Black Little Wild Boar

"Good, it's started eating Flame Flowers. Let's hope it succeeds in advancing."

Li Xuan moved closer to the Flame Flower and began pecking at it like a whirlwind sweeping away fallen leaves.

As he pecked rapidly, Li Xuan felt pleasantly warm, as if a fire had ignited inside him, leaving him toasty all over.

On the data panel, the Fireball ability began to tremble and react.

Time passed bit by bit. As the Flame Flowers dwindled, Li Xuan gradually moved closer to the mountaintop, eating every Flame Flower along the way.

However, the farther up the mountain he went, the higher the temperature became. Li Xuan's body was starting to give out. After all, he was still an ordinary summoned beast.

"Fireball is about to advance. I can't stop."

Li Xuan took a deep breath, endured the scorching heat around him, and continued pecking at the Flame Flowers.

As he persisted, the Fireball on the data panel trembled faster and faster, nearly reaching its limit.

But just as Fireball was about to transform, the Fire Peacock returned.

Whoosh, whoosh!

A fierce wind began to howl as the Fire Peacock danced through the sky, patrolling its territory.

When it saw a God Pigeon stealing its Flame Flowers, the Fire Peacock flew into a rage. Without hesitation, it flapped its wings and unleashed a massive amount of fire.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Flames like heavenly fire descended from the sky. Waves of blistering heat surged forth and swept toward Li Xuan.

The flames covered a wide area. Not even Black Iron summoned beasts could escape them, much less ordinary summoned beasts, so the fire fell directly onto the pigeon.

Yet what shocked the Fire Peacock was—

That pigeon continued eating amid the flames. Even as its feathers burned away and steam rose from its scorched body, it still refused to leave.

This bizarre sight stunned the Fire Peacock. It stared at the figure in the flames below in disbelief.

After living for so many years, it was the first time the Fire Peacock had seen such a stubborn summoned beast. It was willing to disregard its own life just to eat Flame Flowers.

For some reason, this stubbornness enraged the Fire Peacock again. It scattered another great mass of flames, sending them sweeping toward the miserable God Pigeon.

[ Ding! Your Fireball ability has successfully advanced to Intermediate Fireball. ]

"It finally advanced. Great! Fire Peacock, we'll meet again sooner or later. Just wait!"

Enduring the excruciating pain throughout his body, Li Xuan raised his head toward the sky and looked at the flames descending once more. Then he detonated himself.

Boom!

The terrifying Self-Destruction swept across a large area, blood and thick smoke blasting in every direction.

Chirp?

The Fire Peacock stared blankly at the scene before it. Its tiny mind was a complete mess, and it had no idea what was going on.

But it could not be bothered to care. It continued patrolling its territory in a domineering fashion.

Elsewhere.

Inside a dark underground cave.

Li Xuan sank into darkness. A faint light shone in from outside some distance away.

"I feel so bloated, like my soul has overeaten. It seems I have too many abilities, and the burden on my soul is too great.

"I need to contract a summoner as soon as possible and raise my soul level. Otherwise, I may not be able to hold any more abilities. Although I feel like I can revive again, it's better to be cautious."

Li Xuan closed his eyes, sensing the exhaustion throughout his body and the bloated feeling deep within his soul. He decided to find a summoner as soon as possible.

Summoners could nourish a soul in return and raise a summoned beast's soul level. They were of immense help to a summoned beast's soul and were also a necessary path for advancing to a Black Iron summoned beast.

Li Xuan also had a guess: if his soul became strong enough, perhaps he could directly reincarnate as a Black Iron summoned beast in the future.

Summoned beasts of that rank had more skills, and those skills could potentially be intermediate or advanced. By then, he would not need to advance them himself to obtain high-level skills.

Of course, it was only a guess, and Li Xuan was not certain. His priority now was contracting a summoner.

Once he made up his mind, Li Xuan carefully surveyed his surroundings and discovered that this was an uneven cave with a large pile of weeds in the center.

Li Xuan lowered his head and looked at the soft weeds, then saw a pair of fluffy little paws.

"Eh? Why do they look like cat paws? Did I reincarnate as a cat?"

Li Xuan was startled and wanted to summon the data panel, but exhaustion suddenly washed over him.

Li Xuan's body swayed, and he collapsed onto the weeds, falling into a deep sleep.

Time slowly passed.

Who knew how long had passed before Li Xuan finally opened his eyes again. The fatigue in his soul had lessened slightly, but the bloated feeling remained.

And now, he was starving and desperately wanted something to eat.

"I'm so hungry. I should find something to eat first."

Li Xuan activated God's-Eye View, preparing to see where he could find food. Just as his vision rose into the air, he suddenly saw countless flashes of white light.

"Eh? Contract summoning arrays? They're actually contract summoning arrays? And why are there so many of them?"

Li Xuan looked toward the southeast in surprise. Beneath a massive boulder there, dozens of summoning arrays lit up at once, waiting for summoned beasts to enter them.

Some of the faster summoned beasts had already rushed into the contract arrays and begun forming contracts.

What puzzled Li Xuan was that all of those arrays were white, but one summoning array seemed different.

That summoning array was also white, but a ring of seven-colored radiance shimmered around it, making it seem incredibly mystical.

"Seven-colored radiance? It must represent something. I can't miss this. I need to go now." Li Xuan moved his little paws and struggled out of the cave.

But the exhaustion in his body left him barely able to walk after he had just exited the cave.

Instinctively, two cyan wings appeared on his back, carrying his tiny body toward the summoning arrays.

"Flight? Did I gain the ability to fly this time? Let's check the data first." Li Xuan brought up the data panel.

Ding!

Name: Li Xuan

Species: Wind-Wing Cat [Ordinary Summoned Beast]

Soul: Human

Abilities: Self-Destruction, Intermediate Healing, Intermediate Fireball, God's-Eye View, Wind Wings.

"Wind-Wing Cat? So I'm a recently born, abandoned Wind-Wing Cat. No wonder this body is so weak."

After checking the data panel and roughly reviewing his memories, Li Xuan gained a general understanding of his situation.

The reason he had fallen asleep earlier was not only because his soul was exhausted, but also because his body was exhausted. Otherwise, he would not have fallen asleep so quickly.

Of course, those were minor matters. His current priority was contracting a summoner, especially the summoning array with the seven-colored radiance. He had to find out what it was.

Flap, flap!

Slowly beating his wings, Li Xuan soon arrived near the boulder and saw the many summoned beasts.

To Li Xuan's surprise, no seven-colored radiance could be seen around the summoning array with the naked eye.

Only through God's-Eye View could he see that seven-colored light.

"Interesting. Is it a hidden trait that only God's-Eye View can see through?"

Li Xuan carefully examined the array. To the naked eye, it truly looked no different from the others. The only distinction was that this seven-colored array carried a faint sense of pressure.

"I should enter first. It would be bad if another summoned beast takes it before me."

Li Xuan saw many summoned beasts desperately entering the summoning arrays. Many arrays successfully formed contracts and vanished.

Only this seven-colored array remained unattended for the moment, but the surrounding arrays were becoming fewer and fewer until only the seven-colored one remained.

Worried that something unexpected might happen, Li Xuan decided to enter and form the contract.

Flap, flap.

Li Xuan slowly landed beside the summoning array and prepared to enter it to form the contract. But at that moment, a black little wild boar tried to compete with him for the array.

How could he let someone snatch away meat that was already in his mouth? Li Xuan immediately opened his beak.

An Intermediate Fireball the size of a basketball condensed into existence. Carrying terrifying force, it shot at the little wild boar and struck it directly.

Boom!

A terrifying explosion erupted. Its overwhelming force and shockwave sent the surrounding summoned beasts fleeing in all directions. They looked at Li Xuan in terror and no longer dared approach.

"Eh?"

Li Xuan narrowed his eyes and stared solemnly at the little wild boar.