17

Black Wind Mountain is a dense forest that can lead a person to the plain or a dangerous mountain that pierces the sky with its peaks. Usually a family of eagle birds build their nest on the rocks, which would be just right for me as a fourth spirit. Just last night, I completely came up with a plan that would allow me to increase my combat capabilities. To begin with, I need to find the eagle and absorb it, then I will open up a sharp and fast wind Qi, which, together with the power of the wind, will add unprecedented power to my sword! Unfortunately, even with the spirit of a flying animal, I will not be able to fly to the Xuan Qi stage, but I have come up with a way to circumvent the given norms set by the universe. The next point of my plan is to study Geppo. This technique from the anime "Van Pees" allows the user to literally jump in the air. It will allow me to stay in flight for a long time. Together with my Soru, honed to perfection, I can surprise many in battle, and escape from a practitioner who is not able to fly will be easier than ever.

Yes, I understand perfectly well that I can move through space, covering several thousand kilometers in a second, which is incredibly cool compared to the capabilities of other Xue Yue practitioners, but it would be very stupid to refuse additional maneuverability in battle. I remember that I even set myself the goal of studying all the Rokushiki. Heh, however, it's never too late to fulfill my promise to myself, so I'll learn a couple more techniques from the pirate anime later.

After climbing to the top of the tallest tree within two kilometers, I began to replenish my supply of Qi lost on teleportation. My heavenly spirit was keeping an eye on the surroundings, so there's no need to worry about a sudden attack from a beast or some sect disciple. An hour later, opening my eyes with five-pointed shurikens burning in them, I rushed towards the mountains, hoping for a successful search and catch, otherwise I would not want to wander through the forest of Wild Animals for days and nights, for the sake of some birds.

Ferocious Ki stage animals usually rely on their strong body, acting purely on instinct. The beasts of the Ling stage are completely different and have the ability to absorb and use the energy of heaven and earth, giving out meaningful actions. The most amazing thing is that at the stage of Tian Qi, they can turn into a human, completely unlearn their animal habits and easily join the society of people. An excellent example is Meng Qing, who, in my opinion, is the best female character of the whole novel. She broke through to the Tian Qi stage, turned into the most beautiful girl in the whole world, and began to travel with the main character of the story. I have been looking forward to meeting my favorite character from the original since the first days of my arrival in this world, dreaming of joint adventures with her.

Crossing tens of kilometers, at the same time scaring off weak animals with my energy, I almost reached the nearest mountain, when suddenly an ugly rhino stood in my way, spreading dangerous level 2 Qi. When he reached adulthood, he became two meters long and a meter wide, gaining the strength of the Ling stage. Its sharp horn, coupled with its hard hide, which gives it remarkable natural protection, makes this animal almost invincible for an ordinary level 1 cultivator of the Ling Qi stage.

Ignoring the rhino's angry snout, I did not stop, but took out a fairly cracked sword, charged it with Qi to the limit, jumped towards the monster and swung the weapon downwards, bringing death to the rhino. A sharp Qi burst from the tip of the sword directly into the animal's forehead, turning all its organs into mush with the residual energy. The heavy bulk slid forward, crushing the trees and bushes beneath it. Without looking back, I continued on my way. Before I arrive in the capital, there's not much point in enriching myself with resources by collecting treasures from dead bodies, I don't really need them right now anyway.

After a while, I was finally able to reach the mountain, sometimes pausing to kill the beasts that attacked me along the way. Moving through the rocky terrain and entering the plateau, my body began to release a threatening Qi that quickly filled the fresh air. In this way, I notified the feathered inhabitants of the mountain of my presence. The bravest and strongest bird in these rocks will fly to me to fight the arrogant intruder.

I didn't have to wait long. There were several large nests at the top, with eggs in them. A brown-colored golden eagle flew out from the largest bird structure: flapping its huge wings, it began to rapidly head in my direction. It was almost three meters long, which is much larger than any bird from my past world, and its sharp and icy gaze was filled with power. Along with the wind currents, the beast Qi released by the golden eagle dispersed in my direction, which filled the space like a whirlwind.

His energy easily overwhelmed mine. Remaining calm in the face of a superior enemy, I began to gather the strength and Qi of the sword to attack. His beak flickered with energy in response, gaining sharpness. Going for the ram, he wanted to pierce my body, but I was able to get out of the line of attack with the help of Soru, sending Rankyaku in the wake. The Golden Eagle, sensing the danger behind him, quickly dodged, flying up. Its giant wings, which created an all-encompassing sensation, sent a large-area wave of wind at me, which there was no way to avoid.

The air currents blew my figure away, sending it flying for several tens of meters. My back collided with the hard surface of the mountain in an instant, sending waves of pain through my nerves. Unable to withstand a simple mini-tornado, I thought that I might have overestimated my abilities, challenging such a strong beast. Spitting out the blood that had accumulated in my throat, I fixed my gaze on the golden eagle, which, as if mocking, was turning circles in the air, waiting for my actions.

"Come on, come on, attack, flying chicken!" I shouted in a mocking voice, trying to annoy the golden eagle.

I was answered by the bird's glare, which was filled with rage. If young masters can be angered by such simple provocations, then it is even easier to ignite a beast with limited intelligence to attack. A hurricane of Qi enveloped the golden eagle's figure, making it look like a burning torch. With a loud cry, he raced towards me like a rocket, leaving a trail of energy in his wake.

Realizing that it was impossible to evade in this case, because this time the beast accelerated at a speed that surpassed some level 6 practitioners, I took advantage of Kamui's invulnerability without making any unnecessary movements, waiting in slow motion for the bird to approach. The golden eagle passed through me in a few fractions of seconds, continuing to rush towards the strong mountain. The power in the atmosphere began to move, gathering at the tip of my sword along with the remaining Qi in my Dantian. The sharpest beam from my weapon shot straight after the beast, leaving a large hole in its left wing. Having lost the ability to continue flying, the bird, of course, went down, flying by inertia several hundred meters. The golden eagle almost flew out of the mountain, but it managed to cling to the rock with its beak and not fall.

I smiled coldly and walked with a slow, tired step to the wounded, fairly exhausted bird, which most likely already felt the breath of death, because no one canceled the blood loss. After a few minutes, I was able to cover a distance of several hundred meters, catching up with a still alive, but impressively crippled golden eagle, struggling to get up. Blood gushed out of his left wing nonstop, forming a puddle under him, and his right wing broke due to his erratic somersaults on the ground, making the golden eagle completely incapacitated. When he saw me, he looked at my face with hatred, trying to gather the remaining Qi to attack.

– Your desire to live can only be envied. I'm sorry, I came to your territory to challenge you, but I need to get stronger, I need to save Yun Hai from the Imperial clan! Please become my spirit! With burning determination in my eyes, I summoned my third spirit. The little snake moved and, slowly opening its mouth, began to suck in the golden eagle's soul. The tightening force was so powerful that it seemed as if it could swallow up space.

After eating the bird's soul, the spirit began to grow rapidly. From the initial size of a third of a meter, it turned into a meter-long snake with eagle eyes. Letting out a ferocious roar, the snake closed its eyes and settled on my neck, while I felt the purest Qi flow through my body straight into the empty Dantian right up to the limit, expanding it and raising me to the 2nd level of the Ling Qi stage. Sitting in the lotus position, I began to manage the remaining energy, forcing it to be absorbed into the bones and muscles for better body stability.

Feeling the joy of breaking through to a new level, I summoned all my spirits. Mangekye spun in my eyes, a book hovered above my head, and a meter-long snake coiled on my shoulder, floating in a deep sleep, while behind me the three-meter-long illusory wings of a golden eagle swayed smoothly. With their help, learning Geppo will become easier than ever. Focusing on the new spirit, I began to release the compressed Wind Qi with my wings, while simultaneously resorting to controlling this power. I didn't get to experience the latter, as I had no experience of interacting with the wind, so the force didn't want to be controlled.

The awakening and receiving of the new spirit was successful, opening up new opportunities for me on the path of cultivation. It would be more logical to go back to the sect now, take a couple of black-level techniques from the Singh Chen Pavilion, train them together with Geppo to the maximum before the Elite Apprentice exam, which is held twice a year, but I still have one thing left to do in Yangzhou, related to the princess of the city – Na Lan Feng.

Moving to Kamui, I covered 5000 kilometers and found myself in a dark alley of the city, which is located near the popular restaurant "Whistling Wind". Taking out a mask covered in symbols and a dark cloak from my personal domain, I burst through the main doors into a room where arrogant young masters, including Na Lan Feng, often hang out all day. Instead of cultivating and fighting, making enlightenments on the path of practice, they sit on chairs with wine in their hands, cracking incessantly and bragging about the greatness of their family.

When I arrived, the first floor of the restaurant was silent. Everyone abruptly quieted down, peering at my figure with apprehension. Spreading an oppressive aura, I calmly sat down at a random empty table, ordering the strongest wine and stewed pork with vermicelli from a trembling waiter, waiting for my order and the appearance of the most famous girl in Yangzhou. Ten minutes later, my food arrived with a bottle of the most common alcohol in the country. Slowly, trying the vermicelli with meat, I was convinced that the food here is very good, which means that the fame of this institution is entirely justified.

Finally, having filled my stomach with real food, and not the energy of heaven and earth-as usual, I began to drink wine, feeling the approach of Na Lan Feng through the dark world. She did not take long to enter the building with a proud and important look. She looked wonderful, and was as good as Ling Qian in both beauty and strength. The girl had light gray hair with bright big blue eyes, which she looked around the entire first floor in search of an empty table. A second later, a young man who I recognized as the city's most important gossip walked into the restaurant, along with a strong Level 3 man, Ling Qi, acting as a security guard.

Mentally thanking my luck, because I didn't have to wait for her arrival for hours, I went to meet them, attracting their attention. Na Lan Feng had only to look at my sharingan for a moment, barely visible through the two slits in the mask, as she completely fell under my control, becoming a real doll in human form. Yes, Indra's eyes are capable of such things, but unlike Kotoamatsuki, my victim easily understands that she is being controlled, and is even able to resist. However, I took the precaution of reaching level 2, so a girl who is at level 1 has no chance of getting out of my control without outside interference.

I walked around the three of them and left the restaurant in a flash, heading for the deserted border of the city, where no one would stop me from doing business.

"Follow him!" With a blank look and an emotionless voice, Na Lan Feng gave out to her companions, rushing after me. Na Lan Hai shrugged and decided to send a guard to ensure the safety of the princess, while he remained in the building. After a while, I came out on an empty and poor street, where I decided to make the deal I had planned with Na Lan Feng. Walking out into the middle of the wide road, I waited for the arrival of the guests I had invited, preparing for a battle with the level 3 practitioner of the Ling Qi stage, which was clearly unavoidable. Ten seconds later, I saw two shadows moving across the rooftops like ninjas. These were the guards on Lan Feng. They jumped down to the ground and kept twenty meters away from me.

Canceling the genjutsu and ignoring the headache that followed, I began to watch the girl's empty and lifeless eyes come alive, filled with shock and fear at the realization that I could easily control her. The guard quickly noticed the change in his mistress, who was trembling like an aspen leaf in the wind.

"What is the matter with you, mistress?" The man asked in a low voice. But Na Lan Feng ignored him, trying to find the strength to talk to me.

"Who are you?" How did you c-do that?! What d-d-do you want?! "What is it?" the girl asked, her voice tinged with fear and rage.

"I have a suggestion for you, Feng, but first I need to remove the extra figure in our conversation –" illusory light brown wings appeared behind my back. Without another word, I took off from my seat, accelerating myself with wings and wind energy. The man, not expecting such speed, got a fist in the face and flew into the window of the nearest shabby house to lie unconscious.

"Where does this speed come from?! Is he really at the 4th level of Ling Qi?! Damn it!" Lan Feng lamented to herself, cursing her too weak guard who had passed out with a single blow. Somehow calming down, the girl still managed to calm down the trembling and regain her proud and arrogant look.

– So what's your suggestion?" Feng asked in a serious voice and looked away from me, afraid of falling under control again.

"Heh, you'll definitely like it, I promise!" I grinned under my mask – " it's simple. You become my spy in Xue Yue's Sacred Court, and I make you stronger.

"The sacred court?" This is the first time I've heard of it. Can you explain it in more detail? When she realized I wasn't going to kill her, she more or less relaxed and stopped looking away from me.

– The sacred court hasn't been built yet, but it will soon appear in the capital, suppressing the rest of the sects in the kingdom. Your task is to infiltrate it, carrying out my instructions – " I explained all the conditions to her, and went into deep thought about what would happen next.

The Duan Imperial clan will gather, or rather take away from the sects and academies of the country, all the strongest students, creating a single force called the "Sacred Court". Unfortunately, I don't remember the name of the person behind all this, but I do remember that it is this creature from the despicable Duan clan that will wipe out Yun Hai and cripple Liu Fei's father, known throughout the kingdom as General Liu Kang Lan, Divine Arrow! I don't want the first or the second. At first, I thought that the destruction of the sect was a minor event in my future adventure, but after becoming a part of Yun Hai, I can't sit idly by, I need to at least try to save her!

But what can't be fixed for sure is the appearance of the court itself in the country. This is a fact! That's why I decided to send a spy there, who will report to me all the internal news available only to Elite Students. From the city of Yangzhou, either Lin Qian or Lan Feng is best suited for this role. If the first one is under the supervision of Chu Zhang Peng, which means that it will not be possible to take control of it, then the second one just does not have a strong and influential practitioner behind it, which makes it the simplest and most concise goal for me.

– You know, I'm not going to work for you for nothing. You kind of promised that I would like your offer, but I don't like it at all! - in a raised voice, the girl poured out her dissatisfaction on me.

Without listening to her, I simply removed the mask, allowing her to see my face on Lan Feng, thus putting her in a stupor.

"Engage in pair cultivation with the great me, and you will become stronger!" I said solemnly and majestically, watching the girl blush rapidly with embarrassment and rage.

- WHAT?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!