Hu Sen was twenty-six, a Master's candidate who had graduated from Northwest A&F University. Ever since a chance trip to the grasslands when he was twelve, Hu Sen had developed a profound love for riding, forging an unbreakable bond with horses.

As soon as his internship ended, he came to Xinjiang, taking up a position as a technician at a ranch. This ranch was situated more than five hundred kilometers from the Tianshan Mountains, and what he cherished most was this stretch of short-grass prairie and the crisp, clean air.

“Technician Hu, I truly hadn't expected your horsemanship to be this good!” Hu Sen rode along slowly, his horse matching pace with another beside him, upon which sat a very beautiful young girl. The girl was a local, and ever since Hu Sen arrived, she had made it a habit to seek him out.

Gradually, Hu Sen had developed a very favorable impression of this innocent and lovely young girl. “The riding I do is just practice I fit in around my studies.

I love horses; I love galloping across heaven and earth with them. That feeling of flying while riding—it’s just wonderful!” Hu Sen smiled, speaking softly.

He had rejected several offers from other horse farms to come to this desolate grassland precisely because he craved that unobstructed exhilaration of a full-speed gallop across the plains. “I understand.

You’re different from the other technicians; you genuinely care for the horses!” The young girl flashed a sweet smile, glancing at Hu Sen with a mixture of adoration before lowering her gaze, her cheeks flushing slightly. “Technician Hu, do you know that far away in the Tianshan Mountains, there exists a Horse God?

The Horse God is incredibly fast, easily ten, even a hundred times faster than ordinary horses. Legend says that whenever the Horse God appears, all other horses bow down in worship.

My grandfather saw the Horse God once when he was a boy—so handsome, moving like the wind. My grandfather said that when the Horse God runs, even the fastest automobile cannot keep up!” The young girl spoke slowly, a hint of longing in her voice as she gazed toward the distant Tianshan range.

“Pfft!” Hu Sen chuckled lightly. “Tunisha.

The Horse God is just a legend your grandfather told you. There is no Horse God in this world!” “There is, it’s real!

Grandpa really saw him; he wouldn’t lie to me!” The usually compliant young girl suddenly raised her head, speaking with stubborn conviction. She didn't tell Hu Sen that her grandfather had sworn he saw the Horse God, only that many people hadn't believed him.

But she believed him. She knew her grandfather never lied.

Hu Sen shook his head, a smile playing on his lips. To him, the girl was charmingly naive for taking elder tales so literally.

“Tunisha, why don’t we race? See who gets back first?” Hu Sen turned back and spoke softly.

Tunisha gazed at him intently, then finally nodded. The girl understood.

The man she held dear didn't believe her story, which meant he didn't believe her grandfather either. “Hiss, hiss!” The moment Hu Sen grabbed his reins, the tall, deep-red horse beneath him let out two sharp whickers, seeming agitated.

It wasn't just him; the young girl Tunisha also cried out as her horse mirrored the exact same nervous posture. Suddenly, Hu Sen’s eyes snapped wide open as he stared ahead in disbelief.

The horse beneath him had bent its front legs, sinking into a crouch, causing his entire body to tilt precariously, which instantly unsettled him. He had spent considerable time with this horse and knew its temperament well; it was usually docile, never once having disobeyed an order or moved erratically.

The young girl Tunisha shrieked, and her horse adopted the identical stance, though her cry cut off halfway. Tunisha stared blankly into the distance.

She was looking in the direction of the Tianshan Mountains. Hu Sen followed her gaze, and the next moment, he too wore a vacant expression, his body half-tilted on the saddle.

In the distance, a tiny white speck was hurtling toward them at a speed Hu Sen had never witnessed. What had been a speck moments before quickly resolved into the clear shape of a horse—a magnificent white steed whose speed was truly like flight.

A person was seated upon this white horse. Hu Sen watched dumbfounded, still trying to process it, when the white blur streaked towards them.

Soon, the white horse flashed past them, only a dozen meters away. As it passed, Hu Sen truly grasped the intensity of that speed—the speed of flight.

The gust of wind created by the passing white horse stung his cheeks sharply. When the white horse went by, his own mount dared not move an inch, remaining low with its head bowed as if genuflecting before its deity.

“The Horse God?” In that instant, the story Tunisha had just told him flooded back—the Horse God actually existed. Just as this thought formed, his pupils constricted violently.

Immediately following the white horse, a gray shadow drifted past him. He caught only the silhouette, but from it, he could distinguish that it was a person.

It was the shadow of a human being. A person running at incredible speed, chasing the white horse suspected to be the Horse God.

Hu Sen’s mind utterly reeled. The white horse’s speed had already shocked him to the core, but to see a person capable of matching that velocity—was this even human?

“Kid, you’re not getting away!” A booming shout suddenly echoed from the distance. Hu Yanfeng accelerated sharply, finally catching up to the wildly galloping Pursuit Wind.

He leaped, unleashing two bursts of internal energy. Pursuit Wind dodged clumsily, and Zhang Yang vaulted down from its back.

The flat plains were advantageous for Pursuit Wind, but only if its speed surpassed that of its pursuers. Hu Yanfeng was a Guardian at the Great Perfection stage, and his speed utterly exceeded Zhang Yang’s expectations.

At this point, Zhang Yang fully believed what Zhang Pinglu had told him: true Fifth Realm masters possessed speed that reached astonishing levels, capable of traversing from the southern reaches of the Divine Land to its furthest north in a single day. “Old relic, using your seniority to bully a junior—have you no shame!” Cornered, Zhang Yang decided to go all out, shouting insults while drawing his Cold Spring Sword.

What had flashed past Hu Sen and Tunisha were naturally Pursuit Wind and Zhang Yang. Pursuit Wind had exerted every ounce of its strength but could not shake off Hu Yanfeng, and upon reaching this location, it was finally overtaken.

“Heh heh, I’ve lived for over two hundred years; I lost track of my shame long ago. You killed a member of my Hu Yan clan and dare show your face at Overlord’s Peak?

Today, I shall grant your wish!” Hu Yanfeng declared, his body dissolving back into a shadow. His large hand shot out, reaching Zhang Yang in the blink of an eye.

Pursuit Wind suddenly surged, letting out a sharp cry, attempting to bolt forward, but a powerful surge of internal energy struck it, forcing the creature to dodge awkwardly—it couldn’t get close at all. Lightning and Shadow cried out, but they too were unable to approach.

A person at the Great Perfection stage was simply too formidable. At the Mid Fourth Realm, they might dare to coordinate an attack, but against a Great Perfection master, no matter how they combined their efforts, they were no match.

In haste, Zhang Yang gripped the Cold Spring Sword and unleashed a sudden sword flourish. The energy of heaven and earth began to circulate automatically, and Zhang Yang’s figure instantly fractured into three afterimages, dodging Hu Yanfeng’s grasping attempt.

Unconsciously, he had employed the Heaven-Breaking Sword Technique. After comprehending the Heaven-Breaking Sword Technique, Zhang Yang hadn't expected to use it in actual combat so quickly.

“Oh?” Sensing the surge of energy between heaven and earth, Hu Yanfeng’s eyes suddenly widened. The energy gathered increasingly, pooling directly onto Zhang Yang’s Cold Spring Sword.

Previously, Zhang Yang had used only his finger as a sword substitute, but with the Cold Spring Sword acting as a superior conductor, the gathering of celestial energy was far greater. As this worldly energy converged, Zhang Yang felt a sudden sense of ease.

At this moment, Zhang Yang experienced a sensation where he was the sword, and the sword was him. His Cold Spring Sword seemed to vanish, merging into his body.

More than that, his body felt as if it had disappeared too; he felt like an existence where man and sword were one, like a mass of energy within the cosmos. The energy of heaven and earth was formless and invisible; defeating it seemed almost impossible.

Wielding the Cold Spring Sword and savoring this miraculous feeling, Zhang Yang’s confidence surged explosively. With the abundant support of worldly energy, he now felt capable of fighting even a Great Perfection realm expert.

“The Way of Nature—this is impossible!” Staring at Zhang Yang before him, and the frenzy of energy manifesting as visible ripples, Hu Yanfeng blurted out the words, even more shocked. The sword technique Zhang Yang displayed was actually the Way of Nature—the very path Hu Yanfeng himself had been struggling and striving to explore for so long.

Discovering this in another, especially one so young, was nearly impossible for him to accept. Zhang Yang was only twenty-one, already at the peak of the Early Fourth Realm, and from his current state, he would soon reach the Middle stage.

To possess such formidable power at such a young age, and yet have grasped the Way of Nature so deeply that even his swordplay was infused with its power—his future potential was terrifying to contemplate. At this moment, Hu Yanfeng felt a profound sense of apprehension toward Zhang Yang.

It was clear that Zhang Yang would eventually reach the Great Perfection stage. Once he reached the Late Fourth Realm, he would be equivalent to a Great Perfection expert, and he already possessed such profound insight into the Way of Nature.

At twenty-one, with this level of comprehension, Hu Yanfeng recalled his earlier casual remarks; what he had considered simple, flattering compliments now held the real possibility of coming true. That is, Zhang Yang genuinely might break through to the Fifth Realm and become a true Fifth Realm powerhouse.

No one understood the terror of the Fifth Realm better than those at the Great Perfection stage. Fifth Realm experts could turn clouds into rain with a flip of their hands; the Great Perfection Guardians were mere children in their eyes, ready to be molded or crushed at will.

Considering the deep-seated enmity between Zhang Yang and the Hu Yan clan, Hu Yanfeng’s expression gradually grew sterner. Zhang Yang had already killed two of their clan’s masters.

He knew perfectly well that the entire Hu Yan family wished to tear Zhang Yang apart, drink his blood, and drag him to hell. This was an irreconcilable hatred.

If such animosity existed and Zhang Yang broke through to the Fifth Realm, it would spell the doom of the Hu Yan clan. This youth absolutely could not be allowed to live.

(Chapter 666. Happy Lunar New Year!

Wishing all friends well. I will now make up for a previously missed chapter; the update time will be around 2:30 AM tonight.) RS