Three cerulean moons hung high in the air; the sky was utterly devoid of clouds. 1 Novel à.1κ.０Text Edition First Release The primeval forest at night was silent and profoundly deep; the wind stirred the growth, and only the occasional friction of leaves produced the faintest natural music. —A field of white tulips stretched boundlessly in every direction.

A beautiful girl in a white dress stood amidst the tulips, smiling at Gu Xichen, who was stumbling toward her. “Be a kind person, little Xichen. Be a kind person!” —In a gloomy, oppressive basement, a man covered in wounds was bound to a cross.

The white-haired, imposing elder tremulously handed a dagger to Gu Xichen. “Child, this is the last lesson your father can teach you. This is a world where the weak are prey for the strong, an age of insane violence.

You must survive well in this world. Kill this family’s traitor, kill him using the most evil methods you can conceive!” —Pure white tulip petals materialized from the air, and the dreary, oppressive basement disintegrated beneath the blanket of white petals. A spurt of blood erupted from the neck of the wounded man, and the white tulips suddenly turned the characteristic black-red of clotted blood.

A blinding flash of blade streaked by, and every tulip petal instantly pulverized into dust. —A fierce gale swept through, and the tulips, the basement, the girl, the elder, and the battered man all vanished in the wind. —Gu Juechen, terrifying and ferocious like a demon god, abruptly appeared before his eyes.

Purple flames blazed in his pupils, massive arcs of lightning flickered behind him, and a deafening thunderclap sounded without warning. “Ah!” Gu Xichen, curled into a ball, suddenly jolted awake from his sleep, cold sweat incessantly seeping from every pore, quickly drenching his combat undershirt. The Type III Infiltrator combat suit promptly absorbed and evaporated the perspiration, leaving the inner layer dry again.

The three pale blue moons in the sky were obscured by dark clouds, and violent lightning was brewing within the tempest; intermittent, earth-shaking rumbles of thunder rolled overhead. A strong wind swept through the dense woods, causing the tree cavity where Gu Xichen sheltered to sway. A heavy, fishy scent permeated the air.

“It’s going to rain hard!” Gu Xichen squinted and smiled. “A dark and stormy night for murder.” With a few ‘hissing’ sneers, Gu Xichen shot out of the tree hole like a wisp of green smoke, merging into the pitch-black jungle. An elusive, flickering shadow darted and jumped through the dark woods, making not the slightest sound.

The figure passed by tree holes and birds’ nests; not a single small beast in the hollows or tiny bird in the nests was disturbed. This silhouette swept across the treetops as if it didn't exist, lightly shooting forward. Gu Xichen raced across the treetops as if borne by the wind, occasionally stopping to press himself against a branch and cautiously survey his surroundings.

The surrounding forest was utterly soundless and devoid of light, save for the occasional brief, flickering shadows that darted past—the nocturnal predators beginning their hunts. A massive python, ten meters long, slithered slowly past Gu Xichen with its tongue flicking out, its cold, slick body brushing against his. Gu Xichen’s eyes acquired the coldness unique to reptiles.

Forward, forward. A rudimentary camp appeared ahead. Over two hundred mercenaries, clutching firearms, lay huddled in individual grass nests, sleeping soundly like carved statues without making a single noise.

Gu Xichen perched on a massive branch almost a meter thick, surveying the area. Besides the camp two hundred meters ahead, there were over thirty hidden sentry posts surrounding him, each manned by three guards. These sentinels possessed exceptional camouflage skills, almost completely blending into the jungle, but in Gu Xichen’s eyes, they still betrayed numerous flaws.

“There’s one more!” Gu Xichen muttered, a smile playing on his lips. “At least one more Warrior is hidden nearby. But where?” Slowly crawling down the trunk from the branch, Gu Xichen slipped silently to the ground, stalking forward on all fours like a leopard ready to pounce.

The gale blew through the dense growth, the sparse tall grass swaying with a ‘rustling’ sound. Gu Xichen had already crept within twenty meters of the camp. A violent bolt of lightning swept across the sky, momentarily illuminating the dark jungle, its immense sound making the eardrums 'buzz.' The gale brought down rain the size of thumbs with a violent ‘splashing,’ and the dense woods were instantly dominated by a downpour.

The heavy drops stung the skin upon impact, causing the mercenaries resting in their grass nests to wake up abruptly. In that instant the lightning flashed, Gu Xichen erupted like a bomb. Pure Gang Qi burst forth from his legs, and he plunged into the camp with a piercing, air-rending shriek.

His Snow Soul Divine Claws flashed with a soul-snatching, malevolent icy radiance in the lightning; wisps of chilling air emanated from his body, and the raindrops near his claws instantly froze into hard ice pellets. With a fierce sweep of both claws, nearly a hundred ice pellets whistled out in all directions. At least thirty mercenaries were struck in the face; the ice pellets, traveling three times faster than bullets, pierced their skulls, and a sharp stench of blood instantly rose in the forest.

A dozen mercenaries jumped up, instinctively pulling their triggers toward Gu Xichen. Before the bullets had even cleared the barrels, Gu Xichen had surged forward more than ten meters. He brought his face close to one of the firing mercenaries and grinned savagely at him.

Before the dozen mercenaries could reorient their weapons, the Snow Soul Divine Claws had slashed through their bodies. The heavy ballistic vests, capable of stopping close-range heavy-caliber rounds, were torn apart by the sharp talons; bone and muscle pulverized under the claws. The terrifying ‘crack’ even drowned out the muted thunder overhead.

All visible and hidden sentries simultaneously screamed, roaring unintelligible things into their comms, their voices mixing into a chaotic wave of noise. The awakened mercenaries and sentinels fired indiscriminately, unable to track Gu Xichen’s figure. He flickered in and out of sight in the darkness, a demonic beast seemingly from hell, wherever his chilling, flashing claws struck, everything was shattered.

The gunfire and screams abruptly ceased in less than ninety seconds. Nearly three hundred mercenaries were annihilated by Gu Xichen. The torrential rain could not wash away the blood pooling on the ground; thick crimson mixed with rainwater spread outward, gradually forming a small pond of gore in the center of the camp.

The wind howled, and streaks of lightning continually tore open the night sky, occasionally bathing the dense woods in blinding light. A dark silhouette suddenly leaped from a towering tree twenty meters outside the camp, sending a dull blast of Gang Wind crashing down upon Gu Xichen. Gu Xichen swept both claws upward with maximum force, and the ten streaks of claw energy projected from his body met the Gang Wind head-on.

The terrifying power contained within the Gang Strength erupted violently, shattering the Gang Qi condensed on Gu Xichen’s claws. This opponent’s cultivation was stronger than Gu Xichen’s, stronger by at least double; his Zakula Index was definitely around 1700! However, his innate Gang Qi was clearly less pure than Gu Xichen’s.

Gu Xichen’s extremely compressed claw strikes sliced into the meridians of the opponent’s right palm like steel blades. The chilling, bone-piercing Snow Soul Divine Gang froze the man’s right arm meridians, shattering the incoming Gang Qi that was continuously surging. Both grunted simultaneously.

Gu Xichen’s claw skin ruptured, and thin streams of blood continuously welled up. With a cold laugh, Gu Xichen darted back into the dense forest. The enemy’s cultivation was too high; Gu Xichen did not wish for a direct confrontation.

The Warrior who had endured the full force of Gu Xichen’s strike stumbled and collapsed into the pool formed by the collected blood. His entire right arm was covered in a thick layer of ice, and a chilling cold continued to invade his internal organs. “How?

How could this be? His cultivation is clearly inferior to mine! How could this happen!” “Aargh...

Gu Xichen! Get back here, you bastard!” Gu Xichen, already several kilometers away, vaguely heard the piercing shriek echoing from behind. “Tch, think I’m an idiot?” Gu Xichen smiled faintly.

“Heh heh, you asked for this. This is only the beginning!” ×××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××× Oh yeah, this chapter is the beginning of a large arc. The wind and clouds that the evil dragon Gu Xichen requires will soon gather on Paradise Star...

Starting next week, lots of exciting content awaits you comrades... Please throw recommendations, clicks, and book reviews down like rain! Just rain them down!