Chapter 325: Wild Beast! Single!!!

【Wild Beast?】

An unfamiliar term, and it also made Baichuan, who was about to dodge, pause for a moment, allowing the other party to grab his right claw.

Because he was also very curious about the information the other party had said.

"That's right! A Wild Beast! The true Banzhu of this land!" Shan paid no heed to the exclamations of the two siblings, while carefully yet full of affection stroking the black sharp claws that Baichuan had extended, savoring that incomparably Sharp aura, patiently explaining to them, "Moreover, it's still a young beast that hasn't grown up yet. The gains from this entire trip might not add up to even a fraction of this little beast!"

"Look, this is the unrivaled weapon that only a living being possessing the bloodline of a true Wild Beast possesses! Claws so sharp they can cut through anything! Even my skin was cut by it."

Shan extended his finger—which had only been lightly stroked yet still had a small cut on it—right in front of the two siblings' eyes.

It was an extremely rough, thick finger with skin like tough cowhide, on which a drop of bright red, slightly viscous blood was strikingly conspicuous.

"A Lingdi indeed, worthy of being a place where any treasure may appear, capable of even birthing living beings with the bloodline of a Wild Beast. But I have to say, the luck of you siblings is truly not bad! Not only do you possess such a precious Wild Beast bloodline creature, but you were also able to escape alone with such frail bodies—you are far stronger than that bunch of trash."

"I see…"

"Mao Mao is so amazing!"

The voices of the youth and the girl, different in tone, rang out at the same time.

The former gazed at the armored giant whose demeanor was completely different from before, his expression turning somewhat obscure and unreadable; the latter was simply delighted at how special her Mao Mao was.

【The power of the Banzhu of the land? Looks like I seem to have gotten something good at the start?】

At this moment, having finished listening to the giant's words, Baichuan also thought with great interest.

"Lord Shan, hearing you say this, are Wild Beasts perhaps difficult to obtain even in your place?"

Suddenly, Zhou Yun cautiously spoke up after deliberation.

"Exactly," Shan glanced at the youth, his hands never stopping their motion, revealing undisguised affection, "Wild Beasts—even living beings that merely contain a trace of their bloodline—once grown, their strength at the very least is enough to make them a Rank 1 Crimson Bright Species. That Gangci Beast you encountered before was only close to a Crimson Bright Species, while a normal Wild Beast can easily step into the Tier 3 Divine Speed Species. And among those of the same rank, humans are almost no match for them. The entire Sand Castle land only has two Tier 2 beings. You tell me, are they strong or not?"

"Hiss—"

Zhou Yun sharply drew in a breath. If those unfamiliar terms representing strength were something he might not understand, that wolf the size of a small car he had truly experienced its terror firsthand.

In terms of speed, it was even faster than a small car. Back then, if the beast hadn't been chased by Shan's giant ship for who knows how long and had its stamina nearly exhausted, how could their little car have had the chance to flee for so long? And that giant wolf possessed far more than just speed—its strength alone was such that while running it could easily shatter highways made of concrete, steel bars, and asphalt mixed together. Most importantly, after being pierced by that terrifying supersonic arrow at the back, it still struggled for so long! One could well imagine its vitality.

Yet such a terrifying giant wolf was only close to Rank 1?

Is this world really that terrifying?

"Hehe, the lad is scared, isn't he?"

Seeing the shocked youth, Shan chuckled with a satisfied expression, then patted his shoulder and slowly said, "But you don't need to worry too much. Normal ranks aren't actually that strong. That Gangci Beast's strength was already close to that of a Tier 2 human without any weapons. It's only Wild Beasts that are truly powerful."

After saying this, he stood up again, turned his back to them and gazed into the distance at the rolling yellow sand and the ever somewhat hazy sky. After a long while, he let out a faint sigh, "Wild Beasts, what powerful and enviable creatures. If only there were a few more, perhaps…"

Beside him, Zhou Yun was stunned for a moment. He glanced at Mao Mao on the ground, who was slightly resisting his sister's stroking, then looked at Shan's tall, wall-like back. Recalling the other's utterly undisguised affection earlier, his fists behind his back involuntarily clenched. He suddenly gritted his teeth and said, "Lord Shan, since Mao Mao is so precious, I wonder if you need it?"

Once these words were spoken, Zhou Yun seemed to let out a breath of relief, then immediately became expressionless, as if he were merely saying something trivial like 'have you eaten today'.

Although he was very unwilling, not wanting to give up the family Mao Mao who had been with them day and night, Zhou Yun was also clear that Mao Mao, having become so precious, its specialness was absolutely not something that he and his sister, two ordinary people who had just descended into this world, could protect.

Especially judging from the conduct of the other's party before, this world did not value human life anywhere near as much as that peaceful world he once lived in—it followed the law of the jungle… No, even in that seemingly peaceful world of the past, once certain things were involved, it was equally a stretch of darkness.

Don't be fooled by the fact that the other party was now chatting and laughing with them, appearing to value the siblings highly. It was entirely possible that in the blink of an eye, their attitude would change, and they would find some excuse to make the siblings disappear on this giant ship.

Perhaps, the other's attitude was also thanks to Mao Mao, you never know.

A commoner is guilty of possessing jade!

Now, possessing Mao Mao, they were no different from a child holding a gold brick. So whether for Mao Mao's future growth or for the siblings' safety, Mao Mao was something they could not protect for the time being.

This, is the sorrow of the weak.

Zhou Yun said silently in his heart.

Once these words were spoken.

The girl squatting on the deck stroking Mao Mao stiffened, somewhat in disbelief, as if suspecting she had heard wrong. She suddenly raised her head, about to question her brother.

"!!!"

However, in the next instant, Zhou Yun, who knew his sister's temperament well, had already squatted down together with her. A large hand firmly covered his sister's mouth, and he gently shook his head, then slowly released her. Yet his hand remained ready to cover her mouth again at any moment.

In an instant, the girl stopped speaking, but her eyes reddened. Somewhat unable to understand what had happened, she looked at her brother with fearful eyes, as if he were a stranger.

Why, why give away my own Mao Mao?

【Good lad.】

Baichuan on the ground was the first to raise his head, squinting at the youth whose expression had become blank—especially at that left hand pressing on his sister's shoulder, with veins faintly bulging.

"Lad, this old man indeed did not misjudge you!"

Hearing this, after a few breaths.

Shan's rough voice came from gazing into the distance. He slowly turned around, yet there was not a trace of joy on his face, even an indescribable solemnity, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking—angry? Pleased?

"You truly are a sharp-witted person."

"However—" he slowly walked away from the edge of the deck, came near the Zhou Yun siblings, and squatting on one knee helped the youth up, "What kind of person do you take this old man for?"

Boom!

In the next instant, he appeared to heavily pat the youth's chest, causing the other to involuntarily bend at the waist. Then his thick, powerful arm hooked around the other's neck, one hand digging into the other's skull, before he burst into hearty laughter: "No matter how despicable this old man is, I wouldn't stoop to stealing a pet from a pair of brats who could both be my grandsons… Hmm, should be family, right?"

Shan's eyes flickered as he looked at the girl squatting on the ground holding the tabby cat Baichuan, her eyes slightly reddened, and corrected himself.

"A living being with the bloodline of a Wild Beast is indeed precious, and very powerful. This old man does indeed like it very much, or rather everyone likes it, but that doesn't mean this old man would stoop to seizing it by force."

"In my Sand Castle, lad, instead of wasting Time thinking about this, you'd better think about how to become a bit stronger next! Otherwise, heh heh, your days ahead will be very tough."

"Alright," Shan released the youth who kept crying out in pain, clapped his hands and said: "Go comfort your sister. This old man still has things to do."

After saying this, the armored giant carrying a giant sword, with his back turned, waved his hand and headed toward the ship's cabin.

"Truly… a strange person…"

Zhou Yun bit his lower lip, murmuring in a voice that was neither crying nor laughing. He gazed at the tall giant walking away, touched his still somewhat aching chest and neck, then looked at his tearful sister, and couldn't help rubbing his temples, "Now this is going to be a headache…"

Baichuan beside them looked at the two siblings who were somewhat sulking, shook his head inwardly, and leaped out of the girl's arms. Amid the girl's exclamation, he leisurely walked away across the deck.

What sibling conflicts, affection and such, what do they have to do with him, a cat?

After all, I'm just a cat without feelings.

Thinking about this and that, Baichuan leaped onto the side of the giant ship, watching the tall men bustling about bare-chested, and amid their busy work made his way to the side deck, taking in the alien scenery being left behind by the giant ship.

At a glance, below rolled yellow sand radiating heat, occasionally whipped by the wind into wisps of scorching breath. Now that they were far from the Lingdi they had descended upon, the sky around them had begun to lose that initial grayish haze and the pervasive chill of erosion, finally showing a blue tinged with white.

Although the whole scene was rather monotonous, set against the backdrop of the many busy men, it had its own unique flavor.

After all, when others work and you rest without having to lift a finger, that in itself is a pleasure.

Baichuan could not help but laugh, thinking that his initial choice of his most familiar animal body had truly been a wise one.

"Damn it!"

Elsewhere, Shan, who had left the deck and entered the ship's cabin, suddenly paused mid-step, as if remembering something, and smacked his forehead in regret. "Just now I was too busy showing off and actually forgot to tell that kid — the sharp claws left behind from that little beast's transformation, remember to keep them and send them to this old man…"

"Sigh, forget it, forget it, I'll mention it next time…"

"A wild beast, huh…"

……

At night, inside the cabin — perhaps because of Zhou Yun's actions at noon, or perhaps because Baichuan really was that special — the cabin they were now staying in was finally no longer the previous one where a group of people were crammed together, but a separate one!

Not only that—

'Indeed, this is the normal rate of getting stronger! My Gold Finger isn't trash!'

Baichuan, tearing into beast meat delivered by a two-meter-tall delicate-looking girl in big bites, sighed inwardly.

Because at this moment, as he ate, the Energy Point on his panel was actually increasing at a speed visible to the naked eye!

Back in Gucheng, he had stayed there so long and only barely accumulated 50 points of energy. Converted to days, it was basically less than 5 points a day — absolute turtle speed, not even enough to enhance a single LV1 Ability. And that was with him controlling the energy in his body, preventing it from flowing to his right claw, the big energy consumer.

But what about now?

He only had to take a big bite of meat, and in a moment he could see the energy increasing bit by bit!

It was like riding a rocket!

So this is the effect of high-energy food?

It really couldn't be compared to those dry rations from the modern city where that youth came from.

Just one piece of beast meat simply boiled with salt — the energy it contained was already this exaggerated?

Truly, there's no harm without comparison.

Baichuan glanced at the youth and girl, who had only eaten a small piece each and were already flushing red, then viciously tore off another bite as he silently thought.

'What idiots!'

The next instant, he helplessly rolled his eyes, jumped off the table, came before them, and slowly raised his paw, waving it in front of them.

"…So hot, so full, so stuffed…"

The girl, whose little face had turned rosy after only eating a small piece of beast meat, kept fanning her cheeks with her small hands. Just then she suddenly saw Mao Mao jump in front of her, waving his paw.

What was this for?

The next moment, the girl's dewy eyes suddenly lit up — right!

Too full, all warm and toasty — wasn't this just a bit like the feeling when practicing with the blade?

Thinking of this, she immediately jumped off the chair and picked up her blade.

Fortunately, the girl had a petite figure, and the Tachi itself wasn't very long. Plus, since they now had a separate compartment, there was just enough space to swing it and practice.

Zhou Yun beside her, equally stuffed to the point of bursting, saw Mao Mao's action and his sister's reaction and immediately understood. He hurriedly grabbed his own weapon and headed for the Lianwuchang outside the cabin.

Because there was no practice space left for him inside.

Even on the giant ship, there were dedicated training areas.

Or rather, other facilities on this giant ship might be dispensable, but a training ground like the Lianwuchang was absolutely essential.

After all, this Hunting Ship itself was a large mobile base — Shan's tool for long periods of hunting and gathering supplies outside Sand Castle. The crew were all strong; even those without martial skills had physical constitutions no ordinary person could compare to. And physical conditioning and getting stronger weren't things you could achieve just by lying or sitting down — only through persistent training!

Watching the two siblings finally catch on, Baichuan jumped back onto the table and continued eating in big bites.

The siblings would overeat because they couldn't digest the high energy, but he… well, he was currently the same, just slightly better off than them.

Baichuan silently thought this as he felt his belly already somewhat stuffed.

It seemed that if circumstances allowed, his next ability should still be to choose 【Digestion & Absorption】 — this was the cornerstone of strength.

As for after that, he'd decide based on the situation.

After hearing what Shan said about the special nature of wild beasts, Baichuan, now with abundant energy, once again released the energy demands of his mutated claw.

After all, wild beasts, as the true Banzhu of this world's land, the strongest of their tier, must certainly have something special about them.

It might well be another LV5 planet-level ability in essence; given how powerful this world was, perhaps even a legendary LV6.

But that wasn't something he needed to consider right now.

Now that he was full, it was time for him to move around a bit and digest.

He aimed to become even stronger during the half-year journey back to Sand Castle.

Setting everything else aside, at the very least he needed to have the ability to protect himself!

Indeed, this kind of opening was the one that suited him, Baichuan, best.

……

(End of this chapter)