September 9th, Monday.
Sunny.
Leisurely days always slipped away before one noticed. In the blink of an eye, three days had passed since the treehouse had been successfully built.
Over those three days, Chen Yuan had not been idle. He either accompanied Spark and Cola as they trained their skills and exercised, or spent the entire day searching in and around Xuanhe Village for new pet beasts and Spiritual Plants.
Fortunately, hard work eventually bore fruit. Chen Yuan's Origin Points had returned to double digits, and both Spark and Cola had grown stronger.
Spark had now reached Level 7. Both Flame Energy Assault and Flame Prison had risen to the Proficient level, bringing a considerable increase to its overall combat strength.
Since Cola could not stay inside the Beast Taming Space, it remained at Level 5. However, Wind Treading Step had reached the Proficient level, while Wind Surge was still just short of it.
"Keep up. Come on."
Early that morning, accompanied by loud cheers of encouragement, Chen Yuan led the two little ones on a run around the countryside.
"Awoo, awoo."
Cola always seemed brimming with energy. Sometimes it eagerly ran to the front to chase butterflies, sometimes it bounced around Chen Yuan, and sometimes it fell back beside the Sparkling Flying Cat and slowed to a walk.
The lazy sunlight casually brushed over them. Chen Yuan kept his breathing even and his pace unhurried, yet exceptionally steady.
"Spark."
The Sparkling Flying Cat ran at the very back. Its breathing grew rapid and ragged, and its speed gradually slowed until it finally stopped.
Then, watching Chen Yuan and Cola's retreating backs, it flopped onto the ground with all four paws in the air as if resigning itself to its fate.
The Sparkling Flying Cat stared fixedly at the sun