Cang Yan flew through the boundless sky like a streak of light. The wind roared past him, tearing at his robes, yet his expression remained calm—focused. A faint map hovered before his eyes, drawn with spiritual ink.
> "Two hours more… then I'll reach the Great Wild Forest."
The Great Wild Forest—a place known across the entire continent as one of the most dangerous forbidden zones. It stretched for tens of thousands of miles, divided into three layers: outer, inner, and core. Even a Martial Lord Realm expert could vanish forever if careless.
Yet Cang Yan came alone.
The sun dipped low when the vast shadow of the forest appeared on the horizon. Ancient trees as tall as mountains reached toward the clouds, their canopies blocking all light. From above, the entire forest looked like a sleeping beast, waiting to devour anyone foolish enough to enter.
Cang Yan landed silently in the outer layer.
The moment his boots touched the mossy ground, the air grew heavy. He could sense dozens of bestial auras lurking nearby.
A low growl echoed from somewhere deep within the woods.
Without hesitation, he gathered Qi in his palm—dense and glowing like molten gold—and tossed it to the side.
BOOM!
The explosion thundered through the trees. Leaves scattered. Branches cracked.
Immediately, two Martial Emperor–level beasts lunged from opposite sides, their eyes red, claws sharp enough to shred stone.
Cang Yan's expression didn't change.
> "So… my first life-and-death battle begins."
A silver sword appeared in his hand, humming faintly as if greeting its master.
He moved.
Two arcs of light cut through the air. The beasts froze mid-charge, their massive heads sliding cleanly from their necks before collapsing to the ground.
Blood splashed across the forest floor.
But that was only the beginning.
The scent of blood drew even more predators. The forest erupted with roars—twenty to thirty beasts appeared, each radiating the aura of a Martial King or Emperor. Their killing intent locked onto him like an ocean of blades.
Cang Yan took a step forward. His calm eyes turned sharp.
Then, he vanished.
Lightning streaked through the battlefield. Every flash of silver marked a fallen beast.
His movements were fluid—precise—each strike perfect, without hesitation or mercy.
To him, these so-called apex predators were no different than blades of grass before a storm.
In mere moments, the ground was littered with corpses.
Just as Cang Yan lowered his sword, the earth suddenly trembled. A suffocating pressure descended from above.
From the depths of the forest, a colossal shadow emerged. Its every step made the ground quake.
The creature was enormous—its scales glimmered black, eyes burning like twin suns. Its aura screamed of power far beyond the Emperor level.
> "Martial Venerable… ninth level," Cang Yan murmured.
"Impressive."
The beast roared, and before he could blink, its massive fist smashed toward him.
Cang Yan instinctively raised his sword—
BOOM!
The impact split the air apart. His body was hurled backward, breaking through two mountains before coming to a stop midair. Dust and rock rained down, obscuring the sky.
He coughed lightly, a thin line of blood trailing from his lip—but his eyes burned brighter than ever.
> "As expected of a Venerable beast. But…" he smiled faintly,
"…this strength—it's just what I need."
He sheathed his sword into his spatial ring, clenched his fist, and disappeared from sight.
Only a faint afterimage remained.
The next instant—
BANG!
A thunderous sound exploded as Cang Yan appeared before the beast, his fist colliding directly with its skull. The shockwave ripped through the forest, leveling everything within hundreds of meters.
The beast's massive body shot backward like a meteor, smashing through three mountains before collapsing.
Its head was half-gone. Its Qi vanished completely.
Silence.
Cang Yan floated above the carnage, his robe fluttering in the fading wind.
> "I didn't expect… my raw strength to already reach this level,"
he murmured, flexing his fist slightly.
He could feel it—his physical strength had surpassed what his realm should allow. The energy flowing within his meridians was denser, more refined than before.
Perhaps… this was the path of defiance he had chosen—the Dao that refused to be bound by rules.
He looked down. The remaining beasts, terrified, tried to flee into the shadows.
But Cang Yan's eyes turned cold.
> "If you've seen me… you don't leave alive."
His sword flashed once more.
Each movement was precise—silent. By the time he sheathed it again, not a single beast remained breathing.
The entire outer layer of the Great Wild Forest had fallen into deathly stillness.
Cang Yan hovered in the air, surrounded by countless corpses.
The smell of blood mixed with the wind, carrying far across the horizon.
He closed his eyes for a moment. The forest's aura began to shift—something deeper was awakening within.
A faint tremor ran through the earth. The mountains in the distance began to pulse faintly with light, forming ancient runes that glowed for just a heartbeat before fading.
Cang Yan's eyes snapped open.
> "So… the core layer reacts to killing intent," he muttered.
"It seems my next test lies within."
He turned his gaze toward the heart of the forest. A thin smile formed on his lips, calm yet filled with quiet confidence.
> "Defying heaven, defying fate… defying Dao itself. If this is my path—then let it begin here."
His figure rose higher, vanishing into the misty horizon as the moonlight bathed the Great Wild Forest in silver.