First Meeting

Hillman and Hiri, upon hearing this, could not help but abandon the thought of following Hogg.

By now, both Hillman and Hiri understood that Hogg was different from before; having awakened the Dragonblood Warrior bloodline, Hogg was now capable of cultivation.

This tiny Wushan Town could no longer hold Hogg back.

Seeing that Hogg had finished giving his instructions to Hillman and Hiri, Zhao Nan turned to Hogg and the five Barker brothers and said, "Alright, let's go!

I will take you to that place first."

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

"Understood, Teacher!" *2

Hiri and Hillman also promised that they would take good care of young masters Linley and Ace.

Once the arrangements were made, Zhao Nan took Hogg, Wharton, and the five Barker brothers and headed toward the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

Because he was traveling with others, it took Zhao Nan a full day and a half to reach the Misty Canyon.

When Hogg, Barker, and the others saw the Misty Canyon, they couldn't help but gasp. There was no helping it; there were simply too many magical beasts.

Most importantly, not a single one of these magical beasts was low-level.

Seeing the shock in their eyes, Zhao Nan chuckled and said, "Alright, our destination isn't in this valley, but in a cavern underground.

However, after you finish your training, you can come over here to spar with these magical beasts. It will be perfect for honing your combat experience, and you can even get some food out of it."

On the Yulan Continent, Space Rings were rare items. Since they didn't have any, they could only rely on dry rations, and after that, they would have to hunt magical beasts themselves.

Zhao Nan wasn't worried about their safety. Barker was already an eighth-rank warrior, and after transforming, he would be a ninth-rank warrior. Coupled with Hazer and the others, who were all seventh-rank warriors, and Hogg, who also possessed seventh-rank strength, they were well-equipped.

To put it bluntly, as long as the six of them didn't run into a Saint-level powerhouse, they would be in no danger.

And there were no Saint-level magical beasts in this canyon. Even the Purple-Striped Black Bear that perished with Sathius in the original story wouldn't break through for another dozen years or so.

Zhao Nan believed that in over a decade, whether it was Barker, his four brothers, or Hogg, all of them would have reached Saint-level strength.

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

Upon arriving, the five Barker brothers and Hogg all let out sounds of pure enjoyment.

It couldn't be helped; the elemental energy of heaven and earth within this cave was simply too dense.

Once they had regained their composure, Zhao Nan set down the various supplies he had brought from his Space Ring for Hogg and the others. He then instructed them to be careful while training and not to disturb the circular platform he had sealed off.

Afterward, Zhao Nan left the cavern and headed back toward Wushan Town.

After a day of flying, Zhao Nan returned to Wushan Town. He didn't leave immediately, but instead spent his time guiding Linley, Ace, and Sathius in their cultivation.

Although Zhao Nan was tutoring them, he still made Linley go to clean their family ancestral hall from time to time.

Spring passed and autumn arrived; in the blink of an eye, it was autumn.

At this time, there was only one month left until the magic academy recruitment tests.

Zhao Nan also knew that the time for Linley and Bebe to meet was fast approaching.

That day, in the ancestral hall in the backyard of the Baruch family estate.

Linley let out a long breath and muttered, "Finally finished cleaning. I still don't know why Teacher insists on me coming here to clean the ancestral hall every so often."

As he spoke, Linley walked out of the ancestral hall and turned to lock the door.

Linley walked along the moss-covered stone path without making a single sound; this was a common ability possessed by earth-style mages.

Just as he was walking, Linley's brow furrowed slightly. His ears twitched, and he hurriedly turned his head to look in one direction, muttering, "A sound?"

With that, Linley quietly walked over.

Linley's movements were very light. He usually walked without sound, and now, by being deliberate, he didn't make even the slightest noise.

He slowly approached the source of the sound.

When Linley got close and looked over, his eyes widened in surprise. He saw a black mouse, nearly twenty centimeters long, gnawing on a pile of gravel.

After the black mouse finished one pile, its figure flickered, and it appeared at another pile of stones not far away, starting to gnaw again.

The black mouse had soft fur, rolling eyes, and a fluffy tail; it was very cute.

Occasionally, the black mouse would even stand up on its two hind legs and hop around to play.

Perhaps it was destiny, or perhaps Bebe was truly adorable, but the moment Linley saw it, he liked it to the extreme.

Although Linley liked Bebe, he was very curious about what kind of magical beast this mouse was.

Therefore, Linley began to call out to his personal grandfather, Doehring Cowart.

If anyone else were to call Doehring Cowart, they would need to use soul power to stimulate him, but perhaps because the Coiling Dragon Ring had recognized him as its master, Linley only needed a single thought to summon him.

Feeling Linley's call, Doehring Cowart flew out of the Coiling Dragon Ring and stood beside Linley. He looked at Bebe with some surprise and said, somewhat uncertainly, "A Shadow Mouse?

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

Hearing Doehring Cowart's words, Linley asked in his heart with some surprise, "It's this big and it's still a newborn?"

He then asked, "Grandpa Doehring, what rank of magical beast is a Shadow Mouse?"

Doehring Cowart heard Linley's question, coughed once, and then began to slowly explain the knowledge regarding rodent-type magical beasts to Linley.

After listening to Doehring Cowart finish his explanation, Linley looked at Bebe with a face full of shock, unable to utter a single word.

At this moment, Doehring Cowart spoke up to Linley: "Linley, do you want to tame this little mouse?"

"You should know, if you tame this Shadow Mouse, in about a dozen years or so, you could possess a seventh-rank or even an eighth-rank magical beast."

Upon hearing this, Linley couldn't help but feel his heart skip a beat.

After all, during this period of time, Ace had already formed an equal contract with Sathius.

Although Sathius was their fellow disciple, this still made Linley want to have a magical beast of his own.