Before the beast could devour him, Wang Yun immediately dodged to the side. Rolling a few times, he steadied himself and jumped towards the mountain king and swung his fist with all his might.

  His fist shot to the side of the rge creature, but stone suddenly formed around its skin, preventing Wang Yun from making contact. The stone immediately cracked and shattered, weakening his blow. The beast was only slightly rattled before rocks and stones flew towards him, forcing him to retreat.

  'I can't defeat it, but I can keep it occupied,' Wang Yun concluded, realizing he was no match for the beast.

  Then he noticed Xun Shen still crying on the side. His uncle, with trembling arms, was pushing him away, but Xun Shen refused to run.

  "Xun Shen! Run now!" Wang Yun shouted. Just as he said that, he felt the ground beneath him tremble and soften, as if it wanted to swallow him.

  Wang Yun jumped, but his footing didn't allow him to dodge far, and soon he was sunk to his waist. He struggled, but the ground was like a slippery eel. The more he struggled, the more he sank down and became wrapped around.

  "Ahhh!" Wang Yun turned his head towards the shout and saw the mountain king liesurely walking towards the running Xun Shen. Wang Yun again tried to think of a way to get out of the trap, when...

  Xun Shen was wrapped around by a figure: Wang Lee! Wang Yun was stunned. After carrying Xun Shen, he saw his father heading towards him.

  "No! Father don't come here!" Wang Yun shouted, despair in his tone as he saw the beast suddenly lunge towards his father.

  "Noo!!" Wang Yun roared, anger filling his eyes.

  Then, he suddenly felt as if the world's constraints were lifted, that the shackles suddenly disappeared from his body.

  He felt unprecedented freedom, as if the world couldn't hold him down anymore.

  The mountain king was about to devour the two humans when it suddenly looked towards its pesky opponent. It saw the human break free from the trap and felt an impact to its side.

  "Arrr!" Wang Yun rammed the mountain king, continuing to push it and destroying trees in its path.

  "Rarrrghh!" The mountain king roared, but Wang Yun didn't stop. Suddenly, the mountain king's body emitted qi.

  Boom!

  Wang Yun was blown away as the mountain king released and detonated qi from its body.

  Wang Yun stopped himself mid-air, his body floating in the air.

  "Haha!" He ughed loudly, reveling in the feeling of being suddenly free from Earth's constraints, of gravity.

  "Oh!?" His joy was short-lived, however, as sharp rocks formed from the surrounding of the mountain king shot towards him like bullets. Each rock was about as thick as an adult's waist.

  Wang Yun flew like a fish in water, using trees as cover. But like artillery with precision, the attack destroyed everything in its path, and Wang Yun could barely dodge.

  He struggled to find an opening. As he dodged another attack, he flew down, grabbed a huge stone bigger than himself, and threw it at the mountain king.

  Disdain appeared on the mountain king's face as the stone suddenly stopped and flew back towards him.

  "Fuck!" Wang Yun cursed. He couldn't approach his opponent, but his opponent could easily approach him. The mountain king could even control the earth, while Wang Yun cked the means to truly hurt it from a distance.

  'Laser eyes, where the fuck are you?' Wang Yun excimed inwardly, but quickly accepted his situation. If he couldn't damage the mountain king in any way, he could try to lead it away!

  Wang Yun flew in the opposite direction from where the vilgers ran, shouting,

  "Chase after me!"

  He looked back and saw the mountain king slowly approaching, seemingly unconcerned about its prey escaping. Suddenly, the king transformed into dirt and colpsed.

  At the same time, Wang Yun sensed movement ahead and turned to face a beast's head emerging from the ground. Qi gathered around it, drawing in dirt and stones.

  Despite his heightened perception, this happened so quickly that before he could react, Wang Yun could only crossed his arms defensively. The next moment, he was bsted several hundred meters away.

  The mountain king exhaled, satisfied with its attack on the pesky human. It was about to pursue its prey when it heard a low growl in the distance.

  A flicker of light crossed its eyes as it burrowed into the ground and disappeared.

  Wang Yun flew weakly, his body battered and bleeding. He was barely conscious from the bst. 'I must escape,' he thought, holding onto that determination.

  A figure appeared beside him and quickly embraced him. Feeling the warmth, Wang Yun bcked out completely.

  "Huh?" Wang Yun suddenly woke up and sat up immediately. The first thing he noticed was that it was dark. "My son!" "Little Yun!" "Brother, you're awake!" Familiar voices called out, and before he could respond, he was engulfed in hugs from his family.

  "Brother, you're fine! I knew you'd wake up!" Little Cai said, holding a cooked hare. Wang Yun ughed dryly, but he felt an incredible warmth inside. "I'm okay, I'm fine now..." He assured them several times before they let go. He was indeed fine, feeling no pain despite the bandages.

  He turned to his family, their faces lit by the campfire. Seeing everyone, he couldn't help but sigh in relief. Xun Shen was also there, but his mood was somber.

  "You're awake..." His father said, ruffling his hair. Before Wang Yun could reply, his father approached him and patted his shoulder. "Don't do that again, alright?" he said sternly.

  Wang Yun struggled to find the words. He scratched his cheek and said, "But I had to..." His voice was low.

  "Even still..." His father said indignantly, also struggling for words. Wang Yun scanned his surroundings and saw his mother's concerned eyes. He made a decision.

  His father had already seen what he could do, so there was no point hiding it. He could only hope that no one else had seen him fighting the mountain king.

  "Father... mother... I think..." He paused for effect, then added, "I think I'm not human."

  Wang Yun avoided his parents' eyes as silence filled the surroundings. Even his siblings were quiet, but had really no idea why.

  "We know, son," his father said.

  Wang Yun looked at him surprised. "But we'll always be your parents, no matter what you are. It's our job to protect you." His mother came to his side and held his hands.

  "I know, mother, I know..." His eyes teared up at her words. He was an adult inside! He shouldn't be this emotional! But man.. was it good to have a family.

  "Do you want to know how we found you?" his father asked. Wang Yun nodded.

  His father told him and his siblings how they had found him. His uncle already knew, so he listened with half an ear while preparing food for Wang Yun.

  The siblings were surprised to learn they weren't blood-reted. Little Cai even cried, "Why not? That doesn't mean he can't be my brother!"

  Wang Yun ughed and promised he would always be their brother. His parents didn't ask how he was different from a human or how he had such strength, and Wang Yun was grateful. He didn't know how to expin it other than he was not human, but luckily his parents weren't pressing him for answers.

  The mood was lighthearted for a moment before Wang Yun remembered their situation. "Where are we?" he asked his father.

  "Three days away from the vilge... the mountain king didn't chase us after I brought you back..."

  Wang Yun was taken aback. He had just wondered how he survived and why the beast had let him go.

  "What happened to the mountain king?"

  His father shook his head. "I don't know. All I know is that before I found you, another roar sounded in the distance, and the mountain king never appeared again..."

  "A roar..." Wang Yun muttered. A figure entered his head. 'Is it the white beast? But if it is, there's no way it can fight the mountain king...'

  But Wang Yun shook his head. There was no point thinking about it now. The important thing was that they were temporarily safe. And he intended to keep it that way.

  "Just wait a moment, Little Yun. Food will be ready soon," his uncle patted him on the back. Wang Yun nodded gratefully.

  Then Wang Yun leaned forward and asked his uncle, "And Xun Shen? What's going to happen to him?" he asked in a low voice.

  Uncle Yushen sighed and said determinedly, "He has no one to take care of him anymore. My brother and sister-in-w and I agreed I'd take care of him. Don't worry, I'll take good care of your friend... after all... he's family now."

  Wang Yun nodded and sighed. He tried to think of how many lives were lost during the escape but shook his head. He should focus on the present. Right now he needed to make sure his family is safe.

  Wang Yun opened his status panel...