685: The Initiation of the Ten-Year Trial

The Initiation of the Ten-Year Trial

Xing Juren just shook his head.  1

"Don't say that. You should know just how dangerous a Frostflame Bear can be."

"But still! It's not like we haven't killed them before! Grandfather managed to kill one, didn't he?" she rebuked.

The brother sighed, turning to look at her. 

"Yes, he did. However, he did so at the expense of his arm alongside two of his greatest comrades. He might have grown stronger since then but he has always warned us of encountering such a beast."

Having said these words, he looked forward, navigating through the mountains. Meanwhile, Xing Hou was a bit quiet, probably unable to say anything back. 

As things moved along, the group of five made their way through the Xue Mountains. 

Ming Yue hunted and gathered anything that came their way, placing it all into the jar. 

Xing Hou took the opportunity to talk with her as much as possible. Sometimes asking for guidance, other times she'd ask about the woman's experiences.

Both of them couldn't help but be impressed by her martial prowess, anything below Rank 4 was dealt with in a single strike. Even more so, they weren't expecting her medicinal skills to be of top quality as well. 

"I always knew that you fought well but I truly didn't expect you to be well-versed in medicine and plants! Something like an Ashen Rime Tree is difficult to harvest", Xing Juren remarked. 

They watched as she extracted a clear sap from a tree whose bark was a glassy ashen hue, carefully collecting it into a separate jar. 

"Medicine is as much a part of me as cultivation. It... soothes me when I practice or tend to my garden" she answered. 

Her focus was still on the glistening sap, collecting a little over ten kilograms of the stuff. After that, she closed the jar and stuffed the hole she had created with wood shavings. 

"I'm finished. We can move on now."

Standing back up, Ming Yue looked over at the siblings, joining them and moving along. She walked behind the two, keeping an eye out for anything else that was valuable. Xing Hou glanced at her before leaning into her brother. 

"Say, what do you think about bringing her back to our Lord Father? Do you think that she might join us?" she asked. 

"Stop thinking about it. Ming Yue is a free spirit. Why would you even want to do that? What are you up to?" 

He retorted, thinking that his sister had something planned. However, she just looked at him with an offended face. 

"What do you take your sister for? I was just thinking that inviting her back to the palace would be fun. It's not often that someone who isn't a body cultivator comes by. Don't you think that there are a lot of people who'd like to test themselves against her?" she told him. 

Xing Juren paused for a moment to think before facing her. 

"I know that you're going to try to use her to get out of your ten-year trial and it won't work. Besides, you are a body cultivator and she is not. It would not work."

Xing Hou looked away. 

"But still..."

"Stop thinking about it and focus on the initiation. We're here."

The brother stopped, followed by everyone else. Ming Yue looked at them before staring ahead. Standing before them was an arch made of stone with something etched deeply onto the front. 

"Snow Field."

Past the arch was a forest full of trees. There was barely any wind here and snow fell gently, coating the trees and grass in a fresh blanket. It was quiet and Ming Yue didn't seem to notice anything noteworthy. 

"This is Snow Field, the initiation grounds for every member of the Royal Family. We will all enter but you will be doing everything, from the tracking to the killing. Ming Yue and I will not help you, we will only watch you. The only time either of us will make a move is if you are on your dying breath."

As he said these words, he looked to Ming Yue who nodded in agreement to these terms. And then he turned to his sister who smiled. 

"Don't worry, I'll capture the first thing I see!"

She puffed out her chest before facing the gates to Snow Field.

Looking at the arch, Xing Hou read the words, taking in a deep breath before entering. She glanced behind her only to see no one there. Her eyes moved towards the trees, no doubt thinking that the others have hidden themselves. 

Alone, she faced the forest with uncertain eyes before treading onward. 

The girl moved quietly, looking around, searching for that one beast. Going from one tree to the next, she ventured deeper and deeper but there was a strange feeling creeping up within her. 

She narrowed her eyes before stopping, checking her surroundings carefully. 

"Strange.... why is it so quiet?" she wondered, "There should be something here but there's nothing, nothing at all. There aren't even tracks on the snow. What's going on here?"

As strange as things seemed, she kept moving. 

Suddenly, something came out of the shadows, leaping through right past her. It was quick, no more than a white blur but it was there. 

Xing Hou's eyes flashed as she sprung into action, chasing after the blur. 

She sprinted through the snow, leaving light prints on it. Lowering her hand down, the girl grabbed a handful of snow before crushing it into a small ball. Moving it to her thumb, she aimed at the figure and flicked, shooting it out. 

It fired off at such speed that it created a whistling sound, even causing some of the snow to part in its path. 

The white blur was nimbly avoiding the attack as that little piece of snow bore into a tree. It left an inch-deep hole before disintegrating. 

"Tch."

Clicking her tongue in annoyance, Xing Hou chased after it. She grabbed even more snow, forming them into little pellets before firing off. But no matter how many the girl shot, they all missed. And there was only so much humiliation she could handle.

"That's it! Fist of the Raging Sun!"

She leaped up and punched out with her right fist, imbued with a powerful flame!

The air around her grew warm as the attack smashed into the ground, creating a steamy explosion! It didn't matter how nimble that creature was, it couldn't escape the shockwave. 

The small creature was knocked off its feet before laying on the ground, twitching and barely alive.

Xing Hou smiled and quickly ran up to see what she had caught. A smile formed as she grabbed it and held it up for her brother to see. 

"Do you see that?! I did it! I caught a White Horned Fox!"

In her grasp was true, a fox with a pure white horn on its head.

And without warning, something stirred near her. Both Xing Juren and Ming Yue came out of hiding, standing in front of Xing Hou. Even Xiao Yin and Hei Yue were ready to attack.

The girl turned to see a mound of snow before her shake off the pure white coat of a beast. Awakening from its slumber, it stood up before roaring at the skies, letting it echo into the skies. 

"I was wondering why the Snow Field has been quiet. So it was because of this."

Xing Juren raised his fist, staring at the beast. 

Ming Yue unsheathed her swords, brandishing them as she took her stance. She had nothing to say but Xing Hou had plenty. Her eyes widened as she recognized the beast in an instant. The fear was all too apparent in her voice. 

"I... I really was joking about it. I didn't think I'd jinx this for us." 

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