Chapter 42: Tenth Boundary Strength

「This place is already extremely close to the border; the commanders of Ben Lang Guo should not appear here. 」

「The owner of one of the Saber-Toothed Pigs, his face terrible-looking, whispered doubtfully, 」

「What kind of person capable of killing the Little Pig would appear here? 」

「The soldiers of Jian Chi State all consider it an honor to be able to contract a Saber-Toothed Pig. 」

「The Saber-Toothed Pig has an astonishing appetite, and he spent a great deal of effort to raise it to the two-star realm! 」

「But he never expected to meet his demise here on the scouting mission! 」

「Could it have been other demon beasts who did this? 」

「Facing his companions' speculation, he shook his head, 」

「The Little Pig has thick skin and strong offensive power; no demon beast of the same rank would dare think of attacking it. 」

「Demon beasts also know to bully the weak and fear the strong. 」

「Given the option to hunt weaker demon beasts, who would attack a Saber-Toothed Pig? 」

「Those tusks can easily pierce the body if one is not careful; it's no joke. 」

「Chase after him; I want to avenge the Little Pig! 」

「The owner of the Saber-Toothed Pig, furious beyond measure, took the lead and swiftly rushed in the direction Gu Han had gone. 」

「Zhao Qin, wait! 」

「His comrade's face changed drastically, and he quickly stepped forward to stop him, 」

「Are you trying to get yourself killed? This is Ben Lang Guo's territory; if you act so rashly and run into their commanders, aren't you just handing over your head? 」

「Zhao Qin's eyes bloodshot, he lowered his voice and roared, 」

「But shouldn't we avenge the Little Pig? 」

「The Little Pig has been raised by him since childhood; one could say they share a mutual understanding. 」

「Moreover, demon beasts are hard to detect and suspect when scouting terrain in the forest, so he always lets the Little Pig take the lead. 」

「Now that the Little Pig has been killed, Zhao Qin has lost his reason, thinking only of revenge. 」

「Your death doesn't matter, but if this mission fails, can you bear the responsibility? 」

「Moreover, we have received orders to protect you; if you act on your own, you'll implicate us as well! 」

「His teammate shouted low, 」

「Revenge must certainly be taken, but a gentleman knows revenge can wait ten years; if we ruin the grand plan at court, it's no longer just a matter of a single Saber-Toothed Pig. 」

「Zhao Qin's anger had not yet subsided, but he knew his teammate's words were not without reason. 」

「For this offensive, the court and the commanders have been planning for a long time. 」

「If, because of his momentary anger, the entire plan ends up failing, 」

「Not only him, but even his family might be implicated! 」

「Even his brother-in-law cannot save him. 」

「After hesitating for a long time, Zhao Qin could only sigh helplessly. 」

「He looked with moist eyes at the small path Gu Han had taken, and punched his own thigh, 」

「"Little Pig, wait for me to avenge you in the future."」

「Seeing Zhao Qin change his mind, the few people continued to lower their postures and began recording the surrounding terrain. 」

「Gu Han ran all the way, making a big loop in the forest, even leaving many traces to mislead possible pursuers, then found a cave and darted inside. 」

「Lighting a fire and roasting the pig proceeded very quickly. 」

「After the Little Wolf lay curled beside the fire to warm itself, Gu Han looked at his status panel after breaking through the tenth boundary. 」

「Host: Gu Han」

「Cultivation: tenth-stage martial disciple」

「Qi Blood: (ninth-stage martial disciple Qi Blood range: 8000~)」

「Strength: 4689 (ninth-stage martial disciple Strength range: 1500~2000)」

「Defense: 2680 (ninth-stage martial disciple Defense range: 1500~2000)」

「Speed: 3515 (ninth-stage martial disciple Speed range: 1500~2000)」

「Spirit: 1599 (ninth-stage martial disciple Spirit range: 800~1000)」

「Technique: Qi Drawing Technique」

「Martial Arts: Blazing Fist (Hall of Entry) Piercing Wind Thrust (Slightly Accomplished)」

「"Breaking through the tenth boundary, my attributes have actually increased this much?"」

「Looking at those terrifying attributes, Gu Han's eyes lit up and he was overjoyed. 」

「Although he relies on absorbing talent, his attributes often far surpass those of martial disciples of the same stage. 」

「However, his advantage in defense and spirit is not particularly great. 」

「Often it is merely average or slightly above among martial disciples of the same stage. 」

「After all, the strength accumulated by martial disciples of the same stage over time is not to be underestimated. 」

「But at this moment, having just broken through to the tenth boundary, his attributes have increased to surpass the upper limit of the same stage by so much. 」

「"It seems choosing the path of the tenth boundary was indeed not a mistake."」

「Gu Han smiled faintly, very satisfied with his strength. 」

「He looked at the status panel of the Little Wolf below. 」

「Battle Pet: Phantom Water Wolf King」

「Strength: eighth-stage」

「Qi Blood: 6854 (one-star eighth-stage demon beast Qi Blood range: 6000~8000)」

Strength: 1310 (one-star eighth-stage monster strength range: 1200～1500)

Defense: 1218 (one-star eighth-stage monster defense range: 1200～1500)

Speed: 1354 (one-star eighth-stage monster speed range: 1200～1500)

Spirit: 666 (one-star eighth-stage monster spirit range: 600～800)

Race Skill: Phantom Water Clone (controlling water element to form a Phantom Water Clone with 15％ of one's strength to assist in battle; the higher the mastery, the stronger the Phantom Water Clone formed and the greater the number of clones)

"Little Wolf may not be able to absorb attributes, but with the help of monster Qi Blood, Water Elemental Force, and monster inner core, it can be considered all-around balanced development."

"Moreover, the Phantom Water Clone condensed by Little Wolf has also increased in strength compared to before."

Gu Han stroked his chin, not too surprised by Little Wolf's strength.

"But Little Wolf's current attributes, among one-star eighth-stage monsters, seem only average."

In this regard, Gu Han actually had some mental preparation.

"Phantom Water Wolf King sounds imposing, but in reality its upper limit is probably no more than a third-stage monster, corresponding to a human Martial Master."

Moreover, this is the theoretical limit; appearing in this mountain range, Little Wolf's father is at most a second-stage monster.

Such strength gives an overwhelming advantage over weaker monsters of other races at low stages.

But as the realm increases, this advantage over same-level monsters becomes smaller and smaller.

By the time it reaches third stage, it instead becomes a disadvantage.

But this is also hard to avoid; Gu Han wanted to obtain, early on, a juvenile monster capable of straight-up reaching ninth-stage monster emperor as a battle pet, which is nothing short of daydreaming.

With the Battle Pet System enabling Little Wolf's bloodline to break through, it is already quite fortunate.

"Even if it's just for Little Wolf, I cannot slack off."

Gu Han's thought hadn't even settled when his nostrils twitched slightly.

"The aroma of roasted suckling pig is really fragrant."

Little Wolf even voluntarily changed to the size of a Samoyed, preparing to feast heartily.

Gu Han smiled, then proactively cut a large strip of pork leg for Little Wolf, letting Little Wolf feast heartily.

"Eat slowly, don't burn yourself……"

A person and a wolf feasted heartily inside the cave.

And Guan Shan and the other instructors, upon receiving the information from Qian Fu's report, also immediately sprang into action.

They split up to search in the direction near the border.

Guan Shan even, upon arriving near the border monument of the two countries, almost came to blows on the spot with the gatekeeper Bijang of the Saber-Toothed Pig.

However, the two had been opponents for many years, knowing that in a short time neither could overcome the other.

They could only exchange verbal barbs, letting the other wash their neck clean and await death on the battlefield before turning and leaving.