Chapter 1

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Chapter 1: Crimson Lightning

The rolling dark clouds seemed to touch the ground.

An indescribable feeling of oppression filled the entire Southern Region.

A sage gazed at the sky and appeared to see a fierce monster with a blue face and sharp teeth walking in from the depths of the distant stars.

Another sage listened to the sounds of the earth and thought he heard the gates of hell opening, with evil spirits climbing toward the surface.

Then, with a flash of crimson lightning, the dark clouds vanished, and the bright sun hung high in the sky, revealing an endless blue.

The people of the Southern Region were still trying to understand what was happening when a shocking message spread.

A sage from the Holy Land of Secrets had predicted the heavenly signs and concluded that a world-destroying demon had appeared. If it were not eliminated, great danger would come.

Therefore, empires and holy lands from the Northern Plains, Eastern Region, Western Desert, and Central State sent many powerful warriors into the Southern Region, seeking to hunt down the world-destroying demon. However, instead of finding the demon, the Holy Land of Secrets was reduced to ruins overnight. People believed this was a punishment from the heavens for revealing secrets, further confirming the existence of the demon. They took all the babies born on this day, intending to eliminate the crisis.

The most powerful empire in the Southern Region, the Great Xia Empire, along with two holy lands, formed a demon-slaying group to search every inch of the Southern Region. Anyone suspected of being the world-destroying demon would be slain!

One team was assigned to the place where the crimson lightning had struck, beginning their search…

While the whole world was in turmoil, no one knew that the crimson lightning had struck a boy named Zhang Yang.

"Is there any justice left?"

"I was just sitting in a cave and got struck by lightning?"

Zhang Yang mumbled, rubbing his head as he stepped out of the cave.

He was an orphan, sixteen years old. Earlier this year, the old man who had adopted him passed away. Alone and struggling, he heard that the Thousand Thunder Sect was recruiting disciples and thought he would try his luck. But on the way, he saw dark clouds gathering and sought shelter in a cave, only to find he couldn’t escape getting struck by lightning.

"The ground is dry. Did it not rain, or did I faint from that crimson lightning for too long?"

As he spoke to himself, his expression changed dramatically as he noticed something in front of him—a gray wolf, its cold eyes staring at him.

Zhang Yang’s mind went blank as he stared back at the gray wolf in shock.

As the gray wolf prepared to pounce, Zhang Yang suddenly snapped back to reality and turned to run, but in his panic, he tripped and fell to the ground.

The wolf howled in his ears as it leaped at him. In terror, Zhang Yang kicked out with all his strength.

Bang!

Then, he was stunned to see the gray wolf sent flying over ten meters, crashing into the mountainside, rolling down, and whimpering as it tried to get up but could not stand.

"What is this?"

Zhang Yang looked at his right foot in disbelief.

He knew very well what his situation was; normally, he would have a hard time even moving an adult gray wolf, let alone kicking it away.

He was surprised but had no time to think, as a chorus of howls filled his ears, and more gray wolves emerged into his sight.

"Oh no! Is this a wolf den?"

Terrified, he got up and ran.

Behind him, the howling of wolves echoed in his ears.

He didn’t know if it was an illusion, but Zhang Yang felt like he was running incredibly fast, as if everything around him was flying past.

In the midst of his frantic run, he glanced back and nearly fainted in fear; behind him, the mountains were teeming with wolves.

Wolves of every kind—gray, white, black, countless in number—howled and rushed out from the mountains.

"We’re doomed, we’re doomed! I don’t want to die!"

Zhang Yang, who refused to become dinner for the ferocious wolves, ran as fast as he could, his only thought being to escape!

Without looking back, he dashed forward.

Behind him, the pack of wolves howled, chasing him relentlessly.

On a small hill behind the wolves, several people stood watching.

Leading them was a young nobleman, dressed impressively, around twenty years old. He looked down at the rushing wolves with a proud expression and said, "With nearly five thousand wolves, even if Xue Feishuang is powerful, she will pay a heavy price. Let’s go to the Blood Fox Bandits and discuss whether to dig a pit and wait for her to jump in or safely withdraw first. If she fails to participate in the marquis battle, my elder brother will surely win. Our Yun family will have two marquises; then, we will truly be invaluable in the Great Xia Empire."

"Second Young Master, there seems to be a person over there," a subordinate pointed to Zhang Yang, who was running in front of the wolf pack.

The young man, referred to as the Second Young Master, glanced over and said, "No matter what, he will soon be wolf food."

He and his companions set off.

Completely unaware that he was caught in some sort of conflict, Zhang Yang continued to run desperately, only wanting to survive. He didn’t notice that his speed was gradually increasing, growing faster and faster.

As he ran on, not knowing how many miles he had covered, another team on horseback came toward him.

"Wolves are coming! Run! Wolves are here!"

He shouted loudly, hoping to dash past the horse team.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed his shoulder, and in that moment, Zhang Yang felt an indescribable force pressing down on him. He could no longer move his legs and had to stop.

"Don’t stop me! Wolves are coming! Run!" Zhang Yang reached out to push the hand away.

A soft laugh echoed.

In a flash, the shadow before him shifted, and the hand that had reached down from a horse withdrew. A charming girl landed gracefully in front of him.

"Where are the wolves?"

Zhang Yang glanced at her, thinking how beautiful she was, and pointed behind him, saying, "The wolves are back there! Didn’t you see? Wolves! Wolves! Huh? Where are the wolves? Where are they?"

He stared in disbelief at the empty space behind him, where there were no wolves to be seen.

This made him doubt himself, and he took a few steps back to look again. He laughed, saying, "I actually shook off the wolves! Hahaha, am I running that fast?"

"Hehe, you can outrun wolves? I see you haven’t practiced martial arts. How could you possibly outrun wolves? Were you having a nightmare?" the girl laughed.

Zhang Yang retorted angrily, "There were obviously wolves! They were everywhere, at least three to five thousand of them!"

The girl laughed even harder.

Zhang Yang felt slightly annoyed by her laughter.

"Yuluan, don’t be rude."

A clear and pleasant voice, like that of an oriole, rang out.

Zhang Yang turned to look, and his eyes brightened. If the girl named Yuluan was as beautiful as the stars, this one was like the bright moon in the sky—not only stunning but also possessing a commanding aura.

She wore a white battle outfit that hugged her graceful curves, and her long, dark hair was simply tied up, revealing her swan-like neck.

Those brows, those eyes, that delicate nose, those lips—each one was like a painting, without a trace of flaw.

She rode a magnificent white horse, exuding extraordinary grace.

Behind her stood a hundred riders, all on white horses, clad in white armor, holding long spears, moving in perfect formation, each one lively and spirited.

"I am General Xue Feishuang of the Great Xia Empire." The woman in white dismounted and asked, "Are you sure you saw thousands of wolves?"

Zhang Yang replied, "Of course! I even kicked one wolf away. They couldn’t catch me; I’m telling the truth! I have no reason to lie to you. Really, wait! Do you hear that? The wolves are howling; they’re coming!"

He could faintly hear the sound of wolf howls.

Xue Feishuang also listened carefully, her beautiful brows furrowing. Seeing her manner, Yuluan swiftly moved forward to scout and then turned back, saying, "General, there are no wolves."

Zhang Yang listened more closely and insisted, "The wolves are coming; I heard them."

"Who are you trying to fool? You’re not trained in martial arts. If you can hear them, then we can’t?" Yuluan scowled and warned, "If you keep rambling, I might just knock you out."

Zhang Yang shrugged, "Believe it or not, I want to live! I’m leaving."

"Wait a moment," Xue Feishuang said.

Zhang Yang looked at her and asked, "What for?"

Xue Feishuang nodded slightly to Yuluan.

Yuluan leaped lightly, darting into a nearby grove like a swift bird returning to its nest.

"Listen to what she says in there," Xue Feishuang instructed.

Zhang Yang felt annoyed; they still didn’t trust him. His stubbornness flared up, along with curiosity. After being struck by that crimson lightning, he felt stronger—able to kick away an adult wolf, run faster, and even hear better. This intrigued him, and he wanted to see if he had indeed misheard.

He looked at Yuluan in the grove and muttered, "Climbing a tree, and she can’t find a clean spot. The spider next to her is about to crawl on her."

Then he felt puzzled; she was over a hundred meters away, yet he could see such a small spider.

A hint of surprise flashed in Xue Feishuang’s dark eyes. She remained calm and said, "Yuluan, say a word."

Yuluan responded, her lips moving as she spoke softly.

Zhang Yang strained to listen, and his expression changed oddly.

Soon, Yuluan returned and asked, "Kid, what did I say?"

"You said that if I could hear you, I would be a martial arts genius, and you repeated it three times," Zhang Yang answered.

Yuluan’s eyes widened in shock. "You really heard that? You aren’t pretending to be a martial arts expert, are you?" She reached out and checked Zhang Yang, exclaiming, "No, you really haven’t trained; you’re just an ordinary person! How is it possible for you to hear that?"

Zhang Yang lost interest in arguing with her as the wolf howls grew clearer. "The wolves are really coming!"

This time, even if someone doubted him, they took his words seriously.

Xue Feishuang pondered for a moment and said, "To the southwest, there is a river called Yanluo. It is over ten meters wide. After crossing, we can cut down the bridge for safety. Let’s move out!"

As soon as she finished speaking, she led everyone as they galloped southwest. Meanwhile, Zhang Yang had already run far ahead.