Translator: 549690339

Xia Chao went into seclusion for three months. His strength had changed dramatically – he had grown from a feeble student to a first-grade Golden Core cultivator, with the strength to wield thousands of pounds with ease.

It was clear what would happen when he entered society.

The Lingxi World had many items made of hard materials, but those were for contracted beasts, not humans. Humans still used normal materials. Xia Chao’s strength was so great that, if he didn’t actively suppress it, he would ruin everything he touched. Even picking up chopsticks would be a problem.

Luckily, Xia Chao had a knack for cultivation. Once he knew about his situation, he managed to control his strength within a day.

Mastering control of strength is essential for every cultivator who’s reached the Golden Core Stage.

Even though the power level was generally high in the land of Jiuzhou, not every object could withstand a thousand pounds of force. Therefore, to enjoy everyday life, cultivators in the Golden Core Stage and above had to learn to control their strength.

Xia Chao’s day off was eventful. Street thugs and local strongmen often came to cause trouble, only to be physically overpowered by him. Whenever he brought out his black card, the enemy kowtowed on the spot, begging for mercy.

Those who had sought to lay a hand on Xia Chao received warnings from the Jiuzhou conglomerate, and penalties from the national administration. They were told to be careful who they messed with.

Jiang Li had already informed the highest-level leaders of the situation.

Some people thought the Jiuzhou conglomerate was backed by the highest elites in human society, not knowing that it was actually the other way around.

Xia Chao felt this day off turned out much different than he had imagined.

Little Green hung around Xia Chao’s neck, its eyes closed in meditation, continuing its cultivation.

One day later, Xia Chao and Qiu Shi gathered at the place Jiang Li had specified.

“How was your day off?” Jiang Li, the CEO of Jiuzhou conglomerate, asked his employees without any air of superiority.

“It was…okay.” Qiu Shi’s experience was pretty much the same as Xia Chao’s. He didn’t do anything in his day off but adapt to controlling his strength.

“Good to hear. Let’s go, to the Demonic Beast Forest.”

Xia Chao and Qiu Shi had never been in the Demonic Beast Forest, a name synonymous with cruelty, horror, and madness for human beings.

In the academy, only the very best upperclassmen who had spent four years in school and whose contracted beasts were two-star could venture into the Demonic Beast Forest under the guidance of a teacher. Based on their performance there, they had the opportunity to be appraised and join the military.

Others could only fight small-scale wars with beasts after graduation and two years in the military. The latter wasn’t particularly lethal.

However, Xia Chao and Qiu Shi were entering the Demonic Beast Forest in their first year of school, and they weren’t just entering the tease-worthy safe zone, but the much more dangerous area deeper within the forest.

The humans divided the Demonic Beast Forest into the safe zone, danger zone, and death zone.

The safe zone was occupied by one- and two-star beasts, danger zone by three-and four-star beasts, and the death zone by five-and six-star beasts.

Considering Xia Chao and Qiu Shi’s cultivation level, entering the safe zone would make them bullies.

Jiang Li didn’t give them the opportunity to be bullies and took the pair, along with their beasts, to the danger zone.

In the safe area, the roars of beasts were constant and noisy, but within the danger zone, it was as quiet as a place of mourning, save for the sound of the footsteps of this uninvited group.

“There’s only one requirement: stay in the danger zone or death zone until I say it’s over. Don’t return to the safe zone.”

“Get your own food, of course.”

With that said, Jiang Li and White Snow Spirit disappeared.

“What…”

Xia Chao and Qiu Shi hadn’t expected this. They thought Big Brother Jiang was going to help them gain levels, but instead, it was more like survival training in the wilderness.

However, it was all okay for them – as long as they weren’t forced to cultivate in a private training ground, they would be up for anything.

“Be careful!” Xia Chao sensed a sneak attack coming from the forest and that a demonic beast was about to attack them.

A dark golden figure swiftly sprang from the thicket.

“Danger!” Qiu Shi, without any hesitation, threw a punch at the figure, which was sent flying, crashing into a tree, and killed instantly.

“It seems a little weak,” said Qiu Shi, who had expected a desperate fight. Was that it?

From his touch, the opponent had been a two-star beast.

“A two-star beast poses no threat to me.” Qiu Shi, as a peak foundation establishment cultivator, was justified in saying so.

“That was a Dark Golden Terrifying Monkey.” Even though the dark golden figure was crippled by Qiu Shi’s strike, that didn’t prevent Xia Chao from recognizing the identity of the beast.

“I remember Dark Golden Terrifying Monkeys being two-star beasts, but they live in groups. Even three-star creatures that live alone dare not mess with them. This is why they’re eligible to live in the danger zone.”

“A group?”

Xia Chao and Qiu Shi looked up in shock, noticing countless pairs of eyes glowing in the treetops.

Hundreds of two-star beasts!

“No threat to you?” Xia Chao scoffed.

“…For the record, I meant a single two-star beast. Not a bunch,” Qiu Shi’s remark had backfired.

The monkeys descended like rain. The two confronted them and engaged in a fierce battle.

Little Green climbed down from Xia Chao’s neck and moved towards White Tiger, another beast. The two beasts quietly watched their masters fight.

Some monkeys who foolishly attacked the White Tiger and Little Green were swatted away, their bodies sliced in two.

The tail of the White Tiger was sharper than any blade!

The two contracted beasts dismissed the Dark Golden Terrifying Monkeys, as these monkeys posed no threat to them.

After a tough battle, Xia Chao and Qiu Shi finally emerged victorious.

“Damn monkeys! There was a damn three-star monkey king hiding among the two-star monkeys!” Qiu Shi was nearly ambushed by the Monkey King. Luckily, Xia Chao noticed something was off. He fought the monkey king off but got scratched multiple times.

In the end, it was Xia Chao who grabbed the Monkey King by the tail, and slammed it into the ground. The impact shook the ground and the Monkey King’s internal organs turned to mush.

The other monkeys fled back to the safe zone at the sight of their king’s death.

“You guys just watched us fight?”

White Tiger didn’t treat his master, Qiu Shi, any better, “That person told us to survive in the forest, clearly for the purpose of honing our battle skills. If I had stepped in, how would you have trained?”

White Tiger spoke with a beautiful, icy voice, unflinching in its opinion.

Little Green added, “There are stronger beings in this forest besides monkeys. I’ll take care of them.”

Crash—Crash—

A herd of elephant-like creatures trampling trees slowly made their way towards the pair and their beasts as they were talking.

“Adult Sabertooth Elephants, three-star beasts. The lead Elephant King is four-star. They must be the overlords of this area,” Qiu Shi frowned. They didn’t seem easy to deal with.

Little Green spoke indifferently, “You were mistaken. There aren’t only one four-star beasts in the herd. There are three.”

Little Green and White Tiger stepped forward, ready to face the herd.

The White Snow Spirit standing less than ten meters away shook her head, “The little ones have become powerful alright, but they don’t know how to cooperate.”

Jiang Li laughed while barbecuing, “They’ll learn. Come, try my cooking.”

White Snow Spirit glanced at the roast pears, apples, and bananas, completely uninterested.