Chapter 62: The Beginning of the Story!
SKREEEE!
The illusory black-purple flames didn't last long. After a pained screech, Eagle-bro fainted. The flames around its body gradually faded, and then—on its broad wings—elegant black-purple markings began to form. They traced along the eagle's natural wingspan, shaping into a sleek, smaller pattern overlaying the original.
"No wonder… I thought this felt familiar—it borrows some principles from the Blood Fusion Pill," Jiang Lin muttered, observing the unconscious eagle, now undergoing a remarkable transformation. His gaze lingered on the new wing markings with a look of realization.
Without a doubt, the Purple Cloud Wings, originally designed by Senior Whitebone to be passed from the Blackflame Purple Cloud Eagle to humans, could also be inherited by magical beasts.
Jiang Lin had previously suspected it, but now he understood the crafting logic behind it. Among alchemists, there was a rather controversial pill called the Blood Fusion Pill, which gradually replaced the blood within a person's body.
If the pill replaced blood, then the Purple Cloud Wings scroll effectively transferred a magical beast's internal Dou Qi energy model—its meridian map. As the ancient blacksmiths had said, pills and Dou Artifacts were simply different reflections of the world's rules.
Eagle-bro slept for three full days. When it finally awoke, Jiang Lin noticed its intelligence had grown. It seemed the sealed remnant soul of the Blackflame Purple Cloud Eagle had become a tremendous soul-nourishing supplement.
Originally covered in blue-green feathers, Eagle-bro now bore elegant purple markings on its wings, exuding a natural nobility.
FWOOSH!
At Jiang Lin's instruction, the newly awakened eagle obediently channeled its Dou Qi into its wings. Instantly, the markings lit up, and a layer of purple Dou Qi wings formed atop its natural ones—producing a breathtaking blend of blue and purple.
Feeling stronger, Eagle-bro tested its speed and found it now rivaled many tier-two flying beasts.
Eagle-bro was no longer an ordinary blue eagle. It had become a new kind of flying magical beast—the Purple Cloud Lan Eagle.
A destined eagle that, despite lacking the bloodline of the Blackflame Purple Cloud Eagle, had inherited its flight ability.
"Hmph… Purple Cloud Wings seems even more suited for flying beasts. Eagle-bro's Dou Qi consumption is way lower than I expected." Jiang Lin brought the excited eagle back down and measured its energy usage, then took out a notebook and began logging data.
"See, Eagle-bro? Stick with me and you'll live the good life. Look at you—just a short while and you're already late-stage tier one. And now you've got flashy new wings. Give it a few decades and if I ascend to Dou Emperor, you'll be Emperor Lan! Everyone will call you Lan-di!"
Whether Eagle-bro understood or not didn't matter. Jiang Lin was having a blast hyping up the bird and doodling PowerPoint dreams in his head.
"So, now be good and let Uncle check your bones and health."
Eagle-bro's transformation completely captivated Jiang Lin, who immediately performed a full inspection while logging the creature's physical data and Dou Qi flow.
And so, day by day, Jiang Lin accumulated minerals from the Magical Beast Mountains in Forging Valley, studied the Purple Cloud Wings energy model within Eagle-bro, and began experimenting with new materials to create a flying Dou Artifact based on that model.
Just like that, a full year passed.
—
One day, in the central region of the Magical Beast Mountains, a tier-three early-stage flying beast—the Windhowl Peregrine—sliced across the sky with a trail of afterimages. It dove at incredible speed, unleashing multiple wind blades from its wings.
THUD! THUD!
In the forest below, a black-armored warrior wielding a massive greatsword emerged. He raised a shield just in time to block the flurry of wind blades. Still, several deep gashes were carved into his Xuanming Shield—it was clearly reaching its limit.
But the black-armored warrior seemed completely unfazed. He continued running while using his shield to block the airborne predator's attacks.
Then—CRACK!—the shield finally split in two. A wind blade struck him square in the chest, sending him tumbling. He rolled, stabilized himself, and drew his greatsword once again. A deep slash now marred his armor, though the blade hadn't pierced it.
THUMP!
The warrior stood silently, facing the Windhowl Peregrine with unwavering resolve. He didn't seem fazed at all by the fact he couldn't escape.
His stoic demeanor made the peregrine hesitate. Something wasn't right… Hadn't this guy been unarmed earlier?
WHOOSH!
Suddenly, from deep in the forest, an arrow made of crimson-gold Dou Qi broke the sound barrier, soaring straight toward the airborne predator!
The peregrine instinctively tried to spin away, but one of its wings was hit. It lost balance and began falling—but it struggled to regain altitude, flapping upward in desperation.
But—
"Eagle-bro! You're almost tier two—go after it!"
With a screech, a majestic blue-purple eagle took to the skies. On its back, the armorless Jiang Lin, muscles bulging, nocked another crimson-gold Dou Qi arrow. WHAM! The projectile tore into the peregrine's back mid-climb.
SKREEEEE!
It tried to flee, but a third arrow exploded into its other wing, punching a fist-sized hole through the flesh.
The Windhowl Peregrine spiraled out of control. Though it struggled mid-fall, it eventually crashed, half-dead.
WHOOSH!
A fourth arrow tore through the air, striking the beast's head and ending the reign of this tier-three sky king.
"Damn… If that hadn't worked, I wouldn't have had enough Dou Qi to shoot a fifth arrow." Fourteen years old and recently advanced to one-star Dou Practitioner, Jiang Lin landed atop Purple Cloud Lan Eagle, stashed the peregrine's corpse into the Whitebone Ring, and rushed to check on the black-armored Pei Xuan.
"If that'd hit me, I'd be hurting for days…" Seeing Pei Xuan still functional, Jiang Lin also stored him in the ring.
He pulled out a map and got his bearings.
"That bird flew too far. We're past the borders of Qingshan Town… We're in Wutan City's territory now."
"Let's head into the city for rest, repair, and resupply."
"The new mid-Xuan-tier Crimson Feather Archery isn't fully mastered yet—it drains too much Dou Qi. I could barely launch a fifth arrow, let alone use the Huang-tier Feather Sheath technique."
"Still… target's down. And I've finally got all the materials I need for the flying Dou Artifact!"
"If I started selling flying artifacts, I could probably become the richest man in the Jia Ma Empire."
Not long after, as Eagle-bro soared past four or five mountain peaks, Jiang Lin finally saw the grand silhouette of Wutan City on the horizon.
And at that moment, the fallen genius of Wutan City… was about to begin his own story.
(END CHAPTER)
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