"Master, I brought the rabbit back. How are you planning to cook it today?"
Looking at the Soft Bone Rabbit in Cho'Gath's claws, Yu Tianlong took it, swiftly stripped off its skin and removed its innards, then skewered it on a branch and said casually.
"Barbecue!"
Cho'Gath's eyes lit up at Yu Tianlong's answer.
"Master, remember to put extra cumin on my share!"
"Sure thing!"
Yu Tianlong grilled while Cho'Gath crouched beside him, watching longingly, drool dripping from his mouth now and then. He was filthy.
"Keep your drool in check. With an appetite as big as yours, I really don't know why you're craving this little bit of meat."
Cho'Gath wiped haphazardly at his drool with his forelimbs, then gave a goofy grin.
"But your cooking smells so good, Master~"
Seeing him like this, Yu Tianlong smiled helplessly.
"All right, take it and eat. I don't know why you love eating rabbits so much!"
"You are what you eat. Rabbits run fast, so I want my next evolution to lean toward improving my speed a little."
"Besides, Master, didn't you say the Soft Bone Rabbit species has some heaven-defying Soul Skills?"
"Teleportation, Invincible Golden Body, and Nihility. I don't know why, but I feel like I might be able to gain abilities like those too, so I want to try."
Yu Tianlong also had some understanding of Cho'Gath's evolution.
Over the past month, Cho'Gath had already evolved twice.
Of those two evolutions, one had improved his physique, while the other had given him fire resistance.
Both evolutions were related to the attributes of the Soul Beasts Cho'Gath had eaten.
So after Yu Tianlong explained what made the Soft Bone Rabbit species special, Cho'Gath immediately recalled their escape from the thousand-year Cave Demon Spider.
If he had been a little faster then, or had an ability like Teleportation, would his master have escaped injury?
That was why he had set his sights on Soft Bone Rabbits!
"All right, eat up. Once you're done, we need to start today's hunt."
"Let's try to break through to Soul Grandmaster within two months!"
"Even hundred-year Soft Bone Rabbits are rare. We'll still have to look for other Soul Beasts!"
Yu Tianlong was actually quite invested in Cho'Gath's evolution, though his original plan had been to keep Cho'Gath on the path of physical strength.
But thinking it over later, that was too narrow an extreme. Besides, there was no upper limit to Cho'Gath's devouring. Rather than pushing a single aspect to the limit, he might as well become a warrior with all six sides covered.
Balanced development across the board might be weak, but pushing every aspect to the limit was another matter entirely.
A monster developed in strength, speed, physique, and magic would be far stronger than one with just strength and physique!
And so Yu Tianlong changed his mind.
After finishing the Soft Bone Rabbit, the human and beast set off in one direction.
After all, every high-ranking Soul Beast had its own territory.
When he decided to take this path, Yu Tianlong had already chosen a Soul Beast for Cho'Gath to devour.
A thousand-year Huo Yun Leopard.
A Soul Beast that could give Cho'Gath both fire resistance and a speed boost.
Cho'Gath's raw strength could now rival a Soul Beast that had just reached a thousand years!
Of course, that did not include Yu Tianlong. He was still only a rank-seventeen Soul Master, after all.
Even though his physique and Soul Power reserves exceeded those of other Soul Masters at his rank by who knew how much!
Yu Tianlong was on par with a Soul Grandmaster, not a match for a thousand-year Soul Beast!
So all Yu Tianlong could do was interfere with the opponent a little, and he could only act at the most critical moment.
Yu Tianlong knew his own limits. He was Cho'Gath's weakness, so naturally, he had to protect himself.
"Little Cho, have you sensed the target?"
"That little kitty is eating up in the canopy!"
Hearing this, Yu Tianlong instinctively raised his head and looked at the slender red figure atop an ancient tree.
With just one glance, Yu Tianlong was captivated by its streamlined form.
He had to admit that the Huo Yun Leopard was exceptionally beautiful. Golden, threadlike cloud patterns floated amid its satin-smooth fur, and orange-red sparks danced at the tip of every hair.
As it stretched, its streamlined back rose and fell like molten red copper, lean muscles showing faintly beneath its fur. Its four paws instantly branded plum-blossom-shaped scorch marks into the ancient tree beneath them.
Huo Yun Leopards were actually extremely precious resources in the eyes of certain Soul Masters with fire-type Martial Souls or feline Beast Martial Souls.
After all, this kind of Soul Beast could strengthen their Martial Souls and give them a decent Soul Skill.
Most importantly, although Huo Yun Leopards looked magnificent and beautiful, their combat strength was somewhat hollow.
Huo Yun Leopards were formidable when hunting small Soul Beasts.
But against well-prepared Soul Masters, they fell somewhat short.
That was because a Huo Yun Leopard's entire skill set was made for ambushes.
Once its whereabouts were exposed and it faced a head-on battle, the Huo Yun Leopard lost its advantage.
But Yu Tianlong only had himself and Cho'Gath. They hardly counted as a Soul Master team, and even in a head-on confrontation, there was no one to stand by and prevent it from escaping.
So hunting it would still be rather difficult. After all, this creature was astonishingly fast and held grudges.
If they failed to kill it in one attempt, there would be trouble later.
"Little Cho, are you confident you can keep this Soul Beast from escaping?"
Cho'Gath thought for a moment, slowly shook his large head, then nodded again.
"Master, I'm not sure I can stop it. Unless it lets me get close and pin it down, there's nothing I can do if it runs!"
Hearing this, Yu Tianlong found himself in a difficult position too.
He also understood that this was an inevitable difficulty when hunting speed-type Soul Beasts. They were fast, impossible to catch, and once they escaped, endless retaliation would follow.
But this was a problem he and Cho'Gath had to face.
Without hunting and devouring them, Cho'Gath's speed would improve very slowly, and they would still have few options when they encountered this kind of situation in the future.
At that thought, Yu Tianlong made up his mind.
Looks like we'll have to take a risk!
"Little Cho, listen to me..."
"Master, no! That's too dangerous!"
"Be good and listen to me. Are you still a good baby or not?"
"All right..."
Halfway through eating its prey, the Huo Yun Leopard suddenly sensed a creature approaching its area.
Its hunter's instincts made it hide at once, watching from the shadows to see which brainless Soul Beast dared enter its living grounds.
Did it not know that the leopard ruled this area?
But the instant it saw that it was a human child, the look in the Huo Yun Leopard's eyes changed.
Its initial wariness instantly turned vicious.
The conflict between Soul Masters and Soul Beasts had existed for who knew how many years.
This hatred was already carved into their bones, etched into their genes.
Most importantly, it was not just humans who could grow stronger by obtaining Soul Beasts' Soul Rings. Soul Beasts could also grow stronger by eating Soul Masters, though the improvement was not as great as it was for Soul Masters.
So the instant it saw this human child Soul Master, the Huo Yun Leopard already felt the urge to kill.
He actually dared enter its territory, knowing neither the height of the heavens nor the depths of the earth.
Wasn't this a gift bestowed by heaven?
At that thought, the Huo Yun Leopard crouched even lower.