Ouyang Luli

It is night time. The outer section of the Northern Bright Forest.

The figure of a young girl was gracefully waving her arms in different directions as if she were dancing. The trees around her seemed to move in harmony with her. They moved their branches, and the pleasant sound of the rustling of leaves spread through the forest.

Her every movement seemed to be in true harmony with nature. The forest accepted her. Even the flowers followed her movements. The glow of fireflies filled the entire forest. Even though it was night, hundreds of lights could be seen.

Finally the figure stopped moving and listened to the silence of nature for a few seconds. Her eyes were closed, but there was absolute peace on her face.

She began to approach one of the trees. She was wearing a traditional dress decorated with simple embroidery. Its green color made her blend in with the forest.

When she reached the tree, she raised her hand and reached for its trunk. Just then there was a movement in the tree. Another figure, whose whole body was made of wood, separated from the trunk and came to life.

The human-sized figure's eyes of bright green light met hers. There were jagged thorns in many places on its body. Each one was several inches long. Its body, made of wood, looked quite sturdy. Judging by the power it radiated, this monster was in the middle phase of the Natural Fledgling Realm.

The girl smiled in a friendly manner as she looked at it. The monster looked at her without reacting, yet did not attack.

The young girl reached out her hand and picked a few of the thorns off the monster. Then she parted her lips. "Go back to your bed."

The tree monster calmly went back and crawled into the tree from which it had come. When the bright green glow in its eyes faded, it was completely camouflaged. Anyone looking in there would never know that there was a monster in the tree.

The girl placed the thorns she had picked up in the small leather-bound bag she had brought with her. Immediately a holographic screen appeared in front of her. Its color was green, just like everything else.

"My Supreme Nature System will be very useful for my ascension. Soon I will leave the whole Broken Mountain Town behind me, all the forests at my command."

She looked at her own statistics for a while. Then she closed the panel and started walking towards the town.

Every step she took in the forest made her feel the power growing inside her. Nature was her power.

When she came into this world, she knew she would have a power that separated her from other people. It was his guide on the path from being an ordinary mortal to becoming an immortal, the jealousy of the gods.

She clutched the leather bag tightly. It was filled with many materials he had collected from the monsters.

She traveled in silence for a while. She could hear the monsters moving among the trees. The Bright Forest was a dangerous place. Although its outer sections were home to dangers that someone in the Wanderer's Realm could handle, it was sometimes possible to encounter monsters that broke these taboos. This was not a rare occurrence in the Bright Forest.

Still, thanks to the Supreme Nature System, the forest would not harm her. As she passed a snake whose skin seemed to be made of stone, she patted it on the back. The beast turned its head to look at her yet did not show any aggressive behavior. On the contrary, it seemed to like what she was doing.

As she walked, she touched every tree, every monster she passed. The forest was her home. There was no fear in her. She seemed to be walking where she belonged.

"But this Black Void thing worries me," she said to herself.

"When I committed suicide by hanging myself from a tree, I never thought I would come to a universe like this, or that I would have a power related to the forest. I have many reasons to come back. Yet why did it give me such power? What is its true purpose?"

She walked out of the Bright Forest as the moon slowly descended. She could see the town ahead. She could see torches burning in the streets, people still out and about.

Behind the town was Broken Mountain, which gave it its name. According to legend, an ancient civilization was once built inside this mountain. Its founder smashed the mountain with a single palm strike. Only ruins remain of this civilization from hundreds of thousands of years ago.

The mountain was critical to the Qi of the world. It contained an enormous amount of Earth Qi. This was a great opportunity for cultivators who wanted to master the elemental arts. But that was not all the mountain had.

Every day, hundreds of cultivators entered this mountain in search of the treasures left behind from the ancient civilization. Just the outer section alone was too big for them to explore in its entirety yet.

It also had countless mysterious areas and secrets. Broken Mountain was the perfect place for cultivators who wanted to get stronger.

Yet the danger could not be ignored. The enormous amount of Earth Qi on the mountain caused various monsters to be born, rocks to come to life, and sometimes incessant earthquakes.

Sometimes the monsters would come as close as the town, but were kept at bay by the disciples of the Great Sword Palace.

"When I enter the Path Realm, I will choose the Path of Nature. When that time comes, Broken Mountain will also serve my rise. Through the Nature Dao, I will become invincible and ascend to the Gods Dimension."

She headed towards the town. She never came to the forest in the daytime. Because it would attract too much attention if the natural monsters did not attack her. In her previous life she had experienced how bad the world could be. So in this life she could not be too cautious.

When she arrived in town, she walked along the deserted streets between the one-story houses. The town was normally more dangerous than the forest. Still, living here for years had helped her make some friends.

Soon another girl approached him. Apparently she too had chosen not to sleep.

Her long black hair was tied up in a bun on either side of her head. She had a sweet face and was short. Just like the first girl, she was wearing a traditional dress.

"Ouyang Luli." said the short girl.

Ouyang Luli bowed her head and greeted her. "Fan Xiu Mei."

"Did you go to the forest at night again? You're taking too many risks. Why don't you go during the day?"

"I don't like crowds," she said, smiling sincerely.

"At least if you get into trouble, there's someone around to help you."

"I can take care of myself."

Fan Xiu Mei smiled admiringly. "You're perfect. No one else dares to enter the Bright Forest at night."

Ouyang Luli showed modesty. "I think you're exaggerating."

"No, I'm telling the truth, there are many hunter beasts in the Bright Forest that only appear at night." Fan Xiu Mei looked at him excitedly. "Hey, are you excited about the tournament?"

"The tournament between the towns?"

"Yes." Fan Xiu Mei opened her eyes wide. "The strongest of the younger generation from our Broken Mountain Town, Bitter Sea Town in the south, and Black River Harbor in the east will compete. You are one of the five strongest young people in this town."

"I guess I should prepare for that too."

"Be sure to prepare. The tournament is only 2 weeks away. Soon Master Lou Chu Hua will take you and the other four to Bitter Sea Town to see your opponents. I heard that she is the sister of one of the masters of the martial arts school there, I think his name is Lou Guiren."

Ouyang Luli thought. It was a good idea to see the opponents in advance. At least they would have some idea of what to expect. But she was still in the middle phase of the Wanderer Realm. She needed to reach the late phase as soon as possible. She had to make the most of the system.

---

"Fire is rebellious, yet it can be subjugated by will."

Huan Wei thought in meditation. "Its way is to destroy. Of all the elements, it is the most destructive. Even when the Qi inside a person is ignited, it yearns to go out and burn it down. Turning the world into hell is its only purpose."

Huan Wei had been thinking about fire for some time. He believed he had the insight to gain the wisdom he needed. It was the only element he had studied for years. He had experienced it long enough. He could understand fire. He had to if he wanted to progress rapidly.

[Congratulations. You have reached Fire Wisdom Level 2. You have been rewarded with two stat points].

Huan Wei immediately opened the system panel.

---

[System Panel]

Name: Corrupt Cultivation System

User: Huan Wei

Spendable Points: 2

Strength: 17

Endurance: 15

Agility: 10

Dexterity: 12

Intelligence: 20

Luck: 5

Perception: 12

[Cultivation Realm] Wanderer Realm Early Phase

Xp Remaining to Next Level: 1110

[Body Tempering Realm] Oak Body

Xp Remaining to Next Level: 2960

[Wisdom]

Fire Wisdom Level 2

Blood Wisdom Level 0

---

Without thinking, he gave his points to the strength. He wanted to attack something superior to himself. He would need the strength badly, but that was not what he really wanted.

"I need to unlock Mastery on the Mouth of Flame."

He came to the technique panel and chose the Mouth of Flame.

[The Mouth of Flame technique is reached maximum level. Do you want to unlock Mastery?]

"Yes."

[Congratulations. Mouth of Flame has reached Mastery level. You have leveled your first technique to Mastery. You are rewarded with 2 stat points].

"Finally."

Huan Wei excitedly opened the panel.

---

[Techniques]

[Wanderer Realm Technique] Mouth of Flame Level Master (Class C)

Fire Qi Technique. Ignites the Cultivator's Qi and sent it forward in the form of a spirit animal.

Fire Qi Intensity +50%

Blast Size +50%

Spent Qi -50%

---

"Excellent. I can't wait to try it out. First thing at dawn I'll go to the forest."

Then he thought about what to give the remaining 2 stat points to. "I will need a lot of strength, but I may be weak in speed. I have never raised the endurance stat, any damage I take could be the end of the battle."

With this in mind, he gave two points to agility. Now he felt ready. "If I can get enough of this first achievement thing, I can be stronger than Stone Body while I still have Oak Body. My return will be great."