It had been almost a week since Elder came to this village, but Mo Shatian had not seen him since then.

I knew it wouldn't be easy to meet him again, after all he was an important guest of the village chief who came from outside.

While walking to herd sheep, Mo Shatian kept thinking about Elder he had met back then.

I wonder if everyone from the outside is like him.

A fierce flash of lightning suddenly appeared at the top of Misty Mountain. The lightning that fell from the sky was so fierce that it could not be compare to any lightning he had ever seen.

BOOM!

The roaring vibration sound can even make the eardrums buzz.

"What... It looks like there's going to be a storm today, I need to get back to the village before the storm arrives."

The panicked Mo Shatian immediately brought the sheep flock back to the village.

Suddenly he felt something coming from the direction of Misty Mountain.

When he looked behind him, he saw something huge ambushing the flock of sheep. It was a pitch-black beast with two pairs of blood-colored eyes and a body similar to a wolf, but twice the size of the wolf he knew.

Taking a closer look, he also realized that there were a few more following a beast behind him. Mo Shatian subconciusly started swearing in his heart as he ran towards the village like his life depended on it.

Where... Where did those monsters appear?! I never heard anything about them!

Realizing that he no longer heard the sound of the sheep behind him, Mo Shatian felt an intense bloodlust rush toward him, cold sweat running down his back.

Just a few meters before the sharp fangs pounced from behind, Mo Shatian felt a strong wind rush pass him.

SWOOSH!

In an instant, the intense bloodlust he felt behind his back suddenly vanished.

Unable to stop himself from looking back, Mo Shatian could not believe what his eyes were seeing.

How could a group of more than a dozen monsters suddenly fall...? It was as if an invisible sword passed by and cut the necks of a dozen monster at once!

Still in a state of confusion due to the sudden change in situation, Mo Shatian did not sense someone approaching him from behind and heard, "what's with the confused face, hurry back to the village as there will be more to come."

Aware of the voice coming from behind, Mo Shatian turned his head back to look at the source of the voice.

"E-Elder, what are you doing here?"

"I'm the one who should be asking... What are you doing here, boy?"

Mo Shatian who was still in a state of confusion replied, "I was herding sheep when suddenly there was a violent thunderclap at the top of the mountain."

Elder just sighed, "Come back, Xiao Ling is worried about you since you're the only one who hasn't returned to the village." While looking towards the top of the mountain.

"Thank you for saving me, Elder... I will return to the village immediately." Mo Shatian said as he bowed his head before running towards the village.

Trying to look back one last time, he saw a strange phenomenon where only the sky above the mountain was only filled with lightning.

***

Hmm... Does he think that I'm the one who saved him just because I came? Well... It is true that there is no one here but me. Elder pondered as he saw Mo Shatian leave.

When not a single soul remained around him, Elder smiled contentedly as he looked back towards the mountain peak.

"How long has it been since I last saw this beautiful phenomenon? A decade? Two decades? Or maybe more than that... Regardless, I am very excited about this encounter."

It seems like heaven is still smiling upon me!

Elder strengthened his footsteps as he headed towards the peak of the Misty Mountain.

***

Arriving at the village, Mo Shatian saw these villager gathered in the main square.

In the main square, all the villagers have gathered to check up on each other.

"Has anyone seen Shatian?" A girl asked.

"Has he still not returned to the village?" Someone answered with another question.

"Don't worry, I've asked Elder directly to check on him." Someone said while calming the other villagers.

Mo Shatian, who had just returned breathlessly, finally arrived at the main square. The villagers who saw him were happy that he was fine. But there was someone who ran straight to him and hugged him tightly.

"Are you okay...?" Asked a girl with a worried look on her face.

"Yeah, I'm fine... It seems Elder came to save me." He answered Xiao Lin with an awkward smile.

"I'm glad you're safe." Village chief Xiao Ling said while patting him on the shoulder.

"Uncle Ling, do you know what happened at the peak of Misty Mountain, there was a thunderstorm, the strange is that this only happened at the peak. There are also many monsters roaming around." Mo Shatian said.

There was some time before Xiao Ling actually answered him, "If I'm not mistaken, that phenomenon is called Heavenly Tribulation."

Xiao Ling, who seemed to understand that his explanation was still lacking based on the look on Mo Shatian's face, began his explanation.

"A phenomenon that occurs when a Magical Beast tries to evolve into a Demon Beast or a Demon Beast that tries to ascend to a higher level."

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"...or it could be called Demon Ascension. This also the first time I've seen it, so we're all gathered here to be prepared in case something bad happens." Xiao Ling said as he looked towards the Misty Mountain.

Not understanding what was meant by a bad situation, Mo Shatian simply waited for an explanation.

"When Heavenly Tribulation occurs, an incredible amount of Spiritual Energy will descend from the sky and the surge of energy will attract the attention of monster hundred kilometers away. That is why monsters that should not have been seen around the village suddenly appeared as they were attracted by Spritual Energy from the Heavenly Tribulation."

"We are all gathered here in case any monsters try to break through and enter the village." Xiao Ling ended his explanation.

Recalling the monsters that chased him earlier, Mo Shatian couldn't help but think.

Are they really going to fight those monsters...? These crazy monsters are so terrifying and don't look like beasts, I don't think humans can fight with them unless it's someone like Elder who has an aura like not an ordinary human.

It was as if Xiao Ling could tell what Mo Shatian was thinking just by looking at his face.

"Don't worry, maybe you don't know, but almost everyone in this village is a Cultivator. Although most of them are only there to help with daily life, but that doesn't mean they can't fight. The fact is that some of them only focus on fighting for example like the group in charge of hunting."

"Their job is actually to guard and protect the village by killing all the monsters around the village area. That's why you never see those monsters before."

"Then what about Elder... I last saw him heading towards the Misty Mountain." Ask Mo Shatian.

"You don't have to worry about him. Because after all, he is much stronger than everyone in this village." Xiao Ling replied, "he said, he will go there to check on the Heavenly Tribulation." Xiao Ling said with a hopeful expression on his face.

Cultivator... I think after hearing his explanation, almost everyone in this village as well as Elder is a Cultivator.

Mo Shatian finally got to know a little about Elder and the other side of the village he had been living in all this time.

***

Xiao Ling could only sigh and feel a little regretful after seeing the look on Mo Shatian's face.

There was a reason why Mo Shatian didn't know this, Xiao Ling felt that everything he tried was in vain, yet he also knew that sooner or later the boy would find out too.

But why did everything happen so suddenly. Whether it's coincidence or fate, I think only the heavens know the answer.

Xiao Ling, who was pondering the events that were happening, suddenly heard someone speaking to him.

"Xiao Ling, what about the village barrier, is there a problem?"

Looking towards the source of the voice, it was Yan Nansu, the leader of the group guarding the village.

He was a man with black eyes and short hair, wearing black clothes with a tall and muscular body full of scars, he looked like a veteran who had a lot of experience in battle.

"Nansu, don't worry as the barrier has been strengthened by Elder, it is impossible to be destroyed by the waves of Heavenly Tribulation Spiritual Energy." Xiao Ling replied.

The barrier directly reinforced by the Golden Core Realm Cultivator would not be easily destroyed by the waves of Heavenly Tribulation energy.

He continued, "However, since we don't know how many monsters are coming, perhaps some of them will get inside the barrier by accident."

"I just hope that there are no Cultivators wandering around within ten kilometers of the Heavenly Tribulation." Yan Nansu said.

Compared to the crowd of beasts that might come and attack the village, Yan Nansu was more worried about the Cultivators who happened to be around this area.

As for Xiao Ling, he was a little relieved because he didn't even want to imagine that every monster in the hindred-kilometer area suddenly came and attacked the village, but as for Cultivators, he was sure that there were no Cultivators in this unknown territory unless they were extremely strange or extremely powerful wandering far away from human settlements.

However, in an age where monsters roam freely, it is rare for humans to roam far away from settlements because of the danger.

"!!!"

"And still, some of them seem to have happened to make it in."

Xiao Ling sensed that some monsters had slipped inside the barrier.

"The children and those who can't fight gather in the main square. The rest come with me to kill the monsters that slipped through the barrier." Xiao Ling announced to the entire village.

"Everyone get ready, we will harvest the beast cores today!" Yan Nansu encouraged his members vigorously and then left with Xiao Ling to hunt the Magical Beast.

Mo Shatian along with the other children and those who could not fight remained in the village square.

***

Xiao Village is square in shape with a moat fed by water from the river for irrigation purposes. This moat surrounds the village with a bridge separating the village and the outside. The main village square is located in the center of the village connecting each street from all four sides with a fountain in the center as a marker.

There was a woman with brown hair and hazel eyes, snow-white skin and a delicate and perfect face with a slender and ideal body, not a single flaw in her gentle and graceful movements.

With just one glance, one can tell where Xiao Lin inherited her beauty from.

That woman was Xiao Ning, wife of Xiao Ling and mother of Xiao Lin.

She was leading the people in the main square in place of her husband.

Mo Shatian turned his head away from Xiao Ning to look at Xiao Lin beside him.

"Xiao Lin, I have something to ask you."

"Hmm... What is it?" Xiao Lin replied with a smile on her face.

"Do you know anything about Cultivator?"

Mo Shatian finally asked the question that had been on his mind since he heard Xiao Ling's explanation. Therefore, he wanted to confirm the truth by asking Xiao Lin.

Xiao Lin was the only child of Xiao Ling and Xiao Ning. So he was sure her father would definitely tell her about Cultivators even if he didn't teach her to be a Cultivator.

"Yes, I know and might even be considered one of them." Xiao Lin answered as if it was the strangest question she had ever heard.

Mo Shatian, who heard Xiao Lin's answer as if it was the most natural thing in the world turned his face away.

Am I the only person who doesn't know anything?

Mo Shatian felt a little isolated and aloof after hearing Xiao Lin's answer.

He realized that everyone had their own secrets. He also thought that even though his relationship with Xiao Lin could not be said to be very close, it did not mean that their relationship was distant enough that she had to hide something that everyone already knew from him.

If he had to compare his relationship with everyone in the village, there was no doubt that his relationship with the Xiao family was quite close, especially with Xiao Lin. Therefore, he thought Xiao Lin would tell him if it was something common in the village.

Like the time Xiao Lin told him when someone from outside the village came for the first time, even though it was an important guest of Xiao Ling, who was the village chief.

Why... Why didn't anyone tell me if everyone already knew about this.

Xiao Lin saw Mo Shatian turn his face away and was a little uneasy after hearing her answer, Xiao Lin asked in a worried tone.

"What's wrong...? Don't you know that already?"

"I wouldn't ask something that you think is the most natural thing if I already knew about it, would I?" Mo Shatian replied with a wry smile.

"W-What... Do you really not know this?" Xiao Lin was surprised to hear Mo Shatian's answer.

"Do I look like I clearly know all of this in your eyes?" Feeling a little annoyed, Mo Shatian turned his head and looked Xiao Lin sharply in the eyes.

Xiao Lin, who was stared at with a serious face could only stare at him with a slightly pitiable face while saying apologetically.

"Sorry... I thought everyone already knew about this. When my father first told me about this, I asked if everyone already knew about it, he replied, 'of course, everyone already knows about it."

After all was said and done, Mo Shatian tried to calm his raging mind and heart from holding back the anger that was about to overflow in his heart.

His mind said that it was the most reasonable explanation, but his heart had a hard time accepting it due to his turbulent feelings.

Trying to take a deep breath, "it's okay... You don't need to apologize. It's not your fault." Mo Shatian said with a calmer mind.

If it is Uncle Ling, I'm sure he has his reasons, and after what happened today, he decided to tell me everything. I guess I'll just have to wait until all this is over and ask him directly.

Mo Shatian recalled the conversation he had earlier with Xiao Ling.