As Luo Ya finished speaking, he suddenly burst into hearty laughter:
"Exhilarating! Absolutely exhilarating! It's been ages since I faced such a formidable opponent. Junior Brother Lin Ke, you're excellent!"
"I accept my defeat at your hands wholeheartedly."
At this, Lin Ke cupped his hands toward him from afar. "Thank you for going easy on me, Senior Brother Luo."
Without lingering, he went straight to the presiding elder and tucked the wooden box into his robes.
The jade gourd seeds were his!
The Dream-Eating Gecko and Lin Xuanyuan also ran over, gathering around Lin Ke.
Both had suffered considerable injuries.
The Dream-Eating Gecko was better off, having only suffered some superficial wounds, and did not look particularly bedraggled.
By comparison, however, Lin Xuanyuan was in a sorry state.
Several sharp spines on his back had snapped, several patches of scales had been torn from his body, and some areas had even been scorched black by flames.
Clearly, neither he nor the Dream-Eating Gecko had gotten the better of the Red Hou in the battle just now.
The reason was simple.
The Dream-Eating Gecko's Spiritual Techniques and illusions had been of little use against the Red Hou.
Without those two abilities, the Dream-Eating Gecko was even weaker in close combat than an ordinary Golden Core Early Stage spirit beast.
So, to take down the Red Hou, they could only rely on Lin Xuanyuan to fight it in close quarters.
Unfortunately, the Red Hou had a higher cultivation level and an extremely powerful body. After several exchanges, he had suffered quite a bit.
Had his bloodline not been powerful enough, with the combined enhancements of Strength Amplification and Gold-Shattering Cry, they would probably have had to pay a considerable price to defeat the Red Hou.
"Foster Father, I'm sorry. This time... I