Su Yu listened to the chirping of the children and watched their innocent, clear eyes, knowing these young ones hadn't lied. He nodded with some relief. The villagers at the foot of Gu Yun Mountain still had a decent sense of right and wrong.
"Zhong Feng, if it were you, what would you choose?" Su Yu suddenly turned to the boy standing alone, immersed in his cold indifference.
"Heaven and earth are heartless; all creatures are but beasts of burden."
"What concern are the lives and deaths of other creatures to me?"
Zhong Feng was taken aback, then coldly uttered these two sentences.
Hearing this, the others grew discontent. At this age, they were in a period where not following the crowd meant being an outlier. Su Yu fell silent. The Sect selects disciples by examining their character and mental fortitude. Otherwise, if some Demon Path disciples disguised themselves to join, it would be disastrous. Zhong Feng's character, however, was merely cold, not aligned with the Demon Path. His point was neutrality, and there was nothing inherently wrong with that.
"Quiet!" Su Yu said sternly. "Everyone makes their own choices. Spirit Beasts are not our kin; helping is a kindness, not helping is one's prerogative. Besides, the Xuan Gu itself is indeed dangerous. For you, if you encounter it, self-preservation must be your first thought."
"Only when you can ensure your own safety should you consider choosing to help the weak against the strong."
"Brother Su, what about you? How would you choose?" someone asked.
Everyone looked at him.
Su Yu smiled faintly and said patiently, "That requires more thought. Firstly, the Thunder Light Rabbit is very fast and isn't a typical hunting target for a Xuan Gu. Normally, in the Divine Wood Forest, a Xuan Gu wouldn't be able to catch a Spirit Beast like the Thunder Light Rabbit, known for its speed.
"But now, have you noticed? That rabbit isn't choosing to flee.
"This indicates there's another reason!"
"What could that reason be?"
"There could be many reasons..." Su Yu pondered for a few seconds. "It's uncertain."
"Then Brother Su, can you defeat this Xuan Gu?" someone asked the question they most wanted to ask.
Su Yu paused. To be honest, as the new, and only, Senior Brother of Heavenly Sword Peak, his strength was actually quite low. After all, he hadn't been Cultivating for long, only about seven or eight years. But facing a Fierce Beast like the Xuan Gu, he could handle it quite easily. However, he had to protect these future talents of Heavenly Sword Peak; otherwise, he would have resolved this long ago.
"Taking action isn't the most important thing..." Su Yu mused. After some thought, he continued, "As future Cultivators, you all need a thorough understanding of Fierce Beasts. Next, I will explain the characteristics of this Xuan Gu.
"This is a type of Fierce Beast resembling a crane. It's fond of feeding on the carcasses of dead Spirit Beasts and the bodies of us Cultivators. The toxic fog it exhales is extremely corrosive; even our Magic Artifacts can be easily damaged by it. That's why Sect disciples greatly dislike dealing with such beasts.
"Once a Magic Artifact is corroded, repairing it requires a considerable amount of materials and Spirit Stones.
"Furthermore, the Xuan Gu's feathers, beak, Poison Sack Liquid, and black blood are all top-grade materials. While it's difficult to deal with, it's also highly valuable. This makes many Cultivators have a love-hate relationship with it."
Su Yu explained patiently. The children nodded repeatedly, their faces alight with interest.
"This kind of Fierce Beast is very difficult to handle." Su Yu pointed at the Xuan Gu's feathers. "Look, its body is as tough as black iron. The Divine Weapons of the Mortal World—swords and spears, axes, halberds, bows, and arrows—can't even scratch its feathers.
"And your Martial Arts, even the powerful ones, won't inflict much damage on it."
The children looked at each other.
"I want to try," Zhong Feng suddenly said.
"With your bow?" Su Yu asked with a smile.
"Yes." Zhong Feng took out the long bow from his back. It was half his height and looked quite ancient, bearing many marks of wear, indicating it had been passed down through generations.
"A ranged attempt is fine, naturally." Su Yu nodded encouragingly. "Give it a try."
Since they were about to step onto the Immortal Path, it was important for these children—who had lived in the Mortal World for over a decade and whose Spirit Veins had only recently manifested—to understand the vast disparity between the Mortal World and the Immortal Path.
Zhong Feng stood on the tree, his cold eyes fixed on the Xuan Gu ahead. He took out his long bow and, from the arrow quiver on his back, selected an arrow with a silver-glinting tip. He nocked the arrow and drew the long bow until it resembled a full moon, the bowstring pulled taut. A unique aura emanated from within him, forming a mysterious, circulating flow of shadowy air around his body.
"Eh..." Su Yu was slightly taken aback. He sensed a special kind of Spiritual Power. He remembered Zhong Feng's Spirit Root was merely a top-grade Fire Spirit Root. It shouldn't radiate such a special Spiritual Power. Could it be... this child had some other legacy?
WHOOSH!
The arrow tore through the air! With a faint gleam, it shot into the toxic fog, striking the Xuan Gu's back precisely.
SIZZLE...
The sharp arrowhead scraped against the creature's black iron-like feathers, sending off sparks! But it caused no harm. The Xuan Gu didn't even seem to feel it, not even glancing in their direction.
Zhong Feng silently lowered his long bow. The others all gasped. That last arrow was so powerful, they felt if it had been aimed at them, it would have likely pierced clean through their bones. Yet, against this Fierce Beast, it only created some sparks. For a moment, they all fell silent.
Seeing this, Su Yu smiled faintly and said, "So, you all understand now? The weapons of the Mortal World essentially cannot inflict any harm on such Fierce Beasts..."
However, before Su Yu could finish speaking, a sharp sound suddenly exploded in mid-air. It was the roar of air being pierced at high speed.
BOOM!
Before the children could register what happened, they saw a part of the distant Xuan Gu's body suddenly explode.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
Two more similar sounds resounded. This time, the children clapped their hands over their ears and hurriedly looked. They only saw a streak of light flash past and explode upon the Xuan Gu's body.
"SCREECH!"
The Xuan Gu let out an angry, pained cry! Its massive body began to tremble and sway violently.
"Wha-what is that?"
WHOOSH!
Another sound of something slicing through the air followed. This time, they barely managed to see it. Within the streak of light, an arrow flashed past. Sparks flared at its tip, not from any Spell, but from the friction of metal against air at extreme speed!
"An arrow?"
They were all stunned. Zhong Feng, especially, watched without blinking.
BANG!
The arrow struck a spot on the Xuan Gu, blasting it open again! Feathers exploded into a cloud, scattering in all directions.
"Huh? Brother Su, didn't you say weapons from the Mortal World couldn't harm the Xuan Gu?" one of them asked, thoroughly puzzled. "Could that be a Divine Weapon used by Cultivators? A bow-and-arrow type Magic Artifact?"
"No... that's just an arrow," Zhong Feng said in a low voice.
"..." Su Yu was also a bit dumbfounded. What was going on? Who could be this powerful? An arrow with such force, without a hint of Spiritual Energy fluctuation? And every arrow broke through the beast's defenses?