My Journey to Immortality Begins with Hunting

A few hours later.

Li Yuan streaked through the air, Sheng'er surfed on a cloud of crows, and Tang Nian rode in a palanquin hoisted by her giant puppet.

The three tore across mountains and rivers, ignoring every obstacle, their destination coming into view.

Currently, the Trueflame Tribe had taken over the township of Eightlinks and turned it into their main base.

Human‑skin banners flapped atop the walls while the recently conquered township had become a playground for the tribesmen.

The tribe chieftain Suljagar stood at the top of an open tower, hands clasped behind his back, taking in the unfamiliar land.

After the first tense moments outside the frozen tundra, he felt positively relaxed.

"So this is what lies beyond. The sun really is this gentle…" Suljagar sighed. "My people can finally bask in true daylight."

Behind him, the streets seethed with revelry. His tribesmen were feasting and carousing while the town's residents, now ranked below livestock, were tormented for sport.

The people of the Nine Flames, untroubled by notions of good and evil, were many times more frightening than ordinary villains.

Laughter and screams mingled in the newly christened amusement park of a town.

A sudden gust swept the sky.

Suljagar's pupils shrank. There, racing in on the wind, came a lone man in black robe with an azure blade strapped across his back, long hair snapping in the gale.

The chieftain knew that face; recognition deepened the crease in his brow.

He bellowed, "Jen'gal Yuan!"

Boom!Li Yuan dropped onto the battlements. "Chieftain, I trust you've been well."

Suljagar's mind flashed back to the letter months ago—

"Tell me, do you believe the gods cursed me or rewarded me with a gift to digest?"

Neither man spoke; the two simply stared.

Li Yuan took one step forward. Flame streamed from every pore, swirling into a blazing domain until he seemed made of fire itself.

No one in the tribe understood the Everflame better than Suljagar, and the blaze before him was identical to their sacred flame.

"You…" Suljagar stared, speechless.

Each tribe of the Nine Flames guarded a single flame. Yet this man had become a tenth flame, living fire.

"Shall we fight?" Li Yuan asked from within the inferno.

"Who…are you, really?" Suljagar stammered.

"I told you," Li Yuan sighed. "Any invasion of Great Zhou has to follow my plan because this frontier region is my land. I'd prefer we coexist. Cloudpeak Province is barren; the fertile soil of the Central Plains is the real prize."

Suljagar was silent a moment. "I read your letter. The other tribes scoffed. My Trueflame Tribe is strong, yes, but we're hardly the strongest among the nine."

"Which tribes rank at the top?"

"Bronze Clad and Blood Arrow."

"Where's Urttai?" Li Yuan suddenly asked.

"Huh…? Why?" Suljagar blinked. As clever as he was, even he couldn't track the sudden leap in logic.

"Tribal law says a former grand elder can reclaim their post by defeating a current one, right?" Li Yuan explained with a light smile.

After a beat, Suljagar firmly declared, "Jen'gal Yuan. Beat me and the Trueflame Tribe is yours."

"Agreed," Li Yuan replied without hesitation.

The two men parted ten paces.

Suljagar hauled a spear as thick as an arm off his back.

Li Yuan drew Azure Serpent and bowed lightly. "Go ahead, I'll let you have the first move."

With a roar, Suljagar stamped on the ground. The stone slabs of the rampart shattered, the tower crumbling beneath their feet. He lunged, howling speartip aimed straight at Li Yuan's heart.

Li Yuan smiled faintly.

The Nine Flames knelt only to strength. Humility was wasted. If the people of Cloudpeak Province saw the Ice Folk as an unscalable mountain, then he would make the tribesmen seehimthe same way.

The platform disintegrated, yet Li Yuan hovered easily in mid‑air. He slid his blade across his palm, wiped it clean, and sheathed it again.

"You're not worthy of making me use my blade," he said evenly.

One hand flashed out. He caught the charging spear, snapped it like a twig, and tossed the halves away with a yawn.

"Too weak."

"Ahh…" Suljagar stared blankly. Then his lips curved into a wry smirk, and he said, "When we return to the tribe, let's perform the Rite of Fire Veneration, and I'll yield the chieftain's seat to you. Only rites before the sacred flame can earn the people's tru—"

"No need." Li Yuan waved him off, fire swirling like a crown around his brow. "I am theEverflame. To bow to fire is to bow to me. Why go seeking what's standing right in front of you?"

Li Yuan drifted higher, arms spread like wings. Flame leaked from every pore, billowing upward until he hung in the sky as a living bonfire.

The deep autumn gloom gave way to a soft, comforting glow.

All motion along the walls of Eightlinks ground to a halt.

The tribesmen crowded the streets, staring up at that hovering blaze in utter disbelief. They could not make out the man inside it, but they knew the fire, the very fire that once burned only in the Evernight.

How could it be here?

Some understood nothing, yet instinct made them drop to their knees.

Li Yuan glanced at the stunned Suljagar below. "See? They'll bow to me."

Suljagar knelt, head touching stone. "I was wrong…"

"Wrong about what?" Li Yuan asked mildly.

"I…I shouldn't have offered you the chieftain's seat." Suljagar swallowed. "Because a chieftain is too lowly for you. You should be a god."

"Is that so? Ha." Li Yuan chuckled softly, his laughter growing louder and heartier until it rippled through the flames.

Only now did the kneeling tribesmen realize there was a man inside the fire. They pressed lower to the ground, necks craned, minds buzzing.

"A man, inside the sacred fire? Impossible…"

"A god?" The voice within the flame was imperious, mocking even.

Blood‑deep awe rippled through every tribesmen; they bowed even flatter, not daring to speak.

"If a true god existed, would he ever cast us aside? If he did abandon us, why obey him at all? The flame is no divine gift! There are no gods, only rulers among men. I will be Khan of Khans, the supreme Khagan…!"

"Suljagar, do you still not understand?"

Li Yuan had no interest in founding a religion; another powerhouse could hijack that myth tomorrow. What he wanted was a token system. Whoever bore the imperial token cast by him would rule, provided they had the strength and the right bloodline.

"Khagan…" Suljagar echoed, eyes wavering as he stared at the fiery silhouette.

The blaze climbed higher, like a second sun vying with the first.

His thunderous voice rolled across the sky—

"My fellow tribesmen of the Truflame Tribe, I am Jen'gal Yuan! From this moment on, Eightlinks is mine. Whoever opposes me, dies!"

The name struck like lightning. The tribesmen remembered the day, nearly two years ago, when Jen'gal Yuan vanished. Panic turned to revelation; they spilled into the streets, dropping whatever they held.

Li Yuan's gaze snagged on Changar, the brute who once tried to take advantage of his illness. He flicked Azure Serpent.

An arc of fire a hundred feet wide screamed out; space itself seemed to stretch. Immediately, the man was bisected, his two halves devoured by the flame.

His screams echoed, but no one objected. In their minds, this was how those with true power should behave.

Then a single voice bellowed out, like a single spark hitting oil.

"Jen'gal Yuan…"

"Jen'gal Yuan!"

"Jen'gal Yuan!!!"

And soon—

"Khagan!"

"Khagan Jen'gal Yuan!"

The muscle-headed tribesmen had reached their conclusion.

The former grand elder had returned as theflameitself. A god was distant and lofty, but a khagan…they could get behind that.

Li Yuan raised a palm for silence.

"To become Khagan, I must conquer all Nine Flames! My children, tell me, where is the nearest tribe? Lead me there! Let me see, and let me conquer!"

He flung both arms wide. Flames burst outward, shaping a glowing sphere—another sun hanging over the township.

"See, conquer!"

"See, conquer!!!"

The Trueflame Tribe warriors erupted in frenzy, grabbing their weapons, eager to charge after him.

Suljagar felt his own blood surge. Yet he was no muscle‑bound fool. Staring at the blazing figure aloft, awe flooded his eyes. He murmured, "With power like that, if you aren't Khagan, who could ever be?"