Misty Mountains - like the name indicated - was covered in mist year-round. This was not a natural phenomenon but was instead formed due to the protective formation laid by the old king. From how long ago this formation was made, it merged into the natural laws that surrounded this place, forming this sight. The mist was formed from the spirit Qi that would later be absorbed by the formation, making it create more in a never-ending cycle.

"It seems like your reputation as the number one kingdom is not just for show." Li Hua praised, putting down her nationalistic pride for once.

"Everyone has their own strengths," Lei Jian smiled, a little pleased at her awe.

"It's not our strength, so what does it matter?" Xue Yueliang reminded them, "It ould only matter if we could replicate this."

Having a feeling of amazement toward someone who was already a corpse seemed like a waste of time. If even the master is dead, his creation does not count for much, as it is bound to be destroyed one day.

"You're right, but showing a little admiration isn't wrong." Li Hua pouted.

"How about we ready ourselves for the incoming enemies?" Xue Yueliang countered.

She could see from Fu Qian's eyes, and although he had not come along with his mother in the forest, she knew she had taken off to find her.

"They're a group of five. Two of them are at the third level, two at the fourth, and Fu Qian's mother, who is at the fifth level," Xue Yueliang informed them. "We're currently too weak to take them all head-on, so I say we mind our business, separating and killing them when we get the chance." She suggested.

Even though she was itching to kill them all, she could not be reckless, as risking her life for people who would die anyway was not worth it.

Li Hua smiled, "Let's find some prey then."

The trio's luck was not good on the first day, only coming across weaker creatures that had just broken through to the Foundation Establishment Realm. Most of their day was spent cutting greenery as they travelled further on. Unlike Blackwater Forest, which was explored many times and had paved paths, Misty Mountains were much harder to traverse.

After walking for almost half a day, they decided to rest, camping near a naturally formed cave.

"I thought today would be more fun," Li Hua complained, "All I did today was get tired."

"Every day can't be action-packed, and there's always tomorrow."

Xue Yueliang then began cultivating, focussing on increasing her cultivation base. Her original plans of being at the fourth level of Foundation Establishment Realm were derailed due to the injuries that she had received. This made it so that Lei Jian had caught up to her while she stagnated.

Tonight was the night of the full moon, so her Blood Moon Cultivation Sutra would work more efficiently for these three nights. Clear streams of spiritual Qi entered her body with every path as she tried to increase her pace. Even the Hei Yu, who usually only ate, rested quietly on her lap, absorbing the moonlight.

Li Hua stopped munching on her roasted boar meat and asked, "Should I start cultivating too?"

"Do whatever you want." Lei Jian too crossed his legs, but as he cultivated, a strange scene appeared in front of Li Hua.

The Qi would turn light grey before entering the body, and the Qi that was expelled was clear white. Usually, cultivating results in the exact opposite scene, so it made him appear as if he was absorbing the impurities and expelling spiritual Qi. Of course, that couldn't be the case, so it only made sense if he was a cultivator who specialised in a certain type of energy. As for what caused grey Qi, she did not know.

A serious look appeared in Li Hua's eyes as she finished the meat from the bone, beginning her cultivation session.

It seems like I befriended monsters this time around, she laughed in her mind.

Like this, the night passed by uneventfully, but before the sun could begin to rise, a loud growl was heard from nearby.

The trio's eyes snapped open as they looked at the being in front of them. It was a dark brown bear with blood covering its entire body. From its lack of injuries, they could see that none of this blood belonged to it and must have come from whatever poor creature got on its way. Its aura was at the 4th level of their realm, marking it as a difficult opponent. This being was none other than the one that eluded Xue Yueliang the most, the Blazing Bear.

"This one's mine," Xue Yueliang beamed, happiness evident in her voice. She leapt toward the bear and swung the Black Moon Sword with her left hand, knocking it back slightly but not harming it in any way. The bear huffed, angry at being attacked as its claw swung toward her.

"You're a fast one." She smiled, jumping out of the way and aiming her attack toward the back of its neck.

The bear quickly turned around and blocked, the backlash causing her to fall back.

"Liang'er, I believe you can do it!" Li Hua cheered, munching on seeds she got from who-knows-where. The other two were far from the battlefield now and would not be affected by their attacks.

The bear was truly angered by Xue Yueliang and summoned its pale green flames, framing his sharp claws, making a dreadful sight. It growled as its attacks seemed to increase in strength, leaving her unable to dodge, so she could only block this attack.

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How is it so fast? She thought.

This was what had intrigued her in the first place, as their speed did not make sense considering their size and element. Unlike humans, beasts were normally incapable of practising more than one type of energy as controlling both required intelligence and precision. For example, with wind and fire, if the wind was stronger the fire would be extinguished, leaving you with a weaker attack than you had started with. The fact that a beast could achieve this balance was astonishing.

"Whoosh."

Before she could think further, she heard a whooshing sound as an attack was directly headed toward her head, scaring her as she jumped away.

"Invincible Sword Cuts All," she declared.

Waves of sword Qi left her sword targeting the bear's chest from multiple angles. Xue Yueliang knew it could defend against this but wanted to see how.

The bear barked as it released wind blades from its claws, blocking her attack and incinerating the remnant sword Qi.

"How awesome," Li Hua praised.

An understanding glint appeared in Xue Yueliang's eyes as she summoned her own flames. The Berserk Dragon Flame burned madly in her right hand, charging right at the Blazing Bear but still using her sword against him. Her attacks had lost some of the overwhelming characteristics, and it was swapped for precision. This battle was not to kill her enemy. It was to improve her strength.

"You two can hunt on your own," she reminded. She did not wish them to feel they must watch her fight, and she was sure she would be fine on her own. Plus it would take a while.

"Why would we give up the chance to watch you fight?" Li Hua asked, munching on melon seeds.

"Don't you think you should give me some?" Lei Jian asked, unable to hold it in any longer.

"Clowns," she laughed, refocusing her battle intent.

Drawing some distance between them, recalling the bear's earlier movements. She channelled wind energy to the flame, causing it to flicker wildly but was not extinguished. Seeing that the bear had already closed in on her, she widely slashed toward him, but other than the sharpness of the blade, other elements were incorporated into her attack. It was much swifter than usual and left a faint black mark on the bear's fur.

Maybe this method is not suited for me, she thought, but she did not give up.

Being invincible was being the best in every regard. I can't let a beast beat me.

With those thoughts in mind, Xue Yueliang's battle lasted for about three hours, and the morning sun had long since risen, marking the true beginning of the new day. She had not experienced much fatigue due to her being able to easily reabsorb spiritual Qi, and her movement became more polished. She did not use anything other than the technique she had copied from the bear, using her weakness to fight its strength. The bear entered a truly berserk state. It was tired from the constant fighting and feeling its energy deplete, so it decided to resort to its last trump card - burning its core energy.

"Oh, you're done?" Xue Yueliang smiled, her sword covered in her maroon flames, slashing down vertically. "I'm done too."

The fire burst from her sword, its spread quickened by the billowing wind. It was like she was the epicentre of a tornado of blazing fire, ready to reap the lives of all those present. A large cut formed through its chest, and the burning smell of flesh wafted through the air, causing the bear to drop dead.

"That was fun," she smiled, her voice airy due to her overexertion. She retrieved the bear's beast core and allowed Hei Yu to eat the rest of the bear.

"Wait! Can I have a leg?" Li Hua asked, saliva almost dripping from her mouth.

Hei Yu understandingly ripped off a leg and began eating the rest of the bear, devouring it in big pieces.

"You even like someone who steals your food better than me," Lei Jian complained, receiving the beast core from Xue Yueliang.

"Where's my gift?"

"The leg."

"Biased." Xue Yueliang ignored her and began recuperating and pondering over her insights. She felt happy that she could finally have a proper fight with this bear as her plans were derailed last time. At least, it felt like she was regaining a bit of control. This technique was a marvel, and it was hard to believe it was something possessed by an entire race of beasts.

She formed a mini orb in her hand using her flame that had a wind bubble in the middle, and as she exploded the air inside, the fire spread for an arm's length of distance before dissipating. It reminded her of mushroom clouds from her previous life, but it was considerably weaker. This technique required a lot of control to perfect, and unless she finessed her movements, it would be impractical to use in a battle.

"Liang'er, why don't we duel?" Li Hua asked expectantly. She was amazed by Xue Yueliang's battle prowess and speed, so she could not wait to test it out.

"Of course."

Lei Jian was still trying to refine the beast's flame, and it would take him a while longer until it was done. They were free until then.

Li Hua smiled and jumped to higher ground, cocking her bow and was ready to shoot at any moment. Xue Yueliang used a portion of her energy to protect her robes, not wanting them to be torn through by her arrows as she unsheathed her sword. The best way to defeat an archer was to get close to them.

"Ready..." Li Hua yelled, "Shoot."

Almost instantaneously, a flurry of arrows shot through toward Xue Yueliang, startling her as she quickly dodged through. She weaved through the rain of arrows, unharmed by them as she tried to edge closer to her.

"Next level," Li Hua declared. The next spurt of arrows was much faster, and the holes they left on the ground were much more pronounced, causing Xue Yueliang to actually retreat.

"I think we should increase the difficulty," she laughed.

"This isn't a game." Xue Yueliang frowned.

"Yeah, I know, it's a spar."

The breaking wind sounded, and quite a few arrows landed on Xue Yueliang, breaking her defences but not quite injuring her.

"Do you really think there's something I can't do?" She instantly jumped up, attracting Li Hua's attention and causing her to attack upward. She then felt something cold press against her neck, followed by an upset whimper. She looked to see Hei Yu on her neck, his sharp white teeth touching the skin but not taking a bite. If he wanted, he could have killed her.

"It seems like you lost," Xue Yueliang laughed, proud of Hei Yu.

"He isn't part of your strength!" Li Hua protested.

"Then is he a part of yours," she questioned. "He's my spirit beast and naturally fights along with me."

"Okay, again." Li Hua challenged, accepting her defeat.

Xue Yueliang was about to ask if she really could afford to waste her arrows like this but then noticed that they were the wooden arrows used for practice. She sent Hei Yu back to guarding Lie Jian and said, "Sure, just don't lose again" Li Hua began with her strongest attacks this time. Even Xue Yueliang changed her tactics, opting to use long-ranged attacks instead. Her sword was sheathed, and the Berserk Dragon Flame occupied a wide range surrounding her. This led to the wooden arrows being burned as soon as they reached her perimeter. Like this, she quickly managed to reach Li Hua, but before she could attack, Li Hua increased the distance.

"Do you hate being near me that much?" She pouted.

"I like eating roast meat, but I'd rather not be roasted myself." Li Hua joked.

So, the two women spent their time sparring in this fashion, exchanging jokes and probing each other's skill level. But this relaxed atmosphere was ruined by the snap of a stranger's bow, causing an arrow to head toward Lei Jian.