Ten Months Later

Test Chamber.

33rd Redrise, 2463.

“Whooa!” Rao Wu’s scream pierced the darkness as he fell out of the familiar transportation pillar. “Oof!” Rao Wu grunted as his butt struck the ground hard. Damn it! Why was the transportation always so rough!?

The spritely youth got up and dusted his pants, a bright grin on his face as he looked at the golem. “Hehe! Told you I’d make it. Test Ten, here I come!”

Rao Wu had grown a lot in the past ten months as he toiled and battled his way from the fourth test all the way through the ninth. Each test proved more difficult than the last, with increasingly unreasonable demands.

The last test in particular was insane. It demanded he win a monthly regional soul pet tournament in a hidden realm. On the surface, it didn’t seem unreasonable; however, the tournament’s sole restriction was that the candidates must be Soul Students under the age of 20. This meant that teenagers with noble, and sometimes monarch-ranked monsters kept showing up.

Rao Wu got stuck in that test for four whole months because he kept losing. He didn’t even make it to the finals until the last month, only to be faced with two monarch-ranked soul monsters. Everyone wrote Rao Wu off, but the youth finally eked out a win before the opponent could even start with a sneak attack combo he’d reserved for that moment.

“Hehe, can’t wait to show Uncle how strong I’ve become.” The nine-years-old Rao Wu rubbed his nose and then summoned Ju Tu and Xian Da. “Ju Tu, Xian Da, come out!”

Ju Tu and Xian Da emerged from their summoning circles with imposing glares. Time had transformed both soul monsters into full adults. Ju Tu was just under eight-foot tall when it stood upright, and Xian Da was big enough for Rao Wu to ride on its back.

It wasn’t just their size that increased. Ju Tu and Xian Da broke through to third phase in this time. Ju Tu was 3rd Phase Stage Four, while Xian Da was 3rd Phase Stage Two.

Their breakthroughs also catapulted Rao Wu a couple of stages. Soul-wise, he reached Seventh Stage Soul Student which meant that he could theoretically contract a new soul monster. However, he hadn’t found one that he liked.

“Hey! Let me out!” Raven complained from its soul space. At 2nd Phase 5th Stage, it had enjoyed the fastest growth amongst Rao Wu’s soul pets, but unfortunately, its relatively weak strength often relegated its participation to sneak attacks.

“Wait your turn, Raven. We’ll play later.” Rao Wu soothed the impatient Thunderfiend Chaosbird as he then turned a concerned look at Lu Lin. The Dryad was still enclosed in a flowery cocoon, her hibernation long surpassing the estimated time. Fortunately, Rao Wu could feel her steady heartbeat, which helped alleviate some of his fears. According to the golem, Lu Lin’s hibernation took so long because she insisted on absorbing every bit of the seed’s efficacy. If she was more wasteful, Lu Lin would have emerged sooner.

Although having only three soul pets made certain tests much more difficult than they should have been, Rao Wu chose not to pressure Lu Lin into waking early. He chose to respect her resolve, and couldn’t wait to see how she emerged.

“Congratulations on completing the Ninth Test, Rao Wu. In thirty-five hundred years, you are the 23rd Candidate to make it this far on Infernal Difficulty.” The golem’s voice cut through Rao Wu’s introspection, forcing him back to reality.

“Really, Becky?” Rao Wu’s eyes grew wide with pride, but then he frowned as he recalled one vital information. “Wait. Doesn’t that mean the previous 22 died at the tenth test?”

Becky paused as if hesitant, and then said, “If it helps you feel better, over ten thousand candidates perished before the Infernal Difficulty’s ninth test, while three thousand got trapped in test worlds as they were unable to complete the objective. Candidate Rao Wu, you have done well to come this far. Do not doubt yourself.”

“Oh yeah. I could have gotten trapped too.” Rao Wu shivered as he recalled the ninth test. He was sure soul trainers with stronger monsters got trapped in that world. He too would have been trapped if he did not save his sure, one-hit-kill strike for the finals. After all, there was no way his soul monsters could face monarch-ranked soul monsters head-on right now.

Rao Wu even ahd to utilize all sorts of dirty tricks, lies and deceitful tactics to reach the final. He would still be trapped in that world if he relied on pure, honest, direct battles.

After so many tests, Rao Wu began to get an idea of the creator’s intentions. Whoever made this test was trying to mold a powerful, but flexible candidate. They wanted someone who could tackle problems with raw strength, but also had the cunning necessary to navigate trickier situations.

Rao Wu did not know ‘why’ the test existed, but he intended to seize the full benefits, especially now that the end was in sight. “How many points do I have, Becky?” Rao Wu got tired of seeing the breakdown after the seventh test, so the golem agreed to only reveal how many points he earned.

“Rao Wu, you earned 21,720,000 CP during the ninth test. That brings your total to 33,120,000CP. This will be your last chance to spend Chaos Points. Choose Wisely.”

Rao Wu grinned as he listened to the report. He saved ninety-percent of his chaos points from the 5th test for this exact moment. “Becky. Give me information on Sun Wukong’s inheritance.”

“7,000,000 CP deducted.” The golem continued after confirming Rao Wu’s order. “Sun Wukong’s Inheritance contains the soul core of Sun Wukong, a great soul beast that reigned supreme several millennia ago. Discontent with ruling over the world, Sun Wukong attempted to break into [Information Redacted] but was destroyed by [Information Redacted]. However, before it died, Sun Wukong swore vengeance and consolidated its experiences and strength into its core. It then tore its core out of its chest and cast it to the earth in hopes that some child would inherit its legacy and surpass its achievements.

“Sun Wukong’s core is compatible with all soul monsters, but is especially compatible with Primates. It is highly advised you use the core on a Primate soul pet to maximize the benefits. Please note that while there is a strong chance of mutation, the full effects will be staggered as Sun Wukong’s remnant will judges the monster’s conviction. Only a truly courageous soul pet will one day fully unleash the core’s full potential.”

Rao Wu’s eyes lit up. This core was practically made for Ju Tu! Rao Wu grinned as he looked at the Steelback Ape. “What do you think? Want it?”

Ju Tu scratched its cheek as it nodded its head. “Y-Yes. I would like it.”

“Like it? You just hit the jackpot!” Xian Da snorted from the side as it smirked at the bashful Ju Tu. “How are you still so wishy-washy. I keep telling you. If you want something, just ask for it! Rao Wu isn’t that much of a cheapskate.”

“Hey!” Rao Wu shouted in protest. “I’m not a cheapskate! I saved those points so I can spend them now.”

“Listen to the cheapskate defend himself.”

Rao Wu almost punched Xian Da. That cute wolf cub had grown into a rebellious adult. Grr! It was all because humans grew up so slowly. Rao Wu inwardly swore to fix the Dusklight Wolf’s attitude once he hit his growth spurt. “Anyway, I’ll take Sun Wukong’s Inheritance.”

“5,000,000 CP deducted. You have 11,120,000 CP left. Anything else, Rao Wu?”

Rao Wu looked at the Special Items. He could either buy the Heart of the Immortal Phoenix and the Broken Emperor’s Armor, or purchase Frozen Tears, Raijin’s Drum, Broken Armor and still have enough points left over for many soul techniques.

Common sense told Rao Wu to go with Frozen Tears and Raijin’s Drum, but he hesitated when he recalled a certain red-haired girl. Rao Wu recalled someone calling her ‘Phoenix Princess.’ He didn’t have enough points to figure out what the Supernova Phoenix heart did, but he could buy it and search for that information on his own.

Rao Wu felt indebted to Aeriole. Thanks to her, his first visit to the city was very fun. He got to see powerful soul monsters in Soul Society’s museum, and also got all that free food.

Despite his experiences, Rao Wu was still a child at heart. He hadn’t yet learned to calculate weight of gratitude and payback. To Rao Wu, buying the ten-million-chaos-point Phoenix Heart was equal to the food Aeriole gave him.

After making up his mind, Rao Wu said, “Give me Heart of the Immortal Supernova Phoenix, and Broken Emperor’s Armor, then tell me how much I have left.”

“10,050,000 CP deducted. You currently have 1,070,000 CP left. What would you like to purchase?”

Rao Wu spent 20,000 CP on cores for himself and his pets, and then looked at the remaining 1,050,000 CP. Rao Wu could purchase many soul techniques with those Chaos Points, but he ignored most of the explosive sounding skills for five techniques.

The first was a soul technique called [Synergic Burst]. It allowed the soul trainer to use a weaker version of their soul pets’ technique (roughly 40% efficacy). While powerful, the skill drained a lot of soul energy. At Rao Wu’s currently level, it used up 50% of his soul energy. The technique cost 700,000 CP.

The second, third, fourth and fifth were Bronze-Ranked battle arts for his spear, dagger, claw and pole. He doubled on the claw and pole techniques so he could share them with Xian Da and Ju Tu. In total, those set him back 240,000 CP.

In the end, Rao Wu only had 110,000 CP left. However, since he couldn’t think of anything to spend it on, he and bought himself a 3rd-Rank spear and dagger from ‘Items’ for 100,000 CP.

After completing the purchase, the golem finally brought everything Rao Wu ordered on the familiar raised platform. It then narrated as Rao Wu picked up each item.

The closest item was a strange circular object. It was dark-gold and had strange markings around it. When Rao Wu picked it up, the golem explained, “That is the Broken Emperor’s Armor. Place it on your chest, and then press the indentation at the center.”

Rao Wu did as instructed. “Ow!” He nearly dropped the device when a needle suddenly extended from the indentation and pricked his finger. The needle—and his blood—slid into the device, and then it came to life with a bright light.

To Rao Wu’s shock, the device then ‘melted’ into his chest, leaving a tattoo of its image behind. Moments later, instructions on how to operate the device entered Rao Wu’s brain. He tapped his chest twice and strange, transluscent film flowed out from the tattoo and covered the youth’s body.

The film hovered a few millimeters off Rao Wu’s skin, preventing his skin from harsh elements and objects.

“Hey, Xian Da. Scratch me.” Rao Wu held out his hand, wondering how much damage the film could block.

Xian Da happily obeyed the request and raked its nails over Rao Wu’s skin. Rather, Xian Da tried.

In its first casual attempts, Xian Da’s nail didn’t even make a dent. It was only after it got serious that Xian Da finally tore a hole in the armor. However, the nail still couldn’t travel down his arm due to the friction.

Rao Wu surmised that at his current strength, the Broken Emperor’s Armor was a 2nd Rank defensive item. It should protect him from most 2nd Phase monsters, and reduce the damage from some 3rd Phase monsters.

The armor drained Rao Wu’s soul energy so he turned it off by tapping his chest, and then picked up the next item of interest: a black hairy, coconut-like ball.

“That is Sun Wukong’s core. Swallow it.”

Rao Wu tossed the core to Ju Tu and then picked up the bronze spear and dagger on the table. He placed the spear and dagger in his spatial ring which he also picked up from the platform, and then turned to look at Ju Tu.

“Be careful.” Xian Da watched Ju Tu with concern.

Ju Tu nodded, said, “Thank you,” and then threw the coconut into its mouth. Initially Ju Tu was worried he wouldn’t be able to chew the core, but it surprisingly melted immediately it touched his tongue. A terrifyingly hot liquid poured down Ju Tu’s throat and then burned its way to its core.

“GUO!” Ju Tu bellowed flames from its mouth as it writhed in agony. Red, bulging veins revealed themselves as the Steelback Ape’s fur shed in droves. Ju Tu buried its fingers in the ground as screamed as new, snow-white fur broke out, ripping off its scales in the process.

Sun Wukong’s core was not finished reforging the Steelback Ape. After finishing the fur, Ju Tu’s bones and muscles were next. The hot liquid shattered and rebuilt bones and muscles, causing pools of blood to splash all over the room.

“Hang in there!” Rao Wu watched the transformation with bloodshot eyes. He knew Ju Tu needed this so he could not interfere. However, his trembling fingers latched tightly onto Xian Da’s fur to prevent himself from charging in.

Xian Da, meanwhile, gritted its teeth as it watched its closest friend suffer immense torture. It knew that the price of progress was pain. However, it couldn’t bear seeing the usually bashful Ju Tu in so much pain.

Fortunately, the transformation process did not last too long. Roughly twenty minutes later, Ju Tu’s twitching stopped.

Xian Da and Rao Wu rushed over to Ju Tu’s side. Once there, Xian Da quickly flipped Ju Tu over, while Rao Wu took out his last cup of Eternal Spring Water and helped Ju Tu drink it.

Ironically, the test’s habit of restricting the Eternal Spring Water’s use helped ration the amount he brought in. It would never have made it to the current level if Rao Wu could take the Eternal Spring Water to every test.

Kah! Kah!

Ju Tu coughed moments after swallowing the Spring Water as the liquid quickly fixed up any remaining damage from the transformation. “Rao-Rao Wu?” Ju Tu weakly called as it opened its eyes.

“Yeah, I’m here.” Rao Wu beamed with pride as he looked at his soul pet. “You did it Ju Tu. You were brave.”

Ju Tu smiled in spite of itself, and then said, “Rao Wu, I—”

“Hey. You can tell me later. You need to rest.”

“No, you don’t understand.” Ju Tu slowly sat up, and its eyes grew incredibly more powerful with each passing moment. It looked at Rao Wu and then said with excited eyes, “Rao Wu. I feel strong. Very strong!”

Just at that moment, a deluge of information flowed from Ju Tu’s soul space.

Rao Wu’s eyes widened as he looked at Ju Tu. “You’re no longer a Steelback Ape. Quick, get up! Let me see!”

“What? What happened!?” Xian Da, feeding off the excitement, quickly got behind Ju Tu and helped push the Ape to its feet.

“Woah.” Rao Wu stared at Ju Tu in shock.

Despite its snow-white fur and lack of plates, Ju Tu initially resembled a Steelback Ape. However, Ju Tu’s atmosphere completely changed when it rose to its feet. It was like its spine transformed to adopt a new position so it resembled a hairy man on two feet. Normally, apes had awkward postures when standing on two feet, which made them revert to bending over eventually.

Ju Tu, however, looked like it could walk on two legs for as long as it wanted. Furthermore, its muscles had almost doubled in mass, giving the Ape a terrifying presence. While he was nowhere near as strong as his father, Ju Tu could certainly give the old Diamondback Ape a run for its money when it came to scary appearances.

Ju Tu was still general-rank, but its specie and abilities had completely changed after its mutation. Both Ju Tu and Rao Wu could not wait to test out its new skills in battle!

Grinning from ear-to-ear, Rao Wu held out his fist. “Welcome to the team, Silver Primate.”

Ju Tu, the new Silver Primate, scratched its cheek and then bumped Rao Wu’s fist with its own. “Thanks, Rao Wu.”

“Alright!” Rao Wu cheered and then looked at the golem. “Everyone’s ready and fired up. Let’s get the last test over with. What is it? Exterminating a colony again? Or protecting a princess? Or is it another obstacle course?”

“Not quite, Rao Wu.” A terrifyingly familiar voice appeared behind Rao Wu and his soul pets. Fen, the administrator slowly stepped out of a black portal wielding a broken fang in his right hand. Fens lips parted in a terrifying grin as he raised the fang. “The final test is very simple.”

Vwoosh!

Within the blink of an eye, Fen appeared behind Rao Wu and casually swung the bone fang.

“Watch out!” Xian Da turned on the spot and swiped its claws. Shockingly, soul energy broke out in the form of a charging wolf and crashed into Fen’s fang.

BANG!

Unfortunately, Fen casually destroyed the energy. Xian Da’s defense only managed to slow him down by half a beat. Fortunately, that half a beat was enough for Ju Tu to grab and then quickly switch places with Rao Wu. Its fur then stood on ends as if electrified.

If someone touched Ju Tu’s fur, they would have been shocked to see it was tougher than metal.

Fen’s eyes gleamed as the fang struck Ju Tu’s back.

BOOM!

The impact sent Ju Tu flying with Rao Wu. The Silver Primate curled into a ball as it crashed to the ground, protecting Rao Wu in its embrace.

Moments later, Ju Tu released Rao Wu and then looked at the distant Fen with fear as it felt the blood trickling down its back. It knew that it would have been dead right now were it not for its newfound defense.

Rao Wu, meanwhile stared at Fen with trembling eyes as Xian Da retreated to his side. “What was that!?”

“The final test is simple. Either survive for ten minutes or knock me out.” Fen smirked as he gently raised the fang. “Even if you can’t knock me out, there’s a bonus if you can land a hit. Do not fret. I am not without reason. I have restricted my strength and skills to those of a 3rd Phase 9th Stage Emperor-rank monster.”

Fen’s eyes narrowed as he added with a sinister smile, “Do your best not to die too quickly, alright?”