Chapter 2 My Mission

  Under the shroud of night fog, I didn't get a clear look at his face, but from his build, I could tell at a glance that it was definitely Bi Mong. Who else could it be? The situation before me no longer allowed me to think about it, survival was paramount. If I were hit, with the opponent's strength, my half-hearted Tian Lei Xia Jia would only result in one outcome - I would be thoroughly beaten into a pulp.

  No choice, I'll just have to use my last bit of Dark Energy and channel it into my hands. My hands emit a faint black aura, and I use the same method as before - a head-on collision (it wasn't until much later, after going through many battles and tasting the bitter consequences of "one force overwhelming ten harmonies" that I came to understand the importance of technique). Both fists simultaneously crash into my opponent's fist. I discover that when Dark Energy is channeled into my hands, the damaged meridians from earlier rapidly recover by 60-70%.

  "Boom..."

  I felt like my whole body was torn apart by the opponent's powerful force, and I was thrown into the air, spitting out a mouthful of blood. I heavily fell onto the empty ground five meters away. If it weren't for me using Dark Force, this one punch would have taken half my life.

  I don't know why the other party didn't continue to attack, if he had added another punch I would have been finished. I struggled to get up from the ground, staggered a bit, and finally stood firm, unable to help but spit out another mouthful of blood.

  The other party let out an "hmm".

  I barely lifted my head, took a closer look, and was stunned. It turned out that this powerful enemy who wanted my life was actually my father.

  "Dad? How is it you?"

  His father's face showed a satisfied smile and said: "I didn't expect that you could actually block my two punches, I can rest assured to let you complete the task now."

  Finished the task? I was filled with doubts in my heart.

  "My first punch used 10% of my strength, and the second one added another 10%. I thought you should not be able to get up after that, but unexpectedly you can still stand. It seems you've been working hard recently." This might be the reason for his strange behavior just now.

  I couldn't help but smile bitterly in my heart. Is this really what it means to be a father? He doesn't care about his son's life or death at all. If I were slightly weaker, I'd probably have ended up underground with grandma already.

  "What's with the black air on your hand just now?" Father asked.

  I was startled and remembered what my grandmother had said about not letting Father know about the existence of Tianmo, so I pretended to be puzzled and said: "What black air? You must have seen it wrong, isn't it just that the sky is too dark?"

  The simple-minded father didn't think much of it, he just furrowed his brow and said: "Alright, you can go back now. Come find me tomorrow afternoon, I have a task for you."

  I nodded and calmly said: "Okay." After finishing speaking, I dragged my painful body back.

  Bimon's body was indeed very sturdy, and since I had already cultivated the first segment of Tianlei Xia Jia's Detoxification and Bone Replacement, it only took one night for my injuries to recover by about 70-80%.

  What task does Father want me to complete? Let me lead the troops to battle, no way. Several brothers are at home, it's unreasonable for me to be the first brother on the battlefield. What is the task? Besides fighting, with Father's prestige in the Beastman tribe, isn't everything else just a matter of one word? Does he need me to go?

  With a nervous heart, I came to my father's door and knocked gently. My father's thick voice sounded: "Who?"

  "Dad, it's me, Lei Xiang."

  "Come in."

  I pushed open the door and walked slowly into the room. My father sat upright in a high-backed armchair, his eyes narrowed as he looked at me. I stood there calmly, not flinching under his piercing gaze.

  "Lei Xiang, you've grown up too. I used to think you were the most useless good-for-nothing, but since your awakening four years ago, your performance has been very satisfactory. Although you don't have the robust physique of your brothers, your strength is not inferior to theirs, and your potential is even higher than theirs. The Beast King has entrusted me with a very important task, and I think I'll send you to complete it."

  It was a task sent by the Beast King. My face didn't show any fluctuations, I just asked in a calm voice: "What is the task? Give it to me, I will definitely complete it." No matter what difficulties I will overcome them, I want to be an unparalleled strongman and let my father see, remembering grandma's death, hatred flashed through my eyes. Since grandma's death, I have learned to hide my heart, no one can see through my true thoughts, I absolutely won't reveal my hatred towards my father before I become stronger, but the seeds of hatred are deeply buried in my heart, Grandma's revenge - I will definitely avenge it.

  "Good, you're indeed the son of Leio. The Beast King has ordered me to find someone to infiltrate the human side as a spy. As you know, our beastmen have always been the weakest among the three major tribes. Why is that? First, it's because we don't possess magic. Second, it's because beastmen are generally less intelligent and lack excellent leaders like humans do. This mission is to sneak into the human side and steal their tactical data and magical materials."

  "Go among humans as an undercover agent?"

  "Right, you're only 16 this year, and most importantly, you have human blood in you, with your human appearance you can definitely blend into the human crowd. I'll give you 5-10 years to learn everything you can, then we'll spend another 10 years training our troops. After that, the continent will be ours, the world of beastmen. So, you should know how important this mission is. If you complete it successfully, the position of Mong Wang will be yours in the future."

  What the father said is indeed a fact, it seems that the beast king is not a fool either, and he also knows the shortcomings of his own people. This is a good method, but whether it can be achieved depends on me. For me, this is also a very good opportunity. If I can learn human knowledge, it is indeed the best way to enhance my strength. Moreover, after all, I have the blood of the beastman, and making the beastman strong is also what I hope for.

  "My firm and resolute reply was: 'Father, rest assured, I will never disappoint you.'"

  His father nodded in satisfaction and said, "Alright, tomorrow I'll take you to meet the Beast King, then have a merchant who's familiar with humans train you for three months, and you can set off."

  "Yes, father, I'll take my leave first."

  After getting my father's consent, I walked out of his room. On the way back to my own room, my heart was surging with excitement, something that hadn't happened in four years. Humans? And humans who are just like me? Lei Xiang is coming.

  Back in my own room, I still can't calm down my excited mood. Let's go practice, I changed into my training clothes and came to the courtyard. First, I circulated the Heavenly Thunder Armor Technique throughout my body, then let out a loud shout and started practicing the Heavenly Thunder Eighteen Fists that Father had taught me. This set of fist techniques is completely for charging forward and breaking through enemy lines, with large opening and closing movements, most suitable for battling giant beasts. It's something Father created in the past two years, every punch filled with an unprecedented aura, a complete clash of strength against strength.

  It was as if the air itself was my enemy, with every punch I used all my strength, boom, boom, boom, boom, the sound kept coming from under my fist, and the yard was filled with dust flying everywhere.

  I didn't stop until I was exhausted, and I was drenched in sweat from head to toe, but it felt incredibly refreshing.

  The first time I came to the Beast King's palace, I curiously looked around at the tall buildings, although the craftsmanship was rough, but everywhere was filled with a strong atmosphere, all the houses were built with huge granite, showing an exceptionally thick and heavy appearance.

  My father and I stopped in front of the largest house, and the leopard man guard at the door saw my father and said very respectfully: "King Leo, hello."

  Father nodded and said, "Help me pass on a message."

  The guard bowed and said, "Yes." Then he turned around and shouted loudly, "Bimun King Leo, pay your respects!" The sound echoed wave-like towards the interior of the palace. Before long, another leopard guard emerged from within the imperial palace and came before his father, bowing respectfully and saying, "King Leo, His Majesty requests your presence." After finishing speaking, he turned around to lead the way forward.

  I followed my father into the most magnificent building I had ever seen. The Beast King's palace was over 20 meters high, with giant granite pillars on either side that were one meter in diameter, making my two-meter height seem tiny in comparison.

  As I was looking around, my father pulled me and his voice came: "Min Lei Ao accompanied by his son Lei Xiang to see Your Majesty." I hastily knelt down on the ground and shouted with my father in unison: "Long live the king, long live, long live forever!"

  A thick, solid and steady voice came from the front, "Get up, we brothers don't need to go through this." My father and I stood up together, raised our heads, and only then did we see the king of our beastman tribe.

  The Beast King was a lion-like man, sitting there made it impossible to gauge his height, but he must be taller and bigger than me, probably around the same age as my father. His robust body wore a python robe with jade belt, and on his head was a golden crown that shone brightly. He too was sizing me up. The piercing light in his eyes told me that he absolutely had strength no less than my father's, his wise gaze was something I had never seen before, no wonder he could be called the king among beasts, indeed having an extraordinary air about him.

  "Lei Ao, this is your little son? If you didn't say so, I would have thought he was a human being."

  "Yes, Your Majesty. The child's mother is human, he inherited the power of the Bimon clan, and also inherited his mother's appearance."

  The Beast King exclaimed: "No wonder you said your youngest son is the best undercover candidate, humans must not recognize that he has our beastman bloodline. Child, the rise and fall of our beastmen in the future will depend on you, don't let me and your father down."

  "Yes, Your Majesty. I, as a deputy commander of the Bei Meng army, will definitely exhaust my loyalty and die for it."

  "Alright, Leio younger brother, how is your little son's kung fu?"

  Father burst out laughing and said, "Your Majesty, you can rest assured about this. He's already strong enough to take three of my Successive Force Palm attacks (father was exaggerating for his own pride, I could barely handle two). Although he doesn't have the physique of our Bimon tribe, he definitely has more actual strength than a Bimon."

  The Beast King did not suspect his father's words and happily said, "It's true that heroes emerge in their youth. Alright, it's settled then. Let's have Lei Xiang infiltrate the Dragon God Empire. This matter is extremely confidential, you must not reveal it to anyone. I haven't even notified our allied Magic Clan about this operation. Lei Xiang, you may face enormous difficulties, but this mission only permits success and does not permit failure. Otherwise, I, the king, will not show mercy. As long as you complete this mission, I will appoint you as your father's successor, the next generation's Beast King." The Beast King was using both kindness and intimidation at the same time, also showing how much importance he placed on this mission.

  I hastily knelt down on the ground, "Yes, I will definitely not disappoint Your Majesty's trust."

  The Beast King turned to his father and said: "Alright, that's settled then. Tomorrow I'll have some good merchants come to your place to teach Leixiang some human etiquette and precautions."

  "My father said: 'Yes, Your Majesty. Then I will take my son and withdraw first.'"

  As I left the palace, my father surprisingly patted me warmly on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Son, you must make our Bimeng tribe proud. This is a great opportunity, and His Majesty has high hopes for you."

  "Yes, Father."

  Starting from the second day after seeing the Beast King, I began to learn human etiquette with those merchants who had been to the Dragon God Empire. My memory and mimicry ability exceeded their imagination, originally planned for three months of training, but only one month they couldn't teach me anything more. Since learning human etiquette and listening to human stories, my interest in the human kingdom has become stronger, after all, I have a quarter of human blood, what is my mother's country like?

  A loud, deep voice came from outside: "Lei Xiang, Father is looking for you." It was my eldest brother Lei Long. Among the three brothers, only he was relatively kind to me. The other two brothers didn't even bother to bully me, which was a good thing.

  As I stepped out of the door, the bright sunlight warmed my entire body. My big brother's robust figure appeared before me, and walking alongside him, I felt so tiny.

  "Big brother, why have you come personally? Why didn't you send a messenger to notify me?" I said calmly.

  "Hehe, I was just at Father's place and thought I'd drop by to see you. I heard that you're going out on a secret mission and we won't be able to meet for a long time."

  I nodded and didn't respond. My brother was used to seeing me like this and didn't find it strange.

  "Alright, we're here, you go in yourself, I'm leaving first."

  "Good. Goodbye." After answering, I walked directly into Father's room. Father was sitting behind his large desk, holding a stack of papers and reading.

  "Father, I'm here." Father raised his head, looked at me, and handed over the paper in his hand, saying: "Take a look, this is your identity information for going undercover this time. You have to memorize it on the road. Those merchants said you've already mastered what they taught you. This matter should be done sooner rather than later. Tomorrow, pack up your luggage and set off quietly by yourself."

  I took the paper and looked at it, on which was written: Name: Lei Xiang, from Longshen Empire Aika City border's Luomu Village, Father Lei Fu, craftsman, Mother Sha Die, engaged in manual craftsmanship, liked martial arts since childhood. At the age of 10, father passed away, at the age of 13, mother passed away, alone and wandering on the mainland for three years until now, introverted personality... The rest were detailed introductions about his identity, which seemed to be very strict and without any loopholes. I knew that this person with the same name and surname as me must have been killed by my father's subordinates, this was my father's consistent style, he would not leave any opportunity for his enemies.

  I turned back, took a deep look at this city where I have lived for sixteen years, took a deep breath, and started my journey to complete the task.

  My father arranged for me to go directly to the capital of the Dragon God Empire - Longcheng, where one of the four major academies of humanity is located, the Tiandu Academy. My mission was to go there and study hard, learning as much knowledge as possible. It's now May, and Tiandu Academy starts recruiting students at the beginning of next month, so I need to arrive there before then and take the entrance exam.

  Today's weather is great, the azure sky has no clouds at all, and the trees on both sides of the road occasionally transmit crisp bird calls. Leaving the cage where I lived for 16 years, my mood is as clear and bright as the sky.

  I wore a samurai costume, with a large conical hat on my head, and three feet of gauze hanging down from the hat, making it impossible for anyone to see my face from the outside. This was still the domain of beastmen, and humans were still very unwelcome here, so I had no choice but to cover up my human appearance in order to avoid unnecessary trouble.

  Before I left home, I went to see my mother. She was still the same, with a vacant look in her eyes and not liking to talk. I went, but she also didn't care about me.

  "Mom, I'm going far away and probably won't be back for a while."

  She just took a glance at me, turned her head and ignored me, it seems that she wouldn't care about my life or death. So many years have passed, I've become numb to it all, except for grandma, no one has ever shown me warmth.

  But she is my mother after all, although she didn't raise me, I was born by her. I took a deep breath and said: "Mom, this time I'm going to the Dragon God Empire."

  She shuddered at my words, turned her head and asked, "Is it true? You're going to the Dragon God Empire." Mother's eyes finally lost their coldness, with a hint of human breath.

  I nodded heavily, "Yes, I'm going there to complete a secret mission."

  Mom got up from the bed, swaying, and I quickly went forward to support her. She muttered in her mouth: "Empire, empire, father king, father king, Ah Feng, Ah Feng."

  "Lei Xiang, can you help me with something?"

  I nodded and said: "You say it, as long as I can do it, I will definitely help you achieve it."

  Mom took out a small bell from under the mattress, shook it with her hand, and made a crisp sound. The bell seemed to be made of special materials, emitting a pale blue light. Her eyes were very complicated, sometimes gentle, sometimes angry, sometimes helpless, and reluctantly handed the bell into my hands, a crystal tear fell on the bell.

  "Go to the Dragon God Empire and find a person named Lin Feng, give this bell to him and tell him that Lingling is sorry. " After finishing this sentence, my mother's tears burst out like a spring, and she fell on the bed. I stood there with the bell in my hand, not knowing what to do next.

  Mom seemed to have cried herself out, and from her bosom she pulled out a necklace, which was made of small silver beads with a delicate purple crystal carved into a little dragon hanging on it. She looked at me silently for a moment, then put the necklace around my neck.

  "I've never taken care of you for a day, you help me complete this task, and this necklace will be my reward to you." Her words were still so ruthless.

  I suppressed the endless sorrow in my heart, tightly grasping the purple crystal carved dragon, letting the hard crystal pierce through my palm. I took a deep breath to calm my turbulent emotions and said: "Alright, I'll definitely help you deliver it." After finishing speaking, I turned around without looking back and left this mother who gave birth to me but whom I hated.

  However, when I was about to leave, I still asked my brother to take care of her.

  I've already left Beast King City far behind, and my mood has gradually improved. As someone who has never traveled far before, everything looks so new and interesting to me.

  The sun was already high up in the sky, and although it was still May, its rays were already very intense. After walking for a whole morning, I was getting a bit tired. I looked up to see that on the right side of the road, there was a simple awning, probably with some food stalls underneath. I quickened my pace and indeed, it was a fruit stand, run by a female werewolf who looked like she was over 50 years old.

  She saw me walking up to the stall and asked: "What fruit would you like to eat? These are all grown by my family, absolutely fresh."

  I took out a silver coin and tossed it over, saying coldly: "Bring me one of each."

  She saw that I was in a bad mood and didn't dare to say much, immediately packed some of each thing and handed them over. What a big bag it is, enough for 10 people to eat, how can I finish eating it all?

  "Don't take so much, you take three-quarters of it. Leave the rest for me."

  The old woman looked embarrassed and said, "But I don't have any money to pay you."

  I thought to myself, can't even find a single silver coin? Is the life of a beastman so bitter? I couldn't help but ask: "Is life so hard? No need to look for money, just take out some extra fruit."

  The old woman took out the fruit and said helplessly, "You are really a good person. After years of war, it's already good that this place is close to the capital. The civilians in those war zones are even more miserable. We beastmen can only have food if we become soldiers or have strong fighting power. It's not easy for people like me who can't fight to make a living. Are these fruits enough?"

  I took the fruit she handed over, and I couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness. It's always the ordinary people who suffer in wars, no matter which country it is.

  I picked up the fruit and turned around, just about to leave, when a sinister voice said: "Kid, leave behind whatever valuable things you have on you, otherwise, heh heh, you'll become the big shots' dinner tonight."

  I turned around, and three people had already surrounded me from behind. A bear man, a fox man, and a wolf man. The one who spoke should be the fox man. Fox men are the most cunning race among the beastmen tribe. They were all very ordinary characters.

  I snorted, "Robbery?"

  Three men burst out laughing, and the bear-like man sneered: "Cut the crap. If you're not here to rob us, why are you blocking our way? Don't waste our time, hand over your valuables quickly, or else tonight we'll have you roasted as a dish to go with our wine."

  "Do you often rob and eat passersby?"

  "This time it was the werewolf who replied, 'You're right, this world is indeed one where the strong prey on the weak, and the weak can only become the food and prey of the strong. Don't you even understand such a simple truth?'"

  I glanced at them and said, "Alright, I understand now, thank you for your teachings."

  I took a heavy step forward and threw a punch at the strongest bear man in front of me.

  They apparently didn't think I'd counterattack, the werewolf's knife and the foxman's long sword both came at me simultaneously. I didn't pay them any mind, still throwing a straight punch at the bearman. The bearman was about my size, only looking much stouter, seeing me attack him without hesitation, stretching out his massive bear paws to grab at my fist.

  If I hadn't been wearing a wide-brimmed hat, they should have seen the faint cold smile at the corner of my mouth.

  The first to be unlucky was the bear man. The sound of his fist and palm colliding was low and dull, and both he and I heard the sound of his bones shattering at the same time. He didn't have time to let out a scream before his tall body was knocked 5 meters away by me. I had great confidence in my hand, and I knew that he would only be able to come out and rob again in his next life.

  At the same time that I sent the bear man flying, two weapons simultaneously chopped down on my left shoulder and right back. The wolf man and fox man felt as if they hadn't struck an enemy's body, but rather a steel plate, their blades shaking at the same time, without even tearing my clothes.

  I spun around and kicked the fox man in the chest, the sound of his bones breaking was clear, just like the bear man, he flew far away and heavily fell to the ground, fresh blood gushing out from his seven orifices, it was obvious that he wouldn't survive.

  The werewolf was stunned by the scene in front of him, and the knife in his hand fell to the ground with a "clang". He let out a loud roar, turned around and ran. I smiled coldly, used my foot to pick up the knife he had dropped, spun around and kicked it, the knife accurately hitting the werewolf's back heart with lightning speed, making a "thud" sound as it went straight in to the hilt, nailing him to the nearby tree.

  I walked slowly in front of the werewolf and said coldly, "It was you who taught me the truth that the weak are preyed upon by the strong. I hope you'll be smarter next time around."

  The werewolf groaned: "You... you... are... ruthless..." and swallowed his last breath.

  The old woman at the fruit stand had already been frightened into a ball, shivering with fear. I walked up to the fruit stand, picked up the fruit I had just bought, tossed a gold coin over, and said, "Bury them." Then I turned around and left.

  I don't feel sorry for killing, from a young age my father taught me that in the beastman tribe only strong power is the capital of speaking, no one will sympathize with the weak, when dealing with enemies you absolutely cannot be soft-hearted, strive to kill with one blow, do not give the opponent any chance to counterattack, even if it's a lion fighting a rabbit, use all your strength, otherwise you'll be killed by the other party.

  Outside the capital, I realized that the fruit shop was just the beginning of my killing journey. Everywhere were beastmen bandits and thieves, except for large towns with guards, burning, killing and looting could be seen everywhere. No wonder the beastmen, who are born with physical conditions superior to humans and demons, can only rank at the bottom of the three major races. Such a social climate makes everyone insecure, how can they develop into a powerful nation? I'll help the Beast King clean up then.

  It's not an exaggeration to describe my journey in the Beastman Country as a bloody path, every bandit I met was annihilated by me with lightning speed. Later on, I didn't even know how many people I had killed, and I had already become numb to it.

  Through this journey, I also understand why the beastmen can't beat humans. Although the beastmen are born with bravery and strength, when it comes to high-level warriors, there are almost none. Among the hundreds of people I slaughtered, not one was a worthy opponent. Relying on my superior strength inherited from the Mong tribe, wherever I go is like a tiger entering a flock of sheep.

  They finally arrived at the border of the Beastman Nation and the Dragon God Empire, where the Stru Fortress of the Dragon God Empire stood in their way. The high city walls blocked the path of the beastmen's advance.

  I arrived at the city gate and shouted loudly: "Would the generals trouble themselves to open the gate and let me in?"

  A commander-like figure on the wall looked down and shouted loudly: "What are you?"

  "I'm a merchant who came to do business with the beastmen, our caravan was robbed by bandits and I'm the only one who escaped, you see, I'm human." I pulled off the headscarf that had been wrapped around my head for over a month.

  The general first looked far away, saw that there was only one person, and it was a human being. His tone softened a lot and said: "These beast thieves are really not things, you are too, why bother to do business with them, and accompany your life is not worth it. Come on, open the city gate a little bit and let him in."

  After a short while, the city gate opened a crack and several guards welcomed me in.

  The general on the wall just now was also among them. Seeing my handsome face and tall stature, he had a good impression of me and said, "Is the loss great?"

  I pretended to sigh and said, "Don't mention it, being able to come back alive is already a great fortune. General, you don't know how terrifying the beastman bandits are, they kill people at sight and rob things at sight."

  "That general said, 'Alright, don't be sad anymore. Don't worry, our Dragon God Empire will destroy them sooner or later. You can go now, enter the city and rest. Once we're on human territory, there's no need to fear.'"

  I said many more words of gratitude, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief in my heart.

  Struthers' stronghold was built on the basis of Struthers City, the first human city I visited. Everything looks so fresh and new here, it's indeed more prosperous than the Beastmen's territory. The streets are bustling with people buying and selling, a thriving scene.

  I followed the merchant's teacher and found a relatively clean inn to stay in, planning to rest for a night and continue on my journey to Longcheng tomorrow.

  Here is the translation:

  Arriving at this human place, I feel that it's no longer necessary to wear a conical hat. For the first time, seeing so many people who look similar to myself, my heart can't help but feel some excitement. Although in Bimon I was the shortest, but arriving here, almost no one's height can compare with mine. Walking on the street gives me a feeling of standing out like a crane among chickens.

  Many women cast curious or strange glances at me, and my face flushes red. The merchant-teacher once told me that my appearance is considered extremely handsome among humans, and I'm sure to attract many girls in the Dragon God Empire. But I didn't expect the females here to be so bold. It seems taking off my hat was a wrong decision. However, human girls seem much more comfortable-looking than female beastmen, probably because they have similar features to me, I tell myself secretly.

  The city was free from the smoke of war, and everyone got along harmoniously. I strolled around the streets of the city, bought some food, and returned to my hotel.

  It's already late at night, I took out the map of the Dragon God Empire from my bag, and here is still over 3,900 kilometers away from Longcheng, it's really not close. Tomorrow morning, I'll have to set off early, it's better to arrive earlier, so that I can prepare for the exam more fully.

  I put away the map, sat cross-legged on the bed, and began to practice according to the Tianmo Decision's manual. The cool and transparent feeling gradually spread throughout my body. Recently, I feel like the Tianmo Decision has been improving very quickly. Although I've only practiced the second layer for more than half a year, I can now use some intermediate-level dark magic. I've also integrated the Dark Power and Heavenly Armor better than before. Is it because I've killed many people recently? Actually, I don't know. The Tianmo Decision is one of the highest-level martial arts of the demon clan, belonging to the category of combining magic and martial arts. The basic skills of the first segment are more inclined towards killing, darkness, and coldness. Since I killed many bandits, which coincided with the requirements of the Tianmo Decision, that's why my progress has been so rapid.