Translator: Lordbluefire

  The people from the Nine Provinces only knew that spiritual beasts were usually differentiated by their physical sizes and species.

  A massive body, as well as a rare high-quality bloodline, would determine a ferocious beast’s battle prowess. A commonly seen monkey like Lu Zhiruo’s would have limited power even if they could use simple weapons.

  Therefore, Liu Mingdeng didn’t take the monkey that had been squatting on Lu Zhiruo’s shoulder seriously. However, the moment the battle started, he realized that his judgment was a little wrong.

  This thing was very fast!

  Swoosh!

  Liu Mingdeng moved his head and dodged the attack. At the same time, he slashed out with his longsword, wanting to chop off this monkey’s head. However, it did an agile somersault, avoiding the slash. Moreover, the stone spear pierced toward Liu Mingdeng’s eyes once again.

  Steady, accurate, vicious, not holding back at all.

  Liu Mingdeng was held back by this monkey. There was no helping it. It was like a large-sized flea that kept on jumping around him and thrusting out its longspear crazily.

  (Damn it!)

  Liu Mingdeng was very anxious. He was neither able to catch nor slash the monkey. It was infuriating.

  “You fool! Release your spirit pressure!”

  Nangong Xun was speechless.

  “Oh, right!”

  Liu Mingdeng was struck by the realization and immediately activated all the spirit qi in his body, releasing spirit pressure.

  To wild beasts, spirit pressure was like the pressure from a tiger roaring in the mountains. It was an aura that would make them shudder from their hearts. As expected, the monkey froze on the spot.

  Liu Mingdeng could have sent the monkey flying with a kick, but he had accumulated a lot of fury from the exchanges earlier. Therefore, he swung his sword, wanting to kill the monkey to vent his anger.

  However, at the instant Liu Mingdeng’s longsword was about to slash onto its neck, it moved and darted out, biting Liu Mingdeng’s wrist.

  “Ah!!!”

  Liu Mingdeng yelled out in pain, swinging his hand vigorously. However, he was unable to break free from the monkey, so he sent it smashing toward the ground. But before the Greenhaze Macaque got close to the ground, it reached out its legs, kicked against Liu Mingdeng’s arm, and bounced away easily.

  Pffft!

  The monkey spat out the bloody flesh and bones in his mouth.

  “I’m going to kill you!”

  Liu Mingdeng lost a large part of his right wrist. Without the connection from his bones and muscles, his right hand drooped down and he was unable to hold onto his longsword.

  “Sss, what monkey is this? Why is it so brutal?”

  The audience was given a fright.

  “This Liu Mingdeng was too careless.”

  “Don’t be deceived by its appearance. This monkey is definitely not an ordinary one.”

  “That’s right. It knows how to use battle tactics.”

  The great teachers started to analyze the situation.

  This Liu Mingdeng had taken his opponent lightly when he saw Lu Zhiruo. He deserved this.

  “Are you going to admit your loss?”

  Right now, Lu Zhiruo had completed the summoning, and a big coiled-up snake blocked in front of her.

  “Even if I only had one arm and one leg, I could still win against you!”

  Liu Mingdeng pounced for the kill, sending out a lump of sword qi from his longsword.

  Ding! Ding! Ding!

  The big snake had tough skin and bones, blocking all the sword qis. The Greenhaze Macaque also darted out once again, looking for an opportunity to attack.

  Lu Zhiruo ran while making sure that the big snake was constantly between her and Liu Mingdeng. At the same time, her hands rapidly twisted the Myriad Beasts Cube.

  Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

  Many light balls shot out, integrating in the air. Amidst the beaming light, they became a huge ancient elephant that landed on the arena with a great bang.

  Mou!

  The huge elephant let out a loud bellow, and many thick elephant tusks grew out from the ground. They were like a cage, wanting to trap Liu Mingdeng.

  “What the hell?”

  Liu Mingdeng dodged. He had just jumped into the air when that monkey came attacking again, piercing out with the stone spear.

  Lu Zhiruo’s head was aching tremendously. Using the Myriad Beasts Cube not only depleted spirit qi but also mental energy. This feeling was as if one’s brain was placed into a juicer, having all the moisture extracted out.

  “I’ll go all out for Teacher! For the first place!”

  Lu Zhiruo’s consciousness sank into the cube once again. It was a spacious cubic room, and the walls were filled with mosaic-like fragments.

  Each piece of fragment had a portion of a ferocious beast’s body.

  As Lu Zhiruo twisted the cube, these fragments would start moving. When they pieced together to form a complete ancient beast, it could be summoned out.

  In six seconds, a ferocious beast took form!

  Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

  Many light balls shot out and merged together to form a bald eagle. It came shooting down like a sharp arrow.

  Liu Mingdeng dodged.

  The eagle screeched and flapped its wings, brushing past Liu Mingdeng.

  “That was so close!”

  Liu Mingdeng looked at the eagle that was one head taller than he was, his face turning pale. He had narrowly escaped that attack, but he suddenly felt a series of intense pain in his body.

  “What?”

  Liu Mingdeng lowered his head and saw that his body was covered in wounds, with countless slash marks.

  “It’s wind blades!”

  Someone cried out.

  When the bald eagle flew past, the movements from it flapping its wings formed several tens of sharp wind blades around it. Even if it failed to catch its prey, the wind blades would be a second attack.

  Liu Mingdeng had no chance to take a breather. The big snake swung its head and spurted out a tremendous amount of purple poisonous fog at him.

  Swoosh!

  The countenances of the audience changed and they backed off quickly.

  Squeak squeak!

  The monkey cried out in dissatisfaction. It had the chance to launch a sneak attack at Liu Mingdeng, but it was now unable to get close to him because of the big snake’s poisonous fog.

  The big snake paid the monkey no heed. Instead, it swung its tail and lashed out fiercely onto the ancient elephant’s body because this guy’s Ivory Entrapment had poked it.

  “Stop fighting amongst yourselves!”

  Lu Zhiruo panicked.

  She had too little battle experience, so her spiritual beasts didn’t know how to work together. They were unable to form a joint attack but would obstruct each other’s movements instead.

  The audience didn’t know anything about battle tactics nor did they care about wins or losses. They were only here to have fun.

  Therefore, they naturally cheered loudly when they saw so many huge beasts. In addition to Lu Zhiruo’s sweet looks, they immediately became her fan and started to cheer for her.

  The great teachers, especially spirit controllers and beast tamers, were all stunned.

  “Scales on all four feet…… Isn’t this the Ivory Gigantic Elephant? But it’s supposed to have become extinct!”

  An ancestor-level expert by the surname of Bei, who was on the judges’ seat, sat straight up, his eyes almost popping out.

  “Is this huge elephant very famous?”

  Someone next to him asked out of curiosity.

  “After its husks are burned, it’ll give off a strange smell that can bring a person into a mysterious domain. It’s said that when one is in this domain, they can see things that will happen in the future. Don’t you think that’s mysterious?”

  Ancestor Bei was very agitated.

  He had only seen the Ivory Gigantic Elephants in ancient books because they had all gone extinct over one million years ago.

  “It’s really that amazing?”

  The people near him gasped.

  “I have no idea. That’s what was written in ancient books.”

  Ancestor Bei took a few glances and then let out a sigh, returning to his seat. This Ivory Gigantic Elephant wasn’t real. He had become agitated for nothing.

  When a three-legged golden wolf was summoned, it bit off one of Liu Mingdeng’s legs and the battle ended.

  “This isn’t fair!”

  Nangong Xun bellowed. “What capability does she have to rely on secret treasures to win?”

  Lu Zhiruo had wanted to cheer, but then she heard this questioning claim. She instantly became nervous.

  “This great teacher, please conduct yourself with dignity!”

  Tong Yiming warned. (Even if you aren’t convinced, you can appeal. The judges will uphold justice for you. Can you not go shouting like this?)

  “My disciple is almost beaten to death, and you’re asking me to conduct myself with dignity?”

  Nangong Xun’s heart ached for Liu Mingdeng, but it ached even more for the great teacher title he had lost. He had only been one victorious battle away.

  (It is one thing to have lost to a strong opponent. But to lose to a 15-year-old girl? I can’t accept this!)

  “Even though these ancient beasts are lifelike, they should have been extinct long ago. Now that they’ve been summoned, it must be due to that metal block.”

  Nangong Xun stared at the Myriad Beasts Cube in Lu Zhiruo’s hands.

  He didn’t know about these things and had only said this after hearing the discussions between the spirit controllers and beast tamers around him.

  “Lu Zhiruo, what’s your explanation?”

  Tong Yiming asked.

  “I…… I……”

  Lu Zhiruo started panicking after so many gazes stared at her.

  “Although it is a secret treasure, it doesn’t have any attacking abilities. It’s only a space that stores ancient beasts. It’d require an extremely strong talent in spirit control to be able to summon these huge beasts!”

  Li Ziqi took a step forward and explained things before Sun Mo did.

  (Teacher is now a 4-stars great teacher. It’d be beneath him to be arguing with these examinees.)

  Everyone whispered amongst themselves.

  Those spirit controllers revealed envious gazes. This object was the greatest secret treasure for them.

  “Don’t try to justify things. The reason she could win is because of these powerful spiritual beasts! Any other spirit controllers would be able to win with them as well!”

  Nangong Xun let out a cold snort.

  “If it was any other spirit controller, they’d die!”

  Li Ziqi rolled her eyes. “Shall we look for a spirit controller to test it out?”

  The little sunny egg was very confident because she had studied the Myriad Beasts Cube before and almost got stuck inside, unable to break free. It was Lu Zhiruo who had saved her.

  “Alright!”

  Nangong Xun looked around, cupping his fists together. “May I ask which great teacher can lend me a helping hand?”

  Everyone mumbled away, but no one stood forward.

  (What a joke. Your opponent is Sun Mo, an amazing talent who has risen by four stars within a year. He’s the most famous newbie in the great teacher world, someone with limitless prospects. How are we supposed to continue with our lives if we were to pit against him?)

  “Teacher Liu?”

  Nangong Xun looked toward a friend he was close with.

  That Teacher Liu immediately shrank his head and hid amongst the crowd.

  Nangong Xun felt depressed and frustrated, but could only ask another person for help. “Teacher Hu?”

  “Nangong, it isn’t that I don’t want to help, but spirit control-type secret treasures are very mysterious. If one were to touch it recklessly, they could get into trouble easily!”

  Old Hu felt troubled.

  They were friends for many years and he wanted to help. But Sun Mo was too strong of an enemy and they’d all get their heads crushed.

  Huang Peng took a step forward in curiosity and was about to speak up when he was held back by one hand. He turned and saw that it was his teacher.

  “Don’t be reckless!”

  Wan Xiulin reminded his student.

  “Brother Hu, I can’t accept losing like this!” Nangong Xun said strongly.

  “Alright then!”

  Great Teacher Hu had no choice but to step out, cupping his fists toward Sun Mo. “Teacher Sun, I’m doing this for your own good. After all, I’m sure that you don’t wish for your student’s victory to be questioned, right?”

  “Zhiruo, what do you think of this?”

  Sun Mo didn’t mind the result of this battle. After all, he had won the 4-stars title. Based on his usual style, he wouldn’t want to show others this secret treasure.

  This was a trump card. The fewer people knew about it, the better.

  “I want to let them approve of me!” Lu Zhiruo insisted.

  “Teacher!” Li Ziqi smiled evilly…… “Let him take a look then. People like him won’t learn if they don’t suffer!”


  Chapter 1085: Myriad Beasts Illusionary Realm, Young Spirit Controller Lady!

  Great Teacher Hu received the cube from Lu Zhiruo, flipped it to and fro to take a look, and then felt stumped.

  (What the hell is this?)

  He couldn’t understand at all.

  The cube was made from some kind of metal, and it felt a little cool to touch. He didn’t recognize the material, and there were some fragmented images on the cube.

  “Are these ancient beasts? Could the fragments need to be pieced together?”

  Great Teacher Hu guessed.

  “How is it?” Nangong Xun came over and asked in a soft voice, “Can you do it or not?”

  “Why are you so anxious? There’s no trifling matter in spirit control. If there’s any mistake, then it’ll be over for me.”

  Great Teacher Hu argued then started to twist the cube. However, after just one twist, he froze on the spot, as if he had lost his soul.

  “Huh?”

  Everyone was given a fright.

  “His soul has entered the Myriad Beasts Cube.”

  Lu Zhiruo explained.

  “Where is this place?”

  Great Teacher Hu looked up.

  The place he was at was spacious grassy plains. Birds were chirping, flower fragrance drifting, and there were white clouds in the sky. Suddenly, a huge ferocious beast barged into his vision.

  (F*ck, is it trying to eat me?)

  Great Teacher Hu started to run frantically.

  This was an endless attempt to flee. More and more huge beasts gathered behind and chased after him, leaving Great Teacher Hu in tenterhooks.

  This was the Myriad Beasts Illusionary Realm. If Great Teacher Hu couldn’t even clear this stage, then he wouldn’t have the right to enter Lu Zhiruo’s room and piece up the ancient beasts’ pictures.

  The people outside quickly noticed that things weren’t going well.

  Great Teacher Hu’s body had only frozen for a minute, but his entire body was becoming thinner at a rate that could be seen by the naked eye. His skin shriveled and he looked haggard.

  “F*ck your mom. What happened?”

  “To think that this secret treasure is so dangerous?”

  “What are you still standing there for? Hurry up and save him!”

  The great teachers actively discussed amongst themselves.

  “Zhiruo?”

  Sun Mo turned and looked toward the papaya girl.

  “I… I have no idea either!”

  Lu Zhiruo looked toward the little sunny egg.

  “The situation doesn’t look right. This didn’t happen to me when I touched it the other time.”

  Li Ziqi was perplexed.

  Sun Mo had planned on letting Lu Zhiruo save Great Teacher Hu, but when he heard this, he immediately suppressed this idea. What if he were to lose the lucky mascot too?

  Saving him himself?

  Don’t be kidding. Sun Mo wasn’t that selfless.

  Moreover, Nangong Xun hadn’t asked for help yet, so why would he need to feel anxious?

  “F*ck, is this guy going to die?”

  A person with sharp six senses noticed that Great Teacher Hu’s breathing was getting increasingly weaker.

  “What did you guys do?”

  Nangong Xun suddenly turned and stared at Lu Zhiruo.

  “Why are you being so fierce?”

  Li Ziqi stood out, blocking in front of the papaya girl. “I told you that this secret treasure is very dangerous. People without talent won’t be able to use it. However, you insisted on letting him appraise. Now that there’s trouble, of course you’re the one to blame!”

  “Rubbish!”

  Nangong Xun lashed out.

  “Cast your consciousness onto the cube and go save him then!” Li Ziqi said.

  Gulp!

  Nangong Xun gulped, looking at his stiffened good friend and not daring to move.

  “Why? Are you scared?”

  Li Ziqi sneered.

  “I’m not a spirit controller. Why do I have to withstand such pressure that I’m not supposed to?”

  Nangong Xun argued.

  “But he’s your friend. He was put in danger for your sake.”

  Li Ziqi reproached.

  “Wouldn’t it be fine if you guys do something about it?” Nangong Xun urged, “This secret treasure belongs to you guys.”

  “Is there something wrong with your ears? I said earlier that this secret treasure is very dangerous. Even if Zhiruo uses it, if any mishap happens, she’ll also die,” Li Ziqi repeated.

  “Let me do it!”

  Sun Mo let out a sigh. He couldn’t possibly let Great Teacher Hu die here.

  “No!”

  Li Ziqi immediately pulled Sun Mo back.

  The judges couldn’t sit still anymore and came rushing over.

  Ancestor Bei only took a glance and liked this cube.

  “A masterpiece!”

  After saying that, Ancestor Bei placed his hand on the cube. Then, his body shook and his eyes lost focus. His entire body stiffened up on the spot.

  His consciousness had been sucked into the Myriad Beasts Illusionary Realm as well.

  (That ferocious beast that looks like a moving mountain and is engulfing all creatures from the mountains and river couldn’t be the Taotie [1], could it?)

  (That huge bird that flies past like a meteor… could it be a phoenix?)

  (And the carp in this stream. To think that it became a huge dragon after a leap, soaring with the wind as it left?)

  …

  (This… is this a paradise?)

  Ancestor Bei was immersed in this place. As a spirit controller, there was nothing more agitating than being able to see such divine beasts from ancient myths and legends.

  As for saving people?

  Ancestor Bei had forgotten about that.

  Riding huge birds and flying in the sky while singing out loud, climbing trees and playing in the forest with huge apes, fishing in front of the waterfall, strolling in flower seas, crossing sand dunes, looking at the rare beasts in the world… Even if he was offered to be a god, he wouldn’t trade such a good life for it.

  Ancestor Bei lost himself.

  Of course, there were also a lot of dangers. However, given Ancestor Bei’s capabilities, he was able to subdue the ancient beasts with ease.

  What the people outside saw was Ancestor Bei frozen on the spot, wearing a blissful smile while drooling with greed.

  He must be seeing a beautiful dream.

  He must have entered a beautiful daydream of being a winner in life, right?

  “Look, Ancestor Bei is fine. This shows that Teacher Hu isn’t capable and talented enough to solve this Myriad Beasts Cube!”

  Li Ziqi sneered, feeling slightly at ease.

  If Great Teacher Hu were to die, he could only blame himself for being weak. Zhiruo wouldn’t be implicated.

  Five minutes passed. Ancestor Bei still seemed to be enjoying himself, but Great Teacher Hu’s condition didn’t seem too good.

  “Teacher Sun, think of a solution. We can’t possibly continue to wait like this, right?”

  Tong Yiming frowned.

  “Judge Tong, it’s this Teacher Nangong who’s refusing to relent on this matter.” Li Ziqi shrugged. “Moreover, with Ancestor Bei stepping forward, Great Teacher Hu should be fine.”

  “You sly girl!”

  Tong Yiming threw a glance at Li Ziqi. She had pushed all the responsibilities to Ancestor Bei.

  The current situation was all the result of Nangong Xun’s pestering. Moreover, even if someone were to die, it could only be blamed on Ancestor Bei’s failure.

  “Teacher Sun, wake the two of them up. We can’t let things continue like this.”

  Liang Hongda spoke up.

  “I feel that there are still people who aren’t convinced. How about this? All the great teachers present can come forward to attempt to figure this Myriad Beasts Cube out.”

  Li Ziqi spoke in a loud voice, “If anyone were to be successful, we’d offer it to him or her with both hands!”

  “Ziqi!”

  Jiang Leng frowned. (You’re putting too much on the line.)

  “Don’t worry, anyone who touches it will die!”

  After seeing Ancestor Bei’s situation, Li Ziqi understood that Lu Zhiruo was the only one who could handle this thing.

  Spirit controllers relied mostly on their talent, and hard work would never be able to catch up to inborn talent.

  (Since young, Zhiruo has been able to understand animals’ talk. Moreover, she is also born with a kind heart. Can you guys do the same?)

  She had never treated the spiritual beasts as her battle pets, letting them kill for her. Instead, she treated them as her playmates and friends.

  Who amongst these spirit controllers was like this?

  “Is that true?”

  There’d always be people who thought of themselves as the chosen one. Upon hearing Li Ziqi’s words, over ten of them immediately stepped forward, reaching out to the Myriad Beasts Cube to touch it.

  For some of them, their consciousness directly dissipated and sank in. However, a minority of them looked baffled and at a loss. (I don’t seem to be able to sense anything.)

  “The few of you can leave now!”

  Li Ziqi informed them.

  “Why?”

  They felt displeased.

  “It’s because you guys can’t even cross the threshold!”

  Li Ziqi lashed out.

  Bang!

  Great Teacher Hu fell to the ground like noodles, but his right hand was still clutching tightly onto the Myriad Beasts Cube.

  Tong Yiming was given a fright and immediately dashed over, putting his hand to Great Teacher Hu’s nose, checking his breathing.

  “He’s dead!”

  Tong Yiming looked toward Sun Mo.

  These words caused some spirit controllers, who were planning to give it a try, to immediately stop in their footsteps.

  “Teacher Sun, hurry up and get this resolved!”

  Liang Hongda urged because he discovered that Ancestor Bei was already immersed in it, unable to pull himself out. It’d definitely be useless to want to rely on him.

  “Teacher Nangong, your good friend died trying to help you. Why don’t you show any reaction at all?” Li Ziqi questioned, “Is your blood cold?”

  “I… He…”

  Nangong Xun stuttered.

  Who’d have expected that one would die from appraising a secret treasure? Moreover, to speak the truth, even though they were friends, they weren’t close enough to risk their lives for each other.

  It was a relationship in which one would definitely refuse if the other were to ask to borrow 1,000 spirit stones from them.

  “Teacher Sun, it’s time to stop this farce!”

  The judges were all ancestor-level experts. When their expressions turned solemn, the pressure was very great.

  “I’ll give it a try, but I can’t guarantee that everything will go smoothly.”

  Sun Mo made his stand clear.

  “Teacher, let me do it. It’s very dangerous inside.”

  Lu Zhiruo was worried that something bad might happen to Sun Mo and thus touched the Myriad Beasts Cube before he did, sending her consciousness inside.

  Lu Zhiruo appeared in the spacious room, looking at the teachers’ figures amidst the mosaics on the wall.

  “It’s so troublesome!”

  Lu Zhiruo had no choice but to go all out, trying to piece the fragments together.

  After Ancestor Bei’s image was completed, his consciousness returned to his body.

  “Hmmm? Where is this place?”

  Ancestor Bei felt a little confused. After he realized that he had left the place, he instantly felt upset and flew into a rage. “What are you guys up to? I almost caught that Arowana.”

  Ancestor Bei complained and wanted to enter the Myriad Beasts Illusionary Realm once again.

  “Hold on!”

  Everyone quickly stopped him.

  “If you enter again, you’ll die!”

  Liang Hongda felt helpless.

  “Huh?”

  Ancestor Bei was surprised. He lowered his head and checked himself out. Only then did he realize that he had become thinner.

  Fear instantly crept up his spine, causing his hair to stand up. He broke out in cold sweat.

  “What a terrifying secret treasure!” Ancestor Bei gasped.

  “What happened inside?” An ancestor-level judge felt curious and asked.

  “It’s mysterious and beautiful. I believe that any spirit controller would be willing to die inside.”

  Ancestor Bei felt emotional.

  Lu Zhiruo pulled out all the consciousness stuck in the Myriad Beasts Illusionary Realm. She herself also slimmed down at a rate that could be seen by the naked eye. Her face turned horribly pale.

  This was a sign of over-depleting mental energy.

  “Zhiruo, hurry up and stop it!”

  Li Ziqi tried to stop her.

  “But if I stop, they’ll die.”

  Lu Zhiruo couldn’t bear to let that happen.

  “If you don’t, you’ll be the one dying.”

  Li Ziqi urged.

  “Let me try a little longer. It’d be good to save even one more life!”

  Lu Zhiruo was very kindhearted, not caring that these people had touched the Myriad Beasts Cube because they wanted to obtain it.

  Nangong Xun’s countenance turned extremely grim. Such a kindhearted young girl was really too attractive. As her opponent, he appeared like a great villain.

  It was all over!

  He had lost both physically and mentally.

  [1] Ancient Chinese mythological creatures that were commonly emblazoned on bronze and other artifacts during the 1st millennium BC. Taotie is one of the “four evil creatures of the world”.