The legend begins with becoming a white deer.

Having successfully obtained 1 Legendary Spirit Point, Qi Ji was in high spirits. The purpose of this mission had been successfully achieved, so he decided to leave.

Qi Ji let out a deer cry, then lifted his hoof and turned around.

In the eyes of the residents of Qinghe Town, this white deer was no ordinary creature. When they saw Qi Ji about to leave, no one dared to stop him, and those who were blocking his way hurriedly retreated to the sides.

Qi Ji pushed off the ground with all four hooves, and with a light and agile movement, like a white gust of wind, he leaped towards the town entrance in a flash.

Supported by his two sons, Shi Yan kept his gaze following the white figure until it disappeared completely before slowly turning his attention away.

He coughed twice, turned his head and solemnly instructed his two sons beside him: "Starting tomorrow, find the best hardwood and carve a deer statue in the likeness of this white deer, and enshrine it properly in the house."

Having witnessed the white deer's spiritual power and its life-saving grace, the two sons already held it in awe. Upon hearing this, they had no objections and nodded emphatically, saying, "Father, we will remember."

Qi Ji, having run out of Qinghe Town, stopped at the edge of the forest. He glanced back at the town shrouded in morning mist and, recalling the reaction of the large crowd on the main street earlier, a hint of satisfaction flashed in his eyes.

"There were at least seventy or eighty people on the street just now. According to the psychology of people in ancient society, they feared heaven and earth and respected ghosts and gods. Today, the minimum number of people required to obtain the legendary spiritual points was reached so easily. Maybe in a year, this number will increase. At that time, I may not need to do anything to obtain the legendary spiritual points for the second time."

Qi Ji felt that this was very likely. Even if he didn't get it after a year, he wouldn't lose out. After all, saving a human was not difficult for him and the cost was very low. He was still very inexperienced in accumulating legendary spiritual points and could only gain experience by trying more.

"If I encounter humans in the mountains again in the future, I will help them as much as I can, provided it is safe for me," Qi Ji thought to himself. He then left without lingering and quickly returned to the deep mountains.

From that day on, a rumor gradually spread in Qinghe Town—that a strange beast, a white deer, who could understand human nature and distinguish between good and evil, lived deep in the mountains outside the town.

Merchants traveling between the north and south would stop here to rest, and after hearing the townspeople's firsthand account, they would carry this extraordinary tale with them to even more distant places.

... ... ...

After returning to the mountains, Qi Ji resumed his previous life.

Every day, they seek out the freshest branches and leaves to fill their bellies and drink the sweetest mountain spring water. When they are free, they run freely in the mountains and forests. When they are tired, they find a sunny slope to lie down and bask in the sun. Their days are leisurely and comfortable.

And his spiritual points accumulated steadily in this peaceful daily routine.

In just a few days, he had accumulated enough funds and successfully completed the fourth physical enhancement.

More than a month later, the fifth physical conditioning session was completed as scheduled.

The two consecutive enhancements brought about a leap in Qi Ji's physique, and his physical development speed far exceeded that of ordinary sika deer.

Now, his back is 1.4 meters tall, and with his neck and head, his overall height is 1.8 meters. If you include the antlers on his head, his height is just over 2 meters.

This size is definitely considered a large animal in the mountains and forests.

Even more remarkably, Qi Ji's antlers, without naturally falling off, quietly branched out and grew into a neat Y-shape.

This completely violates the growth pattern of sika deer.

In normal sika deer, the antlers naturally fall off every year and regrow the following year before branching out. It is absolutely impossible for the antlers to branch out without the old ones falling off.

But Qi Ji was able to do it, which was probably related to the physical enhancement caused by the spiritual energy points, making his racial physiology different from that of a normal sika deer.

Qi Ji didn't care about this at all.

He could feel that the forked antlers were harder and stronger than before, and the force of the impact was more than doubled. He felt no discomfort at all, and that was enough.

Autumn arrived in the blink of an eye. Qi Ji had already traversed this vast mountain range, leaving his footprints in more than 90% of the area.

He knew exactly where there was a stable water source, where there was good food, and where fierce wild animals often roamed.

On this day, Qi Ji was speeding through the forest against the autumn wind when he suddenly heard a deafening tiger roar.

The roar pierced through the forest and leaves, carrying a terrifying, ferocious beastly pressure that made the fallen leaves on the ground tremble.

Qi Ji subconsciously slowed his pace, sighing inwardly. Sure enough, the phrase "a tiger roars in the mountains" was no exaggeration; the tiger's roar was truly outrageous.

"Yo"

Qi Ji shook his head, intending to change direction and avoid the area ahead. Although he was no longer afraid of tigers, he did not want to encounter such a ferocious beast unless absolutely necessary.

But just then, from the direction from which the tiger's roar came, a series of urgent and panicked deer cries rang out.

"Um?"

Qi Ji abruptly stopped, immediately halting his momentum.

The tiger's roar and the deer's cry came from the same location, and he could naturally guess what that meant.

Moreover, the sound of deer calling is not just one; it's a herd of deer.

During his time living in these mountains, Qi Ji had figured out that there were several herds of deer in the mountains.

Qi Ji immediately changed direction, using all four hooves to gallop towards the direction from which the tiger's roar and the deer's cry came.

Qi Ji couldn't explain why he wanted to go there.

Perhaps out of curiosity, or perhaps due to a slight emotional connection with his own kind, Qi Ji decided not to ignore it once he heard it.

"Go and take a look. If it's too dangerous, leave. If it's within my power, then help out appropriately," Qi Ji said to himself.

His speed was now far beyond what it used to be; in just two minutes, he passed through layers of trees and arrived at the scene of the incident.

Qi Ji did not show himself immediately, but instead hid behind a large tree to observe.

The first thing he saw was a striped tiger, standing a full 1.3 meters tall at the shoulder, with a very robust physique. Including the tigers he had seen in the zoo in his previous life, this should be the largest tiger Qi Ji had ever seen.

It must be because of the peculiarity of this world that many of the birds and beasts here are far larger and more ferocious than he knew of their kind in his previous life.

Opposite the tiger was a herd of fifteen sika deer.

There were two adult male deer in the herd. One of them was covered in blood, and the skin and flesh of one of its hind legs had been torn off. Although it hadn't fallen down, its whole body was trembling slightly.

Another stag is lowering its head, pointing its antlers at the tiger, its muscles taut, struggling to confront the tiger.

The other doe had already retreated to the trees in the distance in fright. Several fawns, which were not yet fully grown, huddled tightly behind their mothers, trembling like fallen leaves in the autumn wind, unable to even utter a cry.

Qi Ji's gaze swept across the herd of deer, then suddenly settled on one of the doe.

That was his mother.

He could see clearly that the doe's belly was already swollen, indicating that she was pregnant again.

It is currently autumn, the mating season for sika deer. Male deer will actively enter the herd to compete for mates and reproduce.

Qi Ji had already left her mother's side. As a mother deer that does not need to raise her calves, her body will not secrete reproductive hormones. The mother deer will then follow the physiological instincts of her species to complete mating and reproduction.

Qi Ji couldn't quite describe the feeling in his heart at that moment, nor did he know which of the two unfortunate male deer in front of him had gotten his mother pregnant.

All he knew was that the two stags, who had been desperately protecting their herd, had encountered a ravenously hungry tiger and were now in dire straits...