"I already know who can help me, but they haven't even been born yet, and I don't have hundreds of years to spare…" Shen Luo calculated every possibility in his mind as the caravan crept forward along the dusty road. "There's also that damn witch, but I don't expect her to help m—"
"Bandits!" someone at the front suddenly shouted, and the entire line of wagons came to a violent halt.
Shen Luo's eyes narrowed as he looked ahead, his left hand instinctively reaching for the blade resting beside him. He had lived for more than eight hundred years, yet the memories of his childhood remained clear. Forgetting who you were, where you came from, and what blood ran through your veins was a grave mistake.
Especially for someone who began life as a weak ant and clawed his way through the heavens until he stood as a dragon.
Today was the day his father was meant to die.
The bandits were mostly first- and second-grade Fei users and beast tamers. Individually, they were nothing impressive, but their numbers gave them a clear advantage. In his previous life, Shen Luo would later discover that these were no ordinary bandits but advance raiders from the Golden Khanate.
Their mission in the east had been simple: probe the bordering territories and sow as much chaos as possible before the Khan formally declared war upon the Northern Continent.
The Hei Village bordered the southern lands and stood first in line, alongside the three other villages nestled along Green Mantis Mountain.
And that was why this caravan would suffer devastating casualties.
'I'm actually in danger here,' Shen Luo thought, his expression hardening. In his previous life, he could have wiped out these ants with a careless wave of his hand, but now he was one of them — and not even a particularly strong one. A wise man survives by knowing whether he stands as hunter or prey, and right now he was very much the prey.
As if confirming his thoughts, a massive beast resembling a rocky elephant burst from the forest and slammed into the wagon ahead of him. Wood shattered on impact, and the screams and rumbling chaos around him intensified instantly.
"From what I remember, I didn't even try to fight. I ran like a coward and hid beneath a destroyed carriage," he recalled with a faint chuckle. Even now, he could do the same and there would be no shame in it. Survival outweighed pride by an immeasurable margin.
Still, he grabbed his sheathed sword. The white jian had been a gift from the current clan leader on his twelfth birthday.
Shen Luo's cultivation talent had never been exceptional. During the Awakening Ceremony, he would receive a D-rank Furnace and a B-rank Innate Heavenly Gift, marks of mediocrity within the clan.
But that did not mean he lacked talent entirely.
His skill with the sword had been unmatched among those his age, refined through relentless practice. Even some of his seniors had struggled to keep up with him. That aptitude, however, had never erased the cautious and timid mindset he carried as a child.
Around him, men and women shouted orders or screamed in pain and fury as they clashed with the raiders.
Shen Luo leapt backward off the carriage just as arrows rained down toward him.
While still in the air, he scanned the battlefield in a single sweeping glance, quickly piecing together the situation. The caravan was encircled on all sides. Retreat was impossible, forcing the Hei warriors and Masters to fight with desperate resilience.
Despite the gigantic beasts pouring out from the forest, the two sides were roughly even in strength.
Five enormous elephants —identical to the one that had smashed into the wagon earlier— thundered across the battlefield, their stone-like hides deflecting blows as their massive limbs shook the ground with every step and sent dust and debris flying.
When he landed lightly at the edge of the road, Shen Luo noticed something peculiar about his body once more. His movements were smooth and his strength was too pronounced for a sixteen-year-old who had yet to step into the First Realm.
"The Verdant Serpent Physique," he concluded quietly, recognizing the subtle enhancement it granted him.
Without hesitation, he turned and rushed into the forest.
There was no merit in direct confrontation. Any of the raiders would easily cut him down if he faced them head-on.
That did not mean he intended to hide and wait for the fighting to end.
No, he had something far more suitable in mind.
In his previous life, Shen Luo had been known as the Heaven-Swallowing Serpent, a man who stood only two Realms away from true divinity. A person who had reached such heights did not survive solely through brute strength.
Naturally, he still possessed a few tricks worth using.
Beast taming could be practiced in several different ways, but at their level the most common method was simple meditative control. The tamer would anchor his consciousness to the beasts and guide them through focused intent. That also meant something very important. If Shen Luo could locate the Beast Tamer and disrupt his concentration, the elephants would immediately lose coordination and their ability to distinguish ally from foe.
And once that happened, the battlefield would descend into true chaos.
Shen Luo slipped into the forest, moving swiftly between the trees while carefully avoiding dry leaves and snapping twigs underfoot. The sixteen-year-old version of him was short and lean, his movements were light and controlled, each step placed with deliberate care, like a blade sliding through silk without resistance, so Shen Luo's small frame easily slipped past the raiders' sight.
The Beast Tamer could not be far. The elephants required constant guidance in a terrain like this, and Shen Luo could already sense he was drawing closer.
From what he remembered, there had only been one Beast Tamer assigned to this raid. That man's cultivation was at Second Grade, which meant Shen Luo would have only a single opportunity. If he failed to kill him in one clean strike, the difference in strength would be fatal.
'Now where are you, ant,' he thought as his eyes scanned the forest floor for signs of human presence.
He remained close enough to the road that the distant clashing of steel still echoed faintly through the trees. Massive footprints carved into the earth led inward, marking the elephants' path. Broken branches, disturbed soil, and faint traces of trampled grass confirmed he was heading in the right direction.
Then he saw him.
Not even a hundred steps away, beneath the shade of a thick, crooked tree, sat a bald man with bronze skin. He was seated in the lotus position, eyes closed, his breathing slow and steady.
The Beast Tamer.
And, foolishly enough, there were no raiders guarding him.
This negligence had been the reason the raiders ultimately lost in Shen Luo's previous life. His father and uncle, both peak Second Grade cultivators, had ventured into the forest once they realized how the beasts were being controlled. Confident in their strength, they had coordinated silently while their clansmen distracted the elephants and raiders, and together they had struck down the Beast Tamer in a swift ambush.
Without guidance, the elephants had turned wild, trampling raiders indiscriminately before one of the caravan leaders deployed a Mind Fei to frighten them away.
But Shen Luo was not here to save his father. Nor was he here to protect the caravan or prevent the deaths of his clansmen.
He was here for himself.
Firstly, there was a theory he needed to confirm, partly out of curiosity, but also because the answer could grant him even more benefits. Secondly, if he managed to kill a Second Grade Beast Tamer, the man's Core and Furnace would not go to waste. They could serve as the foundation for a Ritual far more valuable than anything he could get this early on.
His gaze settled firmly on the meditating figure.
'Now,' Shen Luo thought coldly, measuring the distance and the rhythm of the man's breathing, 'how do I remove this ant without exposing myself to its sting?'
A single mistake would cost him his life. And Shen Luo did not intend to die twice, because there would be no third chance for him.