The Cloud Wilderness covered half the continent, so it would obviously not just consist of a single ma.s.sive forest, but rather a wide variety of environments. The Liang tribe lived on the outskirts of the Cloud Wilderness, so they were surrounded by a large forest. But once Li Yang and the others went deeper into the forest, the forest started giving way to plains, mountains, and lakes.Since they started traveling from the outskirts of the Cloud Wilderness, for the first few days of traveling, they barely encountered any animals. They would occasionally spot a deer or some smaller herbivores, but they had yet to encounter a single predator.
"We have been traveling for a few days, so if things go like normal, we should start meeting some predators soon. It should only be some normal animals, like wolves or panthers, but it is best to be on your guard at all times. There is no telling when a Demonic beast will wander into the outskirts."
The group sat at the side of a small lake, refilling their waterskin with the cold water. Liang Zhou had already told them to stay on guard several times, but he made a point to repeat it several times every day. Only when he repeated it several times would he feel at ease.
"Don"t worry Big Brother Zhou, we will make sure to keep our guard up."
Liang Xinyi rapidly nodded her head as she a.s.sured Liang Zhou, while Li Yang simply gave a nod of his head. The truth was that Liang Zhou had only repeated these words for Liang Xinyi. He had seen how calm Li Yang was, despite entering such an unfamiliar area, so he was not too worried about him.
Liang Xinyi he was slightly more worried about. As they traveled through the Cloud Wilderness, he had noticed that she seemed to be slightly airheaded. She would often start wandering around, inspecting everything that caught her fancy.
"How long does it usually take for people to tame a Demonic beast?"
While sipping some cold water, Li Yang slightly tilted his head towards Liang Zhou as he asked. If it continued like this, this trip could easily end up taking up to a month. Maybe even longer.
"Hard to say. When I tamed Xiao Wei, the entire trip took me around half a month. But I have heard about people who spent several years in the wilderness to tame a Demonic beast, too ashamed to return without one."
Liang Zhou shrugged his shoulders as he responded. How long the trip would take depended entirely on their luck. If they met a Demonic beast early on and managed to tame it, the trip would obviously be shorter than if they did not manage to meet a Demonic beast.
"Mind telling me something? Why did we bring Liang Xinyi? I thought you had to turn 12 before you were allowed to enter the wilderness? Forgive me for being rude, but she is slowing us down. And it seems a bit too dangerous for her to enter the wilderness this early."
Li Yang glanced at Liang Xinyi and Xiao Wei, who had started walking away from their group, inspecting the myriad of plants around the lake. Because she would occasionally wander around, they were forced to stop their traveling and inspect the various plants or items that she had found.
She also did not seem to realize just how dangerous the Cloud Wilderness was. Her wandering could easily lead to her or them ending up dead, but she simply kept on doing it, filled with a childlike curiosity.
"Honestly? My father ordered me to bring her along on this trip. He said that the sooner she manages to tame a Demonic beast, the better. He also hopes that I can foster a good relationship with her, hoping that I can take her as my wife once she grows older."
Liang Zhou responded with a sigh. He agreed with Li Yang that Liang Zhou was slowing them down, it was also too dangerous for her to be this curious even after entering the wilderness. But he could not go against his father"s orders.
He had to think about what was best for the tribe, so he had to do everything he could to foster a good relationship with Liang Xinyi. If the two of them got married and had children, with the both of them having grade 3 talents, there was no telling how talented their children would be.
"I see. It seems like the tribe leader is hoping for the two of you to create extremely talented children."
Li Yang fondled his chin slightly as he spoke. He could guess at the tribe leaders intentions. After all, if Liang Zhou and Liang Xinyi had children, there was a chance that their children would inherit both their affinity as well as their talent, maybe even improve it.
Someone with the plant element and a grade 3 talent was already something that made the tribe overjoyed, what if someone who had a grade 4 or 5 talent and the plant element was born? At that point, the strength of the tribe would reach a whole new level, allowing them to stand on par with the stronger tribes in the area.
"Ahh!"
While Liang Zhou and Li Yang were chatting, they suddenly heard a short scream not far from them. They both quickly turned around, quickly turning towards where the scream came from.
Not far from them, Xiao Wei and Liang Xinyi were entangled by reeds that had grown out of the lake. The reeds were entangling their limps and trying to drag the both of them into the lake.
"f.u.c.k! It"s a Reed Vine, a plant type Demonic beast. Li Yang, quickly, we need to save her."
Seeing the green reeds entangling Liang Xinyi and Xiao Wei, Liang Zhou let out a loud curse, dashing towards Liang Xinyi. He pulled out the bone hammer he carried on his back and slammed it down on the reeds that were entangling Liang Xinyi.
The hammer hit the reeds, but they simply bent slightly. The Reed Vine was a plant type Demonic beast, so it could almost completely ignore blunt attacks like the ones from Liang Zhou"s hammer.
He originally wanted to free Xiao Wei first, as it was the Demonic beast that he himself had tamed. But as the future leader of the tribe, he had to think about the best of the tribe. If Liang Xinyi accidentally died while he tried to save Xiao Wei, he would never be able to face the tribe again.
"Help me, Big Brother Zhou!"
Seeing Liang Zhou"s attack failed to do anything, Liang Xinyi could not help but scream out once more, her entire face covered in tears. She had never been this scared in her entire life, she also finally understood why Liang Zhou kept reminding them to stay on guard.
At this time, Li Yang had also reached them. With his eyes staring directly at the Reed Vine that was entangling Xiao Wei and Liang Xinyi, he found himself more focused than ever. It was like time slowed down around him, allowing him to clearly see even the slightest movement that the Reed Vine was doing.
His hand found it"s way to the hilt of his sword, pulling it out in one swift and clean motion. It felt so natural as if the sword had always been in his hand, as if it was just an extension of his arm.
He didn"t think, he only moved his right arm on instinct, slicing out with the sword. Even he himself was surprised at the speed that the sword reached, at the sheer force he managed to put behind the attack. It was like a bolt of silver lightning struck forth, slicing through the reeds that entangled Xiao Wei and Liang Xinyi.
The moment the reeds were cut, Li Yang pushed Liang Xinyi to the side, causing her to fall into the arms of Liang Zhou, while he himself grabbed Xiao Wei and pulled back. Liang Zhou immediately caught on, pulling Liang Xinyi into his embrace and moving backward, away from the water.
After they pulled away from the water, the Reed Vine had no way of chasing after them, so they could be considered safe. Liang Xinyi was crying in Liang Zhou"s embrace, while Liang Zhou was trying to comfort her. Li Yang, on the other hand, was still slightly drunk on the feeling he had when he grasped the sword.