After joining the military force responsible for protecting the Willows Cove Commandery from the endless daily hordes of beasts that came out of Demon Forest, Wei Yan thought that he would be able to achieve a higher stage of cultivation.

Unfortunately, even though one's strength would be given a baptism if they struggled within life and death battles, he had only reached the Elementary level six as a Qi refinery cultivator. He had joined an entire decade prior to today and his growth couldn't be considered heaven defying.

His contract with the army was for two decades, but he pleaded with his captain to speak to the general about allowing for his release early. Since his contract gave him a small pension once completed, it should have been enough for him to not take it and to leave immediately.

However to his surprise, a scout was sent over by the general that stated an entire regimen of one hundred soldiers had been killed by a demon beast who had hidden itself within the normal beast wave. This was not too scary since the general was able to kill it himself, but the fact remained that every soldier regardless of condition needed to remain until reinforcements could be gathered by the local recruiters.

His captain showed mercy on him, by giving him a personal mission with the completion condition that if he is able to complete it and survive, then he would be able to leave and the captain would handle the general's wrath if one arose.

Initially hearing this, Wei Yan was so thrilled that he instantly accepted before hearing the details. This is where he would regret this decision because his mission was to bring a special treasure as far into the Demon Forest as he could. The treasure was a spying device that would allow them to keep better watch on any hordes that were forming within.

This task was given to the captain and the soldiers under his command, but when the annihilation of an entire regimen occurred, plans were scrapped for it, even though it was still a task that needed to be completed for the future hope of the Willows Cove Commandery to one day prosper.

And so, Wei Yan since then had slowly been traveling within Demon Forest and was feeling very irritated. When he initially joined, his captain gave him a technique to learn which would allow him to blend in with the environment around him so such a task could be done beautifully by him, but it did not mean that a demon beast would be unable to sense his presence.

It could be considered a great gift for such a technique since for the most part, Wei Yan only needed to battle against normal beasts. However, over a century prior to him joining, the military already knew about there being demon beasts within Demon Forest.

"Hm?" Before taking a short break in order to recover some of his lost stamina from traveling the entire day, Wei Yan heard what seemed to be a human's hell and a beast's roar. "Could it be that a mysterious expert got lost and is in trouble?"

Thinking about it for over a minute, Wei Yan decided that if it was a human expert, aiding them in their time of need could be fruitful for him since he was still currently alone. Even if the expert's cultivation level was not as high as his, it could still be considered a good idea as well as a moral obligation to help someone in need.

Heading towards the direction of where the supposed battle was taking place, Wei Yan continued to daydream about what type of scene he would see upon arriving. Maybe it was a peerless beauty from a major family who would give him endless gifts for his trouble. Or maybe it was a true expert that would bestow a heaven defying treasure in exchange for his aid!

As he arrived, his large smile from these pure thoughts disappeared as his eyes narrowed. What he saw was neither a peerless beauty or a mysterious expert. Rather, it was a male child that was no older than sixteen who was currently taking apart a beast's corpse.

The child's hair was a complete mess and what could only be described as rags covered the parts of his body that should have been covered. "Hey kid, why are you out here all alone?" He could help but to call out since he was unable to sense any spiritual energy coming from him.

"If you want to survive for an extended period of time in Demon Forest, you really should do a better job at suppressing your spiritual energy." Without giving Wei Yan a glance, the child spoke such harsh words to him.

Wei Yan was completely taken back by the child's demeanor and almost wanted to leave him to be eaten by a beast until he realized something. "How did that beast die?" From the looks of it, the child either set some type of trap to kill the beast, or an even stronger beast was responsible for the corpse currently in his view.

Hearing Wei Yan continuing to question him seemed to make the child's mood change from a calm one to a grumpy one. "I would move if I were you." Wei Yan couldn't take the child��s carefree and lofty like demeanor towards him as he pounced towards him, looking to give the child a beating.

After he pounced forward, a loud bang occurred behind him. Wei Yan was shocked as he turned around and saw that the entire tree he was leaning on had now fallen onto the ground as a demon beast was standing behind him.

"Hey mister, if you do not withdraw a defensive treasure or a weapon, you might die. By the way you are dressed, you should be a soldier and have some training in dealing with demon beasts."

"Stop ordering me a-!" Wei Yan after withdrawing a two handed sword glanced over at the child once more, but the child disappeared. Since a demon beast was close by and locked into him, Wei Yan chose to not waste anymore energy on the child and instead turned to face the demon beast.