Squelch!
Blood splattered as Su Miu pulled out the Golden Dragon Spear. The smell of roasted meat wafted over; this Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear was probably already medium-rare.
"Submit or be destroyed. Choose!"
Platinum flames lit up Su Miu's left hand, while blue lightning flickered around his right. He watched the thousand-year-old Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear before him calmly as he spoke.
Despite its battered state, the enormous bear's eyes remained vicious. It shakily reached out to swipe at him with its claws. He raised his hand without a flicker of emotion and chanted:
"Mystic Lightning, Thunder Seal: Python Mark!"
Lightning ran rampant, and the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear convulsed once more, its arm dropping limply. Su Miu immediately climbed onto its massive body and raised his fists to pummel it.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Punch after punch landed with dull thumps. Every blow carried his full strength as he hammered the bear's enormous head.
After beating it for roughly ten minutes, he watched it calmly again, forming a contract brand in his hand as he said:
"Submit or die."
The Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's eyes were still fierce, but much of that ferocity had faded. Fear now mingled in its gaze as it looked at the two-legged creature before it. Su Miu had been secretly casting Curse Element magic to break down its psychological defenses.
Seeing that it remained stubborn, Su Miu wasted no time. He raised his fists and resumed pounding it for another ten minutes, casting Curse Element magic at the same time. He repeated the process over and over.
At last, the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's psychological defenses shattered. It looked at Su Miu with nothing but fear and submission.
As Su Miu's brand settled onto it, the enormous bear was powerless to resist. Just like that, his third contract slot went to this thousand-year-old Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear.
Once everything was done, he stood up and called out to several figures in the distance:
"Senior Bi Ji, sorry for the trouble, but could you help heal it?"
At his call, three figures appeared. Di Qiu'er hurried over to him, looked at the defeated Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear, and praised him:
"Su Miu, you can already solo one of Uncle Xiong Jun's clansmen without getting hurt! That's amazing. You even beat something above your level!"
"It was all right. I've cultivated for a year and a half, but I still feel pretty average."
Su Miu sighed. He was still too weak. He needed to find a way to keep improving.
Meanwhile, Bi Ji treated the severely injured Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear. Before long, the enormous bear was fully recovered. Once it stood up, it looked at Su Miu with eyes full of fear.
Watching this, Di Tian thought of Xiong Jun, who weighed a hundred tons but had a hundred and one tons of defiance in him. Should I try beating the hell out of Xiong Jun like this? Maybe that would make him behave.
The instant that thought surfaced, Xiong Jun, who was discussing life with a female bear in his den, suddenly felt a chill run through him. He shuddered and immediately shrank back.
"Who's plotting against me?"
He looked around but could not find the source of that chilling sensation. In the end, he could only shake his head and return to discussing life with the female bear.
Meanwhile:
[Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear] Rank: servant level / two thousand years Attributes: earth, metal Potential: 7 Innate talents: damage resistance, reduces damage taken by twenty percent; control resistance, increases resistance to control effects by twenty percent.
Looking at the information before him, he nodded. The Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear had also given his stats a substantial boost, greatly increasing his strength, defense, and the like.
"Thank you for helping me catch this Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear, Senior Di Tian."
He thanked Di Tian. Without his help, he would probably have spent quite some time searching for one. Bi Ji had helped heal it, too.
"Since I promised to help, I naturally wouldn't go back on my word."
Di Tian remained aloof. All he had done was catch a Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear and beat it up. It had not died, so what did it matter? It was not one of his own clansmen, anyway.
After saying his goodbyes, Su Miu returned to Blue Star. Successfully acquiring a Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear as a summoned beast had given his strength a tremendous boost.
After all, he certainly could not summon Di Qiu'er or Bai Xiuxiu, his two humanoid summoned beasts. The mighty Electrolux was resting, and he did not want to disturb him.
Now he finally had something he could openly summon to help him fight, without worrying about this or that. He immediately decided to keep making money. As for why he needed the money...
"Su Miu, hiring a smith capable of forging exotic bones from commander-level demon beasts costs about... two hundred million."
"H-how much?! Two hundred million?!"
The staggering figure left him dumbfounded. Looking at the balance of just over fifty million in his account, his face fell.
His Golden Hawksbill Turtle torso bone and Sky Dream Ice Silkworm Cast Skin were both commander-level exotic bone and exotic hide. They were materials for crafting excellent magic equipment, yet he could not even afford to hire someone...
"Yes, and that's already a very reasonable price offered out of respect for our Azure Sky Hunter Agency."
Ling Ling calmly took a sip of juice and looked at him as if to tell him not to make such a fuss.
"So it all comes down to money after all? Sigh..."
Su Miu slumped over the table. Two hundred million... He would have to slaughter entire demon beast nests, and plenty of them at that. Even then, it would take him a long time to earn enough.
"Speaking of money, how much do you have left? There's also news about the water element spirit seed you've been looking for."
The little girl calmly browsed the information on her laptop. Soon, she opened a message and turned the screen toward him.
Su Miu looked up, and a piece of information caught his eye: there seemed to be news of a water element spirit seed near the Pearl River, and more than one person was selling that information.
"Well? Want to go take a look?"
Ling Ling smiled like a little fox. In truth, she simply could not sit still and wanted to go out and have some fun. Although commander-level demon beasts also occupied the Pearl River, they would only be roaming its middle region, where they would encounter warrior-level demon beasts at most.
That would not be much of a problem. With Su Miu's escape speed, even a warrior-level demon beast could only stare helplessly after him.
Besides, the Swamp Giant Lizards living there were not known for their speed, so there was no need to worry about danger.
Ling Ling had also heard that Su Miu had finally contracted a summoned beast. It had to be strong. She knew her partner had very high standards, after all, so he must have chosen his summoned beast carefully.
"I... guess we could go take a look? If we run into danger, we'll retreat."
Su Miu propped his head on his right hand. After thinking for a moment, he nodded and agreed to the suggestion.
"All right, let's get ready, then. You'd better keep me safe."
"I know."
"Oh, right. Remember to invite a few reliable friends along."
"You want me to find them?"
Ling Ling's sudden request for him to bring a few more friends caught him off guard. She nodded and replied:
"Yes. The other hunters at our Hunter Station are all busy, so finding people is up to you. Remember to get someone with a defensive element and someone with an offensive element. Of course, if possible, someone with the Psychic Element would be best."
P.S. This is the sixth update for June 19, bringing the total to twelve thousand words.
Before you continue