In the mountain forest, the sun blazed fiercely, making the animals in the woods appear a bit more sluggish.

From time to time, birds, insects, and frogs would chirp and croak.

"Swish!"

An arrow sliced through the air.

A painful wail immediately echoed through the forest.

"Kill!"

Several sturdy hunters, wielding spears and hunting nets, seemingly emerged from nowhere, rising from the ground.

Their prey was a mountain tiger.

The mountain tiger, being ferocious, often claimed a few hunters’ lives during a hunt, but the tiger was entirely valuable, and this time, it was specified by a noble from the town.

Hunters from nearby villages and hills had no choice but to team up for the hunt.

Yet, when this group of well-prepared hunters saw their prey, they were all stunned.

At this moment, an arrow had already precisely pierced one of the mountain tiger’s eyes, leaving it motionless. The arrow was deeply embedded, likely penetrating the brain.

Everyone’s gaze turned to the half-crouched boy on the tree, carrying a longbow.

"Brother Zhong, Big Dog’s skills are getting stronger!"

"This archery is already the best in the ten villages!"

"Gouzi, I’ll give you the title of the best archer in ten villages."

The hunters complimented a middle-aged man with dark skin, who responded with a smile.

He was Zhong Heng’s father, Zhong Dashan.

Zhong Heng directly sat on the tree.

The white light that had just flashed in his eye receded as he began to adjust his bow and arrow. Though only ten years old, Zhong Heng was impressively muscular, thanks to Zhong Dashan’s doting care, developing even better than the children of affluent town families.

As for Zhong Heng’s appearance, he inherited some gentleness from his mother, lacking the rugged look of ordinary hunters, but not particularly handsome—just average, yet his eyes were unusually lively and steady.

"The accumulated True Essence is used up, just for one arrow..."

"The Breathing Technique is too rough, damn it, if only I could use the Cultivation Technique from my past life, my memory tells me I had a heritage, a technique that reached the Divinity Transformation..."

"Moreover, this body’s aptitude is too poor..." 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Though only ten, Zhong Heng was quite steady by nature.

Once, Zhong Heng had patiently waited an entire day and night to hunt a spiritual mink, earning praise from villagers and townspeople.

"Brother Dashan, about my daughter..."

"Your daughter is like a bear, Brother Dashan. I have relatives in town who have a girl as fresh as water..."

"The girls in town are as weak as sugar canes; nowhere near as robust as mine, perfect for childbearing!"

The hunters began returning, joyful for having no casualties this time.

Zhong Dashan vaguely found himself being regarded as the leader.

He didn’t bother with Zhong Heng, knowing Zhong Heng was sensible enough to follow.

Yet this time, Zhong Heng didn’t follow the hunter team back...

............

"As expected, these eyes of mine aren’t simple... they can do more than just improve accuracy..."

Zhong Heng stood in a valley, happily looking at a plant of spirit grass in front of him.

He simply assessed the spirit grass’s attributes; it wasn’t poisonous and could be consumed directly, containing Spiritual Qi.

As for the rest, Zhong Heng didn’t care much, lacking the skills to perform Alchemy with this spirit grass...

Suddenly, Zhong Heng froze all over.

Out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed a white-clothed woman sitting halfway on a poplar tree at the valley’s edge.

The white-clothed woman had a graceful figure, slender, with beautiful and round legs, her white dress flowing, akin to an Immortal Fairy descending to the mortal realm.

Zhong Heng felt a pang of bitterness.

He could only pretend not to see the woman, yet the white-clothed woman’s pretty eyes were fixed on him.

"You can see me?"

[In the year 5010 of the New Source Era, during a hunt you acquired a Phoenix Spirit Grass]

[Phoenix Spirit Grass serves as the main ingredient in refining a Second-grade Pill, the Phoenix Blood Pill, with considerable Spiritual Qi. Observing your surroundings and confirming no anomalies, you promptly refined it on the spot, lacking the means to preserve the herb’s potency.]

[During refining, you unexpectedly discovered a white-clothed woman.]

[Seemingly due to your eyes, only you could see her, while other creatures were blind to her presence.]

[In shock, your tender meridians were rebounded by the Phoenix Spirit Grass’s potency.]

[You immediately composed yourself, focusing entirely on refining the potency. At a critical moment, the woman landed by your side, her icy hand pressing on your back, and you instantly realized the Phoenix Spirit Grass’s potency was completely refined.]

[A complete strand of True Essence finally condensed within you, marking your formal entry into the First-Layer Qi Refining.]

[The woman seemed to bear no malice towards you, instead harboring inexplicable goodwill.]

[She said her name was Liul, though she had forgotten her surname.]

[She told you that in a millennium, you were the first to see her, and she wanted you to chat with her.]

[You simply sat beneath the poplar tree, fortunate your past life’s knowledge remained, knowing various stories.]

[Liul listened with rapt attention.]

[Seeing the sky darkening, you wanted to say goodbye, and Liul agreed, giving you a bit of Spiritual Light.]

[You felt the Spiritual Light enter your eyes, a latent force seemed to awaken within, and the world became clearer before your eyes.]

[You returned to your father’s side, who showed little concern, continuing to impart the last bit of Martial Dao knowledge he knew to you.]

[In the year 5011 of the New Source Era, mountain tigers within and around the eighteen villages of Qinghe Town were hunted to extinction, with considerable hunter casualties, but the town’s noble bestowed generous rewards, prompting hunters to seek prey further afield.]

[You were among them.]

[Over the past six months, you frequently visited the valley where the poplar tree stood to tell Liul stories.]