Martial Peak

Chapter 5608: Shadow Leopard

In the expansive Universe, there were countless Sects and Great Forces. The Cave Heavens and Paradises had a long history with ample heritage, and were unrivalled in the 3,000 Worlds. As such, they were considered First Class.

Under the Cave Heavens and Paradises, the Great Forces with Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters assuming command were considered Second Class.

For the Great Forces that didn’t even have any Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters, they were classified as Third Class.

Supposedly, the Universe should be filled with the lowest class Great Forces, but the truth was, Second Class Great Forces came in the largest number in the 3,000 Worlds.

Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm ranged from the Fourth-Order to the Sixth-Order, and as long as a cultivator’s aptitude wasn’t too terrible, he or she could make an initial breakthrough to the Second or Third-Order Open Heaven Realm. After that, given enough time, effort, and resources, such a person would become a Fourth-Order Master.

As such, there were a lot of Fourth-Order and Fifth-Order Masters in any Great Territory, while there would be quite a number of Sixth-Order Masters as well.

However, even if the two Great Forces were both second-class, the difference in their heritages could be immense.

As long as there was a single Fourth-Order Master in a Sect, it was considered Second Class. On the other hand, a Sect with several Sixth-Order Masters in charge was also considered Second Class, but no one would say two such Sects were comparable.

Great Feather Pavilion was a below-average Second Class Great Force. At the peak of its power, it only had two Fifth-Order Masters and four Fourth-Order Masters. This kind of heritage could only be described as ordinary.

However, even a Great Force like Great Feather Pavilion had occupied a Great Territory and had it named after their Sect.

Following the Black Ink Clan’s invasion however, all Great Forces, no matter their size or strength, had no choice but to give up on their heritages and evacuate to High Heaven Territory, even the Cave Heavens and Paradises. Back then, Great Feather Pavilion was visited by a Human Squad that was deployed from the Barren Territory. Following their instructions, they met up with the Great Forces from the other nearby Great Territories and headed to High Heaven Territory. Although they experienced some dangers along the way, they safely arrived at their destination.

Their lives in High Heaven Territory were hard.

At that time, there were countless cultivators from different Great Forces that had gathered together. Just like those from Great Feather Pavilion, they had left their homes and didn’t have a place to stay.

There were two Universe Worlds in High Heaven Territory. One of them was the Star Boundary and the other was the Demon Realm. No ordinary people could go to the former, while the latter wasn’t suitable for most people to live in.

Since there was a lack of space and resources, everyone from Great Feather Pavilion was filled with a sense of despair.

It wasn’t until High Heaven Palace sent them to a Universe World in the New Great Territory that they could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

After such a traumatising experience, everyone from the Elders down to the lowest disciples of the Sect realised just how miserable it was to be weak. However, it was extremely difficult to increase one’s strength.

Therefore, when the Masters of the Star Boundary spread word about the Myriad Monsters World, the Open Heaven Realm Masters from Great Feather Pavilion all headed to Profound Nether Territory without hesitation to join the war against the Black Ink Clan so that they could earn Military Merits, which could be traded for the right to live in the Myriad Monsters World.

The appearance of the Myriad Monsters World was like a beacon of hope for the weaker Great Forces.

They didn’t have the right to enter the Star Boundary, but the Myriad Monsters World represented a new beginning. As long as they could let their Juniors cultivate in the Myriad Monsters World, they would get nourishment from the World Tree clone. Perhaps there would be a prodigy who could directly ascend to the Sixth Order or Seventh Order in the future. Just one such person would be enough to help them overcome their destitute destiny.

Finally, when the Myriad Monsters World was opened up, the first batch of people from Great Feather Pavilion settled down in that place. Initially, there were only 10 or so disciples from their Sect, but as time passed, more and more moved into the Myriad Monsters World.

They occupied a small Spirit Peak and rebuilt Great Feather Pavilion. Although the beginning was tough, they were no longer in the position like that of several hundred years ago where they were unable to even imagine a future for themselves.

Now, there were 8,000 to 10,000 Great Forces that had settled down in the Myriad Monsters World, and there would surely be even more in the future.

Fortunately, the Myriad Monsters World was vast. When Yang Kai inspected this place back then, he realised that it was much larger than an average Universe World. If it wasn’t, it couldn’t have accommodated so many Great Forces.

Presently, the Open Heaven Realm Masters above the Third Order from Great Feather Pavilion had headed to the battlefields to battle the enemy. Only several old and frail Second-Order Masters stayed behind in the Sect to teach the younger disciples.

Fortunately, there wasn’t much danger in the Myriad Monsters World. Otherwise, these Second-Order Masters couldn’t have ensured everyone’s safety.

Several young kids stood outside the Sect’s entrance and appeared expectant. Suddenly, one of them exclaimed, “Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters are back!”

Following the cheers, many agile figures passed through the forest and approached them in the blink of an eye.

There were fewer than 100 people, and they were all young people in their teens and twenties.

The effectiveness of the World Tree clone’s nourishment had a lot to do with cultivation and age. A young person with low cultivation would get the most benefits, while an old Third-Order Emperor Realm Master might not gain any benefits at all.

Every quota to live in the Myriad Monsters World was valuable; as such, those from Great Feather Pavilion wouldn’t dare to waste them, sending those young disciples who had excellent aptitudes to this place with the bare minimum of Elders to look after them.

Chatters and laughter were heard in front of the entrance.

Soon, the young kids were attracted to a particular anomaly. It was a little beast with black and smooth fur. The little beast seemed to be injured as it was asleep in a Senior Sister’s arms. Blood had seeped through the bandages around its body.

The young kids surrounded the Senior Sister and chirruped. It appeared they had instantly become fond of this little beast.

A young disciple asked, “Senior Sister Qin Xue, is this a Monster Beast?”

Qin Xue smiled and nodded, “En, it’s a Shadow Leopard.”

The disciple extended his hand in an attempt to touch the Shadow Leopard, but he soon retracted it as he was worried that the Shadow Leopard would wake up suddenly and bite him.

A Second-Order Master asked, “What’s going on?”

Qin Xue then briefly relayed to him what happened to the Snow Leopard and asked, “Elder, can I raise it?”

The Elder replied, “I don’t mind you raising it, but how do you intend to feed it?”

“I can bring it out and do some hunting.”

The Elder shook his head, “When that Sir planted the World Tree clone in this place 300 years ago, he made an agreement with the Great Monsters that both Races should coexist harmoniously and that we couldn’t harm each other for no reason. Although there have been incidents of Monster Beasts hunting Humans over the years, that was mostly related to beasts who had retained their wild nature. As such, we couldn’t settle the score with them. If you make a move on the Monster Race though, it will be a breach of the agreement between that Sir and the Monster Race. If the Monster Race members flare up, no one can protect you.”

It was the first time Qin Xue heard about this, so she was caught in a dilemma. After pondering for a moment, she asked, “Will it be alright if we hunt some normal beasts?”

The Elder nodded, “That should be fine.”

Normal beasts were not part of the agreement; after all, some weaker cultivators still needed to eat to survive.

An elated Qin Xue said, “I’ll keep it for now, then. Now that it’s hurt, it won’t survive if we release it back to the forest. When it recovers, I’ll let it go if it doesn’t want to stay.”

“Good,” the Elder nodded.

As such, the little Shadow Leopard was kept in the Great Feather Pavilion.

Qin Xue was initially worried that the Shadow Leopard wouldn’t be able to adapt to the new environment, but she soon realised that her concerns were unnecessary.

Although the Shadow Leopard was still very young, it seemed to have some sentience as it knew who saved it. After it awakened, it didn’t show any hostility towards Qin Xue.

As Qin Xue took good care of the Shadow Leopard and it recovered quickly.

When she went to visit the Shadow Leopard a month later, she realised that it was nowhere to be seen. She searched everywhere in Great Feather Pavilion but still couldn’t find it.

It seemed that the Shadow Leopard had left without a word.

This made the young woman sad; however, after giving it some thought, she realised that a Monster Beast like the Shadow Leopard was supposed to live in the wild. By keeping it in the Great Feather Pavilion, it might wear away the leopard’s instincts, which would inevitably weaken it. As such, she soon accepted this reality.

It wasn’t until half a year later that she came across the Shadow Leopard again.

As though they were destined to meet again, Qin Xue bumped into the dark shadow when she was collecting Spirit Herbs in the forest. The Shadow Leopard walked up to her with obvious affection, which pleasantly surprised Qin Xue. They hadn’t met for half a year, and the Shadow Leopard had grown much larger.

She managed to collect more resources this time, as with the Shadow Leopard leading the way, she easily found a lot of precious Herbs.

Since then, collecting Spirit Herbs was the activity that she looked forward to the most.

As time passed, both Qin Xue and the Shadow Leopard both grew stronger.

The young woman had grown up to be a beautiful lady like a blooming flower. She had married her beloved Senior Brother and given birth to children. She lived a full and happy life. 

On the other hand, the Shadow Leopard had grown from a Monster Beast to a Monster General, then a Monster Commander, and eventually an intimidating Monster King.

The Great Forces nearby knew that there was a Monster King that was equivalent to an Emperor Realm Master protecting the Great Feather Pavilion’s territory. As such, the disciples from the Great Feather Pavilion were safe whenever they headed out to collect herbs or wander around.

All this was because a young woman took the initiative to save a Shadow Leopard in the past. Others couldn’t help feeling envious.

Although they wanted to do the same, they didn’t know where to start.

Several hundred years later, heavy rain poured down from the sky as lightning struck through the night.

Qin Xue heard a familiar growl when she was cultivating. Her expression changed as she immediately stopped.

Then, she pressed her ear against the door and listened for a while. Following that, she dashed out of the Great Feather Pavilion and charged forward in the rain. Now, she was an Emperor Realm Master who had condensed her Dao Seal. As long as she refined the Seven Elements, she would be able to ascend to the Open Heaven Realm. Her aptitude was fairly good, though not the best, so she had been refining Fifth-Order materials over the years. As such, she could most likely directly ascend to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm.

One had to know that just a few hundred years ago, the strongest Master in Great Feather Pavilion was only in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm, and he had worked his way up to that level from the Third-Order. No one in Great Feather Pavilion’s history had ever directly ascended to the Fifth Order in the past. All this was thanks to the World Tree clone’s nourishment.

Now, several people in the Great Feather Pavilion also had the potential to directly ascend to the Fifth Order. Although no one had yet shown the aptitude to reach the Sixth Order directly, there was no doubt Great Feather Pavilion was on the rise.

Qin Xue’s Emperor Qi blocked out the pouring rain for her as she dexterously ran forward and soon stood above a tall tree crown.

When she looked up, she felt her chest tightening.

On a peak that was several hundred metres above the ground, lightning struck and illuminated the entire world.

She saw the well-built Shadow Leopard, who had been her friend for hundreds of years, standing on the peak and howling at the sky, no trace of fear in its voice.

[It’s going to attempt a breakthrough!]

Qin Xue couldn’t help but feel worried at this sight.