“Oh, the bad guys!” the little girl blurted out, making the people in the Beast Pavillion laugh.“They are from the North Rune Sect,” the woman said.
Guo Shier sighed. “Uncle Ying Mo,” he said. “Now I understand. No wonder there will be fight.”
The woman did not continue to provoke them. She took the little girl’s hands and told her, “Little Yun, what do you like? Elder Sister will buy it for you.”
Excitement filled the child’s face. “There’s a little tiger upstairs. It’s so cute! Elder sister, help me buy it.”
Guo Shier wondered what was on the next level.
“Let’s go upstairs and see what’s there,” he suggested.
However, several big guys blocked their way.
“Wait, people from the North Rune Sect are not allowed upstairs,” one of them said, laughing.
Guo Shier was taken aback. He did not think that the people from the West Rune Sect would be so rude. They directly blocked the way. Were they trying to provoke a dispute?
He despised these kinds of people. If they want to stir up trouble for no reason—if they’ll make it hard for us—I’ll won’t back down, he thought.
“So how can we go up there?” he sneered.
“Win against us,” the leader said.
The group was led by a Beast Caster Adept followed by four Beast Warrior Adepts. There were five of them blocking the way—five people gambling with their lives.
Guo Shier could not help but let out a laugh. “I thought the people from the West Rune Sect were smart,” he said. “It turns out, they’re a bunch of idiots! Uncle Ying Mo, since they want to play as a team, they’re all yours.”
“Don’t laugh at them,” replied Ying Mo. “I guess they’re not Inner Sect Disciples. Hehe!”
Ying Mo quickly moved. He suddenly found himself in front of the five men. He punched and kicked them senseless. Just a few seconds of ‘manual labor’ was enough—he did not even apply any strength.
In what seemed like a flash, five men found themselves laying on the ground, defeated and groaning.
They were just too weak.
Ying Mo did not continue. He was no killer. After all, they were in the Inner Sect of the West Rune Sect. Things can quickly turn troublesome if they kill someone.
An old man came over and sighed deeply, then started speaking to Ying Mo. “You’re Marked Warrior Grandmaster. How can you do this to these juniors?”
Ying Mo tilted his head and looked at the man for a long while and finally remembered who he was. “Hehe! Oh, its Ou Chu!” he said. “I can’t believe I haven’t seen you in years. You also advanced to Beast Caster Grandmaster.”
Ou Chu looked concerned. “Ying Mo, why did you move against the younger generation?”
“It’s not my fault,” Ying Mo said in defense, grinning. Who asked him to challenge my master? As a follower, of course, I’ll hit them!”
Ou Chu was shocked. His eyes widened as he said, “What? When did you become a follower? That’s impossible! Who are you following?”
Guo Shier felt very uncomfortable. Before even coming here, he foresaw that things would not go well. But he did not expect that they would be blocked almost as soon they entered a shop. And now that they’d gotten rid of the first group, an old man was whining.
“I’m sorry,” he initiated. “Uncle Ying Mo is following me. Old man, do you have a problem with this?”
There was a silence all around. The young woman and her little sister looked at Guo Shier with astonishment. In this world, a Marked Warrior Grandmaster was not just a big meat pie. Even in a large faction, there weren’t many Grandmaster Level characters.
Ou Chu frowned. He could not figure out why a Marked Warrior Grandmaster from the grasslands with a prestigious name follow a child.
“Ying Mo… you… how can it be? You’re a Grandmaster!” he asked. Who are you kidding? was what he really wanted to say.
But Ou Chu knew this was unavoidable. He wasn’t sure of the fighting strength of a Marked Warrior Grandmaster because he himself didn’t have a Grandmaster level follower.
Luo Zhan stepped forward and said, “I’m also a Marked Warrior Grandmaster, and I’m his follower, too!”
The people around were in an uproar. This child didn’t have just one but TWO Marked Warrior Grandmaster followers! Who was this kid? It was hard to imagine.
Ou Chu didn’t even have one Grandmaster level follower. No wonder he was confused.
He advanced ten years ago but he has yet to attract a Grandmaster follower. Cultivating someone was out of the question—it would be difficult and expensive.
Guo Shier finally spoke. “Let’s go up,” he said. He was too lazy to care about these people.
“Wait!” shouted Ou Chu.
Guo Shier could no longer suppress the anger within himself. A sudden surge of rage ran straight to his forehead. He had been very patient, but was repeatedly blocked three times. He harrumped in cold voice and said, “What do you mean? If you want to fight then let’s go out and fight. If it’s nothing… you’re a whiny fart! Get the hell out of here!”
Ying Mo and Luo Zhan were both startled. Guo Shier rarely ever got red-faced. He seemed to be really angry this time.
The pressure was frightening and made Ou Chu take a step back, his face red. He couldn’t help but also be angry.
“You… you… who do you curse, little bastard?” he shouted at Guo Shier. “Did your elders not teach you to respect older people?”
Guo Shier smiled and contemptuously replied, “And you’re from which family, elder? Don’t you think you’re a great Beast Caster Grandmaster? In my eyes, you are nothing.”
Ying Mo and Luo Zhan did not speak. They stood firmly on Guo Shier’s side, guarding their master.
Ou Chu, visibly flustered, couldn’t find the words. “You…you…”
When it came to bickering, Ou Chu was no match for Guo Shier.
“You what you? Step aside!” Guo Shier said.
Ou Chu lost his cool. “I challenge you!” he yelled while gasping for breath.
Guo Shier’s mouth showed a smile.
Ying Mo suddenly understood. This little guy did this on purpose. He wanted to increase his prestige, he thought.
Guo Shier took up the challenge. “Good! No problem. Do you want an individual or group brawl?”
Ou Chu weighed his options in his head.
A group brawl? he thought to himself. This would require a team on team battle. The other side had two Marked Warrior Grandmasters. If they team up, the result would be obvious. We would be absolutely decimated. How about an individual fight with the little guy? That’s would be joke—I couldn’t possibly fight a child. I’m a Beast Caster Grandmaster, known as the most aggressive spell-maker. If I win against the little guy, his elders might retaliate. But I already issued a challenge. I can’t withdraw it now.
“I’ll fight you!” he finally declared.
Even the people from West Rune Sect felt embarrassed by Ou Chu’s decision.
Ying Mo was amazed. “Ou Chu, you advanced to Beast Caster Grandmaster. You are indeed growing up. Are you having fun singling out a child? It’s unbelievable. Your shame has been lost in the grasslands!”
Ou Chu was riding a tiger.* He bit the bullet and said, “I want to teach him a lesson to let him know how to respect his seniors!”
(NOTE: *Riding a tiger means ‘stuck in a difficult situation with no way out.’)
Guo Shier mocked the old man even more. “Uncle Ying Mo, stop talking to him,” he said. “People like him—people with no face—think they are invincible!”
These words drained the blood from Ou Chu’s face. He was stuck in a predicament. He had to offer Guo Shier a way out.
“If you dare not fight, just apologize. I would forget about everything!” he said.
He was hoping Guo Shier would take this and step down.
But Guo Shier wanted him and his party to get even angrier, so was bent on being more irritating.
“You pull out shit… you’ve already eaten it but still want to return it?* If you want to fight, here we are!” he declared.
(Note: This is a weird but common way of saying you cannot take your words back.)
He then turned and went out through the door.
Ou Chu was mad. He had never been so insulted. He didn’t know that Guo Shier was just doing this to heighten his prestige so he could prevent other people from messing with him. If he can defeat a Grandmaster in a one-on-one battle, other people would stop provoking him.
In the crowd, the woman hugged the little girl. She was surprised at Guo Shier. The boy dared to challenge a Beast Caster Grandmaster to fight? she thought to herself. Judging from the signs on his clothes, he should be a Artificer Adept. This was no leapfrog challenge—there was a difference of two levels. How are you going to fight? Are you tired of life?
The little girl asked, “Elder sister, that bad guy … uh, little brother… wants to fight with grandpa Ou Chu?”
At first the woman nodded, but then she shook her head. She was confused herself. She couldn’t decide if Guo Shier was arrogant or incredible. She has never seen anyone in the West Rune Sect this brave. What a strange boy.
Guo Shier went outside as a burst of biting cold wind blew. He started to curse while shivering in this weather.
Ou Chu was forced into this position. Now he had to go out and face Guo Shier. He didn’t understand how he could challenge a little guy. He was usually very calm, but today’s events were confusing him.
He sighed and said again, “If you regret it, it’s still not too late.”
“Stop talking nonsense,” Guo Shier snapped back. “Hurry up! It’s freezing in here. I’m going to buy something when I’m done!”
Ou Chu was very upset. “Don’t blame me!” he said through the gnashing of his teeth.
He then crushed a few Beast Glyphs and several beasts appeared. He did not spit out his Innate Rune Book and just used normal grade Beast Glyphs to fight—just a few brown bears and a tiger.
Under the command of Ou Chu, the beasts slowly moved to attack. In his opinion, as long as the beast applies pressure, Guo Shier would surrender. An Artificer Adept has no attacking power. He wanted to avoid fighting the two Marked Warrior Grandmasters so he dared not hurt Guo Shier. He just wanted to scare him.
Guo Shier understood what Ou Chu was trying to do, so he laughed.
“Is that it?” he asked.
He had no need to call his Innate Rune Orb. Two golden lines suddenly shot out from his eyes.
This time they didn’t rise to the air but directly swept towards the beasts, causing whistling sounds.
Everything happened so fast. The onlookers did not even see clearly. In just a few seconds, all the beasts were smashed and a pungent smell of blood lingered.
Ou Chu suddenly became serious. He found himself underestimating the enemy and immediately took out his Innate Rune Book.
But Guo Shier didn’t give Ou Chu the opportunity to send out his Spirit Beasts.
He immediately sent a sword of light the size of a door to hover over Ou Chu’s head, which scared the old man stiff.
Ou Chu dared not move. He couldn’t figure out what the Glyph was.
“If you move… I’ll split you in half!” Guo Shier lazily said.
Ying Mo held back his laugh. This little guy is so sinister, he thought. He planned this from the very beginning.
Ou Chu’s hands and feet turned cold. The huge light blade moved slowly from his head to his neck. Its precise control left him speechless.
“I submit. I submit!” he finally declared. “I was blind. It turned out to be an Artificer Grandmaster! No wonder there are two Grandmasters following him… I… throw in the towel!”
There was silence around. Everyone stood like a wooden chicken. This kid turned out to be Artificer Grandmaster?
Guo Shier wasn’t annoyed at Ou Chu. He just wanted to use Ou Chu as an example.
He smiled and the huge light sword turned into two golden lines and suddenly retracted,
sinking back directly into his eyes.
Just then, someone approached Guo Shier and excitedly told him, “I’m surprised to see you here!”
Ou Chu bitterly smiled. I’m going to be stronger, he promised himself.
Guo Shier looked at the man and could not help but laugh. “Uncle Wu!” he said. “When did you get to West Rune Sect? Haha! What are you doing here?”
Wu Qing knew this boy to be powerful. “I live around here,” he replied. When he saw Ou Chu, he hurried forward to give him a salute and said, “Elder Ou, hello.”
Ou Chu nodded, but quickly turned and shouted, “Everybody disperse! Why are you still standing here?”
Soon, gossip of a boy from North Rune Sect defeating a Grandmaster from the West Rune Sect spread throughout the Inner Sect. Ou Chu was famous, after all, even though he had a bad name.
(Note: His name means ‘European pestle.’)
Ou Chu turned back to Wu Qing. “When did you get back?” he asked. Since another party interrupted the scene, he finally had room to manoeuvre. Both of them were Caster Masters and were familiar with each another, so he can relax.
“I returned half a month ago,” Wu Qing respectfully replied
Ou Chu nodded and turned away.
Wu Qing felt dismissed. He had no idea what just happened.
“What’s the matter with Elder Ou?” he asked, puzzled. “He seems a little bit unhappy.”
Ying Mo smiled. “He challenged Shier and was defeated. How can he be happy?”
Wu Qing’s jaw dropped and no words came out. After a few seconds, he finally managed to ask, “Shier leapfrog challenged???”
Ying Mo faintly replied, “Everyone is at the Grandmaster level. It’s not leapfrog challenge.”
Calling Guo Shier a Grandmaster wasn’t inaccurate. He had the ability of a Grandmaster. The fact that he owned an Innate Rune Orb proved this. In this world, as long as you can beat a Grandmaster fair and square, you also receive the qualification and treatment of a Grandmaster.
“Uh…” Guo Shier said, “Well, that’s the end of it. The fight is done.”
He went back to the Beast Pavilion.
Wu Qing froze for a moment, but hemanaged to jumpstart himself awake to run after Shier’s group. He was excited and curious. When he heard that Guo Shier defeated his senior, he was just happy it did not happen to him.
This time, when people saw Guo Shier’s group, no one dared to stop them—and no one dared to utter nonsense.
Instead, a look of awe appeared on their faces.
This was how things were in the West Rune Sect. Great strength earned respect.
This was also the cause of Ou Chu’s anger. Guo Shier was sarcastic and disrespectful. How can he not be angered? If anyone in this Sect dared to do this to him, then would be courting death. He won’t hesitate to kill anyone.
Guo Shier went up the stairs.
The Beast Plaza had three-storey stone floors. The second floor was where all kinds of cubs were sold. It was filled with steel cages covered with Rune lines to withstand the struggles of the caged beasts. Different kinds of birds and beasts were also here. This was the most frequented place by the disciples of the West Rune Sect.
Wu Qing pulled himself together and timidly asked, “Little brother, would you like me to be your tour guide?”
Guo Shier used to hate this guy, but not anymore. He realized that Wu Qing was very smart and only did what he needed to do to survive.
The last time Wu Qing left, he did not enter the altar Secret Realm with Guo Shier’s group and lost the opportunity for an advancement. But he didn’t have to face the attack of Variant Rune Insect and didn’t have to go through risks.
“Okay, Uncle Wu is a local and should be familiar here. I would like to trouble Uncle,” Guo Shier said to his group. He had a very sweet little mouth as long as he wasn’t not angry or annoyed. He even looked like a good little boy.
Wu Qing body couldn’t help but get goose bumps. He was well aware of Guo Shier’s power and hurriedly said, “It’s no big deal. Hehe!”
While the group was looking around the shops, a cry of anguish reverberated through the building.
Wu Qing smiled, “Shier, someone is extracting the soul of a beast. Are you interested in having a look?”
Guo Shier quickly replied. “Great! All right! Let’s go and see!”
On a square stone platform with Sigils created by an Artificer stood a pair of steel frames with a Iron-Back Ape strapped to it. A group of people were gathered around the sight. Ying Mo and Luo Zhan stepped forward to separate the crowd so that Guo Shier can have a closer look.
Guo Shier exclaimed, “Oh… A gorilla!”
“It’s not the same,” Wu Qing explained. “This is an Iron-Back Ape. It’s a Silver Brown Iron-Back Ape to be precise.”
“Well, this Iron Back Ape is very good,” Guo Shier commented. “It’s tall and strong—a good specimen.”
A 20-something young man stood naked in front of the Iron-Back Ape. Only a small piece of leather was hiding his crotch. His body was full of freshly engraved bloody Marks.
A Beast Smith Master held a Rune Engraver and dipped it in the blood of the Iron-Back Ape. He was engraving on that young man.
“You don’t use Purification on the blood?” Guo Shier wondered.
“No, this is a Blood Lure,” Wu Qing explained. “A Blood Lure is required in order to absorb the soul of a Beast. Once the soul of the Beast is lured, an ordinary man can advance to a Beast Warrior Adept.”
Marks were engraved on the man’s entire body—from the face, the chest, the two arms, the back and finally the legs and feet. From time to time, the Beast Smith Master cut the skin of the Iron-Back Ape to let the blood flow to come out.
In his mind, Guo Shier was comparing the differences between the West Rune Sect and the North Rune Sect. From the Marked Warrior Adept class, the difference was great. The North Rune Sect relied on Artificer’s strength to stimulate an individual’s potential. The West Rune Sect relied on the soul of the Beast to stimulate an individual’s power, and also use the power of its soul to strengthen themselves.
“Does everyone who has advanced to a Beast Warrior Adept do this?” he asked.
Wu Qing nodded. “Yes, the very first soul that enters the body is the most important. Be sure to choose the beast that suits you. Otherwise, it is difficult to advance later.”
“How about when you want to be advance to a Beast Warrior Master, are you required to acquire another Beast?” Guo Shier inquired.
“You can advance with the one you already have but if you can acquire a more powerful beast, that would be a great help in advancing,” Wu Qing explained.
Guo Shier pressed on. “So to be a Beast Warrior Grandmaster… you have to acquire a Marked Beast?”
“That is not necessary. Having a Marked Beast is of course good, but Marked Beasts are rare. It is even more difficult to find a suitable Marked Beast,” Wu Qing replied.
“Has anyone ever found a soul of a Variant Marked Beast?”
Wu Qing smiled. “Variant Marked Beast? Hehe! It’s only possible to encounter one in the Secret Realm. But of the people who are fortunate enough to encounter a group of Variant Marked Beasts, only few can escape and come out alive. Most of them die with no remains left. It’s very difficult to get the soul of a Variant Marked Beast.”
Just as he was saying this, the Beast Smith Master finished engraving the last Mark and declared, “Wait, don’t move.”
He then went in front of Wu Qing and said, “Big Brother, I can hear your nonstop talking. You’re disturbing the engraving of the Marks. And these people—are they from the North Rune Sect?”
Wu Qing smiled and said to Guo Shier, “This is my half brother, Wu De, Inner Sect Beast Smith Master.”
Guo Shier nodded and said, “Nice to meet you.”
This child must be famous, Wu De thought to himself. He listened to Wu Qing’s introduction.
“This is the North Rune Sect Inner Sect’s disciple, Artificer Grandmaster Guo Shier. These are his followers, Marked Warrior Grandmaster Ying Mo, Marked Warrior Grandmaster Luo Zhan…”
Wu De interrupted his brother with a laugh. “Big Brother, stop it. Are you kidding?? A child? Hehe! If he is an Artificer Grandmaster, then I’m Beast Smith Grandmaster.”
But then he overheard a whisper from someone in the crowd. “Wow, was he the one who beat Elder Ou?”
“Oh yes, that’s eight. I saw it with my own eyes… so powerful,” someone replied.
“I’m not joking,” Wu Qing said to his brother.
“Artificer Grandmaster… joke… how could…” Wu De muttered. He was in a daze when he looked at Guo Shier.
I really can’t wrap my head around it, he thought to himself. How did this kid advance to Artificer Grandmaster? This defied all common sense.
Lost in thought, he suddenly felt a pat on his arm—a touch that made him tense up. He thought Guo Shier was going to hit him!
“That person’s engraved Marks have dried up,” Guo Shier said instead.
Wu De shivered in fright and quickly took a step back. “Oh. What!?! I… I’m going to… ” he didn’t finish his statement and went back to his work in a panic.
Guo Shier shook his head. It seemed Wu De didn’t have the guts after all. But he also understood that Beast Smith Masters generally didn’t belong in the combat class. It wasn’t surprising to have this kind of reaction.
“Sorry, my brother never went out of the Inner Sect,” Wu Qing said. “He has never seen anything like it.”
“What is he going to do next?” Guo Shier asked.
“Take the soul!” Wu Qing replied.
Wu De instructed the Beast Warrior Master who was assisting him. He then activated the Sigil lines on the square stone platform under the iron cage. The Runes glowed and crawled their way towards the Iron Back Ape.
The Beast Warrior Master, holding a bloody dagger, waited quietly.
Once the Rune line had fully surrounded the Iron Back Ape’s body, Wu De shouted, “Do it!”
The Beast Warrior Master expertly wielded the dagger and slashed the Iron-Back Ape across its neck. The Iron Back Ape was only able to make a short hissing sound as his neck was severed. Under the guidance of the Rune lines, the blood mist came spurting out towards the young man who was prepared to advance.
Then, a red spirit phantom of the Iron Back Ape emerged, struggling against a strong invisible force. The spirit moved bit by bit towards the young man.
When the spirit was almost on top of the young man, Wu De deactivated the Sigils on the stone platform. The red spirit of the Iron-Back Ape glowed for a moment. The spirit seemed to be a little reluctant to see his dead body. It opened its mouth to utter a silent cry. Then, it was finally sucked into the young man’s body.
Wu De declared, “It’s done! Congratulations on your advancement to Beast Warrior Adept.”
The young man chuckled. He inspected his body and was so happy he didn’t know what to do.
Wu De went on to say, “That’s 60,000 Big Rune Bills. As for the Iron-Back Ape…you can pay for that through the store.”
Guo Shier was surprised. “Holy shit! It’s so expensive!”
“Actually, this is cheap,” Wu Qing replied. “This operation is privately run by my brother. If this was done by the Inner Sect, this would cost at least 100,000 Big Rune Bills.”
Ying Mo jumped into the conversation. “That’s right. The most heartless people are Rune Smith Masters. Whether from the North Rune Sect or the West Rune Sect, they’re all the same!”
That young man unwillingly took out his Storage Rune Bag, passed it to Wu De, and said, “There’s 60,000 Big Rune Bills there.”
When Wu De took the bag, the young man added, “It’s a Storage Rune Bag. I want it back. I just borrowed this bag.”
“I know, friend,” Wu De said with disdain. “Just wait here.”
He moved the Big Rune Bills of the Storage Rune Bag into his own bag. He threw the Hidden Storage Rune Bag back to the man and said, “We two are clear.”
The young man said his thanks and followed a buddy to the back to take a bath.
The people here are really hardy, Guo Shier thought to himself. He walked out naked. So intense!
He wasn’t envious of anything else. He was only envious of the local people’s hardy physique. Turning back to his companions, he then sighed and said, “Well, that’s an eye-opener. Hehe! That’s a different way to get stronger.”
“After the soul has been transferred into the body, It will take at least a year of cultivation in order for the spirit to be thoroughly integrated,” explained Wu Qing. “By that time, he will have the real strength of a Beast Warrior Adept.”
Suddenly, a man approached Guo Shier and respectfully said, “Distinguished guests, an old friend of our Beast Pavilion invites you to meet.”
Guo Shier looked at Wu Qing.
Wu Qing face grew serious, “Which predecessor?” he asked the man.
The man cautiously said, “It’s senior Chen Zhizhong.”
Wu Qing was shocked and hurriedly replied, “Please, lead the way.”
He then turned to Guo Shier and said, “He’s an elder from the Inner Sect.”
“Oh, the bad guys!” the little girl blurted out, making the people in the Beast Pavillion laugh.“They are from the North Rune Sect,” the woman said.
Guo Shier sighed. “Uncle Ying Mo,” he said. “Now I understand. No wonder there will be fight.”
The woman did not continue to provoke them. She took the little girl’s hands and told her, “Little Yun, what do you like? Elder Sister will buy it for you.”
Excitement filled the child’s face. “There’s a little tiger upstairs. It’s so cute! Elder sister, help me buy it.”
Guo Shier wondered what was on the next level.
“Let’s go upstairs and see what’s there,” he suggested.
However, several big guys blocked their way.
“Wait, people from the North Rune Sect are not allowed upstairs,” one of them said, laughing.
Guo Shier was taken aback. He did not think that the people from the West Rune Sect would be so rude. They directly blocked the way. Were they trying to provoke a dispute?
He despised these kinds of people. If they want to stir up trouble for no reason—if they’ll make it hard for us—I’ll won’t back down, he thought.
“So how can we go up there?” he sneered.
“Win against us,” the leader said.
The group was led by a Beast Caster Adept followed by four Beast Warrior Adepts. There were five of them blocking the way—five people gambling with their lives.
Guo Shier could not help but let out a laugh. “I thought the people from the West Rune Sect were smart,” he said. “It turns out, they’re a bunch of idiots! Uncle Ying Mo, since they want to play as a team, they’re all yours.”
“Don’t laugh at them,” replied Ying Mo. “I guess they’re not Inner Sect Disciples. Hehe!”
Ying Mo quickly moved. He suddenly found himself in front of the five men. He punched and kicked them senseless. Just a few seconds of ‘manual labor’ was enough—he did not even apply any strength.
In what seemed like a flash, five men found themselves laying on the ground, defeated and groaning.
They were just too weak.
Ying Mo did not continue. He was no killer. After all, they were in the Inner Sect of the West Rune Sect. Things can quickly turn troublesome if they kill someone.
An old man came over and sighed deeply, then started speaking to Ying Mo. “You’re Marked Warrior Grandmaster. How can you do this to these juniors?”
Ying Mo tilted his head and looked at the man for a long while and finally remembered who he was. “Hehe! Oh, its Ou Chu!” he said. “I can’t believe I haven’t seen you in years. You also advanced to Beast Caster Grandmaster.”
Ou Chu looked concerned. “Ying Mo, why did you move against the younger generation?”
“It’s not my fault,” Ying Mo said in defense, grinning. Who asked him to challenge my master? As a follower, of course, I’ll hit them!”
Ou Chu was shocked. His eyes widened as he said, “What? When did you become a follower? That’s impossible! Who are you following?”
Guo Shier felt very uncomfortable. Before even coming here, he foresaw that things would not go well. But he did not expect that they would be blocked almost as soon they entered a shop. And now that they’d gotten rid of the first group, an old man was whining.
“I’m sorry,” he initiated. “Uncle Ying Mo is following me. Old man, do you have a problem with this?”
There was a silence all around. The young woman and her little sister looked at Guo Shier with astonishment. In this world, a Marked Warrior Grandmaster was not just a big meat pie. Even in a large faction, there weren’t many Grandmaster Level characters.
Ou Chu frowned. He could not figure out why a Marked Warrior Grandmaster from the grasslands with a prestigious name follow a child.
“Ying Mo… you… how can it be? You’re a Grandmaster!” he asked. Who are you kidding? was what he really wanted to say.
But Ou Chu knew this was unavoidable. He wasn’t sure of the fighting strength of a Marked Warrior Grandmaster because he himself didn’t have a Grandmaster level follower.
Luo Zhan stepped forward and said, “I’m also a Marked Warrior Grandmaster, and I’m his follower, too!”
The people around were in an uproar. This child didn’t have just one but TWO Marked Warrior Grandmaster followers! Who was this kid? It was hard to imagine.
Ou Chu didn’t even have one Grandmaster level follower. No wonder he was confused.
He advanced ten years ago but he has yet to attract a Grandmaster follower. Cultivating someone was out of the question—it would be difficult and expensive.
Guo Shier finally spoke. “Let’s go up,” he said. He was too lazy to care about these people.
“Wait!” shouted Ou Chu.
Guo Shier could no longer suppress the anger within himself. A sudden surge of rage ran straight to his forehead. He had been very patient, but was repeatedly blocked three times. He harrumped in cold voice and said, “What do you mean? If you want to fight then let’s go out and fight. If it’s nothing… you’re a whiny fart! Get the hell out of here!”
Ying Mo and Luo Zhan were both startled. Guo Shier rarely ever got red-faced. He seemed to be really angry this time.
The pressure was frightening and made Ou Chu take a step back, his face red. He couldn’t help but also be angry.
“You… you… who do you curse, little bastard?” he shouted at Guo Shier. “Did your elders not teach you to respect older people?”
Guo Shier smiled and contemptuously replied, “And you’re from which family, elder? Don’t you think you’re a great Beast Caster Grandmaster? In my eyes, you are nothing.”
Ying Mo and Luo Zhan did not speak. They stood firmly on Guo Shier’s side, guarding their master.
Ou Chu, visibly flustered, couldn’t find the words. “You…you…”
When it came to bickering, Ou Chu was no match for Guo Shier.
“You what you? Step aside!” Guo Shier said.
Ou Chu lost his cool. “I challenge you!” he yelled while gasping for breath.
Guo Shier’s mouth showed a smile.
Ying Mo suddenly understood. This little guy did this on purpose. He wanted to increase his prestige, he thought.
Guo Shier took up the challenge. “Good! No problem. Do you want an individual or group brawl?”
Ou Chu weighed his options in his head.
A group brawl? he thought to himself. This would require a team on team battle. The other side had two Marked Warrior Grandmasters. If they team up, the result would be obvious. We would be absolutely decimated. How about an individual fight with the little guy? That’s would be joke—I couldn’t possibly fight a child. I’m a Beast Caster Grandmaster, known as the most aggressive spell-maker. If I win against the little guy, his elders might retaliate. But I already issued a challenge. I can’t withdraw it now.
“I’ll fight you!” he finally declared.
Even the people from West Rune Sect felt embarrassed by Ou Chu’s decision.
Ying Mo was amazed. “Ou Chu, you advanced to Beast Caster Grandmaster. You are indeed growing up. Are you having fun singling out a child? It’s unbelievable. Your shame has been lost in the grasslands!”
Ou Chu was riding a tiger.* He bit the bullet and said, “I want to teach him a lesson to let him know how to respect his seniors!”
(NOTE: *Riding a tiger means ‘stuck in a difficult situation with no way out.’)
Guo Shier mocked the old man even more. “Uncle Ying Mo, stop talking to him,” he said. “People like him—people with no face—think they are invincible!”
These words drained the blood from Ou Chu’s face. He was stuck in a predicament. He had to offer Guo Shier a way out.
“If you dare not fight, just apologize. I would forget about everything!” he said.
He was hoping Guo Shier would take this and step down.
But Guo Shier wanted him and his party to get even angrier, so was bent on being more irritating.
“You pull out shit… you’ve already eaten it but still want to return it?* If you want to fight, here we are!” he declared.
(Note: This is a weird but common way of saying you cannot take your words back.)
He then turned and went out through the door.
Ou Chu was mad. He had never been so insulted. He didn’t know that Guo Shier was just doing this to heighten his prestige so he could prevent other people from messing with him. If he can defeat a Grandmaster in a one-on-one battle, other people would stop provoking him.
In the crowd, the woman hugged the little girl. She was surprised at Guo Shier. The boy dared to challenge a Beast Caster Grandmaster to fight? she thought to herself. Judging from the signs on his clothes, he should be a Artificer Adept. This was no leapfrog challenge—there was a difference of two levels. How are you going to fight? Are you tired of life?
The little girl asked, “Elder sister, that bad guy … uh, little brother… wants to fight with grandpa Ou Chu?”
At first the woman nodded, but then she shook her head. She was confused herself. She couldn’t decide if Guo Shier was arrogant or incredible. She has never seen anyone in the West Rune Sect this brave. What a strange boy.
Guo Shier went outside as a burst of biting cold wind blew. He started to curse while shivering in this weather.
Ou Chu was forced into this position. Now he had to go out and face Guo Shier. He didn’t understand how he could challenge a little guy. He was usually very calm, but today’s events were confusing him.
He sighed and said again, “If you regret it, it’s still not too late.”
“Stop talking nonsense,” Guo Shier snapped back. “Hurry up! It’s freezing in here. I’m going to buy something when I’m done!”
Ou Chu was very upset. “Don’t blame me!” he said through the gnashing of his teeth.
He then crushed a few Beast Glyphs and several beasts appeared. He did not spit out his Innate Rune Book and just used normal grade Beast Glyphs to fight—just a few brown bears and a tiger.
Under the command of Ou Chu, the beasts slowly moved to attack. In his opinion, as long as the beast applies pressure, Guo Shier would surrender. An Artificer Adept has no attacking power. He wanted to avoid fighting the two Marked Warrior Grandmasters so he dared not hurt Guo Shier. He just wanted to scare him.
Guo Shier understood what Ou Chu was trying to do, so he laughed.
“Is that it?” he asked.
He had no need to call his Innate Rune Orb. Two golden lines suddenly shot out from his eyes.
This time they didn’t rise to the air but directly swept towards the beasts, causing whistling sounds.
Everything happened so fast. The onlookers did not even see clearly. In just a few seconds, all the beasts were smashed and a pungent smell of blood lingered.
Ou Chu suddenly became serious. He found himself underestimating the enemy and immediately took out his Innate Rune Book.
But Guo Shier didn’t give Ou Chu the opportunity to send out his Spirit Beasts.
He immediately sent a sword of light the size of a door to hover over Ou Chu’s head, which scared the old man stiff.
Ou Chu dared not move. He couldn’t figure out what the Glyph was.
“If you move… I’ll split you in half!” Guo Shier lazily said.
Ying Mo held back his laugh. This little guy is so sinister, he thought. He planned this from the very beginning.
Ou Chu’s hands and feet turned cold. The huge light blade moved slowly from his head to his neck. Its precise control left him speechless.
“I submit. I submit!” he finally declared. “I was blind. It turned out to be an Artificer Grandmaster! No wonder there are two Grandmasters following him… I… throw in the towel!”
There was silence around. Everyone stood like a wooden chicken. This kid turned out to be Artificer Grandmaster?
Guo Shier wasn’t annoyed at Ou Chu. He just wanted to use Ou Chu as an example.
He smiled and the huge light sword turned into two golden lines and suddenly retracted,
sinking back directly into his eyes.
Just then, someone approached Guo Shier and excitedly told him, “I’m surprised to see you here!”
Ou Chu bitterly smiled. I’m going to be stronger, he promised himself.
Guo Shier looked at the man and could not help but laugh. “Uncle Wu!” he said. “When did you get to West Rune Sect? Haha! What are you doing here?”
Wu Qing knew this boy to be powerful. “I live around here,” he replied. When he saw Ou Chu, he hurried forward to give him a salute and said, “Elder Ou, hello.”
Ou Chu nodded, but quickly turned and shouted, “Everybody disperse! Why are you still standing here?”
Soon, gossip of a boy from North Rune Sect defeating a Grandmaster from the West Rune Sect spread throughout the Inner Sect. Ou Chu was famous, after all, even though he had a bad name.
(Note: His name means ‘European pestle.’)
Ou Chu turned back to Wu Qing. “When did you get back?” he asked. Since another party interrupted the scene, he finally had room to manoeuvre. Both of them were Caster Masters and were familiar with each another, so he can relax.
“I returned half a month ago,” Wu Qing respectfully replied
Ou Chu nodded and turned away.
Wu Qing felt dismissed. He had no idea what just happened.
“What’s the matter with Elder Ou?” he asked, puzzled. “He seems a little bit unhappy.”
Ying Mo smiled. “He challenged Shier and was defeated. How can he be happy?”
Wu Qing’s jaw dropped and no words came out. After a few seconds, he finally managed to ask, “Shier leapfrog challenged???”
Ying Mo faintly replied, “Everyone is at the Grandmaster level. It’s not leapfrog challenge.”
Calling Guo Shier a Grandmaster wasn’t inaccurate. He had the ability of a Grandmaster. The fact that he owned an Innate Rune Orb proved this. In this world, as long as you can beat a Grandmaster fair and square, you also receive the qualification and treatment of a Grandmaster.
“Uh…” Guo Shier said, “Well, that’s the end of it. The fight is done.”
He went back to the Beast Pavilion.
Wu Qing froze for a moment, but hemanaged to jumpstart himself awake to run after Shier’s group. He was excited and curious. When he heard that Guo Shier defeated his senior, he was just happy it did not happen to him.
This time, when people saw Guo Shier’s group, no one dared to stop them—and no one dared to utter nonsense.
Instead, a look of awe appeared on their faces.
This was how things were in the West Rune Sect. Great strength earned respect.
This was also the cause of Ou Chu’s anger. Guo Shier was sarcastic and disrespectful. How can he not be angered? If anyone in this Sect dared to do this to him, then would be courting death. He won’t hesitate to kill anyone.
Guo Shier went up the stairs.
The Beast Plaza had three-storey stone floors. The second floor was where all kinds of cubs were sold. It was filled with steel cages covered with Rune lines to withstand the struggles of the caged beasts. Different kinds of birds and beasts were also here. This was the most frequented place by the disciples of the West Rune Sect.
Wu Qing pulled himself together and timidly asked, “Little brother, would you like me to be your tour guide?”
Guo Shier used to hate this guy, but not anymore. He realized that Wu Qing was very smart and only did what he needed to do to survive.
The last time Wu Qing left, he did not enter the altar Secret Realm with Guo Shier’s group and lost the opportunity for an advancement. But he didn’t have to face the attack of Variant Rune Insect and didn’t have to go through risks.
“Okay, Uncle Wu is a local and should be familiar here. I would like to trouble Uncle,” Guo Shier said to his group. He had a very sweet little mouth as long as he wasn’t not angry or annoyed. He even looked like a good little boy.
Wu Qing body couldn’t help but get goose bumps. He was well aware of Guo Shier’s power and hurriedly said, “It’s no big deal. Hehe!”
While the group was looking around the shops, a cry of anguish reverberated through the building.
Wu Qing smiled, “Shier, someone is extracting the soul of a beast. Are you interested in having a look?”
Guo Shier quickly replied. “Great! All right! Let’s go and see!”
On a square stone platform with Sigils created by an Artificer stood a pair of steel frames with a Iron-Back Ape strapped to it. A group of people were gathered around the sight. Ying Mo and Luo Zhan stepped forward to separate the crowd so that Guo Shier can have a closer look.
Guo Shier exclaimed, “Oh… A gorilla!”
“It’s not the same,” Wu Qing explained. “This is an Iron-Back Ape. It’s a Silver Brown Iron-Back Ape to be precise.”
“Well, this Iron Back Ape is very good,” Guo Shier commented. “It’s tall and strong—a good specimen.”
A 20-something young man stood naked in front of the Iron-Back Ape. Only a small piece of leather was hiding his crotch. His body was full of freshly engraved bloody Marks.
A Beast Smith Master held a Rune Engraver and dipped it in the blood of the Iron-Back Ape. He was engraving on that young man.
“You don’t use Purification on the blood?” Guo Shier wondered.
“No, this is a Blood Lure,” Wu Qing explained. “A Blood Lure is required in order to absorb the soul of a Beast. Once the soul of the Beast is lured, an ordinary man can advance to a Beast Warrior Adept.”
Marks were engraved on the man’s entire body—from the face, the chest, the two arms, the back and finally the legs and feet. From time to time, the Beast Smith Master cut the skin of the Iron-Back Ape to let the blood flow to come out.
In his mind, Guo Shier was comparing the differences between the West Rune Sect and the North Rune Sect. From the Marked Warrior Adept class, the difference was great. The North Rune Sect relied on Artificer’s strength to stimulate an individual’s potential. The West Rune Sect relied on the soul of the Beast to stimulate an individual’s power, and also use the power of its soul to strengthen themselves.
“Does everyone who has advanced to a Beast Warrior Adept do this?” he asked.
Wu Qing nodded. “Yes, the very first soul that enters the body is the most important. Be sure to choose the beast that suits you. Otherwise, it is difficult to advance later.”
“How about when you want to be advance to a Beast Warrior Master, are you required to acquire another Beast?” Guo Shier inquired.
“You can advance with the one you already have but if you can acquire a more powerful beast, that would be a great help in advancing,” Wu Qing explained.
Guo Shier pressed on. “So to be a Beast Warrior Grandmaster… you have to acquire a Marked Beast?”
“That is not necessary. Having a Marked Beast is of course good, but Marked Beasts are rare. It is even more difficult to find a suitable Marked Beast,” Wu Qing replied.
“Has anyone ever found a soul of a Variant Marked Beast?”
Wu Qing smiled. “Variant Marked Beast? Hehe! It’s only possible to encounter one in the Secret Realm. But of the people who are fortunate enough to encounter a group of Variant Marked Beasts, only few can escape and come out alive. Most of them die with no remains left. It’s very difficult to get the soul of a Variant Marked Beast.”
Just as he was saying this, the Beast Smith Master finished engraving the last Mark and declared, “Wait, don’t move.”
He then went in front of Wu Qing and said, “Big Brother, I can hear your nonstop talking. You’re disturbing the engraving of the Marks. And these people—are they from the North Rune Sect?”
Wu Qing smiled and said to Guo Shier, “This is my half brother, Wu De, Inner Sect Beast Smith Master.”
Guo Shier nodded and said, “Nice to meet you.”
This child must be famous, Wu De thought to himself. He listened to Wu Qing’s introduction.
“This is the North Rune Sect Inner Sect’s disciple, Artificer Grandmaster Guo Shier. These are his followers, Marked Warrior Grandmaster Ying Mo, Marked Warrior Grandmaster Luo Zhan…”
Wu De interrupted his brother with a laugh. “Big Brother, stop it. Are you kidding?? A child? Hehe! If he is an Artificer Grandmaster, then I’m Beast Smith Grandmaster.”
But then he overheard a whisper from someone in the crowd. “Wow, was he the one who beat Elder Ou?”
“Oh yes, that’s eight. I saw it with my own eyes… so powerful,” someone replied.
“I’m not joking,” Wu Qing said to his brother.
“Artificer Grandmaster… joke… how could…” Wu De muttered. He was in a daze when he looked at Guo Shier.
I really can’t wrap my head around it, he thought to himself. How did this kid advance to Artificer Grandmaster? This defied all common sense.
Lost in thought, he suddenly felt a pat on his arm—a touch that made him tense up. He thought Guo Shier was going to hit him!
“That person’s engraved Marks have dried up,” Guo Shier said instead.
Wu De shivered in fright and quickly took a step back. “Oh. What!?! I… I’m going to… ” he didn’t finish his statement and went back to his work in a panic.
Guo Shier shook his head. It seemed Wu De didn’t have the guts after all. But he also understood that Beast Smith Masters generally didn’t belong in the combat class. It wasn’t surprising to have this kind of reaction.
“Sorry, my brother never went out of the Inner Sect,” Wu Qing said. “He has never seen anything like it.”
“What is he going to do next?” Guo Shier asked.
“Take the soul!” Wu Qing replied.
Wu De instructed the Beast Warrior Master who was assisting him. He then activated the Sigil lines on the square stone platform under the iron cage. The Runes glowed and crawled their way towards the Iron Back Ape.
The Beast Warrior Master, holding a bloody dagger, waited quietly.
Once the Rune line had fully surrounded the Iron Back Ape’s body, Wu De shouted, “Do it!”
The Beast Warrior Master expertly wielded the dagger and slashed the Iron-Back Ape across its neck. The Iron Back Ape was only able to make a short hissing sound as his neck was severed. Under the guidance of the Rune lines, the blood mist came spurting out towards the young man who was prepared to advance.
Then, a red spirit phantom of the Iron Back Ape emerged, struggling against a strong invisible force. The spirit moved bit by bit towards the young man.
When the spirit was almost on top of the young man, Wu De deactivated the Sigils on the stone platform. The red spirit of the Iron-Back Ape glowed for a moment. The spirit seemed to be a little reluctant to see his dead body. It opened its mouth to utter a silent cry. Then, it was finally sucked into the young man’s body.
Wu De declared, “It’s done! Congratulations on your advancement to Beast Warrior Adept.”
The young man chuckled. He inspected his body and was so happy he didn’t know what to do.
Wu De went on to say, “That’s 60,000 Big Rune Bills. As for the Iron-Back Ape…you can pay for that through the store.”
Guo Shier was surprised. “Holy shit! It’s so expensive!”
“Actually, this is cheap,” Wu Qing replied. “This operation is privately run by my brother. If this was done by the Inner Sect, this would cost at least 100,000 Big Rune Bills.”
Ying Mo jumped into the conversation. “That’s right. The most heartless people are Rune Smith Masters. Whether from the North Rune Sect or the West Rune Sect, they’re all the same!”
That young man unwillingly took out his Storage Rune Bag, passed it to Wu De, and said, “There’s 60,000 Big Rune Bills there.”
When Wu De took the bag, the young man added, “It’s a Storage Rune Bag. I want it back. I just borrowed this bag.”
“I know, friend,” Wu De said with disdain. “Just wait here.”
He moved the Big Rune Bills of the Storage Rune Bag into his own bag. He threw the Hidden Storage Rune Bag back to the man and said, “We two are clear.”
The young man said his thanks and followed a buddy to the back to take a bath.
The people here are really hardy, Guo Shier thought to himself. He walked out naked. So intense!
He wasn’t envious of anything else. He was only envious of the local people’s hardy physique. Turning back to his companions, he then sighed and said, “Well, that’s an eye-opener. Hehe! That’s a different way to get stronger.”
“After the soul has been transferred into the body, It will take at least a year of cultivation in order for the spirit to be thoroughly integrated,” explained Wu Qing. “By that time, he will have the real strength of a Beast Warrior Adept.”
Suddenly, a man approached Guo Shier and respectfully said, “Distinguished guests, an old friend of our Beast Pavilion invites you to meet.”
Guo Shier looked at Wu Qing.
Wu Qing face grew serious, “Which predecessor?” he asked the man.
The man cautiously said, “It’s senior Chen Zhizhong.”
Wu Qing was shocked and hurriedly replied, “Please, lead the way.”
He then turned to Guo Shier and said, “He’s an elder from the Inner Sect.”
