The legend begins with becoming a white deer.

The wind rustled through the forest as Qi Ji galloped through the ancient trees with all his might.

"Whoosh~ Whoosh~ Whoosh~ Whoosh~..."

With keen senses, Qi Ji noticed dozens of sharp, whistling sounds suddenly coming from behind. His heart skipped a beat, and almost instinctively, he used all four limbs to propel himself into the air, leaping to the side.

Qi Ji successfully dodged dozens of arrows, while a large number of arrows were driven deep into the tree trunks and soil in front of him, their fletchings trembling incessantly.

The sounds of a large number of humans pursuing them drew closer from behind.

Chi Lan led three hundred Chi Kingdom soldiers, relentlessly pursuing them, bowstrings twanging incessantly, and arrows raining down upon them.

If this were on an open plain, such a dense rain of arrows would be enough to block out all escape routes, posing a significant threat to Qi Ji.

In these mountains and forests, the thick tree trunks layer upon layer form a natural barrier. Arrows are either intercepted by the tree trunks or deflected by the dense branches, greatly reducing their power.

Of course, the barrage of arrows slowed Qi Ji down to some extent, forcing him to constantly change direction to avoid attacks from behind, preventing him from sprinting at full speed.

"These guys are really persistent, sticking to me like glue."

Feeling the overwhelming presence behind him that he couldn't shake off anytime soon, Qi Ji decided to try a different approach.

With his gaze sweeping over a large tree in front of him, Qi Ji immediately leaped into the air, his forelegs landing firmly on the rough trunk.

The [Agile Foot] skill was instinctively activated, and Qi Ji's four hooves firmly adhered to the tree trunk. Then, he ran almost vertically up the tree trunk, rushing up a horizontal branch several meters high in just a few steps.

The ancient trees in this mountain forest were exceptionally tall, with layered canopies and dense foliage. Qi Ji decided to change to a high-altitude route, using the branches and leaves to block the view of humans and to better defend against arrows.

The Red Kingdom members who were pursuing from behind happened to witness this scene, and everyone was shocked.

"!"

Chi Lan stared wide-eyed as she watched the white figure leap up the straight tree trunk as if walking on flat ground; her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"How can this white deer...climb trees?!"

The soldiers of the Red Kingdom around him all looked surprised. They had only heard that the auspicious beast, the white deer, could walk on water, but they had never imagined that the white deer could also run vertically on tree trunks.

What kind of ability is this?

Could it be that this auspicious white deer also possesses the light-footed skills of human martial arts practitioners?

Someone cursed in frustration and raised his hand to shoot an arrow, but his line of sight was poor, with layers of branches and leaves obscuring his view. He could only vaguely make out the white deer's figure and had no way to aim accurately.

The previously tense pursuit pace suddenly slowed down considerably.

Qi Ji gave them no time to react. He used his limbs to push off the horizontal branch and leaped forward like an arrow, landing steadily on the branch of another large tree.

Qi Ji leaped repeatedly, his figure half-hidden among the branches and leaves, gradually leaving the Red Kingdom's people behind in the high sky.

As Qi Ji passed the fourteenth large tree, a green shadow suddenly flashed through the dense foliage ahead.

A young man wielding a long sword leaped through the trees using his light-footed skills, blocking his path.

The person who arrived was none other than Murong Jing.

He didn't draw his sword; instead, with a flick of his wrist, the scabbard inlaid with light blue gemstones shot out, aiming directly at Qi Ji's forelimb shoulder, clearly intending to knock Qi Ji off the tree.

Qi Ji had already sensed this aura, and remained completely calm.

With his head lowered, Qi Ji used the hard antlers on his head to directly collide with the sword sheath.

"Bang"

"Click—"

A sharp crack suddenly rang out.

Taking advantage of his momentum as he leaped through the air, Qi Ji's strength far surpassed that of Murong Jing. The iron scabbard was shattered by the impact of the deer antlers, and the pale blue gemstones inlaid on it fell off and spun down to the ground below the tree.

Murong Jing felt a tremendous force coming from the sword sheath, and his whole body flew backward involuntarily. Fortunately, he had a solid foundation in lightness skills, and he twisted his waist in mid-air to dissipate the force, and landed gracefully on another thick tree branch.

Murong Jing glanced down at the half-broken scabbard in his hand, but instead of feeling any heartache, his eyes shone even brighter. He threw his head back and laughed loudly, "Good, good, good! As expected of the auspicious white deer, it was able to shatter my scabbard with a single blow. It truly deserves to be the mount I chose."

Murong Jing's obsession with Qi Ji initially stemmed from his interest in the auspicious name of the white deer, which he believed would give him an edge in the future struggle for the throne. However, after witnessing Qi Ji's immense strength and ability to move freely among the trees, his possessiveness intensified.

Such a wondrous beast of heaven and earth, it would be fine if we never had the chance to encounter it, but now that we have, it is only right that this beast belongs to him.

Qi Ji shook his neck, too lazy to pay attention to this person, and turned to leap away in another direction.

Upon seeing this, Murong Jing immediately shouted in a low voice, "Attack!"

As soon as he finished speaking, more than fifty figures leaped out from the treetops around them, each one agile and quick, scrambling around on the branches.

The members of the Changfeng Escort Agency were all quite skilled in light-footed techniques. Although their speed was far inferior to Qi Ji's, they had the advantage of large numbers and spread out a large net to try to surround him.

Even with this brief delay, the Red Orchid group, who were pursuing from behind, finally caught up with the tree.

Chi Lan, carrying a large scythe, looked up at Murong Jing and the others in the tree, his face grim, and shouted in a stern voice, "This white deer is the prey of our Chi Kingdom. You will all retreat immediately, or don't blame us for being impolite."

Murong Jing glanced at Chi Lan and the others. The other side outnumbered them by a large margin, but Murong Jing didn't care at all.

He stood with his hands behind his back on a branch, his tone full of disdain, and said, "The Changfeng Escort Agency of Yunyan Kingdom is doing its job, and it's not up to your Chi Kingdom to interfere. We want this auspicious white deer. If you dare to take it, you'll be making an enemy of the entire Changfeng Escort Agency."

Yunyan Kingdom is one of the five most powerful countries in the world, and its national strength is far superior to that of countries like Chi Kingdom.

The Changfeng Escort Agency was renowned throughout the imperial court and the martial arts world, possessing a profound and distinguished history.

Upon hearing this, Chi Lan's expression instantly turned serious, and she swallowed back the harsh words that were on the tip of her tongue.

She dared not truly offend the Changfeng Escort Agency, but she was absolutely unwilling to give up on the white deer. After a moment's hesitation, she gave a stern order: "Fire arrows! Shoot the white deer down from the tree!"

"Yes"

The archers of the Red Kingdom immediately drew their bows and fired a dense barrage of arrows at the treetop where Qi Ji was located.

Murong Jing frowned, but he didn't have time to argue with Chi Lan.

Although these arrows couldn't harm the white deer, they forced Qi Ji to constantly dodge, thus limiting his escape space.

Just then, another commotion came from the other side of the woods, and the two groups of martial arts practitioners, totaling more than thirty people, also arrived one after another.

In an instant, crowds gathered under and on the tree, with various groups of people huddled together in a chaotic frenzy. Some were drawing their bows and arrows, while others were waving their weapons as they climbed the tree, all calling out to Qi Ji.

Although this group looked impressive, they posed very little threat to Qi Ji.

Relying on the [Agile Foot] skill, which allows him to freely adhere to any flat surface, Qi Ji moved among the branches as if walking on flat ground, his movements extremely agile.

When arrows came, he would dodge to the side; when people surrounded him, he would lightly leap and land on another big tree more than ten meters away in an instant.

Even if ordinary martial artists are not weak in lightness skills, they cannot keep up with his speed in moving between the trees. They can only watch helplessly as Qi Ji moves freely among the treetops, unable to even touch him.

Of course, Qi Ji didn't just dodge; he would attack when he had the chance.

"Clang—"

A loud crash resounded from a large tree.

Qi Ji leaned back, and one of his forelegs, a deer hoof, struck the blade of the sickle in Chi Lan's hand with a powerful gust of wind.

The sound of metal clashing was jarring.

Qi Ji's hoof strike was more powerful than a full-force palm strike from an adult brown bear, and the deer's hoof was not even scratched by the blade, remaining as hard as jade.

Chi Lan felt a violent tremor in his arm, his tiger's mouth split open, and he was as if he had been hit by a heavy hammer. He flew straight off the tree trunk, which was several meters high, and crashed heavily to the ground.

Immediately afterward, Qi Ji swept his deer antlers horizontally, and with his hind legs, he delivered a precise kick in conjunction with his senses. Several muffled groans rang out in succession, and several Red Kingdom soldiers and martial arts practitioners who had just rushed up were hit one after another, screaming as they fell from the tree and crashed to the ground, suffering serious injuries on the spot.

Dust billowed beneath the tree. Chi Lan, leaning on his curved sword, struggled to sit up, his chest heaving with blood surging, breathing heavily.

She looked up at the white figure moving calmly among the treetops, her brows furrowing tightly. She realized that this white deer was far more troublesome than she had anticipated...