Bang! Bang! Bang!

“Haha! Try Harder, Ju Tu!”

Early the next morning, the forest trembled as several rocks either crashed into several trees or the ground. The culprit, Rao Wu, laughed as he dodged another boulder flung by his Steelback Ape, Ju Tu. The little boy’s eyes gleamed with delight as he lost himself in the extreme agility and reaction training.

Previously, because Rao Wu did not dare divulge the Eternal Spring secret, he always had Ju Tu hold back when flinging boulders at him. Now, however, he could happily withstand any injury that did not outright kill him as he could quickly heal with the Eternal Spring. Since Ju Tu had signed a soul pact with him, the Steelback Ape would never betray Rao Wu.

“Guo!” Ju Tu roared with excited, challenging eyes. It then rapidly picked up and then flung the stones by its side. This was training for it too. Stone Toss was a skill all Steelback Apes possessed, but there were not many that could claim to be Ju Tu’s equal in terms of accuracy. After all, he and Rao Wu had engaged in similar training for several months.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

“Urk!” Several minutes later, fatigue caused Rao Wu to make a mistake. He slipped, allowing Ju Tu’s boulder to smack him full-on in the chest. Crack! Rao Wu coughed up blood as he crashed against the ground, the force sending him sliding several feet until he rested against a tree trunk.

“Guo!” Panicked, Ju Tu jumped down and then charged at Rao Wu.

“*Cough* *cough* I’m fine,” Rao Wu coughed, spitting out blood as he raised a hand and pushed Ju Tu’s massive face from his vision. “Damn. I didn’t think it would hurt this much.” The little boy winced as he withdrew a flask from his spatial ring. It felt like someone lit an inferno in his chest! He almost collapsed from the pain, but he knew doing so would truly kill him. Thus, he forced himself to stay awake long enough to take several gulps from the flask.

Shortly after, Rao Wu felt a sharp cold wave gush over the burning heat. Once he confirmed that the Eternal Spring’s healing effects had begun, he returned the flask to his spatial ring and then finally allowed himself to collapse into a light faint. Although he was used to it, such pain was not something a child his age could bear for long.

“Guo~” Ju Tu gently lifted the fainted child onto its shoulder and then charged deep into the forest. It was not wise to remain in the open forest with an invalid. Thus, it chose to quickly return to friendly territory.

Whoosh~

Not long after Ju Tu left, two men appeared in the area where they had just been training. The first man, who had dark chocolate skin and eyes like a viper, glanced at the tree where Rao Wu had been resting with a frown. “Did you see that?”

The second man was slightly shorter and chubby, but his vicious eyes belied his terrible disposition. He glanced at the first man and whispered, “I’ve never seen anything like that, Gary. There are children this vicious in training? The times have really changed.”

“I’m not talking about that, Wu Long!” The man named Gary let out an exasperated sigh and then pointed at the tree trunk. “Didn’t you see how he got hit in the chest by that boulder? That should have smashed his sternum at the very least. Do you know any child that could survive that?”

“Oh, yeah. The kid’s skill surprised me so much that I forgot that.” Wu Long scratched his head, exhibiting a sheepish smile. “So, what are you thinking? The kid has some kind of healing ability… or something else?”

Gary scratched his chin. “He might not be human. I’ve heard beastmen have all sorts of strange abilities. It wouldn’t be strange if he either has strengthening or healing abilities.”

Sensing his partner’s strange mood, Wu Long offered, “I’m sensing a but.”

“The kid spilled too much blood,” Gary said, as he looked at the splotches of blood on the ground. “With this much blood, he must’ve been severely injured. That removes the strengthening trait. He must either have an insane healing attribute or—”

“That stuff he drank!” Wu Long’s eyes widened with greed. “You don’t think?”

“There’s only one thing I know that can heal that kind of injury in such a short time.” Gary looked at Wu Long. Both men instantly recognized the severity of their discovery. “It’s quite likely that the kid drank Eternal Spring Water.”

Gulp!

Wu Long swallowed hard. It was one thing to think about it, but hearing the word out loud was scary! It had to be known that several rivers of flood followed the discovery of any Eternal Spring Lake. However, in return, boundless riches followed their development. Swallowing his greed, Wu Long looked at Gary. “What do you think? Should we follow?”

However, Gary surprisingly shook his head. “They’re headed towards the Steelback Ape territory. Our stealth arts won’t protect us from those monsters. You know how protective those soul monsters are.” With a sigh, he looked at Wu Long and said, “It’s enough that we learned that the child has access to Eternal Spring Water. Young Master will choose how to proceed. There’s no reason for us to become martyrs.”

“Ah. You’re right.” Wu Long looked despondently at the depths of the forest. He wanted to track the child to his hideout and find out the Eternal Spring’s exact origins. Unfortunately, doing so would most likely put him within reach of those Rank 8 monster tribes. Ten of him could not survive such an encounter, so it was indeed best to back off now. “Let’s go tell Young Master.”

Gary smiled when he saw his friend’s sad expression. He slapped the plump man’s back and then said encouragingly, “We don’t have the resources to swallow the Eternal Spring anyway. Rather than ending up dead, it’s better to live large on the rewards Young Master throws our way. You know how generous he can be.”

“Generous?” Wu Long’s nose turned up in a sneer. “More like he throws money away ‘cause he doesn’t understand its value.” Wu Long chuckled and then turned around, “Well, not that I’m not complaining. All the more for us to earn.”

“Make sure no one else hears that.” Gary smiled and then ran in the opposite direction, returning to the city with Wu Long.

Fwooo~

Moments after Gary and Wu Long left the clearing, a shadow peeled off from one of the trees’ shadows. The shadow quickly morphed into the form of a Star Dusklight Wolf, revealing itself to be Midnight’s Shadow Clone.

The Shadow Clone watched Gary and Wu Long disappear into the forest. If it wanted, it could quickly pursue and eliminate both men. However, it had been giving clear instructions to only interfere and save Rao Wu if his life was in imminent danger. As a result of its limited intelligence, it did not understand the long-term threat of letting these two men free.

As a result, Midnight’s Shadow Clone, after ensuring the men were no longer a threat, slunk back into the shadows, and then chased after Ju Tu and Rao Wu.

*cough* *cough*

Roughly thirty minutes later, Rao Wu woke up on Ju Tu’s back. After a brief moment of grogginess, he regained his senses and then asked Ju Tu to let him down.

Ju Tu promptly did as asked, and then stared in shock as Rao Wu stretched his arms and patted his chest. “Guo, Guo?”

“Oh, yeah. You’re gonna find out eventually, anyway.” Rao Wu chuckled when he saw Ju Tu’s questioning appearance. Indeed, it didn’t make sense that he appeared totally fine after that massive injury. “We’ve got an Eternal Spring Lake that we use to cure our more serious injuries. “Remember, you can’t leak this out, or we’ll probably end up dead.”

“Guo~” Ju Tu beat its chest, promising to never let out the secret.

Rao Wu relaxed after hearing Ju Tu’s promise and then patted the Steelback Ape’s large arm. “Alright. Thanks for carrying me. Let’s go.” With those words, the duo continued running through the jungle.

A few hours later, Rao Wu emerged in the familiar clearing and was greeted by the patrolling Dusklight Wolves. Usually, Ju Tu had to stop here, but Rao Wu recalled him into the soulspace, proving to the Dusklight Wolves that Ju Tu was now his soul pet.

“Rraff!” The Dusklight Wolves praised the bashful Rao Wu, who quickly ran into the caves to escape their teasing. Once in the cave, Rao Wu made his way to the Eternal Spring Lake, where as usual, he found Uncle Twilight sitting at its edge, watching the beautiful waters with a forlorn gaze.

Twilight’s ears flicked when Rao Wu entered the cave. It turned around, and its eyes lit up equal parts joy and relief. It let out a welcoming call and then approached Rao Wu, quickly sniffing around the young child to make sure he wasn’t injured. Only when it was certain that Rao Wu did not have any lasting injuries did it finally settle down and allow Rao Wu to recount his journey.

Rao Wu, for his part, clearly and accurately recounted every bit of his journey from forming a pact with Ju Tu to his little fight at the dinner party.

Twilight’s expressions flickered multiple times as it listened to the child. It held pride when he mentioned Ju Tu’s pact, ruthless mocking when Rao Wu spoke about the hunters he killed, and worry when the child talked about his fight in the city. Of all the troubles Rao Wu went through, only the final one really bothered him. In truth, there was nothing more terrifying than human society – especially offending one of the high ranking members.

Rao Taylor lost his life to those schemers. Twilight did not want to lose Rao Wu the same way. However, it knew that Rao Wu had to face those challenges eventually. It was better that he was exposed early, so the child knew how to handle such situations in the future.

As a result, Twilight’s harsh expression settled, and it began to softly lecture Rao Wu on its opinions on handling human society. Rao Wu had to be wary of these prominent political figures. He could not fight them head-on unless he either had sufficient power or a very powerful backer. Otherwise, it was not uncommon for a fight between children to be avenged by an older, more experienced party.

If Rao Wu did not want to lose his little life early, he had to learn the importance of discretion. Of course, this was only Uncle Twilight’s opinion. Rao Wu was ultimately the one with the choice.

Rao Wu obediently nodded, taking his Uncle’s words to heart. Uncle Twilight’s warnings and advice had rarely been proven wrong. They were the summed-up experience of a soul monster that had been to a great number of cities and adventured in the dangerous world for ten years. Its advice had to be heeded, even if not followed.

After the debriefing was over, Rao Wu chuckled and then pulled both the skewers he brought from the city and some plates of food he snagged from the banquet.

Twilight’s eyes grew wide, and it quickly snatched a piece for itself. Shortly after, the old Dusklight Wolf let out happy groans as it nibbled softly on the tender meat.

Rao Wu chuckled softly. Uncle Twilight was as shameless as ever when it came to good food. The old Dusklight Wolf often talked about the delicacies in human territories, and how those were what it missed the most from its adventures.

With a broad smile, Rao Wu summoned Xian Da and then walked around the lake to a cave. Inside the cave, he found Midnight watching over her cubs as they scratched the cave walls with their claws. Whenever one got seriously injured, they would drink from a broken skull filled with the Eternal Spring, and then get back to scratching.

“Oh? You guys have started training too?” Rao Wu loudly announced his return with a cheeky laugh. “You better work hard, or Xian Da will surpass you guys!”

“Rraff! Rraff!” The excited Dusklight Wolves barked with excitement upon seeing Rao Wu. Their half-brother Wu always returned with something good for them. They looked beseechingly at their strict mother, who, after a brief moment, nodded.

“Rraff!” The Dusklight Wolf cubs barked in delight and then charged at Rao Wu with greed and excitement.

Rao Wu, knowing that the little tykes would soon jump him in anticipation, quickly took out their share of the meat and delicacies, and then stepped back. Moments later, the four siblings were fighting each other as they battled over the choicest meats.

“Ruwu~” Xian Da sat on Rao Wu’s shoulders and let out a mocking howl at its siblings. It did not need to fight over this with them, as it could accompany Rao Wu to the city anytime to eat.

“Rraff!” The Dusklight Wolf cubs, rather than acting jealous, ordered Xian Da to return regularly with new delicacies, with Xian Da readily agreed to. It could be seen that despite being competitive, Midnight ensured that the siblings maintained a tight loving bond amongst themselves.

Having placated the noisy cubs, Rao Wu approached Midnight, who was looking at him with an unreadable gaze. The young man swallowed hard, and then, just like with Twilight, softly recounted his tale. Only, his tone was far less energetic and held indescribable awe.

“I got this for you too.” When he was finished, Rao Wu took out a plate upon which sat a magnificent piece of smoked meat.

Midnight looked at the offering. It was apparent from the plate and the size, that Rao Wu took special care when it came to her. Midnight looked from the plate to Rao Wu. Seeing the child’s nervous expression, a strange flicker appeared in her eyes. However, just a moment later it disappeared, and she wordlessly bent her head and then gently ate the meal offered.

Gulp. Rao Wu swallowed hard. Aunt Midnight’s presence was no joke. Technically as a rank 8, she should not have been as strong as Uncle Twilight, but Rao Wu recalled Uncle Twilight’s weird laughter when asked who was stronger between the two. Rao Wu swallowed once more, and then excused himself from the presence of this powerful Star Dusklight Wolf.

Once he exited the cave, Rao Wu released a sigh of relief and then went to find Uncle Twilight.

“Burp~” As expected, Uncle Twilight lazily lay on the ground, letting out satisfied burps as it licked its chops. Rao Wu never ceased to be amazed by his Uncle’s shamelessness once food was involved.

Rao Wu approached and then sat down beside his Uncle. His eyes clouded over as he gazed at the gray tufts of fur sprouting from his Uncle’s beautiful coat. “Uncle, I’ve meant to ask. Why are you aging so fast?”

A Rank 10 Dusklight Wolf could comfortably live as long as 40-50 years, yet his Uncle seemed to already be nearing its end. It didn’t make any sense.

“Ruwu~” Twilight explained that he had been struck by a soul poison many years ago. The Eternal Spring could not heal this debilitating poison, only slow down its effects. Only breaking through to the next level could save it now, but alas, the chances of that were minuscule to none in their Rank 8 Forest. So, it was content to live out the rest of its life, raising its cubs and training Rao Wu to take on the cub in its place.

Rao Wu’s eyes watered as he listened to his Uncle’s story. As always, Twilight wore a nonchalant grin like it was talking about someone else. It seemed Twilight had already made peace with its fate. It was just happy that it got to finally raise a family and watch the son of its closest friend rise to become a child worthy of not just following, but surpassing his father.

“I promise I will find a way to help you breakthrough!” Rao Wu promised. Before Twilight could speak, the child continued, “You always said I should never make promises I can’t keep and that a promise is like an arrow – once released, it can never return. I’ve already made this promise, so I can’t return it. Don’t bother making me give up now.”

Twilight looked into Rao Wu’s angry, challenging gray eyes. Even though he was still a child, Rao Wu’s gaze held a rare conviction usually only found in the most stalwart of men. The Star Dusklight Wolf thus chose not to dampen the child’s spirits. Hell, it might as well strengthen the youth’s resolve. “Rraff!” It, therefore, made a solemn vow to do its best to hold out until Rao Wu was ready.

“Alright!”

Twilight chuckled when he saw the fire in Rao Wu’s eyes and then drew the boy’s attention to the lake. “Ruwu~,” It told Rao Wu to fill up all the flasks and jugs he bought with the Eternal Spring Water. The last time Twilight, Midnight, and Rao Taylor attempted the test, they were forced to quit midway due to injuries.

A few years later, Rao Taylor tried to attempt the test again but found that they were not allowed to attempt it due to being over the level limit. As a result, Rao Taylor had a theory that the Eternal Spring Lake was put here to give the test goers a chance to reach the end.

Twilight did not understand precisely how the test worked. It was too young back then and was only focused on survival. All it knew was that Rao Wu would fight multiple soul monsters on his way to the end. Also, every contestant received a reward determined by how far they went.

Twilight and Midnight were forcibly evolved to Star Dusklight Wolves, while Rao Taylor received something no one knew. Twilight estimated that the reward for reaching the end would be something mind-blowing. Of course, because it had no real idea how long the test actually was, it chose to have Rao Wu go in over-prepared with several jugs of Eternal Spring wine for both him and his soul monsters’ use.

Rao Wu, listening to his Uncle’s warnings, rapidly began filling each jug. Elsewhere, a shadow clone returned to the cave and then reconnected to Midnight’s shadow. A few moments later, after its memories synced with Midnight’s, the Star Dusklight Wolf’s eyes snapped open with a grave, furious rage.