Flames of the Sun
It is happening again.
---------------------------------------------------------------
In the burning wreck of what used to be the Xu family manor, the sounds of fighting continued to echo out as the commoners of the area retreated further into their homes in hopes of avoiding getting implicated in this matter.
---------------------------------------------------------------
I am going to lose them just like I lost Father and Mother.
---------------------------------------------------------------
"Mei'er! Take the twins and run!"
"What? But father!"
"We don't have time. You and the children must live. Otherwise, everything we fought for would have been in vain."
---------------------------------------------------------------
I am going to be left all alone in this world.
---------------------------------------------------------------
A blade pierced through the heart of the middle-aged-looking man. And just like that, the patriarch of the Xu family, the divine healer of Changbo, Xu Zhihao, died protecting his family.
"Hehe, you can only blame yourself for this, old man."
Hidden inside a small compartment below the floor, protected by various formations that concealed its existence, three children saw what was happening outside. The twins, who were only eight or nine years old, started wailing as they saw their father killed. It was only thanks to the silencing formation that they were not discovered immediately.
But the older girl, on the other hand, stared with hatred as she hugged her younger siblings. She burned the image of the man who had killed her family.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Staring at the massive Silvermoon Wolf approaching her, its image was suddenly replaced with that of a tall man with his skin covered in snake-like scales that seemed to be made of stone. His sneering face taunted me with the knowledge that I would be unable to harm him no matter what.
My grip on the Jian sword I borrowed from Haizi tightened as I began using the martial arts that I had not used in over a year.
My Qi flowed into the sword as its edges started turning sickly green.
Despite being a martial family, the Xu family was not all that good when it came to direct combat. No, my family's strengths lie somewhere else.
The wolf spared no time and pounced on me while sending out multiple blades of golden Qi. Despite being a crude attack made by a demonic beast, it was hard to dodge due to the sheer speed that the wolf displayed. But despite the speed it showed, it was nowhere near what I remember from that man's followers when they killed my family, indicating that this wolf had just recently entered the Gold rank.
GRRRAAAOOOO
At the Alpha's call, the rest of the wolves suddenly started attacking as well. Their corrupted eyes locked on to the weakest prey in the area, my siblings.
No!
I wasted no time and arrived in front of the twins and sliced apart the first few wolves, reducing their number to 20.
But I won't be this lucky again.
Staring at the sizzling corpses of the wolves, the Silvermoon Wolf realized that the green energy coating my Jian sword was not just an ordinary aura.
It was a highly potent poison.
Poison and medicine are two sides of the same coin. That is why, despite our reputation as the greatest healers in the fiefdom of the Chen family, we were also very much feared by the local sects for our ability to turn our own Qi into poison. It was also because these sects coveted our martial arts that facilitated this ability that my family was killed.
But there is no way for such a powerful art to not have any repercussions. Especially since I have been using it continuously since Haizi and I left the town to search for the twins.
And it would seem the Alpha knows this as well.
As it barked at its pack, the wolves encircling us started attacking again.
If worst comes to worst, I will have to use my last resort. But I will make sure my siblings get out of here alive.
---------------------------------------------------------------
(POV Haizi)
When I first received the system, I always thought that the attributes would work in a similar way to what I remember from the games I used to play as a kid.
Strength would increase my power, Dexterity and Agility would increase my overall speed and Constitution would increase my health. Focus and Intelligence would be the dump stats.
Turns out, I was fundamentally wrong about my assumptions.
Strength would increase my overall attack power, whether it be physical or martial arts. Intelligence would increase my comprehension and IQ. Agility would increase my physical speed. Constituion had the double effect of increasing my resilience and Qi, Focus increases my ability to concentrate and block out everything else in the world, making it extremely easy for me to stack this with my INT stat to understand anything in the shortest time possible.
But out of all the stats that I have the power to increase, I found Dexterity to be the most useful stat. Its ability to increase my hand-eye coordination, reflexes, and quick thinking to levels unheard of was particularly useful in my day-to-day life as a blacksmith.
Unexpectedly, this stat has become useful in this kind of situation as well.
Moving at speeds that would put a horse to shame while easily dodging around the densely packed trees of the forest. My eyes were enhanced by the night vision and thermal vision of the system, allowing me to see perfectly even in pitch black. Its target-locking ability allows me to keep track of Yanmei and the attacking Silvermoon wolf over a mile away.
My bronze-colored aura already enveloping the area due to the sheer amount of Qi I have. 4000 points of Qi might not look like much on paper, but when I consider the fact that an ordinary Bronze rank peak stage cultivator would only have the equivalent of 500 points of Qi, it puts into perspective the ridiculous amount of Qi I have thanks to the 40 points I dumped in my CON stat.
As I broke through the tree line and arrived at the clearing made from the clash between Yanmei and the wolves, I felt shock and anger flood my mind.
Yulan was hugging her injured and unconscious twin in fear as she watched her elder sister being attacked from all directions by the Ash wolves. The same wolves that I thought were extinct due to the relentless hunting I carried out a few months ago to make the town safer and gain EXP.
What really stood out, though, was the appearance of Yanmei. Her tidy hair was flowing wildly, while her gentle eyes were ice cold. Her robes were torn in various places, and her hands were bleeding from using her sword against a superior opponent. Most importantly, her aura shone with a strong silver light, indicating that she was at least in the middle stages of the Silver rank.
Another secret that I must discuss with her at a later time.
But first things first, I need to take stock of the situation. If Yanmei has been reduced to such a state despite being in the Silver rank, then the Silvermoon Wolf must have made a move while she was distracted by the other wolves.
Then, my priority should be the silvermoon wolf.
It just so happens that I am missing EXP to level up.
The Silvermoon Wolf immediately sensed the arrival of another human but disregarded him since he was only in the Bronze rank.
But the moment the wind carried his scent to its nose, it lost all its reservation and howled in rage.
It recognized the scent. How could it not? It was the same man who was the reason why the Silvermoon Wolf had to take its pack and retreat deeper into Elvin territory and borrow the might of another demonic beast to strengthen itself and its pack.
At the Alpha's rage-filled howl, the rest of the wolves tried to change target, only for them to be attacked from behind the moment they turned, forcing the wolves to stay put and fight the girl while the Alpha dealt with the hated enemy.
The Silvermoon wolf howled as its golden aura receded deep within its body. But strangely enough, instead of bulging out due to the compressed Qi, it started to gain a much more streamlined form and a majestic look. The symbols of the eight phases of the moon on its fur started shining brightly with moonlight.
The Silvermoon Wolf is a rare demonic beast whose demonic core is valued highly by the various sects in the Empire due to its ability to imbue a weapon with the beast's abilities. Most importantly, its core was valued the most by the Silver Moon Sect due to its complementary nature with its martial arts.
The reason it has such qualities is due to the nature of its Qi being deeply tied to the concept of the moon, allowing it to blend in with the night or use the radiance of the moon in an offensive form.
It was precisely this ability that the wolf used at this critical juncture to kill its hated enemy.
Taking advantage of its sleeker form, it pumped its Qi across its body and dashed forward, intending to disorient the human with its sheer speed and eat him alive.
Unfortunately, on this night, the light of the moon was drowned out by the flames of the sun.
---------------------------------------------------------------
(POV Xu Yulan)
Why? Why is this happening?
All we wanted was to join a sect and become stronger. One day, find the man who killed our father and destroy him.
But why are we surrounded by demonic beasts? Why is my brother injured? Why is Big Sister bleeding? Why is Big Brother being attacked by that silver wolf?
Why? What did we do wrong? I refuse to accept this. This is not fair!
I hugged the unconscious Qian tighter in fear when the silver wolf howled again and started changing shape.
I saw Big Sister Yanmei's eyes widen in alarm, but she was stopped from trying to help Big Brother Haizi by the wolves surrounding her. I tried to scream up to Big Brother, but no voice came out.
I watched helplessly as the silver wolf shone with a silver light and became thinner than before.
One moment, the wolf was standing there, the next moment, the surroundings were drowned out by fire.
Once again, my voice failed me as I hugged my brother tightly, hoping that it wouldn't hurt much when we died. But strangely enough, the flames avoided us and Big Sister, only targeting the wolves.
The flames felt warm but not hot enough to harm, but that was definitely not the case with the wolves since they howled in agony. Their bodies were reduced to ash in a matter of seconds, leaving their cores intact.
But the biggest shock I felt was when I saw the silver wolf whimper in pain and fear, trying to run away from the area, only for its path to be blocked every time by the flames.
Then I saw him.
Big brother Haizi calmly walked out of the flames. His clothes were not even singed, and there was not a single wound on his body. A feat that should not have been possible for a Bronze-rank cultivator going against a Gold-rank demonic beast.
The beast growled in desperation and fear while it lunged at him, hoping to break whatever martial arts Big Brother was using and run away.
Then, Big Brother brought out a strange-looking sword from somewhere and directly swung at the beast. Unlike Big Sister's Jian sword, Big Brother's sword was longer and had a strange handguard and a circular pommel.
The silver wolf howled in pain as one of its front paws was directly severed, causing it to lose blood at a tremendous speed. As the daughter of a renowned healer, I knew that the wolf was now doomed, even if it escaped this place alive.
Once again, the wolf tried to escape, but in its haste, it made the fatal error of showing its back to Big Brother, resulting in Big Brother's sword directly piercing through the back of the beast and probably severing the veins connected to its heart.
Knowing that we were now safe, I couldn't hold on anymore and passed out.