CHAPTER 135: CHAPTER 135 YUN MO’S PAST (FIFTH UPDATE)

Hu Jiu burst into tears upon hearing these words.

"With a body full of fur, humans like it as a pet; transforming into a human form but keeping the ears and tail is cute and adorable. Do you think humans would like a demon cultivator with a human body and a fox head? Or would you prefer a weird creature with a fox’s body and a human head?"

Hu Zhile’s words were harsh but true. After a round of scolding, he informed her of the missing goods, gave her a bag of Spirit Stones, and hurried out of the Market to attend to his business.

"Hmph! So, you dislike my pretty fox face. Just wait! When I refine my Transformation Technique further, I’ll charm your soul away!" Hu Jiu weighed the heavy Spirit Stones in her arms, tucked them into her chest, and looked resolutely at the Cloud Grocery Store, which still had its doors closed.

Who in the Cyan Fish Mountain Market doesn’t admire the number one beauty? That brat acts so aloof; I’ll make sure he gets so lost in my charm!

Moreover, after observing for so long, I finally found a Dual Cultivation partner. Demon cultivators have far more limitations than human cultivators; the strong ones are ugly, while those with decent looks either have dual cultivation partners or lack strength. Only that mysterious young human cultivator...

Hu Jiu, confident as always, could tell from his choice of clothing sizes that he was a tall and handsome young man. His hands were so attractive; a human cultivator’s fair skin couldn’t hide ugly features, could it?

Besides, human cultivators are already rare these days. He succeeded in Foundation Establishment at such a young age and came to Cyan Fish Mountain Market. Could his cultivation talent be lacking? Plus, with a family store, we would be well-matched. All I need is to attract him, and we’ll be set!

"Achoo!"

Jiang Yuan, unaware he was mysteriously fancied by a fox spirit, rubbed his nose and advised, "Stop crying. You grieve for them, but when they betrayed you, they didn’t hesitate for a moment. Everyone has their own destiny, and you can’t force it."

Yun Mo stopped crying, wiped away her tears, and hoarsely said, "Eagle Twenty-One tricked me because he knew I was illiterate!"

Retrieving materials for making paper crafts from the Storage Box, Jiang Yuan sat at the wooden table, preparing goods, and curiously inquired, "What do you read every day? Why do you always say they trick you because you’re illiterate?"

Yun Mo took a semi-old book from the Storage Bag, fiddling with it in her wings for quite some time before faintly saying, "I was born into a large tribe, and my father was the Clan Leader."

Was she beginning to analyze her growth experience?

Without looking up as he cut the paper, he played along, "Then you must have had a happy childhood, right?"

"Happy?" Yun Mo squinted her eyes, lost in memory, with a faint smile on her lips. "Yes, my father was a respected Clan Leader; as his only child, I naturally enjoyed the best treatment, but I didn’t cherish those good times.

Every time I dream back to those years, I hate my own foolishness!

We Ice-winged Eagles are social creatures, either living in large tribes or forming small groups after being driven out; rarely ever solitary.

Because of this, we have a cultural tradition where every young Ice-winged Eagle learns literature and etiquette. But back then, I was so naive, thinking that since my father was the Clan Leader, I could live carefree forever. At the age when I should have been studying, I was playing around all day.

The teacher responsible for discipline didn’t dare to punish me due to my father’s status, resulting in me not learning what I was supposed to, nor did I make efforts to cultivate. While other Ice-winged Eagles formally entered the Qi Refining Stage, I hadn’t even started."

Cherry tree leaves rustled lightly as gossip-loving snakes listened intently.

Yun Mo’s father, Yun Han, was a strong figure, with an ambiguous attitude toward the traditional challenge system.

On one hand, he feared that new generations surpassing him would inevitably kill his relatives to demonstrate power if they won; on the other hand, he worried about the tribe’s developmental limitations, leading to weaker future generations, who couldn’t compete for resources and would eventually vanish in the Wilderness World.

After weighing the pros and cons, he urged his son to cultivate seriously while training his most trusted younger brother. In Yun Han’s view, binding interests through family was better than cultivating loyal but unrelated allies.

By knotting family interests together, everyone could face all risks united.

Young Yun Mo couldn’t understand his parents’ intentions. He always made do with studying and cultivating, thinking only about fun and delicious things.

So, when disaster struck, he watched helplessly as the uncle, who usually treated him kindly and took him out to play privately, challenged and killed his father, becoming the new Clan Leader.

The new leader coveted his mother’s beauty, wanting to make her his own. To protect Yun Mo and avoid humiliation, Yun Mo’s mother chose to send him away forcibly and then passed away.

"In one night, I became an orphan, falling from the happiest and brightest cloud to the depths of despair."

Yun Mo’s voice was full of deep hatred and heartache, "Before that, I always thought the uncle who helped me skip classes and made excuses for my parents was my best relative, apart from my parents. I always believed we could live happily together.

After wandering for a long time, I finally realized that the reason he always helped me fool my parents was to ruin me, so that he could easily eliminate my father’s only bloodline. But I realized this too late.

The days of wandering were hard. I was repeatedly deceived and laughed at, with people saying they tricked me because they knew I was illiterate."

Jiang Yuan, finishing the framework of a paper cow and beginning to paste paper, sighed, "You have experienced psychological trauma."

Not understanding what "psychological trauma" meant, Yun Mo remained immersed in memories, too preoccupied to ask, and continued faintly, "I want to study seriously again, but there was no opportunity. One, being older, meant I needed to spend more time and energy on cultivation; and two, while wandering from tribe to tribe, I faced exclusion and ridicule, and no one was willing to teach me.

I even had to sneak time to meditate after finishing heavy manual work.

Hard work pays off; I finally made a name for myself in cultivation, thanks to slightly better talent. However, what awaited me was ruthless suppression and even endless pursuit, as those clan leaders feared I’d surpass them. They were only at ease by killing me off before I grew stronger.

At the time, without elders’ guidance, I didn’t know to hide my skills, and I took many detours.

Finally able to stand on my own, I met Eagle Twenty-One, who had a similar experience. He was almost killed after being lured into a trap due to his slightly better cultivation talent and barely escaped with his life.

I saved him, and the two young Ice-winged Eagles empathized with each other, deciding to gather other unfortunate comrades to form a group where we could help one another without fear of exclusion."

"So, you’ve known that traitor since childhood?" Bai Yunqi peeked out from under the leaves, curious.

Yun Mo nodded, "We had similar experiences, and Eagle Twenty-One always agreed with me. I thought he, like me, hated the traditional challenge system, which is why I trusted him completely. I never expected that he didn’t hate the system that puts people on their knees, but rather that it wasn’t him being worshipped!"

As he continued pasting paper, Jiang Yuan thought of scenes from the Riverfront Village dungeon, and couldn’t help but sigh, feeling melancholy.

"I only dislike the traditional challenge system that oppresses fellow species, not other traditions. So I agreed with Eagle Twenty-One that whoever reached Foundation Establishment first would be the leader, forming a stable group, and then help the other achieve Foundation Establishment soon;

selecting reliable subordinates, cultivating each group member into experts, to show those old stubborn clan members that only by working together and growing strong could we have a future.

Rather than securing their positions by harming the newcomers; nor is it about cultivating only to reach the top through a single successful challenge and harm the tribe. The Wilderness World is vast with so many opportunities; why must we dwell on infighting?"