Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“That’s right, it’s Li Qing Qin Yi Zhong.” Li Qing was not bothered by the pun at all. He and Qin Yi got a long very well, and they had formed a Monster Hunting Squad after the Cataclysm. Those that knew them within the monster hunting community had all made the same pun. There was nothing much worth getting angry over actually. The more they heard it, they more they thought it was amusing as well.
Although they didn’t look like they minded, Gao Peng was still not comfortable with making a joke out of other people’s names.
“My name is Chen Xuehe,” said Director Chen to Uncle Liu, introducing his name.
Gao Peng looked at the familiars brought by Director Chen and his company. Director Chen’s three familiars were all Commander tier Wide-Toothed Iron Worms. One was at level 30, and the other two were level 24 and 25. Those were both significantly smaller than the level 30 worm.
Li Qing’s familiars were a level 24 Thorny Iron-Hide Boar and a level 21 Poison-Blooded Green Snake.
Qin Yi, on the other hand, had one level 27 Flaming Bird. Its feathers seemed to be flowing with wisps of flame, and its eyes were bright.
Raising familiars was not an easy task. Each familiar had its normal level limit, which might vary slightly based on individual differences. Before approaching this level limit, increasing the level was easy. But once the limit was reached, every increase in level required a large amount of effort and, very often, a large cost as well.
To avoid that, there was another, more convenient method, which was to evolve the familiar’s species. For example, if a wolf were to evolve into a ferocious tiger, its level limit would rise significantly. By feeding it large amounts of rich and nutritious food afterward, it would be able to rise quickly in level again.
As the director of the Monster Breeder Association, Director Chen definitely did not lack the finances. His Wide-Toothed Iron Worms must have hit their level limits long ago, or else the highest leveled one would not merely be at level 30.
For this occasion, Gao Peng had brought Da Zi, Dumby, Silly, Stripey, and Flamy.
Under Uncle Liu’s efforts to nurture Flamy, it had already reached level 19 and was on the brink of breaking through to Commander tier. During promotion to Commander tier, there was an extremely high chance of awakening a monster’s special abilities.
“Don’t tell me you’ve brought all of your familiars?” Director Chen was a little surprised.
“… Do you all keep your familiars at home?” Gao Peng asked.
“I have two familiars with low combat ability, so I didn’t bring them,” said Director Chen as he shook his head.
“I just recently managed to establish a contract with a juvenile Commander tier monster, so I’m still nurturing it at home,” said Qin Yi.
Gao Peng looked at his full team of five familiars. It was as if he’d brought the entire family out, both young and old.
“It’s alright. I brought all of my familiars along too. We’re going full force, aren’t we?” Uncle Liu said to comfort Gao Peng.
Gao Peng nodded, grateful to him.
Other than Softy, Uncle Liu had brought another familiar as well. Its body was almost twenty feet long, but it looked like an ordinary green lizard. The giant green lizard squinted as it lay on the ground. It was extremely quiet and didn’t look the least bit scary.
But its attributes were absolutely frightening.
[Monster Name]: Shadow Japalura
[Monster Level]: 39
[Monster Grade]: Perfect
[Monster Ability]: Harden Skin Lv2
[Special Characteristic]: Shadow Assassin (Effect 1, Passive Effect: When it is silent and still, it will perfectly blend in with its surroundings, matching both color and body temperature to its surroundings; Effect 2, Passive Effect: Its special skin allows it to absorb sound as well as vibrations, allowing it to move silently and remain almost undetectable.)
A Nightshadow Cat and a Shadow Japalura. Uncle Liu’s familiars were all perfectly suited for the path of an assassin.
Gao Peng suddenly understood why Grandpa had sent Uncle Liu to him.
But, if Uncle Liu’s familiars were already at such a high level, what kind of level were Grandpa’s familiars at? Furthermore, to have achieved such a feat within the three short years since the Cataclysm, it seemed like Grandpa had secrets of his own.
As the group followed the Mirror Lake and walked inward, the forest made rustling sounds as they passed, the monsters hiding within the bushes clutching themselves closely in fear.
The Shadow Japalura’s eyes kept turning, secretly observing the surrounding trees. Suddenly, it opened its mouth, and a dark red tongue shot out. It pierced through the trunk of a large tree, penetrating deep in order to extract the sap. Then, in the next moment, the tongue fiercely snapped back into its mouth!
The Shadow Japalura closed its mouth and a very human-like look of disgust came across its face. The sap must not have tasted very good.
Smacking its lips, the Shadow Japalura continued to walk ahead with Uncle Liu on its back. The way it walked, however, was a little strange. It kept changing from slow to fast, and it kept rocking its head in an insane manner—front, front, left, left, right, right…
The Shadow Japalura was six feet tall, and it looked like a giant green beast from afar. Its large and wide tail kept swishing about, sweeping through the bushes and making rustling sounds.
Gao Peng was a bit envious. Riding such a giant lizard looked much cooler than riding a spider.
After about an hour of walking, they had only run into one Commander tier monster. The monster had initially rushed out of the trees confidently, but after it had detected the aura of more than ten Commander tier familiars, it had come to an abrupt halt and turned around, escaping with its tail between its legs.
“It’s here.” Director Chen pointed ahead to a depression that formed a basin.
Gao Peng was surprised. They had not travelled very far. They weren’t deep enough into the Dark Ember Forest yet, as this area was still considered the outer regions.
“Any further in, and we’ll be in the territory of the Lord of the Dark Ember. The Lord of the Dark Ember has always had a bad temper. It would be bad to provoke it,” said Director Chen with a shake of his head.
“Is the Lord of the Dark Ember’s actual name ‘Lord of the Dark Ember?’”
“No, that’s not its proper name. We call it that because it is currently occupying the whole of the Dark Ember Forest. Anything that can hold such a large territory is often at the pinnacle amongst Lord tier monsters. You see, not all Lord tier monsters are lords of a territory. Just like how not all beanbags contain actual beans,” joked Director Chen.
“For instance, if that Desert Ruler were able to occupy the Dali Desert for a long enough period of time, perhaps we would start calling it Lord of the Dali instead… Everyone be careful.” Director Chen’s voice became softer as he signaled for the group to slow down. “Right before a breakthrough in level is when a monster is most cautious. For now, we do not want to move in too close, or else we could provoke it. We just have to stay right here. In fact, we might not need to do anything in the end. These Shatuoman Man-Eating Earthworms will naturally protect their leader,” said Director Chen in a soft voice.
The group carefully walked forward. From the edge of the depression on the ground, they could see scores of earthworms covering the entire basin.
