Beast King

Outside the secret realm.

Jiang Canghai and Wang Daochuan both watched the map on the screen.

On the map, the dots representing Zhou Fan and Lin Qianqian were moving slowly.

"They're making pretty good time. At this rate, they should reach the Beast King's lair before long." Jiang Canghai nodded in satisfaction.

"Of course. Those two are my prized students. If you hadn't asked me personally, I'd never have agreed to send them here," Wang Daochuan said.

"All right, all right. I know how impressive your students are."

"If they really manage to complete this mission, I'm thinking of having them join our Esper Bureau," Jiang Canghai said.

Wang Daochuan immediately grew wary. "Jiang, I came here out of kindness to help you, and now you're trying to poach my students?"

"These two are our school's greatest hopes this year. I'm counting on them to get excellent results on the college entrance exam."

"If you dare steal them from me, I'll beat you up!"

Jiang Canghai gave him a disdainful look. "You old bastard. Still as petty as ever."

"So what if I'm petty? If you don't like it, suck it up!"

The two of them were like children bickering.

Everyone else was too embarrassed to watch.

The Chaos Secret Realm.

Zhou Fan and Lin Qianqian followed the navigation directions.

Wave after wave of mutant beasts appeared along the way.

Although their levels weren't particularly high, their endless appearances were still a real headache.

"Roar!"

Three Desert Toads lunged at them.

Zhou Fan dodged nimbly, maneuvering around them with his long blade in hand.

With the Sharingan's powerful perception, he saw through every move the three Desert Toads made.

One slash for each.

Then he followed up with a final jutsu.

"Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"

A single Fire Release attack finished off all three Desert Toads.

Zhou Fan now relied primarily on Taijutsu in battle.

He needed to conserve spiritual energy.

They hadn't even found the Beast King yet. If he used up all his spiritual energy this quickly, how would he fight when they encountered it?

Taijutsu consumed the least spiritual energy.

And his Taijutsu was far from weak. He was fast and agile, his movements crisp and clean.

Combined with the Sharingan's perception, few opponents at his level could match Zhou Fan in Taijutsu unless they specialized in it themselves.

By comparison.

Lin Qianqian's fighting style was much more elegant.

She controlled a multitude of paper sheets, turning them into Paper Shuriken one moment and paper swords the next.

The mutant beasts around her were sliced into pieces before they could get within two meters of her.

She stole a glance at Zhou Fan.

That guy had actually trained in Taijutsu too?

Taijutsu, Fire Type... but dabbling in everything without mastering anything wasn't necessarily a good thing.

As she saw it.

Only people who lacked talent and couldn't pursue one path to its fullest would choose to train in other abilities.

That was a sign of weakness!

Sure enough, she was still better.

Zhou Fan could only trail behind her!

At that thought, Lin Qianqian felt considerably better.

The two continued onward.

At last.

They reached the Beast King's territory marked on the map-

Ahead stood a massive Desert Fortress!

With its towering walls and tightly shut gates, it looked exactly like a human structure!

But a closer look revealed the differences.

The fortress was made entirely of sand.

No human structure could have been built using sand alone.

Besides, there was no way any humans would have built a dwelling here.

"This is the Beast King's territory."

Zhou Fan surveyed the area around the fortress but found no other mutant beasts.

"Let's go."

The two walked toward the gates.

As soon as they reached them, the gates opened on their own.

Zhou Fan and Lin Qianqian exchanged a glance.

They continued inside.

Beyond the gates lay a vast, empty plaza.

At its very center stood an enormous eggshell fashioned from sand.

"Is that the Beast King that's still hatching?" Zhou Fan's gaze grew grave.

He could clearly feel a powerful, oppressive aura radiating from the egg.

There was no doubt. This was the Beast King that had yet to be born!

"Once we kill this Beast King, our mission will be complete."

The moment Zhou Fan finished speaking, Lin Qianqian attacked without another word.

"Paper Blizzard: Moon Wheel!"

The paper sheets swiftly formed a giant wheel that sliced toward the sand egg.

Suddenly, a mass of yellow sand rose from the ground on its own, blocking Lin Qianqian's attack.

Lin Qianqian's delicate brows furrowed slightly. "I knew it wouldn't be that easy."

Although the Beast King hadn't hatched yet.

It already possessed a consciousness of its own.

"It can defend against attacks before it's even hatched?" Zhou Fan was also surprised by the Beast King's ability.

He had a feeling this Beast King wouldn't be easy to deal with.

Lin Qianqian said nothing and simply kept attacking.

While the Beast King had yet to hatch, this was their best chance to strike!

"Dance of the Shikigami: Splendid Bloom!"

Countless sheets of paper flew out, forming a paper tornado that swept toward the Beast King.

The Beast King began fighting back as well. A vast quantity of sand rose on its own, forming a thick wall that blocked Lin Qianqian's attack.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

Zhou Fan seized the opportunity to circle around to the other side and spat out a massive fireball.

Yet the sand around the egg rose on its own again, blocking the fireball.

Whether the attack came from the front or the back, it could actually react that quickly?

It was practically an absolute defense!

Lin Qianqian also found it troublesome.

The Beast King was already this powerful before hatching.

If it finished hatching, there was no telling how strong it would be!

"Zhou Fan, let's use our strongest attacks together and force our way through its defenses!" Lin Qianqian said.

For the first time, she took the initiative to ask Zhou Fan to work with her.

At a time like this, if they refused to cooperate, they might not even break through the egg's defenses, let alone eliminate the Beast King.

"Dance of the Shikigami: Spear Annihilation!"

She rapidly formed several paper spears and sent them shooting toward the egg.

"Fire Release: Dragon Flame Song Technique!"

Zhou Fan immediately unleashed his Fire Release technique with the greatest destructive power against a single point.

The fire dragons and paper spears shot forward together, and a great mass of sand immediately rose around the egg to block them.

Boom!

The explosion thundered, blasting countless grains of sand into the air.

This time, the Beast King's sand couldn't withstand their combined attack, and a huge crater was blasted straight through it.

The egg was also sent flying, rolling across the ground several times before coming to a stop.

Crack!

A fissure appeared in the eggshell.

Then came a second, and a third...

"Did we do it?" Lin Qianqian stared fixedly at the egg.

Clatter!

The thick eggshell fell away.

Rather than an eggshell, it was more accurately described as a thick layer of sand.

"Gahahaha! I'm finally out!"

"You two brats, just wait until I crush you!"

The eggshell broke apart.

A yellowish-brown tanuki crawled out, its body covered in distinctive Cursed Seal markings. It was short and stout, with a tail swaying behind it...