Divine Tang Era

Blue sky, green grassland

This is my home, my home, my paradise.

Xu Dan jumped out of the cave and ran, jumped, and shouted wildly on the grassland, singing incoherent songs to vent all the pent-up frustration he had felt in the underground cave. In that instant, he realized that all the unpleasantness, dissatisfaction, and burdens of his previous life were utterly insignificant.

Sometimes, simply being alive is a luxury.

If he didn't dig a survival tunnel upwards, he might stay in the cave until he died of old age, eventually turning into a skeleton, just like the owner of that skull before him.

Without a sword capable of cutting through iron like mud, he wouldn't have been able to dig the tunnel, and the end result would have been death in the cave, without even knowing what the world was like.

If there is no golden-red liquid, then calling it dragon's blood would be more appropriate.

Without the support of dragon blood and earth milk, he would inevitably have to attack the dragon salamander, and ultimately face its attack. At that point, his fate would be utterly tragic.

He didn't believe he was strong enough to face a large group of enormous beings with fleshy horns.

All those "what ifs" ultimately boil down to one sentence: "I'm still alive."

What in this world isn't worth living?

Tired from running, Xu Dan lay down on the grass, crossed his legs, plucked a blade of grass, and put it in his mouth. The fresh, tender juice brought a hint of sweetness, far tasting better than smoked dragon salamander jerky. He wondered if anyone was nearby; if not, he'd have to find a direction to walk in order to avoid getting lost.

To find direction, look at the sun.

Left is east, right is west, front is south, and back is north; they are easy to distinguish.

Xu Dan looked up at the sky and saw a dark shadow swooping down. "What the hell is that?" It was too late to run; he nimbly flipped to the side. The shadow landed on the ground, tearing up more than a foot of grass.

Xu Dan flipped it over and took a closer look. It was a gibbon, but its size was just too big!

The mountain vulture clearly wasn't going to let him go. After missing its target, it continued flapping its wings and screeching as it rushed toward him.

Damn it, they really think I'm an easy target.

Seeing the approaching vulture, Xu Dan gripped his short sword tightly. The vulture swooped down, its head snapping down menacingly. This was the moment Xu Dan had been waiting for; he leaped up suddenly, his short sword flashing upwards.

The mountain vulture hadn't expected this move. It was too late to stop; its head landed on the short sword that had been raised in the same direction, instantly splitting it in two.

The headless vulture fell to the ground as it moved, blood gushing from its neck blurring the grass.

Xu Dan, sword in hand, leaped onto the vulture's body and stomped on it hard, saying, "You think you can eat me? Dream on!"

All credit goes to the short sword. It was used to repair the stone house, dig the cave, cut meat, and slay the vulture. Without this short sword, Xu Dan wondered if he would even be alive. Moved by this, he touched the blade and said, "Brother, thank you so much. When life gets better, I'll definitely get you a good scabbard so you can show off your skills when you're out there."

The short sword did not respond.

Xu Dan wasn't bothered; it would be problematic if he responded.

Suddenly, he noticed two inscriptions on the short sword. Upon closer inspection, he realized they were the characters "八度" (Bā Dù) written in seal script. "八度" refers to standards of measurement such as compass, square, pendulum, water, size, balance, and weight, signifying the laws of heaven and earth.

Although Xu Dan did not know the meaning of the inscription, he knew that as long as a sword had a name, it was not an ordinary sword and might have left behind a legend in the human world.

It seems that a short sword should not be easily displayed in front of people, lest it be discovered and cause trouble.

Sometimes, that's just how people are. When they have no money, they complain about not having enough; when they don't have anything special, they complain about not having anything special. But when these things actually appear in front of them, they feel like they can't grasp them. They worry about this and that, endlessly.

Xu Dan did the same, to avoid trouble.

He planned to dye the Eight-Degree Sword in any populated area, give it a different hilt, and pair it with a simple scabbard. That way, even the most familiar person wouldn't recognize it unless they drew the sword and saw the blade.

The wind picked up, and the short sword sang in the wind, much like a dashing and unrestrained young man.

Gongliang saw a shadow on a distant hill. He stared intently at it, and his pupils automatically focused.

As the distant scenery came into view, a antelope stood atop a hill, giving him a cold look for a moment before turning and leaving. Xu Dan noticed a group of antelopes huddled together below the hill. It was a pity they were too far away; otherwise, they could have roasted lamb for dinner.

"Huh, why do these things have a wisp of air on their heads?"

Xu Dan thought he was seeing things and was about to take a closer look when the antelopes ran away.

When he looked away and glanced at the grassland, he discovered that there was also mist on the grassland, mist like clouds, with a jade-colored luster.

Not knowing what it was, Xu Dan was about to go and take a look when he suddenly heard a wolf howl in the distance. There were wolves here! Looking at the vultures nearby, he guessed it was these creatures that had attracted the wolves. He had planned a big barbecue to celebrate his new student status, but it seemed that wasn't going to happen.

"Awoo!"

The howls of wolves echoed from afar, rapidly approaching.

Xu Dan hurriedly cut off a leg and wing of a vulture, leaving the rest for whoever wanted it. A wolf's shadow appeared in the distance; not daring to delay any longer, he quickly jumped into the cave.

Soon, the wolf pack arrived, and the huge blue wolves immediately pounced on and tore at the recently dead vulture. Some of the vultures, drawn by the scent, came to the well Xu Dan had dug and tried to crawl inside, only to find a large hole below. They slid down and died.

The well was dug too high; before Xu Dan could reach the bottom, a large blue wolf fell down from above.

Some of the big blue wolves were quite clever; they peeked inside, found a path nearby, and tried to walk up it.

Unfortunately, Xu Dan had dug a very narrow path, only wide enough for him to pass through. The large blue wolf's body was too large to fit properly on the steps; if he wasn't careful, his foot slipped and he fell down.

"Bang!"

Before Xu Dan reached the bottom, he heard a loud crash, and another large blue wolf fell to its death.

I didn't expect this unexpected bonus; I must have an extra meal tonight.

A large blue wolf was about to enter the cave when it heard a sound behind it. It quickly turned around and obediently lay down on the ground.

A large, white wolf with smooth fur slowly approached. Wherever it passed, the pack of wolves bowed their heads in respect for their alpha. The white wolf king reached the edge of the well, peered inside, and seemed to beckon it from below, trying to pull it in. Its intuition told it this was no good place.

"Awoo!"

The White Wolf King let out a long howl and ran back the way it came, followed by the pack of wolves and the mountain vulture.

In the blink of an eye, not even a ghost was left.

Xu Dan stood by the well, short sword in hand, looking for an opportunity to profit. Unfortunately, apart from the two large, foolish blue wolves that had jumped in earlier, no other blue wolves entered. After waiting a while and seeing nothing, he went about his own business.

Dinner was extremely lavish, featuring roasted vulture legs and wings, as well as wolf meat stewed with mushrooms.

Unfortunately, without other seasonings, the wolf meat tasted gamey and dry. The roasted vulture legs and wings were better, but still just so-so. As a predator of the grasslands, without well-developed muscles, how could it possibly compete with others?

So while vulture meat is chewy, it's not exactly delicious—just kidding.

After filling his stomach, Xu Dan began packing his belongings in the cave, planning to move out the next day. He didn't want to stay in this dark underground cave for even a second longer.

As soon as he went up, he discovered a grove of trees on the edge of the grassland and decided to settle there until he found someone.