Chapter 58: Raising the Army

“Commander Yun Zhao, don’t leave, don’t leave!”
Suddenly, a shout rang out from behind.
Yun Zhao and his entourage were rushing forward at full speed when they heard the unexpected cry, and were instantly taken aback. One scholar said, “Envoy Yun Zhao, perhaps there’s something urgent from Featherspirit City that needs to be conveyed. Shouldn’t we wait?”
“You all remain here and wait; I’ll return first.”
Yun Zhao could no longer concern himself with the decadent luxury of Featherspirit City. His mind was seized by a single thought:
He must inform Feather Witch that there was a cultivator among the wolf pack. This was the gravest matter.
Yun Zhao understood the might of cultivators. If a cultivator appeared among the alien races, it would be a calamity of unimaginable scale!
Seeing Yun Zhao’s resolve, the scholars’ faces brightened with delight. They laughed and said, “Very well, Envoy Yun Zhao, we’ll stay here and converse with the people of Featherspirit City. You may go ahead.”
The scholars still longed for Featherspirit City.
After all, in their ancestral land, they could only dutifully write and edit essays, gather to invent and create, living each day in drab simplicity.
But in Featherspirit City, their treatment would be altogether different.
Thus, Yun Zhao’s decision to have them quickly return to the ancestral land was met with dissatisfaction by all members of the feathered delegation.
What did it mean?
Were they to return before even tasting a meal?
After years of study, were they not allowed to enjoy themselves?
Now that Yun Zhao had granted their request, their spirits soared.
Yun Zhao paid no mind to the scholars, spreading his wings and flying onward.
Earlier, perhaps Yun Zhao had slowed his pace for their sake, but now, free from the group, his speed climbed to new heights—like a gust of wind, gone in the blink of an eye.
The remaining scholars, smiling, strode towards the guards who had pursued them. The lead scholar began, “I am—”
“Kill them!”
Without hesitation, not even letting the scholar finish.
The guards had one goal: to slaughter all the scholars.
In an instant, carnage erupted.
The scholars had no inkling of what was happening, and so, fell in strange and sudden deaths.

A few minutes later, after confirming that not a single scholar survived, the guards realized that Yun Zhao was not among them.
Yun Zhao was the leader, the chief envoy.
Moreover, he stood over two meters tall, the most conspicuous among the delegation from the ancestral land. His absence immediately aroused suspicion.
“There is still one envoy left alive. Continue the pursuit! He must be killed, only then will the city lord be at ease!”
…
Today, Feather Witch Qing felt strangely unsettled, as if some momentous event was unfolding.
In the distance, heavy clouds amassed in the sky, thunder rumbled, and a surge of spiritual energy seemed to flicker on the horizon. Feather Witch Qing sensed… something was brewing.
She stood barefoot atop a high platform, gazing into the distance, watching the unfolding scene.
Suddenly, she spotted a feathered figure, bare-chested and covered in blood, flying towards her.
Feather Witch Qing’s brows knit; she realized that the bloodied feathered one looked familiar, his aura even more so.
It was Yun Zhao.
“Yun Zhao, what has happened?”
Seeing him, Feather Witch’s figure became ethereal, and in the next instant, she appeared at Yun Zhao’s side, a surge of spiritual energy suspending him in midair. She said, “Didn’t I send you to Featherspirit City?”
“Feather Witch, something has happened.”
Yun Zhao, overjoyed at seeing her, hurriedly said, “In Featherspirit City, I discovered a wolf-dog with an unusual spiritual energy. I suspect… it’s a cultivator!”
“What?!”
Feather Witch Qing was stunned for a moment, and before she could speak, Yun Zhao continued, “On the way back, I was ambushed by the city’s guards. I slew a dozen, scared off the rest, and only then returned. I fear the wolf-dog also knows our secret!”
The news Yun Zhao brought was so overwhelming that Feather Witch Qing’s mind stalled for a moment.
“You mean… the cultivator in Featherspirit City is actually a dog they have tamed?”
Feather Witch Qing frowned; she had sensed another cultivator’s aura nearby, but had always assumed it was a companion. She never imagined it originated from the city’s wolf pens!
“Feather Witch, I swear by my life this is absolutely true!” Yun Zhao knelt hurriedly.
“Gather all the guards from the ancestral land—set out with me at once!”
…
A torrential rain began to batter Featherspirit City.

Columns of rain danced across the sky, like thousands of sharp arrows, swiftly piercing the Emperor, unstoppable and mighty.
Every plant struggled, desperately gripping the earth, making one last effort; livestock ran in the rain, fleeing the deluge.
It was the greatest storm the feather folk had seen in decades, and every resident of Featherspirit City felt anxious and uneasy.
Amid the downpour, a gray silhouette slowly began to change, howling continuously.
The rain beat mercilessly upon its body, but to the naked eye, the gray figure gradually began to resemble a human form!
A flash of lightning—a crisp thunderclap—the sky seemed torn open, countless streams of rain pouring down. Within these cascading waters, the figure lying on the ground slowly rose, gazing into the storm, laughing wildly: “I did it.”
“I did it!”
“I did it!!!”
Naked, he ran through the rain at lightning speed, leaving only a gray blur behind.
He was the first demon between heaven and earth: Ancestor Howling Moon!
The core within his belly had become tangible, endlessly channeling spiritual energy into him.
This sensation of abundant spiritual energy was intoxicating—Ancestor Howling Moon could not get enough!
“Children, come forth, come forth!”
Ancestor Howling Moon swung his arm, and a tremendous surge of demonic energy unfurled from his limbs.
The animals, terrified by the thunder, emerged from beneath rocks, from caves, from the fences, gathering before Ancestor Howling Moon, their eyes filled with bewilderment.
“The feather folk have oppressed us long enough. Countless kin have been slaughtered, turned into their food!”
“Today, we shall make them pay in blood. We will reclaim all that we have lost!”
Ancestor Howling Moon’s voice thundered, overpowering even the storm’s roar.
With a flash of lightning, all the animals grew frenzied—even the docile sheep became turbulent.
“Go forth! Slay every feathered one you see!”