Tick. Tick. Tick.

Wang Jun's face was haggard and pale. He was tired past the point of exhaustion, trying to salvage his disadvantaged position. His family had given him an impossible task, one which he had no choice but to complete. His alternative was to give up his bid for the family's leadership, something his brother would relish greatly.

Brother.. Wang Jun clenched his fists as he thought of that despicable excuse for a human being. Originally, he'd had no intent on competing with him. And neither did his sister, despite being much more talented than he was. Yet his cruel brother had felt the need to nip the threat she posed in the bud. That had changed everything. Unfortunately, Wang Jun had started too late. He did not yet have the power to contend with his elder brother. Only by risking his wealth and health could he make up for the deficiency.

This assignment was clear evidence of his lack of support in the family. The mission had originated from the council of elders and had been approved by the current patriarch, then ultimately reviewed by the grand elder. Those same people had said nothing about his sister's murder.

If they condone such cruel competition, then he isn't fit to oversee the family, Wang Jun thought. My brother, the patriarch, and the grand elder.. they must all be purged.

Elder Bai entered the study at the hour he always did. However, he paused just after entering, giving time for Wang Jun to adjust his mental state. Wang Jun waved him in.

"Young Master," Elder Bai said, "are you sure you don't want me to come back later?" The fatigue on the old man's wrinkled face was evident.

"No need," Wang Jun said wearily. "What's our current status?"

"Our total profit to date is six hundred thousand," Elder Bai said. "However, our total liquid assets continue to dwindle. We have less than a quarter of this amount to invest due to our forceful acquisition of seventy-five percent of the weaponsmithing assets and half the mining capacity in the Song Kingdom.

"Even though we have some influence in the alchemical market, the nationalism in the Song Kingdom is apparent in their purchasing decisions. Therefore, we aren't making sufficient headway in this market. The crown prince and the Zhou family use their market share in alchemy as a continuous supply of working capital. The competition becomes stiffer with each passing day."

"What about the real-estate market?" Wang Jun asked.

"We've made no ground in real estate. The prices are currently over-inflated. That, and the third prince's influence is extremely shaky. If anything should happen to the king before the deadline, we will be forced to take heavy losses when pulling out of the market. I suggest we wait."

Wang Jun massaged his brow. The only thing that could save him now was war. In fact, most of the decisions he made counted on an inevitable conflict. The king's sickness was far too coincidental, and his condition would undoubtedly worsen in the near future.

"Continue as before," Wang Jun said with a sigh. "Continue purchasing our competitors' weapons and spirit medicine through intermediaries in as much discounted bulk as you can manage. Right now they are trying to starve out our businesses. They are willing to off-load their stored products on the market at a low price to choke us out.

"However, they do not yet know that this is a mistake. We will punish their shortsighted behavior. Meanwhile, we must focus on producing premium spirit weapons and magic weapons from our unique alloy blends and sell them at a premium to non-affiliated countries. We must ensure that we have a stock of high-quality weapons for immediate sale when the time comes."

"Isn't tying up so much working capital wasteful?" Elder Bai asked hesitantly.

"It seems wasteful," Wang Jun said. "However, my strategy is far-reaching. It is a high-risk but high-reward strategy. If things unfold like I believe they will, then we will have the advantage. We will have hope." He looked at Elder Bai. "Continue doing this, and I will ask the crown prince for yet another large loan."

"How much this time?" Elder Bai asked.

"One hundred thousand," Wang Jun replied. "However, we won't spend this capital. We will need it in the future, but we must borrow it now. Even if the interest costs us greatly, we must have this money available. There will soon come a time when it will be impossible to borrow, and cash will be king. This will be our turning point.

"Besides, there are people in the shadows who are preventing us from achieving our full potential. The rising nationalism interfering with the alchemical business, the pressure on our prices for exports, the difficulties in securing import partners. The king's poisoning. I believe a third party is meddling."

"You mean.." Elder Bai started.

Wang Jun nodded in response. The elder sighed but proceeded to pour tea for two. He then presented a second dossier. Wang Jun looked at him quizzically as he picked up the document. "You've been so stressed lately," Elder Bai said. "I kept the good news for last."

"Oh?" Wang Jun said while opening the package. It was a thick report, but he read through it with practiced ease. His eyes gleamed as he read. "Interesting. Such a cash cow truly exists in this small kingdom? Ah, but it is in the middle of demon-beast territory. The Silverwing Mountain Range is no pushover. I dare say that even the royal army would have trouble facilitating such a mining expedition."

"The difficulty is what presents the opportunity, Young Master," the older man said.

Wang Jun nodded. "What are the terms to purchase the information?"

"Instead of antagonizing one party or another, the seller of the information has offered it for fifty thousand high-grade spirit stones," Elder Bai said. "More than one party can purchase the information, which the seller has guaranteed by death vow and through verification with a high inquisitor. He swears it is enough for applying for a mining permit. However, we must move quickly. If we don't apply for the permit soon, the crown prince's group will automatically gain the rights to this lucrative find."

"Elder Bai, please purchase the information on credit using this seal," he said, tossing him a green jade slip. "In the meantime, I'll go to the third prince's residence to secure funding. No doubt he'll want a cut of the mine as well, but I can live with that. This mine is sufficient to solve at least half of our problems, assuming the information is correct."

***

Huxian yawned as he lounged in the sun on his mountain peak. He was bored. A few months prior, he had seen a glimpse of the beast called Silverwing for the first time. The beasts on the mountain said it was a regular occurrence. Every three lunar cycles, the large bird would fly from its mountain to feed. He was determined to catch it.

Like Huxian, no one had seen the bird's true form. At most, they had caught a silver gleam as its shadow rapidly flitted across the sun. It was a majestic sight. It made Huxian fearful but expectant. He smelled an opportunity.

A full boring day passed before Huxian began doubting the accuracy of the bird's schedule. As he waited, he wondered about Cha Ming and how he was doing.

I can't wait to show him how much I've grown, Huxian thought. He's going to be very impressed. Though I hope he finds me before I become the monarch of the entire mountain range.

It was noon again, and the sun had reached its zenith. Its rays rained down on the parched mountaintop, roasting away at any who dared stay exposed. Even Huxian, a mid-purification Godbeast, felt the urge to take shelter from the sun's rays.

This was exactly why he didn't. The timing was far too coincidental, so he figured Silverwing had waited for this very moment to make his exit, away from the watchful eyes of the beasts that hid away from the blistering sun.

As expected, a sharp cry cut through the air like a sword through silk fabric. It made Huxian's blood boil, something only possible with a higher-level demon beast. Not long after, a silvery glint flew from the nearest mountain and headed skyward before flying toward the next mountain over. A large gust of wind swept up the dust beside the small fox, cleaning the mountaintop in a single pass.

Huxian's interest was piqued. Using his superior movement speed, he dashed off toward the flying demon he could barely see. He was nowhere near as fast as it was and could only catch up because the bird was hovering around the mountain looking for prey. If he wanted to see it, he would either need to bait it or go visit it on its own mountain.

Huxian enjoyed a challenge, so baiting was the preferred method. He stealthily stalked the various beasts on the neighboring mountain, carefully analyzing each potential prey using his knowledge of such birds. Despite its impressive cries and the massive gusts of wind, his instincts told him that the bird was rather small. Therefore, he narrowed his search to demon beasts no larger than a small spirit wolf or spirit hog.

The mountain's construction was peculiar, with one side ending in a sharp cliff that prevented its inhabitants from taking shelter. The only suitable prey was roaming on the second quartile from the bottom of the mountain. While the lowest quartile met the size requirements, these beasts were much too weak to provide suitable nourishment for the powerful avian creature.

Huxian lurked near a pack of spirit hogs. Plump, small, and powerful, they were the most likely targets. The skies showed no indication of the avian demon. The sky was its servant, shielding its sovereign from the fox's prying eyes.

Suddenly he felt turbulence in the wind that caused his hairs to stand on end. A sharp sensation of crisis forced him to dodge into a nearby shadow, just in time to miss three dozen trees tumbling to the ground after being chopped at their base.

So fast! Huxian thought. So sharp!

He panicked. Never in a million years would he have thought that the prey the bird would choose was none other than himself. He looked to the ground, where a small silver feather had dropped. It was only six inches long. He smelled the feather, smelled the presence of the feather, which enabled him to instantly lock on to the bird in the skies. He couldn't see it, but he could now sense its presence enough to track it.

A loud cry pierced the skies as the bird dove down once more. This time, Huxian was ready. The black and white markings on his fur blended with his surroundings, forming a fifty-foot bagua around him. As the bird descended, Huxian feigned being paralyzed with fear. The surrounding winds slashed at his black and white fur. He held strong as his hunter swooped in for the kill.

It arrived in the blink of an eye. Then it stopped. The formation took effect, granting him a precious three breaths to do whatever he wanted. But he didn't pounce on the sovereign mountain beast. Instead he carefully observed it. The bird's wings spanned only twenty feet in width, making it impressively tiny for a peak-purification demon beast. Its brown body was highlighted with a slim row of silver feathers, the very same feathers that reflected the sunlight as it flew.

The feathers were sharp. Huxian sensed that even coming into light contact with them at the edge of its wings would split his tough skin open like paper. The feathers triggered a distant memory. He remembered an absurdly large bird that could fly ten thousand li in a single breath. Its massive silver wings could split mountains and cut apart seas. It was a Godbeast, the original Silver-Winged Roc.

The falcon, which was still frozen in midair, possessed a trace of its imperial bloodline. In this single breath that passed, Huxian firmly decided that he must possess it. The bird would become his general of wind.

But it's so powerful, he thought, sighing. I can't forcibly convert him into a general like I did Lei Jiang. I need to deceive him to recruit him into my service. But how do I defuse this awkward situation?

Another breath passed while he deliberated. Huxian decided to take a gamble. He swiftly grew to his original forty-foot-long size and pounced on the helpless bird. His attack broke the eight trigrams that bound it, and the bird's eyes widened in surprise.

Both figures tumbled as Huxian's claws gripped the falcon's small body, his teeth attempting to draw blood through feathers hard as steel. The falcon's talons repeatedly scratched his tough fur, but they weren't nearly as sharp as its wings, which were thoroughly restrained by Huxian's wrestling. It attempted to flee but was repeatedly pulled back into the fox's embrace.

"I surrender!" the falcon suddenly shouted.

Huxian, bewildered by the sudden reversal, swiftly freed the tiny bird. The both stood apart, viciously glaring at each other and projecting the strength of their bloodlines. They were equally matched. Huxian's bloodline was originally much purer than the falcon's, but the small winged beast was a peak-purification demon beast. Each step in the purification realm greatly condensed the strength of one's bloodline.

Seeing that their posturing was having no effect, both Huxian and the falcon suppressed their auras in tacit agreement. Huxian looked at the feathered beast curiously. A hint of frustration surfaced in the falcon's eyes.

"How dare you shrink your form," the falcon suddenly shouted. "Have you no shame?"

Huxian furrowed his brow in confusion, but the falcon continued berating him.

"It's so difficult to find sufficiently small high-level prey; how could I possibly resist attacking you? If you had taken on your original form, I would have completely avoided you. What? Speechless?"

Huxian was indeed speechless, but before he could reply, the falcon's tirade continued. "Not just that, but don't you appreciate your massive form? Did you shrink yourself just to mock me and my tiny stature? How dare you mock this sovereign!"

Black lines started to form on Huxian's forehead. "I wasn't mocking your stature. I just feel more comfortable in my reduced form," he said with a sigh.

The falcon's initially fierce expression suddenly transformed to one of excitement. "So, you agree that a small form is the best form too? How fascinating. Most of the brutes out there like to show off their massive build. That insufferable bear on the neighboring peak liked to flaunt his hundred-foot stature all the time. But he was unaware that I am proud of my small form. Smallest is most comfortable. Smallest beast is best beast."

Huxian shrugged helplessly. How could this bird possibly know that he was only a baby? He liked his smaller form because of his precious memories, the memories of Cha Ming holding and petting him. "Yes, this is truly the case," Huxian said in a calculated manner. "Smallest beast is best beast." To accentuate this point, he shrunk his size all the way down to the appearance of a month-old fox.

"So adorable!" the bird said. "I'm jealous. Here, look at my smallest form." The bird rapidly shrunk until its wingspan was only two feet wide. It was much smaller than before, but not as small as Huxian. "Aren't I cute? Aren't I handsome?" The bird adopted several poses to make itself look regal.

Huxian no longer knew how to reply, so he only shook his head and walked away.

"Wait, wait," the falcon yelled, flapping over. "Where do you live? Can I come see?"

Huxian shrugged. "Suit yourself. I live right next door, and I'm heading back now."

The bird nodded and began flying softly overhead. His words were mentally projected to the fox as he walked. "How impressive to be so strong at mid purification. It's too bad I have such a diluted bloodline, or I'd be much stronger than you are." The pride the falcon felt for his heritage was very apparent.

"Do your inherited memories not contain a blood-purification technique?" Huxian asked curiously. This was standard issue in any Godbeast's inheritance.

"Inherited memories?" the falcon said, blinking. "What are those? Are they tasty?"

The falcon's queries overwhelmed Huxian with two emotions. He was shocked and confused. It appeared that the beast's bloodline was not sufficiently dense for it to awaken the inherited memories hidden in its blood. This was both a tragedy and an opportunity for Huxian. After all, due to the bagua fox's general system, he had a vast multitude of suitable techniques to pass on to whomever he pleased. Perhaps he could convince the bird to become his general in exchange for the techniques.

The second emotion was appreciation. The falcon had a similar liking for tasty things.

"Yes," he said cheerfully. "They are very tasty."

As they walked back toward the peak of Huxian's mountain, they began exchanging names of delicious things and the ways to obtain them. For gourmets like them, this was the highest pursuit of a beast's life. There was no such thing as too much tasty talk.