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

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Chapter 441: A New Ingredient

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

After putting away the jade fragment, Gao Peng led his familiars out of the Taklamakan Desert. Along the way, the Treasure Sniffing Rodent held fast to the jade fragment, rubbing its head against its surface and greedily inhaling its smell.

When it was confident that no one was looking at it, the rat gave its new prize a few furtive licks. It couldn't taste anything on the jade. The Treasure Sniffing Rodent blinked in confusion. It continued sniffing the jade fragment with its long snout like a crazed drug addict.

Gao Peng isn't looking at me right now. Neither is the duck with the intimidating tattoos or the centipede who's constantly being pampered by Gao Peng… Here's my chance!

It sank its teeth into the jade fragment. Chink. A pearly white tooth flew out from its mouth.

The Treasure Sniffing Rodent bit its lip and stifled a scream in order to avoid drawing any attention to itself.

They didn't return immediately to Chang'an City. Instead, as they were flying over Hanzhong City, Ji Hanwu ordered the White Dragon to begin its descent.

"We're just dropping by to collect the ingredient that you've been looking for," explained Gao Peng's grandfather.

Hanzhong City had always been called this since ancient times. This name had been passed down from generation to generation for as long as anyone could remember.

Its strategic position was also recognized and fought over by famed military strategists throughout the region's history.

Seeing Hanzhong City as a place of opportunity, the first emperor of the Han dynasty, Liu Bang, had sent one of his generals, Han Xin, to conquer the place. During Wei's conquest of Shu, General Xiahou Yuan of the Shu state was cut down by General Huang Zhong in Mount Dingjun. The warlord Liu Bei later declared himself the first king of Hanzhong. The renowned military strategist Zhuge Liang had also stationed his troops in Hanzhong, where he was finally laid to rest at the foot of Mount Dingjun.

Countless myths and legends had surrounded the place for thousands of years. The Cataclysm had also brought about a curious change in the region; there were reports of sounds of fighting coming from Mount Dingjun. There were also sightings of army tents and flags erected near the mountain.

A Lord-tier trainer was sent by the Hanzhong base city to inspect the area. However, he didn't find anything.

"At least, that's the official statement. In reality, the trainer found a flag flying near the mountain."

"A flag."

"Yes."

"Was it a flag that had magically sprung to life?" Many flags had been flown near Mount Dingjun. Some of them dated all the way back to the Ming dynasty.

"Yes, the flag was a monster," said Ji Hanwu, who then burst into laughter.

"Is it still at Mount Dingjun?" asked Gao Peng.

"No, it's not there anymore. It was subdued by the trainer," said Ji Hanwu, shaking his head. "We could probably see the flag monster for ourselves later—" Ji Hanwu suddenly stopped, as if a thought had just occurred to him.

Soon, he ordered the White Dragon to land near a mountain villa to the north of the Hanzhong base city.

The mountain villa was built on top of a small hill with a couple of empty tents fluttering around it. The tents inflated like balloons as a gust of wind blew past them. No one seemed to be living in them at the moment. It was as if these tents had only been erected around the villa as mere decoration.

"Kill! Kill them all!!" someone shouted from the top of the hill.

"The King of Han has shown me such generosity. Who am I to betray his good will? I will raze the world to the ground if that is what it takes to repay the King of Han's kindness. So say I!" roared another voice, which sounded like two sheets of metal clanging against each other.

Voices young and old reverberated across the small hill.

"Huang Zhong's hour of glory is upon us. That knave Xiahou will soon taste our blades!"

"I will not disappoint your majesty. I will bring glory to the Han dynasty."

Ji Hanwu's mouth contorted into a bitter smile. "Come on."

When they finally reached the top of the hill, they could see the mountain villa standing in the middle of the hilltop. In front of it was a wide field, on the edge of which lay a huge turtle that seemed to be a variant of the alligator snapping turtle. Its scales were gleaming resplendently from head to toe.

The alligator snapping turtle was a creature that had been shrouded in mystery even before the Cataclysm. Its claws resembled those of the mythical beasts that had once titillated mankind's imagination.

However, what caught Gao Peng's eye wasn't the Lord-tier alligator snapping turtle, but the lone flag fluttering in the middle of the field. The flag was about as big as a movie theater's projection screen, with a white base that had black patterns around it. A huge sealing character was written in the middle of the flag.

A projection screen was spread out before the flag on which a war film was currently being played.

The flag was completely enraptured by the film. It would occasionally make the sounds one would expect to hear in a battlefield. "Charge!!!"

The flag was noisily acting out all the scenes in the film that it was watching.

"Hahaha, looks like we have guests. No wonder the weather today is so pleasant. Come in, come in." A 30-year-old man stepped out of the mountain villa to greet both Ji Hanwu and his grandson.

Gao Peng glanced at the flag.

[Monster Name: Military Conferment Flag

[Monster Level: Level 46 (Lord-tier)

[Monster Grade: Excellent

[Monster Attribute: Metal

[Monster Ability: Soldier's Bloodlust Level 3, War Aura Level 2

[Description: A military flag that was brought to life by the lingering thousand-year bloodlust in Mount Dingjun. Its grade suffered a slight drop due to the short period of time it was able to spend in the pool of bloodlust and violent energy. It loves listening to army songs and watching war films and hates pansies.

[Available Perfect Grade Evolutionary Routes: 1. Admiral Votive Flag 2. Steelblood Murderous Flag

[Monster Name: Land Alligator Turtle

[Monster Level: Level 45

[Monster Grade: Normal

[Monster Attribute: Earth/Water

[Monster Ability: Fortified Turtleshell Level 2, Fortified Bite Level 2

[Monster Description: A creature that has awakened its ancestral blood. It has a terrifyingly strong bite. Its shell also provides it with nigh impenetrable defenses. It likes to eat fish. It hates being touched by anyone.

"You seem quite carefree these days," said Ji Hanwu as he looked around at his surroundings. Not a bad place to live in retirement. "Why are you living like an old fogey out here, anyway?"

"Oh, you know, if I'm going to spend the rest of my days working for the government, I might as well do it on my own terms," said Lu Wang with a laugh. The man was the trainer of the two familiars.

Gao Peng took another look at the two familiars' stats. Both of them had quite high levels.

However, Gao Peng and his grandfather already had King-tier familiars at their disposal. They weren't at all familiar with the power levels of familiars beneath King-tier.

Then again, a Level 41 monster wouldn't seem too different from a Level 49 monster to a King-tier familiar, just as a fly wouldn't seem too different from a slightly bigger fly to a spider.

Once Lu Wang invited Gao Peng and his grandfather into the villa, he hurried into his bedroom and took out a box. He opened it to reveal a golden-reddish jewel, inside which a single drop of blood was kept in stasis.

"I found this when I was trying to subdue the Military Conferment Flag. I have no idea what it does, but my familiars don't seem to like it very much. It's only when I heard that the two of you were looking for exotic ingredients that I remembered I had this with me." Lu Wang handed the box to Ji Hanwu.

"My grandson's the one who likes collecting these things. An old fart like me couldn't even fathom what goes on in the minds of young people these days," said Ji Hanwu, smiling. He gave the box to Gao Peng.

Gao Peng took the box from his grandfather. With just one glance, he could tell that it was exactly what he needed. He then said to Lu Wang, "Thanks, Uncle Lu. If there's anything you need, just give me a call."

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Chapter 442: Additional Helping

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

Lu Wang waved a hand at him. "Think nothing of it. It's only valuable when it's in the hands of someone who needs it. It would be a waste to let it gather dust here with me."

"Still, you've helped me out big time, and one good turn deserves another. Such is the way of our family. Uncle Lu, if there's anything I can help you with, please don't hesitate to tell me," said Gao Peng seriously. He placed the box on Da Zi's head. "Don't drop it now."

"Uhm?" Da Zi looked at Gao Peng quizzically.

"It's an ingredient for your evolution." Da Zi hugged the wooden box in its spindly arms and curled around it beside Goldie. Realizing that it would be quite inconvenient to hold it with its mandibles or appendages, Da Zi said to Goldie, "Goldie, I'll give you 3,000 dollars if you help me hold this box. I'll give you an extra 7,000 dollars if you can get it back home without damaging it."

Goldie accepted Da Zi's proposition without any hesitation and took the box from the centipede. Da Zi sure is pampered by Gao Peng. I'm sure he gives it a lot of spending money. Maybe I could strike up a long-term deal with it so that I could continue milking more money out of this golden goose. But first, I have to keep this box safe for it.

Da Zi glanced at Goldie uncertainly. I may have raised this duck's hopes a bit. There's no way I have 10,000 dollars on me. Ah, what the heck, I can always ask Gao Peng for more money! All it takes is a bit of wheedling, and he'll give me anything I want. The meals I eat cost a pretty penny, anyway. I'm sure 10,000 dollars means nothing to Gao Peng, thought Da Zi.

Hanzhong City wasn't too far away from Yuzhou City. The distance between both cities was only a few hundred miles more than that between Yuzhou City and Chuan Fu City.

In order to survive in this world, one needed to make as many connections as possible. Connections were usually made through the reciprocity of goodwill. With enough connections, one wouldn't need to worry about having someone to rely on in times of trouble.

Lu Wang chuckled to himself. A bond of goodwill had officially been established between him and Gao Peng the moment the latter accepted his gift. In the post-Cataclysm world, even a trainer as strong as Lu Wang couldn't say for certain that there wasn't anything too big for him to handle.

That night, Lu Wang invited Gao Peng and Ji Hanwu to dinner. "Two days ago, I was hunting in the Qinling mountain range when I came upon this Lord-tier Ghostfire Crow. Even though it's a bony creature, I'm sure its meat will be able to satisfy all three of us."

Crow? Gao Peng had never eaten such a thing. However, he had heard that cooked crow meat was a common delicacy among those living in the wild.

Rubbing his belly, Gao Peng said with a smile, "You've been far too kind to us. I can't accept any more of your kindness without at least doing something for you in return. Ah, I know. How about this?"

Gao Peng whispered something in his grandfather's ear. The latter nodded. A moment later, the White Dragon flew towards the Qinling mountain range with the Desolate Frost Lion on its back.

The Huai River in the Qinling mountain range ran across the Huaxia region from the north to the south. It was just as majestic and domineering as the ancient people of the Qin dynasty had been.

The mountain range was rife with life even before the Cataclysm. When the Cataclysm happened, the place had turned into a monster paradise, with all kinds of monsters living in it. Even a Lord-tier familiar wouldn't dare wander through the mountains by itself.

The sound of thunder filled the air. Inhuman sounds echoed across the mountain range. Somewhere, a lion roared. A wolf howled in response. Suddenly, the trees in the mountains trembled as a huge, slender creature slithered past them. Startled by this disturbance, other, smaller creatures fled off in all directions.

"That one." The Desolate Frost Lion had spotted a huge grayish snake whose muscles shifted across its body like granite. It opened its mouth and let a sub-zero frost beam fly at its target.

The beam instantly froze everything in its path, including the grayish monster snake. The Desolate Frost Lion's aura had a calming effect on the agitated creatures in the forest, which shrank back and scurried off into their holes beneath the trees.

That's a King-tier fellow. There's no way anyone here can deal with it.

Suddenly, a terrifying aura surged forth from the depths of the Qinling mountain range. The clouds in the sky seemed to be frozen solid by it.

The White Dragon narrowed its eyes. It was a prideful creature with a nasty temper. Ji Hanwu's presence was usually the only thing holding its anger back, but it was now seething at the nerve of this unnamed creature that had dared challenge it. With no Ji Hanwu around to hold it back, the White Dragon let its aura explode from its body.

Every creature in the mountain range had fallen silent. No one dared move a muscle in the face of two King-tier monsters.

The Desolate Frost Lion's mane stood on end. It had originally been an Emperor-tier monster. Even though its power level had dropped considerably, it hadn't forgotten its roots. It also let its aura explode from its body as it swept its gaze across the mountain range in search of this unnamed challenger.

The creature at the other end of the Qinling mountain range seemed to have stopped breathing. Its aura was now in disorder. It had sensed the auras of not one, but two King-tier monsters.

Its aura began to waver and relax a bit.

The White Dragon's mouth curved into a cruel smile, revealing its sharp white teeth. Not exactly the forgiving kind, the White Dragon pushed its aura out with the intention of making its challenger yield to it.

The creature at the other end of the mountain range had fallen silent. It decided not to do anything that might provoke these two King-tier presences.

The Desolate Frost Lion snorted. "That's enough. Let's go back. Don't want to keep the others waiting now. We'll come back here some other time and have this guy killed for even thinking about challenging us."

As if it had just remembered its master, the White Dragon calmed down. With a humph, it descended to the ground and picked up the frozen snake before flying off into the distance.

When the White Dragon and the Desolate Frost Lion finally left the place, the presence deep in the mountain range silently retracted its aura and eased itself into a dormant state.

The Desolate Frost Lion was now standing on top of the White Dragon's head. Its eyes were alive with excitement. It had never felt such a rush before. So that's how it feels to gang up on someone else…

The Desolate Frost Lion had always been a lone wolf. Most of the subjects living in its territory before had served as nothing more than fuel for its body. They had rarely been of any use in the Desolate Frost Lion's scuffles with other Emperor-tier monsters.

Life as a lone wolf wasn't easy. There were times when the Desolate Frost Lion would encounter other monsters that had an elemental advantage against it. In such cases, it had no choice but to flee, lest it was eaten by its enemies.

In its prime, the Desolate Frost Lion had been able to easily deal with most King-tier monsters alone. However, now that it was demoted to King-tier, it had no choice but to pick its battles more prudently than before.

That day, it had been able to scare off another monster alongside the White Dragon with their auras alone. The Desolate Frost Lion couldn't help but grin as it replayed the scene in its head. Truly, there was no greater joy in this life than ganging up on someone else with another familiar as strong as itself.

The Desolate Frost Lion's eyes widened at the thought of Gao Peng increasing the number of King-tier monsters at his disposal.

Lu Wang had defeathered the Ghostfire Crow. Before he could get started on its innards, thunder rumbled overhead.

A black shape fell to the ground before him. The ground shook and cracked beneath the weight of the black shape.

There before him lay a frozen Mountain Granite Snake.

"The Ghostfire Crow will certainly be enough for the three of us, but it's not going to satisfy our familiars. This snake will be their dinner," said Gao Peng from the corner.

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Chapter 443: Three Cases

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

Lu Wang's heart skipped a beat when he saw the body of a massive snake fall from the sky to his feet. He didn't recognize what kind of snake it was. However, he could still feel the snake's oppressive aura, which even in death hadn't completely faded away.

Preparing the snake for dinner was a fairly easy task. All he had to do was cut it into neat, square sections. Each familiar was then given a chunk of snake meat, which they happily gorged themselves on.

On the other hand, the preparation of the Ghostfire Crow was a bit tedious. It was, after all, a Lord-tier monster. Even though it had been dead for a couple of days, it still managed to give Lu Wang a hard time.

Even with a knife, Lu Wang still couldn't properly defeather the Ghostfire Crow's body. In the end, he resorted to using a laser cutter to finish the task.

Upon seeing how exhausted Lu Wang was, Gao Peng shook his head and said, "Allow me."

Lu Wang took a step back and watched as Gao Peng had Da Zi saw off one of the bird's claws. Gao Peng then dissected the bird's abdomen with surgical dexterity and proceeded to scrape out its innards from its body.

Lu Wang was stunned, not by Gao Peng's expert hand, but by how he was able to cut through the bird's skin so easily Cutting open a Ghostfire Crow's leathery skin was no easy affair. One would have to possess incredible strength in order to pull off such a feat.

As soon as its innards were removed, the Ghostfire Crow was placed on a skewer, ready to be cooked with the various spices that Lu Wang's kitchen was already stocked with: cinnamon, paprika, and pepper.

The delicious aroma of cooked Ghostfire Crow meat wafted out from the house. Da Zi, who was busy chewing on snake meat, looked up from its meal and saw the steaming chunk of meat in Gao Peng's hand. It then looked back at its cold, wrinkly, unappetizing chunk of snake meat. There was a glint of red in its eyes…

Just as Gao Peng and the others were enjoying their meal, a group of people suddenly emerged from the edge of the hilltop. Each of them was wearing a mask over their mouths, their faces pale. Some of their eyes were bloodshot. Their brows were bunched up like tangled blades of grass.

When they arrived at the top of the hill, the first sight that greeted them was that of a white-scaled dragon that had its back towards them. Not far away from it was what appeared to be a brain floating in mid-air and making an unusual humming sound…

"Have we come to the wrong place?" someone asked. These monsters' auras were making them dizzy.

"That looks like Lu Wang's flag," said a girl in the front of the group who was pointing at the Military Conferment Flag standing in the middle of the field.

The Military Conferment Flag was still watching one of its favorite war films. It would occasionally do a spin, letting its flag flutter in the wind. It looked quite carefree doing so.

"Mr. Lu Wang, we're from Hanzhong Base City," announced a stocky-looking gentleman at the front of the group.

Lu Wang, who was in the middle of eating his dinner, paused to look up at the group of people at the edge of his sanctuary. Glancing at Gao Peng and Ji Hanwu, he returned the chunk of meat in his hand to his plate and wiped his hands with a cloth. "Excuse me for a second."

Lu Wang was a good-looking man in the conventional sense of the word. Standing at least six feet tall, he had a set of thick eyebrows and a muscular physique over which his shirt was stretched taut. As he walked, his legs and shoulders swung forward powerfully.

"How may I help you?" asked Lu Wang. His voice was deep and husky.

The girl at the front of the group stepped forward. Her name was Liu Xiaolu. She said urgently, "Mr. Lu, a plague has spread in the city. The entire Hanzhong base city is now quarantined."

"Then you better find someone who specializes in plagues and whatnot. Why the hell did you come looking for me, anyway? I'm not a bloody doctor," said Lu Wang brusquely, waving a hand at the pony-tailed girl standing in front of him. She was clad in a jacket and a pair of leather pants.

Lu Wang threw a furtive glance at Gao Peng and his grandfather, hoping that these people hadn't ruined dinner for his two guests. "If there are monsters that need killing, I'm your man. But curing a plague is beyond me."

"Every infected person is now running wild in the city. Right now, you're the only one who can calm things down there," said Liu Xiaolu, who seemed to be on the verge of tears.

Lu Wang was the only elite trainer in Hanzhong City. He had been the holder of that title for quite some time now.

He seemed hesitant about helping these people. Before the Cataclysm, he had just been a simple carpenter. His first familiar was an alligator snapping turtle, which he had kept as a pet back then.

Since then, Lu Wang had encountered little to no impediment in his rise to glory. By sheer luck, he later came upon the Military Conferment Flag on top of Mount Dingjun, just as it was in the midst of its transformation into a full-fledged monster.

Just like that, he now had two Lord-tier familiars with him.

He didn't like poking his nose into other people's business. He was of the belief that his time was better spent doing absolutely nothing.

In order to avoid those who would always come to him for help, he decided to move out to the mountains and told the Hanzhong government that unless there was a crisis that required his immediate attention, they had best leave him alone.

There's a plague in the city… How is that my business? he thought.

"We'll take a look at it. Both of us have Lord-tier familiars at our disposal. I'm sure the plague won't affect us," said Gao Peng suddenly from behind him.

Liu Xiaolu stared at the man who had appeared beside Lu Wang, unable to believe that there was someone out there who had the gall to speak to Lu Wang so casually. She had heard that Lu Wang had a nasty temper.

To her surprise, Lu Wang didn't lash out at the man. Instead, he nodded and said, "All right then."

"These are the people who were affected by the plague." In the hospital, Gao Peng was brought to the quarantine zone to see how bad the infection was.

"These three were brought into the hospital a month ago, two weeks ago, and three days ago, respectively," said a doctor in a thick hazmat suit. His voice was muffled by a mask that he was wearing over his mouth.

The doctor gave Gao Peng a thick folder of clinical records.

The first page showed the picture of a withered-looking girl. There was a crazed look on her face. The rest of her body was severely emaciated.

"She's been our patient for three days," said the doctor. "We've never seen anything like this."

Beside the patient's picture was a description of her current condition.

[Patient Name: Zhou Yuanyuan

[Age: 21

[Time since infection: 76 hours

[Condition: Fever, fainting, loss of appetite, visibly stimulated by sight of blood, increased physical strength and other bodily capacities, signs of hair loss, capable of infecting others, and accelerated blood circulation.

Other doctors had jotted down the results of their examinations on the back of the page.

[Patient does not seem to have developed any aggressive tendencies. However, her intelligence has regressed considerably, making it harder to establish any intelligible communication with her.]

[Patient…]

Gao Peng glanced through the rest of the passage, frowning. This was like something out of a movie. He turned to the next page.

[Patient Name: Chen Weizhong

[Age: 32

[Time since infection: 361 hours

[Condition: His hair has fallen out completely. Wrinkles on his skin, loss of teeth, severe desiccation, has developed an extreme craving for blood, increased blood flow, and increased heart rate. Any form of skin puncture inadvisable during the duration of quarantine for fear of severe blood loss.

The picture in the folder showed the face of a severely deformed man.

His bald head was covered with wrinkles. His eyes were sunken, and his nose had shrunken beyond recognition. He was wearing a blue hospital gown. His toothless mouth hung open slightly like that of an old man.

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Chapter 444: A City-Wide Pandemic

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

Gao Peng had a hard time believing that this decrepit old man before him was only 32 years old. He looked as if a breeze could easily knock him down.

There was a picture of him before his illness in his medical records that showed the face of a gentle-looking bespectacled man. Judging by his happy face, Gao Peng figured that he must have come from a happy family.

He turned to the last patient's file. He let his hand hang in mid-air when his eyes fell on the patient's profile picture. "Is this… supposed to be the patient?"

Gao Peng couldn't believe that the thing in the picture was even human.

The man's body was hunched over, with his spine jutting out of his back. His sunken eyes had transformed into a pair of dark, empty pits. His toothless mouth was wide open. Gao Peng could almost hear the inhuman screams coming from the man's mouth.

He looked more like a deformed insect than an actual human being.

[Patient Name: Jin Shengming

[Age: 18

[Time since infection: 726 hours

[Symptoms: All of his hair has fallen out. He has also lost all function of his eyes, but seems to have developed some other form of sensory function. Sluggish movements, increased physical strength, and increased bone density. Is easily excited by the sight of blood. Seems to have been completely infected. Incapable of infecting others.

Gao Peng frowned. "Incapable of infecting others?" There must be some kind of mistake here, he thought.

"Yes, we've determined that this patient no longer poses any risk of infection to other healthy individuals," said one of the doctors.

Gao Peng nodded. "Let me take a look at him."

As if knowing that he might make such a request, the doctor sharply turned around and led him to the patient's ward. After passing through a corridor, Gao Peng finally saw Jin Shengming, whose ward had apparently gone through extensive remodeling. The windows seemed to be made of bulletproof fiberglass.

Just as he was close enough, there was a loud bang from the window. A face was pressed against the glass, leaving a sick yellow trail of mucus on it.

Bang, bang, bang! Ji Shengming was madly pounding his fists against the glass, unintelligibly roaring at his visitors.

"He's… no longer human," said Gao Peng, as rows of data appeared before him.

[Monster Name: Green Plague Bug Infectee

[Monster Level: Level 3

[Monster Grade: Normal

[Monster Attribute: Poison

[Monster Weakness: Fire

Description: A Green Plague Bug releases fragments of itself into its surroundings as its main method of reproduction. Those infected by its fragments automatically become host bodies for the Green Plague Bug's larvae. A Green Plague Bug's larva is capable of surviving extreme conditions. Its small size also allows it to elude detection. However, it is averse to high temperatures.

Gao Peng widened his eyes. Larvae?! So it's not a plague. Which means…

Gao Peng looked down at his pristine white hospital robe.

"Baldie, scan the hospital for me, will you?" Gao Peng ordered the Growing Brain. Baldie was the name that Goldie had come up with during their journey. Everyone eventually accepted it as the Growing Brain's official name.

When Gao Peng asked why it had chosen to call the brain Baldie, Goldie had simply said, "I may not have any feathers on me, but at least I'm not a skinless freak like it. If that's not bald, I don't know what is."

Baldie's psychic energy swept through every floor of the hospital like a ray of invisible light. It transmitted the results of its psychic scan to Gao Peng. What he saw sent a chill down his spine.

Baldie's psychic scan revealed tiny points of white light squirming in every corner of the hospital.

All signs of life within the brain's range were automatically picked up by its psychic scan, be they human or monster. Unless its target was proficient in masking its own aura, nothing could completely hide from Baldie's psychic probe.

The brightness of these points of white light was also a rough indicator of one's power level. These squirming white spots had settled on every person in the hospital. Such a sight would make anyone with trypophobia dizzy.

"Should we take them all down?" asked Baldie.

These creature's aurae seemed weaker than the average firefly. Baldie could have easily snuffed out every last one of them with just a thought.

Gao Peng was about to give it his permission when he suddenly thought of something. "Wait, try scanning the streets outside, then the whole city."

When Baldie sent the results of its psychic scan back to him, Gao Peng shivered, even though he had mentally braced himself for what he was about to see.

Even though the Green Plague Bug's larvae hadn't spread across the entire city, the sight of them clinging to the buildings and shirt of every pedestrian on this side of the city still made his blood freeze. Gao Peng simply stood there, unsure of what he should do.

In theory, he could have these things destroyed in the blink of an eye. However… destroying these things would only be a temporary solution to an even bigger problem.

He could provoke the real mastermind behind this plague into setting off a bigger pandemic. "What a pain in the *ss."

"Is something wrong, Mr. Gao?" asked the doctor beside him.

Gao Peng turned to him and smiled. "Apologies. That patient looks really terrifying up close."

"Don't worry. He won't be able to break through those windows. Have you found something that might bring us a step closer to finding a cure?" asked the doctor, looking straight into Gao Peng's eyes.

"I'm just wondering why the plague seems so weak."

"Weak?" asked the doctor, as if he couldn't believe what Gao Peng had just said.

"Yeah, those who were infected so far were ordinary people. The fact that there haven't been any cases of familiars infected by this disease indicates that its effects are quite limited," explained Gao Peng casually, before turning around and walking back down the corridor.

After watching Gao Peng disappear around a corner, the doctor inclined his head with a strangely serene expression behind his glasses.

"Any ideas on how we should deal with this?" Gao Peng asked the Desolate Frost Lion.

"Well, when dealing with Parasite-type insects like this one, all we have to do is seek out and destroy the parent insect, and the little ones will die along with it," replied the Desolate Frost Lion.

"My thoughts exactly. Only problem is, how are we supposed to smoke this parent insect out of hiding?" muttered Gao Peng.

He wasn't afraid of confronting it head-on. This was not the Black Fog World. This was Earth, and he wasn't afraid of some two-bit punk on his home turf.

He doubted anyone or anything could survive being ganged up on by his King-tier familiars.

"Mr. Gao," said Liu Xiaolu, who was now wearing a pair of leather boots. Back then, she hadn't immediately recognized Gao Peng or his grandfather. It was only recently that she found out through certain channels who these two men were.

As soon as she realized who they were, her jaw dropped. She thought that they were only bringing Lu Wang into this matter. Who would have thought that they were bringing two dragons into the mix?

"Oh, before I forget, could you please find out for me where the first case of the plague happened? Let me know as soon as you find out," said Gao Peng. He refused to believe that an organization as resourceful as Hanzhong's government couldn't find a single lead on this case.

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Chapter 445: The Green Plague Queen Bug

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

Liu Xiaolu felt somewhat troubled by Gao Peng's request. As a low-ranking government worker, she had no authority to provide Gao Peng with such information.

Just then, her earpiece buzzed to life. After receiving her next set of instructions from her superior, Liu Xiaolu said, "Follow me please, Mr. Gao." She then led the way to their next destination.

As implied by her name, her gait was akin to that of a meek deer. Every time she took a step forward, she would let the tip of her foot lightly touch the ground first before letting her heel fall behind it. Her ponytail bounced rhythmically behind her head with each step she took.

Soon, they reached a closed-down hospital. Another hospital? This was the second hospital Gao Peng had visited that day.

"The first case of the plague happened here, in the Nanxiang Orthopedic Hospital," said Liu Xiaolu.

The hospital was closed down, with yellow tape put up around it. Its windows were caked with dust, some of them even shattered.

"This was where the plague originated. When everyone realized what was going on, it was already too late. Almost everyone in the hospital was infected, including most of its doctors," explained Liu Xiaolu.

Gao Peng nodded, quietly inspecting the hospital that stood dark and empty.

If this hospital was the origin of the plague, one of the patients back then must have had something to do with it, thought Gao Peng. Or perhaps…

"We've actually found something else, but we're still not certain of its accuracy due to a lack of evidence," said a man in shades who was now walking towards Gao Peng from the streets. He was already holding out his right hand for a handshake.

Gao Peng shook his hand and said, "Pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Name's Li Meng. I'm in charge of Hanzhong City's Forensic Division. Truth is, we already have a suspect in mind. Unfortunately, we don't have enough evidence against him. There's also a strong possibility that even if we do manage to take him down, the pandemic would still persist," explained Li Meng with a toothy grin.

He then handed Gao Peng a folder that he'd had clasped in his right armpit.

When Gao Peng opened the folder, the first thing that immediately caught his attention was the picture of an ugly, pockmarked man with a pair of bushy eyebrows and black-framed spectacles propped up on his nose. The man also seemed slightly hunched. He didn't strike Gao Peng as the popular kid in school.

Why does he look so familiar? Gao Peng couldn't help but feel like he had seen this face somewhere, but he just couldn't remember where he had seen it.

"He's the doctor who received you in the hospital earlier. Real name's Zhu Xiaoliang, before he changed it to Zhu Buliang. Graduated from Yuzhou Medical University…" Apparently, Li Meng had read the file so many times he was able to repeat every sentence in the suspect's profile verbatim without even looking at it.

So that's where I saw him.

It was nighttime. Before leaving the hospital, Zhu Buliang had slipped out of his white robe and into a yellow goat-skin coat. When he finally reached home, he took off his mask.

Zhu Buliang had a sickly complexion. He coughed twice, pressing one hand against his chest and holding the other out against the wall. Feeling his chest relax a bit, he went to the kitchen to begin preparing dinner. From the kitchen came the sounds of kitchen utensils clanging against one another.

After a while, he came out of the kitchen, looking a bit bored. He laid down on the couch and rested for a bit.

When he grew bored of lazing around on the sofa, Zhu Buliang stepped out onto the balcony on the second floor and idly viewed the scenery outside while smoking a cigarette.

Then he returned to the living room. After snuffing out his cigarette, he went to the storage closet and cleared away a few things to reveal an underground passageway.

Zhu Buliang had come from a well-off family. His father was a businessman, who, despite his son's reserved disposition, still gave him a place to stay in the city.

Zhu Buliang began walking down the underground passageway until he finally reached a room. It was somewhat spacious. At times, a humming sound could be heard from the darkness of the room. There was also the sound of feet clacking against the concrete floor and walls. He turned on the light.

A dusky yellow light illuminated the room. In the middle of it lay a 16-foot-long creature that looked like an oversized maggot. It was a sickly green, and it had what appeared to be a yellow-colored mouth on top of its head. The room was filled with a faint green mist. The queer humming sound seemed to be coming from the mist itself.

Looking at the creature in the middle of the room, Zhu Buliang's face broke into a gleeful smile. "This is my power. Those who dared to mock me, belittle me in the past, I can kill them all with just a thought!" said Zhu Buliang, chuckling.

No one has found me out yet. As the crownless king of Hanzhong City, I now have the entire city in the palm of my hand!

Maybe if I wait a bit longer and let my familiar's larvae infest everyone, the whole city will soon be mine! thought Zhu Buliang.

Or maybe I could pretend to have found a cure for the plague? Who knows, I might even be honored as a hero of the city. Zhu Buliang shook his head, dismissing this foolish fantasy of his.

Nah, the world has never been short of geniuses. Someone will figure out a cure. Eventually.

How about I just have my familiar kill off those who dare stand in my way? The plague has already resulted in some casualties; no one would raise an eyebrow if a couple more died.

"So this is where you've been hiding," said a voice behind him.

Zhu Buliang didn't turn around to see who it was. His first reaction was to run to his familiar's side. Turning around would mean certain death. His safest course of action was to run to his familiar.

However, before he could take another step, he suddenly felt a chill in the room. He could feel himself slowing down until finally, everything went blank before him. His body was frozen solid to the spot.

The Desolate Frost Lion, which was perched atop Gao Peng's shoulder, narrowed its eyes at the fat green bug in the middle of the room. If it dared make any sudden movements, the lion cub would immediately kill it.

"Can't believe how easy it was to track this guy down," said Gao Peng. It felt a bit too easy…

This Zhu Buliang had thought that he covered his tracks well enough, when in reality, he had long been suspected as the mastermind behind the plague. The government officials simply didn't want to force him into doing something drastic by capturing him too soon.

From the start, Zhu Buliang had underestimated just how quickly the government could mobilize its resources to root out low-level terrorists like himself. Before he even realized what was going on, the powers that be had already listed him as the primary suspect behind the plague.

Gao Peng suspected that the Hanzhong government had feared that Zhu Buliang's capture would set off a more severe pandemic across the city. He was, after all, just a suspect, as those in the government's Forensic Division couldn't find sufficient proof connecting him to the plague.

[Monster Name: Green Plague Queen Bug

[Monster Level: Level 40 (Commander-tier)

[Monster Grade: Perfect

[Monster Attribute: Poison

[Monster Ability: Accelerated Reproduction Level 2, Reinforced Infection Level 1

[Special Characteristics: Insect Queen's Venom Sac (A venom sac formed within the Green Plague Queen Bug as a result of a mutation that endowed it with enhanced reproductive ability. This unusual organ is also equipped with the ability to enhance its offsprings' innate traits.

Passive Effect 1: Grants its offspring the ability to camouflage itself, including, but not limited to, masking its own presence and shapeshifting.

Passive Effect 2: Grants its offspring the ability to reproduce asexually. Even after finding a host to infect, said offspring can still make more copies of itself in its new home.)

[Description: A type of parasite that somehow merged itself with a virus when the Cataclysm happened. It's physically weak. However, it more than makes up for its weakness with its ability to endow its offspring with high combat power.

The Green Plague Queen Bug reeled from the negative Feedback induced by the rupture of its Blood Contract with its master, who now stood frozen solid in the room. Glaring at Gao Peng hatefully, it ordered all of its offspring in the underground room to attack Gao Peng.

However, before its offspring could even reach Gao Peng and company, an unseen force swept through the room, wiping the green critters' psyches clean in an instant.

The Growing Brain was silently bobbing in the air above the building while all this was happening…

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Chapter 446: Thorough Extermination

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

The Growing Brain's mental power was as powerful as an inescapable net, instantly killing all the Green Plague Bugs within range. The strong souls were destroyed in the same manner as a bulldozer crushing all the insects in its way.

Insects that were smaller than specks of dust fell to the ground collectively. However, the enormous force of Soul Power had no impact on the Queen Bug, as if it had reached a wall. The Queen Bug screamed mournfully and curled its stout body inwards while green blood leaked from its mouth.

The Growing Brain's attribute was Psychic, not Mental, which was why Gao Peng wasn't disappointed. It was already surprising that it had performed this well.

The Growing Brain started to panic because it couldn't take this monster down on its own. Its cerebral cortex reddened, with steam rising from the top.

Pang! The brain of the Green Plague Queen Bug was swollen with pain. In its consciousness, countless illusions appeared, entangling with each other, but the endings all led to death.

The concept of time was blurred in the illusions. The flow of time was controlled by the illusions, extended and stretched in the surreal visions. All the visions came together as one eventually, and its death happened at that moment.

It was proven that psychological suggestion could induce someone to end his or her own life. The presence of the soul and body were relatively independent.

What happened was that innumerable amounts of death suggestions from the visions added together and erupted in that moment. The intensified death suggestions from the visions had filled the Green Plague Queen Bug's consciousness instantly. ( AllNovelFull )

Its stout body tightened, its mouth opened wide, and it was hysterical… Three seconds later, its breathing stopped completely.

So I can also kill an enemy this way!

A huge hole appeared on top of the Growing Brain's head, and pink mist emerged. This indicated happiness.

All these skills needed to be developed. If there was no one guiding the Growing Brain, the most it could do was envelop its prey in illusions, making them die from hunger and thirst in the desert.

"Maybe we can try brainwashing other monsters. If we can do that to them since they're young, a Blood Contract will no longer be necessary to control a batch of monsters." Gao Peng was thinking about the possible capabilities of the Growing Brain.

As for this Green Plague Queen Bug… Gao Peng allowed the Desolate Frost Lion to ice the dead body to prevent the spread of pestilence.

The next step would be to have the Growing Brain rid Hanzhong City of the leftover insects, which was why Gao Peng made it a coat.

In truth, the Growing Brain's appearance was very creepy. A bare brain floating in the sky would definitely be seen as one of the evil monsters controlled by the bad guys. If this brain were to fly around Hanzhong City, it would be frightening to everyone.

Then… the Growing Brain scanned the cotton candy coat on its body blankly.

What is this? Is this what 'wearing clothes' is like in human's memories? Why does it look different from what I recalled?

"This is a process you must go through. I'd like to call it practice." Goldie patted the Growing Brain, its eyes firm, while holding a wooden box in its left hand. On its neck was a string of prayer beads. When the sun shone on Goldie, it reflected a ray of warm pale yellow light. The Growing Brain stared at it, dumbfounded.

The Growing Brain looked bizarre when wearing the cotton candy coat. However, it was no longer too creepy to be seen. In fact, it looked kind of adorable. It even looked like a tiny white cloud floating in the sky from afar.

The tiny white cloud was flying, circling around the streets and alleys in Hanzhong City. It used its Psychic power to kill off the lower-tier infectees and Green Plague Bug larvae.

"Mommy, there's cotton candy in the sky!" One of the kids from the bus was yelling, pointing to the sky.

"It isn't. Cotton candy can't fly in the sky. It's a cloud; only clouds fly in the sky," said the modest mother sitting beside the girl.

The girl nodded, unsure whether she understood what her mother said. She sucked on her fingers gently, her eyes shining. It seems like there's someone sitting on top of the cotton candy. I'll find a cotton candy to be my familiar one day so that when I'm hungry, I can take a bite of it.

"We're so thankful for your help, but we can't offer anything in return. If Mr. Gao is willing to invest or set up a branch in our city, we, the Hanzhong base city, will exempt your taxes, but only if you're willing to come." The suited man from the Hanzhong Base municipal government department was wearing a dazzling smile.

"Sure. I hope we can work together in the future." Gao Peng nodded.

Back at the Southern Sky, Da Zi retrieved the small treasure box from Goldie. It opened up the box and became immersed in deep thoughts while staring at the asymmetrical golden red crystal.

The wheel of fortune is finally landing on me this year. It's about time for me, Da Zi, to be the master.

Wait until I successfully evolve. I'll become Gao Peng's strongest familiar. I'll teach those flirty b*tches a lesson… Oh, forget it. Since they have proper attitudes, let's not bully them for now.

Why? Because I'm the forgiving Da Zi!

Da Zi's face was squeezed together, making a serious expression. It started to envision what it would become. Would it be a merciful Da Zi, an evil ruler, or even turn into a crab?

Da Zi lingered on the aftertaste. Its claw couldn't help but make its way into the box, touching the crystal. It was hard. It licked its claw, but it was tasteless.

Bah, bah. Da Zi walked away, ignoring everybody, towards its own nest.

Climbing down from the back of the White Dragon, Gao Peng was stopped by something on his way towards the mansion.

It had bright red fur smooth like silk and eyes the size of almonds. Both its hands were clasped in front of its body while it squatted beneath Gao Peng.

"What's wrong, Xiao Hua? You don't like what you've been eating recently?" Gao Peng patted Xiao Hua's head. Though it wasn't anyone's monster in the mansion, it was Dumby's daughter. It always stayed up in the tree house, seldom making any contact with others, but everyone still loved the little thing.

Xiao Hua shook its head and opened its mouth to speak, but only elicited a sharp cry. It was upset, probably because of its own voice, as its eyes shined with a sense of loss. However, it still mustered up the courage to speak again, this time a bit more gently. "Daddy, where is Daddy?"

Xiao Hua learned how to speak?

Gao Peng didn't pay much attention to Xiao Hua, which was why he was unsure when Xiao Hua had started speaking in human language.

Gao Peng had no idea how to answer the question, so after some consideration, he said in a soft voice, "Your daddy is temporarily somewhere far away."

"Daddy doesn't want me anymore?" Xiao Hua was going to cry. "I'll listen to him. Can you bring Daddy back?"

"Your daddy will be back soon." Gao Peng bent over to pick Xiao Hua up. "Come on, let's go eat something."

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As the year's end, was approaching, the villa had become more and more lively.

Gao Peng was also preparing for some experiments in the laboratory, such as the Green Plague Queen Bug brought back from the Hanzhong base city and a Shape Shifting Elf they had previously captured.

Although the Shape Shifting Elf was only Level 19, Gao Peng was more interested in it than the dead Green Plague Queen Bug. The Green Plague Queen Bug could only be considered dessert, whereas the Shape Shifting Elf was equivalent to a meal.

The Shape Shifting Elf that was tied to the table shivered and looked at the man in front of it with horror.

It had come to this place by chance, since it had been taken off of the streets. Every day, people came in to give it water and food. There wasn't much, just enough to ensure that it didn't starve to death.

That day, it was brought into an unfamiliar room right after lunch. There was an icy iron table in the room and something that didn't look like it could be eaten was placed on it.

After a while, a man came in. It wanted to struggle, but it didn't work. The man lifted it up violently and tied it to the table.

"Have mercy! My lord, please have mercy!" The Shape Shifting Elf screamed loudly.

Gao Peng calmly looked at the little monster that was struggling. He had long grown accustomed to these kinds of scenes. No monster came without screaming, and this was just another one of them.

This monster's attributes seemed good, so Gao Peng's attitude towards it became gentler. "Don't move. Stop moving your legs… Otherwise, I'll break them." Gao Peng's voice was cold.

Gao Peng could easily immerse himself in the experiments he was conducting.

The Shape Shifting Elf looked at the Bone Breaking Hammer in Gao Peng's hand and lowered its head, letting itself surrender to Gao Peng's mercy.

[Monster name: Shape Shifting Elf

[Monster level: Level 19

[Monster attribute: Mystic

[Monster skill: Morphing Level 1

[Monster weakness: After shapeshifting, it can only keep the basic form and the same level of physicality of the target creature, but cannot possess the target's biological element or other abilities.

[Monster profile: The Shape Shifting Elf from the world of Qingyang has the ability to shape-shift. It can imitate the appearance of the target creature, or change its own appearance as it wishes. They're weak, timid, and tend to avoid conflict if they can solve problems without violence. They like to drink pure water from the snowy mountains.

The ability to shape-shift was worth studying, concerning what conditions could break the shape-shifting ability after morphing. Another example of a research question was whether the shape-shifting energy could be attached to a foreign object or stored in any container.

Even if the above goals couldn't be achieved, testing the weaknesses of these Shape Shifting Elves could also help them learn how to deal with monsters that possessed the same ability.

Half a day passed by quickly. Gao Peng was satisfied when he left the lab, as he had seen some results.

Da Zi waddled close to its master. "Gao Peng, Gao Peng, when will you work on me?"

"You?" Gao Peng squinted at Da Zi. He fretted slightly while he sat on the sofa and sighed. "I'm too tired recently. Even my legs are sore."

Da Zi quickly stood up, bowed its back, and carefully massaged Gao Peng's legs, its two small claws massaging Gao Peng's legs. Its upper body was swaying to the same rhythm as its claws.

"Too soft." Gao Peng yawned. "Have you not eaten?"

Da Zi repeatedly apologized, then put greater strength into the massage. "Gao Peng, Gao Peng, what do you think about the massage now?"

"It's all right." Gao Peng barely accepted it and moved his legs forward two steps. "My back is also sore."

Ahhhm—

A dragon's hum echoed through the sky while a silver shadow flashed by. The people from Yuzhou City and the Southern Sky Group were accustomed to this.

Ji Hanwu didn't notice at first, but the message transmitted from the White Dragon into the mental sea made Ji Han Wu put down his work. He stood beside the window and looked up to the sky.

The dark clouds rolled over his head, as dark as if they were about to drip ink. The sky had become dark before they even realized it, and a silver flash was particularly dazzling among the dark clouds.

Ji Hanwu had a solemn look on his face, because the dragon up there… wasn't his.

"Wow, is that the White Dragon? That's so cool. I wish I also had such a fantastic familiar!" Karen Chen's eyes lit up while she spoke loudly.

Joey Ai, who was behind Karen, had his mouth wide open. His chubby little face was solemn. "Karen, that doesn't look like the White Dragon."

Karen looked ridiculed, wearing a face that said, Don't think that you can lie to me like I'm not knowledgeable. I'm a graduate student that has studied abroad!

"If that's not a dragon, then what is it? Go and play with your chicken poop, you chubby little kid!"

Joey's face turned red. "No, please don't mention that."

The sky changed colors, and the silver light flowed through it. The dark clouds were like a huge whirlpool of swirling ink. In the next moment, a huge dragon head penetrated the dark clouds and overlooked the mountains below.

The surface of the dragon's head was as smooth as a mirror, shining with silver glints. There were no horns on the top of its head. A trace of starlight glimmered around the dragon's head. Its white eyes contained hints of anger, whereas its head was petite like a delicate doll.

Gao Peng had his hands behind him when he arrived and saw this scene.

"Ahhm!" A water column rose from the lake. The column rushed up to the sky until it was 3,200 feet tall. There was a white body hidden in the water.

Two dragons? Gao Peng's eyes lit up, and he quickly brought a chair, mineral water, and sunflower seeds out from the research lab.

The White Dragon was hidden in the water column, invisible. It stared at the Silver Dragon above it through the thick water.

When the Silver Dragon descended slowly, Gao Peng noticed that it also had the same number of toes as the White Dragon, three.

[Monster Name: Lake Tai Hornless Silver Dragon

[Monster Tier: Level 54 (King-tier)

[Monster Grade: Perfect

[Monster Attribute: Electric/Cloud

[Monster Skill: Thunder Manipulation Level 5 Cloud Manipulation Level 5 Harden scales Level 4

[Monster Specialty: Electric Thunder Net Scales (Adds an additional layer of thunder scales within the inner layer of scales.)

Passive Effect 1: Thunder Net (Effectively absorbs lightning attacks and reduces the effect from physical attacks to a certain degree.)

Passive Effect 2: Electric Scales (Its enemy's attacks will be deflected onto themselves with electricity if it is hit on the scales.)

[Monster Profile: The Hornless Silver Dragon was born in the depths of Lake Tai. It is naturally capable of lightning manipulation.

The Hornless Silver Dragon was closing its distance with the White Dragon. The two dragon heads were face to face, almost touching.

Thick clouds rose, and the sky was quickly covered in white mist. Looking from the ground to the sky, nothing could be seen except for the white smog.

Gao Peng was disappointed. He had only just opened the cap of the bottle in his hand.

Is that it? That's it?!?

He grew mad and gulped the whole drink in one go.

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Chapter 448: Twin Dragons

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

After drinking a bottle of a beverage manufactured by the Southern Sky Group, Gao Peng gave a contented burp. Then he threw the empty bottle into the trash can, which was located 100 feet away, accurately.

"Let's go back, let's go back. There's no show for us to see anymore."

Gao Peng patted the leg of Da Zi, who was sitting beside him like a dog. He had yet to tell it the cruel fact that they were still lacking one material to complete the full list.

Da Zi was waiting hopefully with glittering eyes.

"You can go back first," said Gao Peng to Da Zi seriously. "I'll call you when it's time for you to evolve."

Da Zi replied, "Oh," and climbed to the root of the tree to watch the ants.

The White Dragon and the Silver Dragon who had flown to the sea of clouds seemed to disappear. Gao Peng yawned twice, dragged the chair below his butt away, and put it back in the laboratory.

"Oh my gosh… Listen to that nagging sound; that must be the Silver Dragon Prince. I have no idea what's so interesting to talk about between two male dragons."

Joey Ai and Karen Chen both greeted Gao Peng.

"Cousin brother."

"Cousin brother."

Joey Ai's eyes were filled with excitement to meet the well-respected Gao Peng. He truly admired Gao Peng, especially when he heard about some of his past achievements, which made him adore this cousin brother of his even more.

"Hmm." Gao Peng nodded and greeted them.

The day after the next would be the first day of Chinese New Year. The following day would be the Chinese New Year's Eve, so every family was busy preparing for the festival.

If Gao Peng could go into the town, he would see the streets full of people shopping for Chinese New Year supplies. The shops were having various special offers, such as "70% discount or more for all items," and so on.

"Fat Flamy, let's go." Gao Peng pulled up Flamy, who had been doing aerobic exercises, to ride on its back.

Flamy nagged, "Don't call me 'fat Flamy.' I'm not fat. It's just that I have thick hair that makes me look fluffy."

"Okay, I've got it! Thick-haired Fat Flammy." The young man flew west to Tiange on the crane.

Almost a third of the students in Tiange Academy had left, while the remaining students were homeless. The main entrance of Tiange Academy was marked with a couplet written in red:

The knowledge was generated and taught by the earlier generations,

The next generation absorbed knowledge and stimulated the creation of a new journey.

His grandfather had written these two lines of verse some time ago. Gao Peng had moderate skills in calligraphy, so he couldn't appreciate it as much, provided that it looked good to him.

Both sides of the main entrance had two bronze statues with heights of approximately 65 feet.

Gao Peng was feeling weird. He hadn't been around for some time, and the statues seemed to have grown taller and had increased by a few levels.

The horse's neck and the crescent blade of the Guan Yu statue were both covered in red clothes; the same had happened to both the swords on Qin Qiong's statue.

What were they doing? Gao Peng didn't understand the reason for covering the statues with red clothes. It was like the Buddha statue in the temple that had just been consecrated. But why hadn't they covered the top part of the statue and only the weapons?

The security guard at the main school entrance had left. There was no one in the security room, but there was no need for security guards, because the presence of Guan Yu and Qin Qiong was more than enough. Even Lord-tier monsters couldn't act wildly here.

The security guards played an important role in operation and maintenance most of the time. For example, they cleaned the garbage near the statues and the excess ashes left on the incense burners. Before the guards left for Chinese New Year, they had already cleaned up the excess ashes on the incense burners.

When he arrived at the school, it was about time for dinner. Gao Peng caught a whiff of the scent of rice from the cafeteria.

"Eeeek…" There were two shadows in the sky, flashing into the mountains simultaneously before they disappeared.

The place where they disappeared was in the same direction Gao Peng had come from. Gao Peng felt strange. He remembered that the White Dragon was a male dragon, but now it seemed like the Silver Dragon Prince had conformed to the White Dragon.

Since Gao Peng was in the school, he wasn't clear of the specific situation there. Though the presence of the White Dragon and other familiars would be able to repress the Hornless Silver Dragon, Gao Peng still couldn't rest assured.

After a quick inspection of the school, he looked through the materials that were required and the activities prepared for the next day once again before he left the school. After returning to the villa, Gao Peng saw his grandfather standing at the lakeside. There were two giant dragons in the lake, and their heads were lying on the shore.

The White-Horned Dragon was on the left, its wet mane near its ears, with a cold temperament. It squinted its eyes and showed its orange-yellow eyeballs and vertical slit pupils, which made it seemed particularly frosty.

The Hornless Silver Dragon on the right was leaning its head against the White Dragon. It secretly glanced at the White Dragon at times, but it rapidly looked away when the White Dragon turned its sight towards it, pretending as if nothing had happened.

"Why does the prince look so girly?" Gao Peng was speechless. It was a male, but acting in such a girly way was a shame.

There was a muffled humming from the White Dragon; the Silver Dragon seemed to be reluctant. The humming sound of the White Dragon increasingly became hoarse.

The Silver Dragon glanced at the White Dragon twice. The White Dragon snorted and looked towards Ji Hanwu impatiently. Then the Silver Dragon moved its head to face Ji Hanwu and stared at him for a few seconds before closing its eyes.

Gao Peng saw his grandfather sign a Blood Contract with the Silver Dragon.

Wait… Gao Peng felt a little bit shaky. He rubbed both sides of his forehead. What's actually happening? I have to figure it out.

This Silver Dragon had come to look for the White Dragon unknowingly, and they'd had a "friendly interaction" in the sea of clouds. Then, they went into the lake together. Now, another gay creature was going to sign a Blood Contract with Grandfather.

Err… this wasn't the main point. The main point was that this was a King-tier dragon.

Grandfather's Soul Power had become stronger after upgrading the White Dragon to the King-tier. Moreover, the Thunder Shell God and Primitive Jade Armored Crocodile had reached the Lord tier. Hence, Grandfather could manage to achieve the aim of signing a King-tier Hornless Silver Dragon.

Perhaps it was because of the White Dragon, since although the Hornless Silver Dragon looked rather reluctant, it still signed the Blood Contract with Grandfather.

After signing the Blood Contract, the Silver Dragon seemed to have softened its attitude towards Grandfather due to the connection of the Blood Contract. Though it wasn't as friendly, at least it wasn't rude.

Gao Peng congratulated his grandfather for having another King-tier familiar. However, he was still feeling weird about the interaction between the White and Silver Dragons.

"Little Silver isn't a male dragon," Ji Hanwu said, seemingly knowing what Gao Peng had in his mind.

Gao Peng didn't feel embarrassed even though someone revealed his thoughts. He asked his grandfather cheekily, "Grandfather, is this the Silver Dragon Prince from Lake Tai?"

Ji Hanwu nodded and said, "It's her."

"That's good! Since she has become your familiar, we mustn't let others take advantage of her. I remember she has a servant, the Mirror Turtle. It has good divination techniques in predicting whether something is good or bad. It's the only monster that I've ever seen have this ability, so we shouldn't let it go." Gao Peng had actually been thinking of finding the Mirror Turtle a long time ago.

After Ji Hanwu considered what was being said, he realized it actually made sense, so he talked to the Silver Dragon. In fact, the Silver Dragon didn't care much about the Mirror Turtle. It was just a little turtle who had relied on her to survive years ago.

The Silver Dragon made an inattentive agreement. She believed only in powerful individuals and strength, so she didn't care about the Mirror Turtle. Her main concern was actually finding ways to take the White Dragon to Lake Tai.

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Chapter 449: What Happened to the Little Brother?

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

The Little Silver Dragon spat out a piece of silver scale and passed it to Ji Hanwu. "You pass this scale to the Mystical Mirror Diviner Turtle. After receiving the scale, it will…" advised the Little Silver Dragon.

At this moment, Ji Hanwu's phone rang. He took out the phone and found that the call was from the guardhouse. Normally, he would only receive phone calls from the guardhouse under special circumstances. "Chairman Ji, a huge turtle has broken in. We couldn't stop it since it isn't attacking anyone, but it's moving in the direction of the villa."

Before hanging up the phone, Ji Hanwu heard a loud running noise and felt a slight tremble of the ground.

Turning over his shoulder, he saw a silver turtle with a smooth bright shell similar to a mirror that was as huge as a house, and it was running crazily towards him.

"I'm coming! I'm coming! Chi… chi… chi… chi!" The giant silver turtle made a grunting sound.

There was a floating ball of water on the back of the huge silver turtle. Inside the water ball, there was a silver fish that was as fat as a silkworm. It was rolling around, spitting bubbles and not fearful at all.

The huge silver turtle was also not afraid of strangers. It sat on the lawn, making a big pit in the lawn.

"…" The Little Silver Dragon looked stiff. It turned its neck and asked, "You're here?"

"Yes, I'm here," said the Mystical Mirror Diviner Turtle with its red eyes on its white head squinted.

"When did you get here?" The Little Silver Dragon was a little bewildered.

"Big Boss, I departed on the second day after you left."

The Little Silver Dragon bent its neck, looking confused.

"Big fortune!" said the Mystical Mirror Diviner Turtle mysteriously. "I have foreseen that the turning point of my life is here."

Then it was looking at Ji Hanwu with its sparkling eyes. It opened its mouth and spoke in an unclear human voice. "Are you my future master? You look smart. Look at your silver hair. Doesn't it match my shell color?"

Ji Hanwu was blank.

"Why did you bring along the fish on your back? Is this for our dinner?" asked Gao Peng, who was standing beside curiously, wondering why the Mystical Mirror Diviner Turtle had brought the fat fish here.

"No, this is actually the son of Master Silver Dragon Prince. Ummm, of course, it's also Master White Dragon's…" the Mystical Mirror Diviner Turtle said earnestly.

The fat noodlefish seemed to smell the subtle savor of meat, staring intently from afar at both Karen Chen and Joey Ai, who were having barbecue. Its mouth formed an O-shape.

Gao Peng gazed at the Silver Dragon Prince. He had thought that it would deny the news, but it just hummed coldly and turned its head.

Gao Peng spat out the tea that he had just been drinking. Did the White Dragon become a father?

He had thought that White Dragon would be angry, but it turned out that it was just looking at the little noodlefish hesitantly and sniffing it. Then it closed its eyes and, like before, didn't deny anything.

Though neither of the dragons showed any signs of denial, they didn't seem to like the little noodlefish.

"It's normal. This child is most likely not able to activate their bloodline. You can tell from looking at its outer appearance. It looks so different compared to them," said the Desolate Frost Lion to Gao Peng through their Blood Contract.

"Many monsters act that way. If their offspring inherits their bloodline, then they'll be fond of it, and vice versa," said the old-fashioned Desolate Frost Lion while shaking its head.

"Why?" Gao Peng couldn't understand the mindset of these monsters.

"It's normal. It's still acceptable. Some even let the newly born offspring fight against each other, and the last survivor will be the winner to earn their parents' love. For example, Eagle-type monsters will break the wing bones of their offspring and push them off a cliff. If they can overcome the hardship and fly up themselves, then they can live. If not… then they'll die." The Desolate Frost Lion said calmly, "There are many of these cases."

"Will you be treating your offspring like this?" Gao Peng asked.

The Desolate Frost Lion's face turned red. "I don't even have any offspring yet!"

"Oh, you have yet to get yourself a mate first."

After all, it was the offspring of both dragons. Although it looked like any ordinary obese noodlefish in Lake Tai at that moment, this didn't change the fact that it was their offspring.

Ji Hanwu put the noodlefish back into the lake and requested that the dragons spend more time with it during their free time.

"Eeeek…" The White Dragon was unhappy.

"Both of you are neglecting this child. Just see how fat it is right now!" Ji Hanwu scolded.

After that, Gao Peng brought his familiar to Tiange Academy to learn how to make rice cake with the students in the cafeteria.

"Is he the principal?" The students downstairs were discussing him stealthily.

"He seems to be the principal. Isn't the classroom pasted with his photo? He looks so young," said a girl with shining eyes.

They had heard of his other role, which was as one of the top Monster Trainers in the world. The students were chattering, sounding like a flock of chicks freed from their cage.

"Wow, I can finally see the headmaster. He's just as handsome as he looks in the photo!"

Gao Peng coughed twice. "Everyone, please remain silent."

The procedure of making rice cakes wasn't complicated, so it could be learned easily if one paid attention seriously.

"Principal, can we touch your familiar once we finish the rice cakes?" asked a boy with a buzz cut who looked dignified and strong, raising his hand excitedly.

Last time, they had celebrated Chinese New Year by themselves, but now they could celebrate it with other students. It was their first experience, and this made them extremely excited and willing to act more bravely than usual.

Gao Peng took a glimpse at this student. He could see that his eyes revealed some nervousness, desire, and a little anxiety. "Yes, you may. But you have to finish making your rice cakes."

Finally, the rice cakes were all steamed. The students exchanged rice cakes with each other. Those who were better looking or performed well in their studies received many rice cakes. Gao Peng received the most rice cakes on his table.

That night, Gao Peng asked Goldie to come over.

The children began to gossip. "Is that the Lord-tier familiar? It looks weird."

"Looks like a monk."

"I think it looks cool."

The bald and muscular Goldie was staring at these children with a poker face, letting them touch it freely.

One boy walked closer to another boy and started whispering, "Ah Jun, why does this duck not have hair?"

"Little boy, what's wrong with you?" Goldie approached this boy, then lifted him up with an unpleasant look.

"I-I…" The boy was panicked and spoke incoherently.

"I'm a legendary rare hairless duck from Yuzhou," said Goldie. "I was born with no hair, but I'm the most handsome in my ethnic group."

"Yes, yes, yes, yes." The boy nodded his head wildly. "I knew that, I really knew that. You're the most handsome one."

"You're a sensible boy." Goldie put him down and patted his shoulder as a form of encouragement.

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Chapter 450: The Eve of Chaos

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

The monsters that reached the Lord tier or above would often have a rather complete body structure. The primate monsters could speak like humans, however, it wasn't difficult for other types of monsters to speak a human language that was accepted by humans.

However, the premise was that these monsters had to be willing to learn the human language or be like the Growing Brain and have the ability to retrieve the memory.

Goldie wasn't dumb, although it looked it. It had learned the language since it had been in human society for a long time.

( AllNovelFull ) There was a gathering that night. Some students performed singing and dancing, while others recited poems.

The more creative show was the performance related to the familiars. Teacher Da Guan and Teacher Da Qin led the performance. Some monsters that were caught trying to sneak into the school had been asked to play the supporting roles in the show. These few wild monsters, Teacher Da Guan, and Teacher Da Qin performed a unique drama scene which won applause from the students.

It was getting late, but the gathering continued until midnight. The bright red, green, and blue fireworks were blasting when the bell rang at midnight, and these colorful fireworks filled the sky.

During the first year after the Cataclysm, no one dared to set off fireworks. Perhaps they were afraid of provoking the monsters, and everyone was at risk of being attacked by these monsters at that point, so they weren't in the mood to consider these things, even during Chinese New Year.

During the second and third years, it had been prohibited to set off firecrackers. At that time, the Large Scale Base City was restoring its stability and developing on the right track. However, the explosive sound of firecrackers at night was too conspicuous. To be on the safe side, the government set off the firecrackers in public at the center of the city.

The rules were loosened only after the Spring festival the year before, when some of the Large Scale Base Cities were permitted by the government to set off the firecrackers in some areas of the city.

It was because humans had become stronger over the years. The defense power of the cities was also enhanced, and the well-developed Base Cities had started to expand the perimeters of their land.

The firecrackers were blasting endlessly in the sky that night, but the monsters in the forest of Yuzhou Base City had basically all been killed. Currently, every single part of a monster was like a treasure; even a Normal-tier monster could sell at a decent price. Over the past few years, most monsters would either escape to the forest or become exhibits in a shop…

The remaining monsters, such as small fish and shrimp, would tremble with fear when they heard the blasting fireworks in the sky, hiding in holes or bushes while staring at the sky.

This was a gigantic world.

The trees were so tall and seemed to grow to the sky, the birds were chirping by the black cliff, and the canyon was so deep, just like a passageway to the netherworld. Giant monsters that weighed a million tons were running wildly.

On the east side, there was a group of stone forts in the rocky jungle. The stone forts looked like large, dense, gray-white colored balls when looking down from the sky. From time to time, gentle-looking or giant familiars could be seen passing through the stone forts. In the central area of the stone forts, there was a black stone fort that was similar to the other stone forts.

There was a monster's bone displayed in a room on the second floor. The size of the monster's bone was almost the same as a human's palm, and there was a deep red pattern flickering on it.

There were a lot of gold patterns intertwined on the monster's bone, at last condensing into an icon with a total of three patterns on it and a mosaic flower in the middle.

Dried bone flowers were hanging, the dead leaves were swinging in the wind, and the gray leaves and flower appeared silently. Suddenly, the leaves and flower on the monster's bone started to ignite; the surface of the bone was now flaring with blue light.

The flares were gradually increasing. Finally, the flower was brightening up. The bright blue ray ignited and turned into fire, and then the falling flower started to rise.

Bang! The table flipped. A small kid wearing a cloth made of animal skin was rushing out in a panicked manner, shouting, "Dad, Dad, the flower is shining! The flower is shining!"

Lohan district, San Tel City.

There was a giant Black Dragon opening its wings and standing on the top of the Barofi Tower. The sky was gloomy with heavy rain and thunder. Under the wing of the Huge Black Dragon, the San Tel City was in a deathly still condition.

"Only the strongest can set the rules of the world!" said the mysterious man in a white mask and black coat who was standing on the back of the giant Black Dragon. The man was wearing a headset, so his voice was sent through the radio wave transmission and transmitted through all the speakers in the San Tel city. Everyone in the city could hear it clearly.

Under the wings of the Black Dragon, San Tel City was in chaos, and people were panicked. The city was caught on fire and became smoky.

Bam. A big black vulture flew up to the other side of the sky, moving around the black dragon a few times before flying toward the city hall.

"From now on, San Tel City is declared independent. We belong to the World Allied Government, but no third parties are allowed to be involved in the internal positions or affairs of San Tel City!"

South District, Trudeau City.

The land was shaking, and a gold coffin that controlled the black clouds was flying in the sky. Then, the coffin was lifted all of a sudden.

An arm bound with white bandages could be seen coming out from the gold coffin. Suddenly, a mummy bound in white bandages all over its body walked out. The mummy pointed to the sky with its left hand. Its fingertip ignited the bright ray, and it started to burn like a miniature sun.

"From now on, Trudeau City is declared independent. We belong to the World Allied Government, and only internal members are responsible for any of the internal affairs in Trudeau City."

Nihon District, Ueda City.

It was a slightly bigger city, and the street was very clean. There were small bungalows on both sides of the road. Along the way, warriors in uniform were seen patrolling the street with familiars.

In the central area of Ueda City, there was a 300-foot-tall giant cherry blossom tree. The falling petals were fluttering around the pink tree, and some of them flew into the city.

A group of people rushed into the city hall silently and took control over the entirety of Ueda City.

"This is an order from the Almighty of Cherry Blossom. From now on, I will take over everything in Ueda city," uttered the warrior in wooden clogs coldly while holding a token.

The warrior was followed by a Four-Armed Kappa, which was wet. Water was leaking out from the pores on its body. Its deathly pale eyeballs were staring at the man behind the small table.

In just one night, while the Huaxia Region was still celebrating its first day of Chinese New Year, all the base cities around the world had declared themselves independent. It wasn't a coincidence.

On the internet, a lot of commenters were appearing on a hidden personal local area network. All of them were basically wearing masks. No one could see these people's real faces.

"We've finished raising the flag, but why has there been no action in the Huaxia Region?" asked a man who was wearing a white mask.

"…It's a totally different level of difficulty! Yuzhou is right next to me!" said a man wearing a yellow mask in a muffled tone.

The atmosphere in the network became awkward all of a sudden. It seemed like the two men in Yuzhou were great obstacles for them.

"It's okay! I wish you good luck. If one day, you can't survive in the Huaxia Region, you can find me in the Lohan District," laughed the man wearing a white mask in a high-pitched and sarcastic tone.

It was, indeed, a carefree organization, only staying together because they all had the same purpose. Now, they had almost achieved their goal; one or two mistakes wouldn't affect the overall results.

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Read Monster Pet Evolution Chapter 451 - Challenge online for free - AllNovelFull

In the Yinglie region, the Saint Tyr base city.

In the northern outskirts of the city stood a lonely, yet elegant-looking manor. This once magnificent building was now in ruins. Smoke and dust seemed to swirl eternally around it. Among the ruins, three massive monsters stood facing each other.

On the left side stood a green-grayish monster, as tall as a small hill. Deep grooves lined its skin from head to toe like a tree's growth rings. Its three eyeballs were embedded on its chest in a triangle. Vines spread out from its feet, squirming like earthworms in the mud. A green-gray aura emanated from its body.

Beside the behemoth stood a 30-foot-tall stone statue, which was slightly hunched over. Muscles rippled across its upper torso. It was also holding a stone torch in its right hand. Curiously enough, a fire was burning on the tip of said torch. The Lord-tier aura that surrounded the stone statue's body seemed to be comprised of red and white patterns.

A huge snake lay coiled up before them in the lake. Its black and green reef-like body was adorned with red stripes. Its red Lord-tier aura had dyed the lake red. Its cold, cruel eyes stared down at the green-gray behemoth before it.

Elias stood on top of Laen's head, his face expressionless. His blonde hair was a mess.

"How dare you crash my party! I don't know who you think you are, but I'll have you pay with your lives for ruining my day! No, I won't just stop with you two; I'll hunt down everyone you've ever loved and make them all pay!" he roared, pressing one hand against his chest. His eyes were bulging out of their sockets, giving him a crazed look.

Since becoming an elder of the Monster Trainer League, he had never met anyone so bold as to ambush him in his own home. If he hadn't activated the failsafe trainer ability he had awakened in his body, he would have been killed by these fiends.

"Laen, kill them all!" ordered Elias as he relaxed his hand, which was pressed against his chest. Moments before, someone had shot at him with an anti-material sniper rifle while he was swimming in the lake. He had thought he was dead when the bullet tore through his heart.

It was his failsafe ability that had scooped him out of the jaws of death in the nick of time. Upon activation, Laen had been able to pour all of its life energy into him, letting his ruptured heart sew itself back up.

The Iwaki Mountain Giant slammed its massive arms down on the ground, which shook and cracked as thick, long vines snaked through the earth before emerging from the ground and entwining themselves around Laen's body.

Hundreds of black-green vines came out of the ground and latched themselves onto the black-green serpent.

The stone statue raised its torch up in the air like an Olympic marathon runner. Flames burned fiercely atop the torch, then suddenly, the flames came pouring down from the torch like a waterfall, as if someone had suddenly tipped it over. The fiery torrent immediately set the vines ablaze, trapping both Laen and its trainer in a fiery cage.

"Did we kill it?"

"Not sure… I doubt it would be that easy to kill the snake, but at least we took care of its trainer," said a dark-skinned man wearing a baseball hat who was watching the whole thing unfold from a distance through a pair of binoculars. He licked his dry lips.

Suddenly, a black shape lashed out from the inferno like the hand of God.

Bam! The Iwaki Mountain Giant was sent flying away in the opposite direction, a noticeable impression left on its chest by whatever had struck it. Red light spilled out of the open wound on its chest, which also seemed to be lightly smoking.

Upon seeing what had happened to its comrade, the stone statue turned back to the snake and swung its torch at it with all its might.

Boom!

The flames reared up and twisted themselves into the shape of a dragon that collided heavily against Laen, leaving a nasty burn on its chest. Crackling sounds could be heard from it.

Laen wanted to follow up its attack on the giant when it was rudely interrupted by the fiery dragon's assault. The stone statue leaped forth, hellbent on ending the snake's life.

Elias gazed grimly at it, the blood on his body glinting in the firelight. "You really think you can take me on? Me?! The only reason I was chosen as one of the elders of the Monster Trainer League was that I was strong enough to become one! Laen, finish this one off with your Blood Spirit Ability!"

The huge snake opened its mouth and let out a roar. It spat out a blood-red moon that instantly engulfed all the light in the area. The blood moon floated in the air for a moment. Then, without warning, it sailed through the air towards the stone statue!

Boom!

The orb came barreling down towards its target with such speed that an ordinary human being would probably only have registered a blood-red streak in the air.

Schwing! The stone statue couldn't avoid the attack in time.

The blood moon sliced through the statue's body, leaving a tenuous bloody line across it. The statue froze. Cracks began appearing across its eyeballs. In the next second, they exploded into puffs of dust.

After finishing off the stone statue, the blood moon now seemed weaker than before as its color began to dim. It made a turn in the air and headed straight for the Iwaki Mountain Giant.

As the giant was much bigger than the stone statue, its movements were noticeably less agile than the latter. It could sense the threat that the blood moon posed. Letting out a deep roar, the giant turned around to flee. Before it could even take another step, the blood moon sliced through its head cleanly from behind.

The Iwaki Mountain Giant staggered… Then, with its hands holding his head together, it began limping away.

The blood moon had grown dimmer. It was now on the verge of fading away completely. The snake's roar echoed across the field as it swung the blood moon around at its target once more.

A dazzling red light exploded from the blood moon, which was now much brighter than before. The blinding light stained the whole place red. The blurred image of the blood moon rained down on everything around the snake, slicing everything in its path into pieces!

No enemy shall survive this attack.

Bam!

The blood moon had ripped through the Iwaki Mountain Giant multiple times. It staggered for a moment.

Elias smiled triumphantly. Then, his smile froze.

The green-gray behemoth continued to limp away with one hand holding its head together and the other preventing its buttocks from falling off…

Elias's jaw dropped. He tried to think of something to say but failed. Seeing that his familiar was no longer in any state to chase after its assailant, Elias simply heaved a sigh.

He took out his cellphone and yelled into it, "I'm being attacked! Find out who's behind this! Now!"

The other elders of the Monster Trainer League were being attacked at the same time in other corners of the world.

Some were ambushed. Others were challenged to a fair fight.

Most of the elders were able to defend their titles as elite monster trainers by beating back their assailants. They were, after all, some of the strongest trainers in the world.

However, there were some who didn't survive the onslaught. In the Lohan Region, one of the elders, Nazef of the Frozen Tundra, was defeated by the Wings of the Eternal Night, Deng Linken, in a duel. Many had witnessed the defeat of Nazef, who was later captured alive by his opponent.

Just like that, the Wings of the Eternal Night had usurped Nazef's title as a world-class elite monster trainer from him.

"Just when I thought we could finally have some peace and quiet around here…" muttered Ji Hanwu, who was looking out of the window on the top floor of the Southern Sky Group's headquarters.

"There's nothing unusual about this. We couldn't even come together as one to fend off world-ending catastrophes like the Cataclysm. As long as there are people in this world who aren't content with their lot in life, peace will always be nothing more than a pipe dream," said Gao Peng, shaking his head.

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Chapter 452: A Drastic Change

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

"Every other region has descended into pandemonium… except the Huaxia region," said Gao Peng, chuckling, as if he had just thought of something funny.

Ji Han Wu smiled. "That's 'cause they're all afraid that they might be biting off more than they can chew if they try to take us on."

As one who had seen much in his lifetime, Ji Hanwu knew that the Southern Sky Group had a lot of sway over the Allied Government, as well as the shady organizations that lurked in the periphery of society's consciousness.

By attacking the twelve elders, they had lit the fuse on something much bigger than themselves. While the rich and powerful had a head start over everyone else, the monster trainer profession offered everyone an equal chance at a new lease on life, regardless of who one was before the Cataclysm.

With a bit of luck and effort, one definitely had a chance of becoming an elite trainer, albeit a rather small one. Still, with so many people living in this world right then, it was hard to imagine that the world would be running out of elite monster trainers any time soon.

Even though becoming an elite trainer came with its benefits, there were still some who had a different idea of what they were entitled to. Most people tended not to behave in an extreme fashion. However, those who believed that they deserved more were much more prone to extreme behavior.

As of now, Lord-tier was the highest possible level of combat power the average trainer could hope to attain. Most small-scale base cities only had one Lord-tier trainer at their disposal.

( AllNovelFull )These trainers were responsible for the defense of an entire city, facing other Lord-tier monsters or massive swarms of low-leveled monsters on a daily basis.

They were the ones putting their lives on the line to protect thousands of people in the city. Still, with great power came great responsibility. As Lord-tier trainers, they were subject to the authority of the local government. Some of them eventually grew tired of being at the government's beck and call and began fantasizing about a "better" life. While some of them were a bit too humble for their own good, those around them might have thought that they deserved more in life.

This was how General Zhao Kuangyin had been dressed in yellow imperial robes and crowned emperor of China by his subordinates.

These troublemakers might only have made up a minority of the world's population, but their every movement was now being watched by the whole world. Soon, more would be inspired by their audacity to take up arms themselves, causing the whole situation to spiral out of control.

"Yes, the whole world's watching them. Their numbers might be few. In ancient times, they would probably be no more than mere peasants acting out sporadically in a region or two. The imperial court could simply dispatch their army to bring the people back in line without breaking a sweat.

"What the imperial court truly feared back then was a mass riot from the people…" muttered Gao Peng, nodding.

The revolt of the masses was something all governments feared. The New World Allied Government as most people knew it that day wasn't a singular entity, but rather an alliance formed in response to a cataclysmic event by a majority of the countries across the globe. Despite being called as such, most members of the New World Allied Government still retained their autonomy.

If one of the major regions decided to declare its withdrawal, the government's reputation would take a major hit.

"I don't think these troublemakers belong to any organization. Their actions don't seem coordinated. While some of them challenged the twelve elders to a duel, others killed their opponents outright. Doesn't look like there's a unifying intelligence behind their operation. They're just a bunch of thugs," said Ji Hanwu, shaking his head.

Only someone like Gao Peng's grandfather, who now had two King-tier familiars by his side, had any right to call other Lord-tier trainers "thugs."

Gao Peng clicked his tongue. "They still seem like a reasonable lot. To most people, they look like they're just acting out, but they claim to be operating under the Allied Government's authority. What's strange here is that the Allied Government doesn't seem to care about them at all. Aren't the twelve elders supposed to be…"

"It's just a title," said Ji Hanwu, waving his hand. He chuckled. "I was invited to be one of the twelve elders back then. I'm already the director of a world-class company. Why the hell would I debase myself to serve as someone else's lapdog?"

Both grandfather and grandson leisurely talked about the world's affairs on the sofa. Neither of them was concerned about obtaining independence from the government or maintaining peace and order in the world.

Their only concerns were making sure that their company was running smoothly and raising their familiars well.

In reality, the situation took a turn for the worse much sooner than Gao Peng or his grandfather had anticipated.

On the second day, five more regions had declared their withdrawal from the Allied Government. Despite being minor regions, their withdrawals had shaken the international community to its very core.

In response to this, the Allied Government officially blacklisted and imposed sanctions on all five regions. It had also dispatched its army and trainers to place these regions under martial law.

However, on the third day, seven more regions declared their withdrawals, including the Yinyang region, which was a major region with formidable military strength.

In just two days, the state of the world had changed drastically. The wind of change was now howling across the face of the planet. Amid the upheavals the state of the world was experiencing, one major event stood out the most: the defeat of Bo Jinduo, one of the twelve elders, on the peak of Mount Putuo.

Bo Jinduo's familiar, an Earthstrider Devil, had been sliced in half, its blood spilled over half of the mountain's face.

Not only was Bo Jinduo the second elder to be defeated by his challenger, but he was also the only elder who had died a horrible death at the hands of his opponent. The other elder who had been defeated not too long ago was Nazef, who had been captured alive by his opponent.

Their defeats had taken a toll on the twelve elders' reputations.

The trainer who murdered Bo Jinduo was called Hua Lun. At the age of 22, he was regarded as one of the most talented trainers in the Yinyang region.

Despite having only signed a Blood Contract with his first familiar a year after the Cataclysm, Hua Lun had become the master of a King-tier familiar. His familiar was a King-tier creature known as the Dark Ashura.

Soon after the war waged upon the twelve elders, Hua Lun was extolled by many as the strongest man alive in the Yinyang region. There were others claiming that he was the strongest man to ever grace the eastern side of the planet.

"This was a video someone took of the Dark Ashura," said Huang Ya as he showed the video to Gao Peng.

The screen showed an extremely congested street somewhere in the Yinyang region. However, the pedestrians seemed to be avoiding something or someone in the middle of the street, leaving a wide enough space for whatever it was to move about.

A bespectacled man with a bowl cut and a jade pendant hanging from his neck was strolling leisurely in the middle of the street. He looked, in all respects, like an honest person.

Behind him lumbered a humanoid creature that was black from head to toe. The creature stood ten feet tall, with a head of burning white flames and a serpentine tail. It had four arms and a pair of golden eyes.

As if it realized that it was being filmed, the creature turned to the camera. Suddenly, the image blurred. Only when the camera was redirected away from the creature did the video return to normal.

[Monster Name: Dark Ashura

[Monster Level: Level 52 (King-tier)

[Monster Grade: Perfect

[Monster Attribute: Dark

[Monster Ability: Dark Power Level 5, Enhanced Strength Level 3, Enhanced Thought Process Level 3, Enhanced Regeneration Level 3

[Special Characteristics: Dark Comet (A curious core crystal which was formed in the depths of its consciousness and endowed with extraordinary properties.

Active Effect 1: By activating the Dark Comet, the Dark Ashura is able to improve its physical constitution for a certain period of time.)

[Description: A servant of darkness, the Dark Ashura is a calm, calculating creature that craves the excitement of a fight. It hates creatures of the light and prefers looking at the stars in the night sky in solitude.

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"Not bad," muttered Gao Peng.

Huang Ya, who was standing in front of him, asked, "What's not bad, sir?"

"Its stats," said Gao Peng.

Having one unique monster trait implied that it had already attained the Epic grade in the past. Of course, Gao Peng had no way of telling if its promotion had caused it to drop to Excellent-grade or whether it had yet to return to its rightful grade.

A Perfect-grade King-tier monster was by no means weak, since it still surpassed Normal and Excellent-grade monsters.

After reading through the Dark Ashura's stats, Gao Peng figured that it must have been a Dark-type close combatant, much like the White Dragon. Both monsters specialized in close combat and a certain element, and both had no noticeable weaknesses.

The Dark Ashura's Dark Comet had no passive effect. It only had one active ability, with a description that simply stated that it would be able to improve its physical constitution upon activation.

It didn't clearly explain to what extent the Dark Ashura's constitution would be improved. However, seeing that it was an active ability with only one effect, Gao Peng reckoned that there was much more to it than met the eye.

"Young Master, this Hua Lun person spouted a bunch of nonsense during a wine party yesterday about how his familiar is the most powerful familiar in the world, even more so than yours or your grandfather's. This person has obviously never met you before. Otherwise, he wouldn't be saying such nonsense in public," said Huang Ya indignantly. To him, Young Master was, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the most skilled trainer in the world.

"I see… Well, if he's so into being number one, let him be. I'm not going to fight him over it," said Gao Peng, visibly unbothered.

He chuckled. Number one… it's just a title. As long as you leave me the hell alone, I won't come after you. As for your bragging… Well, anyone can brag.

Gao Peng wasn't angry. Hua Lun had simply gotten himself drunk when he said those words. Alcohol had a curious way of making people say or do things they normally wouldn't when sober.

"How magnanimous of you, Young Master, to be the bigger man here and not stoop to the level of subhuman trash," said Huang Ya. He was on a roll with the bootlicking today.

"Hahaha!" Gao Peng laughed, shaking his head. "Oh yeah, Huang Ya, didn't you mention that you found a clue regarding the location of the Concentration Stone?" asked Gao Peng seriously.

A few days earlier, Gao Peng had mobilized every person that he could find to search for the remaining ingredients for Da Zi's promotion. His efforts were not in vain, as two days ago, he had gotten his hands on information regarding the location of the final piece of the puzzle. As it seemed dubious, he'd had Huang Ya bring his men to verify its authenticity.

"Yes, Young Master. I've dispatched my Lord-tier familiars to check it out. We'll soon find out if the rumors are indeed true." Suddenly, Huang Ya's phone rang in his breast pocket. His eyes lit up as he began reading his message.

"Young Master, we have confirmation! The rumors concerning the Concentration Stone are true! Someone saw the stone turn into a flying beast at night and then turn back into a stone during the day at the foot of the Goddess Peak. Our informant didn't dare set foot on the mountain, as he believed it to be extremely dangerous, so our people staked out the place that he told us about and they were able to witness the extraordinary event unfold before them. The rumors are true, Young Master!"

"All right. Today's a better day than any to let Da Zi evolve. Coincidentally, today's also the beginning of a new year. This must be a good sign. What do you think, Da Zi?" said Gao Peng, setting the cup of tea in his hand down on the table.

Hearing what Gao Peng had just said, Da Zi, which was coiled up around Gao Peng's foot, raised its head and puffed up its chest. Did anyone hear that? I'm going to be evolving soon! Gao Peng said so!

Da Zi tried to suppress the grin on its face but failed. Words couldn't describe the happiness it was feeling right then.

Its gait when it left Gao Peng's foot was anything but a centipede's. Gao Peng gazed affectionately at Da Zi's slithering figure. He turned to the window and shouted, "Stripey!"

Stripey was counting the fruits on a tree outside. When it heard Gao Peng's voice, it started and hurriedly scuttled towards Gao Peng. "Coming!"

"Come, we're going to retrieve the last ingredient for Da Zi's evolution. It's somewhere here in Yuzhou. This won't take longer than a day."

"Okay!" gushed Stripey happily. As long as it could go out for a walk with Gao Peng, it was happy. Gao Peng always seemed to loosen up whenever he was with his familiars.

"We're going for a walk!" said Stripey as it spread out all sixteen of its legs, the two withered orange trees on its head swaying about like a couple of antennae.

The Goddess Peak was located in the Wushan district in Yuzhou. The Wu Gorge flowed like a raging water dragon between two steep mountains. There was a fierce whirlpool in the middle of the gorge.

Returning to its normal size, Stripey let itself float down the Wu Gorge. Despite standing 2,000 feet tall, most of its body was submerged in the water. Only a small portion of it poked out from the surface of the water.

From afar, Stripey looked like a river monster lazily floating down the gorge with a man riding on its back. Said man was wearing a bamboo hat and a straw cape and holding a green fishing pole out over the river monster's back.

"Sis, look at that man's ridiculous outfit." A young girl and her sister were cruising down the gorge on a boat nearby. The former was giggling like mad at the sight of the man on his river monster.

"Shh, it's rude to make fun of other people," her sister snapped.

There was an uproar on the boat. A group of young boys and girls ranging from ten to twenty years of age were taking a cruise down the Wu Gorge.

They were now on their winter break. During this time, most children would rather have spent their vacation spotting monsters in the great outdoors than playing video games at home with their cousins. This was also a time when the tourism industry would see a huge boom in customers.

Of course, only the rich could afford such an extravagant way of spending one's vacation. The price for boat rides such as this one was simply beyond the means of ordinary folk.

Seeing Gao Peng on top of Stripey's back, a bald boy with an ear piercing pointed at him and said to the others, "Guy's not wearing anything waterproof. Won't he get his butt wet just sitting on his familiar's back like that?"

"He might freeze to death if he falls into the water."

The bald boy shouted at Gao Peng, "Oi, mate, why don't you rest a bit on our boat?"

"Er, sir, I'm afraid that's against the rules," said the captain of the boat, stepping forward to try to stop him.

"I'll pay for his ticket," said the boy, shutting the captain up with a sidelong glance.

Gao Peng pulled his fishing pole up. Its hook was empty. "Strange, why's the bait all gone?"

Hearing the shouts behind him, Gao Peng turned around and saw a group of people on a boat waving at him. "No need. I'm good."

Upon hearing Gao Peng's response, the bald boy simply shrugged and waved back at him.

Gao Peng took out a dumpling from the container beside him and attached it to the hook before throwing it back once more into the water.

In the water, Stripey's eyes gleamed as it saw Gao Peng's hook floating down in front of it. It furtively opened its mouth. Yum.

A crack split open on the side of Stripey's craggy body, from which a huge spiny tongue rolled out and pulled the dumpling into its mouth. Time passed quickly as Stripey indulged in Gao Peng's "treats," much to the latter's chagrin.

"Sis, why is that man still following us? What a pest," said the young girl, annoyed. "Just like those boys in school who just won't leave me alone."

Her sister leaned out over the boat's railing and swept back her hair. "Didn't you break up with Lu Hang two days ago?"

"Yeah, I dumped him," the young girl said, nodding.

"Why? He seemed like a gentleman."

"Ha, when I told him that I was going on a trip with another boy, he got mad, we fought, end of story," said the young girl, smiling bitterly. "I've never met a more petty person than that boy in my whole life."

Boom!

Suddenly, a huge wave hit the boat, which began swaying about violently. The young girl staggered and hit her head against the railing.

Her sister simply sat there, wide-eyed, her hand clasped over mouth as she tried not to scream.

The water bulged upward in front of the boat. White scales glimmered through the resulting spray, which revealed a huge fearsome crocodile head. In an instant, the whole gorge was enveloped by the creature's Lord-tier aura.

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Chapter 454: The Wu Gorge's Twelve Peaks

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

"Why is the White Crocodile King here? Haven't we already given it this year's offering?" said the captain of the boat, his face going white.

Anyone who wished to travel across the river would have to pay a fee to its ruler for protection against turbulent currents and monster attacks. Even a ship made out of steel wouldn't be completely safe from the dangers that lurked in the river.

The White Crocodile King was the river's ruler. It had never caused an incident, at least not until that day.

"Sis, what is that? Why is it so big?" said the young girl, her face, too, going white. She was gripping tightly onto the railing. Then, as if not at all reassured by the cold hard metal, she turned around and held fast to her sister's arm.

Her sister seemed shaken as well. However, looking at the young girl's shivering form, she tried to put up a brave front. Holding the young girl's hand, she said, "Don't worry, I'm right here."

The White Crocodile King surged upward, revealing its light gray abdomen in the water.

"Why has it suddenly appeared here? We already gave it an offering half a month ago. Is it not satisfied?" said the captain, frowning. The offering in question was worth thousands of Alliance credits. These monsters seemed to be getting greedier by the day.

Whoo—

Suddenly, the water began rising and flowing back against the boat. The mountains on both sides of the gorge hummed as huge rocks creaked and swelled. Dirty brown energy began spreading across the river, disturbing the mud and water near the riverbed. In an instant, the clear, green river was transformed into a shade of murky yellow.

The ruckus that the White Crocodile King had caused not too long ago seemed trivial in comparison to what was going on just then.

Sploosh! Without warning, the water parted as a massive, brown shape rose to the heavens.

The boys and girls on the boat fell back in their seats, gazing in awe and fear at the appearance of this towering entity. The creature was impossibly massive.

A brown glow was emanating from its body. It was almost palpable, weighing down on everyone and everything around it. Then the river calmed down, its waves subsiding. Only this massive mountain of a monster stood towering over the middle of the river.

This wasn't Stripey's true body, but rather the result of its elemental ability. Being capable of manipulating the earth element in its surroundings, Stripey was naturally able to build a temporary "armor" around itself, making it surge up to 3,000 feet tall.

Gao Peng, who was sitting on top of this mountain, yawned. The hut that he had set up on Stripey's back was completely ruined. Only the two orange trees on its head had survived its transformation.

Putting away his fishing pole, Gao Peng walked to the edge of the cliff and looked down at the river below.

Despite being an enormous thing itself, the White Crocodile King seemed like a puppy in comparison to Stripey. The crocodile shakingly looked up at the mountainous creature.

Receiving the full brunt of Stripey's aura at such a close distance, the White Crocodile King had completely lost all its will to fight. It had never seen such a massive creature in its entire life.

Back then, it had sensed the presence of a powerful aura in the river. Outraged, it had decided to emerge from the water and confront its intruder personally. It hadn't expected something so big to be floating down its river.

"What is that? There's someone on its back!" A few people were shouting and pointing at the figure perched atop Stripey's head. Said figure belonged to Gao Peng, who was now calmly tying up his fishing line.

"That… that's not his familiar, is it?"

"No familiar is that big. If that's just its head above the water, then its entire body must be bigger than a mountain!"

People began shushing each other on the boat, fearing that the noise they were making might anger the behemoth.

"I've been to one of the Mountain Spirit rest stops that were built on Mountain Spirits as big as this one here. Is this thing also a Mountain Spirit then? I've never heard of anyone taming these creatures."

"The Mountain Spirits, don't they belong to the Southern Sky Group…? Could this person be related to them?"

Being rich enough to afford cruises along the Wu Gorge, most of these people were naturally privy to the goings-on in high society. Some of them were able to quickly make the connection between this towering creature and the Southern Sky Group. However, none of them knew the true nature of its relationship with the group.

Stripey was now feeling annoyed. You interrupted chow-time! It raised a leg.

The river roiled violently. Through the waves, one could see a hundred-foot-long spider appendage coming out of the water.

A dark shadow had fallen over the boat. The White Crocodile King jumped and dove back into the water.

However, it was too late. The spider leg fell from the heavens and plunged into the water like the magical shape-shifting staff of Sun Wukong!

Boom! The resulting waves knocked the boat away. When the Disaster Mountain Spider finally lumbered away, the waves had calmed down. A mangled corpse floated to the surface, staining the water around it red.

The passengers of the boat stared at it for a moment or two, as if struck by lightning. The boat sped towards the White Crocodile King's corpse, stopping close enough for its passengers to begin harvesting the dead monster's organs.

The Wu Gorge was named as such due to the tall, steep mountains on both its sides. The river flowing through it was choppy and dangerous most of the time. The gorge itself was as empty as it was impressive. Poets in ancient times had even sung praises of the Wu Gorge's majesty in the form of poetry.

Gao Peng and Stripey were now approaching the Wu Gorge's boundary. A thick fog had surrounded them, reducing their visibility to a mere 32 feet.

"Up ahead is Mount Wushan and its Twelve peaks, including the Goddess Peak," muttered Gao Peng as he scanned the map in his hand.

The major attractions along the Wu Gorge were its Three Platforms, Eight Sights, and Twelve Peaks.

The Three Platforms referred to the Chuyang Platform, where King Huai of Chu had supposedly met the Goddess of Mount Wushan in a dream; the Shoushu Platform, where King Yu had been given a mystical book by the Goddess herself; and Zhanlong Platform, which had been named after King Yu beheaded a dragon that once terrorized the gorge.

The Twelve Peaks included the Denglong Peak, Shengquan Peak, Chaoyun Peak, Goddess Peak, Songluan Peak, and Jixian Peak to the north, and the Feifeng Peak, Cuiping Peak, Juhe Peak, Jingtan Peak, Qiyun Peak, and Shangsheng Peak to the south.

The Twelve Peaks were distributed unevenly along both sides of the gorge. The Goddess Peak was located right in the middle of the area. As they moved deeper and deeper into the fog, a strange sensation came over Gao Peng.

However, Gao Peng wasn't afraid. He was ready for anything.

When they finally came out on the other side of the fog, a terrible roar echoed from the western peaks. The whole place seemed surreal, with thick forests covering the mountains on both sides of the gorge.

"Ignore it," said Gao Peng, ordering Stripey to press onward.

Around ten minutes later, Gao Peng could hear the clear trickling sound of a nearby spring that had completely drowned out the gushing sound of the river beneath him.

Gao Peng simply threw a glance in the direction of the trickling sound and ordered Stripey to continue moving forward. They passed Denglong Peak, Shengquan Peak, and Chaoyun Peak.

The Goddess Peak was just ahead on the left shore of the river. Suddenly, Gao Peng heard the sound of a book being flipped open from the right side of the gorge.

He turned around and saw that a thick fog had enveloped the mountains there. In a flash, a downpour came down from the murky clouds above and onto the steep cliffs. Through the curtain of water, one could see the almost surreal shapes of mountains and trees.

On the other hand, nothing stirred on the left side of the gorge, where the Goddess Peak stood.

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Chapter 455: Dragon Decapitation Chapter (Water)

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

To the right stood Feifeng Peak, where Yu the Great, renowned for mitigating the Great Flood in ancient China, supposedly received a mystical book which taught him the ways of flood management from the Goddess of Mount Wushan, Yao Fei.

At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if a book just flew out from one of these mountains… Gao Peng chuckled at the thought, shaking his head.

He then realized that the sound of flipping pages was growing louder. Without warning, a white-covered book flew out from Feifeng Peak. Gao Peng stared at it, speechless.

The book flew out from Mount Feifeng before disappearing into the Goddess Peak. Frowning, Gao Peng continued deeper into the mountains.

He fed Stripey a Guise Fruit, shrinking it down considerably so that it could climb up the mountain. Locks of mist swirled around them. Thanks to his refined senses, Gao Peng could feel the eyes of monsters weighing down on him from every corner of the forest. However, they seemed to be content with just spying on him from afar for now.

The Goddess Peak was a small mountain compared to the others in the region. Even after the Cataclysm, it only reached 6,500 feet tall.

As they continued on, Gao Peng saw a small black dragon hurtling through the air overhead in the corner of his eye. As it flew, its movements began to change. Gradually, its form too began to change until it settled into the shape of a pair of golden scissors.

[Ingredient Name: Concentration Stone

[Description: Not only can it imprint on itself the shadows of other monsters, but it can also absorb a monster's Yin Yang essence. It can summon said shadows in places rich in elemental energy.

The Concentration Stone! Gao Peng's eyes lit up. "Let's go, Stripey."

They continued climbing up the mountain until they reached a huge cavern. After walking along a precipitous passage for some time, they finally came out into a valley. Even after consuming the Guise Fruit, Stripey was still remarkably huge compared to most of the wildlife living in the mountains. Its massive body was precariously hanging out over the face of the cliff.

Unable to restrain itself any longer, a black chicken leaped down from a tree in the forest, its eyes glinting hungrily. It stamped out its leg at Stripey, trying to kick it off the cliff.

It was staring ravenously at Gao Peng. Cluck, cluck, cluck. If I can kick this huge spider off the mountain, that human will be mine. I'll be able to sleep with a full stomach tonight…

Whoosh!

A blast of heat roared out from the dark ominous clouds above Stripey's head, roasting the black chicken to a crisp on the spot. After seeing what had just happened to the black chicken, no other monster dared to bother the huge spider and its trainer again.

Silence and the fragrance of wild plants reigned over the valley. A huge rock stood in the middle of it. Gao Peng rubbed his eyes. There, before him, stood an elegant-looking goddess.

However, when he blinked, the goddess disappeared. In her place stood a mere rock. Gao Peng narrowed his eyes at it.

[Monster Name: The Wu Gorge's Goddess Stone

[Monster Grade: Level 51 (King-tier)

[Monster Attribute: Rock/Mystic

[Monster Grade: Excellent

[Monster Ability: Weather Prayer Level 4, Hard Body Level 4

[Description: A stone on top of the Goddess Peak that was brought to life by people's faith. It has the power to control the weather.

The Wu Gorge's Goddess Stone had transformed into an actual monster. Gao Peng was not at all surprised by this. He had suspected that there might have been a nearby relic or statue that had come to life. On top of his list of suspects was the Goddess Stone. To top it all off, it was in possession of a rare weather-controlling ability.

Gao Peng surveyed his surroundings. He wanted the Concentration Stone.

Even though the stone could summon the shadows that were imprinted on it, it was still just a stone. As long as it didn't transform into a monster, it wouldn't be able to move by itself.

Pages fluttered behind him. A book flew past Gao Peng from behind and settled between him and the Goddess Stone.

Gao Peng raised an eyebrow. "You looking for a fight?"

He was never one to run from a fight. The only thing that concerned him every time someone or something picked a fight with him was that he might get carried away and accidentally beat his opponent to death.

Gao Peng looked over the book in front of him. It was a white-covered book, as tall as two grown men standing on top of one another. Its pages were thin. It was flipping its pages menacingly at Gao Peng, from the first page to the last, then again from the last page to the first.

[Monster Name: Dragon Decapitation Chapter (Water)

[Monster Level: Level 50 (Lord-tier)

[Monster Attribute: Water

[Monster Grade: Legendary

[Monster Ability: Water Mastery Level 4, Accelerated Regeneration Level 3

[Special Characteristics: Secret Dragonslayer Mark (A mysterious birthmark that holds incredible power.

Active Effect 1: Greatly reduces the power of all Dragon-type monsters for a certain length of time. If its opponent's level is lower than the Dragon Decapitation Chapter's, its elemental powers will be completely negated.)

Water Suppression (A new page that was added to the Dragon Decapitation Chapter.

Passive Effect 1: Any Water-type monster within its range will be weakened to an extent and controlled by the Dragon Decapitation Chapter. Low-level Water-type monsters will be more severely affected by the book's ability.)

[Description: One of the chapters that was ripped out from a mystical book.

A Legendary-grade monster in the wild… Gao Peng's eyes widened.

"Move out of the way, or I'll come over there and move you myself," shouted Gao Peng.

The Dragon Decapitation Chapter (Water) flipped its pages until it stopped at an entirely blue page, which then flew at him like a sword. The page sailed through the air like a quiet ripple across the surface of a lake before colliding against Gao Peng's forehead with a thunk.

A crack appeared on Stripey's head at the same time. Stripey rubbed its head. That itches.

"All right, you asked for it!" roared Gao Peng. "Stripey, take it down! But don't kill it."

Suddenly, Gao Peng heard the sound of trickling water nearby. A pool of water hung in the air upside-down. Another pool materialized beneath it on the ground.

[Monster Name: Holy Spring Spirit

[Monster Level: Level 50 (Lord-tier)

[Monster Grade: Epic

[Monster Attribute: Water

[Monster Ability: Accelerated Self-regeneration Level 3, Divine Spring Whirlpool Level 4

[Special Characteristics: Holy Spring Reflection (The Holy Spring is capable of conjuring anything that is reflected on its surface.

Passive Effect 1: The Holy Spring Spirit can capture other monsters' reflections on its surface and can keep a record of, at most, three reflections on it. It can also replace any of its reflections any time it wants.

Active Effect 1: The Holy Spring Spirit can bring the reflection of its target into being. Said reflection will have 90% of the target's combat power, as well as its abilities. However, the reflection will not be able to replicate the special characteristics of monsters above Legendary-grade. It can conjure up to three reflections at the same time. It will need to use its own power in order to maintain the integrity of its target's reflection.)

[Description: The Holy Spring Spirit is as real as the moon in the well. Reality and illusion are simply two sides of the same coin.

It was indeed a rare creature, capable of making copies of other monsters and letting them do battle in its stead. After going through the Holy Spring Spirit's abilities, Gao Peng heaved a sigh of relief.

It's a good thing the Dragon Decapitation Chapter and the Holy Spring Spirit are only Level 50. Any higher than that, and I would have had to fight three King-tier monsters at once.

Despite Gao Peng's confidence in Stripey, there was no telling if they would be able to make it out of this alive. However, there was a stark gap in level between Stripey and its opponents. Gao Peng had the upper hand. Now was his chance!

Gao Peng ordered Stripey to attack first. Might as well be the attacker than the attackee at this point and finish these monsters off as soon as possible, he thought.

On the left, a dazzling light began to emanate from the Holy Spring Spirit, completely engulfing Stripey from head to toe. A white light bloomed from the body of water on the ground. The white light gradually faded, revealing a smaller-sized Stripey.

Stripey's reflection was conjured out of thin air, no more than 160 feet tall. It was fiercely glaring at the original.

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Three monsters had surrounded Gao Peng, and the atmosphere became eerie.

The Holy Lake Spirit was closing in on them; two smaller sized Stripeys had appeared before it. Three Stripeys had completely surrounded Gao Peng's left side.

"Intrude and you shall die!" said the Holy Lake Spirit authoritatively. In its eyes, this human and his familiar had to die. When faced with a monster of the same level as itself… The Holy Lake Spirit had generally never lost any battles before.

Although it could only materialize 90% of its bodily potential, it could project a maximum of three projections at the same time!

Even if one Stripey didn't prove to be much, most monsters could generally be defeated if three bodies with similar attributes beat them up altogether. The Holy Lake Spirit even thought that it could defeat the intruder by itself.

The pages of the Dragon Slaying Chapter started to flip; an invisible ripple that shrouded a few miles of the region appeared.

Gao Peng felt as if his body had been an extra membrane; it was as if the surface of his body was wrapped in a layer of plastic. This was probably caused by the Mystical Water Barrier of the Dragon Slaying Chapter. However, this power didn't harm Gao Peng and Stripey at all. It merely weakened their abilities to manipulate the water elements.

Stripey's attributes were Earth, Rock, and Lava. The barrier had no effect on it at all.

[Monster Name: Mini Disaster Mountain Spider Projection

[Monster Level: Level 50 (Lord-tier)

[Monster Grade: Excellent

[Monster Ability: …

The three projections all had levels below 50, none of them exceeding the King tier. Moreover, Gao Peng felt that these three projections were based on Stripey's disguised form.

If Stripey was at 90% of its full power, their powers wouldn't have been at such low levels. Besides, Gao Peng also believed that it wouldn't have been able to project anything of Stripey if it had been at full power.

Boom! The sky rumbled with roaring thunder. A thunderous rainstorm started to fall on them. In the blink of an eye, the beautiful scenery had become stormy. The flashing bolts of lightning were accompanied by the roars of thunder.

The three mini Stripeys collided with Stripey. The mountains shook and the grassland which they had trampled on was flattened. Stripey raised its right claw and waved gently. The effects of the Guise Fruit disappeared.

The sky darkened and the mountains shook. The clouds above were ripped apart. Lightning struck the rock and shattered it into pieces. From the foot of the hill, the apex of the mountain couldn't be seen.

The three projections were turned into a bunch of shattered rock pieces and were swept into the garbage pile.

The Dragon Slaying Chapter fled quickly, running far away to create some distance between them. It looked frightfully at Stripey, who had expanded a thousand times bigger than its original size.

The Holy Lake Spirit couldn't react in time at all. It had completely exhausted its Spiritual Extract to make the three projections. However, it wanted to be near Stripey to enjoy the battle. Accidentally, it was struck down by Stripey's attack.

Its body was immediately crushed as it fell from the sky with a jingling sound. It transformed into a small blue bowl in mid-air and fell onto the ground. The bowl spun for a while before coming to a stop. This was the Holy Lake Spirit that had been forced into slumber after its source was exhausted.

Gao Peng picked up the Holy Lake Spirit. His face showed astonishment. Semi-transparent words appeared at the bottom of the status bar of the Holy Lake Spirit.

[Can be fused with a monster.]

Can be fused? Gao Peng was curious about it. Monster fusing; it was the first time he had heard about something like this.

Gao Peng lowered his head and looked at Stripey. He checked Stripey's status bar a total of three times to make sure that his eyes weren't fooling him. There were no signs of any semi-transparent words indicating that it could fuse with other monsters at the bottom of Stripey's status bar.

This meant that not all monsters could be fused together. Some conditions had to be met in order to fuse them first.

After the Holy Lake Spirit was defeated, the Goddess Stone and the Dragon Slaying Chapter grew anxious, immediately jumping toward Gao Peng to snatch the Holy Lake Spirit from his hands.

Although the Goddess Stone was King-tier, it wasn't a combat-oriented King-tier. It was no match for Stripey in head-to-head combat.

After being hit by Stripey twice, the Goddess Stone panicked and decided to escape. Stripey became upset instead. You come and go as you like. Who do you think I am?

Bam!

Its claws blocked the Goddess Stone's escape route. It had completely cornered her by placing its leg above the Goddess Stone's shoulder.

The Goddess Stone glanced at Gao Peng. Although it was a stone, Gao Peng still felt a sense of apprehension. It was as if there was a pair of eyes on it, staring deep into Gao Peng's eyes.

At the very next moment, the Goddess Stone released a blinding light. Gao Peng covered his eyes and looked through the crevices of his fingers. Through them, he saw a beautiful goddess who was wearing a yellow long dress and waving her arms. She coldly humphed at him. With just a gentle wave, a typhoon was summoned to carry her away; it was as if she was a fairy from another world.

Stripey looked down at her. The dark clouds above floated directly toward the Goddess Stone.

Boom!

The moment the cloud came into contact with the Goddess Stone, an ear-deafening roar could be heard, loud and clear. After a short while, a rock rolled out of the dark clouds. It was burned to the point that it was as black as coal…

The Goddess Stone was reduced to charcoal and giving off a burnt stench while green smoke came out of it. It was a horrible sight.

When the dark clouds dispersed, the roaring thunder could no longer be heard, and the skies cleared up again.

Gao Peng dragged the heavily wounded Goddess Stone back. He was rather meticulous and had noticed that at the bottom of the status bar of the Goddess Stone, there were also semi-transparent words that said it could be fused with other monsters.

The Dragon Slaying Chapter was the sliest of them all; the moment things went south, it decided to run away. Its pages flipped and the whole book transformed into a puddle of water, trying to seep underground.

However, it was too close to Stripey, and it had underestimated the capability of Stripey's sight.

A reddish yellow light seeped into the ground of the Goddess Peak. The soil on the ground hardened until it was even harder than diamond.

The Dragon Slaying Chapter that had turned into water was blocked by the hardened ground; it wasn't able to enter the ground no matter how hard it rammed through it. Alas, it was captured alive.

"The Shaman Canyon is a great place indeed," said Gao Peng in satisfaction. He had found a King-tier monster and a Legendary-grade Lord-tier monster in just a single visit. Gao Peng continued to search the mountains and found two Calming Stones.

The Calming Stone on the left was six feet tall and had an oval shape. The Calming Stone on the right was only a foot and a half tall.

Gao Peng put the two Calming Stones on Stripey's head. The three monsters, on the other hand, had been swallowed into its stomach for safekeeping. After feeding Stripey a Guise Fruit, Stripey's size returned back to normal.

When Gao Peng was coming down from the mountain, the Goddess Peak was completely silent.

Even the surrounding mountains were exceptionally silent. Nothing was out of the ordinary; they just looked like normal mountains.

On the way back, the mountain peaks around no longer had the sound of dragons roaring. The sound of the lakes also could no longer be heard, nor could the sound of pages flipping be heard. The huge mountains were silent.

The creatures silently watched the departure of Gao Peng and Stripey.

At this time, the Shaman Canyon was still shrouded with heavy mist. Gao Peng took out his coat and put it on, then took out a fishing rod and began to fish leisurely.

The Shaman Canyon regained its usual liveliness only after Gao Peng and Stripey had made it far away.

There were two orange trees, three stones, a book, and a bowl on the moving island in the river.

One of the stones suddenly exploded into two pieces—one of them flew into the orange tree on the left, while the other piece flew into the orange tree on the right.

Gao Peng turned his head, astonished, and realized that the two orange trees had turned into two children who were donned in yellow shirts.

What the hell? The orange trees turned into humans?

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Chapter 457: Orange Delivering Children

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

My name is Gao Peng. I'm an ordinary monster trainer.

Today, I brought my familiar to the Goddess Peak of the Shaman Canyon to retrieve some things and warmed up a little along the way. I retrieved three stones, a bowl, and a book.

I don't even know who dropped them there. Since there wasn't anyone there, I'll take them and bring them home. On the way back, one of the rocks exploded, then the two orange trees of my… my familiar became two weird children wearing yellow shirts.

What should I do now? Do I make the children pay for my orange trees?

Gao Peng's head was aching as he rubbed his temples. While he was fishing, he heard an explosion, and just as he realized what happened, he saw that the small Calming Stone had exploded into two pieces and flown into the orange trees; the trees then became human.

"Where are the oranges? Do you still have them with you?" asked Gao Peng.

"Where are the oranges?" The two children repeated what Gao Peng had just said, looking dazed and at a loss.

The two children in yellow looked hideous. Overall, they looked human, but if one were to examine them closely, it could be easily recognized that they weren't actually human, just monsters that looked like humans.

Their faces looked yellow. Their hair was as dry as dried grass, just as dry as the branches of the orange trees had been before. This was because of the long-term lack of nutrients.

The pupils in their eyes were completely black and their skin was yellow-brown tree bark. They were short, only about three feet tall, and their dry, bony claws extended out from the yellowish tree bark.

Gao Peng took a look at their status.

[Monster Name: Orange Tree Monster

[Monster Level: Level 21 (Commander-tier)

[Monster Grade: Excellent

[Monster Attribute: Wood/Life

[Monster Summary: They were originally ordinary orange trees, but after absorbing monster blood and souls as nutrients for long periods of time, then the nutrients of the Calming Stone in its final stage, the tree morphed into an Orange Tree Monster.

They really were two orange tree monsters, and they were even Commander-tier.

Stripey, who was walking in the river, stopped its steps, realizing what had happened on top of its head. Were they not the orange trees that Da Zi planted on top of my head? How did the two orange trees suddenly become two little human beings?

Stripey felt dumbfounded. It had taken good care of them all this time. When it was raining, it would disperse the clouds on top of its head to allow the rainwater to water the orange trees. Besides that, it even found soil in the mountains and spread it at the feet of the trees. Sometimes, it also took leftover bones and buried them under the orange trees.

Stripey hadn't thought too much when it was burying the bones. It had only thought that since it ate monsters sometimes for seasoning, the orange trees would want to eat them, too. However, Stripey also knew that overfeeding them would bring negative effects instead, hence, it only fed the trees a tiny amount every time.

So… it must be because I took such marvelous care of them!

Now that the orange trees had become humans, Stripey felt proud of what it had done. "Gao Peng, they were raised by me."

"You fed them?" said Gao Peng as he tried to conceal his astonishment.

"Yeah! The orange trees were raised by me, and now they have become little humans," said Stripey proudly.

"How excellent of you." Gao Peng nodded.

"Of course!" humphed Stripey.

Perhaps it was because the orange trees had grown up on Stripey's head, but the two orange trees felt bonded with Stripey. On the other hand, although they felt wary toward Gao Peng, at least they didn't show any signs of aggression. Conversely, they were completely in love with Stripey. They were touching Stripey's head and its body happily, smiles plastered on their faces.

This wasn't the first time Gao Peng had come in contact with mutated monsters; they were things that he was familiar with. Looking at the attitude of the orange trees, Gao Peng understood why those people could tame high-level monsters.

They naturally wouldn't show aggression toward the owner if they had lived with the owner for a long time or were in frequent contact with the owner. Instead, they would show dependence and closeness.

All monsters had intelligence. They weren't simply monsters who only knew of destruction. In this kind of situation, the owner would naturally be able to tame these monsters more easily.

"Since you like them so much… You should keep them by your side as your followers, since they won't take up much space anyway."

Gao Peng thought for a while to decide on names for these two orange trees to address them easier. "From now on, you two will introduce yourselves as orange delivering children; you will be Nan Ju, and you will be Bei Zhi." Gao Peng named the child who was less than an inch taller Nan Ju, and the other Bei Zhi.

As he thought about Bei Zhi, Gao Peng immediately thought about Miss Bei Qing Yan from the Arctic. Since both of them shared the same surname, they could even be called family.

The two Orange Tree Monsters struggled to repeat the words. Their accents were off, making it sound rather odd.

"Lan Ju."

"Bei Zi."

"Let me do it. I'll teach them how to speak." volunteered Stripey.

When Gao Peng returned to the Southern Sky Group, the two Orange Tree Monsters could already pronounce their names easily.

Just as they reached the shore, Gao Peng quickly fed Stripey a Guise Fruit. After eating the fruit, Stripey returned to its "innocent" size. The Guise Fruit tree that had been transplanted successfully some time ago looked healthy, probably because it had a strong will to live. Now, the Guise Tree was fully grown. It would flower in a month and ripen, providing more fruits. So far, Stripey's consumption speed was no longer a worry.

Right beside the north of the river, there was a road leading to the city.

There was a parade of trucks driving toward them. Their tires screeched to a halt.

At the very front was a truck with a pitch black tractor. The two sides of the car had impressive looking paint. Perhaps only the rich could afford such a brand.

Throughout his journey back, Gao Peng had already met tens of fleets of trucks. These trucks purposely slowed down or sped up when they saw Stripey.

"Gao Peng!" The large truck at the end of the line slowed down and its window rolled down, showing a fat surprised face. Gao Peng looked at him for a while and finally recognized him.

"Chen Hanqiao." Gao Peng sounded surprised. He recognized his ex-classmate and even remembered that he had seen Chen Hanqiao driving the Electric Luster Bear familiar that his father gave him when he was venturing out for the first time in a huge bus.

Who would have thought that Chen Hanqiao had already stepped into society? Looking at his attire and the wrinkles on his face, he had most probably entered his father's monster hunter association and inherited his father's business. Rumor had it that his father was the leader of a monster hunter association.

Chen Hanqiao's chubby cheeks cracked into a friendly smile. "You still remember me, old friend! Haha."

The team of cars at the front stopped. The truck at the front of the line rolled down its window, and a northwestern man peeked his head out. "Dad, this is my ex-classmate," shouted Chen Hanqiao loudly as he pointed at Gao Peng.

Chen Hanqiao's father looked at Stripey, which Gao Peng was still sitting on, and nodded. He signaled for the team of cars to stop and rest for a while to let his son speak with Gao Peng.

"Long time, no see. You're now the best monster trainer in the world. You're the most successful out of all of our classmates. Sometimes, I even brag about the fact that you and I were high school classmates." Chen Hanqiao smiled and handed a cigarette to Gao Peng.

Gao Peng took the cigarette.

The orange delivering child, Bei Zhi, took a step forward. With a wave of his sleeve, a large golden orange appeared in its palm. "Orange, eat!"

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Chapter 458: Oranges are Nutritious

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

Chen Hanqiao stared blankly at the golden orange for a moment, then took the orange with a smile on his face. "Thank you!"

"Eat while it's hot," said Gao Peng.

Chen Hanqiao ridiculed, "You… Forget about giving me an orange, you just asked me to eat it while it's hot."

Gao Peng chuckled. All of them knew puns about oranges. It had just been a joke. They had originally been classmates, and they became even closer after their conversation.

"By looking at the numbers, you guys must be going on a mission." Gao Peng glanced at the fleet of vehicles. There was a total of thirteen large trucks, and each of the trunks was loaded up with familiars.

Leather chains were tied around the bodies of the familiars to fasten them onto the cars. This was also done to prevent some of the naughtier familiars, like Moha and Mosga, from jumping out.

"I just received an order to clear up the monsters on Mount Jinfo. Someone spotted a group of mutated monsters there and wants them gone," said Chen Hanqiao as his chubby face squeezed into a smile. He also didn't try to avoid arousing suspicion as he peeled the orange right in front of Gao Peng.

The white orange pith on the surface was as tough as the tendons of a monster. Chen Hanqiao had to pull forcefully to tear the orange pith, exposing the smooth and tender flesh underneath. It was like amber. The golden orange flesh was filled with juice.

Chen Hanqiao split the orange into half and gave half of it to Gao Peng, then directly placed the other half in his own mouth. The juice squirted everywhere, even overflowing from the corners of his lips.

"Delicious!" As Chen Hanqiao ate the orange, his fatigue was instantly swept away. His uncomfortable stiff neck caused by the previous night's sleep immediately recovered. Chen Hanqiao was amazed by the fact that the oranges Gao Peng had gifted were so effective.

"The monster was also a task to be done at the Explorer's Union. It was rumored to be a rare mutant monster that's highly aggressive towards humans." Chen Hanqiao simply smiled.

The Explorer's Union… Gao Peng was pondering if it was the same union that had been formed by his grandpa and the coalition government.

"All right. I won't delay you any further. You should go ahead. I wish you a pleasant journey." Gao Peng glanced at the people who got out of the car to wait for them. Although no one dared to show impatience, the act of stomping their feet while pacing back and forth and frequently glancing at his direction showed it all.

So he smiled and waved goodbye to Chen Hanqiao. Chen Hanqiao was also rather straightforward. He waved back and went onto the truck, saying, "Let's meet again when we're free."

The convoy left, and Gao Peng saw the blue Electric Luster Bear on Chen Hanqiao's truck. The big bear looked adorable as it was hugging and gnawing on a piece of metal, baring its big butt.

"You guys learned well!" Stripey praised the two Orange Delivering Children. They had pronounced two words clearly just now and hadn't embarrassed it. On the journey, it had only managed to teach the two boys their names and one phrase—"Orange, eat."

Oranges could beautify, and prevent cancer and cardiovascular aging, so gifting oranges to others was deemed polite behavior, not to mention that these oranges belonged to the Orange Tree Monster, so they were more nutritious than ordinary oranges. Gao Peng definitely encouraged this.

Back at the Southern Sky Group, Xu Qingzhi was carrying a stack of experimental documents out of the laboratory when she saw two short monsters jump down from Gao Peng's back. They approached her and said, "Oranges, eat! Oranges, eat!" Bei Zhi and Nan Ju said in unison, their tiny hands extended before Xu Qingzhi.

Xu Qingzhi was confused. What is going on? Before she could respond, the two little monsters approached and shoved the oranges into her arms.

Bei Zhi was a little upset and shouted loudly, "Eat my orange, not his!" After finishing his sentence, he threw an orange into Xu Qingzhi's arms. He even glared at Nan Ju as a sign of protest.

Nan Ju took one glance at Bei Zhi and silently threw another orange into Xu Qingzhi's arms.

In a minute, Xu Qingzhi had dozens of oranges in her arms. There were so many that some of them fell to the ground. Xu Qingzhi looked at her boss, and Gao Peng coughed, "The oranges are quite delicious. You should eat more."

When Gao Peng returned, it was already eight o'clock in the evening. The sky had already turned dark. Upon hearing of Gao Peng's return, a group of familiars came running from the lake to welcome him.

The White Steel Bladed Beast was the fastest. A bolt of lightning flashed across the void, and in the next moment, it condensed into a figure right next to Gao Peng. It unintentionally saw the two Orange Delivering Children that were standing not far behind Gao Peng, and its expression changed.

Looking down at its own bent legs, it stood upright and straightened its back as it quietly measured their heights with its limbs.

Then, as if it had been struck by an arrow, it staggered backward and bumped against Goldie. It was as if its bones had given out, and it collapsed onto the ground.

Goldie coldly swept its eyes across the White Steel Bladed Beast, who seemed to be possessed. It snorted, "Weakling!"

It kicked the White Steel Bladed Beast with one foot and strode towards Gao Peng. It also noticed the two Orange Delivering Children behind Gao Peng, and it thought, Were these new familiars found by Gao Peng? Why do they seem so small? Gao Peng's preferences are really getting stranger.

Goldie shook its head and stepped forward, resting both of its hands on the shoulders of the Orange Delivering Children. The shoulders of the two skinny young boys sank, and they fell directly to their knees.

"Hey buddies, your bodies seem pretty weak," snickered Goldie.

The Orange Delivering Children lifted their heads with much difficulty. They pulled two oranges out of their butts and gave them to Goldie. "Eat, eat, eat oranges…"

Goldie didn't mind. It took the oranges, threw them straight into its mouth, and started chewing loudly.

"Nice oranges. Do you still have more? Come on, come with me. I'll teach you how to mingle around." Goldie took the two Orange Delivering Children aside to ask for more oranges to eat.

After comforting the familiars, Gao Peng asked them to look after the stone, the bowl, and the book, to make sure they didn't escape. The group of familiars assured him.

Gao Peng beckoned to Da Zi, which was mingling with the group of familiars, "Da Zi, come with me."

"Did you hear that? Gao Peng is looking for me!" Da Zi was bloated with pride. Then it turned around and ran to Gao Peng with its short legs. "I'm coming, I'm coming."

"Da Zi, are you ready?"

"I'm ready!"

"However, once you make up your mind, there's no turning back."

"I won't regret it."

"You might not be a pure centipede anymore."

"…Gao Peng, why are you so naggy? I can't wait any longer."

"All right." Gao Peng nodded and looked at the needles that were as thick as buckets in his hand. The needle tube was filled with thunder serum; there was even a golden dragon swimming in it. He aimed and injected the needle into Da Zi's mouth.

Gulp, gulp, gulp…

The thunder serum burned Da Zi's mouth to the point that it was illuminated with electric light. Some of the electric serum even overflowed onto Gao Peng's clothes, burning huge holes in it.

After the injection was completed, Da Zi passed out on the ground, its limbs twitching. The electric light shone out through the gaps of its shell. All the electronic devices in the laboratory made a buzzing beep, and in the next moment, all of them exploded.

Gao Peng quickly left the laboratory and closed the door. He had a feeling that his laboratory might be scrapped. However, it wouldn't matter; Gao Peng was prepared to switch to a new laboratory anyway.

The destruction of this laboratory was just at the right time for him to replace it with a new laboratory.

He pulled Xu Qinghi, who was working on data outside, out. Xu Qingzhi wanted to bring along all the lab materials on the desk.

"There's no need to do so. Just seal your files and take them away."

Upon hearing what Gao Peng had said, Xu Qingzhi extracted the USB that was used for records on the table. As she left hurriedly, she constantly looked back. She was dazed, as she still didn't know what had happened.

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Chapter 459: You Really Changed

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

They just left the lab. Behind him, the lab exploded with a tremendous roar. The whole mountain shook violently.

Xu Qingzhi's pupils were enlarged in the next moment as the lightning clouds in the sky covered the whole mountain. The lightning shattered the summit, and an extremely rich purple electric ray was emitted from the broken gaps and the cave, dying the night sky purple.

Stripey, who had been playing, looked up silently. It stomped hard with its right foot and an earthen wall rose up and encased the entire mountain. Only the dark purple electric rays illuminating the sky reached through the gap in the middle of the earthen wall, as if a very powerful purple searchlight was shining onto the summit.

The factory and the mountains nearby could also see it clearly.

"What's wrong? Is the electricity leaking?"

"Don't say nonsense. Perhaps the big bosses are training their familiars again."

"Could training a familiar cause such a huge commotion?"

"You must be new."

The employees in the Southern Sky Group were always trained to have big hearts and be open to accepting everything.

Gao Peng could sense Da Zi's mood through the Blood Contract. From the pain in the beginning to the itch at the end, Da Zi had been constantly transforming. Gao Peng didn't blink at all as he stared right in Da Zi's direction.

Bang!!!

The earthen wall trembled, accompanied by a violent tremor. It even shook the lake at the foot of the mountain.

The Little Silver Dragon raised its head in dissatisfaction. Just before it could open its mouth to let out a roar, a dragon claw immediately held its mouth shut. The White Dragon shook its head slowly; warning signs were written all over its eyes.

The Little Silver Dragon that had its mouth shut was a little disgruntled. Its eyes suddenly lit up, as if it thought of something, and its face showed a hint of embarrassment. It then closed its eyes and dove into the bottom of the lake. The White Dragon sighed, also following it to the bottom of the lake.

The earth and lake shook, along with the peak of the mountain.

Bang! A large dragon claw fit into a huge hole in the earthen wall. The terrifying arc of light entangled itself around the surface of the dragon's claw.

"Ow!!" The roar was ear-splitting. Toward the end, it sounded piercing and shrill. A raging dark purple figure penetrated the void and flew up the heavens.

Two dragon heads poked out of the lake, one after the other. They heard familiar breathing, so they came out to check it out.

Through the heavens, a slender purple figure traveled through the void.

With two sharp bones on top of its head, the three sections after the skull had stretched out into ferocious looking curved bones. The original hundreds of feet had turned into tiny golden thorns that grew out of the sides of the bones. Two pairs of sharp and slender claws stuck out from the front and back sections of the body.

Three pairs of black and purple dragon wings grew out of its spine. Their color grew darker the closer they were to the edge of the wings. The dragon wings fluttered along as thunder roared in the bright night sky.

The golden lightning entangled around the surface of Da Zi's body. Its pupils turned dark gold; it looked sacred yet ferocious, just like the glaring gaze of the King Kong. Attributes of both the divine and the demon were in the same body at the same time.

[Monster Name: Dark Golden Centipede Dragon

[Monster Level: Level 48

[Monster Grade: Legendary

[Monster Attribute: Electric

[Monster Skills: Royal Thunder Level 4, Bone Hardening Level 4

[Monster Weakness: Objects or monsters that can restrain dragons

[Monster Special Characteristic: Dark Dragon Wings (Passive Effect 1: Increases the speed of flight. Each wing can store additional lightning force, increasing the upper limit of the lightning force in the body permanently. Every dark dragon wing can increase the upper limit of the lightning force in the body permanently by 10%.

Passive Effect 2: The Dark Dragon Wings can grow and increase in number. It could be regarded as an organ of the Dark Golden Centipede Dragon, as a pair of dark dragon wings can only be grown once at a time.

Current number of dark dragon wings: 6)

The Eye of the Heart: an Eye of the Heart grows in the depths of the Dark Golden Centipede Dragon's heart; it has the power to read minds.

Active Effect 1: Able to pry into the mood changes of other monsters.

Active Effect 2: Able to turn emotions into explosives that can be detonated later, causing substantial damage to the enemy.)

[Route of Promotion to Mythical Grade: 1. The destruction of the Centipede Dragon in a dark night sky (evolution by way of destruction) 2. World Cleansing Thunder Dragon (dragon-typed evolution)

Petty…

Gao Peng thought carefully, This is probably a noun rather than an adjective.

Perhaps the heart that was grown was pretty small; even the data frame had particularly labeled it as being "small."

The evolved Da Zi had not only increased in strength, but it had also rapidly improved its appearance. The shape of the centipede could barely be seen now, but the contours of the dragon could be seen in many of its details and body parts. The horrifying and ferocious appearance of the centipede and the formidable yet domineering presence of the dragon had perfectly fused together.

Da Zi proudly hovered in the sky, venting out its emotions as much as it liked. Its huge purple dragon eyes were blazing like torches as they scanned around. It could clearly see the bunch of familiars and the facial expressions of the humans beneath it.

A plump crane was bouncing about by the lake. Ha, the fat crane is jealous of me. What a fat crane.

Stripey moved its paws and found a comfortable position to lie down. The two Orange Delivery Children trembled on its back.

The warm red magma spread from the gaps of Stripey's head, like a bright lamp in the dark night. Well, Stripey still likes me as always.

A little white lion beside it laid on the ground and glanced at Da Zi.

That technician actually dared to show such disdain toward me!?? Da Zi was infuriated. At the same time, it was snickering deep in its heart and had decided to keep records of this occasion in its diary.

Da Zi looked at Gao Peng again and realized that it couldn't read his emotions. The Blood Contract was like a layer of curtains; it was blocking Da Zi from exploring further.

It could probably only roughly perceive Gao Peng's joys and sorrows. As for more detailed emotions, it might not have been able to perceive them.

He really deserves to be my master. He's just extraordinary, Da Zi thought proudly.

Da Zi, Goldie, and Flamy were all at Level 48. The White Steel Bladed Beast was two levels higher than them, at the bottleneck of Level 50.

In comparison to the three of them, the White Steel Bladed Beast's grade was a lot lower. Hence, it would be harder for it to be promoted to the King tier.

After flying for a while, Da Zi got bored and it descended from the sky. It crawled directly to the side of Gao Peng's feet and rested its head against him. Gao Peng touched Da Zi's head, and his palm became numb.

After the evolution, Da Zi had grown from a height of 26 feet to 40 feet. Although the growth wasn't obvious, the presence of the width and the dragon wings certainly increased its body size in an exaggerated manner. Da Zi would be regarded as having a medium to large body size, even among other monsters.

After playing around with the group of familiars for a moment, Gao Peng returned to his room to rest. At midnight, Gao Peng was woken up by a knocking sound on the door. After waking up, he realized that the sound came from the window.

Dong-dong-dong, dong.

The knocking on the window was always the same; three long knocks and a short one. It had a rhythmic pattern. It was immediately clear that Da Zi was the one knocking on the door. After opening the window, a huge head poked out, its dark golden pupils luminescent in the night. Electric sparks spurted out of its nostrils in between breaths.

It couldn't have been anyone but Da Zi.

"Gao Peng, I can't sleep," Da Zi said miserably. "You used to let me sleep in your house in the past. I don't want to sleep on the grass."

Before the evolution, Da Zi could still lie down in Gao Peng's room, but it couldn't stay there anymore after its evolution.

"I'll fix the villa tomorrow," Gao Peng comforted Da Zi.

Da Zi shook his head and stared at Gao Peng as if it had been wronged.

Gao Peng firmly shook his head. He would probably freeze to death if he had to do renovations outside in such weather.

Da Zi snorted. You have truly changed!

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Chapter 460: Taking Over the Yangtze River

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

The three monsters—the Goddess Stone, the Dragon Slaying Book, and the Holy Lake Spirit—were locked up in separate rooms to prevent them from communicating with each other.

Gao Peng asked the Brain of Growth to hypnotize these three monsters, but it was difficult. The brain of the Goddess Stone was encased by a wall outside its mental sea. The surface of the Dragon Slaying Book was protected by a layer of strong will power. Although it had gotten to Level 50, which was still a huge distance away from the King tier, its quality remained legendary. Besides, it didn't belong in the family of Wrestling-typed monsters. Thus, the Brain of Growth could only hypnotize it in a simple way to calm down its emotions.

At the same time, the Brain of Growth also applied spiritual fantasies every day to the Holy Lake Spirit, which had transformed itself into a bowl shape.

Gao Peng was unsure if the Holy Spring Spirit still had its senses. Regardless, he allowed the Brain of Growth to thrust the idea that he was its master into the mind of the Holy Lake Spirit.

Ever since Gao Peng had brought it out from the Taklamakan Desert, the Brain of Growth hadn't taken over any dead things. According to its introduction, it seemed like dead things that had been taken over by the Taklamakan would go through alienation that allowed them to obtain extraordinary powers. It was Gao Peng's understanding that it gave life to the dead things, just like how the sculptures were brought to life.

Gao Peng tried to let the Brain of Growth attempt to take over the Earth Star. When the Brain of Growth attempted to take over, it was instead shocked to the point that its nose had started bleeding profusely. The blood had squirted out of its head like a fountain, and it had kept running in circles as if it was drunk.

"No, no, I can't take it over. It's too awful." The Brain of Growth was suffering in tremendous pain.

"Remember, after you manage to take it over, you're allowed to exchange with it. You can try to take over a single cup first." Gao Peng took out a huge glass cup from behind him.

The Brain Of Growth tried to take it over again and managed to do so in just a second. Subsequently, the body of the Brain of Growth started to melt. It then transformed itself into a billow of shadows before seeping into the glass cup.

Finally, the cup floated in mid-air. The huge shadow of the Brain Of Growth appeared on the external surface of the glass. The shadow of the Brain Of Growth, which was floating in mid-air, appeared rather translucent. It emitted blue rays of light.

"Master, this cup is too small for me. If there's a cup of the size of my body, I'll be able to hide my body in it," said the Brain Of Growth telepathically.

"Can you not grant the cup extraordinary powers? Give it a try." Gao Peng was curious.

Da Zi inadvertently passed by and shook its new pair of wings. Roars of thunder could be heard. It shuffled away as if it was gradually losing itself.

"I'm not sure what my extraordinary power will be. It's randomized and depends on the purpose and material of the object," explained the Brain Of Growth.

After a while, the Brain Of Growth said in surprise, "Master, my power is to be able to reinforce the hardness of the cup. The cup is now unbreakable!"

Gao Peng was stunned into silence. How could you be surprised by such mediocre power?! How am I going to use you to beat people up?

Gao Peng suggested a rather brilliant idea. "Forget about it. Cancel the takeover process. Since you can't take over the cup, let's try to take over the Yangtze River."

The Brain Of Growth knew what the Yangtze River was. After a moment of solemn silence, it made an arduous effort to say, "I will try my best."

Although the Taklamakan Desert wasn't as long as the Yangtze River, it still occupied a huge surface area. Even if the overall volume of the Yangtze River was larger than the Taklamakan, it would still be within a bearable range. Thus, it was worth a try.

The Brain Of Growth freed itself from the takeover process. The cup dropped to the floor and shattered into pieces.

As they arrived at the riverside, the water flowed to the east with whirlpools in the middle of the river. If a wooden boat had passed by the whirlpools, it would definitely have been wrecked and devoured by the depths of the river.

The Brain Of Growth took off its marshmallow coat and seeped into the river slowly. The water near the bank started to turn murky. A huge school of fishes and water monsters scattered in all directions. The presence of the Brain of Growth seriously frightened them.

After ten minutes, Brain Of Growth seemed to have a load taken off its mind. "Master, it seems like I've succeeded. I'm integrating into it…"

Gao Peng grunted and checked the attribute of the Brain Of Growth. At the end of it, a new line appeared: [Currently taking over the Yangtze River, current progress: 1%]

After standing for an hour, the progress bar still remained at 1%. However, he remembered that the Brain of Growth had only managed to take over 60% of the Taklamakan after so many years. Even if the insufficiency of the Brain of Growth's level caused the slow progress of the takeover process, this was enough to prove that it would be a strenuous task for the Brain Of Growth to take over a gargantuan landscape.

It could take years. However, it was fine. Gao Peng could wait patiently.

"Master, this snake is trying to bite me." The Brain Of Growth was suddenly angered.

The river became turbulent, and Gao Peng saw a green anaconda slithering in the river.

"I wanted to hypnotize it. I want to make it my son!"

Gao Peng burst into laughter. If it makes you happy, why not?

"Remember to take care of yourself. Make sure the monsters that you hypnotize don't hurt any boats or passerby. If you're unable to defeat any monsters, just call out for us. Don't be reckless in front of your enemies," advised Gao Peng with the underlying intention that it maintain a low profile.

Since the Southern Sky Group wasn't that far away from this place, he could come over in a short span of time once there were cries for help.

"Understood." The Brain Of Growth was in a good mood. It had once been a wild monster. In fact, it wasn't used to staying in a city for such a long time. It felt more comfortable with this independence.

Dungeon. An outrageous idea came into Gao Peng's mind when he looked at the three monsters that had once been integrated together.

Materials were a must for the integration to happen. Theoretically, these three monsters seemed to have a very good relationship. The integration probably referred to the fact that they could get along well with each other.

However, how could we integrate them together… Cook them in a pot?

Throw them into a small dark room? Throw these three monsters into a small dark room. They wouldn't be released unless they successfully integrated with one another.

In the midst of contemplation, the phone in Gao Peng's pocket started to ring. He answered the call.

"Gao Peng, help," Chen Hanqiao sounded like he was out of breath on the other end. A cacophony of angry monsters' roars could be vaguely heard on the other end. It sounded chaotic.

"Where are you guys right now? Can you send me the location? If possible, come over," requested Gao Peng solemnly.

"Gao Peng, help!" Chen Hanqiao shouted again from the other end of the line.

Gao Peng felt rather strange. After pausing for a second, he continued, asking, "Where are you now?"

"I'm at the Golden Buddhist Mountain. I'll send you the location immediately," said Chen Hanqiao in a rush.

Gao Peng merely grunted in acknowledgment. Looking at the hung-up call, he couldn't help but brood over the conversation.

The phone screen lit up immediately after. Chen Hanqiao had sent the location. The screen displayed the Golden Buddhist Mountain's Sunrise Draw, which was located right at the Sunrise Draw.

Gao Peng rode on Da Zi's back. When he was about to take off with Da Zi, his heart suddenly raced. After a moment of silence, Gao Peng shouted out for Desolion, the White Steel Bladed Beast, and Goldie.

However, Goldie had grown taller. After it climbed up, Gao Peng realized that Goldie was already five feet tall; it was extremely eye-catching.

After slight contemplation, Gao Peng ordered Goldie to go back down. Goldie was stunned. I have to go back down? It shrugged and left angrily without saying a word.

The White Steel Bladed Beast and Desolion were then told to hide underneath the wings of Da Zi. The combined size of these two monsters was almost similar to Gao Peng. They wouldn't be easily detectable under Da Zi's wings unless observed from a close distance.

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Read Monster Pet Evolution Chapter 461 - Infernal Incinerator online for free - AllNovelFull

Chapter 461: Infernal Incinerator

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

Spreading out its six wings, Da Zi launched itself into the air, electricity dancing around the tips of its wings and leaving purple arcs of light in its wake.

It gazed down at the villa and lake from above. The entire place was situated in a small basin, with the lake in the middle of it. On a nearby field, Da Zi could see a huge group of familiars either training or playing with each other.

The familiars on the field now were the White Dragon, the Silver Dragon, the Primitive Jade Armored Crocodile, the Thunder Shell God, the Forbidden Adamantine Duck, the Flaming Red Crane, the Disaster Mountain Spider, the Dimensional Jellyfish, and the Yin Yang Calendula. Even Uncle Liu's Phantom Japalura, Nightshadow Cat, and Blood Eye Bearded Vulture would drop by at times.

The Skeleton Dominator and the Growing Brain were standing by off-world at that moment, while the Desolate Frost Lion and White Steel Bladed Beast were currently being carried in the air by the Dark Golden Centipede Dragon. With this many familiars at his disposal, Gao Peng could open a familiar petting zoo if he wanted to.

A cold wind howled past. Having anticipated how cold it would be in the air, Gao Peng had put on a helmet and jacket before climbing on Da Zi. He leaned back and puffed his chest out.

Suddenly, Da Zi adjusted its direction slightly, causing Gao Peng to nearly fall off its back. The latter quickly pressed himself flat on Da Zi's back, no longer trying to act cool. Half an hour later, Da Zi finally reached their destination.

Mount Jinfo was one of Yuzhou's more unique mountains. It was extremely high, so much so that one could even go skiing on it in the winter. Luoxia Valley was situated to the north of Mount Jinfo, but it was a somewhat isolated place.

Gao Peng narrowed his eyes at the map on his tablet. They would be arriving soon.

He could see the trees beneath them being disturbed as the monsters in the forest fled from Da Zi, unnerved by its intimidating aura.

Gao Peng strained his eyes as he noticed what appeared to be a group of people huddled together in a cave on top of a cliff. There were at least ten of them, their bodies drenched in blood.

A pack of monsters had the base and top of the cliff surrounded. On the outside, these fierce-looking monsters looked like mutant deers. Their hides were rotten and ragged, their pearly white bones poking horribly out of their bodies. There were plastic straws, food wrappers, bottle caps, and pieces of metal stuck between their muscles and bones.

Their eyeballs had long rotted away. One could see green spectral flames burning brightly in their empty eye sockets.

[Monster Name: Decomposing Corpsedeer Pack

[Monster Level: Level 11-20 (Excellent-tier)

[Monster Grade: Normal-Excellent

[Monster Attribute: Ghoul/Metal

[Monster Weaknesses: Holy/Radiant

[Description: These creatures are the result of modern society's imprudent handling of heavy metal waste. They've come to despise all of humanity, who they believe are responsible for the environment's pollution. They have lost all sense of pain, and despite appearances, they don't seem to carry any form of contagious disease.

Aaaooo— The deer let out chilling cries.

These Decomposing Corpsedeer stood approximately seven to nine feet tall. The bones protruding from their bodies were thick, and the sharp antlers on their heads had a metallic gleam to them. Some of the Corpsedeer stamped their hooves violently on the ground, letting out cries of resentment at their oppressors.

Some of them simply stood motionless, quietly watching the group of people on the cliff. The group of deer numbered in the hundreds. Some of them were at the bottom of the cliff, with more on the top of the cliff.

This… doesn't seem right, thought Gao Peng.

These Corpsedeer were only standing there, trying to intimidate the group of people. There was no Commander-tier Corpsedeer in sight.

Gao Peng remembered that Chen Hanqiao had at least seven Commander-tier familiars in his monster-hunting group. Under normal circumstances, a Commander-tier monster would be able to slaughter ten Elite-tier monster on its own.

Seeing the ten or so people standing in the face of the Corpsedeer pack, Gao Peng assumed that there must have been thousands of these monsters in the forest to actually be able to back those people into a corner.

Suddenly, warning bells went off in Gao Peng's head. He looked down and saw a huge black claw rising from the forest towards Da Zi.

Five minutes earlier, a group of masked individuals in form-fitting black clothes had stood quietly in the middle of the forest, at times looking to the east as if waiting for something.

"Has he arrived?"

"Any time now…"

"Boss, I don't think we're going to win this fight," said someone at the back of the group, stammering.

"Hm?" Their leader turned around, coldly gazing at his teammate.

"He has a King-tier familiar. I've read his profile. We might stand a chance against a high-level Lord-tier familiar together, but King-tier is a completely different realm from Lord-tier. This is a suicide mission," explained his teammate, his head slightly inclined and his legs together.

The group leader's face stiffened, then relaxed. "Don't ask questions you don't want to know the answers to," he said casually.

Suddenly, someone reported, "I've just received word that he doesn't have his King-tier familiar with him."

The group leader stared at him wordlessly. "He doesn't have his King-tier familiar with him?"

"That's great news!"

"What a fool! Why would he come here without his greatest weapon? He may be the world's first King-tier trainer to be killed! Hahaha!"

The forest was filled with the sound of laughter and general merrymaking at that moment. Suddenly, there was a crack of thunder in the sky. The group of people in the forest fell silent as they warily eyed the approaching Da Zi in the air.

"What kind of familiar is that? There was no mention of it in his profile…"

"Looks mean."

"Quiet!" hissed the group leader. Silence fell over the forest once more.

Up ahead, a milu deer with huge antlers looked up. Its antlers were spreading a soft and warm glow over the entire forest. Da Zi drew closer and closer until it stopped just above the forest.

The group leader waved a hand. A black slender human shape stepped forward at his signal. The human-like monster's body was dappled with sunlight passing through the leaves above it. It looked up at the sky, its face horribly disfigured and its eyes filled with despair and anguish.

My name is Anderson, but these people prefer calling me the Infernal Incinerator.

I was once a knight from the Middle Ages. As a child, I was put through the most rigorous training, all so that I could carry out my knightly mission to protect the princess.

The princess was the most beautiful girl I've ever laid eyes on, as pretty as a camellia flower. How was it possible that such a beautiful thing ever existed in the first place? I loved her from the bottom of my heart.

I had sworn that I would protect her for the rest of my life. Then, our enemies invaded the castle. In the midst of the chaos, I was able to find the princess. I wanted to run away with her from that place so that I could continue keeping her safe.

She told me that she was the country's princess and that she couldn't just disappear in her country's hour of need. Our enemies soon found us. I desperately tried to protect the princess, but I was vastly outnumbered. I begged them to spare the princess. She had never seen so much bloodshed. She had nothing to do with whatever was going on.

They said that if I could survive being burned alive for half a minute, they would spare the princess. A bonfire was readied, and I stepped into the fire. The flames mercilessly scorched my body. Pain raked through my very being. Half a minute passed. I dragged my body out of the fire, and I saw those b*stards kill the princess right in front of me.

Then I was thrown back into the fire. The last sound that I heard in my final moments was their jeering. Now, the only things driving my body are hatred, anger, despair, and vengeance!

Whooosh— Flames fanned out from the bottom of the human-like creature. Everything in the fire's path was instantly burnt to a crisp.

"Infernal Incinerator, kill that thing!" roared the leader of the group.

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Chapter 462: One vs Four

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

A huge black claw ripped through the canopy, leaving a scorched claw mark in the air. The smell of burning filled the air, while the claw was now moments away from reaching Da Zi's abdomen.

Sparks flew out as Da Zi's electric scales came in contact with the extreme heat. Loud pops sounded, followed by an enraged roar that tore through the silence in the air above the forest.

The huge claw collided with Da Zi's abdomen. The centipede's Level 4 Bone Harden ability allowed its abdominal scales to reach maximum Lord-tier hardness. Upon collision, the claw exploded into a fine black mist.

Through the broken canopy, Gao Peng and the others could see their attackers as clear as day. Masked men clad entirely in black and dispersed across the forest floor were staring at him. Their familiars were right beside them, either standing or sitting.

The black human-like creature was standing at the forefront. Its arms were as thick as logs, both of which ended with a pair of razor-sharp claws. Beneath its hairless scalp was a horribly disfigured face, devoid of all emotion.

"You dare to ambush the great Merciful Liberator?!" growled Da Zi, narrowing its eyes at its attacker. Wind and lightning began gathering around it. Its golden purple Lord-tier aura was now shining down on the forest floor.

"Just you guys?" asked Gao Peng, sweeping his gaze over the group of masked men. Frowning, he scanned the forest floor in anticipation of more of them. It didn't feel good to be underestimated.

An inexplicable feeling of irritation came over the group of masked men. So what if it's just us? You don't even have your King-tier familiar with you. We're more than enough to take you on! Everyone is born equal. No need to feel all high and mighty. I don't believe even you could survive having your head ripped off of your shoulders!

A gray storm began brewing in the depths of the forest. A strange black crow with three eyes on its head had spread out its wings. Countless smaller crows swirled around it, filling the air with a cacophony of crows and squawks. An inauspicious atmosphere had fallen upon the forest.

A tree suddenly shook in a corner. A huge tail swept across the forest floor, felling every tree in its way. A massive scorpion lay splayed on the ground, its eyes a dark green shade and its body seemingly metallic. Its tail was aimed upward like an anti-aircraft gun, with red-hot plasma slowly building on the tip.

An expansive Plant-type monster was spread out across the ground in another corner like a mat of moss. After consuming and digesting the plants beneath it, the constantly squirming fungus mat spat out three thick bundles of spores at the Three-Eyed Crow General, the Radioactive Scorpion, and the Infernal Incinerator.

Gao Peng was now surrounded by four Lord-tier familiars. It seems like these people have trained their familiars well. He calmly scanned through all four familiars' stat sheets, betraying no sign of panic on his face.

[Monster Name: Infernal Incinerator

[Monster Level: Level 49 (Lord-tier)

[Monster Grade: Perfect

[Monster Attribute: Fire

[Description: A vengeful soul born from an inferno, it's filled with vengeance and hatred. Being in constant pain, it's an extremely bad-tempered creature. It likes novels and films about knights and princesses and hates tragic endings.

[Monster Name: Three-Eyed Crow General (Variant)

[Monster Level: Level 47 (Lord-tier)

[Monster Grade: Excellent

[Monster Attribute: Curse

[Description: A peculiar Three-Eyed Crow General born from a mass grave. After absorbing the inauspicious air of its birthplace, it gained the ability to disable its enemies by casting curses on them. It likes scavenging corpses.

[Monster Name: Radioactive Scorpion

[Monster Grade: Excellent

[Monster Level: Level 46 (Lord-tier)

[Monster Attribute: Electric

[Description: A scorpion that was mutated by the aftereffects of the nuclear explosion in the Dali Desert. It likes consuming highly radioactive substances.

[Monster Name: Phytophagous Symbiotic Moss

[Monster Grade: Normal

[Monster Level: Level 48 (Lord-tier)

[Description: A Plant-type monster that sustains itself by consuming other plants. It can absorb all types of nutrients and elements in order to achieve growth. It can provide support for others by splitting into smaller versions of itself and latching them onto the bodies of its teammates.

The Three-Eyed Crow General let out a chilling squawk that pierced through the air. It sounded like two panes of glass scraping against one another.

Suddenly, everything before Gao Peng wavered as he felt his strength leaving his body. His limbs began to feel like jelly. So this is its curse, thought Gao Peng.

Da Zi, the Desolate Frost Lion, and the White-Steel Bladed Beast seemed to have been weakened to varying degrees as well.

Suddenly, the weight of the crow's weakening curse was lifted from Gao Peng's body as soon as it was cast. It was redirected back to Stripey, who was a few hundred miles away.

Stripey, who was sleeping soundly in the backyard, awoke with a sneeze. It shifted its body slightly. Is Gao Peng thinking of me right now? Stripey then went back to sleep as if nothing had happened.

Da Zi's power was reduced by three percent, whereas the White-Steel Bladed Beast's was reduced by five percent.

Desolion stared at its paws in disbelief. "My power was reduced by one percent?!"

"Not bad," said Gao Peng, smiling.

Da Zi narrowed its eyes as it eavesdropped on the exchange between Gao Peng and the Desolate Frost Lion. Look at these two, laughing and talking to each other like I'm not even here!

Da Zi suddenly patted its chest. "Oh my god, my power went down by three percent! What should I do, Gao Peng? Will I die?" said Da Zi, trying its best to sound as pathetic as possible.

Gao Peng rubbed the centipede's horns reassuringly. "Don't worry, you silly centipede. It's just temporary. You'll regain your full strength in no time."

Da Zi nodded, still looking worried.

Upon seeing the six-winged beast swinging its appendages around in a panic, the leader of the masked men quickly said to the others, "That big one's already been driven mad by the curse. Now's our chance! Focus all your attacks on it!"

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

All three Lord-tier familiars unleashed their attacks from three different directions. The Radioactive Scorpion let loose a beam of red-hot plasma that scorched the air around it and left a bright red arc in its wake. The Infernal Incinerator clapped its claws together. In the next second, an unending inferno flooded the forest and a pair of fiery claws reached out from the sea of fire and swiped at the flying centipede in the air. The Three-Eyed Crow General swept its wings forward, sending an ominous wind blowing in Da Zi's direction.

"Leave this to me," said Da Zi with gumption. "Lightning Purgatory—Baptism of the World!"

Da Zi began flapping its six wings frenetically, causing the sky to be split apart by endless cracks of lightning. The White Steel Bladed Beast and Desolion held tightly onto Da Zi's back.

Boom! The sound of thunder filled the air. Then, one final thunderclap rocked the heavens. It was as if Da Zi had turned on a heavenly switch it wasn't supposed to touch. In an instant, electricity cascaded upon the earth from the clouds!

Boooom!!! The only sound that could be heard right then was the explosion of thunder and lightning. On the cliff, Chen Hanqiao and the others gazed at the scene before them with a mix of amazement and apprehension.

Pillars of lightning cascaded into the earth like purple trees whose roots were embedded deep in the earth's crust. An explosion sounded as the Radioactive Scorpion's plasma beam collided with it. Red and purple electricity began dancing with each other until they fused with each other to form the world's most beautiful, yet deadliest, lightning ball.

Another streak of lightning came down from the sky like the spear of a god.

Kaccha! The Three-Eyed Crow General's ominous wind was ripped apart by the lightning spear. Lightning now fell from the sky like rain, immediately putting out the Infernal Incinerator's fiery claws.

Booooom!!!

Da Zi floated in the sky like a lightning devil that had descended upon this world. The sight of a lone draconic form hovering in the air beneath a sea of lightning would haunt the dreams of everyone present for years to come.

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Chapter 463: Perhaps I Can Find You This Time

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

It blocked all our attacks?! The black-robed men were visibly shaken by this.

Their Lord-tier familiars had unleashed their attacks at their opponent all at the same time. All three of them were considered to be extremely powerful in comparison to other Lord-tier monsters.

How on earth did it block our combined attacks so easily… This isn't good!

Lightning suddenly cascaded upon them from the heavens. Boom, boom, boom!

A series of explosions rocked the forest. After a long while, the explosions died down, leaving most of the trees blown to pieces. The ground was scorched and pitted, with smoke slowly rising up from it.

A barrier composed of red, orange, and green could be seen in the smoke, flickering like a candle in the wind around the black-robed men.

"Taira no Masakado's familiars don't even pack that much firepower," said the leader of the group in the Nihon language.

Though Gao Peng didn't understand what he had just said, he recognized what language the man was speaking in. People from Nihon? Gao Peng's face darkened.

"Are there more of you? If not… then you can all die," said Gao Peng dangerously, his gaze sweeping across the black-robed men on the forest floor. He knew that they understood him perfectly.

All three of them looked at each other. "Charge!" They shouted their battle cry in unison, evidently prepared to fight to the death.

Their familiars charged at Da Zi without any hesitation. As they were clearly outclassed by their opponent in terms of elemental mastery, they had no choice but to resort to close combat.

The White Steel Bladed Beast silently leaped down from Da Zi's back, then shook its wings and vanished on the spot.

The three enemy familiars' advance faltered. The Infernal Incinerator was first to sense that something was wrong. It let out a roar and turned back towards its master. But it was too late.

The White Steel Bladed Beast had appeared in front of the trainers, its front appendages held in a cross shape. Schwing— Blood sprayed out from its victims' headless necks, their heads sent flying into the air.

After taking damage from the White Steel Bladed Beast's attack, two of the black-robed men had disappeared, seemingly teleporting elsewhere.

Different trainers had different failsafe abilities at their disposal. The two trainers who had vanished didn't reappear next to any of the four Lord-tier familiars, which probably meant that they had other familiars stashed somewhere else.

Gao Peng was aware of such abilities. Huang Ya had awakened one himself, which he had named Critical Protection. When a trainer received mortal damage, this ability would be automatically activated, causing him or her to be teleported out of harm's way, like to one of their familiars' side.

However, their familiar had to be within a certain range in order for this to work. The ability wouldn't work if they strayed too far out of range.

The White Steel Bladed Beast sniffed its blade-like appendages, then flitted through the forest, tracking the scent it had picked up. Every part of its body was stretched taut, alert to the slightest disturbance in the air.

Then, its eyes lit up. Found you.

Flowing Light, the White Steel Bladed Beast, vanished once more into thin air.

Bang! The Infernal Incinerator swiped at the air, hitting nothing in particular.

"All right, that's enough. Playtime's over. Da Zi, give them all a clean death," ordered Gao Peng, before leaping down from Da Zi's back with Desolion in his arms.

Da Zi narrowed its eyes and let out a cold hmph. Gao Peng can't carry that lion around in his arms all the time. It's already a big boy, so why's it acting like a cub around him? Does it have no shame?

Da Zi shook its dragon wings. In the next instant, it turned into a ball of harsh electrical light. Pzzzt!

The horns on its head pierced through the Three-Eyed Crow General's chest, setting off an electrical explosion upon impact! A surge of electricity gripped the Three-Eyed Crow General's body, causing it to light up like a Christmas tree. When the surge of electricity finally subsided, the Three-Eyed Crow General fell to the ground, an electrocuted mess of feathers and ash.

Da Zi then swung its tail back, the golden stinger on its tip as sharp as a saw. Judging by the speed at which it was traveling, the centipede's tail could probably cut through solid steel with ease. Its tail struck the Infernal Incinerator, which was trying to creep up on the centipede from behind. The latter held its arms up just in time to cushion the blow, but even still, Da Zi's tail managed to tear a deep gash across the Infernal Incinerator's chest.

Da Zi turned around and coldly gazed at the Radioactive Scorpion. The Radioactive Scorpion had a temper as foul as the Infernal Incinerator's. What the hell are you looking at, punk?

It charged at Da Zi, despite knowing that its chances of victory were slim. A minute later, the Radioactive Scorpion's body lay lifeless on the forest floor.

After seeing the lifeless forms of its fallen comrades around it, the Phytophagous Symbiotic Moss knew that now was the time to flee.

However, as it was a Fungal-type familiar, unless it was latched onto another creature's body, there was absolutely no way it could outrun Da Zi. The Infernal Incinerator was the only enemy Lord-tier familiar still standing in the forest.

"Argh!" The Infernal Incinerator had no intention of running. It rushed towards Da Zi, its eyes filled with hatred and hysteria. At that point, its body had lost all feeling. The look in its eyes burned brighter than its flames.

Show no fear, know no fear. It leaped onto Da Zi, scratching and biting at it.

Da Zi slapped the Infernal Incinerator with a casual flick of one of its claw, then pressed its opponent flat on the ground with another claw. Slowly, it rubbed the Infernal Incinerator against the ground, back and forth, back and forth. The abrasion began peeling away the Infernal Incinerator's already charred skin.

This was the difference in power between two familiars two monster grades apart. Such a confrontation could only end with one being ground to a pulp by the other.

Completely subdued on the ground by Da Zi, the Infernal Incinerator pushed against Da Zi in an attempt to escape the crushing weight of its body.

"Hmph!" Da Zi leaned down on it even more. Next, it tore off the Infernal Incinerator's arm with its jaws.

Frenzied with pain, the latter roared, "My-my name is Anderson! My name is Anderson! Anderson!"

"Have at thee, monster!" the Infernal Incinerator screamed. Its chest suddenly expanded. Cracks began appearing on its surface, releasing thick, black fumes from its body. With one final burst of power, the Infernal Incinerator finally managed to break free from Da Zi, and it landed a swipe on the centipede's chest as it scrambled to its feet. Da Zi roared out in pain. The Infernal Incinerator was now surrounded by flames of fury.

Then—

Bang!

The flames were frozen solid. In the next second, they shattered into a million pieces. The Infernal Incinerator paused for a moment as cracks began spreading across its body. Black smoke was now issuing from the cracks like helium coming out of a punctured balloon.

The Infernal Incinerator stumbled backward. The anger in its eyes had subsided, its gray pupils slowly regaining a human luster. It was now calmly making eye contact with Da Zi. There was a look of serenity in its eyes.

"Where are you, princess? They said they would help me look for you, but I know now that it wasn't you. It was just a statue made in your likeness," muttered Anderson, a teardrop in the corner of his eye. "I couldn't find you when I was burning in hell, and I still couldn't find you when I came back to the world of the living. Perhaps I can find you this time, princess…"

Anderson fell to the ground on his knees, his head bowed deeply over his chest. Black smoke hissed out of his body like the sand in an hourglass.

Ssshhh… Wind blew past, dispersing what was left of the Infernal Incinerator into the air.

In another corner of the forest, Flowing Light dropped two unconscious black-robed men before Gao Peng.

Gao Peng had ordered it to capture at least two of them alive, though interrogating them would be a waste of time and energy. He would simply have the Growing Brain read their memories. When it was done with them, Gao Peng would know every little detail of their lives, down to when they first wet their pants.

He could still feel someone else's eyes boring into him from afar. After a while, they were gone.

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Chapter 464: Memory Extraction

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

Da Zi turned around to find that Gao Peng had started walking towards the base of the cliff.

Startled by the commotion, the Corpsedeer pack had long fled the place. Chen Hanqiao unsteadily came down from the cliff. He jogged up to Gao Peng, his face looking somewhat apologetic. "I'm sorry, I…" He left his mouth hanging open for a moment, but no sounds came out.

Gao Peng looked him over and smiled faintly. "I was their real target. You were simply caught in the crossfire. I'm the one who should be apologizing for involving all of you in my conflict with these people."

Chen Hanqiao simply smiled, unsure of what to say. A burly middle-aged man stepped forward from behind Chen Hanqiao. His arms were as thick as logs, his eyes vibrant. Even though there were a few bruises and scars on his face, but otherwise, he seemed to be the picture of health.

"Chin up, kiddo. It was only a minor setback. It's only been five years since the Cataclysm. We still have plenty of time to build ourselves back up," said the middle-aged man, patting Chen Hanqiao on the shoulder.

Chen Hanqiao looked up at him wearily. He had evidently not gotten over the loss of his familiar.

A familiar's death could cause serious damage to its trainer's soul. Scientists had conducted experiments to show that upon a familiar's death, not only would its trainer lose the Soul Power that they had gained from their familiar while nurturing it, but they would also receive a huge blow to their own souls and later on, succumb to a period of emaciation.

However, if said trainer already had a strong soul to begin with, their familiar's death probably wouldn't have much impact on it. It was noteworthy that this period of emaciation wouldn't last indefinitely.

"Thank you for saving us from those fiends," said the middle-aged man earnestly. This man had an indescribable charm to him, making him a reassuring presence for most people. This must have been the reason why he was able to lead a monster-hunting group of his own.

"Don't blame yourself. We were the ones who were ambushed and had our familiars killed by these people and whoever's behind them. We can only blame ourselves for being far too weak to put up a fight. Survival of the fittest is the only rule that matters in this world. Weakness has no place in it. Still, I have no intention of letting such a cowardly attack go unpunished," growled the middle-aged man.

After hearing what his father said, Chen Hanqiao's expression shifted. Clenching his fists, he said through gritted teeth, "I will avenge my Electric Luster Bear! I don't care how long it takes; I will not rest until justice is served," he said.

The middle-aged man held his fist in his hand, bidding Gao Peng farewell. Then he led his monster-hunting party out of the forest.

The man let out a long whistle. The ground trembled, and a moment later, a Commander-tier Earthstrider Devilworm, whose body seemed to have been bisected, popped out from the ground before the middle-aged man and began nuzzling him. The man looked surprised, as if he hadn't expected it to be so intimate.

"Let me escort you back," said Gao Peng. The middle-aged man didn't object.

Along the way, Gao Peng found out that the man's name was Chen Nianhua. A Chinese person from overseas, he had come to the mainland with his son to worship their ancestors when the Cataclysm happened. Both father and son had remained here ever since.

Gao Peng asked them if they would like to join the Southern Sky Group. He quite admired Chen Nianhua.

"We've lost everything. Our entire monster-hunting party is finished… and I just canceled my Blood Contract with this one here," said Chen Nianhua, gesturing at the Earthstrider Devilworm.

Most of their familiars hadn't survived the ambush. One of the few survivors included the Earthstrider Devilworm, who still hadn't come out of the battle unscathed. If it wasn't for its unique physiology, it would have met the same fate as the other familiars back then.

In order to keep his familiar alive, Chen Nianhua had ordered the Earthstrider Devilworm to dive back into the ground and canceled his Blood Contract with it.

"Why are you still here? Back then, I trapped you in order to sign a Blood Contract with you. After all these years, you've given me nothing but the cold shoulder. I thought you hated me," said Chen Nianhua, still unable to believe that his familiar had come back for him.

The Earthstrider Devilworm simply lay coiled on the ground and gave the man's chest a nudge with its head. Seeing that this didn't elicit a reaction from him, the worm lowered its head beneath Chen Nianhua's hand.

Chen Nianhua heaved a long sigh, then produced a dagger from his pocket and cut one of his fingers with it. He pressed his finger against the Earthstrider Devilworm's head.

"I'm glad that your familiar decided to re-establish its Blood Contract with you," said Gao Peng with a smile.

Desolion leaped down from Gao Peng's arms and landed on the mat of moss on the ground. The Phytophagous Symbiotic Moss was instantly frozen. With one casual wave of its claw, Desolion smashed the fungal mat into pieces, then lowered its body, ready to leap back into Gao Peng's embrace—

A dragon claw appeared before it. Da Zi glared at it warningly, shaking its head.

Back in the Southern Sky Group, Gao Peng let Chen Hanqiao and the others change their clothes and rest for a bit after taking nice, hot baths.

"Just these two duc… humans?" said Goldie, looking at their captives from the corner of its eye. "Da Zi, you're growing weak. You're no longer fit to be my rival."

Seems like Gao Peng went out this time just to take care of these two humans. Good thing I didn't go with him. It would have been a waste of my time, thought Goldie.

"Not true. I killed three Lord-tier familiars on my own. Isn't that right, Gao Peng?" said Da Zi angrily.

Gao Peng nodded. "Yeah, Da Zi did take down three Lord-tier familiars by itself."

"Oh?" Goldie turned to look at Da Zi with a mix of surprise and renewed respect. Immediately after, it turned around and laughed, showing its bald scalp to everyone behind it. "Hahahaha!"

What TV show is the duck obsessed over this time?! thought Gao Peng, frowning.

Goldie always snuck into the manor's home theater to watch its favorite films when no one was looking. In truth, Gao Peng and his grandfather rarely used it, so Goldie was always able to indulge in his hobby without meeting any resistance, and it did so quite diligently.

Later, Gao Peng loaded the two unconscious masked men onto Flamy's back, which then flew them to the riverbank.

Turbulent waves raged across the river's surface. Various aquatic lifeforms popped their heads out of the water. Flamy coldly gazed down at them.

A ripple spread across the surface of the water. Then, a wrinkled brain emerged from the water. It was surrounded by a group of monsters. "Daddy, Daddy…" they chirped excitedly. Gao Peng stared at the scene before him, speechless.

Why are none of my familiars normal?! This is definitely not what I asked for!

"Master, see how well I've raised them," said the Growing Brain humbly. "Come say hello, little ones. This is your grandpa."

"Grandpa, Grandpa," cried the group of monsters. Thanks to the Growing Brain's psychic transmission, Gao Peng could hear these monsters' voices loud and clear.

"This is Uncle Flamy."

"Uncle Flamy, Uncle Flamy," shouted the monsters in unison.

"Enough. I need you to do something for me. Can you extract other people's memories?"

"Yes, but it's a barbaric procedure. Most monsters can't handle the strain and are left brain-dead as a result," explained the Growing Brain.

"That's quite all right. I want you to read the memories of these two. I want to know who wants me dead. These two bozos don't have enough brains between them to set up such an elaborate ambush."

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Chapter 465: Visitors in the Ice Field

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

"No problem. Just leave it to me," said the Growing Brain. It could hear the exasperation in its master's voice. It had no idea what these two had done to anger Gao Peng.

The Growing Brain looked at their unconscious forms on the ground sympathetically. Then, without any hesitation, it plunged into their memories.

An irresistible psychic power pierced through their minds and into their memories like a blade. Their whole lives played out before the Growing Brain like a film from their perspectives. All sorts of sounds, colors, and sensations swirled around it at that moment.

In the real world, the Growing Brain's gray matter gleamed for a moment, then it simply floated there, motionless. Despite its extraordinary psychic powers, it still required some time sifting through these memories in order to extract anything useful from the two.

Suddenly, the Growing Brain's voice echoed in Gao Peng's head. "Master, I've found what you're looking for. They were originally spies sent from the Yinglie region to infiltrate the Nihon region. Then, they were dispatched by the Nihon region to assassinate you. Their last orders were to disguise themselves as representatives of a nameless organization."

"That's quite a convoluted background they have… So does this mean that they're from the Yinglie region? Or did the Nihon region catch on to their treachery and decide to punish them all by sending them my way?" asked Gao Peng, his brows furrowed. "Do you have anything concrete for me?"

"No…" said the Growing Brain, eyeing Gao Peng warily.

Gao Peng fell silent. After a while, he turned around to leave. "All right, thank you. You can take your kids back now."

In the North pole, a Blood Eye Bearded Vulture circled the air above a frozen palace before gracefully landing in front of the building. It shattered the chains wrapped around its right talon with its beak, and a dark green box slid down from its leg. Carefully, it placed the box before the palace doors.

A moment later, a Frozen Asura Knight came out of the palace. Glancing at the Male Magnetic Beast strapped onto the Blood Eye Bearded Vulture, it bent down to pick up the dark green box and carried it back to the palace.

The Blood Eye Bearded Vulture simply nodded at it before launching itself back into the sky. Aside from delivering its package, the vulture had another important mission to fulfill—to find Frost Breaths for its next evolutionary stage.

After six months of rigorous training, the Blood Eye Bearded Vulture's body had gained a few more scars, which gave it an even more ruthless look.

"It's been a while since I've seen such a serious-looking familiar," said Bei Qing Yan before turning away from the window. She looked at the bag of spicy sticks in her hand and tentatively bit into one of them.

After eating a couple of them, her face began to turn red. Her nostrils flared as they hungrily sucked in air. She stuck out her tongue, fanning it with her hand.

Seeing what had happened to its mistress, the Frozen Asura Knight shouted, "Not good, the mistress is poisoned! To be able to circumvent my inspection… What manner of poison is this?"

Bei Qing Yan gave the Frozen Asura Knight a strange look. After some thought, she opened another bag of spicy sticks and offered the knight some. "Here, try it. It's not poisonous. The taste is… exotic. I've never had anything like it before."

The Frozen Asura Knight's eyes intently followed Bei Qing Yan's every move, fearful for its mistress' life. "Thank you for your kind offer, mistress, but I'm not the adventurous kind when it comes to eating," it said. It preferred eating snow. It simply relished the coldness of snow spreading to every corner of its body as it slid down its throat and into its stomach.

"All right then. I was just going to ask you to inspect my body to see if I really was poisoned," said Bei Qing Yan, sighing.

The Frozen Asura Knight hesitated for a moment. Then it said, "Wait, Mistress."

A minute later, the Frozen Asura Knight's face grew solemn. "What… what is this? It has such a peculiar taste," it said as it chewed on a spicy stick.

While saying this, it popped another one into its mouth. Realizing that its mistress was looking at it, it tried to explain itself. "I've never tasted anything like this. Please understand, Mistress. I'm just doing some food testing for you to see if it's really poisonous."

Bei Qing Yan simply smiled at it.

The Blood Eye Bearded Vulture's eyes stared ahead unblinkingly as it flew against a biting wind in a glacial valley. In the next second, it broke through a glacial wall, leaving a huge hole in it.

It had swallowed a cloud of Frost Breaths in the valley. The Blood Eye Bearded Vulture fell unceremoniously on top of a mountain. Its skin turned stiff, and its veins were slowly losing their elasticity, causing its blood circulation to slow down. A cold aura was beginning to build up around its body.

The vulture's chest was rising and falling violently, its heart beating like a frenzied water pump. A faint beating sound reverberated through the air. It was growing louder and louder. Thump.

The Blood Eye Bearded Vulture's body shook, shattering the layer of frost that had accumulated on its skin. The light in its eyes grew fiercer than ever. It stretched its neck upward and let out a screech that echoed across the glacial field.

"What a fine bird." Somewhere at the bottom of the valley, a Spatial Rift had opened up. It flickered in and out of existence as if it could go out at any minute. A couple of human beings stepped out of the rift.

Some of these humans were clad in robes made from specially treated monster skin. Others were embellished with monster parts. Their monster hide robes didn't seem at all crude or barbaric. In fact, they gave off an air of beauty and elegance.

The one who had spoken was an old man clad in a red robe and a blue patterned scarf around his shoulder. He gazed at the Blood Eye Bearded Vulture in admiration. "Magnificent. This is one strong-willed monster."

"Don't hurt it, Bei Gulao. Just leave it be," he said as a burly young man stepped forward, ready to let his familiar capture the Blood Eye Bearded Vulture. Upon hearing the high priest's words, the young man quickly stopped his familiar.

Behind him stood a 22-foot-tall Four-Armed Abominable Snowman. Its fur was white, its face devoid of a nose. There was only a single eye and mouth on its face.

The Blood Eye Bearded Vulture sensed that it was in danger. Seeing the group of people and their familiars slowly approaching it, the vulture shook its wings and took off into the sky without a moment's hesitation.

Half an hour later, the group of people arrived at the frozen palace. The high priest's expression was solemn as he knelt on the ground and announced, "I am the high priest, and we've come to pay our respects."

Everyone behind him followed suit. "We've come to pay our respects."

Still chewing on a spicy stick, the Frozen Asura Knight stepped out of the palace and looked over the high priest. It asked in a low voice, "Which high priest are you?"

The high priest raised his head, his eyes filled with sincerity. "Honorable Frozen Asura Knight, I am the 50th high priest of the Arctic tribe."

After a while, a young girl stepped out of the palace barefoot, an inscrutable expression on her face. "The 50th, you say…"

She examined the kneeling high priest for a while. Then she said, "Get up, all of you."

"Thank you!" It was a strange sight indeed, seeing a 70-year-old gentleman acting so deferentially towards a 20-year-old maiden. However, neither one of them thought that there was anything strange about their exchange.

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Chapter 466: Dumby's Possible Development

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

The two people who had been violently stripped of their memories became idiots. They squatted on the ground and played with mud, raising their heads and smiling stupidly from time to time. Regardless of whether these two were pretending to be stupid, Gao Peng wanted to throw them into the river to feed the fish and relieve them of everything.

Gao Peng massaged his temples and muttered to himself, "Everything is really messy. It seems like all sorts of weird monsters are just appearing out of nowhere. Do they think that I have a good temper and will simply take them in?

"You stay in the Yangtze River, I need to go out for a while," said Gao Peng to the Brain of Growth.

The Brain of Growth sank back into the Yangtze River. This basin had became the Brain of Growth's home. Any monsters who intended to cross the border between the upper and lower tides had to pay the toll when they were passing through. The Brain of Growth was like a bully who had seized the whole river.

Back at the villa, Gao Peng kicked the Mystical Mirror Diviner Turtle while it was relaxing under the sun in the puddle. "Stop sleeping. You should start paying rent for sleeping in my house for so long. Come and perform a divination for me."

( AllNovelFull ) The Mystical Mirror Diviner Turtle used its claws to push itself out of the puddle twice before it finally climbed out of it. The turtle's shell reflected silver light under the sun.

"I'm coming to help you, Master," The eyes of the Mystical Mirror Diviner Turtle looked stern as it mumbled a chant. The turtle's shell started to shine like a big light bulb.

The scene here had attracted the other beasts; a group of sacred beasts surrounded the Mystical Mirror Diviner Turtle. The Silver Dragon tilted its head and started sizing up the turtle, then it said affirmatively, "This turtle is mine!" It swore this with such sovereignty, making a point that this turtle was its own. The truth was, the Mystical Mirror Diviner Turtle was indeed its subordinate, although that was in the past.

The White Dragon hesitated. "However, it seems to have a master now, so it's not supposed to be yours anymore…"

The Silver Dragon frowned, feeling annoyed. How could it not have realised that this turtle could glimmer? It had lost a valuable treasure.

It's so shiny… It's so beautiful.

The Silver Dragon wanted to yank off the Mystical Mirror Diviner Turtle's shell and hide it in its own vault. It intended to fill up its treasure trove.

The White Dragon didn't share the same sentiments as the Silver Dragon. In its eyes, it was merely a turtle shell that shone. It could have all sorts of shiny things if it liked.

Perhaps the Silver Dragon's thoughts were limited by poverty. In the White Dragon's view, any crystal, diamond, or glass could be mass-produced under modern technology. Its natural qualities were insignificant as long as it looked good.

"Oh, a bad omen! An extremely bad omen!" The Mystical Mirror Diviner Turtle suddenly opened its eyes and sighed at its master.

After listening to the turtle, the group of beasts around it suddenly became nervous. Goldie couldn't help but become angry. It wanted to reprimand the old turtle in front of it. "Hey, you old thing, how dare you try to misguide my master with such ludicrous words? A bad omen? Any more of this nonsense and I'll make you bleed today!"

The turtle hid its head back into its shell as its four claws pulled on the lawn. "Hey, I'm not finished yet. Please don't be mad and allow me to finish my sentence."

The turtle didn't dare to keep them in suspense anymore. It was a tad bit annoyed, since it had originally planned to keep everyone in suspense just so that it could get on its young master's good side, but it was ruined by this damned bald duck. This is so annoying!

"But it is not only a bad omen. It is also a good omen, a blessing in disguise. There is no such thing as perfection in this world. I am not God."

"So are you lying to me?" Gao Peng lifted one of his eyebrows.

"No, I didn't lie to you. My divinations are like that. No matter what happens, there are two possibilities. There's always a silver lining in the most dangerous of calamities. You humans have a saying… I think it is that men are the masters of their own fates? I can see only a few possibilities in the future. There may be many different paths in the future, and I can merely take a look at them. The decision still lies in your hands…"

( AllNovelFull ) After the turtle finished speaking, it panicked. This cannot be good. I've revealed too much information today. I cannot reveal any further…

"Then there's no difference between saying or not saying anything at all." Gao Peng was speechless.

"Oh, this is not the case. I'm still able to see that what's probably going to happen to you, whether good or bad. Obviously, these possibilities are merely for reference."

"Oh… then what's the probability of me being in danger? What is the possibility of me reverting a curse into a blessing?"

"Oh… probably a 50-50 chance!"

Gao Peng's mouth twitched. He held back the impulse to hit the old turtle amd turned around to leave. He felt as if he had wasted his time expecting an answer from the creature. At least he had now realised the unreliability of this turtle.

Like Moneymaker, the other Mystic-type beasts also thought that the turtle's statements were useless. Perhaps it had something to do with the turtle's low level.

Although he was aware of the identity of the attacker, the specific party behind the attack remained unclear. It wasn't that Gao Peng didn't dare to do anything; he just didn't want to fall into the enemy's trap and end up being used as a chess piece in their dirty game.

"Gao Peng, is something troubling you? It's okay. You can tell me about it. I'll shoulder the burden with you." Goldie came up and patted its chest.

Gao Peng glanced at it. He wasn't in the mood to entertain the duck.

Goldie realized that Gao Peng was ignoring him and suddenly became anxious. "Why do you not believe me? Do you think I'm all brawn and no brains?"

Gao Peng shook his head. After a slight contemplation, he told Goldie about the incident.

Goldie patted his head. "This is easy. Just look at the Nihon District!"

"Why are you so sure that this person is from the Nihon District?"

"Didn't you say that they were from the Nihon District?" Goldie refuted.

Gao Peng was stunned. A smile appeared on his face. "You're right."

It didn't matter which faction those people were from. What mattered was that the attackers originated from the Nihon District. This was all he needed to know. What Gao Peng needed wasn't the truth, but the motive.

It wouldn't be safe to only bring the Desolate Frost Lion. It was too difficult to guarantee that there wouldn't be a King-tier monster popping out somewhere. The Brain of Growth still had to stay back to take over the Yangtze River. Although it could move about freely in the river, all its efforts would go to waste if it left the Yangtze River.

Besides, it had been a while since Dumby went out. It was time to test out its results.

The Black Fog World, the Land of 1,000 Streams.

Time had passed since the Land of 1,000 Streams had become a paradise for ghouls.

The various monsters living in the Land of 1,000 Streams hadn't been slain, and Dumby was well aware of development that could be done there. It knew that they couldn't kill a goose that laid golden eggs. Therefore, the monsters in the Land of 1,000 Streams had been kept captive. They would be killed once they were well-fed, then they would let them multiply to provide an unlimited source of Soul Power for Dumby.

After experiencing the initial chaos, the Land of 1,000 Streams gradually adapted to Dumby's rules. At the same time, to consume the overpopulated ghouls, Dumby had chosen to launch a war against the forest in the other direction. That forest had an King-tier Earth-type monster and a massive amount of monsters in general. The neverending killings and wars provided a huge volume of Soul Power for Dumby.

At the edge of the forest, tens of thousands of ghoulish servants rushed toward the forest; any living beings along the way were their enemies.

The ranks of the ghouls were strict and orderly. All the subordinates obeyed the orders of their superiors. In particular, the next ghoul who was resurrected by the superiors was completely obedient to the orders of its superiors, even if it meant the ghoul had to die.

On a hillside, Dumby crossed its arms across its chest, a large group of gloomy ghouls around him. Even the lowest-level dead soul was Lord-tier, and only the Lord-tier ones were qualified to stand behind him.

Howl! The trees swayed violently, and a huge black bear appeared. Anger was written all over its face. "Dumb skeletons, are you going to provoke a war with us?"

The trunk was then broken, and its huge body squeezed out from under it. Several skeletons were crushed into pieces with just a light sweep from its boulder-like paw.

Dumby gently rubbed its finger bone, the soul flames in its eyes remaining extremely calm. It finally came out… And the air was tense.

Suddenly, Dumby trembled, and the soul flames in its sockets violently flickered twice. It then retreated immediately without even turning its head around. "Let's go!"

The ghoul subordinates behind it who had rolled up their sleeves for battle were stunned as they stared at their boss suddenly leaving.

The Earth Bear stood at the edge of the forest with its eyes fixed on Dumby until it disappeared into the horizon. The bear sat down on the ground and smoothed its chest hair with its paw.

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Chapter 467: The Return of the Skeleton Master

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

Dumby went back to the Land of 1,000 Streams. The subordinates who stood behind it were shivering in fear, as they didn't dare to interrupt their boss, who was still deep in thought. In the past, anyone who had dared to do so was buried in the ground.

Dumby looked around and started roll call. "Broken Jade Devil Spirit, Six-tailed Sky Fox Skeleton, Stone Mountain Elephant Skeleton…" He called out a total of eighteen monsters' names. "…All of you, come forward."

All eighteen monsters came out. The ghouls, who had once acted brutally, seemed extremely anxious at that moment. It was as if they were preparing to accept the judgment of fate.

Dumby raised its right hand. "Since I have to go back, there's no point in leaving the ghouls here…" It clenched its fist.

It was as if there was a slight explosion in the air. Bang.

The sound was very soft, as if a pouting little boy had gently opened his mouth. At the same time, countless ghouls who were ten thousand miles from the Land of 1,000 Streams died. A massive number of Flames of the Undead flew up to the sky and converged into several white streams that seeped into Dumby's skull from all directions.

Rumble—

Dumby's eye sockets were almost filled up entirely by the white Flames of the Undead. Flames spilled over the edges of its eyes.

The Flame of the Undead was the medium of Soul Power, and it was also the medium that could be absorbed best by Ghoul-type monsters. Dumby's whole body was trembling; its skeleton rattled as it quivered.

Finally, the wild Soul Power calmed down. Dumby also regained its composure. However, the Flame of the Undead in its eyes seemed to be much richer. The aura around it had become even more unfathomable.

The eighteen ghouls were relieved that they were able to avoid death. They looked at each other with relief.

The Desolate Labyrinth.

Lusaka's development of the Desolate Labyrinth was left abandoned after the Cataclysm.

No one knew if the monster whose level was far beyond the King tier would suddenly return for more destruction. However, the facilities that were built in the past hadn't been demolished yet. Besides, there had always been an ongoing investigation of the effects of the Desolate Labyrinth on its external environment. At the same time, the nearby plants and monsters of the other world were collected and caught in a controlled manner, then sent back to the Huaxia region.

This was presently the only permanent Spatial Rift that could be found in the Huaxia region. Hence, it was extremely valuable and wouldn't be given up easily, despite being fully aware of the underlying danger.

"Report to commander, this is scout 1156. There is a monster coming from the North region, there is a monster coming from the North region! The level of danger…" said the scout while looking at the frightened familiar beside him. He took a deep breath. "Extreme danger level!"

Without any further delays, the commander immediately sent out familiars and unmanned reconnaissance aircraft from the base to investigate the situation from a high altitude.

A group of ghoul monsters appeared on the horizon at the end of the barren terrain. Although most of the ghouls had never encountered any monsters before, their ferocious appearance was enough to convey a message that they weren't to be messed with.

The pictures of these ghouls were captured and submitted to every single level of management. Finally, there was a response when it reached one of the levels. "Stop the alert, recover to second level surveillance."

Second level surveillance was merely normal surveillance. Apart from the familiars in the military, all the familiars within a visible range would be monitored normally.

Dumby arrived at the front of the labyrinth. The door had long been opened, as a soldier had received orders to do so.

The only entrance into the Desolate Labyrinth was installed with a massive steel gate and fake vines on its outer walls. Usually, people traveled in and out of the base through the small gate; the big gate was hardly ever opened.

However, they had received the order to open the big gate that morning. The soldier who was responsible for opening the big gate and Dumby were staring at each other.

Dumby was patient and didn't seem anxious at all. The soldier trembled and quickly lowered his head.

The Giant White Skeletal Wolf, which was approximately 16 feet tall, lowered its head when it passed by the soldier. Its bad breath fell on the soldier's face…

The Desolate Labyrinth grew silent upon the arrival of Dumby and the eighteen ghouls that had levels of at least Lord-tier.

All the familiars were crouching on the ground. Even the familiars that were usually active had their eyes fixated in the direction of the big gate with their tails in between their legs or tensed bodies.

"Fat Tiger, what happened?" asked a female soldier who was trying to comfort her familiar, whose hair was spiked up. It was shivering as it looked to the east. Her familiar was usually courageous; there was literally nothing that could frighten it. It was unbelievable to see it so fearful that day.

In a minute, she understood the reason behind it. A dark gold skeleton was walking on the frontlines with bone spurs anchored on its head like a crown. There were a lot of gigantic monsters following behind it. The female soldier had an intuition that no matter how huge and ferocious these monsters looked, they didn't seem stronger than the dark gold skeleton.

The ghouls remained silent and followed Dumby from behind. In the eyes of these ghouls, all the people and familiars in this labyrinth were too weak to be their opponents, so there was really nothing to be worried about.

The aura that was unconsciously being emitted from their bodies was enough to frighten the living beings around them.

All eighteen of the ghouls with a minimum level of Lord-tier followed Dumby from behind. Even the weakest among these eighteen ghouls was stronger than the leader of the labyrinth watchers. They were the best of the best among Lord-tier creatures.

In the center of the Desolate Labyrinth, a Spatial Rift spanning 30 feet in diameter had erected in the center of the labyrinth. Dumby traveled through the Spatial Rift and passed through the Baiye District.

The Mystical Mirror Diviner Turtle suddenly extended its head and turned around to look in the direction of the big gate.

"Oh my god… What is that thing coming toward us? It looks ferocious," mumbled the Mystical Mirror Diviner Turtle.

The Primitive Jade Armored Crocodile, who was rolling in the mud, looked up and closed its mouth.

The familiars that were playing around also stopped whatever they were doing. It was in their instincts. Their strong sixth sense made them realize that a dangerous creature was approaching them.

"Master, I'm back." A shapeless soul pierced through space. The fluctuation of waves from the soul was extremely domineering, as if it was the arrival of a king. Dumby didn't do it consciously; its kingly aura came to it naturally as it had been leading millions of ghouls for a period of time. Even Dumby didn't realize that such changes had occurred.

The little Silver Dragon grunted, looking rather displeased. Although it knew that Dumby wasn't a weak opponent, it still released its dragon power stubbornly just to test Dumby.

Dumby was stunned for a while, but it didn't pay any further attention to the provocation from the lake. After all, this was its Master's home. If a conflict were to happen here, its master might not have been pleased.

Dumby didn't pick a fight. The little Silver Dragon's efforts remained fruitless. It felt powerless, like it had just punched the air.

"Daddy, Daddy." A little figure jumped down from the treehouse and skipped toward Dumby.

"Hey, is this Master's daughter?" The eyes of the ghoul who was standing behind Dumby lit up. It lowered his head down to take a look at the little master. However, its gaze was immediately met with Dumby's icy stare.

The ghouls behind Dumby smiled in embarrassment and then dismissed themselves to a distance of 330 feet away.

"Dumby, you're back. I guess you must have been getting used to living outside," said Gao Peng, who welcomed Dumby's return.

"Thank you, Master, for your concern. Dumby is consistently getting stronger and is always ready to fulfill the commands given by Master!" said Dumby solemnly.

Gao Peng looked at Dumby's status. It had reached Level 59. Gao Peng was rather pleased with its speed of leveling up. "Come on, don't just stand outside, let's talk in the house."

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Chapter 468: Journey to the East – Nihon

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

"Master was threatened again." Dumby, who sat sprawled on the sofa, went blank before continuing in a solemn voice, "Goldie, Flamy, Da Zi, is this how you protect Master when I'm not around?"

Dumby's voice was hoarse and cold. The flickering flame of the undead that was dancing fiercely in its eye sockets gave away its rage. The atmosphere in the room was tense and suffocating.

Desolion laid on the floor and snuck a peek at Dumby, chills going down its spine.

This skeleton was starting to give off an increasingly monstrous aura. Dumby should have evolved into a King-tier monster by now, but it felt like they were facing an Emperor-tier monster to Desolion.

It had to be an illusion. How could it be? Desolion recalled that Dumby had been a Lord-tier monster not too long ago. No matter how fast Dumby tried to increase its strength, it would be impossible to become Emperor-tier in such a short time. Nevertheless, the aura circling Dumby was still uncomfortable for Desolion, and it shifted its posture.

"I killed all the monsters," Da Zi retorted. "Gao Peng was unharmed."

"Hmm, you should be thankful that Master was unharmed, or else I would have had to reconsider your ability to protect Master." Dumby's voice was serious.

Da Zi snorted. It was too lazy to retaliate and unwilling to argue with Dumby. Da Zi held its head up and rose, its neck raised high above everyone else. The sky above it was so blue. Dumby, that shorty, couldn't even see my face, Da Zi thought to itself.

"Dumby, this time we'll be heading for the ocean."

"At your command, Master."

"Let's take a walk in the Nihon district. Rumor has it that a Nocturnal Procession of a Hundred Demons appeared after the Cataclysm in the Nihon district. According to myths, there should be Eight Million Gods. Let's check out what these gods look like."

A fair amount of the familiars in the Nihon district were the 'gods' in legends and myths. Subsequently, scholars and researchers in the Nihon district found out that the familiars that resembled the gods in legends and myths were actually variants of native animals.

As a matter of fact, not just in the Nihon district, but people all over the world, came to notice the two categories of evolution for native animals. One was the evolution of native animals into mythical creatures and legendary beasts from legends and myths.

On the other hand, the other evolution would be for native animals to evolve into unknown monsters with no pre-recorded data.

Unlike the former evolution, the latter evolution wasn't restricted to just one area and could be encountered throughout the world. For instance, the same unknown monsters in the Nihon district could also be spotted in the Huaxia region.

Both of these peculiar patterns fascinated scholars. No matter how small the area or the population of a micro-country, people were still able to catch sight of mythical creatures that were present in legends. Some scholars classified these phenomena as regional infection, but they couldn't manage to find an answer for it.

Gao Peng brought Dumby, Desolion, Silly, and Dumby's ghoul subordinates from the Black Fog World along with him as he embarked on his journey to the east. Gao Peng was decisive. He left on the very same day.

"I can't believe Gao Peng left without me." When Da Zi came back to its senses, Gao Peng was already gone. After a period of intensive training, Silly had evolved into a six-foot-long jellyfish. Nevertheless, Silly was a jellyfish with a high contraction ability. Silly could minimize its volume and size, so it seemed like it was the same size as it had been before.

The past few days without Silly made Gao Peng realize how troublesome it was to get around without Silly. Whether it was traveling or another activity, Gao Peng found it very inconvenient. How could he tolerate those bitter days of hauling a huge rucksack after tasting the sweet convenience of having a portable space?

"You shunned me for so long. Let me tell you this: without five bottles of fruit juice, you won't be able to buy me," Silly rebuked sharply, its anger flaring.

At that same moment, Gao Peng was riding on the skeletal upper neck of a winged dragon, which was also its smoothest part. Dumby had even removed a bone from that part and assembled a cushioned leather seat so that Gao Peng could sit on it comfortably.

Gao Peng was speechless. "Didn't I just pass you ten bottles of fruit juice? Let me tell you what; you just keep five bottles for yourself and return the rest to me. Don't even try hiding any extra bottles."

Silly was at a loss, confused. It sat on Gao Peng's head and kept quiet, pretending as if it hadn't asked anything.

Gao Peng had locked Silly in the room before because Silly had been evolving too slowly. It wasn't because of the traits of the species, but because it was simply too lazy. Silly and lazy—that was definitely a way to refer to Silly.

Gao Peng had no words to describe this lazy jellyfish. No matter how much Da Zi slacked off, it was still very keen and had the desire to grow stronger… Hmm, well, Da Zi did slack off occasionally, but that was still acceptable to Gao Peng.

But Silly was different! Silly was lazy every single day and hardly ever training. Gao Peng thought he had picked the wrong name for Silly. It shouldn't have been called Silly, but Lazy instead. See how the name matched this creature!

"Lazy, get me my blanket…" Gao Peng had a slip of the tongue.

Silly was furious. "You even called me by the wrong name. I'm Silly. I'm not lazy!"

Gao Peng laughed. "Yeah, you aren't lazy. You're just a little silly."

Silly angrily grabbed a blanket from its portable space and threw it at Gao Peng's face. "Here."

Gao Peng placed the blanket on his legs and raised the windshield, blocking the icy gust of wind blowing at him. Rushes of wind and clear skies accompanied them throughout their journey. When exhaustion hit, they would land and rest for a moment. However, ghouls weren't troubled by fatigue. Thus, most of the time they would stay on the back of the ghouls.

There were eight ghouls that could fly. Those who could become Lord-tier flying ghouls had been huge when they were alive, so it was possible to fly this group of ghouls around.

They continued their journey to the east. After flying for two weeks, Gao Peng saw the ocean. Another four days brought them across the ocean, and they arrived at a whole new continent. This was the Nihon district.

The beaches were rows of reefs, and the jet-black sea was ferocious. The steep cliffs were covered with numerous white conch monsters that looked like a bunch of tumors growing off the cliff from a distance.

"Master, there are people down there. Should we capture two of them to show us the way?" Dumby spoke unexpectedly.

Keeping Dumby's reminder in mind, Gao Peng removed his eye mask and turned to peek. On the crack of the cliff, two adults in fisherman attire were hiding in plain sight. They were frightened as they sneakily observed the group of ghouls that was flying toward them.

Gao Peng was deep in thought. It would be more productive to get a local from the Nihon district to guide him instead of struggling around to find the way on his own. Moreover, it was better to take control of these people first to avoid disclosing their whereabouts.

They landed in an instant. The landing of the group of skeletal beasts that was shrouded in a dark aura brought about panic. The local fishermen that were hiding in the crack were shuddering in fear, more terrified than ever.

"Come out." Dumby transmitted his voice through a Soul Wave into the mind of the fishermen.

The fishermen were dumbfounded for a moment. They looked around, trying to find the origin of the voice. However, there was no one else except the skeletons standing outside the crack. After confirming again, the fishermen shakily came out of the crack.

"At your service, my lord," said the fishermen as they kneeled on the ground.

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Chapter 469: A Tree

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

Gao Peng certainly couldn't understand Japanese, the Nihon language. He could only understand the most basic phrases—some short ones that were known by most of the villagers in the Huaxia region.

But for the ghouls, mouths and ears weren't essential in communication. This was why the Ghoul-type monsters from all different dimensions of the world were able to communicate with each other.

So Gao Peng let Dumby ask on his behalf. Although Dumby couldn't understand the language of these fishermen, it could comprehend the meaning of these words through the Soul Wave they produced as they were expressing themselves verbally.

Some powerful living creatures could conceal their Soul Waves, but it was harder for weaker monsters. The reason why many Ghoul-type monsters in the legends were able to read humans' minds was that they could perceive humans thoughts through Soul Waves.

"Where is this place?"

The fisherman didn't dare act dishonestly. "This place is called Xiaceng Island, sir."

"Xiaceng Island?" Gao Peng flipped through the map and managed to find Xiazeng Island, although it was Xiazeng Island, not Xiaceng.

This wasn't the mainland of the Nihon District, but an island not far from it. The name of this island was Zengdao Lie Island, which was a stone's thrown away from Deer Island. However, it was quite a distance away from Gao Peng's destination.

This time, Gao Peng's destination was Xijing, which was still the capital city of the Nihon district after the Cataclysm. Taira No Masakado, whom he was looking for, was also in Xijing.

This Taira No Masakado voted me out when I wanted to be a referee, Gao Peng recalled. His expression turned cold. What a jerk!

"Are both of you hunting monsters?" Gao Peng climbed down from the dragon's back. He saw these fishermen carrying back baskets that were filled with white colored meat.

After Dumby translated, the fishermen quickly answered, "My lord, these are White Meat Conches. When it's sunny, they'll crawl out from the sea to the wall of the cliff to sunbathe, and when it's almost raining, they'll crawl back to the sea while revealing the white meaty parts of their bodies. That was when we took the opportunity to scrape off their white meat for sashimi."

Gao Peng hadn't seen such a monster without any attack mechanism. Some were indeed tame to the extent that humans could make close contact with them without fear, but he had never heard of any monsters that would remain gentle even after being scraped with a knife.

[Monster Name: Salt White Conch Monster

[Monster Level: Level 17

[Monster Grade: Normal

[Monster Attribute: Metal

[Monster Profile: They live on seashores, their bodies able to absorb the salt from the sea and discharge it by sunbathing to achieve a perfect cycle that can keep their bodies the perfect texture…

Their blood and flesh contained a small number of toxins that could increase the consumer's dopamine. Continuously eating it would cause addiction to its meat, and as the amount of consumption increased, the happier the consumer would be. Ultimately, the toxin would accumulate and cause paralysis, making the consumer the monster's puppet.

Gao Peng paused, and soon after, Dumby said, "Something is wrong with this meat. Try to eat less."

The fishermen quickly nodded. "These were our yields for today, my lord." They submitted the baskets for Gao Peng's approval.

Gao Peng waved his hand, refusing to accept the offer. This made the fishermen feel uneasy.

Gao Peng shook his head quietly. I didn't intend to take your meat; it was just a kind reminder.

"It's fine. Do as you wish. Take back your catches; I don't want them."

The fishermen took back their baskets and carried them with joy. Since they wouldn't be eating this meat themselves, it didn't bother them that there was something wrong with it.

According to the fishermen, walking to the northeast would pass by the Bear Base City. There were three Lord-tier familiars in the city, and the monster trainer of one of these familiars was the Bear Base Bear.

The Bear Base Bear was the mascot of the Bear Base city. It was the first Lord-tier creature created by this city with a variety of legendary experiences. It was originally a collection in a museum, and three years after the Cataclysm, something strange happened to it.

"The Bear Base Bear is ferocious," said the fishermen fearfully.

"Last year, a bull monster murdered two citizens at the seashore, and it was the Bear Base Bear that killed the bull monster."

After crossing Bear Base City, they would start sailing from the Zuobo district to reach Four Countries Island from the Nine States Island, and then continue sailing to end up at Ben Zou Island. Xijing was located on this island.

The Nihon district was different from other districts. It was very populated, but it didn't span a large domain. Building base cities would have caused much trouble and pressure. Therefore, to reduce pressure, the retreat villages, also known as the lowest ranking towns, formed a defense. The distance between neighboring towns was very close, so if there were any emergencies, assistance could be provided almost immediately.

As for places that were further away, the fishermen had no idea. Even if they knew any information, it wouldn't have been accurate. It would be a better alternative to search on the internet for more information. Gao Peng continued his journey after knocking out the fishermen.

They passed by Nine States Island in less than half a day. The distance between Nine States Island and Four Countries Island wasn't very much, so they landed at Four Countries Island very quickly.

As they reached Four Countries Island, Gao Peng noticed something weird. Unlike Nine States Island, the monsters in Four Countries Island seemed to be tamer.

Even the Bird-type monsters around them didn't seem to be afraid of them. Some of them even looked at Gao Peng and others with curiosity.

They continued to fly for hundreds of miles. On a mountain in the distance, there was an enormous cherry blossom tree that was big enough to cover the sky. The giant tree surrounded the entire mountain, appearing like a miracle at first glance.

[Monster Name: Cherry Sky Tree

[Monster Level: Level 54 (King-tier)

[Monster Tier: Epic

[Monster Attribute: Wood

[Monster Weakness: Fire

[Monster Ability: Wood Element Control Level 5, Life Stimulation Level 3, Enhanced Healing Level 3, Peaceful Aura Level 4

[Special Characteristics: Wooden puppet (Born as a tree and rooted in the soil, it has a strong desire to walk.

Active Effect 1: Can produce wooden puppets from its body, and the puppets will only listen to Cherry Sky Tree. It can walk by itself at very high speeds, is extremely powerful, and is extremely afraid of fire.

Active Effect 2: It is able to turn other living creatures into wooden puppets. The puppet's body will be turned into wood, and simultaneously, it will only be able to accept instructions from the Cherry Sky Tree.)

[Monster Profile: An ancient cherry blossom tree that mutated. It loves peace and hopes to build a harmonious world in which everyone is equal. This is its greatest wish. It hates killing, and every killing that takes place in its territory will be subjected to its punishment.

A peace-loving cherry blossom tree. No wonder no monsters had attacked them on their way here; it was all due to its peaceful aura. This cherry blossom tree wanted to build a peaceful nation, which was perhaps a dream that could never be achieved.

"Let's have a chat with our guests that came such a long way!" The cherry blossom tree invited Gao Peng and Dumby to talk through the transmission of a Soul Wave into their minds.

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Chapter 470: Warrior and The Sage

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

Upon hearing this voice, Gao Peng instructed the Skeleton Dragon to descend.

The roots of the cherry blossom tree tightly gripped onto the mountain, with some of its thick vines visible on the mountainside. On the rooted part of the cherry blossom tree sat a temple with red roofs and white walls.

A monk dressed in a gray robe was quietly sweeping fallen leaves in front of the temple. When the monk saw Gao Peng landing on the back of the Skeleton Dragon, he calmly placed his broom against the wall, then bowed to Gao Peng and said, "Please wait for a moment, sir."

After a while, another monk dressed in a red robe appeared to welcome Gao Peng, so Gao Peng took Dumby and Desolion along with him into the temple. The patio had a picturesque view. In a serene garden full of trees laid a stream of white sand that passed through more than half the courtyard, some pebbles adorning it.

The monk looked at Gao Peng with a smile on his face, put his palms together, and bowed to him. "Welcome to Nihon."

Gao Peng also put his palms together, paying his respects to the monk. "Sorry for disturbing, Master."

"Yuan Yi, carry on with your cleaning," the monk in red robes whispered to the gray-robed monk. Yuan Yi quickly nodded and left the patio.

The red-robed monk paid his respects to Desolion, who was on Gao Peng's shoulder, and also to Dumby, who was standing behind Gao Peng. "We didn't know it was the Heavenly Highness of the Undead Catastrophe. It's such a shame." The monk sighed with deep emotions.

He seemed to be in his fifties, with wrinkles around his eyes and an auspicious, peaceful composure. He had the look of a distinguished monk.

However, Gao Peng was still in doubt. At first, he had thought that this monk was a wooden puppet of the cherry blossom tree, but the monk's attributes proved him wrong. He was just a normal human with no signs of being seized or manipulated.

Could he have been the cherry blossom tree's monster trainer? If he was its trainer, then he would be a King-tier monster trainer who was yet to be discovered.

"I am a believer of the Almighty Cherry Blossom Tree," the monk said earnestly, as if he was able to read Gao Peng's mind. "This world is already full of disasters. Thus, we need peace." The monk expressed his thoughts sincerely, and then muttered under his breath, "Peace is truly essential, as so many people have already died."

Gao Peng agreed, "You're right! Many people have died. I also long for peace."

How awesome life would be with the presence of peace. We could laze around at home watching television or playing games while enjoying happier times.

The red-robed monk's eyes brightened; Gao Peng's reply was seemingly beyond his expectations. "We have lots of common in terms of our thoughts."

"Hmm." Gao Peng nodded with a straight face.

"Our master hopes to be able to maintain World Peace along with you," the monk said, beaming.

"In what way do you mean 'maintain'? Even for me, I don't dare to claim that I have the ability to maintain World Peace." Gao Peng shook his head.

A vigorous and firm voice was heard from the top of the temple. "Humans are naturally greedy, so we need to take the initiative to control them."

The big tree behind the temple suddenly opened its eyes. The two black holes in the tree were similar to the Devil's Nest. The whole mountain peak trembled with its voice.

"The Almighty Cherry Blossom Tree." The red-robed monk immediately knelt on the ground to worship the tree.

"Can I ask you a question? I'm just curious… Of course, I don't doubt you, but I'm just curious—why do you hate killing?"

The Almighty Cherry Blossom Tree lapsed into silence and replied after a long while, "Because killing comes with death, and death is something extremely merciless.

"A long time ago, there was a girl called Sage who was smart and kind. Her mother used to tell her that the cherry blossom trees were the symbols of love. When she was thirteen years old, she fell in love with a warrior and planted me on this mountain." The Cherry Sky Tree sounded low-spirited.

"She started chasing after the young warrior, and they both fell in love. Those days were her happiest. Her smile looked as pretty as the sunflowers at the foot of the mountain.

"And then the war started, and the warrior left for battle. Since then, she would stand at the peak of the mountain praying for the warrior's safety every day, anticipating his return. When she finally heard from him, it was his dead body and the news of his death. She buried him under my feet. After that, she never smiled again. Eventually, they lost the war. The enemies kept killing and made their way to the village at the foot of the mountain. They killed and burned, even looting mercilessly. Sage ran to the top of the mountain, holding me while wailing in grief. Sage said that her life started from the moment she opened her eyes and saw her mother, and it would end when she could no longer see the love of her life. Then she jumped off the cliff. At that moment, it felt like she was flying towards a place where no one could find her."

The Cherry Sky Tree was in complete silence. The pink cherry blossom petals fell from the tree as though it was raining.

Gao Peng could sense that the tree was sobbing, but he thought again, It might be an illusion.

"It was a very touching story," Gao Peng replied earnestly. "However, not only humans kill. Murder is a universal ongoing action, as it is what all living things do. Hunters hunt their prey, and the stronger ones eat the weak, just like how jackals hunt for lambs, lambs survive on the grass, and grass extracts nutrients from the earth."

The Cherry Sky Tree didn't answer him. All it did was sway gently, and more cherry blossom petals fell off and drifted slowly.

"So how do you plan to control them?" Gao Peng asked.

The cherry blossom petals stopped falling off when the Cherry Sky Tree stated stubbornly, "I will do it my way."

"By turning all of them into your puppets?" There was no reply from the cherry blossom tree, which was an admission by default.

"Well, then I don't think we can work together. By doing so, you won't bring peace. You're turning them into your puppets, and that's no different at all from the others." Gao Peng shook his head.

The atmosphere suddenly became tense. Gao Peng wasn't even 300 feet away from the King-tier Cherry Sky Tree. However, he retained his composure and patted the Desolate Frost Lion's smooth head comfortingly. After some time, the tense atmosphere eventually subsided.

The red-robed monk who had been kneeling on the ground raised to his feet and started gasping. Gao Peng smirked and left the mountain with Dumby and Desolion, riding on the Skeleton Dragon.

While sitting on the back of the Skeleton Dragon, Gao Peng turned around and looked toward the Cherry Sky Tree. The tree resembled a crown, and the mountain represented armor. It looked like a warrior standing upright on a huge piece of flat land.

One day later, Gao Peng arrived at Xijing, a magnificent, huge city that was located on the horizon ahead of them.

There was a 300-foot-tall city wall surrounding the city with cannons on the walls. There were two different regions behind the walls. On the left were low-built houses with streets in between them. Many vendors filled the streets, while monster trainers disguised as warriors could be seen walking around.

Meanwhile, on the right was a modern city. High-rise buildings made of concrete revealed the contemporary beauty of the city. On the right side, an extremely dark shadow covered the upper part of the highest building, as if integrating into the building.

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Read Monster Pet Evolution Chapter 471 - Sokou online for free - AllNovelFull

Nishikyou, Ginza District.

On the topmost floor of a skyscraper, Taira no Masakado sat deep in thought with a glass of white wine in one hand, stroking his white beard with the other.

Suddenly, black fumes burst into the room before solidifying into an immaterial black skull in front of the bearded man. "Master, a strong one approaches from the west."

Taira no Masakado opened his eyes and strode towards the window. Through the glass, he could see a huge swarm of ghouls blotting out the western horizon. He set down his wineglass and turned around to retrieve his jacket. Putting it on, he coldly said, "Black Demon, keep them busy."

"As you command, Master." Melting back into black fumes that filled the room, the gaseous monster pulled itself out of the building and hurtled across the sky. The sky went dark as its body blocked out the sun. Pedestrians on the street hurriedly looked for shelter beneath it.

"Sir, what's happening? Do you need assistance?" A voice from the Nishikyou Police Department buzzed from the room's voice communication system.

"No need. Just do your jobs down there and make sure the city doesn't fall apart," said Taira no Masakado flatly.

Two huge black wings stretched out from the fumes. It was as if a massive cloud giant was floating above the city at that moment. A third eye opened on the giant's forehead. An ominous wind was blowing harshly. An aura of death radiated outward from its eye in the form of a gray circle of light that surrounded the cloud giant's body.

Aaaoooh!! It let out a powerful roar that managed to disperse the clouds in the sky. The Dark Mist Giant swung its wings forward, whipping up a gale so strong that the buildings beneath it shook uncontrollably. A couple of windows were also shattered in the process. A piercing cry resounded across the city.

Breaking free from Gao Peng's embrace, the Desolate Frost Lion leaped onto the Skeleton Dragon's head, puffed up its chest, and began taking a deep breath through its nostrils.

Roar! An earth-shattering bellow exploded from its throat.

Crash! Crash! Crash! More windows were shattered to pieces.

The Dark Mist Giant suddenly slowed down. The lion's roar resonated deep within its chest, stopping it momentarily in its advance.

The Desolate Frost Lion gazed disdainfully at its enemy. Then it swung its paw at it. A loud ripping sound rang out in the air.

Its Frozen Claw attack was able to freeze the air completely. At that moment, a 1,000-foot-long unevenly shaped ice claw appeared out of thin air, its sharp edges protruding outwards.

The Dark Mist Giant was cut into four irregular chunks by the lion's attack. Dispersing itself, it began backing away from the lion in order to pull itself together. However, Desolion was able to freeze the black fumes with its icy breath before it could retreat any further.

Taira no Masakado had only just stepped out on the roof when he saw his familiar being frozen in the sky by its opponent. It lost? How is that possible?

The Desolate Frost Lion turned to look at Gao Peng questioningly as if to ask, "Should I put it out of its misery?"

Gao Peng stopped the lion.

Taira no Masakado was one of the few existing high-level monster trainers in the Nihon region. Ending him would be easy, but should that come to pass, the people in the Nihon region would be left defenseless against high-level monsters, and there were at least ten million people living there.

They were still humans. Gao Peng didn't have the heart to desert so many people to their fates. He decided to let the old man off with a warning. After having its body dispersed, his familiar would need at least a month to return to peak condition.

In this new world where every second mattered, if you snoozed, you lost.

Boom! The earth shook violently beneath him.

Gao Peng turned around. The sound was coming from the area he had just passed. Though he couldn't see it, Gao Peng was still able to feel a powerful aura emanating from afar. It was as if someone had set off an invisible nuclear explosion.

"What the…" said Gao Peng, frowning.

The sight of a huge cherry blossom tree surfaced in his mind's eye. What the hell is it doing?

"It's dead," said Dumby, the flames in its sockets flickering slightly. It held out its right hand. It could feel a powerful aura of death surging towards the heavens.

At that moment, Dumby could see a pillar of gray smoke rising into the air behind them. In the midst of the smoke, the Cherry Sky Tree's form began to distort and fade into the air.

Dead?! Gao Peng recalled that the Cherry Sky Tree was a Level 54 Epic-grade monster. Equipped with an above-average regeneration speed, it was also a defense specialist. Who or what could possibly have been powerful enough to kill it so quickly?

After thinking about it for a while, Gao Peng ordered the Skeleton Dragon to fly to the rooftop of Taira no Masakado's building. The old man looked straight at Gao Peng without any sign of fear on his face.

Behind him stood a peculiar creature that had the upper torso of a chicken and the lower torso of a snake. Its tail was split into four sections, and its skin was orange. This strange creature was lying on the floor, its body emanating a faint green light.

[Monster Name: Sokou

[Monster Level: Level 47

[Monster Grade: Epic

[Monster Ability: Corrosive Fluid Level 3, Withering Poisonous Mist Level 3, Venom Mastery Level 3, Agility Level 2

[Monster Attribute: Poison

[Monster Traits: Infectious Venom (Its toxicity was increased via mutation, allowing it to cause even more Poison-type damage.

Passive Effect 1: The levels of its Poison-type abilities are all increased by one.

Active Effect 1: It can release a toxic mist into the air, inflicting a one-time destructive blow on its enemies. The damage taken by its victims is proportional to the concentration of its poison in their bodies.)

[Description: A chimera formed through the fusion of a chicken spirit and a snake spirit, it prefers living inside volcanoes. Its poisonous mist can spread for miles, causing all life around it to wither and die. It's an extremely poisonous creature and should be handled with care at all times. During hibernation, it can unconsciously release the poison in its body into the air and cause the volcano it is living in to erupt as a result.

"Mr. Taira no Masakado, I think we might have a bit of trouble on our hands," said Gao Peng, whose words were transmitted to Taira no Masakado via Dumby's Soul Waves.

Stunned for a moment, Taira no Masakado quickly composed himself and said, "My familiar was badly injured moments after it entered battle. I would certainly think that we have a bit of trouble on our hands." He smiled coldly at Gao Peng, who let out a cough.

"Well now, did you not see me stop my familiar from striking your familiar down? If I hadn't shown it restraint, do you think it would have come away with a mere injury?"

Taira no Masakado's eye twitched. He could hear the threat in Gao Peng's words.

"What do you want? Gao Peng." Taira no Masakado's mouth pronounced Gao Peng's name with a slight accent.

Huh, he knows who I am. Well, doesn't really matter. I already saw this coming.

"You speak the Huaxia tongue fluently," said Gao Peng, trying to change the subject.

"I studied in Huaxia a long time ago," replied Taira no Masakado.

"Truth be told, the reason I'm here in the Nihon region because an attempt was made on my life not too long ago. After interrogating my would-be assassins, I discovered that they were sent from the Nihon region. This is a video recording of their interrogation. I hope to receive a satisfactory answer from you," said Gao Peng, handing a disc to the old man.

Taking the disc from Gao Peng, Taira no Masakado nodded. "I will give you a satisfactory answer."

Incidentally, Taira no Masakado had a higher position here in the Nihon region than he had in the Huaxia region.

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Chapter 472: Ancient Humans

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

If Taira no Masakado said that he would give Gao Peng a satisfactory answer, he would definitely give him one. Taira no Masakado took out his phone to call off security, allowing Gao Peng and his followers to be on his accepted visitor list. He then ordered his men to escort Gao Peng to a huge manor on the eastern side of the city.

It was rare to find such a huge manor here in the Nishikyou. Taira no Masakado allowed Gao Peng to stay here as his guest for two days. He would let him know as soon as he found anything useful. And so, Gao Peng stayed in Nishikyou for two days.

Few people lived nearby. Seeing how green the streets were, Gao Peng figured that this must have been where most of the rich people lived. As if in response to a notice, those living near Gao Peng's place had temporarily moved out of the neighborhood.

Taira no Masakado entered the offices of a special department situated in the northern outskirts of Nishikyou, his face solemn. He'd had to go through a gauntlet of ocular, facial, and sound recognition systems in order to reach the deepest part of the premises.

"I just want to know who the hell went and tried to kill Huaxia's Gao Peng? We're in the midst of a resurgence right now. Which b*stard dared to disrupt during our most critical hour?! Find out who these people on the disc are!" He then violently threw the disc onto a table.

Crack! The disc broke. Taira no Masakado stared at it in disbelief.

The department's chief warily looked at him, unsure of what to say. The deputy chief hurried over to pick up a still intact chip from the fragments of the disc. "Sir, we can still use this."

Taira no Masakado's face relaxed somewhat. He then let out a disgruntled hmph.

"Sir, a Spatial Rift was discovered on Shikoku island. The Cherry Sky God Tree was killed by unknown entities who appeared from the rift," announced a voice from the speaker.

"The Cherry Sky God Tree is dead?" Taira no Masakado was stunned. He hadn't seen that coming. He had sensed a tremor coming from afar not too much earlier. He had thought that it was just the Cherry Sky God Tree acting up again.

It was common knowledge that the Cherry Sky God Tree reigned over all the trees on Shikoku island. They had even established contact with the Cherry Sky God Tree. Even though they sometimes didn't see things eye to eye, its power was beyond question.

Saying that nothing in the Nihon region could rival the Cherry Sky God Tree's power might have been a stretch. However, it was true that no one there could kill it easily; it was an incredibly massive tree.

"Display all our drone and satellite feeds," ordered Taira no Masakado, frowning.

Both feeds were displayed across the monitor bank. A ruined mountain range and vicious cracks spreading out across the earth could be seen on the screens. The trees were ground to dust. Chaos reigned over the area.

A temple on top of a mountain lay demolished. Gray-robed monks knelt before what was left of their temples, knocking their heads against the ground as they prayed until blood stained the temple's stone steps red.

In the temple's courtyard, everything lay broken, from the trees to the stone tiles on the ground. In the middle of the courtyard stood a red-robed monk, his arms stretched out as if trying to hug the sky. His eyes were staring up emptily at the heavens. There was no joy or anger on his face.

A spike could be seen protruding from his chest. It was as if he was simply propped up against the tip of a spear. Blood was slowly trickling down the spear.

However, what rendered everyone in the room speechless was the sight of a huge tree behind the temple, cracked open in the middle as if a heavy weapon had split it in two. The edges around the tree's rupture were smooth and clean. Its branches drooped over the mountain like a pink waterfall.

The Cherry Sky God Tree was dead.

The room had fallen silent. The Cherry Sky God Tree had always maintained contact with them. They had even been able to establish an equal relationship with it. To them, the Cherry Sky God Tree was their backup should things ever go south.

At the base of the Cherry Sky God Tree, a group of people had set up camp. Not too far from them was a Spatial Rift that had an outer rim that was glowing with golden light.

Four familiars stood near the Spatial Rift: a brown-skinned, 20-foot-tall cyclops with a huge axe on its back, what appeared to be a golden ball of fur, a six-tusked white elephant whose tusks gradually shifted from white to golden with a neck that was surrounded by a golden halo of light, and finally, a black statue. The statue's eyes were sharp like a blade. Electricity flared out from them, causing a nearby drone in the air to explode. Even though the drone was destroyed, it was still able to capture what was going on over there.

Taira no Masakado barked, "Enlarge the feed."

The image was enlarged as ordered, revealing three men and one woman. One of them had their back to the camera, while two of them were standing sideways to it. One of them, however, was directly facing the camera. From the enlarged image, Taira no Masakado noticed that the latter had vaguely Asian features and faint green hair.

The other three, too, were sporting the same green hair.

"Cross-reference the man's face with our database. See if you can find out anything about him."

The man's face was checked against the universal facial database in their system. Ten minutes later, the words 'no match found' were displayed on the screens. They then ran a shoulder width comparison in the system. After a couple of hits, they pared down the results by running another facial comparison. This, again, returned nothing.

There were only three possibilities. The first possibility was that these people had entered the region illegally. The second was that these people had gone through some form of bodily reconfiguration. The third and final possibility was… these people were not of this world.

The third possibility seemed more likely, at least to Taira no Masakado. The Spatial Rift near them was enough to convince him that they were not of this world.

"Contact Gao Peng. We'll have to meet whatever demands he has for us as best we can. Right now, the only person capable of stopping these people is him," said Taira no Masakado solemnly. These intruders definitely hadn't come in peace, or they wouldn't have killed the Cherry Sky God Tree in the first place.

Upon receiving the news, Gao Peng didn't show any sign of panic. He had, in fact, been bracing himself for this for quite some time now.

After his meeting with Bei Qing Yan in the North Pole, he had been made aware of the existence of an ancient tribe, a golden era of trainers and familiars that had existed in ancient times. However, for some reason, the entire tribe had simply up and left the face of the planet.

This was what he had heard from Bei Qing Yan. Once the planet became more conducive for habitation, the people of this lost tribe would reportedly return to take back their rightful place.

However, as the current rulers of the planet, the people of this time wouldn't easily give up their place on the planet. The path to peaceful coexistence for both sides would certainly be a bumpy one.

If both sides were equal in terms of power, such an issue could be resolved peacefully. After all, there were still a number of undiscovered regions in the post-Cataclysm world where these otherworldly visitors could be relocated.

However, if a huge gap in power between both sides existed… The atrocities that followed Europe's discovery of the American and African continents could very well happen the next day to the current occupants of this world.

Gao Peng had already prepared himself for this. He just hadn't expected that this day would come so quickly.

This was Gao Peng's second encounter with these primitive human beings, and he wanted to test just how strong they were. If possible, he also wanted to capture one or two of them alive.

"I want to see Taira no Masakado," said Gao Peng.

As soon as he stood facing Taira no Masakado, Gao Peng said bluntly, "I have two requests. Should you accept them, I will help you out. Should you not, I'll walk out of this place immediately."

"Speak," said Taira no Masakado, nodding. He wasn't in any position to refuse.

"First, I won't be going out there myself to meet these people. I'll be interacting with them via real-time broadcast. Second, if the enemy is too strong for me to handle, I'm leaving the Nihon region."

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Chapter 473: Fall

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

Taira no Masakado hesitated for a moment, then nodded. He had no choice but to accept his terms. There would be trouble if Gao Peng were to turn and abandon them now. At this point, they had no other choice but to hope that their enemies were weaker than they had initially thought.

Taira no Masakado was thankful that Gao Peng had decided to drop by the Nihon region. Otherwise, they really would have been at their wit's end.

"Are you serious, sir? We can't accept those terms. This devious Huaxia man wants to use us as cannon fodder…" The rest of the sentence wasn't heard, as Taira no Masakado's cold glare instantly shut his men up.

"What choice do we have?" he asked.

"Sir, we could send someone over to talk with these people. Maybe someone more cautious, or perhaps someone who won't yield to anyone?"

Taira no Masakado fell silent. Then he said, "I'll go."

"What?" The department's higher-ups stared at him, wide-eyed. "No!" was their resounding reply.

All of them were against the idea of sending him out there, not because they were concerned about his safety, but because he made up a sizable portion of the region's military power. They couldn't afford to lose a heavy hitter like Taira no Masakado.

"If we send a mere nobody over to speak to them, they'll think that we're not taking them seriously. Would you willingly have a serious conversation with an ant?" said Taira no Masakado, scanning the room for anyone who might have had a better idea than him.

All the higher-ups had fallen silent. None of them dared to raise any further arguments. Considering Taira no Masakado's stubbornness, they knew that any attempts to talk him out of something would only prove futile.

"Tong Xiang, is this the ancestral site that our ancestors spoke of?" said a stocky young man. His voice was clear and loud. He seemed to be the group's leader.

"Seems like it," replied a burlier and slightly rotund young man. "Tong Mo, this place certainly seems rich. We just saw a King-tier monster when we came out. It was quite powerful, as well. Must have been at least four stars."

"Haha, my One-Eyed Giant Demon was still able to cut it down with its ax. It's a Metal-type monster, so it's naturally stronger against Wood-types," said Tong Mo happily. He sounded proud of himself. At the same time, he stole a few looks at the only lady in the group.

Said lady was standing on the right side of the group. Her dark green hair fell past her shoulders and was tied up like a scorpion's tale. She had a slender pair of eyebrows, beneath which were a pair of almond eyes and a cute nose. Her skin was gold like wheat.

Upon hearing Tong Mo's bragging, the lady wrinkled her nose. She hugged the big ball of golden fur in her arms, which split open to reveal a huge eye. It blinked at her, and the lady's face relaxed a bit. She smiled at it.

A black-feathered eagle circled the sky overhead, surveying its surroundings.

"Someone approaches," said a black-robed young man on the edge of a cliff.

"Hmph, must be the natives of this land. My father sent us to this place to check these people out. They're just the descendants of those we abandoned here. How strong can they really be?" muttered Tong Mo, annoyed.

"We didn't abandon them. We just—" Tong Xiang faltered.

"All right, all right, not another word from me," said Tong Mo, interrupting him.

"Tong Ying, test our welcoming committee with your Black Lightning Eagle," said Tong Mo to the black-robed young man standing on the edge of the cliff.

Tong Yin nodded, then gave a mental command to the Black Lightning Eagle, which hurtled into the distance in the form of a black streak of lightning.

Boom!

A crack of lightning resounded in the clear sky. In the next second, there was a flash of light in the distance, as if said lightning had struck something.

Taira no Masakado was electrocuted to a crisp by the sudden lightning, along with the Sokou, which he was riding on. Both trainer and familiar were reduced to a pile of ash in an instant.

One of the twelve elders of the Monster Trainer League had been killed on the spot with no one around to hear his final words.

"So how strong was he?" asked Tong Mo.

Tong Ying frowned. "I killed him. He was just an ordinary Lord-tier trainer."

"Only Lord-tier, huh?" Tong Mo sounded disappointed. He licked his lips. "Looks like these natives aren't that strong."

"Tong Ying, let's visit their village."

"Too risky," warned Tong Ying.

"Risky, my *ss. The most powerful trainers in this world right now are King-tier, and it just so happens that our familiars are the most powerful King-tier monsters in our tribe. What do we have to fear?" asked Tong Mo impatiently.

"We've been ordered by the chief to simply scout the area. We aren't allowed to stray too far from our mission," said Tong Ying, stepping in front of Tong Mo.

Tong Mo narrowed his eyes at him. "He's my father, not yours. Now get the hell out of my way."

Tong Ying hesitated.

"We're just going over there to take a look. We'll stick close to each other so that we won't be picked off by the natives. We'll be fine as long as we have each other's backs," said Tong Xiang, smiling.

Gao Peng saw a streak of black lightning fall from the heavens on the monitor bank. Immediately after, the screens went completely dead. Gao Peng frowned.

"I didn't get a good look at whatever that was." He couldn't check out a familiar's stat sheet if the only thing he was able to catch was a mere glimpse of it.

Judging by the impact and speed of that bolt of lightning, it's probably King-tier at best, thought Gao Peng. Thank God it's not beyond the boundaries of King-tier. Dumby had temporarily dropped to Legendary-grade as a result of its rise in monster tier. However, its highest attainable grade was still Mythical.

The only difference distinguishing Dumby from other high-level Legendary-grade monsters was that the former was endowed with one extra monster trait. In other words, Dumby was much stronger than other Legendary-grade monsters of the same tier. Unless, of course, its opponent had dropped from Mythical-grade to Legendary-grade as well…

Bzzzt! The screen before Gao Peng suddenly buzzed to life. A low voice said, "Gao-kun, they're heading towards the Higashida base city."

Four familiars were displayed on the screen.

[Monster Name: One-Eyed Giant Demon

[Monster Level: Level 58

[Monster Grade: Epic

[Monster Name: Black Lightning Eagle

[Monster Level: Level 57

[Monster Grade: Perfect

[Monster Name: Golden Light Holy Spirit Beast

[Monster Level: Level 58

[Monster Grade: Epic

[Monster Name: Six-Tusked Brahman Elephant

[Monster Level: Level 59

[Monster Grade: Epic

There were four of them: three Epic-grade familiars and one Perfect-grade. Their levels were all King-tier.

Gao Peng sighed in relief. There were no signs of a Legendary-grade familiar. Any sensible person would send their strongest warriors to scout an uncharted area, lest the natives attack. This meant that Legendary-grade familiars were a rarity on the other side of the rift, too.

Also, their group wasn't composed entirely of Epic-grade familiars. The Black Lightning Eagle was a Perfect-grade familiar that seemed suited for reconnaissance missions. None of the other Epic-grade familiars seemed capable of flight.

Gao Peng was relieved by this. I might have a chance against these people.

There was a monster tier cap in place in their world right then. Anything above King-tier wouldn't be able to cross over the rift. As soon as there was room for Emperor-tier familiars on this planet, his own familiars would naturally fill that space.

In a confrontation between two familiars of the same monster tier, the only factor determining the outcome would be their monster grades. So…

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Chapter 474: Showdown

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

"Look at all those people," said Tong Ling, wide-eyed. She was deeply shaken by the sight of Higashida City up ahead.

They were gazing down at Higashida City from a hilltop. A 30-foot-tall brick wall surrounded the city's moat. It had been built shortly after the Cataclysm.

They could only see a small portion of the city from where they were standing. However, they could tell from what little they were able to see that the place was huge. They had never seen such a huge city before. The pedestrians bustling through the streets were like rows of ants hurrying off to who knew where.

"I've never seen so many people in one place. There are probably more people here than in our Sang Tong tribe," exclaimed Tong Ling.

"Maybe we should turn back? This place is a bit too big for my taste," she commented with a worried tone.

In their world, a tribe's strength was predicated on the size of its population. The more people a tribe had, the more powerful trainers it could have. This notion was deeply rooted in their minds. Watching the bustling streets beneath them, they couldn't imagine how many powerful trainers the city might have had in store for them.

"Tong Mo, we've already seen the place. Let's go back, or there will be trouble," said Tong Xiang.

Tong Mo was just about to turn back when he stopped and fell silent for a moment. "No, I'm not going back just yet. I want to challenge the city's strongest trainers. Like my father said, the strongest this world has to offer is probably at the peak of King-tier. What are the odds that we would come across someone capable of defeating my One-Eyed Giant Demon so soon?"

Tong Mo wasn't one to back down without a fight. After all, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to test his strength against the natives of another world.

His One-Eyed Giant Demon was a four-star familiar. Unless trainers with five-star familiars or familiars with godlike monster grades he had never seen before existed in this world, his One-Eyed Giant would be able to handle almost anything here.

Right now, his King-tier familiar was probably the strongest in this world. As soon as the planet eased its familiar tier restriction, some of the other natives' familiars would be able to surpass his One-Eyed Giant Demon in terms of tier. If that came to pass, the latter's four-star monster grade would mean nothing at all.

Tong Mo wasn't one for affectation, but there was something he desired more than anything else right now—to show off his manly side to the girl of his dreams. I, Tong Mo, am the strongest trainer in the Sang Tong tribe.

Half an hour passed. No one had come out from Higashida City to greet them. The four figures on the hilltop looked at each other, growing impatient. "Why hasn't anyone come out yet?"

Someone should have sensed their presence by now. They were standing just outside the city, and they weren't making any effort to hide their familiars' auras; all four King-tier familiars were letting their auras spread out in the air to their hearts' content.

Back in their world, if King-tier trainers like themselves arrived at the doorstep of other tribes, the latter would make the logical choice to send forth their strongest trainers to determine if they had come as friends or foes. If they were judged foes, they would be chased off or outright exterminated. If they were judged as friendlies or neutrals, an order to stand down would be given to their welcoming committee.

Such precautions were necessary, as most of the people in a tribe weren't monster trainers. More often than not, they were merely common people at the bottom of the tribe's hierarchy. They existed simply to expand their tribe's population size and carry out menial functions in their society.

If proper background checks weren't enforced, enemies could easily infiltrate a tribe's village and slaughter its entire population to their hearts' content. No tribe could afford to take such a huge hit. They couldn't possibly rely on just a handful of elite trainers to reproduce and maintain a population.

Of course, such occurrences weren't rare. High-level monsters would appear and kill every human they could find in a village, just like humans would venture into the wilderness to hunt weaker prey. This was one of the reasons why most of the tribes back in their world couldn't maintain large populations.

"Maybe no one has noticed us yet?" asked Tong Xiang.

They all paused as the air became tense. All four of them looked at each other, their expressions varied.

"How long until we reach Higashida City?" asked Gao Peng. He was sitting cross-legged in a fighter plane. Beside him stood Dumby and Desolion.

The Skeleton Dragon wasn't as fast as a fighter plane, which only took an hour to fly from Nishikyou to Higashida.

"Around 20 minutes," shouted the pilot over his shoulder. He was one of the local military's ace pilots who had flown many difficult missions in the past. He had always believed that he was doing his part to realize the Nihon region's resurgence.

The mission he had been entrusted with this time was especially difficult. His superiors had ordered him to transport the person sitting behind him to Higashida City as soon as possible, along with his familiars.

"Bzzt… Higashida City is currently under attack, requesting backup! I repeat, Higashida City is under attack…"

The pilot's forehead was beaded with sweat, his heart thumping fast. He was now flying the fighter plane at top speed. The plane's instrument panel was blinking red, indicating that it was flying past its safety limits.

Gao Peng remained seated behind the pilot, not showing the slightest hint of panic on his face. As he wasn't from the Nihon region, he wasn't particularly affected by whatever crisis was unfolding in Higashida City. He was only a tad bit pissed off by the fact that some unruly visitors from another world were attacking his fellow earthmen.

A huge city began rising on the horizon before the plane. Smoke was issuing from the city. "We've reached Higashida City," said the pilot, his face pale. His body could barely handle the strain of flying a fighter plane at breakneck speed.

Crack!

A streak of black lightning hurtled towards them in the air.

While Gao Peng could barely see a streak of lightning barreling towards them, the pilot couldn't even see what was going on.

"How barbaric," muttered Gao Peng, shaking his head.

The Desolate Frost Lion narrowed its eyes, then let loose a rush of cold air from its body, conjuring a frozen barrier around the fighter plane.

The streak of black lightning barely left a small chink in the frozen barrier. Due to the difference in monster grade, there was a considerable gap between the Black Lightning Eagle and the Desolate Frost Lion in terms of power level, as well. Even though the Desolate Frost Lion was four levels lower than the Black Lightning Eagle, this difference in monster grade more than made up for the level difference.

"Someone's coming. Someone strong," said Tong Ying in a low voice.

Tong Mo, who was sitting on the One-Eyed Giant Demon's shoulder, grinned. "One-Eye, let's go meet our new friend."

Tong Xiang's eyes lit up as he recovered his good-natured attitude. "Six-Tusked Brahman Elephant, let's go back Tong Mo up."

At that moment, a winged metallic beast flew overhead with a layer of frost around it.

"Is that a Metal and Ice-type familiar? I've never seen such a pairing," exclaimed Tong Mo. He had never seen or heard of such an unusual creature in his homeworld.

"Doesn't matter. One-Eyed Giant Demon, this one's all yours."

The One-Eyed Giant Demon raised its head. A golden light began radiating from its platinum eyes. The light grew brighter and brighter until it was all but blinding.

Boom! A golden pillar of light surged up towards the fighter plane in the sky.

The light collided against the layer of frost around the plane's fuselage. The frozen barrier was slowly turning into steam, causing a cloud of vapor to expand around the plane.

Three seconds passed and the frozen barrier was destroyed. In the plane's cockpit, the pilot closed his eyes in despair.

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Chapter 475: Like Stomping on Ants

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

Wriggling itself out of Gao Peng's arms, the Desolate Frost Lion tore open the plane door and roared into the wind. Its body ballooned as it hurtled through the air. With one flick of its claws, it easily shattered the pillar of light that was still pushing against the airplane. The blue light around its body began converging into ice spears that fell alongside the Desolate Frost Lion as it fell freely towards the ground.

Boom, boom, boom, boom!

The ice spears rained upon the ground, piling up on the One-Eyed Giant Demon until it was trapped beneath an ice mountain alongside Tong Mo, who was sitting on its shoulder.

The pilot wiped the sweat off his forehead and looked at Gao Peng gratefully. If it hadn't been for him, he would have died.

Gao Peng patted his shoulder and said to him in his native language, Japanese, "Go back."

Dumby then carried Gao Peng in its arms and leaped out of the plane through the door that the Desolate Frost Lion had left open. After Dumby closed the door behind it, the pilot noticed that there was a crack on the surface of the plane's windshield. Thankfully, its engine and wings hadn't sustained too much damage, so he could still make an emergency landing nearby.

"Master, should we kill them all, or should we take them alive?" said the Desolate Frost Lion through its Blood Contract with Gao Peng.

"Kill the familiars. As for their trainers, we'll see if there's any value in keeping them alive," said Gao Peng casually.

He had a bad feeling about these people. Their modus operandi seemed to be "shoot first, ask questions later." He would have been instantly killed by those two attacks back then if he had been even slightly weaker. Since these people had apparently had no qualms about murdering him on the spot, why should he have?

"Understood." The Desolate Frost Lion landed lightly on top of the ice mountain. It was channeling the ice energy in its body into the ice mountain, causing it to harden around its prisoners until it proved nearly impossible for them to break out.

A long elephant cry could be heard nearby. The Six-Tusked Brahman Elephant slammed both of its front legs down on the ground.

Thud! A seismic wave rapidly expanded outward from the elephant.

The elephant's psychic energy was intertwined with the seismic wave, which seemed to distort the fabric of space and time around it. Most of the city's inhabitants fainted as a result of the elephant's psychic pulse, while the young, old, and those with heart conditions instantly dropped dead.

The elephant's psychic attack managed to awaken the One-Eyed Giant Demon and Tong Mo, both of whom were both trapped under the ice mountain. It didn't seem to bring any harm to the One-Eyed Giant Demon. Rather, it struck the cyclopean familiar like a sharp prod, jolting it back to consciousness. Its glazed eyes gradually regained focus.

Roooaaar! A muffled roar sounded from the ice mountain, causing the whole thing to shake and shiver.

The Black Lightning Eagle made a sharp turn through the air before making a beeline towards Gao Peng, who was at that moment, freefalling in the air.

This was the perfect chance to strike. In mid-air, most Brawny-type familiars could only bring out 70 percent or less of their total power.

For some reason, Tong Ying couldn't shake the feeling that there was something wrong about this picture. He could see two figures freefalling in the air at that moment. The smaller figure must have been the enemy trainer, which would mean that the other figure cradling him or her in its arms must have been… a familiar?

This guy has two familiars?! How is that even possible? Tong Ying was shaken by what he was seeing. Could this be a Holy Individual that the legends speak of?

The legends spoke of a human being whose unique physiology allowed him or her to have as many familiars as they wanted under their wing. Known as a Holy Individual, such a person was capable of leading their tribe to greatness.

As they could sign as many contracts as they wanted, a Holy Individual would have all sides covered in combat. A trainer with just one familiar would have a hard time handling every situation on the battlefield. However, with a diverse collection of familiars, a Holy Individual wouldn't encounter such a problem. Their survival and combat power would be significantly increased by the diversity and number of their familiars.

"What, is that guy a Holy Individual?" exclaimed Tong Xiang in astonishment.

"It's just a guess. I didn't see any other trainers near him, so I'm guessing that the familiar beside him must be his."

Dumby was gazing impassively at the Black Lightning Eagle. Its bones began to turn gray, and the white Soul Flames in its eye sockets burned brightly as its soul wailed out loud. Its vast spirit energy now enveloped both the sky and earth.

An aura of death spilled out from Dumby in all directions. The fabric of space and time around it was now quivering under the weight of its spiritual energy. At that moment, images of their deaths flashed before Tong Ying and the others.

"Activation of the Heart of the Yin Soul—the Yin Soul Dominator!"

"Arrrgh!!!" The screams of the dead filled the air at that moment.

In an instant, Dumby had switched from its Skeleton Dominator form to its Yin Soul Dominator form.

It aimed its right hand at the incoming Black Lightning Eagle. Without warning, the eagle swerved to the side. It seemed to have lost control of its trajectory. Like an out of control fighter plane, it began nosediving towards the ground. Its long wings cut through both wood and stone as it fell. Finally, it wedged itself deeply into the earth. Its tail feathers, which were left exposed in the air, twitched slightly.

Two streaks of blood flowed down from Tong Ying's nostrils. His body was shaking uncontrollably as he stared up in fear at the Yin Soul Dominator, which was floating silently in the air.

In the span of a single moment, his familiar had been taken down, its spirit completely wiped clean by its opponent. There was absolutely nothing it could have done. Even though the Black Lightning Eagle was a grade lower than the others, there was just no way this small difference in monster grade could have allowed it to be killed so quickly. If the other three familiars of his party were to face the Black Lightning Eagle in one-on-one combat, they would need at least ten minutes to subdue it.

"Run! Run, you fools!" shouted Tong Ying at his compatriots.

"What?" said Tong Mo, stunned.

Tong Xiang's reaction was much quicker. After all, his familiar, the Six-Tusked Brahman Elephant, was a Psychic-type familiar that was much more sensitive to spiritual and psychic stimuli than the others. The Six-Tusked Elephant was visibly frightened, as if it had just met its natural predator. Its opponent was probably at least a five-star familiar.

They only had one five-star familiar back in their tribe. It was a familiar of great repute that had once belonged to one of their ancestors.

Clambering up onto the Six-Tusked Brahman Elephant, Tong Xiang fled the scene. The thought of saving his comrades from certain doom never once crossed his mind. The only thought on his mind was escaping.

As long… As long as I'm alive, everything will be all right.

The good-natured look on his face was all but gone. In its place was the look of a man desperate enough to do anything in order to survive.

A second later, Tong Ying let out a moan behind him before falling to the ground with a thud.

Thirty seconds later, the Golden Light Holy Spirit Beast and Tong Ling fainted.

Forty seconds later, goosebumps began rising on Tong Xiang's skin as a powerful spiritual shockwave stripped his spiritual barriers down. In the next second, Tong Xiang collapsed on the Six-Tusked Brahman Elephant's back.

Not only was the Six-Tusked Brahman Elephant a Psychic-type familiar, but it was also a massive creature. Despite being hit by Dumby's spiritual shockwave like everyone else, it was still standing on its feet. It had managed to shield itself from Dumby's attack just in time with its psychic energy, which shimmered around its body in the form of a golden barrier.

The Yin Soul Dominator's shadow fell upon the Six-Tusked Brahman Elephant, floating in the air like an eerie statue of Bodhidharma. It slammed its palm against the elephant's scalp. Ripples exploded outward from the point of impact, shattering the elephant's psychic barrier instantly. The Six-Tusked Elephant let out a pitiful wail before falling to its knees and crashing face-first into the earth.

In just a total of fifty seconds, all four intruders were sent into a state of deathly slumber.

Dumby floated down to the Six-Tusked Brahman Elephant, then flicked a hand at it, sending a clump of white flames into the elephant's head.

There was a dull noise. In the next second, the Six-Tusked Brahman Elephant was dead. A huge ball of light floated out from the elephant's head and into Dumby's body, strengthening Dumby's aura significantly. The souls of Dumby's victims would serve only to strengthen its soul for as long as it lived.

The Six-Tusked Brahman Elephant's skin began melting away. A gray-white outline shimmered across its body. Two clumps of spectral flames now burned in place of its eyeballs.

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Chapter 476: Sang Tong Tribe

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

Dumby waved casually, and souls floated above the few corpses of the familiars on the ground. Tong Ying, Tong Xiang, and Tong Ling simply fainted.

The One-Eyed Giant Demon and Tong Mo were completely sealed inside the ice mountain.

At that moment, most of the higher-ups in the Nihon District had their eyes on this battle, because the Nihon District wasn't a large landmass. Although after the Cataclysm, the Nihon District's island had become larger in size, overall, it was still only considered a large island, not a continent.

Under the condition that both the Cherry Sky God Tree and Taira No Masakado were dead, their defenses were seriously crippled, making them completely powerless against King-tier familiars. As such, the result of the battle between Gao Peng and the group of mysterious people affected their decisions greatly.

If the situation really turned into an emergency… Some of the higher-ups of the Nihon District had already made preparations to move. Other Nihon District higher-ups were pessimistic in regards to the result of this battle…

They would never have imagined that the battle would end so quickly, so fast that they couldn't even react in time. How many minutes did that take?

It seemed like it didn't even last longer than a school recess of ten minutes. The battle was over before a cigarette could finish burning.

"Why didn't he come earlier? My father is dead! It's all his fault!" In a military district in Xijing, a young man with the military rank of colonel said with red eyes, "If he had come and helped earlier, then my father wouldn't have been on the front lines, and he wouldn't have died!" The young man tightened his fist as he slammed it on the table, clearly suffering a lot of pain.

They had just talked on the phone before his father departed. Over the phone, his father had told him in a very relaxed tone, "I'll take you to the Huaxia region for a vacation after this mission." He would never have thought that these words would be his father's last words to him.

The other higher-ups of the military district listened to him vent his anger in silence. The young man was Taira No Masakado's only son. It was also because of him that Taira No Masakado was among the twelve elders of the Monster Trainer League closest to the military district.

"Take him away," said a veteran general as he shook his head and sighed.

"Lock him up and leave him to that man," said someone else.

"You…!" Taira No Masahara glared at the person who had said that. As he raised his head, a baton hit the back of his head, knocking him unconscious.

"It's a crucial moment for the Nihon District right now. We… can't let him mess things up. It's not impossible for us to sacrifice him at the crucial moment," said the second-in-command of the Xijing Military District.

"I concur." The other higher-ups supported this notion.

Taira No Masakado was already dead, so even if they had owed Taira No Masakado favors in the past, they had all disappeared along with his death.

The most important point was… Taira No Masakado was killed instantly by the skill of the mysterious black hawk familiar, not even having the chance to attempt to escape, and the black hawk that killed him was killed in one shot by Gao Peng's familiar.

Just how big was the gap in their ability? The more one thought about it, the scarier it became.

The eerie and cold gale that surrounded Dumby, who had transformed into the Yin Soul Dominator, gradually subsided. Its white bones pierced through the black mist as the body of the Skeleton Dominator landed firmly on the ground. With both its hands behind its back, the dark golden crown shone, looking especially eye-catching.

The Desolate Frost Lion's white muscle moved smoothly, its sharp claws shining under the white ray of light as it clawed down powerfully.

Rumble. The ice mountain collapsed. The man and beast inside turned into pieces along with it.

"Let's go." Gao Peng took Dumby and Desolion away from the battlefield.

The battle had been a complete accident. Gao Peng had only come to find the one who was responsible; he hadn't expected that things would develop into him lending a helping hand. Gao Peng couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

As he looked at the three unconscious captives, Gao Peng pondered. Might as well let Dumby wake them up while we're still on the road.

Rambling sounds and words that Gao Peng didn't understand came out of the mouth of the three who had just woken up, but from their panicked expressions, one could easily tell what they were talking about.

"Master, they're saying that they come from the Sang Tong Tribe. One said that its father is the high priest of the tribe. Another said that its father is the vice-captain of the tribe's hunting squad. Their elders would be willing to pay a price for their heads," translated Dumby.

Is that it… They have some status. Gao Peng was silent. He looked at them without saying anything. "Dumby, you ask them…"

After half an hour, all that needed to be known had been asked. However, the three of them really had backbones. Even if they were beaten up, they didn't give up the detailed location of their tribe or the level of the tribe's strongest' familiar. However, the rest of the information that needed to be known was obtained by Gao Peng.

The group of people came from the Sang Tong tribe and they had lived in their world ever since they were born. They called the Earth Star the Ancestral Land. To them, the Ancestral Land was only a place that existed in the legends told by their ancestors, and before that day, they had all just treated it as a story.

From what they had heard from their elders, their ancestors had once moved away from the Ancestral Land. As for the reason for moving, they didn't know.

The Sang Tong Tribe was a mid-sized tribe with a population of over a million people. The tribe had Overlord-tier monster trainers, and there were no less than 30 Emperor-tier monster trainers, as well as a huge number of King-tier ones.

It was due to the oppression of the Ancestral Land that at the moment, the strongest monster trainers they could send to the Earth Star were King-tier trainers. They were the strongest King-tier monster trainers in the entire tribe.

Unlike the Earth Star, they categorized the familiar grades from one star to five stars, used to differentiate from the Normal grade to the Legendary grade.

Even if the Legendary grade was also quite rare for the Sang Tong tribe, according to rumors, one of their ancestors had once possessed a Legendary-grade familiar, and it was that ancestor who had made the Sang Tong Tribe strong.

Apart from the Legendary grade, the Epic grade was something that one could only hope for. From the fact that even the Sang Tong Tribe could hardly put four Epic-grade King-tier monsters together, one could see just how rare they were.

All four of them had parents who were among the higher-ups of the tribe, and none of them were exempt. Due to the strict levels of the tribe, it was incredibly difficult to possess a high grade familiar when they were young. Moreover, even if they had a high grade familiar, without the sufficient background, it would be taken away very easily; the one who had been killed was the eldest son of the chief of the Sang Tong Tribe.

It was also because they had the resources afforded to them by their parents that they could easily become King-tier monster trainers at such young ages. It was because their familiars were heirlooms from their ancestors.

Tong Xiang spoke honestly and said that his Six-Tusked Brahman Elephant was a handpicked Six-Tusked Brahman Elephant of the highest grade that was the descendant of his ancestor's Six-Tusked Brahman Elephant. After saying that, the three of them stared at Gao Peng, wide-eyed.

Gao Peng became silent after learning the information he wanted. Then he said happily, "Don't worry, I'm a man of my word. I'll make it a pleasant experience for you."

"…" The three of them were on the brink of tears. Who asked you to make us happy? We just want to live.

Tong Xiang suddenly bit his lip and said, "If you're worried that our parents won't want to pay a ransom for our heads since we no longer have our familiars, you don't have to worry. My parents will definitely pay a price to get me back because I'm the only son in my family."

At that time, he no longer cared about his comrades. Tong Xiang had no intention to talk about the other two.

Gao Peng touched his chin to think. It was already a fact that he had angered the Sang Tong Tribe. Gao Peng also felt regret deep in his heart. It seems like I was still too impulsive. I only wanted to get some intel at first. It's just that I overreacted after being attacked.

Who'd have thought that these guys would have such a high social status? I say, aren't these guys crazy? To not send less important people to obtain intelligence. Did they really have to send their descendants to do this?

However, it wasn't too worrisome. With the barriers in the world, the really strong couldn't make it through anyway. By the time they did, Gao Peng's familiars' levels and grades would have also increased.

As long as he maintained a lead in grade, he would never be in a losing position. But… This does not suit my salted fish tactic! I want to slowly grow my familiars and plan for development so that I'm invincible when I leave this mountain!

This sort of revenge is just too boring! Gao Peng was speechless. How can I solve this issue in one go? I can't be standing watch beside the spatial rift constantly, can I? To kill them everytime one comes through?

He rubbed his temples. Unless they don't know that I'm the one behind it. What if they don't know I'm responsible?

Gao Peng's eyes shone. If I kill everyone who knows, doesn't that mean that nobody would know that I was the one who killed these people?

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Chapter 477: Feedback From the Soul

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

Gao Peng clapped. What a great idea! No one will know that I'm responsible if I kill everyone who knows something!

As if sensing what his master thought, the soul flame in Dumby's eyes expanded as a chilly killing intent emanated from Gao Peng. Although the three of his familiars didn't know what Gao Peng was thinking about, they could clearly feel the murderous aura.

Tong Ying, who had been silent the entire time, suddenly roared, "Kill me! The men of the Sang Tong Tribe aren't afraid to die!"

"Then I will fulfill your wishes," said Gao Peng casually.

Dumby's mind moved, and Tong Ying's soul was forcefully taken away, the life in his eyes instantly vanishing. Life was like a flicker of flame. Sometimes, with just a simple whiff, it was gone.

"Who's next?" Gao Peng glanced at the other two, his voice trembling a little.

For some odd reason, the Gao Peng seemed very dangerous to them right then. Tong Xiang immediately shook his head, while Tong Ling almost cried out as she bit her lip, tears in her eyes.

"Master, your emotions aren't right at the moment," Dumby suddenly said.

Gao Peng stumbled. "I've been influenced by external forces?"

Dumby shook his head. "No… but yes."

"What do you mean?"

"Master, you're emitting a malicious aura right now."

Gao Peng only detected something wrong after Dumby's comment. I really was emitting a lot of malicious intent just now. I actually had such a dangerous thought, and I didn't think anything was wrong.

Gao Peng quickly shook his head and rubbed his face before heaving a long sigh. "Why did that happen?" Gao Peng asked Dumby through the Blood Contract.

Dumby paused briefly before answering, "Master, you might have been affected by me."

"After I became stronger, I provided you with souls to nurture yourself. I strengthen my soul by killing the living. Although I've filtered most of the malicious aura, and practically no malicious aura would be left in the souls that I've transferred to you, the number of souls has just been too much," Dumby answered honestly.

"I didn't think that it would affect you," Dumby added.

"Then why wasn't I affected before?" Gao Peng was puzzled.

"It might be because it has been improving too quickly and its grade is too high." Desolion was feeling slightly sour. It uttered a single sentence. "But this influence shouldn't be too big. It should fade after a while."

The prerequisite is that the skeleton slows down his leveling speed… Otherwise, if it keeps increasing its level at this pace, your malicious aura will only become thicker and stronger. The malicious aura isn't that bad; it just makes you a little more violent.

The Desolate Frost Lion thought that Gao Peng was too well-tempered. Although he wasn't a saint, he always had a very complacent "salted fish" mentality, whereby he was always satisfied with the status quo, never really proactively fighting for things.

The Desolate Frost Lion had given Gao Peng suggestions, but they had been disregarded. This lazy b*stard is just like this. If Gao Peng could just be more assertive and authoritative, that would be great.

As for violence, the Desolate Frost Lion had never really thought it was weird. It had always been a monster, and its principle was that the strong would prey on the weak, so there was no such thing as violence or cruelty.

The Desolate Frost Lion, who was lying beside Gao Peng, showed a hint of its expectation. It really hoped that Gao Peng's personality would change.

Dumby has been leveling up pretty quickly recently. No wonder… Gao Peng breathed a sigh of relief. Now that he knew the reason, he didn't have to worry anymore.

It only affected his mood and emotions. As long as he knew the reason, he would be fine if he just controlled his emotions a bit more.

Gao Peng displayed a bright smile. He turned around and with a very bright smile, said to the two remaining people, "I was joking with you guys just now. Don't mind it too much. Now, let's talk business. As long as your parents or elders can provide me with one of the following materials or ingredients, I'll send you guys back.

"All right, remember well: True Dragon Fruit, Great Destruction Source Stone, Light of Zero Degree, Body of the God of War, Flame of the Sky Center…" Gao Peng read out a list of names in one breath.

Tong Xiang was at a loss for words. Apart from the True Dragon Fruit, he had never heard any of the other items before.

After the interrogation, Gao Peng knew that their level of using the materials and ingredients was at a very crude level. One could even say that they weren't scientific at all in their way of thinking.

They had simply inherited things for generation after generation. Every bloodline would only have corresponding research on certain types of familiars, as they excelled at the development and grade upgrade methods for those familiars. Moreover, most of them only passed familiars within their families and wouldn't share them.

Apart from the familiars they were used to, when it came to familiars they didn't know much about, their method was to let nature take its course.

They were limited to the knowledge that taking the Flame Flower in the long term would be beneficial for Fire-type monsters, and when taking the Flame Flower, the familiar shouldn't consume any Water-type material. Otherwise, it would weaken the effect of the Flame Flower. After taking the Flame Flower, it could continue eating Light Leaf to increase the beneficial effects.

This was the kind of awareness and understanding that they had. Moreover, this sort of knowledge was considered extremely precious to them.

Are these materials? But even if I know the True Dragon Fruit, there's no way I can get it. No one in the entire tribe would have the True Dragon Fruit. That's a legendary material. I heard that after a secondary dragon or dragon blood monster takes the True Dragon Fruit, it'll be possible to extract their pure bloodline.

Every True Dragon Fruit can cause crazy battles and fights between Dragon-type monsters, and the weakest of the weak among the dragon type monsters are at least at the King tier. There's no way to obtain it!

However, Tong Xiang only nodded like a good boy as he said, "I remember."

"Don't lie to me. Oh, that's right, how will you tell your tribesmen the information that I've just provided you? It'll be impossible for me to let one person go back to tell on me." Gao Peng threw him a glance. You, fatty, you're pretty crafty. You sure look honest and nice, but in truth, you're the one with the most crafty ideas!

"I have an idea." Tong Xiang sighed. This b*stard is too vigilant.

In the end, Tong Xiang took a beast skin scroll out of his chest pocket and wrote some words on it with a black charcoal pen. Then he rolled the beast skin scroll and threw it through to the other side of the spatial rift.

Suddenly, Gao Peng extended his hands and caught the beast skin scroll.

Tong Xiang was stunned as he stared dumbfoundedly at Gao Peng.

Gao Peng frowned as he looked at Tong Xiang, then he looked at the incredibly nervous Tong Lin. He smiled and said, "I suddenly remembered something. If I can't read your writing, how do I know what you've written? What if… it's the wrong information?" Gao Peng playfully rolled the beast skin scroll into a scroll.

Gao Peng turned around and said to Dumby, "Dumby, help me leave a comment."

Dumby nodded and extended its hands into the void. A gray mist condensed into a muddled gray crystal, then the information that it wanted to convey was left inside the gray crystal. After, it threw the gray crystal into the spatial rift before bringing the two captives out of the spatial rift with Gao Peng.

After three hours, Gao Peng arrived in Xijing. After a friendly discussion, Gao Peng plundered the storage of the Nihon District's Xijing government. It was no wonder it was called a government; the number of materials they had was too high. Even Gao Peng was unable to take them all. He only picked some of the rarer materials.

Xijing was the capital of the Nihon District, and half of the high-class collection of the large area was put inside Silly's space before Gao Peng left, satisfied.

This left the higher-ups of the Nihon District speechless, along with a half-empty warehouse.

By now, Silly, who had reached the Lord tier, had a portable space as big as a football field. A space as big as that could store a lot of items, even an entire villa.

When he had arrived, he had brought eighteen Lord-tier ghoul subordinates with him, but when he returned, he had added four King-tier ghouls and an entire football field of materials and ingredients.

Gao Peng sighed. What a loss. Really, what a loss this time was.

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Chapter 478: Amorphic Hell Tree

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

To leave so empty-handed, Gao Peng was a bit reluctant. After thinking for a while, he said, "Why don't we go visit some of the famous tourist attractions of the Nihon District and see if we can find anything good?"

The Desolate Frost Lion nodded seriously and said, "I think this is a good idea."

"Oh, that's right. Dumby, can you revive that Cherry Sky Tree?" Gao Peng was suddenly reminded of the Cherry Sky Tree.

In truth, for Gao Peng right now, the additional combat strength of the Cherry Sky Tree after its revival was negligible, since it was never a combative familiar in the first place. Its Calm Aura could allow it to calm inner irritability and soothe killing intent.

Gao Peng thought that perhaps the Calm Aura would be able to alleviate the malicious aura from Dumby's feedback. Dumby was dumbfounded. It said hesitantly, "I don't know… Its damage is a bit severe. It is, after all, a tree. I have no idea what can be judged as a skeleton for it."

Gao Peng nodded. In truth, one requirement for Dumby to resurrect the dead was the condition of the corpse, which also meant the preservation status of the skeleton.

He brought Dumby and the others to where the Cherry Sky Tree had fallen. At the foot of the mountain, people who wanted to benefit from the situation were sneaking around, but the moment they saw a group of ghouls flying in from the sky, they panicked and started scurrying to escape.

The Cherry Sky Tree was almost completely torn in half, with only a little bit of its bark still intact, connecting the upper and lower parts of the Cherry Sky Tree.

The fallen treetop was like a dead sakura waterfall covering the side of the mountain. The tree roots held firmly onto the mountain boulder like a hand with veins popping out and piercing deep into the rock cracks, like an eagle's claws. It was clinging onto the cliff with the last of its strength so that it wouldn't fall off the cliff.

It had done its best, but Gao Peng felt strange. Every life form was giving its all to struggle to survive. However, from the perspective of the winner, it wasn't Gao Peng's style to give a victory speech for a battle that hadn't even exerted him that much. So, after lamenting for a bit, he quickly reined in his emotions.

"Dumby, try and resurrect it."

Dumby nodded and aimed towards the large tree. A white Flame of the Undead transformed into a waterfall and shrouded the entire Cherry Sky Tree. White rays spread as a flame burned quietly.

It looked as if the branches of the Cherry Sky Tree were dancing in the flames.

Tong Xiang, who was behind Gao Peng, looked at Gao Peng's back with a very complex expression, feeling very down. He had always been a Holy Individual, and now, he could even turn dead familiars into the undead. He didn't even know if there were any limitations placed on an overpowered ability like that. Even if there were limitations, it would still be quite scary.

Tong Xiang only hoped that his parents wouldn't be impulsive once they found out he had been kidnapped. Tong Xiang felt odd, as he actually thought that his elders wouldn't win. I've really gone crazy.

Inside the white flames, a large tree stood up and stretched its branches.

"Hmm?" Gao Peng felt odd. This doesn't seem like an undead creature.

To say it was a Skeleton-type undead creature would be wrong, since it didn't have a skeleton, and to say it was a Soul-type wouldn't be accurate either, as it didn't look like one. Its dark eye sockets were like demon pits, and its pink cherry blossoms had turned blood red. The rugged tree surface had become smooth like a human's skin. A grim and blood-red aura glowed lightly around it.

"Master, good news. This Cherry Sky Tree mutated while I was resurrecting it. It became a Ghoul-type monster," Dumby said in surprise.

Gao Peng looked at the resurrected Cherry Sky Tree.

[Monster Name: Amorphic Hell Tree (Variant)

[Monster Level: Level 54

[Monster Grade: Epic

[Monster Attributes: Yin/Ghoul

[Monster Skills: Slaughtering Aura Level 4, Violent Aura Level 4, Dreadful Aura Level 4

[Special Characteristic: Amorphic Hell

(This tree can regenerate after its branches break off, its old branches sprout new buds, and it possesses an incredible vitality. When it actually dies, it will die completely. Very few trees in the world can be resurrected from the dead, so this is an event with an incredibly low probability. Every resurrected tree demon will have a low chance of returning as the Amorphic Hell Tree.

Passive Effect 1: Hell's Void. Among demons, it absorbs all negative emotion in the mortal world, and when enough negative emotion has been absorbed, they will condense and become a corresponding aura.

The Amorphic Hell Tree's grade cannot be increased through other methods. It can only increase its grade by possessing a certain amount of aura.)

[Monster Description: Since kindness cannot protect what it wants to protect, it will use darkness instead.

All of its abilities disappeared, and it became an aura monster? But where is the calm aura that I wanted? Why did it turn into a violent aura?

Gao Peng looked like he was constipated. However, it wasn't like the aura ability was completely useless. Especially for Dumby who summoned a large number of underlings, its value was high.

The team had another undead familiar with aura abilities. The slaughtering and violent auras could boost their teammates, and in certain situations, they could even have a miraculous effect. This dreadful aura could even weaken enemies.

Moreover, it had the potential to grow, so it was a decent new recruit. There was value in focused development.

Gao Peng thought for a while and said, "Since I'm already here, I might as well go and take a look at Mount Fuji."

Since Gao Peng had already spoken the words, Dumby naturally followed its master. Desolion also had no objections.

Of course, the two captives had no right to speak. Right now, Tong Xiang and Tong Lin sat together on the heads of their ex-familiars. This sort of feeling where their own familiars had become another person's toys really made them sad.

Tong Xiang felt uncomfortable. An enhanced mental power around him transformed into chains to trap him in place and made him float in mid-air.

The power that he had once used on his enemies was now restraining him. He wondered if he was stuck in a trap of his own devising.

"Brahman Elephant, don't use so much force. You're strangling me," Tong Xiang whispered. He knew that his Six-Tusked Brahman Elephant's soul could definitely hear it.

Unexpectedly, the Six-Tusked Brahman Elephant's soul swung its nose and snorted lightly, irritated. The mental power restraints on Tong Xiang tightened, his shoulders squeezed together as his face turned purple.

They reached Mount Fuji rather quickly. The famous live volcano was now in a deep slumber, but the lava continued to burst out of the crater. As they reached the place, the fire element in the air seemed to become active.

Looking down from the side of the volcano crater, the lava boiled as large and muddled bubbles burst, filling the air with a burning smell. There was too much lava.

Gao Peng could feel something within the volcano. Unfortunately, he didn't have any Fire-type or Lava-type familiars with him.

He glanced at Dumby, who nodded. "Don't worry, master. Leave it to me." Dumby jumped into the volcano.

After 30 minutes, Dumby crawled out of the lava, and with just a few leaps, it reached the volcanic crater.

Dumby had a plant that looked like a vine in its left hand. Traces of lava dripped from the top of the plant, and as the lava dropped to the ground, it quickly solidified and turned into a solid black substance.

"Master, there's a weird snake monster with four heads and four tails that's at the King tier. I only found this plant in the volcano, and the snake monster tried to stop me, so I beat it half to death," said Dumby casually.

Gao Peng nodded, paying it no attention. "All right. That's fine. You did well. We're reasonable people. We're taking its things, since it wouldn't be good for us to kill the owner."

By the time Gao Peng and the others were far away, a pitiful four-headed snake whose head was several times larger than its body popped its head out from the lava and started banging the wall with its head in anger.

Dong, Dong, Dong…

Chapter 479: Three Familiars Preparing For Advancement

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

Overlooking the limitless ocean from the sky of the East China Sea, one couldn't help but feel the vast and limitless size of the world. Constant waves surged in the clear blue East China Sea. Herds of sea beasts that stirred up the huge waves exposed their scales on the sea's surface.

Generally, the number of ocean monsters was higher, generally higher than the number of those on land. This had to do largely with the huge density and quantity of the ocean monsters.

For ages, ocean monsters had been bigger than those on land in terms of size. In addition, the number of ocean species also far exceeded the ones on land—this was due to the fact that there was less destruction, so the protection of the natural ecosystem was better.

With more data, human beings still didn't understand that the competitions in the ocean were far crueler than they could imagine. Only the fittest would survive; the monsters that had survived and were transformed were those that had special features.

The Desolate Frost Lion crouched on Gao Peng's shoulder and said quietly, "Gao Peng, there's a huge guy in the sea."

He lowered his head and saw a dark shadow hidden under the sea, following them along the way. Gao Peng asked the Skeleton Dragon to stop, then the dark shadow in the sea also stopped simultaneously.

That's interesting. The corner of Gao Peng's mouth curved up. Let's use what I've learned. "Dumby, let the Amorphic Hell Tree cast the Dreadful Aura."

Rooted on the back of one of the flying familiars, when the Amorphic Hell Tree that had its roots' feelers buried received the order, the branches on its head shook lightly, and it released an unnamed terrifying force.

"Eeyaaah!" Tong Ling called out with her eyes closed tightly. She could only feel her scalp go numb.

Tong Xiang also looked pale, but now he was being controlled by mental strength. Even if he fainted, he didn't have to worry about falling.

Gao Peng saw all of this. It was just a preview of the Dreadful Aura of the Amorphic Hell Tree that wasn't directed at them but was merely an insignificant precursor.

The huge monster hiding under the sea shook a few times, then suddenly, it broke through the water. Its gigantic body broke through the seawater, the sparkling waves shone in the sun, and its huge wings, which were as thick as dark clouds, caused a huge crashing roar.

"Ugh…" For a moment, Gao Peng was in a trance and felt like a mountain was about to drop down on him. He was embarrassed. He hadn't thought that the Dreadful Aura would not only fail to chase it away, but would actually anger this gigantic monster.

Dumby leaped up and turned into a ball of ferocious dark golden energy, like a charging shadow. Compared to the size of the huge whale beneath them, Dumby seemed incomparable… Looking from a distance, it looked like a comet hitting the earth.

Pang! A transparent shockwave spread from where the attack hit. Meanwhile a surge of blood spilled out like a waterfall. The giant whale cried out in pain. Flipping in mid-air, it returned into the sea quickly to escape and disappeared.

Dumby floated on the surface of the water, became the Yin Soul Dominator, then flew into the sky. "Master, it has escaped," Dumby said quietly.

Dumby, who was worried about Gao Peng's safety, didn't dare to give chase rashly. Moreover, the ocean wasn't a familiar battle environment for it, so it had failed to take down the giant whale immediately.

"Yeah, let's go back." Gao Peng looked at the spot where the giant whale had disappeared while nodding.

To not allow Dumby to pursue and kill it had been Gao Peng's intention. The monster just now was at the King tier; moreover, it was Perfect-grade, its skin was very thick, and it had the potential to advance to the Emperor tier.

To be able to reach the King tier during this period was very rare. It could even be called a proud talent of the monster universe. Killing one meant there would be one less.

If all of them were killed, then where would they find Emperor-tier, as well as souls of Overlord-tier monsters, for Dumby's undead subordinates…?

Gao Peng felt that he really did have vision.

"Silly, come here and help me hold the umbrella." Gao Peng leaned back casually and waved toward Silly, who wasn't far away.

Silly floated over and took a parasol out from its portable space and held it above Gao Peng. Then it took a manual hairdryer and aimed it at Gao Peng before blowing it at him randomly. "I'll cool you to death! I'll cool you to death!"

"Haha, silly guy. This won't do. Why don't I teach you a thing or two?" said Gao Peng while laughing.

Silly stopped, then looked cautiously at Gao Peng. "No. Don't want to learn. I don't listen." Silly snorted proudly. It felt that it had probably annoyed the dumb Gao Peng to death. As it thought of this, Silly threw another glance at Gao Peng to see if he was genuinely mad.

After spending a month in the Southern Sky Group, one could say that Gao Peng had returned with a great haul.

Not only did he bring back five King-tier undead familiars, but he also had a bunch of materials and ingredients. In fact, Gao Peng had already reached Huaxia around a week before, and then, in the remaining time, he had been on the famous Daze Mountain.

However, the Huaxia district had too many famous Daze Mountains, so during this time, Gao Peng only went to a few. Even so, Gao Peng had gained a lot of things. One could easily tell that from that unbelievably bright smile hanging on his face.

Upon his return to the Southern Sky Group, Gao Peng walked behind Da Zi, who was sitting on its butt while making holes. He jumped up and kicked its butt.

"Da Zi, did you miss me, your master?"

Da Zi, who had just been kicked on the butt, popped its head out of the hole. Upon seeing that it was Gao Peng, its eyes brightened. "Gao Peng, you're back."

After saying that, it pushed Gao Peng to the ground. "Gao Peng, help me dig a hole."

"Dig a hole?"

"Yes. Don't centipedes sleep inside holes? I don't think that I can ask you to sleep with me outside every day, so I will make a home for myself," said Da Zi with plenty of fighting spirit.

"So you've prepared to make a hole for yourself." Gao Peng nodded.

"Yes, yes. Gao Peng, you're smart to have actually guessed this."

Didn't you just tell me though…? "Then this hole is deep enough."

"It's collapsed five times. Every time I finish digging it, it collapses after a while." Da Zi seemed a little depressed.

"Then, how did you dig it?"

"Just like this. Going downward!" After it finished speaking, Da Zi imitated its movements. A left and a right, its two claws moved very quickly.

Gao Peng was speechless. "Forget it. I'll ask someone to dig you a tunnel tomorrow. You can stop torturing the field now. Look what you've turned it into," said Gao Peng while pointing at the grass field that looked like it had been plowed through by ten thousand huskies.

Grandpa isn't in the group right now. I have no idea where he went. The White Dragon and Silver Dragon have also been taken away by Grandpa. The only ones left are the Primitive Jade Armored Crocodile and the Thunder Shell Lord.

Otherwise, this overactive husky would have been locked up long ago.

"Flamy, come here." Gao Peng waved at Flamy, who was looking around not far away from him. Flamy pointed at itself in delight before flying towards him after being assured by Gao Peng.

After Gao Peng returned, big mouth Silly had already boasted about all the good things it had received.

The huge group of familiars looked at Gao Peng just like the concubines and queen of the harem of an ancient palace had awaited the love and affection of the emperor, waiting for Gao Peng to point at them and talk to them.

"Moneymaker, Flowing Light, the two of you come here, as well." Gao Peng waved at the two shorties from far away with a bright smile.

Go, Flowing Light, you're the best! You're finally going to grow taller! Flowing Light pumped itself up.

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Chapter 480: Black Armored Blood Bladed Beast

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

"Take it slow, don't rush it. Everyone will get one," Gao Peng said.

"Flamy, you first." Gao Peng glanced at Flamy and knew that it was the most anxious; it just felt embarrassed and didn't want to say anything.

Gao Peng let Silly take out the additional materials and put them inside its storage, filling several warehouses.

Gao Peng had obtained a rich haul on Nihon Island. After all, it was the inventory of an entire big district, so there were several nice items. Indeed, there were no materials to advance to the Mythical grade. The number of materials that could be used to advance to the Legendary grade was also few, but there was a decent amount of materials that could be used to advance monsters to the Epic grade. It was good that materials needed to advance Flowing Light and Moneymaker to the Epic grade could all be found and collected from the warehouse…

Gao Peng hadn't managed to find any advancement materials for Flamy in the material warehouse of the Nihon government. However, a watched flower never bloomed, but an untended willow grew. When he was returning, Gao Peng went to Zhurong Peak on Mount Heng along the way, and he found a Flamy Feather Tree on top of the mountain.

This was an incredibly rare fire god tree. A Nine-headed Flamy Sparrow had built a nest on the Flamy Feather Tree. Gao Peng drove the little sparrow away before taking the tree.

After Gao Peng collected the tree, the Nine-headed Flamy Sparrow followed behind them for half a day before finally leaving unwillingly after they reached the border of Yuzhou.

Gao Peng was very touched. The people of Xiangnan had always been very welcoming. Even the sparrows of the place were very welcoming and passionate.

The main ingredient for one of Flamy's paths to advance to the Legendary grade was the Top Heart Feather of the Flamy Feather Tree. After finding the main ingredient, the other supplemental ingredients were also gathered. After such a long time, it was finally time for Flamy to welcome a grade advancement.

Gao Peng brought Flamy to the lab and started to mix the ingredients.

By using the special processing method on the ingredients one by one, Gao Peng finally made what looked like crimson medicinal liquid, then he asked Flamy over to spit a fireball into the liquid.

Although Flamy was confused, it still obediently did as it was asked and spat fire into the medicine. A light flame rose instantly on the surface of it. The Top Feather of the Flamy Feather Tree was on top of the flame. The feather actually started sinking along with the flame, and before long, it dissolved into the medicine.

"Drink it." Flamy was very obedient and drank it clean. Before long, it held its stomach and started running. It looked like it was going to the toilet.

Crisp and clear clacking sounds could be heard as it hopped on its single foot on the brick floor.

"Your turn." Gao Peng started to prepare Moneymaker's reagent.

Moneymaker and Flowing Light were both currently at the Perfect grade. They would move to the Epic grade in the next phase, and at the same time, awaken their first special characteristic.

After half an hour, Moneymaker's reagent was a success. This time, it was finally not a big pot of liquid, but a golden pill instead. Of course, the first moment it was produced, it wasn't a pill. It was only after the residue accumulated at the bottom of the experiment equipment. After that, by following the guide, Gao Peng managed to turn it into a pill shape with a dumbfounded expression.

Why a freaking pill shape?! Will making it into a pill shape increase the absorption rate?! Gao Peng couldn't help but complain.

However, this method didn't come with a guide book. With Gao Peng's current knowledge, if he were to mix ingredients by himself, he could only create Excellent-grade reagents after familiarizing himself with the monster's grade and ability. For an Epic-grade concoction like this, even Gao Peng could barely understand the method. As for the theories behind it, he couldn't really understand them.

After eating the pill, the greedy rodent stood up like a human as it stared directly at Silly with its shining eyes. However, after a while, its ears moved slightly. It glanced at Silly twice with suspicion as its whiskers moved a bit. It looked as if it had a thief's eye.

The Treasure Sniffing Rodent could feel that it was about to faint. Its ears were filled with all kinds of noise. It could also see crisscrossing night lights around it, with various smell slowly reaching his nose. There was spicy food, sweet food, and bitter food. For its small brain that could only process so many things, the surge of information almost caused its brain to cease functioning.

However, as long as it could fully adapt to it, it would be able to evolve. Gao Peng ignored it after taking a glance at it. Its evolution path was meant to improve its senses so it could sense more treasures. It was the sort of strengthening that would allow it to explore and find out many more valuable things.

At first, when Gao Peng had just started out developing and growing his familiars, he still had the idea of developing comprehensively. However, by now, his ideas had changed. Right then, Gao Peng only wanted to maximize the potential of his familiars in one special direction. As long as they didn't have very obvious weaknesses, it would be okay.

A team needed good chemistry and coordination between all kinds of monsters, not just a group of all-rounders.

The Treasure Sniffing Rodent continued to explore the location for treasure. Flowing Light also continued to strengthen its assassination skills. Now, faced with leveling up Goldie and the others, it was very hard for Flowing Light to display its advantages as an assassin.

When faced with weaker opponents, Gao Peng's familiars usually showed dominance, and for enemies who were too strong, Flowing Light couldn't deal a deadly and fatal blow in one hit. As such, the three evolution paths that Gao Peng provided for Flowing Light were to strengthen his attacks and anonymity!

After two hours, the three familiars succeeded in their advancements.

[Monster Name: Black Armored Blood Bladed Beast

[Monster Level: Level 50

[Monster Grade: Epic/Epic

[Monster Attributes: Wind

[Monster Skills: Hardened Shell Level 3, Sharp Edge Level 4, Explosive Jump Level 2, Wind Mastery Level 4

[Monster Weakness: Ice

[Special Characteristics: Wind Armor (Slight)

Death Blood Line Seal (An excellent assassin can exploit its enemies' weaknesses and deal a fatal blow, while a much more exceptional assassin can actively create opportunities.

Active Effect 1: The Black Armored Blood Bladed Beast can create a line of blood on its enemies' body by staring at the enemy. The blood line cannot be removed using conventional purifying skills, and it is also impossible for the naked eye to detect. The maximum number of blood lines on a single target is nine.

Passive Effect 1: When the Black Armored Blood Bladed Beast's attack hits the blood line, it can deal extra damage to the enemy, while at the same time, it can ignore the enemy's defense.)

[Monster Description: The White Steel Bladed Beast's evolved form. It possesses incredible attack ability. At the same time, to increase its stealth, the Black Armored Blood Bladed Beast chose a smaller and more agile body size.

[Advancement Route to Legendary Grade: 1. Black Steel Shadowbeast (Shadow Evolution) 2. Violent Bloody Sea Beast (Killer Evolution)

Upon seeing the Black Armored Blood Bladed Beast that was four inches shorter than it had been before the evolution, although its blood-colored arm blades were four inches longer than before the evolution, Gao Peng had an ominous feeling.

Flowing Light used its arm blade to scratch its head and felt like something was wrong. How did all the plants around me grow taller in the short period of time that I was evolving?

Flowing Light ran to a tree to measure its height. This tree was the same one that it used to measure its height once per day.

Using its arm blade to measure its height, Flowing Light's smile gradually disappeared. It started to become depressed. Flowing Light stood in place, wondering if this was an illusion.

A gust of wind came. Flowing Light's figure looked extremely lonely.

Gao Peng noticed that in the Grade section, there was an extra "/Epic." After that, more information appeared in Gao Peng's mind. The latter was the peak of the monster's grade while the former was the monster's current grade.

This was also Gao Peng's new ability after Gao Peng had awakened from receiving many souls of familiars, using them to nurture and strengthen his soul.

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