Monster Pet Evolution

by Stayrr

Three years ago, the animals and plants on Earth underwent crazy and unexplainable changes that included transformations, reversions, and the addition of otherworldly species. And it was the start of a brand-new type of profession in the new generation of humanity – Monster Trainers, people who specialized in taming monsters. On his 18th birthday, the protagonist of the story, Gao

10. 361

Read Monster Pet Evolution Chapter 361 - Spatial Rift online for free - AllNovelFull

"White Dragon? White Dragon?" shouted Gao Peng from the edge of the lake.

"About what the Silver Dragon Prince said to you… Is it really your son?" asked Gao Peng. "That can't be right, haha. I mean, you're still so young…"

From the surface of the water rose a dragon claw that gave Gao Peng the middle finger.

When night fell, his grandfather came back. He had also brought Uncle Liu with him.

"You've grown so thin since we last saw each other," said Uncle Liu when he saw Da Zi entering the place. "Remember what a chubby little thing you were when you were still under my care?"

"I still think Da Zi looks better with a bit more weight around its waist," he continued while smiling.

Gao Peng stroked Da Zi's head. "Uncle Liu's saying you look better when you're fat."

Clack, clack, clack. Da Zi excitedly clicked its mandibles together. Seriously? Seriously?!

"So did anything happen in Yuzhou while I was away?" asked Gao Peng.

Ji Hanwu and Uncle Liu looked at each other. "Not much. It's no problem we can't handle. However, one slight misstep could cause a lot of trouble. What's troubling us now is a spatial rift that has appeared in Yuzhou. It's located right in the middle of the city. We would have preferred it to be located on the outskirts of the city," said Ji Hanwu, frowning.

A spatial rift?!

Gao Peng was stunned. Even though he had heard about spatial rifts, he was surprised to hear that an actual spatial rift had appeared in the middle of Yuzhou City.

"Is it a permanent spatial rift?" asked Gao Peng.

Only a permanent spatial rift would have made them this concerned.

A temporary spatial rift would only be able to exist for a limited period of time, be it a few days or a whole month. It would naturally disappear after a while. This made it a lot less valuable than its permanent counterpart, considering the latter could exist indefinitely as a portal to another world with resources that were just waiting to be exploited on the other side of the rift.

"There's a high chance it's a permanent spatial rift," said his grandfather, nodding. "However, there's good news and bad news about this. Which would you like to hear first?"

"Let's hear the bad news."

"The spatial rift's not stable. It can't withstand the strain of transporting Lord-tier monsters over to the other side. For now, the White Dragon and your Stripey wouldn't be able to go to the other side of the spatial rift."

Gao Peng frowned. "For now?"

Ji Hanwu thought for a moment, then said, "According to the results we've obtained from our experiments on existing permanent spatial rifts, a spatial rift like this tends to experience exponential growth during the early stages of its formation. Its stability and monster tier threshold will most likely increase each year."

"So what's the good news?" asked Gao Peng. He was a bit let down to hear that Stripey wouldn't be able to go through the spatial rift.

"We're already working with the Yuzhou government to begin exploiting the spatial rift."

It took Gao Peng only a few seconds to grasp the reason behind this collaboration.

The relationship between the base city and the Allied Government wasn't exactly a hierarchical one. Even if the Allied Government had sent someone to become the next mayor of the Yuzhou base city, there was no guarantee that the newly appointed mayor would be able to safely arrive at Yuzhou.

The road to the base city was treacherous. Monsters roamed the mountains and forests around it. A death or two on the road wouldn't raise any eyebrows.

This wasn't just the Yuzhou base city. Every base city around the globe was slowly but surely claiming sovereignty over their own land. The Allied Government no longer had the authority it once had over the base cities.

"Do the people know about this?" asked Gao Peng. He was a bit worried. To him, a spatial rift was a source of joy and wonder. However, to the common folk, it was a well of nightmares…

"They're still being kept in the dark. The area around the spatial rift has been put under lockdown. The official story is that there was an outbreak of a new strain of virus in the Baiye District."

"How was the spatial rift discovered? Are you sure no one knows about it?"

If word of this got out, both the Yuzhou government and the Southern Sky Group would be put under a lot of pressure.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure. The spatial rift was discovered in an area of unfinished buildings. Before its discovery, a few cases of assault had been reported in the area. At first, the authorities thought that a few familiars or monsters were running amuck. When nothing turned up in their investigations, they set up a couple of surveillance cameras in the buildings. In doing so, they accidentally captured images of the spatial rift's first appearance. It was fleeting at first, which was why the people in the police department couldn't find anything."

Uncle Liu stroked his chin. "Brother Lee, something's been bugging me for a while now, something I haven't had the opportunity to tell you until now. Do you think… there's a connection between the spatial rift we have in Yuzhou and the one that appeared in Africa half a year ago? They're both characterized by the same black fog."

Ji Hanwu had never been to Africa. He had no idea if the black fog in Africa had anything to do with the one in Yuzhou. Somehow, his mind associated all this talk about Africa with the Golden Hands and how they had tried to assassinate his grandson…

His expression darkened.

He then said to Gao Peng, "Before I forget, Gao Peng, about the abnormality in that place you told me, the Southern Sky Group has already dispatched a couple of teams to take a look at it. However, none of them found anything."

"Do you mean Changping village?"

"Yeah, one would need a Lord-tier monster to see what was going on there. No Commander-tier familiars would be able to get close to that place. Don't worry, I've already sent Xu Heti and Lin Xinrui in with their teams. They should be fine, especially with the sharp senses of Xu Heti's kangaroo. If anyone can bring back whatever's causing the abnormality there, it's those two."

"And what if those two pipsqueaks fail?" asked Uncle Liu. His advanced age gave him every right to call the two grown men "pipsqueaks."

"Then I'll go there myself," said Ji Hanwu resolutely.

At Gao Ping base city, a group of people was leaving the city through the northern exit and heading northwest.

There were three people in the party, all in black combat gear. Even their faces were hidden behind helmets.

Five familiars followed close beside them: a Golden Dazzling Light Boxing Champion Kangaroo, a Crystal Peacock Mantis Shrimp, a huge black ball of fur, what appeared to be a bundle of tentacles, and finally, a Golden-Striped Wise Deer at the back of the party.

A huge blue bird that was bigger than a bus circled above them in the sky. Its wingspan reached approximately 32 feet. Its beak was white and looked disproportionate in comparison to the rest of its body.

Xu Heti, Lin Xinrui, and an unnamed high-level combat officer were the members of this party.

"Six miles until we reach Changping village. Stay alert now. According to the information gathered by the previous two groups, there's a high concentration of Ghoul-type monsters in the region. Let's rub some Ghoul powder on ourselves first. It'll help hide our presence." While saying this, Lin Xinrui took an urn that was plugged with a red cloth out of her backpack.

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"This isn't bone ash, is it?" said Xu Heti, laughing uncertainly.

No matter how he looked at it, the stuff in the urn just looked like a pile of bone ash.

"It's not just bone ash. It's ash derived from the bones of Ghoul-type monsters," said Lin Xinrui matter-of-factly. She then opened the urn and began powdering her combat uniform with the urn's contents. She even put some on the backs of her hands and her cheeks.

Xu Heti's face spasmed as he did the same thing on his own body. Even if the ash wasn't human, it still gave him goosebumps.

Still, he rubbed the Ghoul powder across his body all the same.

They then applied the bone ash to some of their familiars. In doing so, they used up the two urns of bone ash in Lin Xinrui's backpack.

"Let's pick up the pace. The bone ash only lasts for four hours. When those four hours are up, it loses its effectiveness."

The three humans and five familiars began moving forward at top speed. The surrounding scenery grew more desolate. The vegetation on the ground became more sparse, and the dark red earth beneath their feet seemed to be soaked with blood.

After a while, they came upon a clump of tall blood-red grass. Even their roots were the same shade of red. On the tips of the blades were tufts of black hair.

"Hemoblade Satintail Grass. They sell for around ten Alliance credits," said Lin Xinrui, as she bent forward to pick up a clump of grass and place it carefully in her backpack.

The other high-level combat officer who had followed them all the way there looked greedily at Lin Xinrui's haul. That's at least 100,000 Alliance dollars. This place is practically a gold mine.

Rather than rejoicing over her good fortune, Lin Xinrui looked at her surroundings warily. "There's much more to this place than meets the eye."

"What makes you say that?" asked the high-level combat officer.

"There's treasure just sitting here untouched. Why hasn't anyone come to claim it? There's only one explanation: this place is much more dangerous than it seems," said Lin Xinrui, glancing back at him. Her gaze swept across her surroundings once more.

This was true. The people of Gao Ping city rarely came to Changping village. Only the desperate would be foolish enough to go that far for fame and fortune.

When Lin Xinrui became a World Hunter, she had trained herself to constantly be alert to her surroundings and never let her guard down for even a second. Danger could be lurking in any corner. Even a seemingly innocuous plant growing out of the sidewalk could be the appendage of a highly toxic Plant-type monster.

The place they were standing in just then wasn't exactly a boundless stretch of wasteland. All around them were hills and valleys undulating into the distance. Bunches of gnarly trees grew as they pleased, their branches twisted into the claws of ravenous beasts. Crows were perched atop the branches motionless like statues. Each of them had three legs and burning red eyes.

The branches waved about like ghostly limbs in the wind.

Squawk—

A shiver ran down all three of their spines. They turned around to see a crow take off into the air and fly circles above a withered tree.

After a while, it landed back on the tree branch, where it then remained, motionless.

Every now and then, they saw the same curious scene in their path.

A gentle downward slope came up before them. A stone tablet was planted in front of it. The words "Changping Village" had been carved onto it.

"We're almost there," said Xu Heti quietly, looking warily at his surroundings.

"This bone ash of yours is really effective. The previous two teams were attacked multiple times on this stretch of road. Who knew we would be able to reach here safely?" he added.

They began walking down the slope. Looking out from the high ground, they could vaguely see rows of houses concealed amid a forest of lush trees in front of them. Their dark green leaves were stacked on top of one another, making it hard to see what was beneath them.

Suddenly, a bony claw erupted from the ground and grabbed ahold of Xu Heti's ankle.

The Golden Dazzling Light Boxing Champion Kangaroo's eyes lit up. It raised its right foot and slammed it down on the claw.

Bam!

The bony claw instantly disintegrated.

The kangaroo stuck its foot deep into the ground until a dull boom sounded beneath them. All this happened in the blink of an eye. It was over before any of them could take a breath.

"Be careful now. We're only hiding our presence with the Ghoul powder… The monsters here can still sense us if we're too close."

"Go back, go back…" From the distance came long, low wails that echoed across the empty wasteland.

Leaves rustled as a fierce wind howled across the ground.

The clang of steel and the clop of hooves could be heard in the fierce wind. A few moments later, a troop of ghostly blue soldiers in leather armor carrying dagger-axes in their hands passed through the forest from the west to the east.

"These must be the ghost soldiers," said Lin Xinrui, furrowing her brows. She then ordered the others to hide. Even though this was her second encounter with these ghostly entities, she still had no idea what their abilities were.

Better safe than sorry, she thought. There were too many of these ghost soldiers. Lin Xinrui estimated that there had to be more than a thousand of them at the very least.

"Thousand-Year Heart of Darkness, Commander Bone, Flames of Darkness." Lin Xinrui silently repeated to herself the names and characteristics of the items that they had been ordered to find.

She had no idea how Gao Peng had come across such information. She had never heard of these items, let alone the strange ways to collect them.

"The Commander Bone and the Thousand-Year Heart of Darkness can be found at the center of the village. However, the Flames of Darkness spawn randomly. We may even find them outside the village. Let's start searching the vicinity. If we don't find anything in an hour, we'll just have to move our search to the center of the village."

Forty minutes later, the three saw the Flames of Darkness floating in a pit not too far away. The blue flames bobbed in the air like fog.

The flames were a dark blue in the middle and a shade of light blue at the periphery.

Around the flames stood three withered trees in a triangle. In order to get to the flames, one would have to break through the three gnarled trees.

"Let's finish this quickly," said Xu Heti to his kangaroo. As a gentleman, there was no way he would let Lin Xinrui's familiar put itself in harm's way first.

The Golden Dazzling Light Boxing Champion Kangaroo narrowed its eyes at the three withered trees around the Flames of Darkness and the crows perched atop their branches.

Reluctantly, it hopped forward.

It began to move faster and faster as it bounced up and down on the balls of its feet. Then it propelled itself forward in a flash of golden light!

Its long, thick tail swayed about behind it, keeping it stabilized as it sprinted forward. Its feet and tail now formed the three points of a triangle beneath it.

The kangaroo took a great step forward with its left foot. Its tail drooped to the ground while its right foot aligned itself behind the kangaroo. Dirt sprayed up into the air as it stamped its left foot on the ground.

With its left foot firmly planted on the ground, it powerfully swung its right foot around.

Boom!

One of the withered trees exploded upon impact. Shards of its bark were sent flying into the air.

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Crack!

The two other withered trees reacted to the kangaroo's attack like exploding durians almost instantly. Their gnarled branches swung out like demonic claws.

Shadows crisscrossed the kangaroo's line of sight in an instant, plunging it into darkness.

With the crows crowing atop the trees, the scene immediately turned into something straight out of a horror movie.

The Golden Dazzling Light Boxing Champion Kangaroo seemed to have anticipated this. Its ears twitched, then it bobbed and wove, expertly dodging the trees' attacks.

Branches lashed out like snakes from the trees. Some of them barely grazed the kangaroo's ear. On the other hand, the kangaroo's fists shot out like comets at the trees.

Bam, bam, bam.

The kangaroo intercepted the incoming branches with a flurry of punches. It was now moving so fast that it had turned into a mere shimmer to the naked eye. It wove around the branches and landed multiple blows on both trees with its feet, fists, and even its tail.

At that moment, blinding golden light flooded the area.

Sounds of cracking wood reverberated in the air.

Shards of wood sprayed out as the black branches were snapped off of the trees. The crow's feathers floated slowly in the air as if frozen there.

Bam, bam.

The kangaroo landed two final punches on the trees with a pause between them for added effect. It relaxed its fists and began walking towards the Flames of Darkness calmly.

Behind it lay what remained of the two withered trees and the crows on the cold, dark ground.

The kangaroo's tail swished about behind it, spreading the blood stains on the ground.

The Flames of Darkness seemed to have sensed the approaching kangaroo. Flickering in the air for a moment, they released a small blue flame that floated waveringly towards the Golden Dazzling Light Boxing Champion Kangaroo. The small blue flame approached the kangaroo, shaking like a doddering old man.

It looked simply beautiful. There was something hypnotizing about the way it danced about in the air…

The kangaroo's face remained as indifferent as ever. It stopped in its tracks for a moment before walking around the small blue flame and towards the Flames of Darkness.

The small blue flame paused in the air. Am I not cute enough for you? it seemed to be thinking.

After struggling for a while, it squeezed out two smaller balls of fire. A high-pitched whistling sound could be heard in the air.

However, no one seemed to pay it any mind…

A golden aura began to radiate from the Golden Dazzling Light Kangaroo's body. In a split second, it propelled itself forward, pierced through the Flames of Darkness' periphery and closed its hand around the fire's core.

It was as if the kangaroo had grabbed fate itself by the neck.

The Flames of Darkness struggled for a moment, but after realizing that there was no point in resisting its captor, it finally gave up. The flames grew smaller and smaller until finally, a prune-sized azure rock rested in the kangaroo's palm. The rock was riddled with tiny holes and stained varying shades of blue.

This was the only way to collect the Flames of Darkness without damaging the source.

The problem with it was that one would have to risk being burned by the Flames. The Flames of Darkness could easily burn right through a Commander-tier monster's arm. Only a Lord-tier monster could resist the Flames' heat.

"That's one down," said the high-level combat officer with a sigh of relief. This looked almost simple.

There are still two more materials left. It would be great if the other two were just as easy to collect as this one, he thought.

The party of three continued moving forward, the air around them gradually growing colder.

Crack.

The sound of breaking ice echoed in the air.

A thin layer of ice had formed beneath their feet without them noticing. Even the plants on the ground were frozen over.

An ash-colored building with black tiles stood approximately 300 feet ahead. Its walls were almost completely hidden behind a couple of trees.

"Is anyone still living there?"

"According to our sources, the inhabitants of Changping village have long moved out since the Cataclysm."

"But it looks like someone recently hung those corn cobs on the wall," said Lin Xinrui, pointing at the wall.

All three of them looked at each other. This was getting stranger by the minute.

Who could possibly be living in a place like this? More importantly, who could possibly still be alive while living in a place like this?

There was also the possibility that the building's current occupant was not even human.

Suddenly, a human silhouette came out of the house and began taking the corn cobs down from the wall.

Xu Heti frowned. That's definitely a human being, he thought. A walking, breathing human being.

While gathering the corn cobs from the wall, the human figure caught sight of Xu Heti and company. They weren't hard to miss, considering how big some of their familiars were. He or she then threw the corncobs to the ground and frantically ran back into the building.

After a while, two human villagers appeared from the village with two familiars behind them.

The two familiars were of the same species and stood approximately 10 feet tall. Both of them looked as pale as if they hadn't seen the sun for a long time. They were wearing red-black leather armor. Strands of withering yellow hair fell from their helmets. Their dark yellow eyes gazed at Lin Xinrui and the others lifelessly.

The two familiars were holding swords in their left hands and shields in their right. Despite their rigid movements, they were able to cover a lot of ground with each step.

"Good day," said the man on the left. His voice sounded hoarse.

Xu Heti looked the man over. He seemed normal. Xu Heti was able to deduce from the brand and newness of the man's clothing that he had visited a nearby base city maybe a month ago.

"Good day. I would just like to ask… Are you locals of this place?"

The two men looked at each other, then they shook their heads at the same time. "No, we're not."

The two men sounded unsure, as if there was something they wanted to say, but couldn't.

"The general would like to see you three," said the man on the left.

"What general?"

"General Zhao Kuo."

Lin Xinrui's face twitched, as if she had just thought of something. After closely observing the two villagers before them, she said, "Then we had better get a move on. Who knows what that man has up his sleeve?"

"Why is it Zhao Kuo?" asked the high-level combat officer. "Isn't the God of Murder, Bai Qi, the victor of the Battle of Changping? I really respect that guy."

Xu Heti looked at him out of the corner of his eye. "Did Bai Qi die here?"

"…" The combat officers fell silent.

Xu Heti looked at Lin Xinrui, who nodded back at him resolutely, for confirmation. Unable to come to a decision himself, Xu Heti decided to simply follow Lin Xinrui into the village.

Most of the buildings in the village looked old but well-preserved. There were almost no signs of renovation on any of them.

After walking along a couple of winding roads, they finally reached the center of the village.

At the center of the village was a spacious compound with a building in the middle of it. Twenty ghostly soldiers stood guard around the perimeter. Judging by their uniforms, they didn't seem to be from the same camp as the two villagers' familiars.

When the gates were flung open, a cold biting wind blew past the threshold from the inside.

Ghost soldiers filled the place. All eyes were now on the three trainers who had entered.

Xu Heti was now screaming on the inside. This was bad; there was no way they could take on that many ghost soldiers by themselves. With 100 or so ghost soldiers patrolling the streets of the village outside, they were now caught between a rock and a hard place.

As they drew closer to the building, Xu Heti could feel the ghost soldiers' collective gaze weighing on them more and more.

The building's door opened. A tall and imperious figure clad in a blood-red suit of armor with straggly black hair sat before them. His face was completely black. A bronze longsword was next to his left hand.

"Greetings, General Zhao," said Lin Xinrui, looking straight at the huge figure sitting in the middle of the room without any trace of fear on her face.

Upon hearing Lin Xinrui's voice, the huge figure clapped his hand on his forehead and began laughing uproariously. "Hahaha, now that's something I haven't heard in a while!"

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Chapter 364: Retreat

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

After laughing for what seemed like ages, Zhao Kuo finally stopped and slowly lowered his right hand. "I haven't heard anyone call me 'general' in a long time… Are you trying to make a fool out of me?" said Zhao Kuo, his voice dropping. He gazed sternly at all three of them.

"We would never dare to do something like that to a great man such as yourself," said Lin Xinrui, looking straight at the general. "I don't suppose you've heard of… the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor?"

Zhao Kuo didn't speak for a long while. Then he slowly said, "What does Emperor Qin have to do with me? I only want my revenge on that b*stard Bai Qi." He said the last two words through gritted teeth.

That name had brought him nothing but shame and disgrace.

He had lost 400,000 men thanks to Bai Qi in the Battle of Changping!

How could he slaughter them all like that?! Butcher! Knave!

Zhao Kuo hung his head silently for a moment, then he continued, "You three seem like a capable lot, maybe even more so than anyone else who has dared to trespass on my domain in the last few years," said Zhao Kuo, casually throwing a glance at the Golden Dazzling Light Boxing Champion Kangaroo and the Crystal Peacock Mantis Shrimp.

"I would like to work with you. I know what you're after here in Changping—probably something valuable that can only be found here. I'll let you have it, but I would like something of equal value from you in return."

Upon hearing this, Xu Heti let out a sigh of relief.

If it's something money can solve, it won't be a problem for us.

"What do you need? You may not know this, sir, but we hail from an organization known as the Sky River Group. We can help you fulfill your deepest desires with our vast financial power."

"Just like Lu Buwei?" said Zhao Kuo, smiling coldly.

He waved a hand. "But I digress. Come, tell me what it is you need."

"The bone of a general and a Thousand-Year Heart of Darkness."

The air instantly froze.

Zhao Kuo looked at Xu Heti, then at Lin Xinrui with an amused expression. "The bone of a general? You want my bone?"

"Deal!" boomed Zhao Kuo, leaning back in his chair. "However, you can only take one with you. As for Thousand-Year Heart of Darkness, I've never heard of it. I wonder why."

"That would be your heart, sir." Before anyone could even react, the Crystal Peacock Mantis Shrimp had already leaped into action. Its body vanished in an instant, leaving only rings of smoke in the air behind it.

It materialized before Zhao Kuo in a mere second. Its pincers lashed out explosively at the general. White translucent rings of light spun wildly around the shrimp as soon as its pincers made contact.

The force of the impact was akin to a thunderbolt.

Bam!!!

The shrimp's pincers struck Zhao Kuo in the chest, sending him flying into a wall, where his body left a human-shaped hole. A powerful shockwave spread out around the Crystal Peacock Mantis Shrimp.

The ghost soldiers around them shimmered violently as they were pushed back by the violent shockwave. None of them could even take a step forward.

Zhao Kuo's body crashed through a couple of buildings before finally coming to a stop. Bricks fell over his crumpled form in the last building.

The Crystal Peacock Mantis Shrimp continued swinging its pincers around. Long, slender cracks were starting to appear on its pincers as if they could crack at any moment.

"You're really something, you know that," muttered Xu Heti. After an attack like that, the Crystal Peacock Mantis Shrimp wouldn't be able to use its pincers for a month. "You do know your familiar is a glass cannon, don't you?"

After using its full power on an opponent, the shrimp would temporarily enter a depowered state.

In that time, its "weapons" would be rendered useless.

The commotion they had caused inside the building had attracted the attention of the ghost soldiers outside. More and more of them were gathering outside the place. Things were now starting to get out of hand.

"We can't let them surround us," said Lin Xinrui, panicking.

The White-Bellied Golden-Striped Wise Deer lightly shook its horns, which began to shine with white light. When the light touched the Crystal Peacock Mantis Shrimp's pincers, the cracks on them began to shrink a little.

On the other hand, the deer's white light had burned a huge hole through some of the ghost soldiers, like a ray of sunlight melting away patches of snow on the ground.

Unable to avoid the attack in time, the ghost soldiers began to disintegrate on the spot.

Seeing their compatriots turn to dust in front of them, the others began to retreat. All thoughts of moving in recklessly to avenge the fallen instantly vanished from their minds.

"Zhao Kuo should still be alive. That attack just now wouldn't have been enough to kill him," said Lin Xinrui calmly. Despite how viciously her shrimp had ambushed the general, she had made sure that it had pulled its punches enough to leave him barely alive.

Woo—

Suddenly, a breeze blew past them. Some of the ghost soldiers closest to them were sucked into the ground. There was another breeze, and even more ghost soldiers were sucked into the ground.

The Golden Dazzling Light Boxing Champion Kangaroo leaped 30 feet into the air in a single bound and began viciously punching at the ground.

Boom!

Golden light emanated from its every punch.

The kangaroo began pummeling the floor like a piledriver, sending dust and smoke up into the air.

The sword that was wedged in the ground suddenly flew out like a streak of lightning towards the kangaroo's back.

The kangaroo nimbly evaded the attack.

A black figure erupted from the depths of the ruins in a swirl of dust and smoke. With the sword back in its hand, it began clashing against the Golden Dazzling Light Boxing Champion Kangaroo. It was Zhao Kuo, his hair hanging untidily over his face. The look on his face was cold and murderous.

The Golden Dazzling Light Boxing Champion reacted quickly to Zhao Kuo's retaliation. Its Extraordinary Sixth Sense allowed it to predict and evade all of its opponent's moves that could have inflicted fatal damage on it, as long as its reaction time was quicker than its opponent's attacks.

"Kill them all!" roared Zhao Kuo. Ghost soldiers began converging on the ruins from every corner of the village. Waves of them surged towards the ongoing battle in response to their general's call. They roared out in unison, waving their spears high in the air.

Suddenly, there was a rumble in the sky. A cloud-like object was gathering above the heads of the howling ghost soldiers, and something blood-red was growing inside of it. In the next second, the cloud popped, and a torrential sound soon filled the air.

The Golden Dazzling Light Boxing Champion Kangaroo suddenly froze in the air for a moment. Taking advantage of this, Zhao Kuo thrust his sword, which was now enveloped in a faint blue light, forward.

The kangaroo took the hit and tried to swing a punch at him. However, Zhao Kuo evaded the attack.

"Let's go," muttered Xu Heti. This was getting out of hand.

The black ball-like familiar in their party waved its tentacles around and expelled black smoke into the air like a squid spewing out black ink in water. The black smoke rapidly spread around them.

A huge blue bird descended from the sky. Xu Heti and the others grabbed ahold of its legs, while the deer leaped lightly onto the bird's back.

The Golden Dazzling Light Boxing Champion had also jumped onto the bird's back. Just like that, the three of them flew away from the place with their familiars on the big blue bird.

In the darkness of the ruins, a human figure holding a longsword in hand watched the party of humans and familiars fly off into the distance without a word.

Countless ghost soldiers began lining up behind Zhao Kuo. Thousands of them crawled out from the ground with no end. Ominous thunder rumbled from the dark clouds that had formed above their heads.

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Chapter 365: The Black Fog

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The Baiye District was like cancer spreading in the middle of the city, rotting, crumbling, revolting.

As time passed, the district began to look even more out of place in the midst of all the development going on around it, like an old-timer who could no longer keep up with the times.

An iridescent flow of sludge flowed down the drains next to the roads, carrying pieces of garbage along with it. A putrid stench permeated the air.

"Ever since the appearance of the spatial rift, the smell in the Baiye District has grown worse," said a bespectacled civil servant in a worried tone.

"Worse how?" asked Gao Peng, who was looking around. He could feel that he was being watched through the cracks and windows on some of the buildings.

"It's just up ahead," said the civil servant quietly.

Up ahead was a roadblock blocking the road beyond.

There were many soldiers who were armed to the teeth standing guard around the area, as well as a couple of trainers with their familiars.

Two of the familiars had their ears pricked up like radars, their huge, watery eyes alert to the slightest movement in their surroundings. Their slender bodies swayed about powerfully as they paced the area. At times, they would casually spit flames out of their mouths…

The soldiers saluted Gao Peng and his party as soon as they saw him.

Gao Peng made his way through three metal doors and two metal fences. Finally, they arrived at an unfinished building, or at least, that's what it seemed like to Gao Peng.

The building was completely enshrouded in a thick, black fog. The black fog roiled unsettlingly before them, at times showing a glimpse of the building behind it.

What appeared to be geckoes flitted through the black fog rapidly. Their limbs were slender like bamboo stalks, their movements agile.

Gao Peng narrowed his eyes at the geckoes. In an instant, rows of numbers appeared before him.

[Monster Name: Black Jacket Gecko

[Monster Level: Level 20

[Monster Grade: Normal

[Monster Type: Shadow

[Monster Ability: Shadow Power Level 1

[Description: A Black Jacket Gecko, as its name suggests, is usually clad in a black coat. It is capable of moving nimbly with its slender body. It loves to eat fresh meat.

"Did you see them? These creatures are the main inhabitants of the black fog. Guns and other modern weaponry that we have at our disposal don't seem to have any effect on them," said the bespectacled man calmly, adjusting his spectacles slightly on his nose.

"I see," said Gao Peng, nodding.

"And the spatial rift is here?"

"Yes, the black fog weakens greatly in the afternoon, when its diffusion rate is considerably suppressed. However, at night, it envelops the entire building, completely concealing it from sight."

"I don't think there are any Lord-tier monsters inside," said Gao Peng, putting a hand on Goldie beside him.

Goldie quacked in agreement. Its senses were now so keen that it could pick up any sign of danger from a mile away. If there was any danger inside the building, it would be the first to know.

Goldie turned around and saw the hand that Gao Peng had placed on its behind. It let out a small sigh, then placed a huge wing on Gao Peng's head.

Pat! Silly, who was sitting on Gao Peng's head, smacked Goldie's wing away. What's the big idea? No touchy!

Due to the height difference between Gao Peng and Goldie, the duck's buttocks were the only place Gao Peng could reach. Of course, he didn't mean anything by it.

"Goldie, go and take a look inside."

Goldie nodded and strode into the black fog.

"Team two, you're on standby," said the civil servant into a microphone that was clipped on his collar. He carried himself like a high-ranking official in the government.

"No need. You guys don't need to do anything," said Gao Peng. "Goldie can handle this alone."

The civil servant looked at Gao Peng, stunned. Then he nodded obediently at him.

Suddenly, a resounding bang sounded from the black fog. A strange sound followed shortly after. It sounded like a block of wood hitting the ground.

The civil servant anxiously strained his eyes in the darkness, worrying that something bad had happened to the duck.

"Sounds like the lizards are crying out in pain," whispered someone beside him.

The civil servant sighed in relief.

Woo, woo, woo—

From the darkness echoed strange, quickening sounds, punctuated by the sound of walls being smashed inside the building.

The sounds grew quicker by the minute.

Finally, the sounds stopped. From the black fog, a huge black figure stepped out into the outside world.

Everyone outside the black fog tensed up like a new enemy had appeared before them.

The huge black figure before them stood at least 20 feet tall. It looked almost human. Has a new monster appeared in this world? was everyone's thought at that moment.

Goldie emerged from the black fog with a wistful look on its face, its body now bulked up.

Its Buddhist prayer beads seemed to be hanging loosely around its neck. There were palm-sized gaps between the beads. It was a good thing that the prayer beads had been strung together using an extremely malleable material that could be stretched to a hundred times its length. The material had been obtained from a Plant-type monster.

Goldie lovingly touched its prayer beads. It happily quacked when it realized that the beads were still intact.

Amitabha, quack, quarck!

"Quarck. Gao Peng, I beat up all the monsters inside…" After hesitating for a while, it continued, "They were all fish, fish that could walk on four legs."

After saying this, Goldie turned around and reached into the black fog behind it and pulled out a 13-foot-long Black Jacket Gecko from the fog. The gecko wasn't exactly small, but in Goldie's wing, it was like a toy, completely at the mercy of the duck.

"It's a gecko," said Gao Peng, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. What a rascal.

Goldie paused for a few seconds, then lowered its gaze at the gecko in its wing and said slowly, "Why can't it be a fish?"

"Fish don't have legs. Most fish don't, anyway," explained Gao Peng.

Goldie slowly nodded. It took hold of the Black Jacket Gecko's neck with its right wing and began ripping off its limbs one by one with its left wing. When it was done, it threw the gecko's limbs into the black fog behind it. "Now it's a fish."

The Black Jacket Gecko hadn't seemed to feel any pain when it had its limbs torn off by Goldie, nor had it seemed to mind Goldie casually discarding its limbs. It was looking at the duck excitedly.

"See, its legs are fake. It's even smiling right now," said Goldie, still playing with the Black Jacket Gecko in its wings.

"So, it's a fish!" the duck concluded.

Gao Peng silently looked at it. All this just for 500 Alliance dollars…

"All right, fine. I'll give you 500 bucks for it," said Gao Peng with a strained smile, spreading out his hand to show the duck five of his fingers.

Gao Peng and Goldie were probably the only ones who understood what was going on between them. The bespectacled civil servant looked at both of them in confusion. What the hell are they gesturing about? Are they saying that there are still five other monsters in the building? he thought.

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Chapter 366: Yellow Jacketed Devil Octopus

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"All the monsters inside were cleared out. We'll go in first." Gao Peng walked into the black mist hurriedly.

The staff member standing at the side wanted to stop him, but he was a step too late. Anxiously, he followed quickly. The two combat squads and the canine monsters they brought along to watch their surroundings followed suit.

Canine monsters had a keen sense of smell and were very sensitive to any possible threats around them. That was why canine monsters were a favorite of the police and the army alike.

When they came in, the few canine monsters were nervous at first because the stench was so thick in the air. The remaining scent of the monsters filled the area, causing unrest among the canine monsters, who were wagging their tongues and huffing.

Walking into the black mist, Gao Peng could feel the air drop a few degrees in temperature, but the visibility of the area was a lot better than expected. Gao Peng had thought he wouldn't be able to see anything, but he could make out a few feet ahead of him.

Gray mist hung in the air. From afar, it would seem like a clump of black clouds, but inside, it was more like a thin film of gray.

A few dead Black Jacket Geckos were lying on the floor, some of them flattened or decapitated, and some were so torn apart that they looked like broken dolls.

Goldie looked at the bodies on the floor without feeling sorry. All these should've been fishes… What a waste of a chance to trick Gao Peng.

Slow-witted Gao Peng was just too easy to deceive.

The canine monsters stepped ahead to sniff the bodies. They seemed to be a little nervous as they snorted in the air a few times.

Then they stooped down and continued sniffing. One of the more courageous dogs tore off a large chunk from a body and started gobbling on the meat.

"Hey, don't do that!" a trainer shouted at it loudly. The canine monster buried its own head into a Black Jacket Gecko's stomach and helped itself to the meat inside while making loud chewing noises.

"This meat hasn't been tested. What if they contract something?" The squad leader frowned. "Don't let Giant eat that, man."

"Sir, I don't know why, but somehow, Giant isn't listening to me today." The trainer's brow was dripping with sweat.

[Black Jacket Gecko Meat: Causes hallucinations, and long-term ingestion can be addictive to monsters.

Gao Peng looked at the piece of meat in his hands and said, "Don't let the monsters eat any of this."

Da Zi was about to steal a bite when Gao Peng saw it and kicked its butt. "Don't eat it."

Da Zi turned around and moved on to another body.

"If you eat too much of this, you'll become fat, just like Flamy," Gao Peng whispered suggestively from behind.

Da Zi was immediately petrified.

As they went upstairs, their crisp footsteps echoed in the unfinished building. Because the construction was incomplete, every floor had holes in it, showing the rooms below.

Gao Peng felt like he was being watched along the way, but he couldn't find the watcher.

On the third floor, there was a spatial rift floating in the air, as if somebody had torn a piece of cloth. The dark rift seemed mysterious, filled with the unknown.

The shape of the rift was an upright oval, ten feet tall and six feet wide. It seemed like even Dumby could go inside it if it crouched.

"So, this is the spatial rift." Gao Peng looked at the rift in amazement. It was different from the ones he had seen on television previously. It was the first time he had laid his bare eyes on the real thing.

Plumes of black mist seemed to be seeping through from the other side of the rift. As the mist filled the air around them, the rift seemed to shake.

Then a shriveled pale yellow antenna reached out from the other side. With a little caution and a little curiosity, it waved around in the air to sense the world around it. It touched the chilly concrete floor, and after a pause, it ran over the surface.

After carefully scratching a layer of chippings away from the concrete floor, it swallowed them.

One minute, two minutes…

Three minutes went by, and it found the taste of concrete to be boring. The antenna continued to explore in another direction.

All of this happened while it was being watched unknowingly by the crowd in front of the rift.

After quite a while, another antenna peeked out of the rift, then a third and a fourth… Finally, a big head squirmed through the rift from the other side.

The eight eyes on its head stopped midway through the rift, locking eyes with the crowd before it awkwardly…

It was stunned at first, then it seemed very agitated.

It bared its fangs and crawled out, painstakingly, like toothpaste being squeezed through the opening of a tube.

Goldie rushed forward and, as it slapped its paw on the monster's head, yelled, "Fish!" Then Goldie grabbed the head and pulled it out. The yellow creature let out a painful yell, desperately trying to get a hold of anything around it with its flailing fangs.

[Monster Name: Yellow Jacketed Devil Octopus

[Monster Level: Level 26 (Commander)

[Monster Grade: Normal

[Monster Attribute: Psychic

[Monster Status: Healthy (Afraid)

[Monster Description: A monster that likes to control the minds of enemies to satisfy its convoluted heart and finally devours its still fearful prey.

The Yellow Jacketed Devil Octopus tried to escape in fear when it was caught, but it was slammed on the floor again and again by Goldie like a toy.

It tried to manipulate Goldie's mind, but it failed every single time. Goldie's heart was too determined to be moved.

Besides, the difference in level was too large… It would have been stranger if it had actually succeeded in controlling Goldie's mind.

Black Jacketed Gecko, Yellow Jacketed Devil Octopus…

Gao Peng was deep in thought as he frowned. It seemed like there were links between the two.

But what could Yellow Jacket and Black Jacket mean? Could it be their attribute?Black is shadow, and yellow is the mind?

Gao Peng gave a guess.

The Yellow Jacketed Devil Octopus was finally caught alive. To prevent any accidents, Gao Peng had Dumby follow him while bringing the fish back to the laboratory. Then they sealed it in the deepest part of the lab and ordered Xu Qingzhi to stay away from it.

It was Gao Peng's first time seeing a Psychic-type monster. Perhaps the environment on Earth Star wasn't conducive for the development of such attributes, since most of the rare types of monsters were from other worlds beyond the spatial rifts.

The monsters on Earth Star were based on the five basic attributes: Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. Most of the monsters were also classified under one of these five.

After staring at the spatial rift for some time, a message popped up at the edge of his sight.

[Item Name: Spatial Rift

[Item Use: A path between two entirely different worlds.

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The spatial rift was actually an item?

Gao Peng was rather stunned. If it was an item, it should have been travel-friendly. Would it be possible for him to take the spatial rift with him? If he could, why didn't he just capture two spatial rifts and place them at home as back doors?

However, Gao Peng immediately gave up on the idea, as the data frame only consisted of the attributes of the spatial rift. There weren't any instructions on how to capture it or take it away.

Moreover, the Southern Sky Group had already promised to develop the spatial rift along with Yuzhou's government. Strictly speaking, it was no longer an unowned item, and the Southern Sky Group hadn't been the first to discover it, so taking it without permission would be considered stealing.

"Did you send anyone over to the other side of the spatial rift?" asked Gao Peng dubiously.

"Yes, I did. However, I have yet to receive any news. Electronic devices couldn't pass through the spatial rift. We tried to throw an electronic device into the spatial rift, but we were unable to receive any signal."

Gao Peng nodded his head, as he had expected this.

After all, those were two different worlds. Having no access to signal was absolutely normal.

"Have you tried tying a living object to a chain, throwing it to the other side of the spatial rift, and then pulling it back after a few moments?"

The government agent nodded his head. "We've already attempted that three times. We used a living chicken, a Normal-tier monster, and an Elite-tier monster during the three experiments. However, they were all killed by another force."

Perhaps the Yellow Jacket Devil Octopus, a Commander-tier monster, could have been the culprit behind the murders.

The government agent saw how the Yellow Jacket Devil was overridden by Goldie. It had looked like an adult was bullying a kid. However, many might have assumed that they were just Normal-tier or Commander-tier monsters.

However, Gao Peng didn't want to risk his familiar passing through the spatial rift due to safety precautions. Gao Peng told Dumby, "Summon the King Eel Skeleton and put it to the test of passing through the spatial rift."

The King Eel Skeleton was long in size but its body diameter was merely six feet wide, so it would be able to pass through the spatial rift.

The King Eel Skeleton slowly crept its way back from the blocked area after an hour. The atmosphere became tense as the massive creature lifted its bony skull to look at everyone.

The Lord-tier monster had a huge presence that terrified the canine familiars. All the canine familiars were hidden in corners with their tails held between their legs. Not a single threatening howl or bark was heard as they silently observed the King Eel Skeleton's moves.

On the contrary, the government agent seemed relaxed. Even though the King Eel Skeleton gave off a suffocating presence, they were assured that the familiar was cooperating with the Southern Sky Group.

Although it was rather energy-consuming as the creature had a huge body, the King Eel Skeleton managed to squeeze through the rift with Dumby's guidance.

Dumby was able to establish a special connection with the skeleton subordinates that it had revived, thus it could communicate with them through this connection.

"Master, there are still plenty of Black Jacket Geckoes left on the other side of the rift, but they're all gone now. However, it might take a while for the Blood Contract to pass," said Dumby to Gao Peng through the Blood Contract.

"Are there any other stronger monsters?"

"Nothing else," Dumby said as it shook its head.

The King Eel Skeleton was already on the other side, and Dumby quickly followed its lead.

Apparently, the Blood Contract wasn't affected by the spatial rift. Gao Peng also quickly followed after Dumby.

The feeling was extraordinary as they passed through the spatial rift. It was as if there was a layer of film, although film may not have been the most suitable term to describe it. To be exact, it seemed more like a relatively large curtain of water. Everything seemed rather choppy the moment they passed through the rift, but right after that, everything became clearer.

It was as if someone opened a door that led to another world.

The world behind the door wasn't full of black fog as Gao Peng had expected; although the air was slightly coated with a thin layer of black fog, overall, it didn't disrupt their vision.

Underneath their feet was black soil. The were many plants that looked like mushrooms there, short but flat with red blotches covering each and every plant. There were also many small holes like stomata that protruded from the soil.

[Name of Plant: Detroit Mushroom

[Plant Introduction: Consumable and is mildly toxic. Long-term consumption may cause the stomach sac to harden.

Several stone walls could be seen from a distance. The stone walls were covered with vines and roots, and the vines draped from the top of the wall.

There were missing gaps in the corners of the bricks in the stone walls. The broken gaps were covered with cracks, and some of the vines had grown into the cracks.

The stone wall had completely locked down the area. All four directions were surrounded by the stone walls, but there were some stretches without cracks.

Gao Peng noticed that the stone walls weren't naturally grown but man-made.

A head sneakily popped out behind the stone wall. Gao Peng could recognize that it was a Black Jacket Gecko that was secretly observing Gao Peng.

Its eyes were alert and fearful.

Gao Peng furrowed his eyebrows as he wondered where he had landed. It looked like a labyrinth.

Footsteps were heard behind them—the government agents had arrived. They behaved like mice in the countryside, touching and observing various things from time to time with curiosity.

They even had devices on hand to collect data.

"So this is what the other world looks like," said one government personnel curiously.

Gao Peng lifted his head to look at the gloomy and endless sky that was painted red.

The sound of heavy footsteps could be heard from the other side of the labyrinth. The sound of the footsteps grew louder as the source came closer…

"Roar!" A black palm was on the top edge of the stone wall.

A head popped out from over the top of the stone wall and stared at the people with bloodshot eyes.

"Don't play tricks!" said Flamy as it spread its wings to fly. However, it fell after flying less than 65 feet because it seemed to hit an invisible ceiling.

It was rather dizzy after the fall.

The monster chuckled, its eyes forming slits when it saw Flamy hitting the invisible ceiling and falling.

A moment later, the monster behind the wall approached them with its head bowed. Once it came around the wall, Gao Peng could finally see the monster's face.

The monster was 65 feet tall, but that wasn't its full height. Its shoulders and spine were hung low, it had the head of a monkey with horns growing on top, and there were silver chains wrapped tightly around its horns. The monster wore a layer of blood red clothes that reached the ground. The red clothes were particularly obvious under the sunlight, like a bloody sea's glistening waves.

It was holding a long ax in its left hand. The end of the ax was a hammer-like weapon decorated with spikes. On the other side of the ax, there was a sharp blade.

There was a long chain at the bottom part of the ax that wrapped around its entire shoulder.

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Chapter 368: Dumby Knows Wushu

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

[Monster Name: Bloodcloth-Labyrinth Watcher

[Monster Level: Level 49 (Lord-tier)

[Monster Grade: Excellent

[Monster Attribute: Shadow

[Monster Ability: Strength of Shadows Level 3, Powerful Muscles Level 3, Enhanced Hearing Level 3, Super Recovery Level 3

[Special Characteristics: Bloody Pursuit (When its attack makes contact with a target, within ten seconds, all Bloodcloth-Labyrinth Watchers within a certain range will receive a real-time vision of the aforementioned target.)

[Monster Weakness: Radiant

[Monster Introduction: A monster unique to the Desolate Labyrinth in the World of Black Haze. With a mischievous disposition, it likes to play tricks on travelers that get lost in the maze. Will become uncharacteristically violent after suffering damage, as well as being very vengeful and holding lifelong grudges. Will remember the face of anyone who attacks it, even after a hundred years.

Gao Peng noticed that the chains twined around the monster's left arm were attached to a weapon that resembled an ax. Since weapons exist, does that mean that this world has developed their own civilization?

He exhaled a long sigh.

The Bloodcloth-Labyrinth Watcher slowly walked towards them, its enormous bulk casting a long shadow across the ground.

The shadows started to envelop Gao Peng, engulfing him in darkness.

Gao Peng lifted his head to stare directly into the Labyrinth Watcher's eyes.

"Grrr…" A deep growl reverberated through the maze.

Gao Peng couldn't understand it at all, nor could any of the others.

"Can any of you understand what it's saying?" Gao Peng asked his familiars via their Blood Contract.

Da Zi's face was a mask of confusion, Goldie seemed panicked, Flamy was being a birdbrain, Silly was stoic but offered no explanation, and the Yin Yang Calendula shook its head, which was resting on top of Dumby's head.

"I can kind of understand it," offered Dumby through the Blood Contract.

Skeletons didn't have vocal organs, as they communicated with other beings by relying on the soul waves emitted by the Flame of the Undead.

"What is he saying?" asked Gao Peng.

"It's asking us how we got here," replied Dumby in a low voice. "It said that it had been standing guard at the entrance, so no one could have snuck past its blockade line without alerting it. It also said that if we could tell it about the shortcut we took, it would let us out."

"Tell it that we don't wish to leave," Gao Peng instructed Dumby.

Dumby relayed the message.

The Labyrinth Watcher's upper body jerked backward as its eyes widened in shock. "HMM?!"

There are actually humans who refuse to leave the maze? Eh, humans? These are humans?! The Labyrinth Watcher suddenly had this realization, which made it widen its eyes even more. Humans! How is that possible?

"Roar! Roar! Roar!" The Labyrinth Watcher bellowed in a frenzy. The bloody cloth it was wearing started to emit a blinding crimson light, staining the walls around them the color of blood.

The agitated Labyrinth Watcher smashed the ground with its ax-hammer, creating an ear-splitting boom.

The ground started to quake. Gao Peng could hear similar noises echoing from other parts of the maze.

There was more than one Labyrinth Watcher in this maze!

Gao Peng immediately called out, "All of you, please return first!"

"What about you?" asked the government official as he hastily directed the men from the two assault squads to retreat via the crevice in space.

He understood that this wasn't the time to dawdle. He wouldn't be of much use here, so he wouldn't be a burden on Gao Peng.

"I'm fine, I can leave anytime. Please return first," Gao Peng urged in a low voice.

The Bloodcloth-Labyrinth Watcher suddenly caught sight of them escaping through the dark crevice, and it started to panic.

"ROAR!" It took a large stride forward and stretched out its right arm to swat at them in an attempt to block the exit.

Da Zi's wings fluttered while three Thunder Serpents struck at the same time!

The Thunder Serpents exploded on the Labyrinth Watcher's arm, causing it to fly high into the air from the shock and force of the explosion. Little tendrils of electricity sputtered and sparked on its wrist.

Goldie wanted to charge ahead, but Gao Peng restrained it by grabbing its leg.

"Don't go forward!"

Goldie turned around, perplexed.

"If you get larger and can't fit through that Spacial Rift, that would be problematic," explained Gao Peng as he looked into Goldie's eyes.

If they start to battle, Goldie's body size would increase. Because there was such a narrow crevice, it would have cut off their escape route.

Dumby lurched forwards and blocked the slash of the Labyrinth Watcher's ax with its fist. The ax clanged on Dumby's arm, emitting a sonorous sound of metal against metal.

Dumby took five steps back out of habit, then stomped on the ground, a cloud of ash rising from the point of contact with the ground.

Following that, Dumby clenched its teeth, its gaze brimming with soul flames as it hurtled forwards in an Iron Mountain Tackle! Its shoulder was like a sturdy, immovable mountain, capable of destroying skies and cratering the earth.

Bam!!!

The Labyrinth Watcher was still stumbling to regain its balance when the attack slammed into it. It was forced backward a great distance, its hulking mass staggering precariously.

Dumby had the advantage here; it wouldn't let it go to waste! It was going to take its opponent out while it was incapacitated!

Dumby took three steps forward. The difference in size between the two was astounding, as Dumby was barely as tall as the Labyrinth Watcher's legs. Dumby leaped into the air and landed a punch on the Labyrinth Watcher's knee. A loud crack rang out.

The Bloodcloth that covered down to its knees gave off a glob of crimson light upon being smashed. The Labyrinth Watcher couldn't keep its balance and fell backward, crashing into the stone wall behind it. The stone walls trembled violently from the impact, debris raining down in a shower.

Dumby leaped up and brought its foot down on the Labyrinth Watcher's wounded knee, causing it to collapse and cave in. Dumby also utilized the momentum to land a fist packed with explosive power on the Labyrinth Watcher's face.

Looking at the Labyrinth Watcher sprawled on the ground, Gao Peng asked Dumby: "Dumby, can you ask it why it attacked us just now? Also, who is the owner of this labyrinth?"

After listening to Dumby's question, the Labyrinth Watcher seemed furious.

"You were the one who attacked me first! I only wanted to stop them from leaving," snarled the Labyrinth Watcher as it glared at Dumby with all the rage in the world. I will remember you! You were the one who dared to attack me!

"And the owner of this labyrinth? Let me tell you, the owner is none other than the great and noble Master of the Desolate Labyrinth-Lord Blood Hunter." The Labyrinth Watcher announced this loudly with pride as if the mere mention of that name brought it excitement.

Listening to Dumby's translation, Gao Peng assessed the Labyrinth Watcher with narrowed eyes.

The footsteps echoing from far away were steadily approaching. Gao Peng again asked Dumby to convey a message. "Dumby, please tell it that we mean no harm and that we're here with the purest of intentions."

Dumby translated accordingly.

The Labyrinth Watcher looked pointedly at its broken leg with indignation.

"We are not here to spark a war. We actually came here from another world through that crack in space. I assure you that we come in peace and harbor the kindest of intentions. I apologize for hurting your knee. It truly wasn't my intention to do so! It happened because I couldn't control my strength," Dumby repeated what Gao Peng told it to say.

Rounding the corners of the walls and appearing were one, two, three… A total of seven Labyrinth Watchers were walking towards them with large strides from different directions.

The eight Labyrinth Watchers gathered together, the crimson light from their Bloodcloths glinting off each other and emitting a hazy red glow.

"So all of you are from a different world." The Labyrinth Watcher started to pick itself up from the ground. Its broken knee had already healed partially, enabling it to stand.

"No wonder… there's a barricade seal around the labyrinth, so there's only one way in. I had thought that there were loopholes in the labyrinth's defense, but who would have thought that it was a Spacial Rift…"

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Chapter 369: The Black Fog World

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

There were eight Excellent-grade Labyrinth Watchers with rapid healing abilities. Gao Peng observed them secretly while slowly moving backward with his familiars.

One of the Labyrinth Watchers stood out, as it was much bigger than the others. That Watcher was a level higher than the rest, which were all at Level 50. It had already achieved the peak as a Lord-tier monster. It was also one grade higher than the rest, at the Perfect grade.

Roar… Roar… Roar, Gao Peng could only hear a series of roaring sounds, but he failed to understand any of the words.

Dumby listened for a while and then translated to him, "Master, they're trying to tell us that they mean us no harm. They're here to ask for our help."

After learning the purpose of these Labyrinth Watchers, Gao Peng set his worries aside because they didn't have any malicious intent.

They just need our help? Gao Peng didn't say a word as he was thinking deeply.

A few of the Labyrinth Watchers looked at each other, then turned their heads and said to Dumby, "Please follow us."

After hearing Dumby's translation, Gao Peng shook his head and asked him to tell them, "We can't just follow you like that. This is your territory, after all, therefore, I don't trust you all."

The Labyrinth Watchers looked at each other again, not knowing what to say.

A few moments of silence later, one of the Labyrinth Watchers became offended. He took a step forward and shouted while staring at Gao Peng.

The fire in Dumby's eyes was still. He raised his head and looked the Labyrinth Watcher right in the eyes, then he took out his tail from his back and said nothing.

Goldie rubbed its head as a sign of irritation and spit onto the ground. Ptooey!

I, Goldie shall not be insulted like this! Don't you dare yell at my people!

The rest of Gao Peng's familiars started causing an uproar among themselves. They made guttural noises of warning from their throats.

The leader of the Perfect-grade Labyrinth Watchers suddenly turned his head around and smacked the offended Watcher in the face after he yelled at them. The heavy smack left the Watcher spinning on the ground. It staggered and thudded its bum onto the ground. The Watcher looked at his leader in confusion, perhaps wondering why it had done that all so suddenly.

Roar! The leader rumbled deeply, giving him the warning to shut up.

He turned his head around again and took a glance at Gao Peng. He growled and said, "We truly mean no harm to you. I just hope that all of you could help our master."

Gao Peng was still alert, for he was still wondering whether these guys would offer them as a sacrifice without them knowing.

"All right. Please give me some time to prepare, and I will get back to you when I'm ready."

The Labyrinth Watchers looked at Gao Peng without saying anything for around half a minute. The leader of the Watchers finally nodded.

"Fine, human. I hope you aren't trying to trick us."

"Why would I trick you? You're welcome to come and ask around in the human world. You would find that I'm an honest and reliable man." Gao Peng smiled.

"Honest and reliable man? Then you must be a man of your word from the human world who would do a lot better than all those swindlers." The Labyrinth Watcher nodded in a serious way.

With Dumby's help, the leader's words were translated.

Gao Peng smiled with modesty.

"Oh, yeah. Did you raise all the monsters here?" asked Gao Peng while pointing at the Black Gecko on the wall.

The Labyrinth Watcher glimpsed at the Black Gecko and nodded. "Yes, they're our source of food in the labyrinth."

"Could you give us some of the Black Geckoes to raise? We could supply a lot of food for you." Gao Peng became more aggressive once he noticed that the Watchers weren't as hard to deal with as he had imagined.

The Labyrinth Watcher shook its head. "No, you shall not take them as pets because these reptiles don't reproduce with each other. However, if you are able to wake up our master, I believe he would be happy to trade with you… Actually we, the people of the Desolate Labyrinth, do not look upon the human race with hatred as some other forces in the Black Fog World do."

Gao Peng was anxious. "There are other humans in the Black Fog World? Are they located close to the labyrinth?"

What concerned Gao Peng the most was if there were actually any traces of humans in the other world, since he knew that these Labyrinth Watchers had seen humans before through their reactions.

As Gao Peng still held reservations against the humans from other tribes…

It would be fine if the difference in powers of the tribes were minimal. However, if the opposite was true, it would only bring war and invasion.

Things had been this way since the dawn of time.

"Human?" The Labyrinth Watcher smirked. "I haven't seen any humans in the past 70 years."

"Do they live far from here?"

The Labyrinth Watcher took a glance at Gao Peng and said slowly, "No. Those liars escaped to the other world."

"All right, human. You should go back first. Whenever you're willing to wake our master for us, please come back," the leader of Labyrinth Watchers said before he turned around to leave. His body disappeared behind the stone wall, and the other Watchers also left in different directions. The subtle sound of them walking faded as they walked away.

Gao Peng stood there silently, slowly digesting the words of the Labyrinth Watchers.

Actually, we, the people from the Desolate Labyrinth, do not discriminate against the human race as some other forces in the Black Fog World do… those liars escaped to the other world.

Gao Peng raised his eyebrows in confusion. It appeared that there had once been other humans in this world, but they had left a bad reputation.

But they didn't know if the human race in that world had owned familiars… He had forgotten to ask the Labyrinth Watcher about that. They probably should have, since he worked so well with Dumby and the rest.

There were many people waiting on the other side of the Spacial Rift to return to the human world, such as his grandpa and Xu Heti, the tribe leader who was just waiting outside.

When Xu Heti saw Gao Peng, he sighed in relief. "If it wasn't for the calm behavior of the rat you left outside, your grandpa would have forced himself inside," he joked with Gao Peng as soon as the latter came out.

There was a big fat rat munching a carrot right beside him.

When it looked at Gao Peng's eyes, the Treasure Sniffing Rodent's seemed resentful. How could you ditch me…

"Grandpa, Minister Xu." Gao Peng smiled while turning his head around to greet the other government executives.

"Have you guys beaten all the monsters?" Ji Hanwu said while giving approving glances.

"I just found something out… Let's find a place and talk about it later." Gao Peng looked around and realized that there were too many people there, so it would be better to talk in a quiet place.

They got in their cars and left. Afterward, they came to a government office building where there was a specially built room with secure soundproofed facilities.

Due to the strong hearing abilities some familiars possessed, this soundproof room was built specifically to prevent the surveillance of familiars that could understand human language.

Gao Peng told them about his conversation with the Labyrinth Watcher. Their reactions were similar to Gao Peng's when he first heard the news. They were silent while digesting this extraordinary news.

The world is called the Black Fog World, and there used to be humans there, but they escaped to other worlds. Which world to be exact? Could they be on Earth Star?

And there were eight Lord-tier Monsters and a mysterious master in this Desolate Labyrinth.

The Black Fog World was far more powerful than they had imagined.

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Chapter 370: The Highland Base City

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Without understanding the situation, none of them had the courage to recklessly send people to approach the lord. They could easily create trouble for themselves before they were clear of the situation.

"Those Black Fog Lizards… Hmm, I think they were called Black Jacket Geckoes." Xu Heti mumbled the name over and over again.

"Yes. They were called the Black Jacket Geckoes in the Black Fog World."

Xu Heti didn't dwell on the name. "We requested to take a part of the Black Jacket Gecko's carcass from the government so that we could study it. However, we found out that its flesh contained a lot of nutrients. Any monster that consumes their meat will go through changes in emotion, and at the same time, their blood pressure will increase."

"The Labyrinth Watchers once said that these Black Jacket Geckoes were their source of food. Hence, it's expected to contain high nutrients." Gao Peng was lost in his thoughts. "Moreover, they also mentioned that the Black Jacket Gecko meat could be addictive if one was to consume too much of it."

Xu Heti was stunned for a second before she nodded quietly.

They would have to discuss it once they got back. The real results could only be proven through precise data from research in the laboratory. However, the chairman had at least given them a direction. It would, at the very least, save a lot of effort for the people in the laboratory.

In fact, Gao Peng rarely conducted experiments personally nowadays. He handed over most of the cases to his subordinates, and he merely needed to provide vague directions. Xu Qingzhi was now able to produce most of the low-grade drugs under Gao Peng's diligent training. All the reagents that were consumed by the familiars below Commander-tier were considered low-grade drugs by Gao Peng.

"Mr. Chairman, there's something that I need to report to you. We were defeated at Changping, and we were only able to bring back the Fire of The Mysterious Underworld," Xu Heti said solemnly.

"What do they have over there?" Gao Peng asked curiously.

"Ghost soldiers!" Xu Heti frowned. "Moreover, they're led by a general who called himself Zhao Kuo. I'm not sure if it's true that he has the power to absorb the healing abilities of the ghost soldiers, but undeniably, he is very capable."

"I don't care whether he's Zhao Kuo or Li Kuo. I'll kill everyone who tries to take our belongings," Ji Hanwu said emotionlessly.

The rest of the people didn't utter a word. They were all applauding their big brother in their mind.

Ji Hanwu patted Gao Peng's head as he said gently, "You should return to the villa and take a good rest. I'll be back soon."

He then lifted his head where the gentleness on his face had disappeared. In exchange, his expression was cold and merciless.

"White Dragon!"

Roar.

A loud noise that resembled thunder came from the sky. Dense and thick clouds covered the sky. The white head of a dragon appeared among the dark clouds. The figure shot towards the ground from the sky and created a long white trail that linked the sky and the ground.

The trail spun a few times in front of Gao Peng, creating a fierce wind that messed up Gao Peng's hair.

When he regained his composure, his grandfather had vanished. Only the white dragon in the distance was left in the clouds.

"Grandfather is still as hot-tempered as before. He leaves whenever he wants." Gao Peng fixed his hair before he led the familiars home.

Since not long ago, monsters from the surrounding areas tended to attack the Highland base city frequently. Fortunately, none of them were monsters of the Commander tier. Hence, up to that point, the base city could still survive, although barely.

"What did the superiors say? Have you reported this to the superiors?"

"They told us to hold on as long as we could. The reconnaissance troops will arrive in a week," said the assistant mayor of the Highland base city, who was covered in cold sweat. He was different from the mayor of the city because he had been appointed directly by the superiors, meaning his status was special. Most of the matters that required communication with the superiors were his responsibility.

He had relied on his relationship with his uncle to obtain his current position. However, his uncle had handed over his position six months ago. It could have been due to his uncle's previous interference via political measure or some other means. All it meant was it was more troublesome.

"I have something to report, Mayor. There's a batch of monsters who invaded the suburban area from the south. They've already caused five deaths and sixty-three injuries. Our supporting forces are heading over now" Yet another piece of bad news.

At the northern region of the suburbs, a group of monsters was running across the suburb and storming around heedlessly, as if there were something scary chasing after them.

It was a group of monsters that resembled rabbits. They were ten feet tall and each of their ears were pricked up like radars. Their red eyes were actively screening their surroundings while their mouths were opened, exposing their teeth that resembled knives. By looking at their appearances, they were fluffy and cute. However, they could jump at least 30 feet easily and tear up a car with just one bite.

Some of the monsters had fresh blood on their faces. It was extremely frightening.

"Shoot! Shoot!" someone shouted.

Bullets were hitting the bodies of the monsters, and blood splashed from the wounds. Unfortunately, it could only hurt their skin. The wounds appeared terrifying, but, in actuality, the bullets were only stuck in their muscles.

The city's defense forces were covering their backs by sending in a troop of familiars.

The Blue Bats, with wings that were six feet wide, were flying around the sky. Their purple veins seemed tranquil, their wings thin. Some of the Blue Bats charged down and made a few tiny scratches on the rabbit monsters. The speed of the injured rabbit monsters was reduced as ice frosted over their wounds.

Nonetheless, there was also one big Blue Bat that failed to dodge and was attacked by the rabbit monsters, which hopped up and kicked right in the bat's chest. Immediately, the bat was kicked and fell about 30 feet away with a sunken chest. The bat was expected to be dead.

The rabbit monsters were all over the hill, and there were approximately a thousand of them. The monsters ran across the suburbs, some hopping on the houses and destroying them on the spot, while others kicked in roofs and broke flower pots. In the meantime, their big red eyes were filled with horror.

"Requesting back-up! We're requesting back-up!" The expression of the head guard, who was in charge of the front line, had changed. He could recognize these giant rabbits; they were monsters that used to live in a field in the northern region. They were called White Cloud Red-Eyed Rabbits. They were monsters of the Elite tier and omnivores that could eat grass and meat. All of the other monsters from that region were gone. Fortunately, the rabbits had been able to survive on rapid-growing plants in the grassland.

The White Cloud Red-Eyed Rabbits were gentle monsters and rarely attacked humans aggressively. None of them had any idea what had happened.

Recently, other than these White Cloud Red-Eyed Rabbits, other monsters from several regions in all directions had attacked the base cities aggressively. The Highland base city was only a small one. There wasn't any trainer at the Commander rank in this city. There was only a Commander-tier Green Mountain White Ape 100 miles away that would only receive offerings from people on normal days. It was meant to protect the people of the base city during the invasion of monsters at the Commander tier.

Currently, the only monsters in the herd weren't being led by any Commander-tier monster. The White Ape wouldn't be willing to help even if the people requested it. That White Ape had always been cunning.

A low-rank police officer who was covered in sweat came running to report. "Captain, the back-up team will arrive in ten minutes—" His words halted abruptly. A white line stormed across the sky instantly and approached them, growing closer and closer each second.

All the clouds along the way were torn apart and left scattered.

"What… what is that?" The police officer could feel goosebumps all over his body. He could sense an enormous danger approaching.

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Read Monster Pet Evolution Chapter 371 - The Last Ingredient online for free - AllNovelFull

Chapter 371: The Last Ingredient

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The White Cloud Red-Eyed Rabbit suddenly ceased their frenzy. All of them lay prone on the ground at that moment.

Some of them looked up at the sky fearfully, their white tails shaking uncontrollably behind them.

Others began frantically digging holes in the ground in an attempt to bury themselves beneath the earth.

However, they were currently on cement. Even if they clawed so hard at the ground that their claws bled and splintered, they couldn't dig a hole deep enough to completely hide from whatever was coming.

In the sky, clouds began gathering, forming a thick wet mist above the ground. Without warning, a downpour fell.

The sound of rain began to grow louder. Each water droplet was shaped like a bullet, completely defying the laws of fluid dynamics. Each of them had a sharp tip on one end and a rounded base on the other.

The bullet-shaped water droplets fell on the White Cloud Red-Eyed Rabbits. Due to their high water density, each of them was sturdier than solid steel.

Blood sprayed out from the White Cloud Red-Eyed Rabbits lying on the ground as the rain fell.

The raindrops, which were under the White Dragon's direction, swerved away from the humans and familiars in the area. Only the monsters on the ground were struck by them.

The violent rain continued falling for ten minutes straight. When it ended, the White Cloud Red-Eyed Rabbits lay on the ground without any sign of life.

The ground was wet. Everyone from the police department simply stood there, completely drenched. Their uniforms were stuck to their bodies, while their hair stuck out at odd angles. Their teeth wouldn't stop chattering in the cold.

It was extremely cold.

The high concentration of water elemental energy had brought with it a cold front that had robbed all the heat in the air.

Gao Ping City's police chief shivered when a cold wind blew past him.

What shook him to the core was the sight of an enormous dragon head looking straight at him. On it stood an unusually well-built old man in a white robe. "Excuse me, do you know where Changping Village is?" asked the old man.

"It's that, that way…" the police chief said, pointing a shaky finger in the direction of the village. "Just go 25 miles in that direction and you'll reach it."

The dragon let out a sharp cry and flew off into the distance. The police chief sighed and collapsed to the ground on his butt.

His mind went blank for a moment, then a realization began to piece itself together in the blankness of his mind. White Dragon, white robe, white hair…

Oh my god, it was him!

He couldn't believe that man had just appeared before him.

Thick clouds began gathering in the sky above Changping village. The White Dragon casually threw a glance at the clouds, which slowly began to churn in the air as if a giant invisible hand was stirring them.

The clouds swirling in the sky were as black as ink.

They began to float across the sky to and fro, at times letting sunlight escape through a crack or two in the clouds.

The sun hadn't shone on the village in ages. Some of the houses gave off a faint musty smell when the sunlight hit them.

Pillars of smoke crept out of the houses through the cracks in their walls.

However, there was no sign of the ghost soldiers or any other monster. A deathly silence had fallen over the place. It was as if everyone had just up and left.

On the southern outskirts of Gao Ping City, tens of thousands of ghost soldiers were standing in formation, their bodies radiating an ethereal blue light. Before them, a pack of monsters was fleeing towards the city.

Zhao Kuo was standing at the front of his army clad in blood-red battle armor. His unkempt black hair straggled over his chest, and his cold, dark eyes were staring straight at Gao Ping City like those of a viper.

"Since you cowards don't have the balls to face me, I'll just force you all out of hiding and make you come to me!" shouted ghostly general Zhao Kuo gleefully.

He was able to do this by scaring the monsters living in the nearby forests into stampeding into the city.

"We've already sent most of the monsters here in the direction of the city. We'll have to go even further if we want to look for more…" said Zhao Kuo, his eyes glinting cunningly.

Suddenly, a piercing cry echoed in the distance.

In the next second, a dark cloud shaped like a drill fell upon the army!

The cloud was at least a few acres wide and as black as ink. It began spinning wildly, kicking up a wind that tore the leaves and branches off the trees in the area. Loose pebbles and sand began dancing about in the air.

Zhao Kuo's armor plates were now rattling noisily in the wind.

"Hm?" Zhao Kuo's face darkened. He unsheathed his longsword from his sheath and swung it out. An arc of blue light flew out from the blade, sailing through the air towards…

Bang!!!

Zhao Kuo was violently thrown to the ground. He could feel his bones breaking in his body, while his longsword flew out from his hand upon impact.

All the ghost soldiers around him were caught in the attack.

From the churning dark cloud emerged a white claw.

The cloud had just been a feint to distract the ghost soldiers. The real threat had been hidden behind the seemingly impenetrable cloud all this time.

The dragon snorted, scattering the cloud around it. The cloud once again gathered around its claw like a gauntlet. The dragon clenched its claw, letting out a series of thunderous booms!

Crack!

The bones in Zhao Kuo's body were bent completely out of shape.

"Kill it!" roared out the army of 10,000 soldiers. Their battle cry rocked both heaven and earth.

The soldiers' blue spectral light began to solidify until it formed a huge sword that was pointed straight at the White Dragon.

The White Dragon swung its tail into the sword's flat side, instantly shattering it into pieces.

Zhao Kuo struggled to get to his feet. However, thanks to the White Dragon's suppressive aura, all of his strength had left his body.

Then the White Dragon picked him up and disappeared into the sky, leaving the dazed ghost soldiers on the ground.

Zhao Kuo was viciously thrown to the ground next to a lake. He had no idea how many of his bones were still intact as he lay on the ground, barely breathing. There was now a huge crack across his crimson battle armor.

"Who the hell are you…"

The White Dragon ignored him and swung a claw at him, knocking him out instantly.

"I have no idea how I was supposed to harvest the ingredients you wanted, so I just brought the whole thing for you," said Ji Hanwu as he leaped down from the dragon's head.

The White Dragon casually glanced at its captive and yawned, then dove back into the lake, leaving an unconscious Zhao Kuo on the lake's shore.

Gao Peng stared at Zhao Kuo's unconscious form incredulously.

Another ingredient obtained so easily, he thought. Gao Peng felt somewhat awkward about this.

A bit too easily…

He already had most of the ingredients necessary for Dumby's evolution on hand. However, he was still missing the final piece of the puzzle.

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Chapter 372: Guan Yu and Qin Qiong

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

[Monster Name: Skeleton Tyrant

[Monster Grade: Legendary

[Monster Level: Level 46

[Ingredients for Promotion to Legendary Grade: Flames of Darkness, Commander Bones, Thousand-Year Heart of Darkness, and the Essence of the Undying Heart…

These were the main ingredients Dumby needed in order to advance to Legendary-grade. Gao Peng had already collected three of them, plus a few other miscellaneous items. The only ingredient he was missing right now was the Essence of the Undying Heart.

Judging from their names, these ingredients seemed almost mundane. However, it was an established fact that various elements could be combined to bring out the best in each other.

For instance, one could mix potassium nitrate, sulfur, and charcoal together in fixed proportions to produce one of humanity's most destructive weapons: gunpowder.

[Ingredient Name: Essence of the Undying Heart

[Description: An arcane crystal formed in a mountain of corpses. It is capable of ridding the soul of its impurities and healing its scars and can usually be found in a place of death and serenity.

Gao Peng closed his eyes. At first, he had thought that the Essence of the Undying Heart could be found in Changping village. However, the village didn't seem to fit the image of "a place of death and serenity."

The 400,000 soldiers that had perished in the Battle of Changping hadn't exactly died in serenity.

Gao Peng had euthanized Zhao Kuo in the laboratory. The Commander Bones and Thousand-Year Heart of Darkness were, respectively, his bones and heart. Gao Peng could have extracted both of them from his body without killing him outright.

However, a life without one's bones or heart wasn't a life worth living. Zhao Kuo was better off returning to his grave.

At that moment, in the northwestern region of the Gao Ping base city, thousands of ghost soldiers suddenly stood stock still. Each of them could feel the invisible chains binding their souls to the mortal plane gradually fading away alongside the consciousness that had been controlling their every thought.

One by one, the ghost soldiers began to walk around in circles.

Some of the soldiers simply sat on the ground, staring at nothing in particular. Some were completely enthralled by a cicada chirping on a branch. The rest picked up their weapons and began walking away from the place. The only thing they wanted to do right then was leave that place as soon as possible.

"Let's go home, let's go home…" muttered one of the ghost soldiers. His eyes gazed emptily at the horizon. He had picked up the smell of home. Resolutely, he began the long and arduous journey towards his home.

"Sorry. I messed up this time," said Lin Xinrui apologetically, her cheeks flushed.

Since signing her employment contract with the Southern Sky Group, she had received all kinds of benefits from the company in addition to her monthly salary.

This was the first time one of her missions that had ended in failure. This made her feel quite ill at ease. Even though she wasn't specialized in combat, she still had a reputation to uphold as a World Hunter.

Xu Heti had reported Lin Xinrui's performance in the field to Gao Peng. It was satisfactory. Not only had she come prepared with sufficient knowledge of all the ins and outs of her mission, but she also hadn't shown the slightest hesitation in combat. The only thing she was lacking was combat power.

Even though she had come fully prepared for the mission, her Crystal Peacock Mantis Shrimp still hadn't been able to take out Zhao Kuo instantly. It seemed that her familiar's explosive attacks still needed work.

"Just be careful next time," said Gao Peng, smiling. Feeling that he had done more than enough to console her, he turned around and left the building.

In the northern wing of the manor, a large patch of soil had been brought in. This particular type of soil was a vivid shade of purple.

This purple-colored soil was known as Frozen Crystal Soil, one of Russia's major exports.

It was a particularly fertile soil that contained all kinds of nutrients and minerals beneficial for the growth of most Plant-type monsters. Commonly found underneath a layer of ice, the Frozen Crystal Soil was also said to be as soft as jelly. The only downside to it was its exorbitant price. One acre of soil cost around 15 Alliance credits. Gao Peng had bought 30 acres in one go.

The Yin Yang Calendula happily planted its roots in the Frozen Crystal Soil. Gao Peng could feel its happiness through their Blood Contract.

The Yin Yang Calendula had reached Level 31. As long as it received enough nutrients through its roots, it would be able to grow even more quickly than other monsters.

When Gao Peng was finished preparing the ingredients for Dumby's evolution, he went back to the manor to rest.

The next morning, he went to the Tiange Academy alongside Dazi. Everything was still the same in the academy, or so it seemed. In front of the gates stood two bronze statues. On the left was the statue of Guan Yu, while on the right was a shorter statue of Qin Qiong.

Gao Peng stared at the statues, stunned. Where did the smaller one come from?! he thought.

"Principal, you came back just in time," said a security guard, jogging up to Gao Peng. He held his hand against his chest in an effort to steady his breathing as he came to a stop before Gao Peng.

"Principal, we tried to call you yesterday, but you didn't pick up, so we thought something must have come up and decided not to disturb you," the security guard began.

Gao Peng swept his gaze over the other copper statue. At first, he thought he was looking at an ordinary statue, then suddenly, its stats popped up before him.

[Monster Name: Animated Bronze Statue (Qin Qiong)

[Monster Level: Level 41 (Lord-tier)

[Monster Status: Healthy (Impassive)

[Monster Grade: Normal

[Monster Name: Animated Bronze Statue (Guan Yu)

[Monster Level: Level 44 (Lord-tier)

[Monster Status: Healthy (Impassive)

[Monster Grade: Excellent

Both of them seemed to be of the same species. However, the Guan Yu Statue was three levels higher than the Qin Qiong statue. It also seemed to be slightly wider than the latter. The statues looked like a pair of siblings standing side by side for a family picture.

"Where did the other statue come from?" asked Gao Peng stonily.

"No idea. It just came down from the mountains yesterday," replied the security guard, shaking his head.

From the mountains?

"Has Teacher Guan gone anywhere recently?"

"No, sir. Teacher Guan hasn't moved a muscle. The only times he moved were when a monster appeared before him."

Gao Peng didn't find this hard to believe.

"When the other bronze statue appeared yesterday, it simply made eye contact with Teacher Guan for a moment and took his position here beside him. It hasn't moved an inch ever since," said the security guard, warily glancing at the Qin Qiong statue.

The Guan Yu Statue stood solemnly on the left side of the school gates, while the Qin Qiong statue stood on the right side. Both seemed to be keeping a watchful eye over the school together.

If only things were as simple as they seemed…

He had every reason to be wary of a Lord-tier bronze statue that had suddenly popped up in front of his school out of nowhere. He wasn't the type to wait for it to go on a rampage.

At this thought, Gao Peng narrowed his eyes at the Qin Qiong statue.

The statue's appearance was way too good to be true. There was definitely something fishy about it.

It definitely hadn't stayed out of respect for the Guan Yu statue!

Frowning, Gao Peng said, "Let's take it back home… Let it stay with Stripey for a while. After that, I'll see if it has what it takes to stand guard at the school."

The Guan Yu statue had gone through the same process before coming there. It was, after all, a wild, nigh untameable creature, the word "untameable" being the operative word.

Gao Peng wasn't going to place the safety of the school on the whims of a monster he had never seen before. He decided that he should at least let it know who called the shots here.

"Da Zi! Take it down," said Gao Peng.

Gao Peng bared its mandibles at the Qin Qiong bronze statue. "Hisssss!!!"

Arcs of lightning exploded across the ground and wrapped around the Qin Qiong statue like a dazzling spider web.

Boom!

A thunderous sound exploded in front of the school gates.

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Chapter 373: Stripey's New Toy

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The Qin Qiong and Guan Yu Statues were of the same species. They even shared the same weaknesses.

Da Zi had gained three levels since its last encounter with the Guan Yu Statue. Not only was it a level higher than the Qin Qiong Statue, but it was also superior to the latter in terms of grade. Unable to block Da Zi's lightning attack, the Qin Qiong Statue was instantly electrocuted by it.

"It's called electrotherapy," said Gao Peng casually.

The Qin Qiong statue fell to the ground, half-kneeling. Its dark bronze face remained expressionless as arcs of electricity leaped across its body.

The statue's metallic body was now surrounded by purple electricity. Da Zi clamped its mandibles down on one end of its electrical web. However, no matter how hard Da Zi pulled on it, it still couldn't get the Qin Qiong statue to budge.

The 30-foot-tall statue probably weighed at least a few tons. There was no way Da Zi could pull something that heavy.

Gao Peng narrowed his eyes at this scene. As he stepped forward, a layer of faint purple energy began to form around him. Then he reached down and gave the electric web a good yank.

He managed to pull the statue at least two feet across the ground.

The security guard gaped at Gao Peng.

Da Zi also stared at its trainer, speechless.

I'm sorry, are you the familiar here? How am I supposed to show my face around the others now?! it thought.

Gao Peng, who had received a portion of the combined strengths of Stripey and Dumby, had no idea just how strong he was by then. He didn't think he would be able to obtain an accurate measure of his own strength through conventional means of strength-testing. It would also not be feasible for him to drag a hundred-ton object off the street and start bench-pressing it back home.

Gao Peng began climbing up the mountains, dragging the Qin Qiong Statue behind him, until they reached Stripey's valley.

A dark pillar of smoke was rising up into the sky at that moment, and the smell of sulfur permeated the air around them. It was noticeably hotter here than anywhere else outside of the valley.

"Stripey, I brought you a new toy." Gao Peng loosened his grip on the electric web. Da Zi dispelled the electricity around the Qin Qiong Statue. The statue, which had been lying prone on the ground all this time, suddenly sprang up to its feet and swung its mace out. A loud wail reverberated across the valley as a pair of golden weapons sailed through the air from the statue.

Bang!

Stripey sent the Qin Qiong Statue flying with one kick.

It wasn't even a proper kick. Stripey had simply wiggled the one of its legs that was closest to the statue.

Just like that, the Qin Qiong Statue was thrown into the face of a mountain, where it carved out a human-shaped hole.

"Gao Peng, will it break?" asked Stripey in a tone of concern.

"Nonsense. Just remember not to play too roughly with it," said Gao Peng reassuringly.

"Okay. I won't," replied Stripey happily. It had been a while since it had a new plaything. Nothing interesting ever happened in the valley. At first, Stripey had tried to distract itself by admiring the scenery around it, but that quickly grew old. At times, it would catch a couple of small monsters in the forest for its own amusement. The weak-hearted ones were immediately frightened to death by the sight of it. Some of them were too scared to even touch their food, so they ended up starving themselves to death. Only one or two lasted for a few weeks with Stripey before breaking down completely.

"Gao Peng, Gao Peng, why are the mountains around the valley getting shorter?" asked Stripey.

"Uhm…" Upon hearing this, Gao Peng looked at Stripey and noticed that it had grown a lot bigger than the mountains around it.

Is it getting bigger?

"Gao Peng, you're also getting shorter. Da Zi… you're still the same as ever." Stripey lay on the ground. A bright red crack opened on its head as it gazed down at Gao Peng and Da Zi.

Da Zi stared at its trainer, speechless.

Outraged, Da Zi jumped into the air and sank its teeth into Stripey's rock-hard skin.

Stripey simply giggled like a little child. It seemed quite happy about this.

The Qin Qiong Statue climbed out of its hole and stared at Stripey in bewilderment. Only at that moment did it notice the hulking monstrosity in the middle of the valley. It had thought that it was just another mountain.

It slowly took a few steps backward. Gripping its mace tightly in its hand, the statue turned around and ran for its life. It had no intention of staying around to see what would happen next!

Whoosh!

The world around the Qin Qiong statue suddenly went dark as a long shadow fell over it.

Boom.

The ground beneath the statue's feet shook violently.

The only exit out of the valley was blocked off in an instant.

Blood-red light spilled out from the cracks on the craggy rock wall that had sealed off the valley's exit. The statue was shaken to its core by the menacing aura around the rock wall at that moment.

The Qin Qiong Statue eyed the rock wall warily. Looking up, it saw that that the wall stretched all the way up into the sky, completely blocking all sunlight.

"Don't worry, Stripey. I'll find a way to make you smaller," said Gao Peng, smiling at Stripey.

Stripey nodded happily. "Okay! Gao Peng, you're the best!"

When Gao Peng and Da Zi left the valley, Stripey hurriedly stood up and propped four of its feet on the mountain peaks around it. The mountains trembled and cracked slightly beneath Stripey's weight. From this position, Stripey looked out over the mountains and stared at the receding figures of Gao Peng and Da Zi in the distance. When both of them finally vanished into the horizon, Stripey despondently climbed back down from the mountain peaks.

"I'm not stupid… I know that I'm getting bigger," mumbled Stripey. "Gao Peng, will I be able to see you again?"

Taking advantage of Stripey's distracted mumbling, the Qin Qiong Statue had already run a few miles into the forest. Branches slapped against its metallic body as it made a mad dash for freedom.

Stripey threw a disdainful look at it and said, "Get back here!"

Then it slammed one of its legs on the ground.

Boom…

A powerful shockwave spread out across the ground from Stripey's leg.

The ground rose up like a tidal wave. In an instant, it managed to cover a distance of three miles through the forest.

The statue stumbled as the ground beneath its feet went soft. It suddenly felt half of its body tipping forward and then soaring through the air in the opposite direction. as the seismic wave threw it back to where Stripey was. The statue landed unceremoniously before the mountain spider's feet.

"Gao Peng said that you're supposed to play with me!" said Stripey.

The Qin Qiong Statue stared at it mutely.

What the hell do you people want from me? I was just excited to find one of my own kind and got curious about it. Now I'm not interested anymore!

Once he was back at the academy, Gao Peng began asking around about what had happened during his absence.

Nothing much had happened, aside from a scuffle between the students. Some of the students had fought with each other in the corridor during recess one day when one of the students slammed a door on someone else's thumb.

"The injured student was sent to the infirmary to be treated. Fortunately, the Holy Angora Rabbit was able to fix her thumb. There were no side effects," said the academic director.

"That's good to hear," said Gao Peng, nodding. "It's normal for the students to be a bit excitable. However, a school is still a place of learning. If the students have nowhere else to channel all that excess energy, I'd suggest that the school start a number of clubs for the students to join, like a Monster Hobby Society, a Monster Breeder Exchange Society, a Monster Trainer Exchange Society, or maybe even a Treasury Club. How you go about this is entirely up to you," said Gao Peng. He had offered a general outline of a solution. The details of its execution would be left to those below him to handle.

"Also, the other day, I had someone contact Yuzhou's National High School Association. They've agreed to let us join them. How you use the opportunity that I've given you to make this place one of the best schools in the region will also be up to you," added Gao Peng flatly.

"Understood," said the two rows of school officials sitting on both sides of Gao Peng.

After pausing for a moment, Gao Peng said, "I know that our school's students aren't academically on par with the other schools. Still, you don't need to put unnecessary pressure on them. Just make sure they're able to improve at their own pace."

"Understood."

"All right then. Meeting adjourned."

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Chapter 374: Lusaka's Spatial Rift

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

African region, Lusaka base city.

Since the Cataclysm, the Lusaka base city was like any other base city in the world. However, half a year ago, the place had become an international hotspot.

Zambia, a landlocked country in Africa, was instantly turned into an important commercial hub in the region with the appearance of a permanent Spatial Rift there. Trainers of all shapes and sizes began converging on Zambia from every corner of the African region. After all, beyond a Spatial Rift laid a whole new world of resources just waiting to be exploited for profit. This attracted a lot of attention inside and outside of the continent.

Housing prices in the Lusaka base city jumped up exponentially overnight, making it impossible for younger people to buy a house there.

Given the economic significance of the Spatial Rift, there was no way the Lusaka base city would be able to keep it all to itself. The New World Development Union was established in an attempt to regulate the exploitation of the Spatial Rift.

Zambia, Kokang, Zimbabwe, and Angola were the main constituents of the union. Its other members included large-scale security companies and military contractors, such as the Falcon, Crimson Leopard, and Nine-headed Lion groups.

Out of the four constituent countries, Kokang was the most influential. It lay north of Zambia, with Zimbabwe to the southeast and Angola to the west.

These three countries had already laid claim to large swathes of land in Zambia.

Since the appearance of the Spatial Rift, Zambia had experienced considerable economic growth. Every day, large groups of monster trainers would enter Zambia to investigate what lay beyond the Spatial Rift. These trainers had ventured as far as 300 miles into the unknown on the other side of the rift.

Every day, large numbers of extraterrestrial monsters were carried out from the Spatial Rift to be sold worldwide. Some of them were used as guinea pigs in laboratories, while others were taken in to be trained as familiars. For some reason, these extraterrestrial monsters saw more demand than their terrestrial counterparts. An extraterrestrial monster would be sold at five times the price of a terrestrial monster at the same level and grade. Even still, people just couldn't get enough of them. The demand for them soon outweighed their supply.

The sale of these creatures was also subject to something called an "international tax."

These extraterrestrial creatures had to go through a rigorous procedure, including a thorough sterilization stage, before they were allowed to enter this world. The procedure required a lot of money and manpower. Only those directly involved in it would know just how much money and manpower were required to bring these creatures into this world…

The Spatial Rift in the Lusaka base city had grown considerably since its appearance. It was now at least 13 feet wide and 32 feet tall. It looked like a huge door on the outside.

Most normal-sized familiars wouldn't find it difficult to pass through the Spatial Rift.

On the other side of the rift lay the desolate remains of what had once been a city.

It was evident that an intelligent species had once lived there. Most of the buildings in the abandoned city had been left in a state of disrepair. Now, after the New World Development Union ordered the repair of the city, the place looked much better than before. Forts were even built around the city walls to fortify its defenses.

"Boss, we've just discovered a new building that hadn't been touched. There's something inside. I think you should take a look at it." A monster trainer was training his familiar in the plains, where a streak of black and white was chasing after a group of black-and-white streaks in front of it.

"Hm?" A dark-skinned man took down his sunglasses and turned to his subordinate.

"Black King," said the man, calling his familiar back.

The black-and-white streaks collided with each other for a moment before pulling away from each other. They were a couple of six-foot-tall black wolverines. One of them, a wolverine with a particularly streamlined body, impatiently licked its claws and swept back the fur on its head with them.

It then walked back towards the man with the sunglasses without a sound, ignoring everything else around it.

Upon entering the Spatial Rift, they found themselves in the middle of a seemingly empty city. The place was painted in shades of yellow and gray, the walls and roofs of the buildings overgrown with all kinds of plants. Even though some of the buildings had caved in, no one had bothered to repair them. The only sign indicating any manner of repair had ever taken place here was a distinct lack of weeds on the ground.

Some of the roofs and walls were adorned with winged sculptures and elegant carvings, respectively. These all supported the idea that a civilized species had once called this place home.

One could also see a figure or two flitting through the buildings, scavenging for anything of value.

In the ruins of an extraterrestrial city, there was still a chance that something valuable could turn up.

When the Spatial Rift was first discovered, a lot of people had gone through it to see what was on the other side. A craze had gripped everyone at that time. Hundreds of thousands of people flooded through the rift to explore every inch of the ancient alien city. The furor had died down ever since, as every valuable object in the ruins of the city had long been taken. Even those that couldn't be removed from the ruins had been destroyed during the exploration craze.

After rounding a few corners, the group of trainers finally arrived at a building, which somewhat resembled a European church from the Middle Ages. It had a roof that tapered to a pointed end. There had once been a huge, wooden door at the front of the building, but it had been taken down long before. A stainless steel door now stood in its place.

When they entered the building, a musty smell assaulted their nostrils. Patches of mold covered the walls around them.

They went up to the third floor, where a wooden table stood in the middle of the room. Intricate letterings were carved onto its surface. There were also concentric circles on it.

In the middle of the circles was a marking that showed a city. Other markings indicating mountains and rivers were around it, along with symbols emphasizing certain parts of the intricate map and more lettering carved around them.

"Has no one tried to decipher what these letters mean?" asked the dark-skinned man. He frowned at the jumble of letters on the table.

"Well, we showed them to a couple of linguists. Most of them said that these letters don't appear to be of terrestrial origin… However, one of them said that they seem to resemble an Atlantean language."

"Atlantean?"

"Yeah, as in the Island of Atlas."

"I don't care if it's your mother's island. I just want to know if anyone has already deciphered these letters!"

"Sorry, boss. I don't think there's anyone on earth who can read them. We've tried looking for someone who could at least give us a hint, but so far… nada."

The dark-skinned man put his sunglasses back on and began tracing a finger across the table's surface, carefully feeling its smoothness. Suddenly, his finger came to a halt at something.

"What's that?"

The dark-skinned man was pointing at what appeared to be the layout of a building. It was neatly sketched out on the table, with a few more lines crisscrossing its interior. It didn't look like a natural formation.

"Oh, yeah, this was what I was going to tell you about, boss. It seems to be another city."

"Another… city," repeated the dark-skinned man. "How far is it from here?"

"The closest mountain range is around 300 miles from here. There are two mountain ranges drawn here. We figured out that the other city must be at least 600 miles from here," said his subordinate excitedly. "We've already picked all the ruins in a 300-mile range from here clean, which means that we only need to extend our search radius another 300 miles."

The dark-skinned man furrowed his brows, deep in thought.

After a while, he said, "Let's go back and discuss this further with the others. See if it's possible to reach the other city from here."

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Chapter 375: The Black Fog Revisited

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

When he was done giving his orders, the man in the sunglasses briskly turned around and left the room with his men. A skinny, dark-skinned man at the back of the party paused for a moment to look at where his boss had been pointing moments ago.

They keep saying that it's a city, but… why does it look like a maze? That's impossible, there's no way a maze that big exists, he thought, smiling dumbly at the table before turning around to join the others.

Back in the Lusaka base city, they began preparing their things, which included a modified all-terrain vehicle, rocket launchers, machine guns, hand grenades, and other fun toys.

Most of them were experts in their own fields, handpicked by the Black Wolverine Organization to participate in this mission. They now stood armed and ready.

"The Black Wolverine Group may not be as great as the Crimson Leopard or the Nine-headed Lion, but what we have here is an opportunity," said the black man in sunglasses.

"But Ciwey, I don't think it's going to be that easy," said a portly black man in a suit and tie. "That's another world we're talking about. We still haven't done a complete reconnaissance of the place. Aside from the fact that the monsters there are a couple levels higher than the ones on this planet, who knows what other dangers are lurking in there?"

"My Black King isn't weak," said Ciwey coldly.

The Black Wolverine Group was named after his familiar. He and his brother, Cilow, had built this organization from the ground up with their own bare hands.

Even though Ciwey was the trainer of a Lord-tier Black Wolverine, thanks to the pressure exerted by other major companies, Ciwey's organization had never been able to grow as he wanted it to.

"But this is an opportunity." Ciwey was growing impatient. His brother was a good man and had always treated Ciwey well when they were little. His kindness was also the reason why he had let Ciwey take charge of the company while he himself continued to be his second-in-command. The only thing Ciwey couldn't stand about him was his cowardice!

Of course, Cilow would never call it cowardice. He would simply say that he was being cautious.

"If we don't seize it now, when will we grow as an organization? When will we show those Nine-headed Lion fools what we're truly made of?" said Ciwey, shaking his fist. "There's a new, never-before-seen world out there. Do you know what this means?"

"But we just can't go all in like this. This isn't poker," said the portly man, Cilow, with a sigh. "How about this—I'll contact whoever's in charge in Zimbabwe so that we can form a joint force dedicated to the investigation of the ruins that you've just discovered. What do you think?"

Ciwey's face stiffened as he sulkily nodded in agreement.

"At first, we thought that there would be a whole new world waiting for us on the other side of the Spatial Rift. Instead, what we found was a labyrinth," said Gao Peng, sounding somewhat disappointed during a high-level meeting in the Southern Sky Group.

"The only way we can hope to extract any profit from this labyrinth is by clearing it," he continued, pointing at a diagram of the labyrinth.

"We have two options here. First, we could gather all the trainers in the Yuzhou government for a joint operation to kill or restrain all the Labyrinth Watchers. Once we have the labyrinth under our control, we'll able to conduct an investigation of our surroundings from there.

"The other option is, we do what the Labyrinth Watchers suggested. We'll wake up their master and strike a deal with it… Of course, what happens after that is anyone's guess."

When Gao Peng finished his speech, he came down from the platform and began listening in on the ensuing discussions among the audience.

"Will it be that easy to kill the Labyrinth Watchers?" someone asked uncertainly.

"I don't think so…"

It soon became apparent that everyone was polarized between the two suggestions. Some reckoned that it would be easier to clear the maze of its current occupants and then claim the place as their own, while there were others who hoped that a deal could be struck peacefully with these creatures.

Both sides were adamant in their positions.

Someone asked for Gao Peng's opinion on it.

"The Labyrinth Watchers told me that their master doesn't exactly hate humans," said Gao Peng. "I think we should at least see what the labyrinth's master is like before we make a decision."

"Young Master, that's too risky."

"Way too risky."

"It could be a trap."

"Relax, I have a few aces up my sleeve. Some of my familiars aren't that big. They could probably pass through the Spatial Rift with me. I won't be going in empty-handed." Gao Peng suddenly felt thankful for the fact that he still had a couple of medium-sized familiars with him.

Excluding Stripey, an untriggered Goldie, Flamy, Da Zi, Dumby, the Treasure Sniffing Rodent, Silly, and Xiao Cao could all come with him through the Spatial Rift, even though the last three would probably serve as nothing more than fillers for his team.

"I'll go with you, Young Master," said Xu Heti.

Uncle Liu wanted to offer his help, but he decided against it. His Shadow Japalura and Blood Eye Bearded Vulture were way too big to enter the Spatial Rift.

Suddenly, he said, "I'll let Softy go with you. Softy recently reached Lord-tier, but I think it could be of some use to you in your mission."

Softy was Uncle Liu's Nightshadow Cat. It had already been at Level 40 back in Changping. However, it couldn't level up any further due to it being stuck in the Excellent grade back then. Only after Gao Peng helped it improve its grade was it able to hit Lord-tier.

Gao Peng nodded, accepting Uncle Liu's offer. The more familiars he had, the more confident he felt about coming out of the labyrinth alive.

He now had eight Lord-tier familiars coming along with him: the Nightshadow Cat, Xu Heti's Golden Dazzling Light Boxing Champion Kangaroo, Da Zi, Goldie, Flamy, Dumby, the Winged Thunder Monkey Skeleton, and the King Eel Skeleton.

The Wood Peacock Skeleton and the King Centipede Skeleton were too big to fit through the Spatial Rift.

Both Goldie and Dumby were Legendary-grade, while Da Zi was Epic-grade. The rest could serve as support. With eight familiars by his side, dealing with eight Labyrinth Watchers wouldn't be a problem.

The only thing troubling him was the fact that the levels of these Labyrinth Watchers were extremely high. Seven of them were Level 49, while one of them was Level 50. It was noteworthy that single level differences in the later stages of a monster's growth could make a world of a difference in its power level. While some of Gao Peng's own familiars could stand a chance against these watchers in one-on-one combat, the same couldn't be said about the rest.

The next day, Uncle Liu was already waiting for Gao Peng outside the company's headquarters early in the morning. Beside him stood the Nightshadow Cat, which was clearly bigger than a black panther.

"I won't be going with you. I'll let Softy go with you. Don't worry, it'll listen to your every command," said Uncle Liu with a chuckle.

"Meow…" The Nightshadow Cat gazed at Gao Peng and let out a soft mewl.

Xu Heti had brought his Golden Dazzling Light Boxing Champion Kangaroo with him as well, though he was also coming along with Gao Peng.

Soon, a car drove them straight to the Baiye District, which was still on lockdown. They would have to make timely reports concerning the Spatial Rift to the Yuzhou government. Even though the Baiye District had been blocked off for the past few days, the government was still not prepared for this.

The soldiers stood aside to make way for Gao Peng and company, letting them pass through until they reached the Spatial Rift. A new building was being erected on the foundations of the abandoned building that had been housing the Spatial Rift all this time.

This was Xu Heti's first time entering the Spatial Rift. He gawked at his surroundings curiously as he walked through it alongside Gao Peng.

On the other side of the Spatial Rift was the Black Fog World. A couple of Black Jacket Geckoes were playing around in a corner, but as soon as they heard the footsteps of Gao Peng and his familiars, they quickly scattered in all different directions.

Just then, a dull, yet familiar set of footfalls echoed in the distance…

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Chapter 376: The White Lion

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"I knew you guys would be back," said the Labyrinth Watcher while staring at Gao Peng.

It stared at Gao Peng with a smile while bending its huge body forward. Its red face made its smile seem even more terrifying.

Gao Peng was accompanied by more familiars compared to the previous time. One of the Labyrinth Watchers only took a glance at them but didn't say a word.

"These are my familiars. Would there be a problem if they were to come with me?" Gao Peng let Dumby ask the question.

"No problem at all." The Labyrinth Watcher nodded slowly and then turned away to guide them along the way.

Gao Peng looked at the back of the Labyrinth Watcher and didn't say anything. He had let Dumby say the word 'familiar' deliberately. If the Labyrinth Watcher had never seen a monster trainer or a familiar, then it would have shown a different reaction, but it seemed that the Labyrinth Watcher had already known the roles of a familiar and monster trainer. Therefore, this meant that the human beings here had also been monster trainers…

"This guy is really tall," Xu Heti whispered to Gao Peng.

The Labyrinth Watcher was nearly 65 feet tall. It would be considered a giant monster even in the Earth Star that was full of mutant monsters and familiars.

As most monsters were long in size, it was rare to see monsters with such a height.

Gao Peng, who knew Stripey's height, gave a perfunctory answer. "It could be taller."

He pinched the beard beside the nose of the Treasure Sniffing Rodent gently while caressing it. "Have you memorized the route?"

"Yes!" The Treasure Sniffing Rodent nodded wildly while scrunching its nose, moving its eyes, and firmly memorizing the future route in its mind.

The maze was huge. Gao Peng had been walking for three hours but still hadn't reached the destination.

The Treasure Sniffing Rodent gawked at the road underneath its feet. Its mind went blank.

"Road… Road… Forward, left, right… Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?

"Oh! My master told me to memorize the route! Front left, back right, left and left front…"

The walls around the maze were still the same height, 65 feet high. There were some vines growing on the wall, some with fat brown fruits the size of a watermelon.

[Plant name: Breadfruit

[Plant use: Consumable, it's rich in nutrients and water.

After gaining permission from the Labyrinth Watcher, Gao Peng plucked two breadfruits and threw them to Xu Heti. He peeled one for himself, just like he was eating a coconut. Along with the flesh inside, he drank the juice and pulp.

Xu Heti was a little worried that Gao Peng would eat fruits from an unknown source. The chairman wasn't afraid of getting poisoned at all. How could he eat just anything?

"Ah? Minister Xu! Do you want to eat this?" Gao Peng replied vaguely, with the pulp still inside his mouth.

Xu Heti, who was used to drinking boiled water from his kettle at home, smiled awkwardly. "I'm not hungry."

However, the Golden Dazzling Light Boxing Champion Kangaroo grabbed the breadfruit after hearing its owner saying that he wasn't hungry. It firmly hugged the breadfruit with its left arm and broke it in half with its right fist.

Thunk! A hole was made in the breadfruit.

It held the fruit and drank in big gulps. The overflowing juice dripped from the edge of its lips.

"Are we there yet?" Xu Heti had rheumatic pain in his leg. He rubbed the sweat off of his forehead.

While he was speaking, the Labyrinth Watcher who was leading the way suddenly stopped after the next corner.

Goldie, who swayed behind the Labyrinth Watcher, had stopped too late to prevent its head from hitting the heel of the Labyrinth Watcher. It bounced and fell on the ground, shaking its head in confusion and waiting to see clearly what was in front of it. Goldie widened its eyes when it found that it had fallen after knocking into the big guy in front of it.

You were trying to touch me, Goldie! Goldie instantly became furious.

While it was thinking of kicking the guy, it was dragged along by Gao Peng. "Don't make trouble. Be nice."

Goldie stared at Gao Peng and sighed in confusion.

The gap between the two walls was in front of them. At first, he thought that there was another wall behind the gap. However, when Gao Peng walked over, he found that it was no longer a wall, but a rough stone temple.

The grand hall was ten feet high and propped up by several gray-white stone pillars. There was also a staircase leading to the grand hall. The space between each step of the stone staircase was at least ten feet.

What was even more peculiar was that the entire stone hall was sealed with ice.

The thick ice covered the entire stone hall. Rough ice crystals had formed into several shapes, and the crimson red sky dyed the crystals a blood red.

The solemn, desolate, and dreadful feeling of the obsolete building spread.

"Our master is sealed in the hall," said the Labyrinth Watcher.

"Are you hoping that I could wake up your master?" Gao Peng frowned. This ice couldn't be ordinary ice. The temperature in the labyrinth wasn't unbearable, although definitely under eighty degrees Fahrenheit. However, the ice had still remained frozen for so many years. They were certainly not ordinary ice crystals. They might cause unpredictable consequences if agitated.

"But I don't know how to remove the seal. It can't be as simple as burning it with fire." Gao Peng looked at the Labyrinth Watcher.

Dumby relayed the message on his behalf.

The Labyrinth Watcher lowered his head and looked at Gao Peng, its dark eyes unfathomable. After a moment of silence, it spoke with a rusty voice. "Our master was not sealed by an enemy. He sealed himself. Before he went to sleep, he told us to bring monster trainers to the palace if they came here someday. It could be the only way to wake him up."

"Goldie. I want you to come in with me." Gao Peng brought Goldie inside after thinking.

The Labyrinth Watcher watched Gao Peng silently as he was bringing his familiar in. He went silent for a while and suddenly said, "Are you going to bring the rest of your familiars along?"

Gao Peng stopped and looked at the Labyrinth Watcher. "No. I'll just bring one."

After watching Gao Peng completely enter the palace, the Labyrinth Watcher turned his head and looked at Xu Heti and Dumby, then shifted his gaze back in silence.

The staircase of the stone temple was completely frozen. When Gao Peng stepped on it, he could only feel the force of frozen ice pass from his feet to his entire body.

Gao Peng's feet felt like jelly, and he could feel that his bones were completely frozen.

Gao Peng felt unsuccessful. "What's wrong with this ice? How could it be so cold?"

Although the damage dealt by the ice elements was transmitted to Goldie beside him, it made Goldie's purple glowing body's volume gradually expand.

However, the ice element couldn't be dispelled. This was an additional effect of the low temperature. After a while, Gao Peng felt like his calves were cramping.

"Elemental barrier."

A golden elemental barrier from Goldie emerged on Gao Peng's body surface. The coldness of his surroundings was blocked by the barrier. Gao Peng became much more relaxed as he walked.

The stone temple wasn't big, with only a few small rooms. The windows around the stone temple were frozen by thick ice crystals, which made the stone temple a little dim.

There was a huge corpse lying there in the middle of the hall. From the angle where Gao Peng was standing, he couldn't see the true appearance of the body, but he could see blood red hair frozen in the ice.

There was a huge frozen armchair made of ice in the center of the grand hall. On the frozen armchair, there was a white lion the size of a palm crawling in silence with its eyes closed.

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Chapter 377: Desolate Frost Lion

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Two monsters!?

Gao Peng suddenly became alert.

There shouldn't have been two leaders among this kind of monster.

Goldie was brave, and its skills were impressive, so it wasn't afraid at all. It walked arrogantly towards the frozen scarlet behemoth and sat on it while moving its body. It patted the behemoth excitedly and said, "Gao Peng. Is this a fish? Just tell me whether this is a fish or not!"

Gao Peng didn't pay attention to the badly behaved creature.

He lowered his head to take a look at the scarlet behemoth's attributes.

[Material Name: Well-preserved blood hunter corpse

[Material summary: It used to be a blood hunter. However, after its death, it became a corpse. You can do anything you want with this corpse.

The attributes of a dead monster couldn't be identified, for it could only be seen as a corpse.

Gao Peng was stunned. He had thought that the little white lion that laid on the ground was the blood hunter, but unexpectedly, the frozen dead body on the ground belonged to the blood hunter.

Then what was the creature that was lying on the throne?

Gao Peng noticed that something was wrong; what was in front of him differed from what the Labyrinth Watcher had said.

Gao Peng looked at the throne and the attributes of the little white lion popped out.

[Monster name: Desolate Frost Lion (Sleeping)

[Monster tier: Level 11 (Elite)

[Monster grade: Legendary

[Monster attributes: Ice

[Monster weakness: Rock

[Monster's specialty: Eternal Frost (Extreme frost power that allows it to control more ice power).

Effect 1 (Active effect): Frozen Field. The force of releasing the frost power from its body forms a field of frost surrounding its body. All the creatures in the field will be affected by the frost power, and only things approved by the Desolate Frost Lion are immune to the Frozen Field effect.

Effect 2: Eternal Frost Field. Completely breaks out the frost power from its body, causing devastating damage to certain areas in its surroundings. However, its own bloodline power will be greatly weakened, causing it to sink into a deep sleep.

??? (Inactivated)

[Monster summary: A Divine Polar Lion with devastating frost blood power. It will sink into a deep sleep due to the excessive exertion of blood power.

The ice in the palace was the masterpiece of this little lion.

Gao Peng looked at the skilled creature… no, this sleeping lion who was asleep and had a bold idea.

"Those Labyrinth Watchers say that their master is a bloody hunter, which is the corpse on the ground. Moreover, the real murderer who killed their master is probably the little lion in front of me." Gao Peng squinted his eyes and analyzed the situation.

"But those Labyrinth Watchers asked me to wake up their master. Don't they know that their master is dead? In other words, if they already knew their master was dead, then why did they ask me to come here in the first place…"

There was a loud noise from the outside of the stone temple.

"God damn it! Gao Peng! There are so many monsters out here!" Flamy was trying to tell Gao Peng the situation through the Blood Contract.

"Hmm?!" Gao Peng quickly turned his head and looked outside the stone temple.

"Goldie, come out with me."

"Roar… Roar—" Sharp screams came from behind them at the same time.

Gao Peng looked back and saw the little Desolate Frost Lion, although he didn't know when it had woken. It was roaring at Gao Peng with its eyes open, but its voice lacked a lion's prestige. Instead, it was like a little cat that had just been weaned off of its mother's milk.

Just as it saw Gao Peng turn and looked at it, this little Desolate Frost Lion's eyes squinted, and it nodded satisfactorily. It stepped on the ice chair with its right foot, motioning for Gao Peng to come over with an arrogant expression.

Gao Peng felt baffled while he was glancing at it, then he ran out of the stone temple with Goldie.

The little Desolate Frost Lion was confused.

The next second, it suddenly thought that something terrible could happen. It quickly jumped down from the ice chair and chased after them. When it was running towards them, it was shaking since its feet lacked sufficient strength.

The outside of the labyrinth had become a mess. Xu Heti ran away and hid at the side of the stone temple. At the exit of the stone temple, several familiars had formed a line of defense to intercept all the Labyrinth Watchers outside.

Gao Peng roughly scanned the scene and made an estimation that there were at least a dozen Labyrinth Watchers.

Flamy was hiding behind them, moaning in pain and its wings broken.

An environment that restricted flying abilities at high altitude wasn't suitable for a creature like Flamy.

It was the first to suffer after being attacked by the Labyrinth Watchers with a punch. It felt that it had lost its fighting ability.

"Gao Peng. I might not be useful from now on." Flamy burst into tears and hugged Goldie's thighs with its wings.

Goldie looked at Flamy and sighed. He reached out his hand and touched its small head, which wasn't bare. "Don't be afraid. I will avenge you."

Dumby's grade was high. Its pure strength wouldn't be weaker than any of the Labyrinth Watchers. Besides, its physique was smaller compared to them, making its actions more agile.

However, it wasn't a battle in an open-air environment. They were in a sealed labyrinth. This battle environment was a paradise for heavy-armored warriors.

Several Labyrinth Watchers lined up in a row and charged towards Dumby. They were swinging the chains that were tied to their left arms and throwing their axes towards Dumby.

The King Eel Skeleton climbed onto the wall to firmly seal the entrance. The war ax slashed on it, making a dull noise. However, the King Eel Skeleton didn't feel pain at all. It tightened up its body to resist the attacks.

Dumby was trying to resurrect through the Flame of the Undead. However, there weren't any complete corpses around him to resurrect.

At that point, the Heart of the Bloodseeker started beating crazily.

A heavy dull sound came from the heart. The Labyrinth Watchers' movements suddenly became slow at the same time. Their actions had become stiff.

"ROAR!" The leader of the Labyrinth Watchers groaned, and the power of the strong heart slammed into it, forcibly dispersing the annoying feeling.

Their strong lower limbs trembled on the ground as they started to drag their giant axes crazily and pull up tiles from the floor.

Boom! The King Eel's Skeleton was bashed into the air, and a black shadow jumped from behind the skeleton, slamming heavily into the Labyrinth Watchers.

Goldie's eyes were full of anger. It had undergone a series of passive activations before, yet it hadn't realized that it had become over 23 feet tall. Although Goldie didn't have an advantage in terms of height, its power alone would be comparable to the leader of the Labyrinth Watchers. It moved half a step backward and managed to stabilize its body.

A low groan came from its throat. Goldie placed its arms around the Labyrinth Watcher's lower waist and threw it heavily onto the ground. Goldie's body slam had managed to throw the leader to the ground.

"ROAR!" Another labyrinth watcher charged over from behind and chopped Goldie's back ruthlessly with its ax.

Goldie tightened its back muscles as the ax chopped a few inches into its flesh. It was then dragged backward, leaving a long trace of blood.

Blood flowed out from Goldie's back and made a bloody puddle.

Goldie felt the pain, and its passive ability was triggered, causing its body size to increase another level.

"Roar, roar!" The white lion staggered out from the stone temple. It dismissively took a glance at the battle with Labyrinth Watchers outside while holding onto Gao Peng's pants and mewling.

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Chapter 378: Binding with the Desolate Frost Lion

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Unfortunately, Gao Peng couldn't understand what the little white lion was saying. It climbed up to Gao Peng's shoulder and eventually stared at him with its small eyes.

"Roar!"

Gao Peng frowned and ignored him. "Please stop giving me puppy eyes…"

Pah! The little white lion smacked its chubby paws onto Gao Peng's face, almost snapping his neck. You're quite strong…

What puppy eyes! Don't you dare say that again!

The Desolate Frost Lion was angry. It roared furiously at Gao Peng. "Roar…" The voice came to an abrupt end in the next moment, and panic rose in its face. Damn it, why did I end that roar with a 'wah.'

Gao Peng's expression changed. "I don't understand what you're trying to say. Let's do it this way. We'll make a Blood Contract so that I can understand your words!"

The Desolate Frost Lion glanced at Gao Peng with loathing. "Do you think I don't know what you're trying to do? You're just trying to fool me into making a Blood Contract with you. Do you think I'm the same as those foolish newborn monsters that can be fooled easily with just a few words from a cunning and vicious human being like you? If so, I can only say—"

Gao Peng had already asked Flamy to peck a small wound on him. He then pressed his wounded ring finger on the Desolate Frost Lion's forehead. There you go!

The Desolate Frost Lion was stunned.

The Blood Contract began to develop and through that, Gao Peng was connected to the Desolate Frost Lion's consciousness.

The Desolate Frost Lion's consciousness was a lot bigger and brighter compared to the previous familiars that Gao Peng had made Blood Contracts with before, which were often foggy.

It was like a room installed with light bulbs. Even though the light bulb was turned off, after being on for a long time, it left a faint residual heat even if it went out.

An enormous but weak consciousness was creeping into the deeper side of the sea of consciousness.

This Desolate Frost Lion was definitely over Level 11. It was only in a weakened state after it had fully unleashed its power. However, it would be able to fully recover back to its original form instantly after taking in an ice element talisman.

Gao Peng's mind brightened.

After taking a few moments to consider the offer, Gao Peng decided to greet the Desolate Frost Lion with shyness. "Hi."

"I assume you understand the current situation. We're bound together for better or worse. The Labyrinth Watchers are definitely trying to kill you," Gao Peng said earnestly. "I believe that a well-experienced lion like you will be able to easily deal with the situation now. However, you're currently in a weakened state. Don't worry. Every successful lion encounters several failures in life. When trouble comes, you just need a little help.'

"A little. Just a little help. I came with good intentions." Gao Peng was trying his hardest to show his good intentions.

"You're probably a human being from another world." A deep and low voice emerged from the Desolate Frost Lion's consciousness.

"How did you know?" It was Gao Peng's turn to be startled about how all these monsters knew that he and his group were from another world.

"Of course I know." The Desolate Frost Lion was making fun of him. "If you're in a Blood Contract with me, you might face a lot of enemies. Are you sure you want to bind the Blood Contract with me?"

"…" Gao Peng pondered for two seconds. "How strong would you be at your peak form? What would be your enemies' levels? If they were King-tier, it would still be possible to deal with. You might not believe me, but I actually have a King-tier familiar."

"What's so great about a King-tier? If I hadn't sensed the aura of the King-tier familiar on you, do you think I would even be talking to you?" the Desolate Frost Lion sneered. "My peak performance is only a step away from being promoted to the existence of an Emperor-tier. Those who are strong enough to be my enemies would be greater than Royal-tier. If you're afraid, you should let me leave. I won't blame you for being a coward because I know it's not a burden that a young man with your age could take on."

In reality, the little white lion wagged its small tail, giving an arrogant look.

"Royal-tier… Is that above the King tier?" asked Gao Peng with confusion.

"Of course!"

"Well, it doesn't seem that difficult." Gao Peng was suddenly lost. He had thought it was the boss, and he suddenly felt like this boss wasn't big enough…

The Desolate Frost Lion was mad. It stood up on Gao Peng's shoulder, viciously opened its mouth, and showed its teeth. "Roar. You think I'm weak!? Human, you're too arrogant. You might own a King-tier familiar at the young age of twenty, but even if you were seventy or eighty years old, you might not be able to own a Royal-tier familiar! You would definitely feel like you'd won the jackpot if you owned a Royal-tier familiar that was incredibly close to becoming an Emperor-tier familiar!"

"But you're only at the Elite tier right now," said Gao Peng honestly.

"I've lived for 126 years until now. I'm even older than your grandfather."

'But you're only at the Elite tier now."

"I've killed over ten Royal-tier monsters! I've dominated territories that span thousands of miles. They called me the Frost Lion King!"

"All right. Fine, fine, fine. Your legacy is impressive." Gao Peng compromised with the lion at the appropriate time.

Hmph!

The Desolate Frost Lion glanced at Gao Peng with disdain and arrogantly raised its head.

Time passed as quickly as lightning in the consciousness space. The interaction between Gao Peng and the Desolate Frost Lion seemed to be long, but in fact, it was only just over ten seconds.

Gao Peng wouldn't have been able to get into a Blood Contract if the Desolate Frost Lion was at its peak form. However, now that it had been weakened to Level 11, it would be relatively easier to bind a Blood Contract with it.

And this weakened effect meant the actual weakening of its power, not the temporary loss of power.

In other words, it had thoroughly exploited 99% of the power in its body to kill that bloody hunter.

"Damn it! This filthy dude is a piece of junk. I'll kill all the bloody hunters in the entire world when I'm fully recovered. They're trash! Junk!"

Whenever the Desolate Frost Lion mentioned these monsters, it couldn't help but curse them. Gao Peng had no idea where it had learned this kind of language. However, the translated words that he heard from the Blood Contract were these words.

"Back in the days when I was trying to break through to the Emperor tier, I was ambushed by this dude. If it wasn't for him, I would have already become a noble Emperor monster," said the Desolate Frost Lion in indignation.

"Stop talking nonsense! Just tell me how to deal with the situation now."

"How are we suppose to deal with it?" The Desolate Frost Lion was flabbergasted while turning its head. "Running away, of course!"

Gao Peng choked. He had thought that this lion would have a good plan, but it ended up telling him to run away.

"These hunters have humongous bodies. However, they're still stuck in the Desolate Labyrinth. If we can stand a chance in combat, we fight. If not, of course we have to run."

Gao Peng suddenly thought it was right.

"Don't worry. This labyrinth is mine. I know the way to go. I've built a tunnel that only monsters with small bodies would be able to go through. These big guys wouldn't be able to get through."

"But… Is it possible for the featherless duck to pass through the tunnel?" asked Gao Peng as he pointed at Goldie.

The Lone Frost Lion was embarrassed. "It might be difficult…"

"Huff—then I won't go. You should take the man beside me and leave…" Gao Peng took the Desolate Frost Lion off of his shoulder and rubbed its head

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Chapter 379: Have You Had Enough?

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"Ah, sh*t, don't be silly. As long as the green hills last, one need not worry about firewood. We're just trying to preserve our greatest strength."

"Shut up." Gao Peng hit it on the head.

The Desolate Frost Lion staggered back two steps and plopped down to the ground, shaking its head dizzily.

"Minister Xu, take this baby lion and leave first," Gao Peng said to Xu Heti beside him.

"And you?"

"Me? I'll stay and cover for you." Gao Peng chuckled.

"No, we just signed a Blood Contract, and you've already started digging your grave. Didn't you have a King-tier Familiar? Is it with you?" The lion was so anxious that it felt like ants were in its pants.

It was quite obvious that it had miscalculated the characteristics of those that weren't from the Black Fog World. It was Gao Peng's first time as a human being from a different world, not to mention that he also carried the smell of a King-tier Familiar with him. A King-tier familiar could easily deal with the group of tiny monsters outside.

The most important thing to the lion was leaving this world with the man in front of it and slowly recovering its strength in another world. From its view, Gao Peng could have a King-tier familiar at the age of 20 or so, although his talent would still only be considered average.

It was for these reasons that it was willing to sign a Blood Contract with Gao Peng. Otherwise, it wouldn't have agreed to trade its life to another.

The monster trainer chose the familiar, and in turn, the familiar chose the master.

Goodness me, I thought this kid was only joking about running away. Who knew that he actually wanted to stay.

The Desolate Frost Lion was speechless as it watched Gao Peng roll up his sleeves and rush forward goofily.

If the monster trainer had the physical strength of a familiar, how much effect could a King-tier familiar have… Gulp.

Right before its eyes, Gao Peng swept the ankle of a Labyrinth Watcher in a swift motion, making it stagger and lose its balance.

It was slightly horrifying. The lion was afraid to admit that Gao Peng's power was no doubt on par with the Lord-tier monsters who were skillful in hand-to-hand combat.

But, of course, one percent of its power could have already reached their level.

Just by assuming, one could see that this man's King-tier familiar must have been the kind with terrible strength.

In the maze, one slap across their faces would be enough to squash these redheads into pancakes.

Oh, what a pity. Why had he developed the bad habit of taking no familiars with him?

Contemplating, the Desolate Frost Lion rocked forward and backward.

Goldie had great resistance to element damage, but its means to resist physical damage were relatively poor, so it could only rely on its muscles to defend itself.

"Thunder!" Da Zi was like a lightning bolt hovering over the heads of the Labyrinth Watchers, vibrating its wings at high speed. Its specially structured high-speed vibrating wings emitted a unique frequency. The harsh noise produced made the following Labyrinth Watchers restless as their hearts hammered harder against their chests.

Dumby took this opportunity to cast the Heart of the Bloodseeker. One of the Labyrinth Watchers suddenly jerked uncontrollably and grabbed its chest tightly. It was as if its heart was cramping, like two strands of twisted rope were pulling away from each other; his movements became slow and stiff. Any slight movement would just add to the immense amount of pain it was in.

Seeing that the group of Labyrinth Watchers' movements had slowed down, Goldie saw an opening and took a small breath. As it stood up, cuts and bruises could be seen all over its body.

The pain shot through its whole body; there wasn't any part that was free of injury. It shook and winced from a slight movement as if its body had been replaced with ice and electricity was being wired straight into its spine. It was rather unappealing to watch.

Goldie stumbled back two steps. Now, Goldie's height had increased to a full 30 feet, which also proved how many attacks Goldie had just endured.

"Just come at me. Didn't your mommy give you enough to eat? Cause you're all soft like little girls!" Goldie roared loudly, clutching its wounds.

The Labyrinth Watchers standing in front of it didn't seem to have even tiny scratches, because Goldie's attacks were mostly punches to the flesh; even if there were injuries, they would mostly be internal ones.

On the left, a bloody Labyrinth Watcher sprinted forward as it clenched its right fist, covering its whole arm with a thick black mist, like a mass of splashing ink.

It swung a punch!

The enormous Shadow Power covered its fist. The Shadow Power had a strong erosion characteristic. If someone was wounded by it, that person would be in immense pain from its damage until the Shadow Power was completely removed.

As the fist came in contact with Goldie's chest, the Shadow Power dissipated from view, like snow melting in the sun.

Goldie took advantage of the situation and placed its hand on the bloody Labyrinth Watcher's thigh, pushing itself upwards and aiming a strong punch at the its jaw.

Pow!

The Labyrinth Watcher's neck snapped back from the impressive momentum. Without hesitating, Goldie seized its chest and yanked it down. The sudden two opposing forces cracked its neck. The Labyrinth Watcher had exposed its weakness.

Whiz—

There was a flash of movement in the shadows. Dumby emerged suddenly at a violent speed, blurring into a dark shadow. It reached for its bone sword and pulled it out swiftly.

Slash.

The ten-foot-long bone sword pierced through the flesh of its throat cruelly, almost all the way to the hilt.

The moment the bone sword was pulled out, a fountain of red came gushing through the open wound.

The bloody Labyrinth Watcher plummeted to the ground, covering its throat helplessly as it wailed in a hoarse voice.

Even for a Level 49 Labyrinth Watcher, a pierce through the throat was considered as a serious injury.

As the bloody-clothed Labyrinth Watcher toppled, its ax clanged to the floor and bounced twice before landing at Goldie's feet.

The atmosphere tensed instantly. Goldie looked down and saw the battle ax.

Silently, Goldie bent down and lifted the ax.

A sense of foreboding filled the hearts of the bloody-clothed Labyrinth Watchers as all eyes were on Goldie, ax in hand.

Although the weapon was slightly small for the Labyrinth Watchers, it was actually just the right size for Goldie.

It didn't require any skills, nor was any signature move needed.

Goldie gave a tiny roar and plunged in the direction of the Labyrinth Watchers alone.

Although Goldie had no talent like those berserkers and no passive skills from the Bloodthirsty reagent, it had Gui power—the more injured it was, the larger it grew in size.

For every hit Goldie endured, it accumulated as an additional unit of its physical strength.

This power was based on Goldie's basic strength at the time. That was to say, the stronger Goldie was, the more powerful the passive ability was after accumulating.

Now, Goldie was truly a Level 45 duck equipped with legendary qualities.

Even if there was a difference in level, Goldie's basic physical strength before triggering the ability was already at the level of a Melee Lord-tier.

In the beginning, due to the difference in level, the Labyrinth Watchers had the upper hand, but as time passed, they felt like something wasn't right.

Every swing of the ax required great force just to see a hint of blood. One of the Labyrinth Watchers didn't go all out as it swung the ax, so it only managed to graze the duck's skin, leaving a shallow white scar behind.

How was it that Goldie was growing larger and larger?!

They suddenly realized that Goldie's height was exactly the same as theirs. The blood that pulsed through its veins turned from crimson to a blue hue, as it gave a somber look at the Labyrinth Watchers in front of it.

Grasping a Labyrinth Watcher by the head, it slammed it down hard and dragged it along the cold solid ground.

"Have you had enough? Now it's my turn!"

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Chapter 380: An Excited Lion

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

It must have been hard to use, because Goldie threw away the ax impatiently.

An ax would never be better than a fist!

An unrestrained roar came out of its throat as Goldie swung its frenzied fists, all raining down on flesh.

Bang, bang, bang.

Goldie's pace increased, and it couldn't help but let out a loud cry.

It was like the blasting of wind and rain, a power granted by the divinity of God. It hit the temple the of Labyrinth Watcher leader without missing, causing it to feel dizzy. All of its holes were bleeding.

The other Labyrinth Watchers were furious and shocked. They intended to stop the fight.

Before it could punch again, Goldie's swinging fists were held tightly by two Labyrinth Watchers.

"Huh!?" Goldie's eyelids flickered as it shot a glance towards the two Labyrinth Watchers.

Upon seeing Goldie's glance, fear started to crawl up the two Labyrinth Watchers' spines.

"Get out of here!" Goldie growled. With a push and a pull of its sinewy, thick right arm, the two Labyrinth Watchers were thrown away like lonely and helpless little sparrows in a storm.

With another smash of its fist like the violent blast of a meteor, a bright golden light glowed around its fist, radiant and holy.

Boom!!!

After suffering countless attacks, the skull could no longer take anymore and cracked apart, brains falling all over the place.

The miserable body of the head Labyrinth Watcher laid motionless on the ground, blood still dripping out of its wounds without pause.

The Desolate Frost Lion leaned on the stone stairs, its mouth agape like an 'O.'

Its eyes were wide open, while its gaze shifted between the Labyrinth Watchers and Goldie like a pendulum.

Hmm, I never realized how ferocious it is. It could have been a match for me in the good old days.

My new master is really something.

The Desolate Frost Lion was pleased with its thoughts about Goldie. Only an outstanding monster trainer is worthy enough to train me. The Desolate Frost Lion's backward moving body, which looked like a caterpillar, finally came to a stop.

Rise and keep an eye on the battle.

Without missing a beat, Goldie fiercely made its way straight to the pack of monsters.

With 125 Duck Power, Goldie had reached a monstrous level in terms of defense, strength, and speed compared to other monsters who were also Lord-tier.

The attacks from the other Labyrinth Watchers on Goldie all failed. Even if Goldie's defense wasn't always doubled from the previous attack, the passive ability being activated 125 times had strengthened its defenses several times.

Those attacks that had been able to hurt Goldie previously were now just itching him.

Bang.

The Winged Thunder Monkey Skeleton was thrown away, hitting the maze's wall and making it shake. Some of its ribs were broken, while the flame of its soul became weak.

As for the King Eel Skeleton that had been guarding the main gate, it had been torn into incomplete pieces by the battle just now. Its bones crumbled onto the ground, and the flame of its soul was completely extinguished.

Bang!

The muscled wings on Goldie's back stretched out and shielded it from danger. By rolling the muscles inward, Goldie caught the ax in its wing.

The other muscled wing gathered strength before launching itself towards the Labyrinth Watcher who threw the ax, knocking the latter down.

Bang.

Goldie moved forward, its shoulders throwing a blow as hard as a mountain, and the Labyrinth Watchers' chest caved in. No one knew how many bones were broken in the process because the crisp cracks could be heard as the Labyrinth Watcher fell onto the ground.

Thump.

The Labyrinth Watchers who witnessed the scene immediately stopped in their tracks.

"Get over here!"

If you move one step backward, then I'll take one step forward.

Goldie's right hand was like a black hood covering them from above, slapping onto one of the Labyrinth Watchers' heads. Its body quivered, and its mind turned blank. It was captured by Goldie as it staggered.

Goldie's right hand pressed downward ruthlessly, and with a crisp sound, the skull was cracked.

Goldie sent his left fist blasting out at lightning speed. Boom!

The Watcher's eye sockets were broken, and blood was dripping out of the corner of its eye. This hit was even more forceful than a bolt of thunder, and the Labyrinth Watcher died on the scene, giving up the ghost.

The next moment, its body turned weak and fell to the ground, its breath gone.

Goldie was attacking furiously and inciting the Labyrinth Watchers' hostility. A fist for a fist, just like bullying little kids. Basically, there was no one who could match Goldie.

The completely activated Goldie entered a rage and overwhelmingly crushed the Watchers.

"Hey, hey, hey, this gift has to be at least an Epic… well, no, having an Epic gift wouldn't mean that it can school so many monsters stronger than itself." The Desolate Frost Lion's eyes were shining.

To be precise, it had never seen any monsters like Goldie before, but Goldie came from another world, so it was normal not to have heard of monsters like it.

The remaining Labyrinth Watchers knew they weren't going to win, so they split up and ran away. Goldie and Dumby were going to pursue them, but Gao Peng stopped them.

They weren't familiar with this labyrinth; if they get lost, things would turn sour.

There were eight bodies on the ground, and three had escaped. After everything was done, the remaining Labyrinth Watchers that had escaped had to be caught and settled.

Finishing these Labyrinth Watchers meant this labyrinth would finally be in Gao Peng's control.

Goldie sank to the ground and half an hour later, its body started to shrink gradually. After being off the battlefield for thirty minutes, Goldie's combat effectiveness had also started to decline.

Da Zi had flown for a long time and was tired, so it rested itself on the wall, while white mist continued to steam out of the rift…

"The purple centipede was useless in the battle," the Desolate Frost Lion analyzed sharply.

Gao Peng was taken aback for a while, then shook his head. "Da Zi should have done a great deal, right? It's Epic-grade."

"Epic-grade?!" The Desolate Frost Lion couldn't believe what it had heard and stared at Da Zi's back confusingly.

"How can an Epic-grade monster be so weak…"

"This isn't right. Epic-grade will wake a gifted quirk. Have you developed its quirk skill yet?" the Desolate Frost Lion asked.

"Do you mean Thunder Wings? They were activated automatically once it was promoted to Epic-grade. Is it possible to develop them further?" Gao Peng asked with much curiosity.

Those who lived on Earth Star discovered things by themselves. There were no teachers, no seniors, only themselves.

The Black Fog World has evolved for a long time. The Desolate Frost Lion certainly knows more than I do.

This was the reason why Gao Peng had wanted to sign a Blood Contract with it so desperately.

"Bullsh*t. Of course it needs to be developed." The Desolate Frost Lion was more confused. This is some basic knowledge, man…

Gao Peng was thinking, Now that we've signed a Blood Contract, even if the Desolate Frost Lion wants to escape, there'll be no way.

"Actually. I think we need to be honest with each other…"

The Desolate Frost Lion paid attention to what Gao Peng wanted to say with an ominous feeling rising in its spine.

"What are you trying to say…?"

After Gao Peng told the Desolate Frost Lion about the mutation and Spatial Rift that had happened in the world he was from, the Desolate Frost Lion was surprisingly trembling with excitement and jumping on the ground.

"Ohohoho, what're you saying? In your world, this is only the fourth year that mutation has happened? And the highest Monster-tier is just 'Emperor'? You're so dumb! Your home has fruitful minerals and you're here competing for a piece of our land! Are you dumb?"

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---

Read Monster Pet Evolution Chapter 381 - The Little Lion's Ambition online for free - AllNovelFull

Chapter 381: The Little Lion's Ambition

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Gao Peng stood there transfixed, feeling at a loss for words. He suddenly couldn't wrap his head around the situation.

Am I dumb? Am I?

"This place of yours is the Black Fog World, right?"

"That's right." The little lion glanced sideways at him.

Gao Peng continued, "Uh… do you guys have Overlord-tier monsters here?"

"Yes."

"… I do know that there are a few strong wild monsters in my world, but there are also very few treasures there." Gao Peng didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He suddenly didn't know how to continue. I'm no fool. If there's good stuff available, how could I let the opportunity slip?

"Do you think that you aren't actually a fool?"

Gao Peng hesitated and looked down only to see the Desolate Frost Lion staring back at him with the type of kind and caring look reserved for the mentally disabled.

"Some treasures require time to develop. Wouldn't you simply grab all those treasures and place them at home first, before watching them grow and develop?" said the Desolate Frost Lion with a pained expression. How had he ended up with such a silly master? This was just too silly! Absolutely foolish!

"Just think about it; you can't possibly be watching over your treasures twenty-four seven, right? If there came a day where you weren't careful and your treasure was eaten up by those monsters, what would you do then?" the little lion lectured patiently.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait…" Gao Peng put up both his hands. "You're saying… my treasure?" Gao Peng suddenly realized that the lion had a certain virtue—it was even more thick-skinned than he was.

"Treasure belongs to the strong, of course!" the Desolate Frost Lion replied in a loud voice, confidently raising its head and stretching out its neck.

"Strong like you?" Gao Peng gave it a flick on the forehead, and the little lion fell back on its bottom, shaking its head adorably.

"B*stard! Hares may pull dead lions by the beard, and a lion trapped in a labyrinth can end up being controlled by a human. Just you wait…" In the next moment, the lion was picked up by Gao Peng and had a fist rubbing into its head.

Of course, no one else could hear the conversation between Gao Peng and the Desolate Frost Lion. In Xu Heti's eyes, Gao Peng had simply bent over and affectionately brought the snowy white lion into his arms. It was such a heartwarming sight.

"Young Master, how should we take care of the carcasses?" Xu Heti looked at the eight carcasses on the ground and couldn't help drawing a deep breath. These were the bodies of eight Lord-tier monsters!

A total of eight in one go! If word got out, it could shake the world.

In a situation where a single Lord-tier monster could protect an entire city, having eight Lord-tier monsters was an unimaginable number and a very frightening one.

Furthermore, eight Lord-tier monsters meant that there were eight Lord-tier monster core crystals, as well as a large number of materials.

It was only then that Xu Heti truly understood how fearsome Gao Peng was. Before, he had always known that his young master was strong, but exactly how strong, he had never actually realized.

Right now, he more or less understood.

While fighting just now, his familiar, the Golden Dazzling Light Boxing Champion Kangaroo, had also gone up against a Labyrinth Watcher, but all it had managed to do was merely keep the Labyrinth Watcher busy. To actually take down a Labyrinth Watcher was, in fact, a very difficult task.

The Labyrinth Watchers were large in size, and that had left very little space for the Boxing Champion Kangaroo to evade them in the narrow spaces of the labyrinth. There were many instances where it had almost been sent to the afterlife.

In the end, the Labyrinth Watcher that his Golden Dazzling Light Boxing Champion Kangaroo had kept busy for so long was sent flying with a slap from that fearsome yellow duckling. It was just like a father disciplining his son; there was no room for resistance.

So this is Young Master's true strength… There was a change in the way Xu Heti looked at Gao Peng.

At the same time, a sense of pride also welled up in his heart. This is the Southern Sky's young master.

Being a member of the old guard of the Southern Sky Group, Xu Heti also owned a small number of the Southern Sky Group's shares. The gratefulness of being acknowledged by Ji Hanwu and his sense of belonging to the Southern Sky Group both contributed to him identifying himself as part of the group. Naturally, he hoped that the group would become stronger and stronger.

"We need to send someone to guard these carcasses…" Gao Peng wouldn't be at ease leaving Xu Heti to stay there and stand guard. His familiar, the Golden Dazzling Light Boxing Champion Kangaroo, was quite strong, but it could only take on one Labyrinth Watcher.

But Gao Peng had completely forgotten the route they took to get there. Right now, he could only rely on his Treasure Sniffing Rodent. The Treasure Sniffing Rodent, who had been warming the bench all this while, shed an emotional tear as it saw its master finally looking towards it.

Looking at Gao Peng with teary eyes, it said, "Master, you finally remembered me…"

The fat rat had never gone out exploring with Gao Peng and had always been in the lab, with Xu Qingzhi keeping it well-fed. Every day, it dined on Commander-tier meat, and even occasionally had some extra Lord-tier meat, never going a day without precious and nutritious materials. Right now, it had already grown to level 31, with a coat of bright, glossy fur.

"Do you still remember the way back?" asked Gao Peng.

"…" The Treasure Sniffing Rodent's mind was blank as it suddenly raised its head. What are you saying? What way? Did we walk all the way here?

"Trash." Da Zi unreservedly gave the fat rat a look of disdain. You eat so much good stuff every day and you're still no use at all. You might as well feed it all to me, Da Zi. In the battle just now, I, Da Zi, made the greatest contribution!

Without saying a word, Gao Peng took two steps back and snapped a piece of pale blue ice crystal off of the rock wall behind him, weighing the piece of crystal in his hand. "You see this?"

The Treasure Sniffing Rodent's eyes suddenly opened wide. "Treasure!!!" Its two front teeth were exposed, and saliva dripped from its mouth.

"If you can remember the way back, this treasure is yours."

The Treasure Sniffing Rodent was excited, scrunching up into a ball and thinking hard. The cogs in its tiny brain whirred at high speeds, and clouds of white steam erupted from its head…

The Desolate Frost Lion looked at the scene, and its jaw dropped.

What's all this about? That's just a random piece of ice that I froze all those years ago! Could there be some other use for my ice that I haven't noticed…?

The Desolate Frost Lion looked at the man and rat with a face full of doubt.

"I remember now!" The Treasure Sniffing Rodent stood upright, its hind legs on the ground and its forelimbs grabbing on tight to the piece of ice in Gao Peng's hand, refusing to let go.

Even if it was going numb from the cold, its face looked as excited as ever.

Gao Peng had the Treasure Sniffing Rodent bring Xu Heti and Dumby back to inform the rest to send people to bring the carcasses back.

As for the Desolate Frost Lion… although it was stronger than all of Gao Peng's familiars at its peak, it was now truly a weakling. If anything happened, it probably wouldn't even have the means to escape. Regardless, Gao Peng also had some things that he couldn't wait to ask the lion about.

After Xu Heti and the rest left, Gao Peng found a spot around the stone temple that wasn't frozen in ice and took a seat. The stone steps he found felt icy cold as he planted his butt down.

"So what you meant earlier was that a world in its early stages of evolution would most likely form some special or powerful treasures?" Gao Peng was no fool and understood this much from the hints that the Desolate Frost Lion gave.

"I don't know, but I guess there should be." Right now, the little lion seemed afraid to confirm this. "But there would definitely be plenty of treasure. Although the world you came from just began evolving, treasure is still treasure. In four years' time, reaching King-tier is already the limit. There definitely wouldn't be any Emperor-tier monsters. If there are any Emperor-tier monsters, I'll eat sh*t!

"The real treasures of the Black Fog World have all been snapped up by those strong monsters, so finding a treasure that isn't owned already would be impossibly hard. After all, those monsters have a sense of smell many times better than you humans. To get your hands on a treasure would mean clashing head-on with these monsters… or finding ways to steal them."

"Why does it feel like you're so familiar with this… Did you steal often?" Gao Peng was beginning to feel like this lion was a shady individual.

"That doesn't count as stealing! It's not like their names were on the treasures!" The little lion tried hard to argue, waving its paw in defense.

"Which is why I say it's better to go back to your world, where we can openly take them," said the Desolate Frost Lion as it excitedly rubbed its paws together.

Just a group of trash that isn't even King-tier. This lion emperor can easily step on all of them and make them eat dirt.

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Chapter 382: Methods

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"… I think that the monsters you have over here are rather odd. What do you think?" The Desolate Frost Lion was staring at the over two-thousand-foot-tall behemoth in front of it, its face twitching.

The carcasses of the Labyrinth Watchers were piled outside the rift and were being guarded by Goldie. Gao Peng had offered a daily rate of three hundred dollars a day, and this had Goldie overjoyed. Goldie had immediately patted its chest and ensured Gao Peng that the eight red-furred fish would never fall into the hands of others.

After going through the rift, Gao Peng brought the Desolate Frost Lion home and immediately went back to the mountains to visit Stripey. The lion finally realized why its master's power was so great.

"Stripey is actually a very good child. It's very gentle," said Gao Peng while looking adoringly at Stripey.

Upon hearing Gao Peng, Stripey excitedly nodded. "Yup! Yup! Stripey is the goodest." Once again, the earth shook and the mountain began to rock… It was a wonder that the Desolate Frost Lion didn't fall from Gao Peng's shoulders.

"So what did you mean just now? Are monsters the size of Stripey uncommon in the Black Fog World?" Gao Peng was confused. He had seen that the Labyrinth Watchers were huge as well, and he had thought that such large body sizes were common in the Black Fog World.

"… No sh*t. Monsters that are over a few thousand feet tall would usually be at least Emperor-tier or above."

"Don't the bodies of monsters get bigger and bigger? I thought the Emperor and Overlord-tier monsters in the Black Fog World would be thousands or tens of thousands of feet tall…" Gao Peng laughed, embarrassed.

"It's not possible to be that large. Even if it was, it would be very rare. If something grew that big, what would it eat, and what would it use to sustain its own internal balance? Just the consumption needed to maintain such a large body would be an astronomical amount. That's why the larger a monster is, the lazier it gets."

Gao Peng drew in a breath and asked the Desolate Frost Lion in a voice full of expectation, "Then do you have any method to shrink a monster's body size?"

"Actually, it's not as though methods to allow your familiar to shrink don't exist," the lion started after ruminating for a moment. Its little face was scrunched up in a serious expression.

"What methods are there?" Gao Peng was slightly worked up. He hadn't thought that there really was a way to shrink down Stripey's body size.

"According to what I know, there's more than one method." The lion cleared its throat and crossed its paws, with one paw supporting its chin.

"The first is to let your familiar evolve and obtain an ability that can control its body size. It's just that such abilities are rare, and how exactly to obtain these abilities, I'm not sure…" At this point, the Desolate Frost Lion was beginning to lose confidence.

But then it bounced back and retorted, "I'm not that large anyway! And I don't need such an ability, so not knowing is normal."

"So what's the second method?"

"There's a kind of fruit called a Guise Fruit. It allows a monster to shrink up to a thousand times smaller than its original size. If you can shrink by a thousand times, then your Familiar will only be 20 feet tall!" the lion said, pleased with itself.

"You didn't learn your math properly, did you?" Gao Peng was speechless, but then he remembered that this was a lion that never even gone through nursery education. He couldn't expect that much.

"I know, I know, it's two feet," Da Zi said loudly as it popped up.

"All right, you can stop embarrassing yourself now." Gao Peng pushed the excited Da Zi back down.

Stripey stood up and chimed in, "It's 200 feet… Two hundred feet should be enough for me to go and play with Gao Peng again."

"Mm, Stripey's math hasn't fallen behind." Gao Peng nodded his head in satisfaction.

Da Zi was in shock. Could it have calculated wrong? Darn it! In order to get Gao Peng's praise, Da ZI had actually secretly gone to Stripey for extra lessons.

"Do you know which places have Guise Fruits?"

"Let me think… I remember that they appeared before in the Black Phoenix Mountain Range. But few monsters used it since it didn't do much. After all, once you enter combat mode, the effects of the Guise Fruit will disappear. You have to plan carefully! The Black Phoenix Mountain Range isn't safe. There's a black feathered sparrow there and I wouldn't go head to head with its flames even when I was at my peak."

"I've already made up my mind. This was something that I promised, and I will definitely not disappoint Stripey."

The Desolate Frost Lion rolled its eyes. "Actually, there are many other methods, but these methods would be up to you."

"What methods?"

"For instance, if you have a high-level Space-type monster, all you need to do is open up a portable dimension to bring your familiar along with you anywhere. It's just that your familiar is huge… so the space requirements of the dimension you open up would have to be great as well."

Without sharing a word, Gao Peng, Goldie, Da Zi, Flamy, and all the rest of them shifted their eyes towards Silly.

Facing everyone's stares, Silly doubtfully took out a bottle of juice from its portable space, stuck in a straw, and continued to suck without care.

Slurrrrrp—

"Also, I remember that trainers have an ability, don't they? They can summon a familiar from anywhere to their side to assist in battle. You didn't awaken that ability?" The Desolate Frost Lion glanced sideways at Gao Peng and laughed coldly. "Or is it just because you're too much of a noob?"

Confused, Gao Peng still took note of the methods that the Desolate Frost Lion mentioned. These methods would allow Stripey to follow him on adventures again.

For Gao Peng at this moment, the simplest method would be to head to the Black Phoenix Mountain Range to pick some Guise Fruits.

The other method would be to gamble his luck and bet on awakening the ability to summon his familiars to battle once the Desolate Frost Lion regained its Emperor tier title, although Gao Peng still had the feeling that this lion wasn't a very reliable figure.

Gao Peng sent a text to Xu Qingzhi. "Qingzhi, help me get some Ice-type fruits from the lab." Then Gao Peng squatted down and gently patted the little white lion on the head. "Is the Black Phoenix Mountain Range far from the labyrinth?"

"Not far, only around 3,000 miles." The little lion raised its head and blinked. For the lion at its peak, 3,000 miles was a very short distance. It could run that distance in just a few hours.

Gao Peng nodded. This matter still needed careful long-term planning.

Three thousand miles was far, but not that far. However, the dangers that they could run into along the way meant that he had to proceed with the utmost caution.

The Black Fog World greatly exceeded Earth in terms of danger. Lord-tier monsters were rare on Earth, but in the Black Fog World, even King-tier monsters weren't uncommon.

But for Stripey, Gao Peng would definitely make a trip to the Black Phoenix Mountain Range, because he had promised Stripey he would bring it along on an adventure.

"Boss, here's a batch of Ice-type fruits that were just transported here from the warehouse." Xu Qingzhi laboriously brought over a black suitcase and put it on the ground.

The black suitcase had a rough surface and a dull color. With a gentle flip of the buckle, it opened with a pattering sound.

A cold white mist emerged through the gaps in the suitcase. Rows of cherry-sized blue fruits were arranged neatly on ice cubes. Drops of condensation formed the moment they were exposed to air, and the temperature seemed to drop a few degrees.

The Desolate Frost Lion squinted its eyes at the fruits in disdain. Even from ten feet away, it could still smell the stench of these low-class fruits.

"How dare you use these low-class fruits as offerings to this divine lion! I'll tell you, I won't even eat a bite of such low-class food even if I have to starve!"

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"Oh." Gao Peng nodded his head, then shut the black suitcase.

"What are you doing?" The Desolate Frost Lion was stunned.

"I'll have to disappoint you for the time being, then. You can wait until we get some high-class spirit materials before you eat." Gao Peng amiably patted the little lion on the head.

The Desolate Frost Lion was blank.

Gao Peng got up and placed the black suitcase in a location where the lion couldn't reach it, then instructed the others not to feed it before he turned and left.

The Desolate Frost Lion was too prideful. Even though he had established a Blood Contract with it, its nature was still just as proud.

Having once been just a step away from reaching Overlord-tier at its peak, it definitely had the right to be proud, but this didn't mean that Gao Peng had to put up with its behavior.

A good man didn't talk about his past glory. However strong it had been in the past, it was still the past. Its attitude needed some refining. Gao Peng was looking for a familiar, not a spoiled brat.

The next day, the Desolate Frost Lion was sitting right outside Gao Peng's bedroom, looking at Gao Peng with puppy eyes after going hungry for a night. It was the first thing that Gao Peng saw once he opened the door. Who knew how long it had been sitting out there?

"Are you going to eat this kind of low-class food after all?"

The Desolate Frost Lion blinked but didn't answer.

"You must be the Wang Zejing of lions."

"Huh?" The Desolate Frost Lion tilted its head. What Wang Zejing?

Gao Peng brought down the suitcase, opened it up, and placed it on the floor. The lion immediately lunged at it. Munch, munch…

After feeding the Desolate Frost Lion, Gao Peng suddenly felt a resentful gaze lock onto him from behind. He turned only to see Da Zi quietly staring at him from the wall. It was a long and meaningful gaze. Da Zi even nodded intermittently.

"Da Zi…"

"It's all right, you don't need to say anymore. I understand everything," Da Zi waved its maxillipeds. "You go ahead and feed your little lion."

With that, Da Zi turned and left. A minute passed. Then two minutes. Then three…

Lying in another corner, Da Zi frowned. Why hasn't Gao Peng come?!

On the other hand, Gao Peng had left the villa and was headed for the lab. A new batch of monsters had just been transported over, and quite a few of the species were newly discovered monsters. Although Gao Peng rarely carried out experiments personally, new species of monsters attracted his interest.

It was just like how players of trading card games had a kind of "collector's addiction."

Arriving at the holding cells for the monsters, the air was filled with the smell of disinfectant. The floor beneath Gao Peng's feet was very clean, and it was very quiet, as well. His footsteps echoed through the walkway.

In the leftmost cell was a gold-colored frog the size of a watermelon. Its eyes were large like two light bulbs, and yellow stripes ran across its back, making it look like a large golden watermelon.

Gao Peng felt a sense of familiarity the moment he set his eyes on the creature. It felt as though he had seen this kind of frog somewhere before…

In the cell, the large golden frog was sitting right in the middle. Its cheeks were blown up, and its throat was emitting a low croaking sound. That was until Gao Peng's head appeared in the glass window. Suddenly, the large golden frog's eyes opened wide.

It opened its mouth, and a veritable waterfall of spit gushed out of its throat.

Bang!

The bulletproof glass shook violently, giving off a loud sound.

[Monster Name: Golden Melon-Skinned Frog

[Monster Level: Level 19

[Monster Grade: Excellent-grade

[Monster Attribute: Metal

[Monster Weakness: 1. Fire-type 2. Abdominal region

[Monster Condition: Healthy (Angry)

[Monster Description: A rare variant of the Melon-Skinned Frog. Unlike its social counterparts, the Golden Melon-Skinned Frog prefers to live in solitude. But at the same time, it also inherited the bad habit of spitting at others. Because it does not live in groups, its survival rate is lower.

[Pathways for Promotion to Perfect Grade: 1. Exploding Golden Melon Frog (Enrage evolution) 2. Golden Toad (Metal-type evolution). 3. Flaming Golden Toad (Fire-type evolution)

So it was a close relative of the Melon-Skinned Frog. It was no wonder that Gao Peng had felt like it looked familiar at first glance.

Continuing on, the second cell was empty. After pressing a red button on the side, a spray gun popped out from the ceiling of the cell and started spraying out large quantities of red powder.

Achoo.

The outline of a semi-transparent, lizard-like creature began to appear on the wall. The monster was over ten feet long. Its body color had completely blended in with the color of the wall behind it. The sneeze just now had revealed its presence.

[Monster Name: Reclusive Illusion Lizard

[Monster Level: Level 22 (Commander-tier)

[Monster Grade: Excellent-grade

[Monster Attribute: Wood/Poison

[Monster Weakness: 1. Metal-type 2. Fire-type

[Monster Condition: Healthy (Surprised)

[Monster Description: A small-sized life form that lives in the forests. Skilled at hiding itself and erasing its tracks. Skilled in laying in wait and ambushing prey.

[Pathways for Promotion to Perfect Grade: 1. Wood Dragon Poison Lizard (Poison-type evolution) 2. Shadow Hunter Lizard (Shadow evolution)

In the last cell was a variation of a twin-headed Thorny Raging Bear. Thorny Raging Bears weren't uncommon, but a twin-headed one was rare indeed.

Although there were always new monsters being discovered, there were few new species of monsters that were truly valuable.

For Gao Peng, what mattered most was reproductive ability. This meant that species such as the twin-headed Thorny Raging Bear and the Golden Melon-Skinned Frog weren't creatures of high value to him.

The Reclusive Illusion Lizard had a strong hiding ability. If it could be captured and reproduced in large amounts, it would be a rather valuable new species of monster. Whether it was used only internally within the Southern Sky Group or sold externally, it would be a decent choice.

From his large white coat, Gao Peng took out a little booklet. He put a tick next to the Reclusive Illusion Lizard's name and noted down a bit more information at the end.

He exited the monster holding area, then tossed the little booklet to Xu Qingzhi, who was waiting outside.

"Monsters one and three aren't of much value. Monster two has some worth. Have the Reconnaissance Division continue to capture more."

"Understood." Xu Qingzhi took the booklet and hurriedly nodded in acknowledgment.

It wasn't just that day. A few months back, Gao Peng began identifying the values of different monsters. In these few months, the Southern Sky Group had continually captured large numbers of monsters and then begun to cultivate and breed them.

The mature monsters that were bred would then be evolved by the drug serums prepared by Gao Peng, then given to members of major departments under the Southern Sky Group.

What Gao Peng looked forward to achieving was the day that he didn't have to do anything personally, when his subordinates would be able to manage all matters on their own. But of course, there would still be quite some time before they achieved such a state…

After settling matters back in Yuzhou City for two days, Gao Peng returned back to the Spatial Rift again.

Just the day before, Yuzhou City had publicly announced the existence of the Spatial Rift in the Baiye District. At the same time, they had locked down the area.

The uproar and debates in the outside world had nothing to do with Gao Peng. Naturally, the Yuzhou government and the Southern Sky Group would settle things properly.

Because of the existence of the Spatial Rift, the Baiye District underwent a huge makeover. The originally decrepit area saw a large number of buildings being torn down. One by one, houses were being leveled, and a new wide road was being built.

At the same time, the people originally living in the Baiye District were relocated, and a large commercial square was being built with the Spatial Rift at the center. The Spatial Rift had continually expanded and, at this point, was now a 13-foot-wide, 20-foot-tall pitch black hole.

Next to the rift was a unit of high-level trainers, strictly blocking anyone from coming or going through at all hours of the day.

Gao Peng didn't require any identification; his face was the best identification. By now, most of Yuzhou City's trainers recognized him. He went through the rift, descending into the Desolate Labyrinth of the Black Fog World…

Outside the Desolate Labyrinth was a wide expanse of plains. Right then, a group of uninvited guests appeared on the plains.

A burly metal beast raced across the plains, kicking up fine sand and forming a long trail of sand clouds behind it.

The modified extra-large SUV had numerous monsters following next to it closely, not the slightest bit slower than the SUV.

Screech—

The tires screamed as they ran across the gravel, drifting before coming to a stop. The car door was forcefully pushed open, and a group of black men climbed out.

The one in the lead was wearing sunglasses. He was well-built, donning a tight-fitting camouflage tank top and khaki combat trousers.

"What a marvelous sight. This is a downright miracle!" the black man behind him exclaimed.

On the plains in front of them, a gigantic block of a stone wall covered the entire horizon. The high stone walls were covered in markings, and a large, thick tendril draped down the outer wall.

The sky shimmered with blurry yellow light, looking somewhat like stars, or scattered light.

"This is the ruins that were indicated on the map?" asked one of the black men excitedly. "This is definitely a miracle!"

"We're the first ones to arrive here, which means that all the treasure here belongs to us," said a potbellied black man, revealing a smile on his face.

"Such large ruins. Who knows how much good stuff there is inside?"

A small and skinny black man pointed at one of the entrances and exclaimed excitedly, "Over there, look over there. Does that look like an entrance?"

"What are you waiting for? Let's hurry and go inside."

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Chapter 384: Rescue

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The closer they were to the stone walls, the more the group of black men could feel a great expansive force.

"Can't fly. Flight isn't possible in the sky here!" said one of the trainers with a frown as the golden-winged vulture that had originally been thousands of feet in the air flew lower and lower.

"It's probably because of something strange about the yellow light on the top of the stone walls," said one of the black men, raising his head to look at the yellow glow above their heads. "Eh… why is the yellow light gone?"

While they were still far away from the stone wall, they could see that yellow glow. But when they reached the bottom of the stone wall, all they could see was a blood red sky when they looked up.

The sky in this world was strange. In the morning, it was pale pink. The closer it was to noon, the more intense the red light became, bathing the world in a blood red color when it was noon. As the day approached evening, the color of the sky gradually became a dark red.

"If we can't see it, we can't see it. It's not like that's a big deal," said the potbellied black man, not minding at all.

"Cheee," chirped a white and black honey badger threateningly after being silent all this while.

The expression of the black man wearing sunglasses changed slightly. "Careful, there's something coming out of the entrance." As those words left his mouth, the earth beneath their feet shook.

A large monster rushed around the corner, breathing heavily. Its blood red fur was a mess, and its ape-like head exuded ferocity. Its burly body was wielding a battle ax as it sprinted madly out of the labyrinth's entrance.

"What's this…?" exclaimed one of the men in shock.

"Fight! We can't outrun it, we can only hope to live if we take it down!" sunglasses roared.

Next to him, a figure clad in black and white shot forward.

Humans!? The Labyrinth Watcher was totally shocked as it suddenly saw the group of humans guarding the labyrinth exit. It was only because its appearance looked so fierce that its shocked expression looked just as ferocious.

The Labyrinth Watcher's heart was in despair. I've already fled so far, but you humans still won't let me off the hook! Absolutely intolerable!

It couldn't hold back its howl of grief and rage. Its strong battle hooves stomped viciously downward, splitting the earth with manic and violent force. Pitch black Shadow Power spread outwards, following the cracks created from the stomp.

Hummmm…

The Shadow Power passed beneath the feet of everyone in the area.

A sludge like power engulfed them all, as though their bodies had fallen into a swamp of darkness. All the trainers activated their Elemental Shields. Multi-colored protective shields appeared on the surface, like tiny little Christmas lights in a swamp.

The Shadow Power continually ate away at their shields. The Elemental Shields were like candles flickering in the wind.

One of the men's Elemental Shields was thoroughly eroded by the Shadow Power. Looking as though worms had eaten holes in it, the shield slowly leaked away, drop by drop.

Just like maggots eating into flesh, the Shadow Power infiltrated through the holes. Accompanied by pitiful wails, one of the black men was thoroughly corroded by the Shadow Power and reduced to a puddle of liquid.

"Roar!" The Labyrinth Watcher bellowed angrily, raising its ax high in the air and bringing it down in a vicious chop!

Crash!!

The earth split apart, forming a ten-foot-wide chasm. A familiar that couldn't dodge in time was split into two on the spot. Hot blood and innards flew outwards, and the accompanying strong stench caused the nearby trainers faces to turn pale. How were there such fearsome monsters in the labyrinth?

The honey badger became a blur, momentarily turning into a ball of shadow.

Chiii—

Three long bloody scratch marks appeared on the Labyrinth Watcher's chest, but for such a large creature, such a wound was a mere scratch. It only just managed to damage its skin.

The giant ax swept across horizontally as the wind kicked up a gust of dirt and pebbles. Two Commander-tier familiars were sent flying through the air like rag dolls. They landed on the ground, the fate of their lives unknown.

Sunglasses' expression changed. The monster was just too terrifying, more so than any other monster he had ever encountered before. Combining overwhelming violence, a terrifying killing aura, and its strong body size, this was an unreasonable and violent beast. And most importantly, it actually didn't have an anus!

The Vicious Black Badger's specialty was attacking the lower half of an enemy's body, but this giant beast actually didn't have a weakness in its crotch area to exploit.

The Labyrinth Watcher's lower limbs were slashed at high speed. Bloody wounds appeared, leaving bloodstains everywhere, but none of them damaged the bone.

Crash!!! The earth shook violently as the battle ax went crashing into the ground, sending mud flying into the air.

Despite this, it was still unable to land a hit on the Vicious Black Badger. The badger was extremely fast, nimbly darting all around the Labyrinth Watcher's body.

After continually missing a few times, the Labyrinth Watcher stopped its movements, coldly observing its surroundings. It gave up chasing after the slippery annoying creature and turned its attack towards the black men!

"No, help me!"

"Ciwey, help me, help!"

Accompanied by wails of desperation, blood descended on the plains…

"Why did those Labyrinth Watchers not attack you back then? I didn't think that a stone altar would have been able to protect you." Gao Peng was pinching an Ice-type fruit and feeding the Desolate Frost Lion.

The Desolate Frost Lion swallowed the fruit in one bite, then replied with its mouth full, "Of course it wasn't that simple. Back then, I had imposed a restriction on the labyrinth. If those guys were to force their way in, it would trigger the frost aura and blast them into ice cubes."

This guy had indeed left countermeasures in place. The Labyrinth Watchers had been forced to resort to sending him to lead the way. "But why didn't you attack me back then?" Gao Peng was a little curious.

"It's because you're a human," replied the Desolate Frost Lion simply.

Because I'm human? When Gao Peng continued to ask for a more specific answer, the Desolate Frost Lion refused to answer anymore, mumbling and changing the topic.

"Right up ahead is the labyrinth exit. I haven't left the labyrinth in many years either, and I don't know what it's like outside anymore."

As it said that, the sounds of an intense battle could be heard from up ahead. It was a war!

"Quick, quick, quick, let's hurry over!" the lion said impatiently. "Let's go over and take advantage of the situation! What I love most is taking advantage of others!"

Da Zi was flying lazily behind Gao Peng. It frowned and stared at the figure of the white lion. Gao Peng hasn't been playing with me every day recently. It has to be because of this annoying white lion!

Da Zi's eyes spun around. Who knew what kind of naughty plan it was plotting.

Flamy furtively stole Da Zi a glance, then hurriedly looked away. Hmph. This Gao Peng likes new stuff and gets tired of old stuff. If Da Zi and the desolate lion fight, one of them is bound to lose. Then, it'll be Flamy's turn to get a chance! I must grab this chance to win Gao Peng's affection!

As they exited the labyrinth, they saw a Labyrinth Watcher battling with a group of humans. But instead of a battle, it was more of a one-sided massacre.

"Goldie, go rescue them." Goldie said nothing. With just a movement of its feet, it became a blur as it dashed forward.

A potbellied black man looked on in despair as the Labyrinth Watcher drew closer and closer to him. Suddenly, the Labyrinth Watcher froze in its tracks, and as though seeing something terrifying, turned around and ran!

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Chapter 385: Black Phoenix Mountain Range

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Huff…

Huff…

My name is Mengde, and I have survived.

Squatting on the ground, the middle-aged black man's chest heaved greatly, his eyes still filled with fear.

A yellow, featherless duck only the size of that red-furred monster's calves was chasing after it. Finally, with a great leap, it jumped onto the neck of the red-furred monster, landing punch after punch on it. After running a few more steps, the red-furred monster slowed down, finally falling to the ground with a loud crash.

"Oh, god, I'm actually still alive. Thank heavens, thank my grandmother for protecting me from the heavens." The black man at the side let out a sigh of relief, patting his chest.

This is an aboriginal? Gao Peng was surprised that he had actually managed to meet a living aboriginal human here.

Did the little lion not say that the humans in the Black Fog World had all fled? "Hey, didn't you say there were no more humans in the Black Fog World? What is this then?"

Somehow, Da Zi had managed to secretly run behind Gao Peng. It poked out its face and smiled coldly. "To think you would dare lie to Gao Peng! I think this lion must have ill intentions."

"Da Zi is right," Flamy added. Then it chuckled as it found a spot to rest, looking as though it was finding a good seat to watch the show.

"This isn't a human from the Black Fog World," said the Desolate Frost Lion calmly.

"Even if I'm this far away, I can still easily smell the same scents as yours from their bodies. In other words, they come from the same world as you."

Gao Peng was stunned. From the same world?! How was—how was this possible?

Over at the labyrinth, the entrance was on strict lockdown. Normal people would have no way of getting through, let alone this group of black men. Unless the personnel were blind, they wouldn't have let such a group of eye-catching people pass.

"That leaves only one other possibility." The little lion's expression was stern. "The Spatial Rift at the Desolate Labyrinth isn't the only one between your world and the Black Fog World."

After hearing the lion's words, Gao Peng's expression changed, as though he had thought of something.

Could it be the Spatial Rift in Lusaka in Africa? Gao Peng squinted as he considered this possibility.

Africa and the Huaxia region were separated by over ten thousand miles, and this was before the Cataclysm. After the Cataclysm, the Earth had grown larger and the distance had become even greater, at least tens of thousands of miles.

But the distance between Spatial Rifts didn't need to be that far. Perhaps the Lusaka rift and the Desolate Labyrinth rift weren't that far apart. If that were the case…

Gao Peng's eyes sparkled. They could make use of these Spatial Rifts to form a new trade route!

Ever since the Cataclysm, because of lengthy distances, exchanges between major regions of the world had gradually decreased. Even if they existed, they were usually done via video communication.

Furthermore, travel between regions had gradually become something only possible for the highest level of monster trainers. For ordinary citizens, heading to other major regions was an extravagant wish. Naturally, there would have been many limitations on trade as well.

But if the distances between the Spatial Rifts were much shorter in the Black Fog World, they could create a commercial trade route here. The Southern Sky Group's products could then be sold far away in Africa…

It was unexpected that there would be such a discovery from this trip. Without him even realizing it, Gao Peng's gaze towards these black men suddenly became extremely kind and amiable.

"Brothers, are you hurt anywhere?" Gao Peng asked in fluent English.

Question marks appeared on the black men's faces, as they had all thought that Gao Peng was an aboriginal from this world.

"Oh my God, could it be that English really is the universal language?" exclaimed one of them in a hushed tone. His face was full of shock and disbelief.

Gao Peng's face twitched. It's not just English, I can even speak Mandarin.

After rescuing the group of them, Gao Peng asked them where they had come from. Apparently, a thousand miles away in the West of the Desolate Labyrinth was the ruins of a city, and within the ruins was a Spatial Rift.

That Spatial Rift led to the Lusaka base city.

A thousand miles, muttered Gao Peng. That distance wasn't that short but definitely not considered long—at least compared to the tens of thousands of miles on Earth, this was extremely close.

They could wait until after they got back from the Black Phoenix Mountain Range before making plans to open a route to Lusaka.

The group of men gave their thanks to Gao Peng over and over as they left, telling Gao Peng that he had to visit them in Lusaka if he had the chance. They would definitely give him their thanks properly then.

"Do you know about the city ruins there? Are there any strong monsters nearby?"

"I know. That used to be a human city, but it was left in ruins after. If you want to open a route along that direction, it shouldn't be too hard. There aren't many strong monsters on the way there. Around here, the stronger monsters are gathered around the Black Phoenix Mountain Range and Bloodtooth Lake. These two areas aren't in that direction."

"Actually, the Desolate Labyrinth is actually a dangerous area as well," said the Desolate Frost Lion in a prideful manner.

The humans were definitely not fools. If there was a dangerous area nearby, they definitely wouldn't have chosen that place to build a city.

Gao Peng just quietly nodded his head. Ignorance was bliss. The lion's life was already tough enough, so Gao Peng decided not to burst its bubble.

Gao Peng then went over to the bodies of the Labyrinth Watchers on the ground and put them inside Silly's personal dimension, as he had no intention for these to go to waste.

Currently, Silly's personal dimension was at least 1,000 to 1,300 square feet, akin to the size of a small warehouse. It was more than sufficient for housing a carcass.

Leaving the exit of the labyrinth, the Black Phoenix Mountain range was just around a thousand miles to the north. North of the labyrinth was a desolate plain covered in white grass. Each stalk of grass was six feet tall, and they swayed like waves as a gentle wind blew through them. They cut through the sea of grass, like a sharp little knife grazing across the surface of skin.

Rumble— Ahead of them, the sea of grass was tumbling, as though something was cruising through it at a high speed.

"Da Zi." Gao Peng had Da Zi release its Lord Halo.

Under normal circumstances, a Lord-tier monster wouldn't release its halo, because maintaining it would require the expenditure of the body's internal elemental energy. But under other circumstances, when encountering other monsters, releasing the Lord Halo would serve the purpose of sending out a warning to other organisms.

The deep purple halo stained all the plants within a radius of a hundred yards. The white blades of grass were all dyed with a layer of pale purple light. The air was filled with a thin layer of electric elemental energy. Sensing the aura of a lord, nearby monsters hurriedly fled, avoiding plenty of possible conflicts.

Chichichi. The Treasure Sniffing Rodent as it excitedly sniffed the ground. Its large nose was plastered to the ground and twitching non-stop. After a moment, it ran back with a red block of wood in its mouth, running in front of Gao Peng.

In the next moment, it vanished again. The next time it came back, it returned with a piece of yellow rock in its mouth instead.

Heading north, three days passed this way in the blink of an eye. After the white sea of grass, they crossed an area with a thousand creeks. Gradually, a black mountain range began to appear on the horizon.

The peaks and valleys of the mountain range stretched on and on, like the broad back of a large black dragon, with no end in sight.

Looking at the top of the mountain range from afar, there seemed to be a thin layer of flames burning. It looked like it was a volcano. Perhaps that was the reason why this was called the Black Phoenix Mountain Range.

"I only know that the fruits come from the Black Phoenix Mountain Range, but where exactly, I'm not sure," said the Desolate Frost Lion regretfully as it smacked its lips.

"It's all right. The locals living on the mountain range should definitely know," chuckled Gao Peng.

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Chapter 386: Contact

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The three black men and their familiars were now back in the ruins of the city. Even though they were no strangers to death, none of them were in the mood to talk, especially after seeing their comrades being turned into frozen popsicles.

Despite being completely frozen, the corpses, which were laid out in the car under a camouflage tarp, still exuded a faint smell of decay in the air.

"We're lucky to still be alive," said one of them, frowning and letting out a sigh. "Who knew that such a powerful trainer existed in the Huaxia region? I don't think someone like that even exists in the African region."

"What about Kokang's Lion King?" asked one of his companions.

"I don't think even the Lion King would be a match for the likes of him," said Ciwey grimly.

"Well, it's not a total loss for us." Ciwey suddenly realized something. By opening a trade route in the other world, the Huaxia region would be able to bring all kinds of resources into the Lusaka base city through the Spatial Rifts. He had to let his brother know about this so that he could make the necessary preparations.

Ciwey glanced at his comrade sitting on the passenger seat, who just so happened to be from Zimbabwe. "A trade route between the Spatial Rifts in Lusaka and Huaxia would definitely bring in a lot of profit for us. I don't think the Black Wolverine group or your group in Zimbabwe would be able to handle all that profit alone without raising a few eyebrows. What do you say we work together to figure this thing out?"

"That would be great," said the man from Zimbabwe with a sigh. He smiled a toothy smile at Ciwey, revealing a set of pristine teeth.

When Ciwey turned his gaze away, the man from Zimbabwe sighed inwardly. He had been worried that Ciwey would go as far as to kill everyone there in order to keep this trade route all to himself. Thank god things didn't turn out that way…

"Don't worry, we mean you no harm." At the foot of the Black Phoenix Mountain Range, a group of familiars had formed a ring around what appeared to be a tortoise-like monster.

Gao Peng stepped forward and squatted beside the monster. He rapped his knuckles against its shell, making a hollow, metallic sound.

The Golden-Striped Tortoise's head remained stubbornly inside its shell. Two gleaming black eyes peered at Gao Peng warily from within.

"We really mean you no harm. We just wanted to ask you something," said Gao Peng, desperately trying to show his more affable side to the tortoise.

In a corner, Da Zi was acting as Gao Peng's translator, relaying his words by baring its mandibles and claws menacingly at the tortoise.

Like a rock, the Golden-Striped Tortoise remained unmovable. No matter how much these people tried to sweet-talk it, it wouldn't budge from its shell.

It wasn't like the other, younger tortoises. It was an ancient tortoise who had seen and heard much in this world.

Goldie yawned as he listened to Gao Peng trying to coax the tortoise out of its shell. After yawning three times, it stepped forward and gave the shell a good kick, flipping it over so that the tortoise's white underbelly was now facing upward.

"Come out, you b*stard! My boss is talking to you here!" shouted Goldie angrily, before smacking the tortoise's shell with its wing. The Golden-Striped Tortoise's heart beat rapidly, worried that the duck might reach into its shell and pull its head out.

That is one violent duck, it thought.

"Oi, Goldie, stop it," said Gao Peng. "We're the good guys here. We don't push people around like common thugs."

"Gao Peng, this guy's just outright disrespecting you. That's the same as disrespecting me, and anyone who disrespects me…" Goldie balled its right wing into a fist and ground it against its left wing.

"Well, you heard Goldie. It has quite a temper. Not even I can control it sometimes," said Gao Peng with a sigh. "We just wanted to ask you something. Do you know where the Guise Fruit is in the Black Phoenix Mountain Range? It's a fruit that grows on a tree. It has a white, speckled surface, and it can shrink anyone who eats it."

After a period of silence, a dull moan could be heard from inside the shell.

"Gao Peng, Gao Peng, it said that it's seen the fruit on the eastern side of the mountain range and that it's five mountains away from here in that direction," said Da Zi excitedly.

"Since it's already told us where it is, we might as well let it be our guide," said Gao Peng cheerily. The Golden-Striped Tortoise shook its head blearily inside its shell when it heard what Da Zi told it.

"Please take us to the mountain range's eastern side," said Gao Peng, climbing on the tortoise's shell. "I just know that the mountain's master is a kind and generous host."

The Desolate Frost Lion also leaped up onto its shell alongside Da Zi.

After a while, one of the tortoise's knobbly legs poked out shakily from the shell, followed by another, then another. Finally, its head stretched out from its shell and looked around at its surroundings. After taking a good look at Gao Peng, who had seated himself comfortably on its shell, the tortoise's wrinkly face contorted in displeasure.

It wouldn't have let these people ride on its back at all if it wasn't for the fact that any one of them could have easily killed it in combat.

"I'll give this to you when we reach our destination," said Gao Peng, producing a Commander-tier monster core crystal from Silly's portable space and waving it in front of the tortoise.

After making sure of where it was supposed to go, the Golden-Striped Tortoise began walking as fast as its knobbly, stunted legs could carry it. The only thing on its mind right then was to get these hooligans off its back as soon as possible.

With the Golden-Striped Tortoise as their guide, Gao Peng and the others were able to avoid the territories of all the dangerous monsters that lurked in the mountains. After following a rather roundabout path through the mountains, the tortoise finally came to a stop. The sun was now slowly sinking on the horizon.

In front of them stood a pitch-black mountain that was covered in equally blackened trees. The mountain was stained red as the setting sun cast its final rays on it. At that moment, it looked like a monstrous behemoth baring its bloody teeth at Gao Peng and the others.

"Mmm…" The Golden-Striped Tortoise shook its head as it came to a stop.

"It said that the fruit is on this mountain. It can't go on any further, as the mountain is full of scary monsters," said Da Zi.

After giving a Commander-tier monster core crystal to the tortoise, Gao Peng led the others up the mountain.

As soon as it swallowed the core crystal, the Golden-Striped Tortoise turned around and shuffled off in a hurry. The only thing it wanted right now was to put some distance between itself and these delinquents.

Visibility on the mountain was poor. The trees' thick canopies had completely blocked the sun. Night was coming soon, and visibility was going to be even worse than before.

"Flamy, fly up and let me know if you spot anything unusual in the vicinity," said Gao Peng.

Flamy nodded and took off into the sky.

In the mountains, a couple of strange trees could be seen growing out of the face of a mountain near its peak. Their leaves were a shade of blue, and the fruits they bore were white.

The cliff face was riddled with cavities, all of which seemed to be carved deep into the mountain.

Suddenly, a white-shelled monster emerged from one of these holes. It stood only three feet tall. On the surface, it looked like a crustacean-type creature. Its movements were agile, its physique resembling that of a praying mantis. However, it looked a bit too fat to be a praying mantis. Its lower limbs were muscular and as thick as a log.

It flew to one of the trees and stuffed one of the white-colored fruits into its mouth.

Like a balloon, its body began to inflate. Soon, it grew into a 30-foot-tall behemoth that sprang and pranced across the cliff face.

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Chapter 387: The White Steel Bladed Beast

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The monster was skipping merrily across the cliff face when suddenly, it stopped in its tracks as if it had sensed something. Its head did a 180-degree turn.

Its eyes were immediately locked on Flamy, who was circling in the air behind it as if in search of something.

At that moment, Flamy sensed that it was being watched from afar. Instinctively turning towards where it sensed the gaze, it caught sight of a 30-foot-long white shell sprawled across the cliff face. It wasn't hard to miss in the middle of a dark forest.

Flamy had also caught a glimpse of the trees and the fruits between their branches not too far away from the white-shelled creature. The tree's fruits were white and covered with tiny black spots. They were just what it was looking for!

"Gao Peng, I found it!" shouted Flamy cheerfully. "I've found the fruits that you want. They're just on top of that mountain!" It quickly told Gao Peng what it had seen.

The white-shelled creature cocked its head to one side as it gazed curiously at Flamy. The look on its face grew even more dangerous when it realized that the strange red bird had no intention of leaving the area.

But for some reason, it didn't move towards Flamy. Instead, it jumped down from a branch and landed lightly on the ground, then climbed to the top of a mountain, rose up on its hind legs and let out an angry screech at Flamy.

Gao Peng stopped. He could see the strange white creature rearing up on the mountain peak from where he was standing.

[Monster Name: White Steel Bladed Beast

[Monster Name: Level 49 (Lord-tier)

[Monster Grade: Perfect

[Monster Attribute: Wind

[Monster Ability: Hardened Shell Level 3, Sharp Edge Level 4, Wind Mastery Level 3

[Special Characteristics: Wind Armor (It's able to form an elemental armor with the wind in its body. Passive Effect 1: Gives the monster a certain resistance to psychic and spiritual attacks. Passive Effect 2: While moving at high speed, it's able to further boost its own speed and agility by generating a powerful rush of air from within its shell.)

[Weakness: Ice-type attacks

[Description: Not only does it have a hard shell, but it is also surprisingly light. It's capable of moving at high speed and unleashing powerful, explosive attacks. However, as it was born with short stature, the White Steel Bladed Beast has developed a complex about its size.

It's insecure about its own size?

Gao Peng was speechless. He gazed at the 20-foot-tall monstrosity roaring at Flamy from the top of the mountain. Why would something that huge feel insecure about its size? How should Da Zi feel about itself, then?

"Isn't that right?" asked Gao Peng, stroking Da Zi's head absentmindedly.

Da Zi looked at Gao Peng strangely. Why are you looking at me like that? it thought. Could it be that Gao Peng finally realized that I'm his most favorite familiar in the world and not this lion?

Da Zi began working its brain in order to figure out the best way to let Gao Peng know that it wasn't happy with his current situation…

The White Steel Bladed Beast was a Level 49 Lord-tier Perfect-grade monster. Its grade was lower than Dumby and Goldie's by two levels. However, in terms of monster level, it was at least four levels higher than both of them.

While a four-level gap in level might not have been enough to compensate for the two-level gap in grade between them, this didn't mean that the White Steel Bladed Beast was far behind Dumby or Goldie in terms of sheer power.

More importantly, the White Steel Bladed Beast had a special characteristic. Gao Peng had no idea if it was innate or if the monster had attained it when it dropped from Epic to Perfect-grade.

In any case, Gao Peng decided that it would be best not to get on its bad side. However, he still had to retrieve the Guise Fruit for Stripey. He had no intention of breaking the promise that he had made to it.

"Da Zi, direct an electrical discharge at Goldie."

Every familiar around Gao Peng knew how Goldie's passive effect worked. They knew what Da Zi's attack would do to it.

Electricity began unfurling from Da Zi's body and wrapping itself like vines around Goldie. Then Da Zi discharged all the electricity from its body!

Hum, hum, hum…

A dull electrical hum echoed in the air. Goldie's muscles began bulging and spasming uncontrollably. A strange sound could be heard as Goldie's body began to grow and gleam with purple light…

"All monsters who are bigger than me will feel my wrath," growled the White Steel Bladed Beast as it lowered itself into a crouch. Without warning, it launched itself towards Gao Peng in a white blur. A powerful wind howled from its shell, as if another monster was living inside it.

The wind swirling around its body began picking up speed until it turned into a layer of green light.

The White Steel Bladed Beast's body began shrinking as it approached its target. It then became apparent that its 30-foot-tall appearance was nothing more than an illusion. The size-altering effect of the Guise Fruit that the White Steel Bladed Beast had ingested not too long ago was dispelled almost instantly when its wind elemental energy began circulating in its body.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Arcs of green light sliced through the air. Due to the incredible speed it was moving at, the White Steel Bladed Beast was able to corner Flamy in the air with the traces it had left in its wake.

Flamy was completely surrounded. At that moment, it could feel a slight pang of panic.

Flamy began shedding its feathers from its body. Its feathers gradually formed a fiery shield before it, which streaks of fire burst forth from. Without warning, a streak of green light collided with Flamy's fiery shield like a sharp dagger.

Boom!

The fiery shield exploded the moment the White Steel Bladed Beast's attack pierced through it.

Flames exploded in all directions, spreading out like a red fiery lotus in the air. The resulting shockwave sent Flamy flying in the opposite direction and the White Steel Bladed Beast in a downward spiral towards the ground.

Arcs of green light pierced through the flames and whipped up a fiery cyclone in the air.

"Help Flamy, quick," said Gao Peng. Goldie and Dumby leaped into action without hesitation.

"Be careful, Gao Peng. This guy has incredibly explosive power," muttered the Desolate Frost Lion.

The data frame had indeed emphasized the White Steel Bladed Beast's explosive power. However, Gao Peng had never thought of the data frame's information as an accurate representation of reality.

For instance, monsters that supposedly specialized in defense, at least according to their descriptions in the data frame, never lasted long in a fight with Goldie.

"This guy's really powerful. I've seen monsters like it take out other monsters of the same level in a single shot," said the Desolate Frost Lion again, noticing that Gao Peng didn't seem to be taking the White Steel Bladed Beast seriously.

This time, Gao Peng took the lion's advice seriously. He ordered Flamy, Goldie, and the others to keep their guard up through their Blood Contracts.

At that moment, Goldie was engaging the White Steel Bladed Beast.

Thanks to Da Zi triggering its passive ability beforehand, Goldie now stood approximately 20 feet tall. The three-foot-tall White Steel Bladed Beast before the duck couldn't even reach its knees. This was what the battle between David and Goliath would look like if the White Steel Bladed Beast was a scrawny boy and Goldie an enormous Philistine.

The White Steel Bladed Beast fearlessly charged at Goldie like a warrior going up against a seemingly undefeatable evil. Deftly avoiding a punch from Goldie, it sprang forward and held its silver blade-like appendages in the shape of a cross before its chest. Wind elemental energy began concentrating around them.

In an instant, the White Steel Bladed Beast's attack struck Goldie's chest.

The impact was so powerful that it sent Goldie flying backward, crashing through a couple of trees behind it before it finally rolled to a stop on the ground. A huge tree then fell on Goldie's body, pinning it to the ground.

Goldie's chest was rising and falling rapidly, its breathing now ragged. There was a terrible cross-shaped wound on its chest. It was so deep that a bit of bone could be seen poking out from it.

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Chapter 388: A Dramatic Duck

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Upon seeing the deep gash on Goldie's chest, Dumby quickly came at the White Steel Bladed Beast from the side. It managed to beat it back with one punch, preventing it from going in for the kill.

On the ground, Goldie's chest rose and fell unsteadily, its eyes staring straight at the sky. Its pinkish muscle fibers began to twist and turn with each other, closing up Goldie's wound with incredible speed.

"What doesn't kill me, only makes me stronger," muttered Goldie as it slowly rose to its feet. There was now a seriousness in its eyes that Gao Peng had never seen there before.

"You're no weakling, I'll give you that," said Goldie, chuckling. It lightly stroked its wound.

"If my passive ability wasn't already triggered beforehand, I definitely wouldn't have been able to survive that attack of yours," it continued, stroking its wound almost lovingly, as if it was currently caressing the skin of a lover.

That's it, that's it…

At the exact moment of its close brush with death, Goldie had been able to feel something cold and sharp slide past its heart.

That sensation had excited it greatly. It wanted more of it.

"Dumby, let me have this duel," said Goldie solemnly. Its knuckles popped as it closed its left wing into a fist.

"Come at me, pipsqueak! Use everything you have to destroy this fleshy vessel of mine! Let me taste the sweet nectar of death!" roared Goldie.

The White Steel Bladed Beast narrowed its eyes at the duck. Its body had already settled into a half-crouching position. It had no idea what Goldie was babbling about.

However, it knew exactly what "pipsqueak" meant. Seething with rage, it brandished its razor-sharp appendages menacingly at the duck.

How dare you call me a pipsqueak! With a sharp cry, it sprang forward, leaving a blurry trail in its wake.

A crazed wind howled in the air as the wind elemental energy from the White Steel Bladed Beast's body carved out a trail of S-shaped traces behind it.

Goldie tried to intercept it with its left wing but failed. The White Steel Bladed Beast slid past Goldie and managed to slash its calf with its blade-like appendages, leaving a bloody gash across it.

Goldie's face contorted in pain. However, the muscle fibers in its calf almost immediately sewed the wound shut.

The White Steel Bladed Beast's attack had barely missed Goldie's bone. The wound it had left on the duck's calf was at least a foot deep.

It gazed at Goldie contemptuously. You're still a hundred years too early to even think about catching me!

It slowly opened out its plated wings, as a beetle would its wings. Green markings were etched across them like an exquisite work of art.

Schwing! It snapped out its scalpel-like appendages, which at that moment gleamed with orange light as the setting sun cast its final rays on them. Their metallic surfaces were reminiscent of the smooth, mirror-like surface of a pond.

"That's it, give in to your hate. Can you feel it, that feeling of exasperation when you just want to end someone right there and then, but no matter how much you try, that person just won't go down?" muttered Goldie as it slowly rose to its feet.

What is this fool babbling about? Why is it saying these things? The White Steel Bladed Beast took a step back. Has it gone mad?

Dumby, who was standing by in a corner, looked at Goldie with an air of concern. The Soul Flames in its empty sockets flickered silently.

Goldie really has a penchant for the dramatic…

The White Steel Bladed Beast's body blurred. Then it was gone. In its place was the mad roar of the wind in the air. The wind tore through the air noisily like a pack of banshees!

For a moment, all kinds of noise filled the air as the wind roared, howled, and shrieked like a fussy child. Gradually, the cacophony began to converge into a single, angry tone.

As the wind raged on, large patches of grass were peeled off the ground, and branches were broken off of the trees around them. A streak of green light came at Goldie at breakneck speed while bloody gashes appeared on Goldie's body.

It had held up both its wings over its face in an attempt to protect its eyes and throat. Goldie let out a roar as it began to inflate like a balloon…

A minute passed. The White Steel Bladed Beast came back into view. It was crouching on a huge rock, eyeing Goldie, who was standing in the middle of the forest, warily.

Why is it getting bigger? The White Steel Bladed Beast was stunned. It also couldn't help but feel a slight sting of jealousy. If only I had that kind of power…

Goldie's ragged breathing echoed in the forest. It slowly lowered its wings from its face.

It cast a huge shadow over the forest as it stood up straight. A faint light flashed across the blue markings on its body.

The words [Heavy Injury (Severe Blood Loss)] were blinking with an ominous red light on the data frame as Gao Peng gazed at Goldie's massive form.

The duck had grown into a 50-foot-tall monstrosity. Its Gui Power passive ability hadn't had time to cool down. It now had a chance of triggering every time it took damage from its opponent.

Goldie lifted its right foot and stamped it on the ground, which shook violently beneath it. Cracks visibly spread out beneath its foot across the ground.

"That's it, that's the spirit," said Goldie, staring the White Steel Bladed Beast dead in the eyes. "Again! Come at me with everything you've got!"

The White Steel Bladed Beast narrowed its eyes. Without warning, it charged at Goldie once more.

Goldie was staring straight at the incoming White Steel Bladed Beast, whose blurred green figure began splitting before Goldie. The afterimages flickered past it until they gradually solidified into a single form.

Now! Goldie reached out and caught its opponent with its right wing. The White Steel Bladed Beast's momentum managed to stagger Goldie back a bit.

"Finally caught you, you little rascal," said Goldie, looking down at his right wing. "Think you can worm your way out of there?"

A popping sound could be heard as Goldie tightened its grip on the White Steel Bladed Beast.

Drops of blood oozed out from its wing.

How hard can this puny thing be? Goldie frowned. Not only was it unable to crush its prey in its wing, but it also ended up cutting itself on the monster's sharp edges.

As the White Steel Bladed Beast struggled to free itself from the duck's grip, it noticed to its surprise that this strange yellow duck had inexplicably received a huge boost to its own defenses. Before, it had been able to easily leave a couple of deep cuts on its opponent. Now, its razor-sharp blades could barely leave a scratch on it.

The White Steel Bladed Beast was now stained with the duck's blood.

"It's over, pipsqueak. Looks like I win," boomed Goldie.

Gao Peng couldn't help but feel second-hand embarrassment for Goldie. He made a mental note to make sure that Goldie spent less time reading online novels, especially the ones written by someone called "Gun Kai." Gao Peng had taken a peek at some of his work. It was cringe-worthy, to say the least. He'd had no idea that Goldie liked that sort of thing.

There was no way that the White Steel Bladed Beast would be able to escape Goldie's grip at this point. The more it struggled, the stronger Goldie would become.

The White Steel Bladed Beast glared at Gao Peng hatefully through the cracks between Goldie's fingers as he approached it.

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Chapter 389: Limit

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The White Steel Bladed Beast's explosive power was indeed impressive. If Goldie hadn't triggered its passive ability multiple times beforehand, the White Steel Bladed Beast would have instantly knocked it out.

Even so, Goldie had sustained terrible injuries during its battle with the White Steel Bladed Beast. It stood before Gao Peng, riddled with cuts and awash in its own blood.

The Yin Yang Calendula shook its head sympathetically. A white ball of light emerged from its head and floated towards Goldie.

The white ball of light melted into Goldie's body. Gradually, the duck's more severe injuries began to heal up. However, it was still bleeding profusely.

The Yin Yang Calendula then shedded a large number of dandelions from its head. The dandelions bobbed in the air like tiny snow-white parachutes. As soon as they landed on Goldie's wounds, the bleeding stopped almost immediately. Some of its less severe injuries had also begun healing.

The Yin Yang Calendula soon used up most of the dandelions on its head. It reached up and felt the huge bald patch on its head with its leaves. Then it curled up into a ball, embarrassed of its current state. "I'm all used up."

"Here." Dumby plucked a leaf from a low-hanging tree branch and carefully placed it over the calendula's bald spot.

"Uhm?" The Yin Yang Calendula looked up at Dumby and felt the huge leaf on its head curiously.

"You can wear it like a hat. You look good in it," said Dumby casually.

The Yin Yang Calendula blushed even more, covering its face with its leaf-like appendages.

After ordering Goldie and the others to keep an eye on the White Steel Bladed Beast, Gao Peng looked up at the trees growing out of the cliff face.

[Name of Fruit: Guise Fruit

[Effect: Upon consuming it, any monster will be able to change its own size a thousandfold.

A thousandfold…

Gao Peng frowned. I don't think it's possible to increase a monster's height 1,000 times, even with the help of a size-altering fruit. It would probably just bring about a tenfold change in a monster's length, width, and height respectively, since a monster's size is technically the product of those three variables.

For instance, after ingesting a Guise Fruit, a 30-foot-tall monster would probably be able to shrink to three feet tall or grow to 100 feet tall.

So this is what Desolion has been telling me about. Gao Peng's eyes lit up. For convenience's sake, Gao Peng had decided to call the Desolate Frost Lion "Desolion." It does roll off the tongue.

Gao Peng had also decided that Xiao Cao would be the last of his familiars to be given such a childish nickname. He would no longer continue this naming trend after Xiao Cao.

There were currently four Guise Fruits hanging from one of the trees' branches. It was a shame that the White Steel Bladed Beast had eaten one. Otherwise, Gao Peng would have been able to leave this place with five Guise Fruits in hand.

Gao Peng began plucking the fruits from the tree. When he was done, he uprooted two of the trees with his bare hands and carried them down the mountain.

The White Steel Bladed Beast, which was still being held in Goldie's hand, cried out at the sight of Gao Peng dragging the Guise Fruit-bearing trees behind him; these magical trees were the White Steel Bladed Beast's most treasured possessions in the world.

Their fruits were the only thing capable of letting it experience the world from the perspective of a behemoth and allowed it to forget its insecurities about its size, if only for a moment. It was able to stay in its enlarged form for a long time after eating just one Guise Fruit. If it wanted to look for food, it would let itself shrink back to normal by simply waiting for the Guise Fruit's effect to fade.

This was the main reason why mealtime was its least favorite time. Only when it was extremely hungry would it grudgingly let its body return to normal and regain the mobility it needed in order to hunt for food in the mountains. It was apparent that the Guise Fruits were the only things in the White Steel Bladed Beast's life that brought it joy.

"We'll be taking these two trees back with us, if you don't mind," said Gao Peng, smiling.

The White Steel Bladed Beast stared at this brazen human. It had never heard such a shameless thing in its life.

"Of course, since we're taking these trees with us, we might as well bring you along, don't you think?" added Gao Peng.

The White Steel Bladed Beast widened its eyes. It had evidently underestimated this human's insolence. Is it even possible to say such a brazen thing?

The way down the mountain seemed more difficult than the way up had been. The sun had sunk on the horizon. Without the Golden-Striped Tortoise to lead them back, Gao Peng had no choice but to recall the route the tortoise had followed in the morning and retrace their steps the best that he could.

As night had fallen, Gao Peng decided that it was best to rest in the mountains for the night and continue their journey out the next day.

After signing a Blood Contract with the Desolate Frost Lion, Gao Peng had decided he wouldn't take in any more familiars for now. He simply didn't have the strength to do so.

If he took in any more familiars at this point, he would definitely not be able to satisfy the emotional needs of every member of his team.

However, while they were resting, the Desolate Frost Lion suddenly came up to him and suggested that he sign a Blood Contract with the White Steel Bladed Beast.

"I already have enough familiars as it is. Why should I sign a contract with it?"

"Your team still lacks an Assassin-type familiar," said the Desolate Frost Lion, looking Gao Peng straight in the eye. "I don't think you have a clear idea of what a competent team composition is."

"So tell me, what's your idea of a competent team?" asked Gao Peng, eyeing the small lion cub with amusement.

"It should be capable of dealing with any situation in any environment," said the Desolate Frost Lion flatly.

"Where did you learn this from?" asked Gao Peng curiously.

"That's none of your business. The White Steel Bladed Beast can evolve into a Black Steel Shadowbeast, an incredibly powerful monster with unparalleled explosive power."

"Even you can't beat it?"

"Of course I can! What do you take me for?" the Desolate Frost Lion growled.

"It's weaker than you, then. I guess there's no point in signing a contract with it," said Gao Peng.

"…Hmph, have it your way then."

Stealth and explosive power, these were the things one had to look for in an Assassin-type familiar.

Gao Peng gazed at the White Steel Bladed Beast with renewed interest. He didn't recall seeing any mention of the Black Steel Shadowbeast as one of its Epic-grade evolutionary forms on the data frame. This meant that the Black Steel Shadowbeast had to be higher than Epic-grade.

The White Steel Bladed Beast had a total of four evolutionary routes. Gao Peng had no idea which route he had to take in order to let the White Steel Bladed Beast evolve into the Black Steel Shadowbeast.

Suddenly, the four evolutionary routes shown on the data frame grew blurry.

There was a sudden flash of light before him. Gao Peng noticed that the evolutionary routes had changed. He could vaguely make out the names of the White Steel Bladed Beast's Legendary-grade forms at the end of all four routes.

This time, Gao Peng could clearly see the words "Black Steel Shadowbeast" in the data frame.

Gao Peng shook his head. The words on the data frame continued to shift and swim dizzily before him. The evolutionary routes gradually converged to two names: [Shadow Nightbeast] and [Illusory Gluttonous Shieldbeast].

These two words were flashing in golden light, as if they were coated with a layer of gold. Both were the White Steel Bladed Beast's Mythical-grade forms.

The names before him continued to blur. However, Gao Peng soon felt a throbbing pain in his eyes, and he quickly closed them.

After a while, Gao Peng opened his eyes, his heart racing. He had no idea it was possible to go beyond Mythical-grade. However, there was no way he could verify that at the moment.

Who knew this ability of his had its own limits? Suddenly, an incredible idea dawned on him.

Gao Peng believed that his ability to assess a monster's overall stats could still be improved upon. In order to do so, he would have to further improve his own spiritual strength.

After resting for a while, Gao Peng threw a furtive glance at the White Steel Bladed Beast, wondering how he should go about tricking this wild beast into joining his team.

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Chapter 390: The Ancient Dragonfish, King of the Land of 1,000 Streams

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"Don't worry too much about your size, little one. I once had a familiar who was only this big," said Gao Peng, holding his hands at least seven inches away from each other. "Guess how big it is now?"

The White Steel Bladed Beast threw a filthy look at Gao Peng.

"It's now as big as a mountain!" said Gao Peng, stretching his arms out dramatically.

"Hehe." The White Steel Bladed Beast chuckled derisively. Do you take me for a fool, human?

They turned in for the night. The next day, Gao Peng and company continued their journey out of the mountains with the White Steel Bladed Beast as their captive.

In order to prevent it from escaping, Gao Peng had, as a gesture of kindness on his part, let Goldie break its hind legs. Thanks to its accelerated regenerative power, its legs would probably be healed by the time they reached the Desolate Labyrinth.

At the break of dawn, Gao Peng began navigating the Black Phoenix Mountain Range alongside his familiars. After rounding two mountains, they heard a muffled rumbling from the depths of the mountains. Then a flash of lightning filled the sky, followed by an ear-splitting crack.

Birds flew up in fear around them, their squawks lingering in the air for a long time. In the next second, Gao Peng could see a dark red light in the distance.

A sea of fire had consumed a part of the mountains, razing everything in the area to the ground. Fire and lightning danced about unrestrained in the air at that moment.

"Nothing to see here. It's just the ruler of the Black Phoenix Mountain Range," said the Desolate Frost Lion with a yawn.

"What… what made that sound just now?"

"Probably another monster looking to usurp the mountain range's current ruler. There can only be one ruler reigning over the entire mountain range. If anyone's unsatisfied with the way things are right now, they're well within their rights to challenge the current ruler's authority. If they succeed, they would automatically become the new ruler of the Black Phoenix Mountain Range.

"Then again… It's been a while since the mountain range saw a new ruler. That old crow has been on the top of the hierarchy for as long as I can remember," mumbled the Desolate Frost Lion.

Gao Peng eyed the dark red glow in the distance. The reverberations set off during the clash between the mountain range's ruler and its challenger were powerful enough to drastically change the weather in the mountains. Blinding light flashed out at intervals as dark red flames and violet electricity clashed with each other.

The Black Phoenix Mountain Range was unusually quiet today. The monsters in the mountains all seemed to have decided that today was a good day to take the day off as the two godlike entities fought with each other.

Gao Peng and the others safely left the Black Phoenix Mountain Range under the cover of the ongoing chaos. With the mountain range behind them, they now entered a wetland called the Land of 1,000 Streams, which stretched out as far as the eye could see.

In truth, there were more than 1,000 streams crisscrossing the wetland. An intricate network of waterways was spread out across the landscape. Countless tiny "islands" dotted the wetland. Some of them were only a few square feet wide, while the bigger ones were a few acres wide.

The waterways were also of varying depths. The deepest ones that Gao Peng was forced to wade through were at least 100 feet deep, while the shallower ones barely covered his ankles.

This was indeed a strange place. Various amphibious creatures called this hodgepodge of water and land home.

"The scenery's not bad. With the desolate grassland and trickle of the streams as its backdrop, it could make for an excellent fishing spot," said Gao Peng as he took in the scenery around him.

"Gao Peng, I think I can pierce the heavens in my current form," said Goldie seriously.

Goldie was now standing more than 100 feet tall beside Gao Peng. Everything looked so small and insignificant from its point of view. The appearance of a duck-shaped behemoth had spooked all the monsters in the vicinity. None of them dared to approach it.

The White Steel Bladed Beast was still imprisoned in the giant Goldie's right fist. It swung and stabbed its blade-like appendages out at the duck's fingers. However, its attacks simply bounced off Goldie's pillar-shaped fingers ineffectively.

The sight of the White Steel Bladed Beast struggling to cut through Goldie's defenses was not unlike watching someone trying to cut through leather with a wooden sword.

"I suggest we get a move on if we want to avoid any confrontation with the monsters here," said the Desolate Frost Lion as it crawled up to Gao Peng's shoulder and leisurely licked its dainty claws.

"I would appreciate it if you could just tell me what kind of danger lives here," said Gao Peng, rapping his fingers against the lion cub's head.

"Hmph, I'll start keeping track of the number of times you hit me in the head from now on," said the Desolate Frost Lion, chuckling coldly.

"In a big enough place, there's always a king that rules. Even if there isn't one sitting on the throne at first, that void is inevitably filled by monsters who failed to claim kingship in other corners of this world, presumably driven out by those much more powerful than themselves. I believe you humans have a saying for this: nature abhors a vacuum. This place is big. Any monster capable of claiming kingship over this place is at least King-tier."

"But we didn't encounter any trouble when we were passing through this place," said Gao Peng, frowning.

"Back then, your familiar wasn't this big," said the Desolate Frost Lion, rolling its eyes at Gao Peng.

"So do you know what kind of monster the king of the Land of 1,000 Streams is? You've lived here for so long; surely you must know what it is."

"Grovelling won't work," it said curtly. Then it continued, "There was a time when the place was ruled by a Blue Water Sky Toad. I wonder if the king's changed since then… A king doesn't last long in a backwater place like this, by the way."

After walking some distance across the wetland, Gao Peng and the others heard the sound of splashing to their right, as if something was making its way across the water at high speed.

"Gao Peng! A huge fish is coming this way," muttered Goldie.

"This is no time for jokes, Goldie. What's coming this way?" Gao Peng didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Goldie had developed a habit of referring to other monsters as fish, which probably stemmed from its desire to convert all the fish in the world into money through Gao Peng.

"It really is a fish!" said Goldie angrily. How can you not believe me? It bent over to pick Gao Peng up.

It was then that Gao Peng saw with his own two eyes a huge fish "running" across the water towards them in the distance.

The fish's thick, muscular tail waved about behind it as it flapped its silver-colored fins beneath it like a pair of duck feet. There were even a couple of white bone-like protrusions on its topside. A pair of long whiskers swayed loosely in the air on both sides of its thick lips.

[Monster Name: Ancient Dragonfish

[Monster Level: Level 56 (King-tier)

[Monster Grade: Excellent

[Monster Attribute: Water

[Monster Weakness: Earth

[Monster Ability: Dragonscale Armor Level 6, Water Current Mastery Level 5

[Description: A fish-type monster that holds a faint trace of dragon blood in its veins. It has a timid and highly excitable temperament. It's also extremely territorial.

The splashing sound drew closer. When the Ancient Dragonfish came close enough, Gao Peng noticed that there was a slight bulge of water connecting its fins to the surface of the water. The water was propelling the Ancient Dragonfish forward.

The Ancient Dragonfish's eyes were as round as saucers. Its whiskers jumped about across its face. It looked livid.

A King-tier Ancient Dragonfish… Gao Peng frowned. Even though Goldie's passive ability had been triggered God knew how many times, they were carrying the White Steel Bladed Beast and the Guise Fruit-bearing trees with them. If the trees were damaged in their confrontation with the Ancient Dragonfish, they would be forced to go back empty-handed. Gao Peng didn't want this.

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Read Monster Pet Evolution Chapter 391 - Are You a Devil? online for free - AllNovelFull

Chapter 391: Are You a Devil?

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Gao Peng just hoped that he could take the fruit tree back completely. While looking at the introduction to the Ancient Dragonfish, Gao Peng paused to think for a while, then he suddenly had an idea.

After the Ancient Dragonfish had approached, Gao Peng ordered Goldie to use an Anti-Magic Field.

"Ohm." An invisible ripple spread in all directions with Goldie as the center point. The element particles dissolved into little spots in the air. The waves under the Ancient Dragonfish split immediately after being touched by the invisible ripple, then vanished into thin air.

Snap!

The Ancient Dragonfish fell to the ground. Its eyes were as big as light bulbs, staring out as if it didn't understand what had taken place yet.

Where did my waves go? Where did my water go? Dazed, the Ancient Dragonfish laid on the ground ignorantly, thinking about its life. This is such bad news. Why can I suddenly not control water…

The Ancient Dragonfish hadn't experienced such loss and helplessness in over a dozen years. Glancing at Goldie who was 100 feet tall, the Ancient Dragonfish slammed its tail and hopped away.

Only after it was far away from Goldie did the Ancient Dragonfish realize that it could control water again.

The Ancient Dragonfish circled around doubtfully, but in the end, it didn't choose to continue to chase them. Instead, it jumped into the water with a splash and disappeared.

Back at the Barren Maze, the White Steel Bladed Beast was surprised when it saw the Spatial Rift. It turned out that these people were from other worlds.

So that's why… If they come from other worlds, then the fact that I lost to them isn't as unacceptable.

Due to its size, Goldie couldn't cross over the Spatial Rift at that moment, so Gao Peng let Goldie delay the healing time of the White Steel Bladed Monster's injury. He only took the White Steel Bladed Monster back to Southern Sky in the end.

"What a pity…." The Desolate Frost Lion looked at the injured White Steel Bladed Beast with pity and curiosity at the same time. Gao Peng had already tortured it, but would he still tame this monster?

Right after he stepped out of the Spatial Rift, Gao Peng saw a group of people standing in front of it, getting ready to go into the Barren Maze.

There was even an acquaintance among them, his little assistant from the laboratory, Xu Qingzhi. Her collared white blouse and black hip skirt showed her curves perfectly. When she saw Gao Peng, she waved at him excitedly.

"Little boss, little boss."

Gao Peng's face darkened. What 'little boss!'

"Wow, this familiar is so cute!" A petite girl with a round face in Xu Qingzhi's team brightened her eyes, totally taken by the White Steel Bladed Beast.

The White Steel Bladed Beast that came from the Black Fog World obviously had different traits from the monsters on Earth. If monsters on Earth could be identified from traces of animals or insects before the Cataclysm, then monsters from the Black Fog World were species based on pure imagination.

The White Steel Bladed Beast consisted of layers of white steel enamel, and there were layers of blue patterns on the snow-white steel raft. This extremely beautiful pattern was scattered on the steel grain. The steel armor was superimposed like a beetle's wings, with two sharp-edged blade limbs ejecting from the forelimbs.

Its golden eyes sparkled with streams of golden light, making it look holy and beautiful.

When moving at a high speed, green light would gush out from the crack of the steel armor. Gao Peng even found out that it didn't have bones or internal organs; the inside of the steel armor was completely hollow.

The White Steel Bladed Beast wasn't tall; its height was less than three feet, although, of course, the White Steel Bladed Beast insisted that it was three feet tall.

But things such as appearances weren't important to Gao Peng. He never cared whether the appearance of his familiars was beautiful or handsome. One could easily tell this from how he had chosen a centipede, a spider, a skeleton, and a duck as his familiars…

But the White Steel Bladed Beast was quite effective on young girls. The snow-white steel armor shone in the sun, like snow in the mountains.

"There are no such monsters among all known monsters on Earth," said a slim young man on the team with glasses softly. "And judging from the characteristics of existing Insect-type monsters, there's a high possibility that this familiar came from the Black Fog World."

"So this cute and small familiar is a familiar from the Black Fog World?" the round-faced girl's eyes brightened.

"Dad, I want one of these familiars, too," said the round-faced girl to a middle-aged man beside her.

Unable to bare his daughter's request, the man finally acquiesced, "Okay, I'll go and ask… But you must be in the top ten at the next school-organized exam, or I'll take back your reward."

The round-faced girl nodded happily.

The middle-aged man whispered a few words to several people on the team, then walked towards Gao Peng. "Hello Master Gao, I've heard your name for a long time! I am Wang Zhenming from Didu, and I would like to know whether this familiar was taken from the Black Fog World." The middle-aged man walked with an imposing manner and spoke powerfully, indicating that he was probably from the military.

"It was hunted in the Black Fog World." Gao Peng nodded.

"Then may I ask where you hunted it?" Wang Zhenming was a little embarrassed, as this question was a bit too presumptuous.

"That isn't something I can't tell. This monster was hunted at the Black Phoenix Mountain Range. After you go out from the Desolate Labyrinth, walk south for 620 miles, then you will reach the Black Phoenix Mountain Range. On the way, you will walk through Baimao Plain and the Land of 1,000 Streams."

"Thanks a lot!" Wang Zhenming thanked Gao Peng with fervor.

"But the journey is a bit dangerous, and this White Steel Bladed Beast is a Lord-tier monster, so if you're going to catch one, you need to be careful." Gao Peng nodded to Wang Zhenming before turning around and leaving Wang Zhenming, who was somehow at a loss for words, behind.

Lord-tier monster? This thing that isn't even three feet tall is actually a Lord-tier monster?! Wang Zhenming was shocked speechless.

Then he smiled wryly. It looks like I thought too much.

As he bid Gao Peng goodbye, he looked thoughtfully at Gao Peng's back as he lamented the strength and potential of the youth in front of him.

"Dad, where do we catch the small white monster?" the round-faced girl asked her dad, excited.

Wang Zhenming smiled wryly. "That's a Lord-tier monster. Your dad doesn't have the ability to catch one."

Lord-tier….

Most of the people became silent after they heard what Wang Zhenming said. While the people on Earth were working hard and putting their lives on the line for a Commander-tier familiar, someone had already gone on to catch Lord-tier monsters from other worlds. Maybe this was the difference between them and Gao Peng.

After Gao Peng was back at the Southern Sky Group, he planted the two Guise Fruit Trees in Amethyst Frozen Soil first. Then he poured in some nutrient solution and called the logistics department of the company to assign someone take care of these fruit trees and stated that the fruit trees had to live.

After he gave the instructions, Gao Peng took a Guise Fruit and rushed to the hill in the back.

Stripey had been anticipating this. However, upon hearing that he would dwindle in size after eating the fruit, he hesitated slightly. "Gao Peng, once I become smaller, can I still protect you…?"

"Relax, it's all right. The only thing is that after you've eaten this, you simply cannot fight with other monsters. Otherwise, you'll become big again," Gao Peng comforted Stripey.

Stripey nodded continuously. "I'll never fight!"

The White Steel Bladed Beast knelt on the ground, transfixed by the sight of Stripey, who looked as tall as a mountain. "Are you a devil?"

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Chapter 392: The 10th Familiar

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"How? I didn't fool you, right? At first, when Stripey started following me, it was shorter than you, like a cute little spider." Gao Peng smiled.

The White Steel Bladed Beast's voice was trembling when it said, "You-you really aren't tricking me?"

"Why would I trick you? Mainly, it's because I think you're a monster with great potential. I've taken a liking to your potential, but as for your height, you don't need to worry at all. There may be some difficulty for you to become that tall, but growing to be as big as this skeleton will be no sweat." Gao Peng kicked Da Zi to the back without leaving any trace.

Da Zi that had still been licking a piece of dried meat when it was kicked away suddenly. It rolled on the floor a few times, but nonetheless, it changed its posture and continued eating the dried meat without minding.

While the White Steel Bladed Beast was still in a shocked state, Gao Peng touched its head secretly. Mhhm, smooth and cold, the same texture of a motorcycle helmet.

The White Steel Bladed Beast's heart was shocked and tangled.

Although I was beaten by this man…'s familiar, he should have a way to make me bigger. But if I agree immediately, wouldn't I look like I'm easy to fool? The White Steel Bladed Beast sunk deep into its thoughts.

On the other side, Stripey's body started to shrink from the size of a mountain to the size of a storied building after it ate the Guise Fruit.

It was 40 feet, equivalent to the height of a building with 20 floors. If one stood beside a 20-floor building then it would be a more straightforward measurement.

"Although it's still tall… at least I can take it out now." Gao Peng sighed.

Unfortunately, the Guise Fruit could not be taken repeatedly, otherwise Gao Peng would have let Stripey consume one more.

The few dried orange trees and the small cabin on the shrunken Stripey's back looked particularly conspicuous. "This orange tree actually isn't dead…." Gao Peng was at a loss for words.

It had been so long that Gao Peng had thought those orange trees were long shriveled up and dead, yet they were still alive.

Da Zi flew onto Stripey's back happily. "Look, Stripey, this is the orange tree I grew for you. Don't they look nice?"

"Yes, they do." After it shrank, Stripey was rather lively, running here and there around the valley, and the fruit trees on its back swayed like braids on the head of a little girl.

Perhaps he was prepared psychologically, but when Gao Peng made a contract with the White Steel Bladed Monster, he felt more relaxed and didn't suffer too much resistance. With the upgrade of Stripey to King-tier, Gao Peng's soul strength grew a lot, giving him extra power to sign a contract with this White Steel Bladed familiar.

My familiar family can be organized into a football team. There was Da Zi, Stripey, Silly, Dumby, Flamy, Goldie, Treasure Sniffing Rodent, Xiao Cao, Desolion, and the White Steel Bladed Monster.

Raising his fingers to count, the number had already exceeded double digits, but the lineup of the familiar team had just begun to take shape. It was able to attack, defend, and heal, and now, even its only remaining shortcoming, assassination, was also filled.

Having stayed in the valley for a few months, Stripey left the valley happily with the team of familiars, Gao Peng riding on its back.

"Is there something that we're forgetting?" Gao Peng muttered to himself.

"I remember now; the toy you gave me is still in the valley!" Stripey replied smartly.

The Bronze Qin Qiong Statue, which had just snuck out of the dungeon, froze in place after hearing this sentence.

"Is it obedient now?" Gao Peng turned his head and looked at the bronze statue.

"Extremely obedient. When I let it play with me, it kept me company and played with me," Stripey giggled.

The Bronze Qin Qiong Statue, which was preparing to escape in the distance, ran to where they were after hearing Stripey's words and squatted on the ground.

While the Bronze Qin Qiong Statue was kneeling on the ground obediently, the Desolate Frost Lion suddenly spoke up quietly. "This is…" The Desolate Frost Lion showed a tinge of disbelief in its eyes. "No, this is wrong, impossible. How could it be this one?"

The Desolate Frost Lion opened its eyes widely, stretched its head forward, and stared at the Bronze Qin Qiong Statue beneath its foot.

"What's the matter? Do you know it?" Gao Peng was a little doubtful, as most beings from the Black Fog World probably had never heard of Qin Qiong.

"Animated sculpture? How do you have such things?" The Desolate Frost Lion was totally shocked.

"This should be normal." Gao Peng wondered, Should it be normal for different monsters to exist in our world?

"Maybe this is normal…." The Desolate Frost Lion's voice became low, but it still looked at the animated sculpture in shock. After hesitating for a long time, it whispered to Gao Peng, "In my understanding, such animated sculptures exist only in other worlds, and they are the native products of those worlds."

Native products. Gao Peng couldn't help laughing.

"Are you preparing to sign a contract with this animated sculpture?"

"No, I'm preparing to let it watch over the main door." Gao Peng shook his head.

"…That's not too bad. The characters of animated sculptures are normally very rigid and inflexible, so they don't give up easily on assigned matters." The Desolate Frost Lion yawned, found a comfortable spot in a ravine on the back of Stripey, and laid down.

After bringing the Bronze Qin Qiong Statue to the gate of Tiange Academy, Gao Peng instructed the guard, "This is a new teacher. You can call it Teacher Qin. The salary and… salary will be lower than Teacher Guan's by half a grade."

The guards looked at Principal Gao adoringly. Other principals hire excellent teachers to teach, and our principal engages Lord-tier monsters to be teachers.

After Gao Peng had left, the Bronze Qin Qiong Statue found a comfortable position at the other end of the school's main gate. Looking from a distance, there was a 30-foot-tall giant bronze sculpture on both the left and right sides of the main entrance of the school.

On the left was Guan Yu, and on the right was Qin Qiong.

"Grandpa, I met the ambassador of the base city of Lusaka in the African region outside the ridiculous maze. From there, I learned that 620 miles to the west of the ridiculous maze is the location of the Spatial Rift in Lusaka," Gao Peng said to his grandpa when he was eating dinner that night.

"Just 620 miles?" Ji Hanwu was rather surprised. "Does anybody else know about this?"

"The few that I rescued may know. One of them is a high-ranking senior official of Zimbabwe, and the other is a senior executive of the Black Badger Security Company. I've already exchanged numbers with them. In due time, we just need to send someone to contact them. I've already agreed to cooperate with their businesses."

"Okay. I'll leave this matter for you to handle." Ji Hanwu continued eating.

Neither grandson and grandfather were worried that the two forces would cooperate with other forces on the other side of Yuzhou to exclude the Southern Sky. The rules of the new world were formulated by the strong, and they had become more and more adapted to the new rules.

"Don't; I may not be able to do it. It's better to leave it to you personally," said Gao Peng while he laughed. "Stripey is still unable to pass through Spatial Rifts yet. After the Spatial Rifts become larger, your white dragon will pass through first to clear the way for business."

Ji Hanwu slowed his movements, nodded his head, and promised, "Okay, then what will you do then?"

"Me? I'm going to do something big." Gao Peng laughed with his mouth wide open.

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Chapter 393: Journey to the West

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"The final material is the Essence of the Undying Heart. As long as I can discover the Essence of the Undying Heart, I'll have all the materials to upgrade Dumby to the Mythical grade." Gao Peng smiled.

"The Essence of the Undying Heart can be found in the Black Fog world, but it may be more difficult for you. This thing isn't big or small, and monsters that really need this material will search for it desperately, yet those that don't need this material also consider it treasure," said the Desolate Frost Lion after some thought.

"The function of this material is to purify the filth of the soul. It can further cleanse the soul. Some monsters that emphasize the purity of the soul like this material very much." The Desolate Frost Lion licked the corner of its mouth. "Give me another piece of the biscuit now."

Gao Peng took a white wafer biscuit out of the box. The biscuit was white with some small white pieces on it.

Da Zi rolled its eyes. How naive! It hadn't even eaten iced milk biscuits before. What a country bumpkin! Strangely, Da Zi began to have a surge of self-confidence from the bottom of its heart.

Loathing. A sense of loathing came from the depth of its soul. It was the sense of superiority from a tiny urban-born centipede over a lion that came from a village in the wild.

The Desolate Frost Lion licked the biscuits with its small pink tongue wearing a pleased look, its eyes forming two crescents.

"Hmph! Damned rubbish, only knows how to act cute." Dazi laughed coldly.

The Desolate Frost Lion lifted its head without getting angry, blinking its big sapphire eyes that seemed to talk.

"All right. Let's go to St. Jelem City first. This trip may be further, but if anywhere could produce the Essence of the Undying Heart, St. Jelem would be the place." Gao Peng squinted his eyes. Fortunate death? Gao Peng found it hard to imagine what kind of large scale death would be to be able to produce a sense of fortune.

After mulling it over for a while, he concluded that it was probable that when a certain life no longer feared death and viewed it as a lofty ideal, they wouldn't fear death and might even embrace death.

St. Jelem was located in the western part of the Yellow Desert Region, and it was the capital of the Yellow Desert Nation.

Before the Cataclysm, St. Jelem had been a famous religious city. It had been host to a vast quantity of religious belief from believers around the world.

A hundred years ago, there had even been a large-scale collective pilgrimage that shocked the world—a total of 50,000 sacred believers of "Holy Light" gathered from all over the world to collectively sacrifice themselves.

The violent flames burned for two hours before they diminished. Later, the area where the sacrifice took place was restricted. Much later, a temple was built, and finally, it became a famous tourist attraction in the area.

"According to the information obtained, the temple mutated six months ago. Every night, white light was emitted from the temple. There were rumors of the sounds of people reading scriptures, as well.

"It's possible that there will be an Essence of the Undying Heart," said the Desolate Frost Lion vaguely while eating the biscuits.

"Right. We'll pass by the Jinsha Region during our journey to the Yellow Desert Region, and the headquarters of the Golden Hands is in the Jinsha Regino." Gao Peng's eyes were flashing dangerously. "We'll also visit an old friend."

Gao Peng was very vengeful. Until that point, he still remembered the rifle that had hit him in between the eyebrows.

As the saying went, it wasn't too late for a gentleman to take revenge, even after a decade. Ten years was too long. If he really had to wait so long, Gao Peng might suffer from insomnia.

"You're going to St. Jelem? Why do you want to travel so far? You're not familiar with the place or the people there, and you don't have many friends there, either." Ji Hanwu frowned, but he knew that he couldn't persuade his grandson. "Oh, never mind, you're an adult now. You decide your own matters. Just be careful on the road, and don't starve yourself. In addition, when you're outside alone, be fiercer. If you look weak on the surface when you're alone out there, it'll be easy for others to mistake you as being easy to bully. I've asked someone to handle the corpse that you brought back. We'll give Goldie some equipment later."

Equipment? After a while, a truck from outside stopped at the entrance. Ji Hanwu went out and brought back two sharp fighting axes.

The axes were bigger than a table, and the sharp axes held two troughs of blood. One part of the ax blade was augmented to weigh more so that it could exert more force when waved.

There were recessed holes in the handle of the axes that allowed the fingers to reach in. Furthermore, there were dense and coarse particles that could prevent a grip from slipping. These were two big and lethal weapons.

Gao Peng felt like these axes looked familiar…"I feel like I've seen these axes somewhere before."

"It's the ax from the arm of the Labyrinth Watcher that you brought back. It looked very handy to me, so I let the lab disassemble and modify them."

Goldie walked forward and took a look at these two axes, then lifted one and waved it twice. In a normal situation, the size of these two axes looked rather large but with Goldie, they seemed small.

After waving it twice, Goldie threw the axes away with flagging interest as it shook its head. "It's too light, just too light. Old Dragon King, is there something heavier?"

Gao Peng's face darkened. Did you recently watch Journey to the West again without permission?!

"There are only two, Goldie. Take care of them properly for me."

Goldie licked its mouth, but still honestly put the two axes behind its shoulders. There was a chain at the bottom of both axes. Goldie wrapped the chain around its chest two times.

The dark silver chain was tied to its body, and its bare head was covered in a strange blue pattern. As it carried the two giant axes behind its back, it looked quite cute.

"There are more than a dozen boxes of food and water in the car. Remember to put it in the space," Grandpa reminded.

"Little Peng is going out?" Uncle Liu, who strolled over at night hoping to get a free meal, heard that Gao Peng was going out, so he quickly arranged for someone to transport a large amount of food to Gao Peng and put it into Silly's portable space.

"You must remember to eat until you're full," Uncle Liu nagged with much effort and patience. "Is this truckload sufficient? If it's not enough, I'll have them transport two more trucks here."

"No… This is enough…" Gao Peng was speechless. I myself am not a rice pail.

The familiars above Lord-tier could absorb the elements in the air to maintain their daily activities, and they could also absorb the elements from various materials rich in elements to "satiate" themselves, just like high-energy compressed biscuits. Therefore, the appetite of those Lord-tier monsters wasn't as large as one would imagine.

This was also the reason why Stripey was so large but could still maintain daily activities. It was because Stripey was constantly absorbing vast amounts of earth elements deep in the earth, some of which helped maintain its daily activities, while others were stored as reserves for its upgrade.

After packing up, Gao Peng led his team of familiars to embark on a journey to the West. From the Huaxia District to the west was the Red Sea District, passing through the Red Sea District and continuing westward through the Golden Sand District to reach the Yellow Desert District.

The three large regions covered several thousand miles, passing through various terrains such as wetlands, hills, and deserts.

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Chapter 394: Interesting Competition

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

When they were leaving, Grandpa pulled Gao Peng aside and instructed him quietly, "Don't refuse Shaotang. He's doing it for your own good."

"No, I won't. Why would I reject Master Liu?" Gao Peng said quickly.

"Right… It wasn't as good back then, in Shaotang's family. He originally had two younger sisters. That year, there was a famine, and after one winter, his family was left only with him, the only son." Ji Hanwu sighed.

Suddenly, Gao Peng didn't know what to say. It had never occurred to him that the ever kind Master Liu had such a past.

"Eat some more. When you eat more, you have more nutrition, and you won't get hungry… It's never wrong to eat a bit more. To be able to eat is a blessing." Master Liu's laughing words echoed in Gao Peng's ears. Perhaps there was a strong, hidden obsession in the depths of Uncle Liu's heart.

"I know." Gao Peng nodded quietly.

Leaving from the north region of Yuzhou City, they passed by the Mountain Spirit Station. Gao Peng stood on Stripey's back and took a look from afar, but he didn't walk in to visit.

From time to time, the strange hunting teams from the Mountain Spirit Station could be seen along the way. These strange hunting teams were mostly rushing and seemed to be extremely busy.

Occasionally, their hearty laughter in the mountains could be heard, echoing with the joy of another great harvest.

At least everything was developing in the right direction, and Gao Peng silently prayed from the bottom of his heart. After all, human beings were highly adaptable creatures, and they were also the creatures that could create the most miracles.

The Million Mountain occupied by the Mountain Spirits had been thoroughly cleared. To consider it his back garden might have been a bit too arrogant, but Gao Peng could walk around it with his eyes closed without any problems.

They left the Million Mountain and continued westward for hundreds of miles, passing a rushing river. The turbid red river was raging, and a vortex swirled over the water. It was the Red Sand River.

Dumby recognized the river, and the flame of the undead flickered in its eye sockets.

"Since we're here already, go visit your people," Gao Peng said to Dumby.

Dumby was somewhat moved, but the soles of its feet seemed to be rooted to the ground.

"Go ahead. Come back after visiting them. After all, you were their king," Gao Peng said encouragingly.

Looking doubtful, Dumby twisted its head and remained silent. Then it nodded to Gao Peng and left after leaping a few times on Stripey's back.

Deep in the jungle, a group of Red River Apes lived freely. On the towering old trees, a vine fell, and the inside of the forest was cheerful and peaceful.

In the middle of a large tree, a six-foot-long red scale hung, and the energy emitted from the red scales expelled the natural enemies of the Red River Apes.

One female ape sitting on the tree was holding and nursing a baby ape. By its side was a monkey wearing a melon on its head and throwing its poop at other Red River Apes. As a result, there was a clamor, and a few Red River Apes chased each other and started a fight.

Dumby watched this scene silently and looked a little dazed.

Dozens of boats in the impetuous red river were sailing through the water. There were three people standing on each boat. Some were steering, some were sprinkling small nets, and others were assisting.

"Hurry up, Laosan, faster." A muscular man with a cigarette in his mouth yelled towards the steering wheel of the ship.

"Don't pester me. These fish are very smart, and it won't be good if you scare them away." The young man, known as Laosan, wore a red jacket with a white vest inside and seemed powerful and stout.

"For me, I would just directly catch all the fish with a gold wire hooked on the net. It isn't necessary to make such an effort," said the only boy in the team with short hair indifferently.

"That won't do. According to the rules of the river gods, we can't use large nets. We can only catch fish with small nets. If we violate the rules set by the river gods, we're going to be banned."

"The one who wins the first prize will receive the scales of the river god as a reward. The shipyards in the city of Lizhou are buying the scales of the river gods. I heard that the scales that Chen Xiaoliang got last time sold for a million Alliance dollars."

"What is that!?" The gigantic body of Stripey attracted the attention of the people at the site when passing by the shore.

The big man who was holding the rudder was shocked. He had never seen such a big monster before.

"That must be a mountain, right?"

"There seems to be a house on the back of the mountain, as if someone's on it."

In the eyes of these people, the 200-foot-tall Stripey looked like a small hill.

The audience who cheered on these players from the shore were stunned and couldn't help but stare at the huge Stripey with their mouths wide open. To many people, it was the first time in their life to come across such a terribly large monster.

The water in the river suddenly surged. Layers of red waves pushed forward, and ships were drifting about helplessly in the waves as they were rocked further away.

Immediately after that, a dry piece of large red land floated up from the bottom of the water, flashing red scales that were smooth like mirrors, just like an island rising slowly from the middle of the river…

"River God!"

"It's His Majesty, River God!"

"The River God is revealing himself."

People by the shore started praying, while some of the elders even knelt and bowed down.

In this remote area, the Dragon Blood Red Sand Carp that protected Yifang base city had been regarded as a river god and was worshipped and admired by the local people.

The Dragon Blood Red Sand Carp had sensed a powerful aura passing through the Red Sand River in its own territory, so it couldn't help but sneak out from the bottom of the river to reveal itself.

By doing this, it was sounding out a warning that this territory was already owned, but it was also curious about the identity of the aura's master.

Seated on Stripey's back, Gao Peng smiled and greeted the Dragon Blood Red Sand Carp. "How do you do!"

The Dragon Blood Red Sand Carp looked at Gao Peng, who didn't know whether it had understood what he said, and spat out two water bubbles, then withdrew back to the river floor.

Very quickly, someone from Lizhou Base City came over to welcome Gao Peng.

"So it's the arrival of the Cataclysm of the Undead." The receptionist that welcomed him was about 30 years old, with common features and a gentle character.

"I'm just passing through. Hopefully, I didn't interrupt your competition." Gao Peng said apologetically.

"No, no, the fact that you can watch their competition is their honor," the receptionist replied hastily.

"What are they doing here?" Gao Peng was rather curious.

"They're having a fish catching competition using small nets and net pockets to catch fish in the Red Sand River. Based on the final weight, the champion will get an old scale from the carp king," said the receptionist.

"An activity like this exists? How many times has it happened?" Gao Peng felt like this was new. It was actually a competition that had been organized by both monsters and humans. It was very interesting.

"It's just for fun, and this is the second competition; it's held once a month. The first was held last month."

Gao Peng nodded and glanced at the dozens of ships on the river. If this game were to continue, maybe it could become a local custom in a few decades or centuries, maybe?

Traditions that were spread by word of mouth all evolved slowly like this, after all.

This is just a game I witnessed. There may be more happening in the places that I haven't been to yet.

Gao Peng smiled, and after watching the game for a while, bade farewell to the receptionist and continued to move west.

Lizhou was just sightseeing on this trip. The real destination was still waiting for him.

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Chapter 395: Chuan Fu Base City

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Now, the first obstacle in front of Gao Peng was to go across the world's highest peak, the Qingtian Plateau, also known as the roof of the world, and the world's first peak, Mount Everest. Of course, Everest could be avoided, but the detour would take more than 600 miles.

On the way, they would pass through the base city of Chuan Fu. The base city of Chuan Fu was a large-scale city in the southwest of the Huaxia District. It was also known as the land of Tianfu.

However, it was possible to rest a night in the base city of Chuan Fu. After staying in the wild for some time, Gao Peng kind of missed city life. In the Chuan Fu base city, a large number of yellow-haired scorpions had piled up like mountains in the center of the field. Their numbers were many, and they were densely packed.

Every scorpion with short yellow hair was swaying their claws fiercely. Each was generally six to ten feet long. Their bodies were strong, they had three rings on their shells, and at least one hundred thousand piles could be seen at a glance. Together, the sound of their claws hitting the ground echoed outside the city.

A large number of monster trainers with long-range attack capabilities were on the city wall, using various abilities to continue to attack the city's short-haired scorpions. Heap after heap of ice arrows pierced the shells on the backs of the Yellow-haired Scorpions, and the shells were frozen, but the Yellow-haired Scorpions shook their bodies, and the icicles fell to the ground. Then they continued to move slowly and firmly, crawling undisturbed.

"These Yellow-haired Scorpions aren't afraid of ice attacks. Fire familiars, prepare to use fire attacks." A monsters trainer commanded on the upper city wall loudly.

"How did these Yellow-haired Scorpions suddenly increase in quantity? Didn't they clear them out just half a year ago?"

"You happy-go-lucky idiot! The rate of reproduction is faster than the rate of killing them!" the next person scolded. "Might as well destroy these scorpions completely! Otherwise, they cause trouble every now and then."

A giant wolf that was crimson, like fire, was standing and howling on the city wall. The air became hot, with the temperature rising gradually. Sparks of fire appeared on the periphery of the flames and gradually rose into the air. A trace of flame was intertwined into a series of fire rings. The thick flame quickly transformed into two fire rings from the sky and fell upon the group of Yellow-haired Scorpions, blowing them up.

"Ssst!"

A layer of earthy yellow light opened up from the ground at a very quick speed to block the flame.

Two giant scorpions that were several times larger than other yellow-haired scorpions crawled out of the scorpion pile, and the other scorpions around them evaded and kept at least 15 feet away from them.

The monster trainers in charge of the city wall looked solemn. "Two Lord-tier monsters exceed the Explosive Fire Wolf's limits."

"What happened to the other Lord-tier monster trainers? Why aren't they here to provide support yet? What are those people doing?" This Lord-tier monster trainer's tone sounded frantic.

The tall and thick city wall could resist average monsters, but to the Lord-tier monsters, the wall was just like a piece of paper, and one that would easily break with a poke.

"Committee Lei said that she will come over immediately," said the monster trainer in charge of hospitality immediately.

"Committee Lei."

This name sounded as if it held miraculous magic power. When they heard this name, the soldiers and monster trainers responsible for the defense on the wall felt relieved; some of the ambassadors even had smiles on their faces.

While speaking, the loud noises in the distance came slowly. A tremor of sound gradually closed in from the distance.

The Yellow-haired Scorpions under the wall were somewhat restless. As the leader, the Lord-tier Yellow-haired Scorpion made sounds in an attempt to calm down its creatures.

In the distance, a meat-mountain in black and white, furry, and with an embarrassing and silly disposition, ran forward brutally.

Roar!! With a leap, its thick legs were lifted up high before coming down roughly.

Boom!!!

A dark gold rune flashed suddenly in the next moment. Invisible shockwaves spread in all directions from where the feet landed.

All the Yellow-haired Scorpions were sent flying by the shockwave, the ground was split open, and only the sound of the clock was left between the heavens and the earth. The melodious and quaint bells had been echoing for a long time.

The elements in the air suddenly became chaotic. Wind, water, ice, wood, and metal… Like quicksand was lying at the bottom of the river, the clear rivers become cloudy again.

Some Yellow-haired Scorpions wanted to maximize the elements of the air but found that they had become violent and impetuous, so they could only use the elements that were accumulated in their bodies.

A large number of Yellow-haired Scorpions swayed in the ripples weakly.

"In front is the Chuan Fu base city. After passing through Chuan Fu base city, we'll be in a barren area. Ever since the Cataclysm, there have been only a few people on the Qing Tian Plateau, and I don't know what it's like now," Gao Peng said expectantly.

"Beast horde?" A black line emerged on the far horizon. When it grew nearer, Gao Peng saw many giant claws with short yellow hair running on the plains.

[Monster Name: Shudi Yellow-haired Longclawed Scorpion

[Monster Level: Level 20

[Monster Grade: Normal

[Monster Status: Slight Injury (Shocked)

[Monster Attributes: Earth

[Monster Weakness: Wood

[Monster Description: A monster with strong reproductive ability, ferocious and aggressive, it likes to work in groups to surround and hunts prey bigger and stronger than itself.

These Long-clawed Scorpions hadn't been artificially bred. Instead, they were like wild monsters. It looked like they had come from the base city of Chuan Fu. The description said that they were fierce, and a group of scared fierce monsters was now running on the plains.

They might have wanted to attack the base city of Chuan Fu, but they were badly defeated. In a split second, Gao Peng had already deduced what had actually happened.

On the distant horizon, a huge monster was racing on the plain, along with the rumbling sounds of deafening footsteps.

Its round head was distinctly black and white. With a ferocious expression, it opened its huge bloody mouth. Roar!!!

Round?!

When did round become an attribute for a ferocious monster?

[Monster Name: Brutal Iron-eater

[Monster Level: Level 47 (Lord)

[Monster Grade: Perfect

[Monster Attributes: Metal

[Monster Weakness: Becomes dumb and stupid after being attacked by light

[Monster Ability: Tough Skin Level 3; Sharp Claws and Teeth Level 3; Strengthened Lungs Level 2

[Monster Description: Land monster with strong defensive capability. Likes to eat, walks fast, and can swallow iron as food. After they satiate themselves with food and drink, they become extra lazy.

'Will become dumb and stupid after being attacked by light,' Gao Peng pondered. So is this the way Chiyou failed in the past?

"Youxi, don't run so fast," a female voice said from the back of the Iron-eater.

Gao Peng looked and saw that there was an anxious looking woman kneeling around the neck of the Iron-eater, squatting on its back with her hands tightly gripping the white hair on its neck.

Gao Peng saw her, and she also discovered Gao Peng instantly. After all, Stripey's size was just plain obvious.

Were two horn braids growing on the head of this monster?

Lei Yunshi looked dumbfounded. Why does this monster look like this? Is that a braid on its head?

The next moment, the earth shook, and the ground slammed towards the Long-claw scorpion like a carpet falling down from the sky. The light yellow spiritual strength of the earth element transformed into a huge, thick, and sturdy mountain.

It was all dark. The Long-clawed Scorpions on the plain were totally submerged before they were aware of what was happening. In a split second, tens of thousands of Long-clawed Scorpions were smashed and crushed into powder.

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A thick layer of earth elements transformed into a wide, rolling mass.

Bang, bang, bang.

Dull explosions echoed on the field, and monsters were crushed into mists of blood. The air was filled with the bloody mist, and the field was dyed red. The smell of blood hung in the air.

When it smelled the blood, the creature rolled its eyes and crawled toward the smell, sniffing to track it. The girl on its back was dizzy because of its movements.

"Xiao Cao, can you give me a beam?" Gao Peng ordered Xiao Cao, which was on Dumby's head.

Xiao Cao's head swayed, and a beam of warm white light penetrated the air, shining onto the ground. The milky white column of light was visible even during the day, and it shone in front of Roundy, the Iron Eater.

Then the raging Iron Eater became sluggish… Its line of sight began to focus on a certain point in the air, and it opened its mouth with a dumb look on its face.

"What kind of monster is this? It looks kind of ugly." The Desolate Frost Lion looked strangely at Roundy with a little astonishment.

It was mainly because Roundy looked strange. It was two distinct colors, black and white. Two dark circles contained small eyes the size of mung beans.

"In ancient times, pandas were called Iron Eaters." Gao Peng understood after he saw the violent Iron Eater become stupefied when it saw the light column.

This monster was thick and strong, and it could eat anything, which could be told from its nickname. It had been given its name because it could swallow metal. If it had a stomach that can digest iron, it could basically eat anything.

"I haven't heard of it." The Desolate Frost Lion shook its head honestly.

"Hello, my name is Gao Peng." Gao Peng greeted the girl on Roundy's back that looked like a caretaker.

The girl stood up from Roundy's back and seemed shy looking at such a handsome teenager. The girl pulled at the hem of her clothes and introduced herself while blushing. "My name is Lei Yunshi."

When Roundy saw its owner greeting other guys, it became angry and stood on both of its hind legs to roar at Gao Peng.

Gao Peng was silent.

Roundy then turned around and hugged its owner, while looking at Gao Peng alertly, just like it was avoiding a thief. Looking at the little panda's tiny movements, Gao Peng was dumbfounded.

"Youxi!" Lei Yunshi stared at her own monster. When Roundy saw its own owner is shouting at it because of another male, it started to feel anxious and wailed loudly.

"You have a very cute monster," Gao Peng said with a smile.

Roundy's strength wasn't weak. It was probably the strongest in the southwest. It was also the strongest monster that Gao Peng has ever seen other than White Dragon.

Gao Peng wanted to make friends with it. With his ability to grow to his current level in the first four or five years after the disaster, he had already become the top trainer in the world. As long as he made no big mistakes, he could be one of the world's top trainers in the future.

Lei Yunshi was an honorary parliament member of the Chuan Fu base city. Her position wasn't high, and she wasn't overly materialistic. As long as she had enough to eat for herself and her monster, she was satisfied.

The monster also had a very calm and mild character and wasn't very wild. Before the disaster, she had been a breeder in the Chuan Fu Panda Animal Center. Youxi was the panda she grew up watching. After the disaster, Youxi quickly emerged from the crowd and became bigger and fiercer. Unknowingly, Lei Yunshi became a trainer somehow.

Youxi wasn't close to anyone except her, and its personality was undivided and overbearing.

Lei Yunshi and Gao Peng returned to the Chuan Fu base city and received a warm welcome. After a night in the Chuan Fu base city, Gao Peng packed his things and continued his journey to the west.

Chuan Fu was just a scenic spot along the way. His real destination was St. Jelem.

Continuing his journey to the west, the temperature in the air was dropping. The vast grasslands were endless, with blue sky and white clouds in the distance. Several Giant Bones Bulls were standing on the grassland and grazing quietly. Their thick fur fell like waterfalls, and their eyes were mellow and gentle.

Hearing the sound from Stripey's movement, the Giant Bones Bulls sniffed and slowly walked to another spot to graze.

"Hmm, strange. They aren't afraid of Stripey." Gao Peng had some doubts. The Giant Bones Bulls seemed too brave.

The air was moist and cold, and the Desolate Frost Lion, which preferred this environment, became more energetic.

"Baby, baby," The Treasure Sniffing Rodent became excited. It stood up like a groundhog and looked at a spot not far away with surprise in its eyes. Gao Peng, who was lying in a lazy chair, rolled his eyes. The mouse's level was still too low, and its taste needed to be improved.

"Gao Peng, it seems that there really is treasure. I can smell it," the Desolate Frost Lion suddenly said. "If it's that good of a thing, I may recover some strength."

Gao Peng only believed after Desolate Frost Lion said that there was treasure.

Upon seeing this, the Treasure Sniffing Rodent was somewhat heartbroken, because no one believed what it said…

"Just over there, go over there… No, it's on the left." The Desolate Frost Lion led Gao Peng to it.

After walking about 18 miles, a small pool suddenly appeared in sight. The deep blue pool was emitting a chilly air. That chilly air spread from the pool to the surrounding area and had completely frozen any patches of grass near the pool.

"Good stuff." The Desolate Frost Lion became excited. "I can use this water!"

[Material Name: Freezing Aqua

[Material Info: A liquid containing huge amounts of Frost Power. The strong Frost Power is extremely corrosive.

In the distant grass, a rabbit was shocked. It went to the edge of the cold pool, and one of its feet touched the pool. Then, after taking two more steps on the grass, its body suddenly stiffened, and its face turned purple. Finally, it turned into a popsicle.

It may have been a good thing for some monsters, but it was poison to others.

"Wait here for a while." The Desolate Frost Lion rushed down from Stripey's back to the pool of Freezing Aqua and jumped into the pool with a splash.

Gao Peng could perceive the joy of the Desolate Frost Lion through the Blood Contract. This pool, although shunned by other monsters, was a tonic for the lion.

Three hours later, the wet Desolate Frost Lion came out of the pool, taking in big gulps of fresh air. Gao Peng's eyes twitched as he saw the Desolate Frost Lion had jumped from Level 31 to Level 36 within three hours.

After taking a deep breath, the Desolate Frost Lion continued to dive into the water.

The Desolate Frost Lion emerged from the pool with regret after Gao Peng stayed at the poolside for a whole day.

"Why did you stop?" Gao Peng asked curiously, looking at the Freezing Aqua that hadn't been fully absorbed.

"I've broken through to Lord-tier. This cold water will have little effect on me. I need to find a more concentrated Freezing Aqua." The Desolate Frost Lion shook away the water still on its body.

The little lion, which was only the size of a palm before, had now doubled in size, and its level had risen to Level 41.

"You can upgrade your level just by dipping yourself in ice water?" Gao Peng was a little surprised that there was such a method.

It seemed to know what Gao Peng was thinking. "It's definitely not the case for normal monsters. This is a high-level use of Blood Power," the lion said with a smile.

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Chapter 397: The Thing on the Hill of the Tian Qing Plateau

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"If I were to use this method on Stripey and the rest, would they be able to raise their levels faster?" Gao Peng's eyes brightened, as he had been worrying about the slow level-up pace of his familiars.

The Desolate Frost Lion shook its head. "This method will not work on them. This is only for rapid recovery of their strength, because mine was once at the Imperial level, just like water flowing through a canal. Although the water inside was dried up, after all, the passage was still wide, and all I needed was water." The Desolate Frost Lion was explaining seriously, stretching both of its claws while drawing its thoughts virtually in the air.

"I have a foundation in me. Therefore, I'm able to absorb all kinds of treasures containing frost power and then stimulate my bloodline to awaken consistently and restore my power."

Gao Peng nodded. He was trying to understand better. "So, what you mean is that they are now like a canal filled with water. If an extra force was added, it would only hurt them. If they wanted to increase the volume, they could only slowly open up the canal to expand."

"This is exactly what I'm trying to say." The Desolate Frost Lion lifted its head arrogantly. "Soon, I'll become stronger and stronger! Eventually, I'll become your strongest familiar!" That left regret in Gao Peng's mind.

Gao Peng shook his head with guilt. He was trying to use this method to quickly increase the strength of Da Zi and others. However, this method could no longer work anymore.

Gao Peng continued his journey to the west. The Tian Qing Plateau gave Gao Peng a unique feeling whenever it came into sight. That feeling was unclear, and Gao Peng had no idea where this strange feeling came from.

Under the blue sky with white clouds over a vast green field and a river, it would leave them nowhere to hide if they were to encounter any dangerous situation.

"Desolate Frost Lion, do you feel like something is wrong?" Gao Peng asked the Desolate Frost Lion.

The Desolate Frost Lion looked up inexplicably. "I don't know either!"

Da Zi was excited after hearing its words. "My chance has finally come! Opportunity is for the prepared centipede. I've studied so hard and worked just for this moment to prove myself. I'll definitely be Gao Peng's favorite familiar!"

"I know! I know!" said Da Zi, quickly crawling in front of Gao Peng.

"You know what the reason is for that?" Gao Peng doubted it.

"It's definitely because you're too weak!" Da Zi directly pointed out Gao Peng's weakness while feeling satisfied.

Gao Peng was blank.

"It's because you have anemia and therefore, you will have altitude sickness when you are anywhere near the plateau! Yes, it's definitely because of this!" Da Zi was analyzing rationally. Its two small feet were crossed together, and its small eyes were showing seriousness.

"Am I supposed to praise you for your intelligence?" Gao Peng smiled.

"There's no need for that." Da Zi was trying to stay serious, but it couldn't cover the happiness on its face.

"Just like me more in the future and I'll be fine with it." Da Zi went back to its nest after finishing its words.

Flamy, who was standing with one leg on the roof, saw this scene and felt that something had gone wrong. Da Zi was playing a fool because its actions had offended Gao Peng. How could it tell the truth?! Gao Peng was a narrow-minded guy, and this would definitely create an advantage for the little lion in grabbing the opportunity.

"Gao Peng, there seems to be something underneath the ground." Stripey suddenly said, and they stopped moving.

"There's something there underneath the ground?" Gao Peng was stunned, then looked at the broad field under his feet.

"What is it?" Gao Peng frowned and became alert.

Anything other than being ambushed would be fine for them. However, the problem was that Stripey was still in special condition. Once the damage it received exceeded a certain limit, it would return back to its real state.

There were only three guise fruits left on hand. They had to cherish the opportunities left and never let them go.

"It looks like a snake… Hmm… More like a white dragon." Stripey thought for a few seconds and finally said it affirmatively.

White dragon?!

Gao Peng exhausted his mind thinking about what kind of monster it could be. According to what he could recall, there were very few monsters with a body size and appearance similar to a white dragon, because there was only one monster that could have the characteristics of a white dragon, and that could only be the Legendary Huaxia Dragon!

Although there were some differences in details, such as three claws and a pair of antlers instead of horns, it would more or less contain the dragon bloodline, regardless of characteristics, if the creature was similar to the white dragon.

There was a hidden dragon in the depths of the Tian Qing Plateau.

However, Gao Peng was wondering if this dragon noticed them or not. After all, this dragon didn't appear from the depths of the ground, but it was hidden underneath them. It didn't make any response when Gao Peng and the rest were walking above it.

This journey had allowed Gao Peng to meet the "River God" of the Red Sand River, and then encounter the metal-eating beast, and eventually, at the Tian Qing plateau, he had encountered a dragon species which was in a deep sleep.

Gao Peng didn't know whether he was lucky or not…

"This is completely normal. According to what you said, your world is currently in the early stages of evolution. This is the fastest moment to evolve. Your world isn't simple. It must have given birth to many powerful lives before, but no one knew the reason why it was muted."

"You have to know; the stronger the culture of a world, the more horrible the rebound that it gives out after being repressed for so many years. I have encountered a great opportunity, and I have to achieve Overlord level in your world or even a higher level," said the Desolate Frost Lion.

"However, the metal-eating beast called "Youxi" in the base city of Chuan Fu was really strong. If I was to exclude my grandpa's familiars and mine, this metal-eating beast would be the strongest beast I've ever seen."

"Shameless." The Desolate Frost Lion turned its eyes, as this guy was being arrogant.

Gao Peng, who was puzzled, looked at the lion the size of two palms and asked, "What makes me feel strange was… why does your size still remain small when you've already entered the Lord level?"

"A little body often harbors a great soul," the Desolate Frost Lion answered calmly.

The White Steel Bladed monster that was crouching beside them gave them a gratifying look.

In the middle of their conversation, Gao Peng came to the foot of Tian Zhu mountain with his familiars.

The mountain towered into the clouds, and its ridges formed a strip of desolate and quaint lines. The clouds and the ocean were below the mountain. The mountain was so huge that it looked like it was holding up the world.

"Could this mountain make it on the top ten list of your Black Fog World?" Gao Peng asked the lion curiously.

The Desolate Frost Lion said, "Do you have any misunderstandings about the Black Fog World?"

"This mountain would definitely make it to the top three in our Black Fog World." The Desolate Frost Lion sighed. "I didn't expect your planet to have such spectacular mountains."

Tian Zhu mountain had grown wildly and become the world's tallest mountain after the disaster. According to one of the Lord-level trainers who did the measurement himself, this mountain was at least 131,000 feet high.

"Do you think there's a treasure that could rapidly increase your strength?" Gao Peng was excited and looking forward to it.

Gao Peng had a feeling that the unknown world was waiting for him to explore it, although he had already brought so many Lord-level familiars and also Stripey, which was at King-level.

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Chapter 398: Expecting an Old Friend

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"That should be it." The Desolate Frost Lion nodded with a pensive attitude. Both the man and the familiar looked into each other's eyes and smiled at the same time.

The road to the mountain was rugged, and Tian Zhu mountain was in the midst of howling wilderness. Before the disaster, there were only a couple of people living in the mountain. However, right after the disaster, it became an uninhabited restricted area. It was difficult for human beings to survive there. As for the human world today, Tian Zhu mountain was an abandoned area.

It was a consensus that a place with a special meaning behind it or a phenomenal landscape would likely be the birthplace for strong familiars.

For example, on the Sun and Moon mountain, there lurked a Sun and Moon Golden Goose King, whose greed had become its second nature.

Not far from the Sun and Moon mountain, there was a lake called Lake Qing Hai. It was known as the first lake in the Huaxia District, and it contained a large number of pikes. The Lord-level pikes that had been discovered were more than ten. Rumor said that there could have been more Emperor-level pikes living in the deeper ocean.

On top of Mount Emei, there lived a hoolock that was in charge of protecting the creatures.

Basically, the majority of the famous mountains, including Mount Tai, Mount Huang, and Mount Hua, were occupied by strong monsters…

However, it was fortunate that some of these monsters were closer to human beings. They tended to show kindness to human beings and consume the incense and candles given by human beings in exchange for protecting the creatures around their areas.

On the other hand, the monsters that were cold-hearted toward humans refused to approach them. So far, there hadn't been any incidents of monsters attacking human base cities from any of the famous mountains. Looking at it this way, it was likely that there were some powerful monsters living on top of Mount Tianzhu.

"'The one with morality owns the treasure.' I like this quote from human beings." The Desolate Frost Lion swung its head, comforting Gao Peng, who was hesitating. "We're just here to help them keep the treasure. Moreover, these treasures don't have their names written on them. Does that mean the treasure is only available on a first-come-first-serve basis? I've never heard of that rule before."

Gao Peng took a glance at it. "I was just thinking about what to do if we failed to defeat those monsters on top of the mountain. Where would we go in this snowy place?"

"Why don't you have some confidence in us. I was once a king." The Desolate Frost Lion was speechless.

After three days, Gao Peng had successfully passed through Mount Tian Zhu along with his familiars. What surprised him was that he didn't encounter any monster attacks on Mount Tian Zhu. The huge mountain peak was dead silent.

There would definitely be some treasures on the mountain. However, these treasures were far from Gao Peng's expectations, not to mention that to recover the strength of the Desolate Frost Lion, it would have to be worth a good price. Gao Peng didn't bother to take these lower treasures, and therefore, he gave them to the Treasure Sniffing Rodent. These low-level treasures were all stashed by the rodent, although they didn't know where it kept all the treasures.

The place where this rodent kept things was weird. There was a time when Gao Peng sat on the sofa and was poked by something in the butt. He then lifted the sofa cushions and found out that there was a hole there with over a dozen Elite monster core crystals hidden inside.

"You're not going to search for it anymore?" the Desolate Frost Lion said.

"No." Gao Peng shook his head. "We've wasted enough time here. Our main purpose was to find the Essence of the Undying Heart and raise Dumby's grade to Mythical."

"Mythical grade. That skull is at Legendary-grade, too?" The Desolate Frost Lion was surprised. It had witnessed that this skull wasn't strong at all few days earlier. It was even weaker compared to the duck. It had thought it was only at Perfect-grade or Epic-grade.

"Dumby's main ability isn't fighting. It has a special ability, which is called Resurrection," Gao Peng explained.

"Resurrection? That's a rare ability that can only be possessed by high-level Ghoul monsters." The Desolate Frost Lion looked at Dumby because it hadn't expected this ugly skull to have such an extraordinary skill.

"This ability is rare, even among the high-level Ghouls. Your familiar has such an ability but you bring it out with you every day?" The Desolate Frost Lion was somewhat speechless.

"How wasteful you are! You have no idea how to maximize the ability of your familiars." However, the Desolate Frost Lion still doubted Gao Peng's capabilities in raising this skull to Mythical-grade. After all, it was the Mythical grade that allowed it to be one step closer towards achieving God-grade.

Looking at Gao Peng, who was busy helping it to gather the essential ingredients, Dumby, who was at the side, said softly, "Master, I'm not in a hurry. You should help them search for the treasure first. I'm fine as long as I'm able to protect you."

"I just need the Essence of the Undying Heart to for your part. However, for Da Zi and the rest, I still need to find a few more missing ingredients," Gao Peng comforted Dumby.

"Okay." Dumby nodded while agreeing to what its owner said. Dumby took a glance at the Desolate Frost Lion and passed it a Snow Pine cigarette, saying, "Do you want a try?"

The Desolate Frost Lion had been curious about the thing that Dumby had been smoking for the past few days. It looked stylish, but it hadn't had the courage to ask for it.

Since Dumby had taken the initiative to give it to him, it would be difficult not to accept it.

It immediately grabbed the Snow Pine cigarette with its claws and put it into its mouth. Dumby then lit a dim flame on its fingertip to light up the cigarette for the Desolate Frost Lion. The Desolate Frost Lion took a puff with its black nose while sniffing the smell in the air and Dumby's dull fingers uncertainly.

The cigarette puff had gone deep into its throat and mouth. The Desolate Frost Lion then took a deep breath like it normally would.

"Cough! Cough! Cough!" The Desolate Frost Lion coughed badly, and even tears rolled down its face. It immediately spat the cigarette onto the ground as if it was terrified of it, like snakes or scorpions.

"What is this? It's choking." Compared to Da Zi and the others, which evolved by Gao Peng by preparing them various ingredients since they were small, the Desolate Frost Lion had never witnessed the evolution of a familiar. Therefore, it was amazed by Gao Peng's capability to help familiars evolve easily.

According to its understanding, human beings in the Black Fog World also had their ways to make their familiars evolve. However, those trainers had mastered the evolutionary route of a single or several kinds of monsters, and the methods of collecting materials and the methods of evolution were also fixed.

Most of them were methods developed by their ancestors. Families were formed through the passing of information from generation to generation, and some families or wandering trainers gathered to form forces or alliances.

There would be advantages and disadvantages to this method. The advantage was that there would be a complete upgrade process for a few of the legacy monsters, and the materials would be spread and stored by the force or family, which would also facilitate the upgrade or promotion stage. The breeding of specific familiars could also be more detailed, and therefore, they would be able to develop the abilities of these familiars and prepare their respective plans for growth.

But the drawbacks were obvious. There were very few familiars to choose from, and it was relatively difficult if one were to cultivate familiars that weren't passed down from previous generations.

Was it possible that its master had been passed down by some other trainer's family familiars? But there should have been no inheritance from the Desolate Frost Lion's family, after all…

The Desolate Frost Lion's face became helpless as if it had suddenly remembered something.

After passing through Mount Tian Zhu, they continued to walk for about a dozen miles and eventually entered the boundary of the Jinsha Region. Although the temperature in the air wasn't high, the scenery in the surroundings obviously added a bit of greenery.

"Golden Hands." Gao Peng smiled. "Old friend, we will meet again very soon."

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Chapter 399: The White Monkey

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Outside of the Jinsha Region was what had once been the Jinsha Kingdom before the Cataclysm, because there was a prominent desert in the Jinsha Region—the Golden Sea Desert.

The sea of sand in the Golden Sea Desert was rated as a fabulous place to go. The golden sand was soft, fine, and smooth, as if it was made out of gold.

The Golden Sea Desert occupied close to a third of the Jinsha Region. Moreover, tourism was one of the flourishing industry here.

However, after the Cataclysm, the number of tourists had decreased gradually. On the other hand, there were more and more monster trainers and monster hunter groups who came by to explore the Golden Sea Desert.

According to the information received, there were three main clans in the Jinsha Region—the official force that represented the allied government, the sacred Lotian religion, and the Golden Hands.

Among the three of them, the official force and sacred Lotian religion were the closest. Many of them in the official force were either pseudo-believers or true believers of the sacred Lotian religion. However, there were plenty of fanatic believers. Those fanatic believers weren't allowed to become official personnel. The difference between the true and fanatic believers was that they would produce different results in handling given tasks.

Compared to the Lotian followers, the reputation and scale of the Golden Hands were weaker. After the Cataclysm, especially under the sacred Lotian religion's suppression, the Golden Hands had suffered difficulties in expanding their clan.

Although strange laws had prohibited them from completely eliminating the Golden Hands, there would definitely be plenty of petty games being played under the table. Due to the suppression faced in the local areas, the Golden Hands were wretched. Therefore, they started to spread fire throughout nearby areas.

They had stirred up innumerable issues in the areas nearby, which raised hatred for them. The Golden Hands were known to have a few smaller strongholds, however, their main strongholds were hidden in the dark.

"But how did they manage to hide from everyone? There's no way they could hide from everyone underground. It's not like they were only a multi-level marketing team with dozens of people."

According to the information, there had once been people who found numerous suspicious individuals with strange pasts living in Harrington Town. Furthermore, after an in-depth investigation done by a spy, something was found to be wrong with the whole town. The town could possibly have been an important division of the Golden Hands.

Of course, not everyone in the town was a part of the Golden Hands. There were normal civilians living there. The members of the Golden Hands had infiltrated and mixed with the civilians. Through this way, they could prevent other forces from attacking them with large weapons.

Gao Peng took out a detailed hardcover world map from Silly's bag. He flipped the pages and compared his current location with Harrington Town's location carefully.

"This should be it…" Gao Peng came out with an answer in his mind.

"Gao Peng. Are we going to kill everyone in the town? I think I, Goldie, alone will be enough," said Goldie in a savage way while popping up its head.

"Huh…" Gao Peng's expression went dull.

"Why are you being so cruel?" Gao Peng patted Goldies' feet. "There are innocent civilians there. Please don't say anything like that ever again."

"Oh…" Goldie nodded.

"We only need to separate the members of the Golden Hands from the innocent civilians." Gao Peng was trying to teach the familiars about his philosophy.

"An eye for an eye" will always be the way we, the Gao family, handle tasks.

The familiars were listening attentively to Gao Peng's talk, like little kids sitting next to each other, while eating apples. Gao Peng was growing more excited as he talked.

Da Zi, which laid in the front row, moved hundreds of its small claws unsettlingly. "Here comes Gao Peng with his signature skill again…"

A town with white-roofed houses suddenly appeared at the edge of the horizon.

"Gao Peng, there are houses in front of us," Flamy immediately reminded Gao Peng.

"At last, there are other people here." Gao Peng closed his mouth sadly. He cleared his throat and tried to recall the desert language he had learned in the past.

The people in the Jinsha Region and the Golden Sand Region communicated in Desert Language. Gao Peng was good in academics and possessed strong memory skills. He had also learned a few foreign languages on his own.

As they approached the town, Gao Peng found that the town was empty. There were "scars" on the white walls and also moss growing there due to the humidity.

"Hoo… Hoo… Hoo…" Gao Peng's arrival had rattled the "owners" of the house. A group of white monkeys ran away frantically from the windows and doors.

While they were running away, some of the monkeys turned around and glimpsed Gao Peng. Their expressions went stiff like they were humans, and they ran even faster when they saw Stripey beside Gao Peng.

Some of the monkeys were wearing panties. Because of their tails, the panties didn't fit them completely, making them look weird. And some of the monsters looked quite funny because of the colorful shirts they were wearing.

[Monster Name: White-spotted Herbivorous Monkey (Herd)

[Monster Grade: Normal (Excellent)

[Monster Attribute: Water

[Monster Level: 5-19

[Monster Description: A type of monster that likes to imitate humans. Its favorite thing to do is wear human clothes. It possesses average IQ, and is active and full of energy.

"There's smoke coming out of that house," Gao Peng looked at one of the chimneys. Green smoke was billowing out from it.

"Do these monkeys belong to someone as pets?" Gao Peng got down from Stripey's back and walked towards the house with a few familiars.

"Squeak… squeak… squeak…" When the White-spotted Herbivorous Monkeys saw Gao Peng moving closer to the house, some of them that were fleeing turned back to him. They grabbed the edges of the roof with all four limbs and screamed fiercely at Gao Peng.

Some of the more aggressive monkeys managed to suppress their fear and picked up bricks from the roof and threw them at Gao Peng.

The Desolate Frost Lion raised its head, and the cold air surrounding the brick in mid-air suddenly froze. With a flash of blue light, the brick was broken into pieces and thrown back at a higher speed!

The monkey that threw the brick instantly screamed in agony. It held its bleeding head and ran away hastily. It was so terrified that it even fell down, stepping on nothing while it was trying to run away.

Gao Peng didn't pay attention to the bluffing monkeys. He continued to walk forward.

The house the smoke was coming out of had its windows, doors, and a gray iron gate locked. Moss was all over the floor in front of the door. It had rained here not long ago, and the moss on the floor was greener than ever with the moisture of the rain.

Gao Peng courteously knocked on the door thrice. Knock, knock, knock.

There wasn't any response coming from the house. Probably the owner had gone out. Gao Peng was upset. The house owner didn't open the door for him, and he couldn't just break into the house.

It wouldn't be a problem to break into the house if it didn't belong to anyone. However, what if there was actually someone living there…?

"Hello? Is anyone home?" Gao Peng asked patiently.

After some time, an old man's voice came out of the house. "No one…"

Gao Peng paused.

"Oh. I thought there was no one in the house. Thanks a lot." Gao Peng spoke with a loud voice.

After a few seconds, a voice came out of the house again. "You're welcome."

Gao Peng signaled to the White Steel Bladed Beast with his eyes. It received the signal and nodded.

The next moment, the White Steel Bladed Beast disappeared and the iron gate was broken into pieces. Through a hole made in the door, Gao Peng could see a fat white monkey lying cozily on a sofa with squinted eyes. Its body was as fat as the Orange Cat. It opened its squinted eyes as wide as it could because it was shocked by the arrival of Gao Peng and his team. It showed a lively surprised expression in its eyes.

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Chapter 400: The Truth

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"No wonder… How could a normal person come out with such stupid words? You're just a stupid monkey." Gao Peng couldn't keep his mouth shut when he saw this fat monkey.

[Monster Name: White-furred Carnivorous Monkey (Fat)

[Monster Level: Level 25 (Commander)

[Monster Grade: Perfect

[Monster Attribute: Ice

[Monster Weakness: Low mobility due to its fatness.

[Monster Description: A rare breed of the White-spotted Herbivorous Monkey family, every Carnivorous Monkey is born to be the leader of a group of Herbivorous Monkeys. White-furred Carnivorous Monkeys are more ferocious and aggressive than the gentle White-spotted Herbivorous Monkeys.

The White-furred Carnivorous Monkey, which was as fat and round as a ball, appeared to be harmless. It lowered its head and took a glance at the food in its bowl, then handed the bowl to the White Steel Bladed Beast with a harmonious smile.

The White Steel Bladed Beast blinked its eyes in doubt. It was speechless because of the kindness the Carnivorous Monkey was showing. It was unable to react at that moment, as there were only thoughts of nemesis and prey in its mind—it ran when faced with its nemesis, and the prey was merely food for it to grow.

Of course, Gao Peng was the exception. He was neither prey nor nemesis, and most importantly, Gao Peng could make it look taller whenever it stood beside him!

Under normal circumstances, this fat monkey would definitely be a predator. It wouldn't talk much but to kill it to bring it back and enjoy the meal in its nest.

But for now… it might need to reconsider the feelings of the human that could make it look taller.

When the White-furred Carnivorous Monkey saw the little monster had refused to take the food but instead, turned back and waited for the human's orders, its expression changed gradually.

The White-furred Carnivorous Monkey took a glance at the food in the bowl, and its instincts told it that this human wouldn't like the food in its bowl.

It then climbed off the sofa with great effort and was busy in the kitchen for a while. A few moments later, it held another bowl of fresh soup while coming out from the kitchen. It gave it to Gao Peng with a smile.

The "bowl" this white-furred fat monkey was holding had low-quality colored patterns over it. Gao Peng felt like it looked like the five dollar plastic basins that could be bought in the Huaxia wholesale market…

It was a bowl filled with a thick soup of concentrated color. The stuff inside was mushed. There were mushrooms, fruits, and bugs that looked like earthworms.

Gao Peng looked the fat monkey in its eyes. The monkey was still holding the bowl firmly with a harmless expression on its face.

It could barely open its eyes wider. Both of its small eyes were blinking as it was trying hard to open wide, and eventually, it managed to do it with huge effort.

However, Gao Peng knew the white fat monkey was hiding something. He moved towards the inside of the house. This agitated and fat monkey was trying to block his way.

"Get out of my way!"

The white-furred monkey was dazed for a few seconds and unwaveringly refused. "Never!"

Amid this quarrel, the monkey and Gao Peng were getting closer to each other. The fat monkey who was holding the bowl suddenly went mad.

In a blink of an eye, it showed mobility that opposed its fat body. It threw the scalding soup towards the White Steel Bladed Beast and slid itself towards Gao Peng. Claws popped out from its fingers that were sharper than daggers.

It was highly agile with its movements, and it even surprised Gao Peng a little with its burst of speed. It was agile.

However, its movements were slow in the eyes of the White Steel Bladed Beast, as sluggish as a snail. The White Steel Bladed Beast even had the time to yawn and stretch. Then it disappeared from where it was standing.

The fat white monkey felt pain in its chest and was hurled into the air, getting higher and higher. It landed heavily on the wall on its back and shook the wall. There were ashes dropping down from the wall. It slid slowly down the wall like a hanging painting, leaving a long mark.

At that moment, the bowl thrown by the white fat monkey finally dropped on the floor. After rolling for a few seconds, the soup inside was poured everywhere on the floor.

Steam raised from the cold floor.

"Let's go inside and have a look," Gao Peng sounded calm while walking into the room with huge steps.

The fat monkey was hiding something that was worth the risk of being attacked… Gao Peng had a bad feeling about this.

Compared to the clean living room, the kitchen was dirty and messy. The wall and stove were smeared with sauces and ingredients. With the thick soup in the pot, it created an extraordinary smell.

There was a huge pot in the middle of the kitchen. The pot was closed, and steam was continuously rising from the edge of its lid.

A bowl was placed beside the stove, the same bowl that the white fat monkey was using on the sofa. The color of the soup was concentrated, similar to the soup handed to him previously.

But there was a finger. It was a human finger. Gao Peng was certain of what he saw.

It could have belonged to the monkey. It could also have belonged to a chimpanzee. Or, it could possibly have belonged to a human being.

Gao Peng glanced at the closed pot. In the end, he still didn't open it to look at the mushed stuff inside. However, with all the reactions from the fat white monkey, Gao Peng already had an assumption in his mind.

Gao Peng turned and left the kitchen. He went outside the house and picked up the fat white monkey. The fat monkey, which weighed at least 220 pounds, was picked up by Gao Peng singlehandedly.

"Do you enjoy eating the stuff in the pot?" Gao Peng said calmly. However, people who knew him would understand that he was in a very bad mood.

"Delicious!" The fat monkey knew what was going to happen. Instead of showing a gentle face, it turned and became angry and hideous. It was like a hellspawn with a twisted face and mouth, wearing a grimace.

"If you dare to eat us, we will eat you up, too!"

"I understand. I don't have the rights to accuse you, because that would be hypocrisy. I am a human, after all, but I saw what happened here and I can't just let it be." Gao Peng looked directly into the eyes of the fat white monkey.

"Which of you monkeys has ever eaten human? Point them out and I will only kill them. Otherwise, I will kill every monkey on this mountain." Gao Peng's voice was stone cold.

The White-furred Carnivorous Monkey ignored Gao Peng's words. It kept on roaring in anger while emitting high-pitched voice from its throat. It flopped its limbs in madness like a dying fish struggling on land. Eventually, it uttered a sentence in Desert Language. "He ate my son, so I ate him up! I will eat him up! Eat him!!"

Gao Peng asked the White Steel Bladed Beast to finish them off because he knew it could do that. "And make it quick!"

In the end, Gao Peng left the village. The abandoned town was destroyed and buried by Gao Peng. The stench of blood and sin was hidden under the thick soil.

Gao Peng took a deep breath and smelled the lingering scent of blood in his nose. He didn't know whether it was the blood of a human or the monkey.

"Sigh…" Gao Peng exhaled. This was the Cataclysm, and it was a bloody and cruel truth. However, none of them in the Huaxia Region realized what had happened here because protecting the citizens was the priority in Huaxia Region.

The first lesson he learned after reaching the outside of the borders, was the truth itself.

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