Andrew turned around, his gaze turning slightly cold. "You're asking for death!" Given his habits, he would never let a high-level magical beast go when he encountered one. Sparing the Crimson Flame Wolf King this time had already been an exception, yet it actually charged after him, heedless of its own life!
Raising his right hand, Andrew gathered azure battle-qi around his fist. Once he had gathered his strength, he was about to strike! But before he could throw his punch, the Crimson Flame Wolf King actually...
Thud!
Andrew suddenly froze. The Crimson Flame Wolf King had not been attacking at all. Instead, it had prostrated itself before him. Clearly, it was offering to acknowledge him as its master!
"What's going on?" Puzzlement rose in Andrew's mind. He lowered his fist, and the battle-qi immediately faded as well.
Unafraid of any tricks the Crimson Flame Wolf King might play, he walked up to it and asked quietly, "Do you want to acknowledge me as your master?"
The Crimson Flame Wolf King lowered its head and nodded respectfully several times.
"Heh..." Andrew shook his head with a smile. "I've long thought you were highly intelligent. It seems I wasn't wrong. But to me, your strength is too low!"
Too weak?
For an eighth-level warrior, a seventh-level Crimson Flame Wolf King was already a very good helper. Magical beasts generally had greater combat strength than human warriors of the same level. A seventh-level magical beast could just barely contend with an eighth-level warrior.
Moreover, magical beasts not only had powerful bodies but could also use magic, making them very good helpers for a warrior.
But Andrew was no ordinary eighth-level warrior!
"I know you're highly intelligent." Andrew thought for a moment, then explained, "But that isn't what I need. You're only at the seventh level, so you won't be of much help to me. Besides, I don't want to sign a servant contract with you. That would harm your intelligence and cut off your potential."
The Crimson Flame Wolf King seemed thoughtful. Clearly, it had understood everything Andrew said.
Seeing this, Andrew prepared to leave. Whatever the case, its offer to acknowledge him as its master was an expression of goodwill. Andrew responded to goodwill with goodwill.
"Awoo, awoo..."
Even after hearing his explanation, the Crimson Flame Wolf King refused to give up. It gently rose and followed him another couple of steps.
This time, Andrew did not refuse. He stopped and stared at the Crimson Flame Wolf King, which stood over a meter tall and was around three meters long.
"Do you want to increase your strength?" Andrew asked.
The Crimson Flame Wolf King nodded without hesitation, its red wolf eyes filled with anticipation.
Andrew sighed, his expression somewhat complicated.
"You're a magical beast, but because of your mutation, your intelligence far exceeds that of the others around you. Presumably, that's also why you developed a yearning for strength. Sigh, ordinary magical beasts, even a ninth-level One-Horned Ice Python, still live according to their instincts despite their considerable intelligence. But you're already on the verge of breaking free of your instincts."
Andrew shook his head, no one knowing what was on his mind.
"For living beings, greater intelligence isn't necessarily a good thing. The more intelligent you are, the more desires you have. The more you want to gain, the more you lose. You could have lived freely in the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts as a wolf king, but now, for the sake of strength, you're actually giving up your freedom to follow me. Do you think it's worth it?"
At that moment, Andrew was not treating it as a magical beast, but as a person.
The Crimson Flame Wolf King suddenly let out a long howl toward the northwest, its cry echoing through the forest for a long time. Then it glanced at the Crimson Flame Wolves lying on the ground, its eyes filled with reluctance to part. In the end, however, the Crimson Flame Wolf King took its step...
"It seems you've made your choice. All right, I'll grant your wish." Andrew nodded.
He recalled how, a few years earlier, he had racked his brains trying to obtain a battle-qi secret manual. Unexpectedly, the grand elder of the Keli Tribe had given him the Rushing Thunder Secret Manual, and only then had his cultivation begun to go smoothly.
"You want to grow stronger, and I'll give you that opportunity. Just as someone else gave me an opportunity." Andrew patted the Crimson Flame Wolf King's head and spoke quietly.
"From now on, you'll be called Flame Wolf. I won't take you as my magical pet, but you can experience my path of cultivation. If you can earn my attention, I'll help you advance as well."
After those few words, the man and wolf vanished into the forest. Soon, silence returned to the forest...
Three months later, Andrew and Flame Wolf appeared in a narrow valley. Sheer cliffs lined both sides, and its entrance was only wide enough for one person to pass through. The entire valley was easy to defend and difficult to attack.
Two hundred meters into the valley, there was an opening over two meters high in a rock wall. The edges of the opening were very smooth, clearly not naturally formed.
"We'll rest for three days."
Andrew's figure flashed, disappearing into the cave entrance and leaving those words hanging in the air. Hearing them, Flame Wolf gave a low growl, then lay down on a platform in front of the entrance. A faint pattern marked the platform. It had four corners, each bearing a red magic crystal core the size of a longan fruit.
After lying down, Flame Wolf soon fell asleep. On closer inspection, several inconspicuous bloody marks could be seen on its body beneath its red fur. As it slept, red mist slowly rose around it. Shortly after appearing, the mist entered Flame Wolf's body on its own.
This was the magic formation Andrew had set up for Flame Wolf. Fire elements were extremely concentrated within it, helping it advance. Andrew had used a full four seventh-level fire-element magic crystal cores for this formation.
Entering the cave, Andrew sat on a stone bed. His face showed fatigue, but rather than resting immediately, he sat cross-legged and began cultivating.
He had discovered this valley by chance three months earlier. At the time, a seventh-level magical beast, an Adamantine Lizard, had occupied it. Seeing that the location was good and sufficiently secluded, Andrew had killed it and claimed the place for himself, digging a cave into the mountainside as a place to stay.
Afterward, he and Flame Wolf continued searching for high-level magical beasts. They returned once every month to rest and digest their gains from battle. To improve the effects of their cultivation, Andrew had set up a magic formation for both himself and Flame Wolf. All the formations used seventh-level magic cores. Had he not killed quite a few high-level magical beasts during this time, he truly would not have been able to provide them.
As Andrew cultivated, gusts of swirling wind arose out of thin air inside the cave. Two streams flowed into his body, one purple and one red. Soon, his aura surged as well.
After a long time, Andrew opened his eyes, a smile appearing on his weary face.
"Battle really is the fastest way to cultivate. It's only been so long, and my battle-qi has already reached the late stage of the eighth rank. At this rate, I'll be able to break through to the ninth level in another six months!"
Andrew had reason to rejoice. He had been an eighth-level warrior for less than six months, yet he had already reached this realm. Now, becoming a ninth-level warrior was already within sight!
At present, a ninth-level warrior was already an overlord of a region on the continent! The entire Yulan Plane had yet to recover from the war of the gods over a decade earlier. Too much high-level fighting strength had been lost. This was not the era ten thousand years later, when experts would emerge in droves on the Yulan Continent. There were not many Saint-level experts on the entire continent. Moreover, still fearful after the earlier war, these Saint-level experts had all gone into seclusion.
Under these circumstances, a ninth-level warrior could be considered the pinnacle of cultivation!
Once I reach the ninth level, I'll have no opponents below the Saint level! Perhaps I'll even be able to contend with a Saint-level expert to some extent...
Andrew could not help thinking this. The Saint level was the first goal he had set for himself. Once he reached it, he would begin putting his plans into action as well.
After a while, Andrew calmed himself again and began sorting through his gains in the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts.
"I've completely mastered wielding something light as though it were heavy. My goal now is to comprehend 'momentum.' It's just that comprehending 'momentum' requires an opportunity."
Andrew recalled the plot of the original book. "Momentum" was neither influence nor any particular kind of power. Rather, it involved using one's own power to draw upon the power of heaven and earth. Only then could one touch upon the laws and reach the Saint level.
Drawing upon the power of heaven and earth was no easy task. First, one had to become a warrior at the peak of the ninth rank. This was the prerequisite, as well as the foundation of strength. Second, one had to achieve perfect mastery of one's strength. This was the condition for drawing upon the power of heaven and earth.
"I should already have the strength of the peak of the ninth rank. Fusion battle-qi is more than ten times as powerful as ordinary battle-qi. With my battle-qi at the late stage of the eighth rank, I can already match the peak of the ninth rank. As for perfect mastery of my strength, I've only just achieved that as well. It seems I'm already qualified to comprehend 'momentum.'"
Andrew considered his situation and settled on the next direction for his cultivation. However, although he had determined his direction, he still had no idea about the specific method.
"It seems that to comprehend 'momentum,' I'll have to cultivate in the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts for a long time. Back then, I set myself the goal of reaching the Saint level in ten years. Now, it seems that as long as I get past this hurdle, achieving that goal ahead of schedule isn't impossible."
Three days later, Andrew walked out of the cave. This time, he did not intend to head into the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts again.
"I've been away from home for quite some time. It's time to go back and take a look."
Andrew left the valley with Flame Wolf, and the man and wolf raced eastward. Before beginning a long period of cultivation in the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts, Andrew decided to let his family know first. After running a hundred li, Andrew suddenly remembered that he had promised Golden Tiger a ninth-level wind-element magic crystal core...
"I almost forgot about that!" Andrew slapped his forehead and turned back. Over the past few months, he had collected several ninth-level magic crystal cores, but unfortunately, none were wind-element ones. If he went back like this, he would have a hard time facing Golden Tiger.
Come to think of it, Golden Tiger had worked for their family without complaint, and in the end had even signed a contract with Howard. It had indeed been wronged.
No matter what, I should make it up to Golden Tiger, Andrew thought.