Volume One: First Arrival Chapter Twenty-Four: Taming

After the group returned to Li Family Village, Zhai Yao and Tong Tong worked together to forge a semi-human-sized alloy shield for Li Changfeng, using metal salvaged from the plane wreckage.

The shield stood about 1.4 meters tall and was 60 centimeters wide. It featured a gentle curve, with a smooth, arched top and a tapered, pointed bottom. When necessary, the bottom could be driven into the ground to provide extra stability. Two handles were fixed to the inner side; one could hold it with a single hand, or in combat, slide an entire forearm through both handles while bracing the shield against the shoulder. The pointed base also allowed the shield to be used as a melee weapon.

Liang Junyi sketched the structural design for a kiln and identified a hillside between Li Family Village and their planned camp as the site. Conveniently, the soil there was clay, allowing them to source materials for brick and tile production locally.

Afterward, Meng Xingchen set out for the Kobold lair with Liang Junyi, Wei Siyuan, Ye Feng, and Xiao Yun. Ye Feng and Xiao Yun had insisted on joining, both eager to obtain biological energy to increase their strength. Since the four were ordinary people from a modern urban background, traversing the mountain forests was a significant challenge, slowing their pace. Furthermore, Liang Junyi was scouting for limestone along the way, which delayed them even more.

They were successful. About ten miles from Li Family Village, they found a valley less than ten meters wide and two to three thousand meters long. Liang Junyi picked up a fist-sized, gray-black stone from the valley floor, examined it, tapped it against the canyon wall, and nodded. "That's it. This is limestone."

Ye Feng looked at the cliffs on both sides and asked, "Are all of these limestone?" Liang Junyi confirmed, "Every bit of it."

Their pace quickened. Ye Feng kept his eyes on the woods, hoping for an unexpected battle, but the journey remained peaceful. It wasn't until they could see the entrance of a valley through the trees that the distant sound of barking perked him up.

Meng Xingchen immediately and cautiously shielded the four behind him, warning them to be careful. Judging by the noise, the Kobold lair had been invaded again. Ye Feng and Xiao Yun were even more excited, clearly eager for a fight. Meng Xingchen shook his head, unconcerned. Whether it was豺狼人 (Gnolls) or Wind Wolves, while he needed to be cautious with four civilians in tow, his current strength meant there was no need for excessive worry.

The defensive barricade they had built previously still stood, though partially collapsed—not by intent, but by the trampling of constant movement. As the five crossed the barricade, the valley suddenly fell silent.

This abnormality made Meng Xingchen vigilant. He signaled for the four to wait, drew his sword, and walked slowly into the valley. Without the interference of ambient noise, Meng Xingchen could hear a low, rhythmic breathing on the right side of the valley—one of the benefits of his Xiantian Gong.

"Learning to ambush, are we?" Meng Xingchen flicked a stone from the ground into the valley with his toe. As soon as it entered, a massive claw wreathed in pale cyan wind emerged from the right, shattering the stone into pieces.

Meng Xingchen’s longsword followed instantly. With a flash of steel, the giant claw was severed, and a howl echoed from the right. Meng Xingchen stepped into the valley to see a Wind Wolf with a severed right forepaw cowering on the ground, while another Wind Wolf stood at the entrance of the Kobold lair, staring at him.

Both wolves unleashed wind blades, flanking Meng Xingchen from different angles. Eager to test a new skill, Meng Xingchen stood his ground, channeled his protective Qi, and took the blades directly on his chest. The spinning blades struck, causing ripples in the air and making his clothes flap, but they failed to inflict any damage—they didn't even tear the fabric.

Meng Xingchen checked his status panel: aside from the five points of Qi consumed to activate the barrier, he lost six more points. Each wind blade had consumed three points of Qi to neutralize.

Seeing the blades were ineffective, the distant Wind Wolf lunged at him with a gust of wind. Meng Xingchen swung his sword, releasing a Xiantian sword beam at the charging beast. The beam, shaped like a transparent blade, was nearly invisible save for the air ripples it caused. It was fast, comparable to a thrown spear. The Wind Wolf twisted its waist to dodge, and the beam dissipated after traveling five meters.

The wounded wolf fired another blade at Meng Xingchen’s throat, but he flicked his wrist to send a sword beam that shattered the blade upon impact. Meng Xingchen noted that a single sword beam only cost one point of Qi—clearly, offense was more efficient than defense.

The injured wolf struggled to its feet, limped over to its companion, and both wolves let out low growls. Just then, the four others caught up. At the sight of the massive beasts, Wei Siyuan and Liang Junyi stepped back, but Ye Feng and Xiao Yun were ecstatic, each hurling a fireball at the wolves.

Xiao Yun’s target, the uninjured wolf, easily dodged the slow fireball. Ye Feng’s target, the wounded one, couldn't fully evade and was clipped on the hind leg. The spot ignited, but before the fire could spread, a gust of pale cyan wind extinguished it.

Meng Xingchen surged forward, his sword flashed, and he retreated before the others could even see what happened. A yelp followed, and they realized the other wolf’s left forepaw had also been severed. The two wolves now stood symmetrically, both missing a front leg.

Meng Xingchen gestured at the wolves with his chin. "Feel free to attack."

The two men were invigorated. They each threw another fireball, which the wolves countered by firing wind blades to detonate them. Meng Xingchen shook his head. "Is 'fire control' just throwing fireballs?"

After a moment of thought, Xiao Yun ignited a flame at his fingertips and charged the wolf missing its left leg. Ye Feng manifested a four-to-five-meter-long whip of flame and lashed out at the one missing its right leg.

Xiao Yun stopped two meters away and flicked his fingers, transforming the flame into an arc of fire that swept toward the wolf. Ye Feng’s whip struck the other wolf’s back, leaving a scorched mark. The wolf attacked by Xiao Yun could not dodge the wide-reaching flame, and its entire left flank was seared.

Enraged, the wolves lunged at their attackers. Despite having only three legs each, they were still faster than ordinary humans. As the wolves were about to pounce, Meng Xingchen fired two sword beams, leaving deep gouges in the remaining hind legs of both beasts.

Now, the wolves' movement was reduced to less than that of an ordinary person, and they were unable to dodge. Every time they tried to fire a wind blade, Meng Xingchen’s sword beams shattered them. The two wolves died frustrated and humiliated at the hands of two humans far weaker than them, their bodies covered in gruesome burn marks.

Ye Feng and Xiao Yun were panting but thrilled. Ye Feng checked his system prompt with disappointment: "Only 42 points of biological energy. Not enough to level up."

Meng Xingchen stepped forward, cut open the wolves' chests, and handed a pale cyan beast core to each of them. Ye Feng gripped his core and laughed. "Finally, it's my turn to absorb one!"

As the core turned to powder in his hand, Ye Feng said excitedly, "I leveled up twice! Boss Meng, what stats should I add?" Xiao Yun looked to Meng Xingchen as well.

"Everyone’s path is different," Meng Xingchen replied. "But since you both rely on elemental abilities, if you feel your physique and agility are sufficient for now, I suggest prioritizing your Spirit stat until it reaches ten."

Afterward, Meng Xingchen entered the Kobold lair. Moments later, he emerged dragging a Kobold by the scruff of its neck. He tossed it to the ground and told Wei Siyuan, "Tell it to call all the Kobolds out. Otherwise, I’m going in to kill them all."

The terrified Kobold looked up at Wei Siyuan and whimpered. Meng Xingchen drew his sword and pointed it at the creature’s throat. The Kobold shrieked in terror. Wei Siyuan nodded to Meng Xingchen. "It’s calling them out."

Soon, dozens of Kobolds emerged, trembling, until sixty or seventy had gathered in the valley. No more came out. Meng Xingchen didn't care if they were all there; he told Wei Siyuan, "Tell them they can trade the ore they mine for food, and we will provide them with protection."

The Kobolds chattered amongst themselves, perhaps debating the offer. Growing impatient, Meng Xingchen signaled Ye Feng and Xiao Yun. The two understood; Ye Feng snapped his whip of fire into the empty ground to the left, and Xiao Yun swept a wave of flame to the right.

Seeing Ye Feng holding the fire whip, Meng Xingchen felt a mischievous impulse. He pointed at Ye Feng and said, "From now on, he is your new leader."

Cowering under the threat of the flames, the Kobolds knelt and prostrated themselves before Ye Feng in submission.