"Impressive! You're only in your thirties, yet you've already reached this rank. You can already compare with the disciples of those great lineages!"
Somewhere beneath the forest in the Azure Dragon Mountains.
Two beast tamers cautiously made their way through the forest with their Phantom Beasts.
"Heh heh, I just got lucky, that's all. Aren't you about to reach Gold Rank too?"
Hearing He Qiu's praise, Wang Lang looked smug.
There wasn't the slightest hint of modesty in him.
"I came here this time to search for an even more powerful Phantom Beast!"
"The growth potential and bloodline of my Nature Beast are starting to fall behind. It's becoming difficult to raise its rank!"
"Evolution is even harder!"
Wang Lang stroked the Phantom Beast beside him, which looked something like a lion and something like an elephant.
A Phantom Beast's bloodline rank often limited its own growth.
After reaching adulthood, a Nature Beast could at most reach Silver Ninth-tier.
To continue raising its rank, one method was to obtain spirit herbs.
The other method was evolution.
After evolving, its bloodline would become more powerful, and it could naturally grow to a higher rank.
But whether it was consuming spirit herbs
or evolving,
both required rare and precious resources.
Although people said there were many such things within the Azure Dragon Mountains,
spread throughout such a vast area, they were actually exceedingly rare.
What was more, such things were usually guarded by powerful Phantom Beasts.
Rather than searching for spirit herbs and evolution resources, it was better to contract an even more powerful Phantom Beast.
Using resources to cultivate a Phantom Beast was something only the wealthy could afford.
"That's right. My Tigers Lion Beast needs to retire too!"
"Let's see whether we can run into some good luck this time!"
He Qiu sighed as well.
"We've ventured this deep into the Azure Dragon Mountains this time. We're sure to encounter powerful Phantom Beasts!"
"When the time comes, we'll join forces to subdue them. It'll definitely be no problem!"
"Brother Wang is right. Let's go!"
"Let's go!"
The two men were brimming with heroic spirit.
They charged into the forest.
Just then!
Thunder boomed in the sky.
"Rumble!"
Then dark clouds gathered densely!
Rolling bolts of lightning kept crashing down.
"What? What's happening?"
The sudden change in weather
left Wang Lang and He Qiu utterly shocked.
Just as they stood there aghast,
"Roar, roar!"
"Aa-roar!"
Two enormous roars resounded across heaven and earth.
They struck straight at the soul.
In an instant!
Wang Lang and He Qiu involuntarily fell to the ground.
"Look, Brother He! Wh-what is that?"
Wang Lang's eyes nearly split open.
He pointed at the sky with a trembling finger.
Following Wang Lang's direction,
they saw two figures rising and sinking amid the clouds and mist.
Their rapidly moving forms seemed even faster than lightning!
Rumble!
In a single instant!
The immense pressure crushed down on He Qiu, leaving him with a feeling of suffocation.
"Dragon-type Phantasmal Beasts—two of them!"
He cried out in shock.
The two Dragon-type Phantasmal Beasts each cast a disdainful glance.
That single look nearly made him fall to his knees.
The terrifying pressure left his face deathly pale with fright.
"Little White, keep it up!"
A voice rang out amid the clouds and mist.
The next moment!
"Roar, roar!"
"Roar!"
In an instant!
The two Dragon-type Phantasmal Beasts completely ignored Wang Lang and He Qiu below!
Instead, they flew onward into the distance.
After a long while, the dragons' cries still echoed through heaven and earth.
They drifted through the valley in lingering waves.
Only two people remained, standing there dumbfounded.
"Brother He, d-did you hear that? I think I heard someone speaking!"
Wang Lang's voice trembled. The Phantom Beast beside him was trembling even more violently, prostrate on the ground and afraid to rise.
"Brother Wang, I-I saw it too. There was a black figure on the back of a white dragon!"
He Qiu's body trembled as well, his back drenched in sweat.
That horrifying scene had carved an indelible impression into their minds.
They feared they would never forget it for the rest of their lives.
"The Azure Dragon Mountains are said to be a place where all kinds of legendary Phantom Beasts appear!"
"There might even be Mythic-grade Phantom Beasts here. It seems the rumors really aren't false!"
The two men stared toward the distant thunderclouds, which were still exploding with lightning, and spoke in shock.
"What kind of person was the one standing on that Dragon-type Phantasmal Beast? To think he could control such a terrifying beast!"
"And he could actually stand safely on the dragon's back. That's too terrifying!"
"What rank was he, exactly? Diamond? Even King?"
"I don't know, but he definitely wasn't at a rank we could ever pursue!"
"There are always greater heights beyond the heights, and greater people beyond the people. It really is true!"
"Let's go. We should see whether we can subdue a Gold Rank Phantom Beast!"
"Yeah, let's go!"
The two men sighed, then gazed wistfully at the thunderclouds fading from the sky.
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