After the coming-of-age ceremony, the elder, Xiao Ning's grandfather, immediately approached him and, using his position of authority, tried to keep him in the town's shops to avoid the inconvenience of traveling back and forth to the countryside.
But Xiao Ning rejected him.
His attitude was firm; he was determined to retire in the countryside.
The Grand Elder had no choice but to storm off in anger.
Subsequently, Xiao Ning came to Xiao Family Village, which was more than 40 miles away from Wutan Town, and took on the role of village head, responsible for collecting grain taxes and managing nearly 500 villagers.
Every year in late autumn, it is time to pay grain taxes, and now it is Xiao Ning's second year as the village head of Xiao Family Village.
Standing at the door, Xiao Ning sighed for a moment, then said, "The grain tax isn't urgent; we can talk about it another day! I'm going to cultivate in the back mountain; Erniu, you stay in the village and guard the house!"
After he finished speaking, he took a step and walked towards the back mountain of the village.
…………
On the other side, the Monster Mountain Range.
Amidst the azure sky, violent energy fluctuations suddenly erupted, their sounds like muffled thunder echoing deep within the forest.
The colors of blue and red almost filled half the sky, and even the lazy white clouds were rendered with a dazzling light.
In a jungle, Xiao Yan heard such a commotion and was so surprised that he couldn't close his mouth. He swallowed hard, and the energy pressure coming from the sky made his heels tremble.
"What's gotten into these big guys this time?"
Xiao Yan let out a mournful cry.
Over the course of more than a year of travel, Xiao Yan has grown from a naive fledgling into a seasoned veteran.
He traveled with caravans across the country, worked as a temporary mercenary, experienced dangerous situations, and tasted the joys and sorrows of life.
His Dou Qi cultivation level soared from the ninth stage of Dou Qi to the fifth-star Dou Zhe, faster than riding a rocket.
Three months ago, Xiao Yan came to the Monster Forest for training.
The law of the jungle is completely different from the human world.
The law of the jungle dictates that the strong prey on the weak, and there is no room for morality or ethics. A single misstep can lead to certain death.
Although the world may seem peaceful, it is full of conspiracies and unpredictable changes, no less so than the naked jungle of monsters.
Today, Xiao Yan had just come out of his hiding place and had a not-so-lavish breakfast when he heard such a terrifying sound.
"The Warcraft Forest is so dangerous, should I go back?"
Xiao Yan began to have second thoughts.
After witnessing the terrifying power of a battle of this level, Xiao Yan felt that he had been like a frog at the bottom of a well.
Now he finally understood that the story of one man defeating ten thousand men, as recorded in the books, was not just a legend.
Just then, a dark shadow appeared in the sky, blotting out the sun, immediately attracting Xiao Yan's attention. He couldn't help but look up.
A gigantic monster appeared in the sky. It was enormous, measuring seven or eight meters long, and resembled a small mountain.
The surface of this magical beast was covered with a layer of purple crystals.
The sunlight shone brightly, radiating brilliance.
The monster's head was a rather ferocious lion's head, with blood-red eyes that shimmered with an eerie purple light, a huge mouth full of fangs, and a fiery red spiral horn on its head.
Clusters of purple flames swirled and coiled around the tips of the horns, and a pair of purple wings grew from the side of the enormous lion's body.
With a flap of its purple wings, clusters of pale purple flames swept out like flamethrowers, covering the sky and the earth.
The four thick beast claws were also covered with a layer of purple crystal. Each time they stepped down, the void would tremble, making it hard to imagine just how powerful they were.
The enormous demonic beast stood in the void, and an invisible pressure descended from the sky, causing Xiao Yan's entire mind to tremble.
"What level of magical beast is that? It's magnificent!"
Gazing at the enormous magical beast overhead, a creature embodying both beauty and destruction, Xiao Yan's eyes glazed over, and he murmured to himself.
Amazed by the appearance of the magical beast, Xiao Yan then turned his gaze to the other side.
"Huh, it's a woman?"
When his gaze fell upon a curvaceous and exquisite body, Xiao Yan was greatly astonished. He never expected that the person who was going to fight against the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King would be a woman.
This was completely unexpected.
The woman in the sky wore a simple white dress that covered her voluptuous figure, and held a strangely shaped longsword that emitted a blue light.
Her long black hair was styled into an elegant phoenix headdress, and her beautiful face remained calm and serene, unchanged even as she faced the infamous magical beast.
Behind this mysterious woman were a pair of slightly ethereal, sky-blue wings. Xiao Yan thought they must have been formed by his own Dou Qi, and Dou Qi wings were almost a unique mark of strong people above the Dou Wang level.
The mysterious woman stood calmly, her serene and beautiful face revealing an undeniable air of elegance and nobility.
"Human woman, why do you disturb my rest?"
In the sky, the enormous monster suddenly spoke in human language.
Hearing that this magical beast could actually speak human language, Xiao Yan was first surprised, and then suddenly realized that high-level magical beasts had already developed intelligence and their wisdom was no less than that of humans.
"I would like to borrow the Lion King's Purple Spirit Crystal!"