Chapter Three: Violet Spirit

The clear, bell-like voice of a young girl rang out behind him, pulling Yang Yan from his thoughts.

“You little rascal, instead of staying inside to read, what are you doing out here…”

Turning his head, Yang Yan gazed at the girl skipping toward him, a rare smile lighting his face.

She looked to be about twelve or thirteen, dressed in a pale green robe. Her glossy black hair was tied behind her with a rather plain ribbon, swaying gently as she ran.

“Did you forget, Brother Yang Yan? Yesterday you promised we’d go play on the back mountain together…” The girl stopped before him, her delicate face flushed, her bright eyes brimming with a hint of grievance as she pouted and complained.

“Oh, that’s right. Today is our little Ziling’s special day—I almost forgot…” Yang Yan pretended to suddenly remember, his expression gentle with affection. He reached out and tousled her hair, making her pout and mutter in protest.

“I’m only two years younger than you, Brother Yang Yan! I’m not a little kid anymore…”

Yang Yan’s hand froze for a moment, his expression growing a touch complicated as he murmured, “Yes, Ziling is growing up…”

He remembered when she was still a tiny girl, always trailing at his heels, calling out “Brother Yang Yan, Brother Yang Yan” in her childish voice, so attached that she wouldn’t even sleep without him by her side. Now she was blossoming into a young beauty, and it all seemed to have passed in the blink of an eye.

The Zhang family of Jinchuan City was no prominent clan, but with more than a hundred blood relatives, there were nearly twenty youths of Yang Yan’s age. Yet, of them all, this girl—Ziling—was his only true friend.

Since childhood, Yang Yan had felt a deep and inexpressible fondness for this little sister, a heartfelt desire to care for her—perhaps because their fates were so alike.

Ziling was Zhang Tai’s biological daughter, but she was not born to his legitimate wife.

Zhang Tai’s first wife—the birth mother of Zhang Quan and Zhang Sheng—had died of a terrible illness not long after the brothers were born. Overcome with grief, Zhang Tai wasted away, losing more than twenty pounds in two months. Only thanks to the devoted care of his maid, Lady Zhao, did he slowly recover. Spending day and night together, affection bloomed between master and servant, and in time, Ziling was born.

Had Zhang Tai remarried so soon after his wife’s passing, gossip would have been inevitable. The Zhang family, after all, was well-respected in Jinchuan City. Though Zhang Tai himself might not have cared, as head of the clan he had to consider the family’s reputation. So the matter was postponed.

He intended to wait three or four years before marrying Ziling’s mother, but as Zhang Quan and Zhang Sheng grew older and learned the truth, they threatened their father with their own lives, fiercely opposing any formal union with Lady Zhao. Thus, for all these years, Ziling and her mother had lived in the Zhang household without the recognition of the family.

Naturally, some in the clan took pleasure in stirring up trouble and ostracizing the mother and daughter, most being confidants of Zhang Quan and Zhang Sheng.

Zhang Tai was aware of this, but his position was awkward. He could not publicly address such family shame, and so, reluctantly, he assigned a trusted servant to look after them, visiting when he could to ease his guilt.

With such similar backgrounds, it was inevitable that Yang Yan and Ziling became each other’s sole companions.

“Let’s go, Brother Yang Yan! Today you have to catch me a Snow Phantom Rabbit—the little thing is just too adorable!” Ziling pulled the absent-minded Yang Yan toward the back mountain.

The so-called back mountain was actually the outer edge of the Broken Cloud Mountain Range, inhabited only by low-level spirit beasts, none of which were particularly aggressive. The Snow Phantom Rabbit was one such creature.

On the vast Tianyuan Continent, wonders abounded. Not only could humans cultivate, but some spirit beasts were gifted as well, surpassing even powerful human cultivators at times.

Spirit beasts lived long lives. Even if their talents were lesser, sheer passage of time would grant them remarkable power—so much so that even the dullest creature could achieve greatness.

Some ancient beast races, passed down from antiquity, were so powerful that the strongest among them could even take human form, indistinguishable from real people.

With their innate physical advantages, spirit beasts were not to be trifled with, and even mighty cultivators of the immortal sects were loath to provoke them lightly.

The hierarchy of spirit beasts, from lowest to highest, was as follows: demon beast, spirit beast, beast king, beast emperor, celestial beast, holy beast, and divine beast. Each rank was divided into nine tiers.

The Snow Phantom Rabbit took its name from its pure, snowy white fur, and was the lowest of spirit beasts—a first-tier demon beast.

These things Yang Yan had learned from the clan’s library. Once a spirit beast reached the Spirit Beast level, it could rival a human cultivator at the Soul Sense stage. As for Beast Kings and Beast Emperors, who matched the Spirit Connection and Spirit Sea realms, Yang Yan had only ever read brief descriptions in ancient tomes. And those legendary higher beasts, with the power to shatter the heavens, were merely myth.

Zhang Tai had always strictly forbidden clan members from venturing into the mountains alone. Even though the outer reaches of the Broken Cloud Range were relatively safe, dangers still lurked. Yet Yang Yan could never resist Ziling’s gentle persistence, so he had agreed the day before—but only on the condition that, once they caught a Snow Phantom Rabbit, they would come straight down and not linger.

After half an hour, they reached the foot of the Broken Cloud Mountains. The slopes here were gentle, and the mountain wasn’t steep—thanks to villagers regularly coming to gather herbs, a winding path led deep into the range.

The two chatted and laughed as they strolled along the path, eyes scanning the underbrush for any sign of a Snow Phantom Rabbit.

“There! Brother Yang Yan, catch it quickly!”