It had begun naturally, soone shouted about catching the first beast of the night and suddenly twenty youngsters were competing to see who could bring back the largest prey within two hours.
ng Bai joined them with enthusiasm, though Lin Mu decided to sit this one out. Cattaleya considered joining but decided she would probably end the competition too quickly and ruin the fun, so she stayed behind and roasted skewers with Little Shrubby.
The second day passed much like the first, but the second night brought trouble.
While everyone was sitting around the fires, chatting and eating Little Shrubby's grilled fire boar skewers, a faint tremor passed through the ground. It was not enough to topple anything, but Lin Mu's sword sense reacted imdiately.
Seconds later, a rumbling roar echoed through the forest.
A Fifth Tribulation Stage Forest Lindwyrm had woken up!
Its serpentine body slithered through the trees, knocking them down with each movent. Its leaf green horns glowed faintly under the moonlight, and a thick wave of Earth and Wood Qi spread outward as it prepared to defend its territory.
The juniors froze. The elders tensed. The Patriarch rose to his feet with a grim expression, preparing to suppress the beast before it reached the camp.
But Lin Mu raised a hand lazily.
"It is fine."
The Patriarch blinked in confusion, unsure if Lin Mu understood the threat. A Fifth Tribulation Stage Lindwyrm was a major danger. It was strong enough to kill dozens of juniors, and even immortals would not find battling it convenient. Yet Lin Mu seed unconcerned.
Two minutes later, the Qi fluctuations of the Lindwyrm vanished entirely. The elders exchanged looks.
"What... happened?" one finally muttered.
Lin Mu shrugged. "Probably my beasts."
A few minutes later, the truth arrived.
Little Shrubby, in full sized form, bounded into the camp with the limp corpse of the Lindwyrm in his jaws. The twins perched proudly on his shoulders, both puffing out their chests as if they were the ones who had delivered the final blow.
Behind them, a group of Dongxu juniors cheered wildly, praising the beasts for saving them and also begging Little Shrubby to teach them how to roast Lindwyrm at.
The elders stared in disbelief.
The Patriarch stared.
Daoist Chu sighed, muttering that he could already imagine the outrageous stories the juniors would tell when they returned ho.
That night, the Dongxu Immortal Elders enjoyed one of the rarest delicacies in the region, Lindwyrm stew simred in a cauldron infused with Earth Elental herbs, as well as Lindwyrm steaks grilled by Little Shrubby himself.
The juniors below the immortal realm watched with envy, unable to handle the potency of immortal beast at. But Little Shrubby cooked them a banquet of other beast ats, each dish seasoned to perfection.
By the ti they were done eating, the juniors were declaring Little Shrubby their cooking master, and so even tried to bribe him with jade trinkets they had personally made. Twins accepted them greedily, wanting to expand their collection of shines and also taking so extra for Ashy.
The convoy continued its journey on the third day, spirits high.
By afternoon, the landscape shifted dramatically.
The air grew thicker with martial intent. The ground seed to hum with a lingering force. Even the wind felt sharper, as if shaped by countless punches thrown through history.
Then they saw it.
The Great Fist City.
The city stretched for more than two hundred kiloters, surrounded by walls covered with carvings of fists, warriors, and ancient battles. But the center was what captured everyone's attention.
A colossal stone fist rose into the sky.
It was twenty kiloters wide at the base and nearly a thousand ters tall, carved directly from a mountain. The knuckles were shaped with such precision that one could see the grain of stone running through them.
The thumb pointed outward as if challenging the heavens. There were faint cracks on its surface, not from decay, but from residual force of ancient martial masters who had trained on its surface.
The closer they got, the heavier the air felt. This was the birthplace of
countless legends, a sacred land of the Martial Fist King Sect.
Even Lin Mu, who had seen many extraordinary things, narrowed his eyes in
appreciation.
"Impressive," he said simply.
Cattaleya grinned. "I cannot wait to fight here."
ng Bai swallowed nervously. "I hope I do not embarrass myself."
The Patriarch of the Dongxu Clan raised his voice proudly.
"Welco, everyone, to the Great Fist City."
Their journey had ended.
But the real excitent was only about to begin.
The mont Lin Mu's group passed through the main gates of the Great Fist City, the atmosphere around them shifted.
The air thrumd with energy. Everywhere they looked, there were arenas, sparring rings, dueling stages, training platforms, and massive stadiums shaped like martial symbols. Even open plazas were filled with duelists clamoring for
challengers.
Echoes of fists striking stone. Cheers. Groans. The sound of bodies slamming into reinforced platforms. The sll of sweat, dust, and heated Qi mixed with vibrant vitality. This was a battlefield disguised as a city.
Patriarch Wang raised a hand and began speaking with a hint of reverence in his tone.
"This city is the fierce fist of the Martial Fist King Sect. It is known as the sacred battleground where their strongest disciples, elders, and even their ancestors once trained. Thousands of duels are recorded in its stones." Indeed, the stone roads carried faint fist shaped depressions, each one left behind by a fist imprint powerful enough to permanently mark the land. Lin Mu had seen battle scars left behind by experts before, but here, the scars were
landmarks.
Patriarch Wang continued.
"While the Great Martial Fist King Tournant is held once every century, this place never sleeps. Minor competitions take place every single day. Anyone seeking to test their limits can step into a ring and challenge whoever stands there. There is not a single day when fights do not happen. Not a single day without blood or broken bones."
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