Beast Canyon

A massive mountain deer was slowly walking through the forest, searching for food.

This mountain deer was larger than an ordinary house; wherever it passed, trees were pushed aside on both sides, and the deer only ate the tenderest leaves and branches at the very tips.

All the surrounding beasts, birds, and insects cowered in fear, avoiding this enormous mountain deer.

Only a green venomous snake, thinner than a human child's forearm, advanced instead of retreating, actively approaching the giant mountain deer. Suddenly, the deer sensed something and bolted, but a green afterimage directly vanished into its body.

The mountain deer struggled and shrieked, its cries echoing through the valley, but quickly faded away.

Such a commotion naturally caught Guen's attention. He had just entered Beast Canyon and, though he had encountered many Mid-Tier Ferocious Beasts along the way, none had satisfied him.

"A Tier 7 Ferocious Beast died here—who did this?" Guen didn't see the killer and was puzzled.

A ferocious beast's strength was usually tied to its size; the stronger it was, the larger it grew, and one could roughly judge its power from its bulk.

Yet around this Tier 7 mountain deer corpse, there were no other predators, and only signs of struggle remained, with no traces of a fight.

"Ang!"

The Kejia Beast in his arms suddenly roared, staring fixedly at a spot on the mountain deer's body.

Following the Kejia Beast's gaze, Guen indeed saw a fleeting green afterimage, fast to the extreme.

"With such a small form, able to easily kill a Tier 7 Ferocious Beast, it can only be the Tier 9 Ferocious Beast, the Green Shadow Demon Snake." Guen's expression turned serious. The Flame God Armor quickly enveloped his entire body, including the Kejia Beast.

For most ferocious beasts, the larger the size, the greater the strength.

But a few exceptions existed, all infamous, among them the Green Shadow Demon Snake. With its extreme speed and a body condensed to the utmost toughness, it was rumored to be one of the rare Tier 9 Ferocious Beasts that could rival Super Tier ones, far surpassing ordinary Tier 9 beasts like the Vajra Ape or the Green-Eyed Purple Wolf.

"An opponent like this is worth my effort." Guen's eyes blazed. He drew the Meteor Light Blade and charged swiftly toward the mountain deer corpse.

"Hiss~"

The Green Shadow Demon Snake only cast a disdainful glance at Guen. It loathed these overconfident and endlessly bothersome humans, and with a twist, it burrowed into the mountain deer's body.

That was the Green Shadow Demon Snake—despite its formidable strength, easily killing a Tier 7 Ferocious Beast, it was cunning to the core and rarely faced enemies head-on.

"Perfect chance to try the Flame Slash technique."

Guen raised the Meteor Light Blade high; the tip trembled slightly. Suddenly, a blade light flared, then scattered into many chaotic, sharp energy streams that pierced through the mountain deer's corpse, carving it into neat chunks of meat.

Guen was satisfied with the power of this move.

The flesh of a Tier 7 Ferocious Beast was tough—even if left in place for someone to cut, it would require at least a Diamond-level weapon and considerable effort to slice through.

A ferocious beast relied entirely on its body to defend against attacks from foes of the same rank, so its defensive prowess was easy to imagine.

Yet it was dismantled in a single blow by Guen.

"Pity I'm not yet at Planetary Level. If I could infuse Origin Power into it, it would even ignite, releasing flames to burn—far more powerful!"

Guen's eyes searched among the meat chunks for traces of the Green Shadow Demon Snake.

"Swish"

Suddenly, a green light shot straight at him, so fast that Guen barely reacted in time. He only managed to raise his blade to block, and with a soft clang, the green light scraped past the Meteor Light Blade and slammed into his chest.

"Boom."

Guen was sent flying backward.

Though the Green Shadow Demon Snake was no thicker than Guen's arm, it knocked him back dozens of meters.

Even with the Flame God Armor's protection, Guen rolled several times on the ground before steadying himself. Rising, he swung at the oncoming Green Shadow Demon Snake; blade shadows multiplied, all converging into one.

Striking the Green Shadow Demon Snake's body produced a crisp "ding," followed by a grating sound like an old tree being chopped, enough to set one's teeth on edge.

The Green Shadow Demon Snake came fast, but retreated even faster, leaving a trail of blood before vanishing into the jungle.

The snake's speed was too great; Guen couldn't give chase and could only watch it escape.

"This blade is truly sharp. To wound the Green Shadow Demon Snake in one strike, the blade deserves at least forty percent of the credit."

Guen marveled.

The Meteor Light Blade was worthy of being a Second-order Force Weapon, a weapon for Star Level warriors. Using it in an Apprentice Level battle was overkill. Even limited by his insufficient realm, allowing only a fraction of the blade's power, it was still more than the Green Shadow Demon Snake could withstand.

Combined with Guen's secret technique, the Flame Slash, it had managed to injure the snake in one blow.

But the Green Shadow Demon Snake was too cunning. Once it realized Guen was troublesome, it immediately withdrew.

"It left, which works out for me." Guen released the Kejia Beast and returned to the mountain deer's corpse, letting it feast.

The Kejia Beast fed on flesh and blood, which promoted its growth. The higher the quality of the blood and meat, the better the effect.

A mountain deer the size of a small house lasted less than half an hour under the Kejia Beast's gnawing. Not even the bones remained; all were swallowed by the Kejia Beast, which was only the size of a watermelon. After devouring so much, the beast had only grown two or three sizes, and its aura had strengthened just slightly.

"Ang!"

The Kejia Beast nuzzled Guen's hand affectionately, conveying its wish to reach Tier 7 after eating a dozen more Tier 7 Ferocious Beasts.

Such a growth rate made Guen genuinely envious. His reason for coming to Beast Canyon was partly to hone his skills and partly to nurture the Kejia Beast.

Within Beast Canyon, the lowest were Mid-Tier Ferocious Beasts, with many High-Tier ones as well. The deeper into the canyon, the higher the quality of the beasts.

"Let's go."

Guen took the Kejia Beast and headed deeper into the canyon.

Beast Canyon stretched on endlessly. Guen had traveled for ten days straight without reaching its end, encountering and battling Tier 9 Ferocious Beasts along the way, even slaying several ordinary ones like the Vajra Ape.

He had also broken through high-tier ferocious beast packs comparable to the Golden-Bearded Mastiff pack several times.

Guen's aura grew increasingly sharp and refined, but the one who benefited most was the Kejia Beast. In just ten days, its aura had already become comparable to Guen's, very close to Tier 9.

"Boom."

A massive Purple-Maned Lion let out an unwilling roar before collapsing by the edge of a pond.

Its entire body was covered in wounds, utterly miserable. Now lying on the ground, it exhaled more than it inhaled. The Kejia Beast charged over excitedly. Now the size of a young calf, it bit down on the Purple-Maned Lion's throat, killing it. Though drool pooled everywhere, it could only stare helplessly at the corpse.

Growing so fast, the Kejia Beast was constantly in a state of fullness and couldn't eat another bite.

Guen jumped down from the Purple-Maned Lion and shook his head helplessly, though he was quite satisfied with this outcome.

Ever since repelling the Green Shadow Demon Snake, Guen had rarely used the Flame God Armor or Meteor Light Blade. He had fought his way here purely with his fists.

"Compared to the Meteor Light Blade, my fists aren't as efficient. With the blade, I can kill a Tier 9 Ferocious Beast in five moves. With my fists, I can only gain the upper hand in five moves. If I were a Spirit Reader, it would be easier—unfortunately, I'm not."

Spirit Readers could manipulate sharp weapons from a distance, directly threatening a ferocious beast's vital points while staying perfectly safe.

Warriors, on the other hand, had it harder. Ferocious beasts had massive bodies, and warriors had to put themselves in danger, making it difficult to directly strike vital points. From this, Guen could feel that Spirit Readers indeed had many advantages over warriors.

"Oh? Who are you? I haven't seen you in the Goddess Temple before." Just as Guen was deep in thought, a green-haired youth walked out from the forest in the distance, his clothes still clean and tidy.