The Frost Dragon

After the family had talked for hours, they lost track of time. Only several hours later did they finally realize how late it was.

Arthur felt embarrassed and arranged a lavish family banquet.

Afterward, he arranged a luxurious mansion for Garen's family.

And so, Garen's family settled in Light-Extinguishing City.

After word spread to the imperial capital that one of their group owned a Saint Realm Magical Beast, Prince Arthur's standing rose even higher. Although the Luo'ao Empire had plenty of Saint Realm experts, only one stood at Emperor Gafni's side.

Arthur took great care of Garen's family. When he learned that Garen had become a Level 9 Great Mage but still lacked wind-style magic spells, he personally delivered books containing every wind-style spell just a few days later.

When Arthur learned that Clark's tiger-striped bloodline was weak, and that Garen wanted him to drink Saint Realm tiger blood in the hope of awakening it, he had people investigate. They discovered that an herb called Green Essence could neutralize the violent energy in Saint Realm tiger blood, and Arthur had already sent people to gather some.

The whole family was deeply moved, and Garen, too, felt what it was like to have someone care about him.

Garen returned the favor. After learning that his uncle had a Level Nine Magical Beast, a Mammoth, he gave him a Magic Crystal Core from a Saint Realm Sand Dragon. The Mammoth was a peak Level Nine Earth-style Magical Beast, and with the Saint Realm Sand Dragon's Magic Crystal Core, it had a good chance of evolving into a Saint Realm Magical Beast.

Once a magical beast signed a Master-Servant Contract, no matter how much stronger it became than its master, it could never escape the contract. So Garen had nothing to worry about.

Over the following days, Garen gathered some rare ores and hired Light-Extinguishing City's best blacksmith to reforge his Purple Dragon Bow.

Made from countless rare ores, Mithril, and Saint Realm dragon sinew, the new Purple Dragon Bow was fully capable of being used in battles between Saint Realm experts.

Garen also imagined that once he reached the Infernal Realm in the Higher Plane, he could get his hands on plenty of God-Slaying Arrows. By then, the System Map's God Realm function would surely have an even greater range than its current detection ability. High-level Gods in the Higher Plane could only sense things within a thousand meters, so if he raised the Purple Dragon Bow to Divine Artifact level, it would be the perfect weapon for a sneak attack. There were so many bandits in the Infernal Realm that they were impossible to wipe out. Just imagine how fast his experience would shoot up then—heh heh.

During his time in Light-Extinguishing City, Garen lived comfortably, but his strength had barely improved. If he relied on his own cultivation, whether in magic or battle qi, he would need at least ten years. That might seem like a short time to others, but Garen, with the system at his side, couldn't accept it.

So Garen gave Xiao Pa another job: search the Sunset Mountain Range for groups of Level Nine Magical Beasts or Saint Realm Magical Beasts.

Although the Dark Forest was closest to the northern part of the Luo'ao Empire, he didn't want to go there yet. He was afraid of attracting the attention of some ancient monster.

As for the Magical Beast Mountain Range, after witnessing how the great momentum of fate in this universe couldn't be resisted, Garen guessed that Dylan had already been released by Linley. Dylan was a vicious beast who treated humans as food. He might already be preparing to launch a beast siege. Garen would be better off avoiding the place rather than risk being caught.

For now, he could only set his sights on the Sunset Mountain Range. The key was to play it safe.

Before he knew it, October had arrived. The ten-thousandth Yulan Festival was fast approaching, and there wasn't much time left. Garen quickly took out paper and a pen and wrote Yale a letter. Under the pretext of offering advice, he urged Yale to hurry and move his important assets in the Light Alliance and Dark Alliance, hoping to reduce the Dawson Chamber of Commerce's losses.

A little over half a month later, Xiao Pa returned, having thoroughly investigated the Sunset Mountain Range.

Since much of the Sunset Mountain Range lay near the South Sea, low-level magical beasts bred in great numbers. Higher-level magical beasts had plenty of food, so there were few large groups of them. The only large groups of Level Nine Magical Beasts were Lion Suans, One-Horned Giant Rhinos, and Frost Dragons. The Frost Dragon clan had a Saint Realm Frost Dragon King.

There were also many Saint Realm Magical Beasts in the Sunset Mountain Range, including Tyrannosauruses, Thunder Dragons, Golden Dragons, Thunder-Charging Lightning Leopards, and Thunder-Winged White Tigers...

In a large city like Light-Extinguishing City, and especially with an uncle who openly opposed the Radiant Church, the Radiant Church had undoubtedly placed many spies there.

However, after his uncle's Mammoth absorbed the energy from the Saint Realm Magic Crystal Core, it had successfully entered the Saint Realm. Garen had also sensed a Saint Realm expert in Light-Extinguishing City earlier. At last, he felt safe leaving his parents there while he went off on his own adventures.

After grinding through the monsters in the Sunset Mountain Range, he would have to complete the Side Quest to rescue Doehring Cowart. He would be gone for a long time, so Garen made sure to tell his parents, then said goodbye to his uncle.

Riding the Golden Sun Eagle, he soon reached the Sunset Mountain Range.

The Golden Sun Eagle couldn't help against Level Nine Magical Beasts. Otherwise, that damned system wouldn't give him any experience. So Garen began his miserable monster-grinding journey once more.

The Magical Beast Mountain Range had all kinds of terrain. On a plain, a group of Lion Suans lounged lazily. Some licked their fur, while others slept. They hadn't sensed the danger approaching at all.

Garen made his entrance like a God King descending from the heavens. Now, dealing with Level Nine Magical Beasts was a breeze for him.

Within minutes, the rulers of the plain—the Level Nine Lion Suans—had been wiped out.

More than seventy Lion Suans gave Garen ninety thousand experience, dozens of Magic Crystal Cores, one Primary Enhancement Stone, one Moon Stone, and two Primary Experience Cards.

He had already saved up twenty Primary Experience Cards. Each card only gave five hundred experience, for a total of ten thousand. It didn't seem like much.

But they were incredibly useful. Garen could hold back from leveling up while he farmed experience, then use the cards to add experience whenever he wanted. If he ever faced an enemy he couldn't beat, he could use them on the spot and break through mid-battle, giving his opponent a huge surprise.

A day later, in a forest, nearly a hundred One-Horned Giant Rhinos lay dead on the ground. A young man stood atop the largest one's head, staring coldly at the distant mountains.

The mountains in the distance rose to a height of ten thousand meters, their slopes blanketed in snow and ice.

The young man was Garen. The nearly hundred One-Horned Giant Rhinos had earned him another 120,000 experience, more than ninety Level Nine Magic Crystal Cores, one Primary Enhancement Stone, two Level 1 Gems, and one Primary Experience Card.

The distant mountain was his next target: the Frost Dragons' gathering place. It was home not only to numerous Level Nine Frost Dragons, but also to a Saint Realm Frost Dragon King.

Frost Dragons were Water-style flying magical beasts. They had strong defenses and great speed, and the snowy mountain was their home turf. Their ice magic grew much more powerful there. Garen's Mysteries of Fire weren't magic, but they would still be affected somewhat, weakening their power.

What's more, temperatures were bitterly low atop the snowy peak, and Frost Dragon ice magic could slow its targets. With the Saint Realm Frost Dragon tying Garen down, numerous Level Nine Frost Dragons could unleash their spells on him at once. If they hit him, they would severely impede his speed.

This would be a tough fight!