Compensation

"Boom."

Little One Shi Hao slapped Big Gold Dog down and sat on his back. He looked at Su Ye with a grave expression, feeling instinctively that the man before him was powerful.

He had grown up in the Great Wilderness and crossed hundreds of thousands of miles of it alone. His instincts for danger were razor-sharp. The moment he saw this man, he knew he was terrifying, like a Fierce Beast.

Could he really be a Fierce Beast?

That big dog had called him big brother just now. Could the man before him also be a big dog?

Little One eyed Su Ye suspiciously.

Although he had grown up in a small village in the Great Wilderness, he wasn't ignorant. He knew that Fierce Beasts could take human form.

"I'm human."

Su Ye's expression darkened. Realizing what the boy was thinking, he said, "This is my underling—and my mount."

"Your underling?"

Little One looked at the Big Gold Dog beneath him, his large eyes rolling. Then he glanced at Su Ye, a radiant smile spreading across his tender little face. "Your underling tried to steal my Precious Bone and even attacked me. You're letting your dog run wild and hurt people. You have to compensate me."

"Compensate you?"

Su Ye laughed. He hadn't expected the boy to demand compensation from him, but the boy did have a point.

"That's right. You have to compensate me with a Precious Bone. Otherwise, I'll kill your brother."

Little One placed a hand on Big Gold Dog's head and threatened Su Ye.

"I don't have a Precious Bone," Su Ye said.

"You don't?"

Little One thought it over, then pointed at the passage in the Initial Land. "See that? There are Precious Bones there. Pry one off and compensate me with it."

The people around them exchanged strange looks, but no one said anything. They were happy to watch the show and see if this man could pry off a piece, too.

Su Ye glanced at the passage beside him. "This is a passage in the Void God Realm. You can't damage it."

"Why not? I just pried a piece off a moment ago, broke a record in the Void God Realm, and even got a Precious Bone as a reward."

Little One said this without batting an eye, raising the Precious Bone in his hand to show it off.

Everyone looked at Little One's smug face, speechless. Who in their right mind would do something like that? And now he was bragging about it, even egging someone else on to cause trouble. Shameless!

Little One didn't care what the others thought. To him, anything he could get his hands on was good. Besides, the Void God Realm itself had acknowledged that he could damage the passage; otherwise, why would it have rewarded him with a Precious Bone?

"Hurry up, or I'll rip off one of its legs. I want to see whether the Void God Realm is really just like the outside world. Especially that thigh—it looks delicious. I wonder if it tastes as good roasted as it does out there."

Little One looked at Big Gold Dog's four powerful legs, and drool began to trickle from his mouth. Big Gold Dog really was a sturdy beast. Just looking at it made him want to dig in.

Big Gold Dog shuddered under Little One's gaze, its scalp prickling. It felt as though the boy was the Fierce Beast and it was a helpless human. It hurriedly looked to Su Ye and pleaded, "Big brother, hurry up! Don't hesitate. Smash the passage and save me!"

Su Ye looked helplessly at the passage in the Initial Land. He hadn't wanted to do anything bad, especially something so heinous that heaven and man alike would condemn him for it. But what could he do? He couldn't just watch Big Gold Dog get beaten to death.

"Little fellow, don't worry. This passage isn't very sturdy. That Milk Baby could do it, so you definitely can too. Believe in yourself."

Someone saw Su Ye hesitating and tried to encourage him.

"Exactly. This passage is made of ordinary bluestone. It'll break with just a little force."

Someone else spoke up beside him.

They were all eager to watch the show. Besides, they felt that this man wasn't ordinary. After all, he'd managed to subdue a powerful Remnant Species, so he must have some skill. Maybe he really could knock a piece loose.

"You old men really are rotten to the core."

Su Ye looked speechlessly at the old men beside him, who kept egging him on. But he stopped hesitating. His qi and blood surged, runes spread over his body, and dazzling light blazed so brightly that everyone had to shut their eyes.

"Crack!"

A sudden sound of breaking rang out. Then the brilliant curtain of light dispersed, and amid the Light Rain, pieces of Precious Bone hung suspended in the air.

Without hesitation, Su Ye took one of the Precious Bones at random. The rest shot off into the distance.

Everyone around them stood dumbstruck. They'd only wanted to watch the show. No one had believed he could actually succeed. Yet somehow, he really had.

Was this passage really so fragile that it broke at a touch?

"Lord Bird, you were right. This passage really isn't sturdy. It's a shoddy construction job—it broke before I even put any effort into it."

Su Ye smiled at an old man beside him. A little bird perched on the man's shoulder.

Go to hell with your shoddy construction job.

Lord Bird wanted to curse. He knew better than anyone how sturdy the Void God Realm's passage was, yet now it had been broken one time after another. Even he was beginning to doubt himself.

"Little brother, sell that Precious Bone to me. I'll offer a thousand Jingbi."

Someone came to his senses in the distance and called out.

Little One saw that Su Ye had really broken the passage and obtained a Precious Bone. His eyes lit up. When he saw someone trying to snatch it away, he flew into a rage and shouted, "It's mine! Mine! Give it to me right now, or I'll kill your brother!"

"Big brother, save me!"

Big Gold Dog let out a shrill wail. That shameless Milk Baby was pinching it.

"Don't rush me. Let me study it first," Su Ye said.

Runes flickered in his eyes as he examined the Precious Bone in his hand. Though it had been here for a long time, its runes hadn't completely faded. He could still glean some Primal Runes from it.

"All right, here you go."

Just as he'd said, Su Ye had only examined it briefly before tossing the Precious Bone straight to Little One.

Little One shot forward and grabbed the Precious Bone in midair. His little face lit up with delight as he held it in his hands.

At that moment, Big Gold Dog broke free and lunged at Little One.

Who was Little One? How could a mere Precious Bone make him lower his guard? He turned around and slapped Big Gold Dog flying, shouting angrily, "You stupid dog! You dare mess with me again?"

Big Gold Dog didn't look at Little One. It looked at Su Ye instead and complained, "Why didn't you help me?"

"Why would I help?" Su Ye asked, genuinely confused as he looked at Big Gold Dog.

Big Gold Dog froze for a moment. "Of course you should have subdued that shameless Milk Baby and taken the Precious Bone from him."

"Why take it?"

"Take it so we can study it! This Precious Bone is extraordinary. Its runes involve space and are extremely rare. If we can understand them, we'll benefit immensely."

Big Gold Dog said this, resenting how foolish Su Ye was. Hadn't he seen the look it gave him? They could have attacked the shameless Milk Baby from both sides and easily subdued him.

"If you want to study it, why not just ask to borrow it?"

Su Ye said helplessly. He looked at Little One and asked, "Could I borrow the Precious Bone in your hand to study it?"

"Sure."

Little One's eyes shifted. Then, without hesitation, he walked right up to Su Ye and handed him the Precious Bone he'd just obtained.

Everyone around them watched, dumbfounded and unable to believe their eyes.

He got it that easily?