Legendary Beast Cultivator

The shiny rays of morning sun lingered gracefully through the vast azure canopy overhead. The mist drifted lazily between the tall trees as tiny, shimmering droplets of dew slithered softly from leaf to leaf, dripping onto the mossy ground below.

Group One slowly woke from their pleasant sleep under the shelter they prepared yesterday.

Chen Ming sat up on his sleeping mat, stretching his arms so hard that a few joints cracked with a loud pop.

"Ah..." Chen Ming let out a lazy, pathetic groan, clutching his lower back. "I’ve become one with the ground tonight. My spine was feeling like a wooden board now."

"You are a man of complaints, Chen Ming," Lian Nichang chuckled softly while meticulously rolling and packing away their cloth beds. "You complained yesterday during the walk. You complained before going to sleep. And now you’re complaining immediately after waking up."

Chen Ming massaged his neck slowly while a frantic pout appeared on his face. "Because sleeping on the ground is terrible! We’re future sect disciples, Nichang, not beggars!"

Lin Yuan sat nearby, crossing his legs. He calmly threw another piece of dry firewood into the flickering embers of the campfire, blowing gently to increase the flame.

"You slept with the loudest, disturbing snore among us," Lin Yuan sneered, a slight glint of humor in his dark eyes.

"It’s a natural thing, Lin Yuan!" Chen Ming muttered childishly, puffing out his chest.

Lian Nichang couldn’t hold back a laugh. "That’s certainly one heroic way to describe snoring like a wild boar."

Chen Ming bellowed, pointing toward Lian Nichang. "I do not snore!"

"You do," Lian Nichang countered immediately, nodding his head. "You breathe like a boar!"

Even assistant master Qin Yuze, standing quietly against a nearby oak tree trunk with his arms crossed in front of his chest, looked away for a brief moment, hiding the faint smile crawling on his lips.

Soon Lian Nichang took out a bag. It consisted of several edible mountain mushrooms gathered the previous evening, a handful of wild blue berries Qin Yuze had confirmed were safe to eat, and fresh, cold spring water from the nearby pond. Lian Nichang took out the bowls and placed the mushrooms and blue berries in it, and distributed them to Lin Yuan and Chen Ming.

Chen Ming stared at the small wooden bowl in his hands with utter disbelief.

"This doesn’t look like breakfast," Chen Ming snorted, his face filled with disdain.

Lian Nichang raised an eyebrow, taking a bite of a sweet blue berry. "What does a proper breakfast look like to you?"

"A feast which has roasted pork, grilled meat, steaming buns!" Chen Ming boasted, a grin appearing on his face.

Lin Yuan calmly picked up a single berry and placed it in his mouth. "Then perhaps you should focus on becoming a sect elder directly."

"Tsk," Chen Ming sighed dramatically, clicking his tongue and staring at the canopy above. "I miss meat... Tasty, juicy meat."

"You’ve mentioned about the food every hour since we entered this mountain," Lian Nichang snickered, shaking his head.

"Because food is important! It helps to increase our strength!" Chen Ming sneered, nodding his head slightly.

"It is," Lin Yuan nodded in approval. "But constantly talking about it won’t make a roasted feast magically appear in front of you."

Chen Ming crossed his arms, smirking confidently. "That’s where you’re wrong, Lin Yuan. If I talk about it long enough and with enough passion, destiny might just hear my plea and drop a pig from the sky."

As the three disciples finished their light morning meal, Lian Nichang stood up and wandered a few paces toward a thick brush near the edge of their campsite, searching for sturdy branches that could later be used to build their shelter if needed.

Chen Ming threw another thin stick into the small fire pit, watching the embers crackle with a loud sound.

"You know..." Chen Ming muttered, darting his head toward Lin Yuan, "I still think we should’ve followed that stream valley yesterday."

"No!" Lin Yuan shook his head gently. "The higher ground path was far safer, and it was also three miles farther!"

"It reduced the chance of us falling into any of the hidden, dangerous beast territories," Lin Yuan continued, his voice calm and steady.

"Pchhtt.." Chen Ming scoffed, waving his hand slightly. "You always think too much."

"And you don’t think enough," Lin Yuan replied without waiting for a moment.

"Oh?" Chen Ming picked up another small, dry wooden stick from the grass. "So you’re saying I’m reckless?"

"I’m saying..." Lin Yuan looked back at him, his expression serene, "...you act far before observing."

"Hmph! I always observe before acting!" Chen Ming argued, waving his hand.

"You slammed your head into a low tree branch yesterday," Lin Yuan reminded him smoothly.

"That was just an accident," Chen Ming pouted, clicking his tongue.

Lian Nichang couldn’t help laughing out loud from a few paces away near the bushes. "Chen Ming, just admit you—"

"Oh, be quiet, Nichang!" Chen Ming interrupted, yelling at him.

Grinning cunningly, Chen Ming casually flicked the thin wooden stick toward Lian Nichang with a flick of his wrist. "I’ll knock some sense into you!"

Whoosh!

The stick flew harmlessly through the morning air. Lian Nichang instinctively leaned his head aside with an easy smile.

The thin stick passed without hitting Lian Nichang and disappeared into the thick, dark bushes behind him.

"You missed this too!" Lian Nichang teased, grinning.

Chen Ming smirked triumphantly, folding his arms. "I wasn’t aiming at you anyway, it was just a warning shot."

For one quiet heartbeat... nothing happened. The breeze rustled the azure leaves above.

Then, suddenly the crisp sound of wood breaking under something solid echoed sharply from inside the brush.

An immediate, eerie silence fell over the campsite immediately.

"What is that sound?" Lian Nichang’s smile froze, his brows frowning slightly as he stared back at the bush. "...Did that hit a tree trunk?"

"Humph!" Lin Yuan’s calm expression changed instantly, his sharp eyes locking onto the dark bushes. "No!"

The bushes trembled violently multiple times.

Grrrrrrrrrr...

A low, rumbling growl came out through the dense bushes, reverberating through the cold morning air around the area.

Lian Nichang slowly darted his head toward the rustling leaves, and then the dense foliage parted apart.

A pair of shimmering, terrifying green eyes stared straight back at him from the shadows. A massive, silver-furred wolf beast slowly stepped out from the bushes. It stood nearly three feet tall at the shoulders, its shiny fur rippling with dense, green beast aura. The fresh forest leaves stuck to its body, and the small wooden stick Chen Ming had thrown rested frantically on the moss beside its left foreleg.

Its terrifying gaze, however, wasn’t on the stick or Lian Nichang. It was locked on to Chen Ming.

Chen Ming’s triumphant smile shattered into a petrified mask of horror. "Holy fuck!"

"I may have made a small, highly unfortunate mistake," Chen Ming whispered, his voice cracking in fear.

Before anyone could offer a response, another loud, menacing growl echoed from slightly deeper within the bushes.

A second wolf beast stepped out into the light beside the first wolf. It was slightly larger and muscular than the first wolf. Its fur was a darker shade of gray, and it instinctively took a protective stance right beside the female wolf.

The two wild beasts briefly brushed against one another before lifting their frantic heads toward the four humans in the surrounding area, their fangs dripping with thick saliva.

Qin Yuze’s eyes widened slightly, seeing the two wolf beasts.

"Two Rank 3 wild rare type beasts," Qin Yuze elucidated, his voice as unbothered as ever. "A mated pair..."

Neither beast lunged forward immediately or retreated back.

The entire area fell into a terrifying silence. Even the lingering morning wind seemed to hold its air.

Chen Ming swallowed hard, his voice cracking slightly. "C-Can I go over there and take back the stick?"

The female wolf beast lowered her head, her ears flattening against her head as her green essence flared up dangerously.

The larger male wolf took one deliberate step forward, crushing a thick fallen branch under its paw.

Lin Yuan quietly pivoted his weight, dropping into a low stance, his breath becoming slow and rhythmic.

Lian Nichang concentrated his mind into his aperture, summoning his own Wolf Beast’s presence, ready to manifest it at any moment right now.

Qin Yuze remained motionless high above. He had no intention of intervening... unless one of these young brats’ lives truly fell into danger.

ROAAAAAR!

The male wolf let out a thunderous roar that echoed violently across the surrounding forests and streams, sending a shockwave of wind through the area!

Far away in the distance, flocks of frightened birds burst out into the sky.

"Be ready to kill those beasts, Lian Nichang and Chen Ming," Lin Yuan commanded, tapping once on his turtle ring.

"But the mistake is ours—"

"There is no time for kindness, Chen Ming," Lin Yuan yelled, his voice filled with contempt. "The beasts don’t retreat unless they kill us, so for the sake of our lives we need to kill those wolves soon! Get ready!"