First Meeting

Hillman and Hiri stopped in their tracks when they heard this, no longer thinking of following Hogg.

Hillman and Hiri now understood that Hogg was different from before. Having awakened his Dragonblood Warrior bloodline, he could finally cultivate.

The little town of Wushan could no longer hold Hogg back.

After Zhao Nan saw that Hogg had finished giving instructions to Hillman and Hiri, he said to Hogg and the Bark Five Brothers, "All right, let's go!

"I'll take you to that place first."

After saying this, Zhao Nan turned to Linley and Ace. "You two stay home and behave for now. If you need anything, ask Hiri or Hillman!"

"All right, teacher!" *2

Hiri and Hillman both promised to take good care of Young Masters Linley and Ace.

Once he had finished giving his instructions, Zhao Nan took Hogg, Wharton, and the five Bark brothers toward the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

Since he was bringing people along, Zhao Nan spent a full day and a half reaching the Misty Canyon.

Hogg, Barker, and the others all gasped when they saw the Misty Canyon. There was no helping it—there were far too many magical beasts.

More importantly, not a single one of them was low-level.

Seeing the astonishment in their eyes, Zhao Nan said with a chuckle, "All right, our destination isn't in this valley. It's in an underground cavern.

"Once you've finished cultivating, though, feel free to come fight these magical beasts. It'll be a good way to hone your combat skills, and you can get some food out of it too."

Space Rings were rare on the Yulan Continent. None of them had one, so they could only bring dried rations with them. After those ran out, they would have to hunt magical beasts for food.

Zhao Nan wasn't worried about their safety. Barker had already reached the level of an Eighth-level Warrior, and after transforming, he would be a ninth-level warrior. Hazer and the others had also reached the level of seventh-level warriors, while Hogg had seventh-level strength as well.

In short, as long as the six of them didn't run into a Saint-level expert, they would be safe.

There were no Saint-level Magical Beasts in this canyon. Even the Purple-Striped Black Bear, which had died alongside Sathius in the original story, wouldn't break through to that level for another decade or so.

Zhao Nan believed that in those ten-odd years, Barker, his four brothers, and Hogg would all reach the Saint level.

After flying for a while longer, Zhao Nan led Barker and the others into the underground cavern where Sathius had once lived.

As soon as they arrived, Barker and his four brothers, along with Hogg, all let out sighs of pleasure.

There was no helping it—the concentration of the elements of the world in the cavern was simply too great.

Once the others had recovered, Zhao Nan took the supplies from his Space Ring and set them down for Hogg and the others. He then reminded them to be careful while cultivating and not to touch the platform where he had sealed something.

After that, Zhao Nan left the cavern and headed back to Wushan Town.

After a day of flying, Zhao Nan returned to Wushan Town. He didn't leave right away, instead staying to guide Linley, Ace, and the two beasts, Sathius and Bebe, in their cultivation.

Although Zhao Nan guided Linley and the others in their cultivation, he still had Linley go clean their family's ancestral hall from time to time.

Spring passed and autumn came. In the blink of an eye, it was already autumn.

At this point, there was only one month left until the magic academy entrance tests.

Zhao Nan knew that Linley and Bebe would meet soon.

That day, in the ancestral hall in the rear courtyard of the Baruch Clan estate,

Linley let out a long breath and said, "Finally, it's clean. I wonder why teacher insists on having me clean the ancestral hall every so often."

As he spoke, Linley walked out of the ancestral hall and closed the door behind him.

He walked along the moss-covered flagstone path without making a sound. This was a basic ability shared by all earth-element mages.

As he walked, Linley suddenly frowned. His ears twitched, and he quickly turned to look in one direction, muttering, "Was that a noise?"

As he spoke, Linley crept over.

Linley moved lightly. He never made a sound when he walked, and now that he was deliberately trying to stay quiet, he made not the slightest noise.

He slowly approached the place the sound had come from.

When Linley drew near and looked over, his eyes widened. He saw a black mouse nearly twenty centimeters long gnawing on a pile of rubble.

After finishing one pile, the black mouse darted to another pile of stones nearby and began gnawing on it.

Its fur was soft, its eyes round and bright, and its fluffy tail made it look very cute.

Every now and then, the black mouse would even stand upright on its hind legs and bounce around playfully.

Perhaps it was fate, or perhaps Bebe really was that cute. Linley only had to look at him once to fall completely in love.

Though Linley liked Bebe, he was curious about what kind of magical beast the mouse was.

So Linley called for the old man who always accompanied him, Doehring Cowart.

Other people would have needed to stimulate Doehring Cowart with their spiritual force to call him, but perhaps because the Coiling Dragon Ring had recognized Linley as its master, all it took was a thought.

Feeling Linley call for him, Doehring Cowart flew out of the Coiling Dragon Ring and appeared beside him. He, too, looked at Bebe in surprise, then said uncertainly, "A Shadow Mouse?

"Judging by its size, it should be a newborn Shadow Mouse!"

Hearing Doehring Cowart's words, Linley was surprised. He spoke to him in his mind, "It's still a baby at that size?"

Then he asked aloud, "Grandpa Doehring, what level of magical beast is a Shadow Mouse?"

Doehring Cowart heard Linley's question and coughed before slowly explaining the various kinds of rodent magical beasts.

After listening to Doehring Cowart's explanation, Linley stared at Bebe in shock, unable to say a word.

At that moment, Doehring Cowart said to Linley, "Linley, do you want to tame this little mouse?

"Just think—in about ten years, if you tame this Shadow Mouse, you could have a seventh- or even an eighth-level magical beast!"

Linley's heart raced when he heard that.

After all, Ace had already formed an Equality Contract with Sathius. Although Sathius was their senior fellow disciple, Linley still wanted a magical beast of his own.