Three hours later, a proud bark pierced through the morning sun.

“Hehe… See? I told you it would work.” Rao Wu proudly beamed as he examined Xian Da’s dark claws. Unbelievably the little guy’s claws were now middle-stage phase one. With a little more training, the claws would rank up to high-stage. “Sorry it hurts,” soothed Rao Wu as he patted down Xian Da’s saw paws. However, there was a twinkle in his eyes as he looked at the faint lines on the tree bark. Just a few hours ago, Xian Da couldn’t even dent the tree, but the little guy’s perseverance paid off, allowing it to finally cut a few millimeters into the tough bark.

“Guo~” Nearby, Loudy thumped its chest, praising Xian Da’s efforts. However, the depths of its gaze held complicated hesitations. Today was a prime example of how soul trainers greatly boosted a soul monster’s chance of evolving. Only a soul trainer would think of healing a soul monster’s injuries with Sage Dewberries to allow it to train continuously, thereby speeding up a process that would naturally take weeks. Loudy hesitated, but then let out a gibber.

“Hm? You want to meet your father before we go?” When Loudy confirmed, Rao Wu paused and scratched his chin. “I guess it’s on our way. Yeah, I should probably let him know we’re going to the city so he doesn’t freak out.”

Du-Du. Loudy beat its chest, and then led the way. Rao Wu placed Xian Da on his shoulder since the little guy was still too slow to keep up with them and then followed Loudy. Along the way, Rao Wu paused a few times to let Xian Da fight weak monsters like cave rats.

“Retreat!” Rao Wu would occasionally give Xian Da pointers, but mostly let the little Dusklight Wolf cub fend for itself. Xian Da, despite seeing the cave rat lying in a pool of its own blood obeyed Rao Wu’s order and promptly retreated.

“Squee!” Shockingly, the cave rat that should have been on death’s door suddenly jumped up and charged at the retreating Dusklight Wolf cub.

“Xian Da! Dodge and attack!”

Whoosh! Skrtchh!

“Squee!” The cave rat’s cry rang out as Xian Da ducked under its charge and then tore its belly wide open. Xian Da’s middle-stage phase one claws made mincemeat of the cave-rats defenseless stomach, causing blood and guts to spill out.

“Aowuuu~” The blood-drenched Xian Da proudly raised its head and howled after the corpse landed next to it. This was its fourth fight. The first three were not as smooth. Rao Wu had to bail it out during the first fight, but it subsequently got smarter until this fourth fight where it obtained a near perfect victory.

Rao Wu stored the corpse in his spatial ring and then approached Xian Da. He deliberately held back the praise in his heart as he coldly questioned, “Do you know where you went wrong?”

“Ruu~”

“Yes.” Rao Wu folded his arms to prevent himself from petting the crestfallen Xian Da. “You got too excited. Monsters are smart. They can purposely fake injuries to lure you in and finish you off. Will you make that mistake again?”

Xian Da vehemently shook its head, but its sullen eyes broke Rao Wu’s heart.

“Aish!” Rao Wu scratched his head with a helpless expression. “I can’t be strict like Uncle Twilight.” Rao Wu gave into his instincts and patted Xian Da’s furry little head. “You did very well Xian Da. You’re improving very fast. You’re practically a genius!”

“Rraff!” Xian Da excitedly wagged its tail as it promised to not let Rao Wu down in the future. The next fight would definitely go better.

Rao Wu smiled, patted the little cub’s head and then lifted it onto his shoulder. After confirming there were no nearby predators, Rao Wu once again set out with Loudy on the treetops as lookout.

“GUOO!”

A few minutes later, several Steelback Apes roared at Rao Wu as he walked into their territory. The little boy laughed and returned their greetings while following Loudy to the largest tree in the territory.

Ba-dump! Ba-dump!

Rao Wu’s heartbeat quickened as he neared the 3-meter-thick tree. Even from this far, he could feel the oppressive aura of the creature that made this tree its home.

“Guo.” Two Steelback Apes stopped Rao Wu when he was roughly ten meters away. The young man swallowed hard as he looked at a dark hollow ‘entrance’ carved into the tree bark.

Rao Wu’s heart quickened even further as he watched a 5-meter tall Diamondback Ape duck out of the entrance. The savage creature cast its terrible gaze at Rao Wu, causing the young man to nearly jump in fright. No matter how many times he saw the Diamondback Ape, Rao Wu never got used to the sight.

Fortunately, the Diamondback Ape’s gaze only lingered for a few seconds before switching to Loudy. Intriguingly, the Diamondback Ape’s gaze softened as it looked at its only son. “Guo~” It let out a questioning gibber, wondering why Loudy returned so early. Usually Loudy ‘played’ with Rao Wu until nightfall before returning.

Loudy hesitated. It glanced at Rao Wu, whose fear had already given way to excitement as he looked at the Diamondback Ape. Rao Wu’s inner thoughts were so clear at the moment. The little guy was dreaming of the day he could challenge the Diamondback Ape to a frontal combat. Seeing Rao Wu’s fervent gaze, Loudy steeled its resolve and looked at its father. “Guo, Guo.”

“GUO!”

“What!?” Rao Wu and the Diamondback Ape screamed in tandem, but for different reason. The Diamondback Ape did not believe its son wanted to be the soul pet of a human, while Rao Wu was blindsided with joy. It had to be understood that Loudy was a general-ranked soul monster. A Soul Apprentice with a general-ranked monster could raise their heads proudly in most places.

“Guo!” The Diamondback Ape turned to Rao Wu and harshly questioned his motives.

Normally, Rao Wu would have panicked under this behemoth’s pressure, but this time, he steeled his nerves due to Loudy’s hopeful gaze. He then looked at the Diamondback Ape with a nervous smile as he confessed, “I honestly had no clue he was going to ask to be my soul monster. But, I promise that if you let him join, I’ll bring him back here to defeat you in uh…” Rao Wu quickly performed some math with his fingers and then said, “Ten years. I’ll bring him back here to defeat you in ten years!”

Although it seemed like Rao Wu was being too generous to himself, that was actually the opposite. This particular Diamondback Ape was an anomaly in this forest. Not only was it a mutated monarch-rank monster, but it was also Tenth Phase, Stage Eight!

Rao Wu saying it would only take ten years to defeat the Diamondback Ape was what most people would call arrogant and preposterous.

Surprisingly, the Diamondback Ape did not laugh at the child. How could it? Rao Wu’s eyes reminded it too much of the child’s father. That’s right. The Diamondback Ape was Tyrant, one of Taylor Wu’s main soul monsters.

Tyrant could laugh off anyone else, but it could not laugh off Taylor Wu’s son. If the child’s talent was even half of his father, then the task was more than doable. Tyrant observed Rao Wu’s confident grin, and then, having made up its mind, let out a gibber. “Guo Guo!”

Rao Wu’s brows furrowed. “Competition? You want me to take first in the national competition in ten years?” Rao Wu hesitated, but then asked, “What’s the competition’s name?”

Tyrant broke a branch and then scribbled a few characters on the ground.

“Summit of the Brave?” Rao Wu murmured thoughtfully. “Is the competition that great?” Tyrant’s disdainful snort made Rao Wu blush with shame. How would he know about such a great competition when he lived in the forest all his life? “Alright. We’ll win the competition and come brag to you.” As he said that, Rao Wu made getting information about the Summit of the Brave one of his primary targets for this trip to the city.

Tyrant snorted, and then looked at Loudy. “Guo~” It warned Loudy that a contracted soul monster’s life was bloody and filled with endless fights. A moment of neglect could easily cause it to lose its life.

“Guo~” Loudy beat its chest, claiming it was ready for any fight that came their way. It would never reach its father’s heights if it remained in the safety of the clan. Just see, it had already strengthened to general-rank after a few months with Rao Wu.

Seeing Loudy’s resolve, Tyrant sighed and then waved its hand, giving them its blessing.

“Yes!” Rao Wu pumped his fist into the air, overjoyed. Never in his wildest dreams did he think Loudy would become his soul monster. Especially now that Loudy was general-rank. Excited, Rao Wu quickly initiated the soul pact incantation before either Loudy or Tyrant changed their minds.

“Guo~” Loudy happily accepted the soul pact, and was subsequently absorbed into Rao Wu’s third soul space.

Rao Wu returned Xian Da to the soul space and then summoned Loudy. The young man’s lips spread in a wide grin when the Steelback Ape appeared. He rubbed his nose and then declared with an embarrassed smile, “I guess since you’re joining us, I can’t keep calling you Loudy.” The truth was that Loudy was a nickname Rao Wu gave the Steelback Ape because, as a toddler, it always cried whenever Rao Wu refused to take it swinging around. “Wait, I guess you’re technically still a toddler.” Rao Wu looked at the nine-months old Loudy and snickered.

“Guo!”

“Sure, sure. You’re all grown up now.” Rao Wu quickly soothed the angry Steelback Ape. After swallowing his laughter, the young man tapped on his chin and mumbled under his breath, “As for your name… If you beat your dad, you’ll be the Ape King, so I guess I’ll call you Ju Tu.”

“Guo, Guo!” The newly named Ju Tu pounded its chests and happily gibbered, indicating it liked its new name.

Rao Wu quickly thanked the Diamondback Ape and then set off towards the city.

Three Days Later, a dirt covered Rao Wu emerged from the forest with Xian Da on his shoulder. The little cub’s eyes held a ferocious glint as it observed the gigantic wall a couple hundred meters away from them.

Rao Wu’s miserable appearance and Xian Da’s savage aura was caused by the non-stop battle training they endured on their way over. Normally, this trip should have only taken the better part of a day, but Rao Wu’s excitement at having new soul pets caused him to frequently stop and battle along the way. The frequent battles were not without their merits.

Xian Da grew to First Phase Stage Three and its claw’s strength finally broke into Low Rank 2 after repeated breakage and healing. Although this pace seemed extremely fast, Rao Wu knew that this only applied to the early phases. Breaking through second phase could normally take three or four times longer.

Compared to Xian Da, Ju Tu only grew by one phase, entering second phase stage two. This was by design however, as Rao Wu was limiting Ju Tu’s growth. Uncle Twilight had warned him to make sure Xian Da did not reach second phase fourth stage, no matter what. Rao Wu was not sure why, but since Ju Tu was now his soul monster, he wisely chose to extend that limitation to it too.

“Woow… that’s really big.” Rao Wu swallowed hard as he gaped at the humongous wall.

“Haha, kid, is this your first time seeing Jiandao’s walls?”

Rao Wu turned to look at a group of hunters who just emerged from the forest. The one who spoke was a gruff man at the head who had shifty eyes. Rao Wu had seen many such hunters in the forest. They either captured soul monsters or gathered cores and crystals to be sold in the cities for profit.

The major difference between hunters and trainers was that hunters were usually satisfied with a certain level. They would then devote their time to hunting for resources for funds. Trainers, on the other hand, prioritized raising their soul monsters’ strengths to the peak. As a result, soul trainers were the richest, poorest people in existence because they often spent all the wealth they amassed to improve their soul monsters.

Rao Wu smiled at the hunters and honestly replied, “Second time actually. I didn’t get this close the first time though.”

“Oh?” The shifty-eyed hunter in the lead looked Rao Wu over. The youth was dirty and only had a Dusklight Wolf cub on his shoulder. Heck, the Dusklight Wolf cub was First Phase? The shifty-eyes hunter was about to dismiss the boy as some lost kid, but then he spotted the seemingly insignificant ring on the child’s left hand.

The shifty-eyed hunter’s eyes widened when he saw the ring. Spatial rings were not rare, but they weren’t common either. Only people with a certain amount of wealth could acquire these handy devices that allowed people to store near infinite amount of items while offsetting the weight.

The shifty-eyed hunter looked at the gathering bag slung around his shoulder. His gathering bag reduced the weight of objects in it, but it lacked the space of a spatial ring, and its weight dug into his shoulders from time to time. It was no surprise then that a sinister light shone in his eyes as he regarded the rich little boy.

“Ah.” Fixing a warm smile on his face, the shifty-eyed hunter eyed his mates and then amiably approached the little boy. “Since it’s your first time, would you like me to show you around?”

“Really?” Rao Wu’s innocent eyes were filled with appreciation. Indeed the city was a big place, and a little child like him would most likely end up lost. “Okay, thank you, mister!”

“Hehe…” The shifty-eyed hunter chuckled as he approached Rao Wu. He glanced at his four partners, who, at some unknown time had also stepped within arms reach of the child, blocking all escape routes. However, they were still smiling and talking with the child, distracting him from his impending doom. When the shifty-eyed man was satisfied with their positioning, he held out his hand and said, “Let this mister hold that ring for you. The city is dangerous and there are thieves everywhere.”

Rao Wu’s eyes trembled with fear. “Really? Everywhere?”

“Mm-hmm. Everywhere. You have to be care—"

“What about here?”

Startled, the shifty-eyed hunter looked at the child and questioned, “What?”

Rao Wu’s lips curled in a sly grin as he muttered, “Idiot.”

“What!?”

“Xian Da!”

Xian Da did not need any more directions. Both he and Rao Wu had worked on his ambushing skills over the past three days. Before the shifty-eyed hunter could react, the tiny Dusklight Wolf cub charged at him.

Normally, the hunter would have had time to retreat, but because he was within arm's reach, Xian Da's easily ran up the man's leg in the blink of an eye.

Splitch!

Blood sprayed through the air as Xian Da’s sharp claws tore through the man’s exposed neck. Even as he fell, the shifty-eyed hunter still could not process what just happened.

“Wha—gurgle!”

A stunned hunter wanted to scream but a spearhead stabbed through his throat before he could think. The other hunters looked in shock at the child who was suddenly holding a spear. The other hunters instinctively tried to retreat to buy time to summon their monsters. Once they did, they were certain this boy would be deader than dead.

Plans were plans.

Would Rao Wu let them retreat after they were so close? Of course not!

Rao Wu grew up in the jungle where beasts were not shy to gang up ten to one sometimes. If he had not learned quick and efficient ways to thin the herd, he would have died ten times over.

Fwip! Fwip! Fwip!

Three red blossoms bloomed under the afternoon sun as the stunned hunters dropped to the ground in unison, clutching long claws that had pierced through their throats. Even in their next life, they would never believe they would have died to an innocent seven-year old boy.

Rao Wu hummed a happy tune as he walked over and retrieved the bone claws from the hunters’ necks. “I knew practicing stonetoss would pay off one day.” Well, technically, it was bone toss. Rao Wu knew he could not beat the Steelback Apes with sheer strength, so during their accuracy competitions, he began throwing bones instead of stones. Eventually, he got so good that he started using bone claws as throwable weapons.

Unfortunately, his weak arm strength was not enough to break through most monster hides. An unprotected human’s neck, however… Now that was just too easy.

“Rraff!”

“Hehe, that was great Xian Da!” Rao Wu heaped praises on the wolf cub as he ruffled the little guy’s fur. “Alright, as Uncle Twilight said… Kill, Loot and Run!”

That’s right, the one responsible for corrupting the innocent child was none other than his trusted Uncle Twilight. Under the Star Dusklight Wolf’s teaching, Rao Wu learned never to trust another human, and to always be prepared to kill, loot and then run, making sure to leave behind as little evidence as possible.

Rao Wu quickly grabbed the hunters’ gathering bags and then threw them into his spatial ring. He then regretfully looked at the bodies. On a good day, he would have burned them all to crisp, but he was too close to the city. A fire could attract attention. With that in mind, Rao Wu simply turned and then ran off as fast as he could.

Unbeknownst to the child, a pair of sharp gray eyes watched him from within the forest, a hint of pride briefly flashing by before it once again disappeared from view. However, a few minutes later, only splotches of blood remained where the bodies once lay…