge commotion in the region. Fortunately, he had been able to keep the news from going out.

His father, Mu Long was the strongest cultivator he knew. He was at the peak of Nascent Soul Stage, just a step from entering Spirit Transformation Stage. He was the pillar of Mu Clan. He was also the support Mu Yan depended on.

Now that his father was in this condition, what was he to do now?

Dawn was about to break. When the day broke, he would have to face all those who were gathered in the camp and break this unpleasant news. He wasn’t looking forward to this task. But as the City Lord, he couldn’t escape his responsibilities.

He sighed.

Just then, he heard the sound of footsteps from behind him. He turned to find a familiar face moving towards him. He smiled. “What brings you–” Before he could complete his sentence, a dagger was thrust into his chest. “You…” He tired to rouse his Qi but found that he was not able to do so. Not only that, his body felt unusually weak. He hadn’t noticed it before, as he was lost in his troubles.

Poison! That was the only logical explanation. He recalled the scent of the incense. That must be it.

The figure pushed the dagger deeper into his chest. His lifeforce drained at a fast pace and soon hit rock bottom. He heard the figure say something but his consciousness was so fuzzy that he was unable to hear what the figure said carefully.

“Goodbye, father,” Mu Lanran said in an emotionless tone as she pushed the dagger deeper into her father’s chest. “I didn’t want to do this. If I want to travel further on the journey of cultivation, I can only do this.”

Mu Yan breathed his last soon.

She gouged out her father’s heart and left his tent quickly. Better to leave the scene of crime fast if she didn’t want to be caught. As long as she was not caught red-handed, no one would suspect her. Uncle Bai was tending to her grandfather; there was no better opportunity than this.

She returned to the fold of her tent and consumed the heart.

Ding!

You have consumed the heart of a family member.

Congratulations!

You have fulfilled the requirement to break through to Core Formation Stage demon.

Would you like to break through?

“Yes,” she muttered.

Ding!

You are breaking through to Core Formation Stage.

Progress: 1%

Please wait…

Mu Lanran. No. The demon grinned as she saw the notification. Soon. Very soon, she would be able to take care of that boy. So what if he could fight against many Core Formation Stage cultivators? She wasn’t going to be any ordinary Core Formation cultivator; she was going to be a Core Formation Stage demon.