William Harper had been gone for more than two hours when two figures stopped at the outskirts of the battlefield.

“Senior brother Arthur, it was a Xuan-rank tree demon, and an inner sect disciple has died,” said a young man in a gray Daoist robe, his expression icy cold. This was Edward Harper, a fifth-generation disciple of the Hao clan’s “Yi” branch, at the early Yuan stage.

So many outer sect disciples had died, but Edward Harper acted as if he hadn’t seen it at all. To them, the deaths of outer sect disciples were of little consequence, but every inner sect disciple lost was a huge blow.

“I didn’t expect there to be a Xuan-rank tree demon. Give orders to the sixth-generation disciples to intensify surveillance of the World of Creation. We can’t let something like this happen again!” said Arthur Harper. As the eldest senior brother among the fifth-generation disciples, he was in charge of all internal affairs of the Hao clan.

“Yes, senior brother,” Edward Harper replied.

Arthur Harper frowned slightly, looked at Edward Harper, and asked, “Do you smell anything?”

Edward Harper sniffed, surprise flashing across his face. “It’s the scent of dragon blood! The smell is very faint... It should only be at the innate realm, just recently awakened.”

“It must have been left by the one who killed the tree demon,” said Arthur Harper.

“Someone at the innate realm actually managed to take down a Xuan-rank tree demon? That’s simply unbelievable!” Edward Harper was baffled. The gap between the innate realm and Xuan-rank was enormous. Picking up a shriveled remnant of the tree demon from the ground, he muttered, “Could it have been burst apart by the dragon blood?”

“Dragon blood that has just awakened couldn’t possibly burst a Xuan-rank tree demon,” Arthur Harper said, glancing around at the fallen trees, damaged repeating crossbows, and so on, each detail falling into his gaze. With a slight smile, he said, “What an interesting little fellow, actually using these simple traps to take down a Xuan-rank tree demon.” He found an iron needle on the ground, picked it up, examined it, and said, “It’s wind serpent venom.”

“Unless it hits the heart, wind serpent venom can’t kill a Xuan-rank tree demon. But how could a Xuan-rank tree demon be so easily struck in the heart by an ordinary repeating crossbow?”

Arthur Harper gathered clues from the area and simulated the battle between William Harper and the tree demon in his mind. Smiling, he said, “This little guy is quite clever. He first lured the tree demon here, then used a big tree to catapult it into the air. At that moment, the tree demon’s guard was at its weakest, so he struck it with iron needles coated in wind serpent venom. I’d guess he used at least six needles. But the tree demon’s abilities clearly exceeded his expectations and it managed to capture him, then began to suck his blood. But dragon blood isn’t something these low-level tree demons can digest. With its heart damaged, the dragon blood burst it from within.”

“Another dragon-blooded descendant. Should we try to find him?” Edward Harper asked. Every dragon-blooded descendant was extremely precious; there were only about a thousand in the entire inner sect, forming the backbone of the Hao clan.

“Since his bloodline has awakened, if he’s truly capable, I believe we’ll meet him soon enough. If he’s just another useless mediocrity, there’s no point in looking for him,” said Arthur Harper.

“The imperial tiger appeared here and headed northwest,” Edward Harper said. They had originally come to track down a lost imperial tiger cub from the Hao clan’s inner sect, and had stumbled upon this place during their search.

“Let’s go,” said Arthur Harper.

The two figures sped off toward the northwest.

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Chapter Four: The Hao Clan of Western Lian

In order to get out of this damned World of Creation as soon as possible, William Harper had no choice but to speed up his work, spending the next few days hunting monsters day and night without rest.

Circulating his true qi, a stream of energy rose from his dantian, passed through Tianjing to Yutang, then to Neiguan, winding through all the meridians and acupoints in his body. He hadn’t officially started cultivating the War God’s Art yet; for now, he was only using its basic mental technique to temper his body, using true qi to impact his muscles and strengthen them from within. This method was far more effective than simple physical training, and after the true qi surged through his muscles, it would linger there, further enhancing them.

William Harper ran about searching for monsters while cultivating his true qi. In the eyes of other cultivators, this was a violation of the rules, yet William Harper managed to pull it off. The War God’s Art was far superior to ordinary cultivation techniques.

He survived another six days on the wasteland, living on wild fruits and roasted meat, braving the elements. At last, after clearing out enough monsters, the Thousand-Mile Sound Transmission Talisman in William Harper’s hand flashed.

“Order from the sect leader: William Harper, Henry Harper, report to Yifeng Tower in Xilian City. There is a mission to be assigned.”

In this world, William Harper had two brothers. He was the second son; his eldest brother Frank Harper was dead, and Henry Harper was his younger brother.

An external assignment—this was a good opportunity. William Harper wanted to try cultivating the Ancestral Dragon Art, but had never had the chance. If he crippled his own martial arts to cultivate the Ancestral Dragon Art, it would surely arouse suspicion. He had been worrying about how to find an excuse to leave the Hao clan for a while!

For anyone else, reaching the innate realm only to cripple their own cultivation would be hard to accept. But for William Harper, this power had come out of nowhere; even if he lost it, it didn’t matter, and he could quickly regain it through cultivation.

William Harper had always felt that the Ancestral Dragon Art was closely connected to his transmigration—perhaps the answer to the mystery lay within it!