When Anton saw his boss's cold expression, he completely lost his appetite for the delicious food he had just been looking forward to. He could only give a reluctant "Oh" and walk over.
After dawdling his way over, the little bear Anton said ingratiatingly, "Boss, my paws don't taste good. If you really want some, let's go find some other bear-type magical beasts."
To save his own right paw, the little bear Anton could only apologize to the other little bears.
Lucas also said sternly, "Stop dawdling. Get over here."
What the little bear Anton did not know was that, starting that day, his comfortable old life was gone for good. Every day, his boss forced him to absorb magical energy, and he no longer had the convenience of directly absorbing Magic Beast Cores.
That was not even what the little bear found hardest to accept. Every morning was his boss's set time for practicing martial skills. Those hours were the darkest moments of the little bear Anton's life. His seventh-level boss thrashed him in every way, every time. He had no ability to fight back at all, and every day he experienced the same situation he had previously watched when his boss thrashed his own father.
Worse still, unlike his boss's father, who only experienced a thrashing when he challenged Lucas every so often, Anton got thrashed every single day. The only thing that made Anton feel there was still hope in his bear life was that, at noon after thrashing him, his boss would always roast a delicious serving of meat.
In the afternoons, his boss generally carved. Only then did Anton have a happy, relaxing time recovering his magical power.
At night, his boss meditated, and that was when Anton stood watch.
He and his boss had now built a stone house in another valley not far from the tribe, where they lived and trained. That day, after yet another thrashing, he sensed his boss's followers approaching.
The little bear Anton immediately grew happy. With those few here, his boss would thrash them instead, and he could slack off.
Eric, Benny, and the others walked over, including two young tribesmen Lucas was not very familiar with. They were also at the level of Fifth Rank Warriors, though there were no traces of battle qi on them.
Windsor stepped forward and took Lucas's hand. Then she said, "The five of us are heading out to gain experience."
Lucas stroked her head, then told them, "Since you're heading out to gain experience, I won't say much about dealing with magical beasts. Although your chances of encountering humans in the wilderness might be rather low, if you do meet them, avoid them whenever possible. Sometimes they're even more dangerous than magical beasts."
As he spoke, Lucas glanced at Benny, then told them, "Don't tell people from other tribes that you have battle qi. They might do anything to get it."
After that, he looked at the two young tribesmen who had also practiced with him in the mornings before and told them, "As long as you reach the sixth level, I'll give you a reward when you return."
Both of them were delighted to hear that. Although Lucas was their age, the other tribespeople were already saying that Lucas was now the tribe's strongest warrior. His reward would surely be something that could improve their strength again, so they immediately promised to work hard.
After giving them a few more precautions about dangers he had encountered before, Lucas spoke privately with Windsor for a while. Then they said their goodbyes and left!
At this point, the little bear Anton hemmed and hawed, finding it hard to speak. Lucas looked at him and said, "What are you thinking? Say it."
The little bear Anton said, "Should I secretly follow them and protect Second Boss?"
Lucas rolled his eyes at him and said irritably, "Don't think I don't know what you're thinking. You want to slack off? Not a chance!"
"Everyone has things they need to experience. I can't stay by their sides wherever they go for their entire lives. I have my own things to do, and they have their own paths to walk. This is already all I can do for them!"
The little bear Anton still said, "But aren't you afraid Second Boss might be in danger?"
Lucas withdrew his gaze.
Then he said, "Anyone can face danger, but I can't keep her tied to my side. That wouldn't be fair to her!" "All right, stop worrying about them. You'd better worry about yourself. I've noticed you slacking off lately. Extra training today!"
"No way, Boss. I just finished getting beaten up this morning!"
"How was that getting beaten up? Just tell me, did you get stronger or not?"
"But Boss, can we find another way to get stronger?"
"No."
Lucas rejected his request outright, and the little bear Anton was thrashed by Lucas once again. The little bear Anton said bluntly, "Boss, you're definitely taking it out on me because Second Boss left."
"You still have time to think about that? Looks like I haven't hit you hard enough."
"See? You gave yourself away. You really are beating me up. You owe me at least two meals of meat."
"We'll talk after I'm done."
Next, the little bear Anton was once again forced to experience a miserable bear life that nevertheless made him stronger. With Second Boss's departure, the time he spent getting thrashed grew even longer, and the only comfort left to him was the delicious food that was roast meat.
Half a year later, Lucas had tempered his body to the sixth level. His battle qi had even advanced to the peak of the seventh level, while his spiritual power had progressed the fastest. His Azure Lotus Visualization Method was already showing initial results, and Lucas estimated that his spiritual power would soon break through to the seventh level as well. When that happened, his spiritual power could liquefy.
Today, Lucas wanted to follow Linley's example and create a large stone sculpture. He wanted to see whether he could achieve a sudden insight, allowing his spiritual power to break through as well and reach the seventh level!
Lucas planned to carve the moment he had come closest to death so far: when he had faced that ninth-level snake-type magical beast in front of that spatial rift. That had been the moment when he was most desperate and his will to survive was strongest. Through this carving, Lucas also wanted to experience what he had felt then once more, to see whether he could gain some insight into the Death Edict.
The little bear Anton was rather curious today as well. In the morning, his boss had not sought him out to spar as usual. Instead, he was adjusting his condition, so Anton asked, "Boss, aren't we sparring today?"
Lucas explained to him, "No. Today, I'm planning to carve something large. It might take several days. During that time, you need to guard this place. Don't let anyone approach or disturb me. I want to attempt to break through to the seventh level in spiritual power while I'm in the best possible condition!"
The little bear Anton was rather happy to hear that they would not be sparring today. Although he now also felt he was close to becoming a Seventh-Level Magical Beast, with his boss not sparring with him for the next few days, he could still slack off. That was what made him happiest.
Before you continue