Guo Shier aimed at the Marked Snow Wolf that sprang into their circular formation.
This Marked Snow Wolf was very cunning—it went for the gap within the defense. It was incredibly fast.
Its goal was Huo Bao and the rest of the kids because they were the weakest (and tastiest) among their group of people. The Beast intuitively knew that they were delicious.
Two golden lines flew over.
Puff! Puff!
The Marked Snow Wolf uttered a mournful howl, coughing out blood as two small holes emerged from its body.
But those two small holes were not enough to kill it.
Infuriated, it immediately turned to attack Guo Shier.
In the eyes of the Beast, he was nothing but a little guy riding on the back of a bull.
Huo Bao shouted, “Shier be careful!”
The Marked Snow Wolf suddenly exhaled a frigid white mist, and then channeled it like an arrow shot towards Guo Shier.
Guo Shier activated the Firebird glyph to meet the white mist and neutralize it. A series of puncturing sounds pierced the air. The Firebird and the white mist dissipated.
The Marked Snow Wolf stumbled out of the lingering mist, still exuding extremely frigid air with every step.
Guo Shier jerked out the tail of the Dark Winged Scorpion, its stinger suddenly exerting force.
The Marked Snow Wolf let out a frightened whine.
Wu! Wu!
(Note: Yeah, this is the Chinese onomatopoeia for the sound of crying.)
The length of the Scorpion’s stinger hit the Marked Snow Wolf’s jaw, piercing into its head and coming out through the back of its neck.
The Beast hanged on for dear life but very quickly died on the Dark Winged Scorpion’s stinger.
Meanwhile, Qi Nan Shan rushed to the Wolf King.
The Wolf King could not have imagined the speed of this human. Nevertheless, it tried to bite out of instinct.
Qi Nan Shan sneered and then—like a huge hammer—suddenly smashed the Beast down with lethal force.
That was not enough to kill it, though.
The Wolf King attacked back, exhaling a burst of freezing cold air and spraying it directly on Qi Nan Shan’s chest.
But Qi Nan Shan was quick—his fist fell on the Wolf King’s head before it could fully retaliate.
Boom!
The force was so great that it pushed the Wolf King’s head into the earth.
Qi Nan Shan felt the cold spreading on his chest. The chill made his movements slower. Furious, he kicked the Wolf King’s huge body and made it fly. Not waiting for it to land, he chased it and gave it another kick.
Boom!
The Wolf King took off again, this time even higher. It started coughing out blood.
Qi Nan Shan roared like a furious devil and kept up the constant frenzy of attacks.
The Wolf King never touched the ground until it finally died.
Concurrently, Luo Jie sent several Rings of Heavenly Thorns and directly beheaded a Marked Snow Wolf.
Lan Tian Bao commanded a swarm of bugs to bite a Marked Snow Wolf until it was riddled with holes.
Tan Laoxi sadly discovered that he was the weakest among all the Grandmasters. He hadn’t even killed a single Marked Snow Wolf.
The four kids encircled a Marked Snow Wolf, but embarrassingly weren’t able to get rid of it until two Marked Master Warriors joined in.
Guo Shier’s Sword Glyph demonstrated its power by continuously beheading three Marked Snow Wolf one after another. The golden light blade was invincible and very fast.
But Guo Shier also realized a flaw. The Sword Glyph’s potency seemed to get weaker the farther it flew away. The best distance was within 10 to 30 meters; within this range, it remained astonishingly powerful.
In less than five minutes, the pack of Marked Snow Wolves was completely wiped out.
They also caught three Marked Snow Wolf pups alive.
(Note: I’m changing ‘Coyote’ to ‘Wolf Pups’ for clarity.)
This fight was a lesson in humility for Tan Laoxi. He took a long time to kill just one young Wolf. His performance was really no better than that of the four children.
He realized the strength of this teammates, especially Qi Nan Shan, who killed the Wolf King like he was just killing a chicken.
Qi Nan Shan dragged the body of the Wolf King, laughing. “Hahaha! Shier, this is what you want right? The Wolf King’s fur fully intact without any damage. I killed him with my fist!”
Guo Shier was amused. “Master, Grandpa Nan Shan had the strength to fight with a Marked Beast Variant!”
“Fuck! Our strength is very strong!” Tan Laoxi excitedly interrupted. “If we don’t hunt Marked Beast Variants then it would be a fucking shame.” He started talking nonsense again.
Guo Shier ignored him. “Master, we should go to where the Marked Beast Variants are located,” he said.
“Hehe! I didn’t expect Da-Shan to be so fierce. Fine, we’re going to hunt Marked Beast Variants!” Luo Jie replied.
Guo Shier laughed. “Master, you should purify the blood of the Wolf King. I would like to practice on the other beasts. Can you give me a hand?”
Tan Laoxi kept silent all the time and just consistently hovered around Guo Shier non-stop.
“Uncle Tan, you’re following me all the time. What’s up?”
Luo Jie glanced at Tan Laoxi and suddenly realized what the guy wanted. Luo Jie laughed and said to Guo Shier, “Hehe! Hey, Shier is asking you something!”
“Oh! Hehe! Shier… ah, can this Uncle ask you for one thing? Hehe!”
“Say it!” Guo Shier snapped.
“You know I am a Beast Artificer Grandmaster,” Tan Laoxi sheepishly replied, smiling. “There are so many Marked Snow Wolf corpses. Uncle can use them to make several Beast Glyphs.”
Guo Shier could not help but be interested.
“You want to make Beast Glyphs? But we don’t have time for this. I’m afraid it’s too late.”
Tan Laoxi continued, “I’ll make it in time! I already have a ready-made semi-finished Beast Glyph here. I just need to extract the spirits of the Marked Snow Wolves.”
Guo Shier pondered on the idea. “No. If you just want to extract the spirit of the Snow Wolves you didn’t have to discuss this with me,” he said. “Spit it out, there must be something else you’re hiding.”
Luo Jie, Qi Nan Shan, and the rest of the group laughed.
Tan Laoxi was trying to fool Guo Shier—and that would be almost impossible.
“Hehe. The spirit and blood of a Marked Beast are interlinked,” Tan Laoxi explained. “If I want to extract the soul of the beast, well… the blood will become useless.”
Guo Shier won’t allow for Tan Laoxi’s nonsense. In addition to the fur, the blood is the most valuable material on the Marked Snow Wolf. Once Tan Laoxi draws the spirit, the essence of the blood will be lost.
“Impossible!” Guo Shier barked back. “You can only make a Beast Glyph on the Marked Snow Wolf that you killed. I can’t give you the materials on the beasts that others have killed.”
Tan Laoxi got frustrated. “Fuck! Motherfucker! Uh…”
He suddenly remembered that he must not curse and quickly changed his tune.
“Oh Shier, you are my little ancestor. Please, please just say yes to little Grandpa! What do you say?”
(Note: Age is important in Chinese/Korean culture. You kinda automatically win if you are older than someone, so addressing someone as an ‘ancestor’ is the ultimate praise.)
“I’m just a child,” Guo Shier retorted.
“No! You are not a child, you are my ancestor.”
The crowd roared with laughter. Tan Laoxi was exhibiting his impressive rogue skills.
“I AM a child,” Guo Shier said sharply. “If anyone wanted to grab a kid’s belongings, what do you think will happen?”
Tan Laoxi was dumfounded.
If Guo Shier was a normal child without strength, of course he will get robbed. However, Guo Shier possessed strength more than he had himself. The consequences of stealing from this child won’t be good.
Having solved this little brain teaser, Tan Laoxi now understood this situation.
“I get it, I get it,” he finally said. “So how many Beast Glyphs do you want?”
Guo Shier smiled. “Hehe! Uncle Tan finally got it! I am not asking for too much. I want the Beast Glyph of the Wolf King’s spirit. How about you, Elder Sister Lan? Do you want a Marked Snow Wolf Glyph? Choose one for yourself. Master, do you want one also?”
Luo Jie shook his head. He was not interested in any Beast Glyph. Lan Tian Bao, on the other hand, will not refuse. This was a great opportunity to acquire a Rune from another Sect Faction.
“Thank you Shier. Hehehe!” she said.
She did not thank Tan Laoxi—she only showed gratitude to Guo Shier.
Tan Laoxi couldn’t wait to kill this little bastard. This Wolf King was a Marked Beast Variant. Its spirit should be mighty and must be sealed using a Spirit Level Beast Glyph.
“So do you agree to the condition?” Guo Shier asked him. “Hurry up! If not, I’m going to ask Master to start purifying its blood.
Tan Laoxi was reluctant to act. He wanted the Wolf King for himself. But he couldn’t do much alone. He already had a hard time dealing with a regular Marked Snow Wolf and had no chance of winning against a Wolf King—and a Marked Beast Variant, at that.
“I’ll do it,” he finally said, gnashing his teeth. Of course, I’ll fucking do it. I can’t fuck this up this time, he said to himself, mourning losing the body of the Wolf King.
Tan Laoxi took out a Silver Glyph and then cast a Rune Spell to cut a small incision on the Wolf King’s body. “This Wolf King is a Marked Beast Variant. What a strong body. What beautiful fur,” he said as he worked.
When the body began to bleed out, the Glyph quickly absorbed the blood into itself. He cast a dozen more Rune Spells to pierce the wolf’s body.
He then pulled out a Beast Glyph and began the process of creating a Spirit Level Beast Glyph. This Spirit Beast Glyph was only one step away from completion. It was specifically prepared for use in the field, for absorbing the spirit of Marked Beasts.
He placed the Beast Glyph beside the Silver Glyph and skillfully started casting Rune Spells on them.
Suddenly, the Wolf King’s blood started to rise up and its visage gradually appeared on the Silver Glyph. It desperately struggled. With its huge mouth, it bit and growled but no sound came out. The whole sight was eerie.
“Receive this spirit!” Tan Laoxi shouted.
The scarlet colored spirit of the Wolf King rushed into the Beast Glyph like water.
“It’s done!” Tan Laoxi announced, sweating profusely.
Guo Shier decided not be polite—he and immediately grabbed the Spirit Level Glyph.
“Uncle Tan, make another Beast Glyph for Elder Sister.”
Guo Shier was being very generous—it’s just that Tan Laoxi would have to pick up the bill.
Tan Laoxi finished making the Beast Glyph for Lan Tian Bao.
“This is not easy. Fuck!”
He brought together the bodies of a dozen Marked Snow Wolves and took out a larger version of the Silver Glyph. He then started bleeding all the dead wolves all at once. He was planning to turn a dozen Mark Snow Wolves into a single Beast Glyph.
Guo Shier realized this guy’s plan. “Uncle Tan, you are very cunning.”
“I dare not. I am nothing compared to you,” Tan Laoxi replied while continuously working on the Beast Glyph.
“Interesting,” Luo Jie remarked. “It’s a pity you are wasting so much blood.”
Translator: Glasses TangGu
Editor: M
Tan Laoxi was now holding the finished product.
“It’s finally done. Haha!”
With this Glyph, his combat power will at least double—especially because he has accomplished its production on site, while the essence of the Marked Beast was still almost completely preserved.
The quality of the Spirit Beast Glyph he created was extremely high.
Tan Laoxi had almost no friends and followers in the West Rune Sect. He would never have been able to do this if he acted alone. He could hardly hunt a normal Beast—let alone a Marked Beast.
But with this new Glyph, he could now hunt a lone Marked Beast and slowly grow his strength. This was the advantage of entering the Secret Realm with Luo Jie’s team.
Meanwhile, Chen Hong was holding three Marked Snow Wolf pups, stroking their fur gently. “They have yet to open their eyes. They’re so cute!” she said.
“Little Hong, can you give me one?” Lan Tian Bao asked.
Chen Hong became a bit sad. “What do you plan to do with it, Elder Sister Lan?”
“I’ll give it to my daughter Yingying. She also likes small animals.”
Tan Laoxi interjected. “Whoa. Marked Beast pups are worth a lot of money…”
Guo Shier stopped him. “Little Hong, let Elder Sister Lan pick one.”
Tan Laoxi huffed and turned around to face the hills. Little bastard! Little motherfucker! I’ll fucking bite your head off, he thought to himself. He couldn’t understand why Guo Shier was so against him.
“Okay, Elder Sister Lan,” Chen Hong relented. “You can pick one. Please treat it well. They’re so cute.” One pup bit her finger and then started to suck it hard. She couldn’t help but chuckle. “Hey, it’s hungry. What we going to feed them?”
Lan Tian Bao took out a crystal bottle. “I have a purified animal blood here. Give it to the pups for them to drink.”
“And remember, Little Hong. If you want them to recognize you as their master, you must be the first one they see when they open their eyes,” she advised. “Keep this in mind; otherwise, a Marked Beast is hard to tame.”
“Well, let’s clean up the Marked Snow Wolf bodies and let’s go!” Luo Jie ordered.
Ying Mo carried Guo Shier on his back and everybody started their journey again.
****
A group of people surrounded Xu Cheng.
“Ah Cheng, what the hell is going on?” Xu Guang Heng asked furiously. “What the fuck! What are you crying for? Aren’t you a Grandmaster? Why are you acting like a child? Get up—they are starting to arrive.”
Xu Cheng continued to wail. “Big Brother, you have to take revenge for me. Wu! Wu!”
“Ah Cheng, fuck—you are a Grandmaster! Don’t fucking cry! Old man, if you fucking cry again, I’m going to slap you!”
“Guang Heng! Why are you in a hurry? Wait till he calms down and ask. You should act like a Big Brother,” Hu Feng whispered. He was a Beast Caster Grandmaster from the Hu Clan, and Xu Guang Geng was his follower, so he can speak in this tone.
Xu Guang Heng angrily stomped his feet in anger.
After a few minutes, Xu Cheng was able to finally tell them what happened through, all the while sobbing.
Upon hearing the story, Hu Feng frowned. He didn’t care if Xu Cheng’s actions were reasonable or unreasonable. Why did the three Storm Brothers retreat? Why didn’t they fight? Xu Cheng’s enemies must have been powerful. Why else would the Storm Brothers refuse to go into battle?
Meanwhile, Xu Guang Heng started cursing at the three Storm Brothers.
“Don’t scold him,” Hu Feng said. “Let your brother take a good rest.”
All Xu Guang Heng can do was sigh.
“My life is over,” Xu Cheng uttered in tears. “I’m done. My Innate Rune Book was destroyed.”
Hu Feng’s calm face suddenly changed. “Destroyed?!? Who destroyed it?!?”
He knew how tough an Innate Rune Book was—it couldn’t be destroyed easily. This was shocking.
“It was crushed by a Marked Warrior Grandmaster!” Xu Cheng sheepishly replied.
Hu Feng asked, “Who is he?!?”
“I don’t know. Someone from the North Rune Sect.”
Hu Feng pondered for a moment.
“This man’s strength is not ordinary. He must be extremely tough,” he finally said. “This is scary. Hey Guan Heng, can you crush an Innate Rune Book?”
Xu Guang Heng looked at him in disbelief. “Crush it? Who the fuck can crush that stuff?”
Hu Feng took out his Innate Rune Book and angrily kicked Xu Guang Heng.
“Try crushing this.”
Xu Guang Heng hesitated. “Boss, if this crumbles, what will you do?”
Hu Feng cursed. “I wouldn’t even dare take it out if I knew you could easily crush it. Come on, try!”
Xu Guang Heng grabbed the Innate Rune Book and tried hard to crush it.
“What the fuck, it’s so hard!”
The Innate Rune Book suddenly glowed with a green light and forced his hands away.
“Do you now understand?” Hu Feng said.
“What? What should I understand?” Xu Guang Heng replied.
Hu Feng helplessly shook his head. This guy is as stupid as a donkey, he thought to himself.
“Never mind,” he said to Xu Guang Heng. “Arrange for your brother to rest. We still have a task to accomplish.”
He then turned to his group. “The first prize is 100 Marked Horses. I’m determined to win that. Everyone, work hard!”
Xu Cheng howled. “But Big Brother! You should take revenge for me!”
Xu Guang Heng begged. “Boss, will you help my younger brother just this once?”
Hu Feng got angry, “Why should I help him? Who’s gonna help me? Damn, are you guys stupid? Do you want to follow in his footsteps? Don’t you have eyes? I don’t want to try and grab someone else’s turf and be beaten half to death. I don’t want anyone to crush my Innate Rune Book. Please use your little brains. The three Storm Brothers are much stronger than you. They’re the smart ones!”
He then angrily kicked Xu Guang Heng’s legs.
“That’s my brother. My brother…” Xu Guang Heng pleaded.
Hu Feng turned to him angrily. “This is consequence of being dumb! Don’t follow in your brother’s footsteps!”
He then hit Xu Guang Heng’s head with his hand. Guang Heng was a Beast Warrior Grandmaster, anyway, so his head was harder than stone. Being hit a few times was nothing.
“I have a few precious materials and one million Big Rune Bills here. Big Brother, I’ll give them all to you as long as you revenge me!” Xu Cheng declared.
Xu Guang Heng looked at Hu Feng and cried, “Boss!”
Hu Feng sneered. “You want me to sell my life for this money? Unfortunately, I won’t be able to use it if I’m dead.”
By this time, Xu Cheng was steaming with anger.
“I still have a manor in West Rune City. If you can help me take revenge, that manor is yours!” he said while trembling.
Hu Feng can’t help but be a little bit tempted. The manor should be worth it. This was not something an average person can have.
“You go rest first, and I’ll think about it,” he said.
Hu Feng was a calculating and vicious person. Although the offer was huge, Hu Feng was not the type to go into battle without certainty. But he also wasn’t the type to give up on what Xu Cheng was offering.
He needed to figure out what can be done to avenge Xu Cheng.
“Come, let’s look for the three Storm Brothers.”
He must find the three Storm Brothers to understand the situation.
****
After a while, they found the three Storm Brothers. Each one was a well-known figure in the grasslands. Hu Feng immediately approached the three and got to chatting.
Xu Guang Heng stood at the side, itching to punch them. If these trio did not flee, his brother would not have been brought to his knees.
“Elder Du, I do not understand—why did you guys just leave? Who the hell are they?” Hu Feng asked, very careful not to use the word ‘escaped.’
Elder Storm Du smiled bitterly. “It was Artificer Grandmaster Luo Jie from the North Rune Sect Inner Door. Why do you think why we left? Hehe! We didn’t want to die yet.”
Hu Feng frowned. “Luo Jie from the North Rune Sect team?!?”
Elder Storm Xie nodded. “That group of people is a bunch for freaks! Luo Jie, their leader, is an Artificer Grandmaster. His apprentice is a ten-year-old child who is an Artificer Grandmaster. His name is Guo Shier. That kid has two Marked Warrior Grandmaster followers!”
“As for Luo Jie, he has three Grandmaster followers,” continued. “They have seven Grandmasters in their group, including Qi Nan Shan, who can kill two Grandmasters easily. That guy is terribly tough. They also have Tan Laoxi, an annoying Beast Artificer Grandmaster from the West Rune Sect. And there is another one from the South Rune Sect with the surname Lan, who is an Insect Caster Master.”
Hu Feng couldn’t help getting a cold sweat upon hearing all those names. “Fucking insane…”
Elder Storm Xie smiled. “Old Hu if it were you, will you fight?”
After a long while, Hu Feng asked, “If you had so many Grandmasters, would you plan on hunting Marked Beast Variants?”
“I will absolutely would!” answered Elder Du.
Hu Feng smiled. “Then maybe this is our chance.”
He turned to Xi Guang Heng, “There is a very small chance of getting revenge for your little brother. Are you willing to go through with this?”
Xu Cheng was already blind with hate. “If you successfully get revenge for me, in addition to the manor, all I have is yours,” he said.
Hu Feng liked the sound of the offer. “Alright, let’s see if we can seize the opportunity.”
“What opportunity?” Xu Guang Heng asked, confused.
Hu Feng turned to Elder Du. “How about you—do you want to join us? These guys are Grandmasters. They must have a lot of valuable possessions with them. We’ll split all the loot between us.
Elder Storm Du hesitated. He knew that Luo Jie’s team must be very rich. If they successfully kill them, they can certainly get a lot of treasures. He was also a little tempted.
“Let me think about it,” he said.
Hu Feng—having dropped the bait—left.
****
Luo Jie had no idea that someone was marking his team.
Their group marched continuously for two days until they reached an area close to where Marked Beast Variants were known to be active.
They started setting up their tents in a secluded spot. Six or seven people were sent out to scout the surroundings. According to Guo Shier’s plan, several Marked Warrior Grandmasters had to take turns surveying the area, looking for Marked Beast Variants.
He specifically ordered them to find weaker Marked Beast Variants. If they encountered powerful ones, they should not engage and immediately escape. He gave all of them Messaging Runes so they can call for help.
After three days of scouting within a radius of a hundred miles, they found only one Marked Beast Variant—a Marked Lynx. They saw traces of it several times, but because of its tremendous speed, they had a hard time finding it. Guo Shier decided to give up hunting the Marked Lynx Variant and transfer the camp immediately.
They found another site, still along the edge of the active area but on a different spot, about a hundred miles away from their last base.
As they were about to set up camp, they suddenly heard a warning roar.
Translator: Glasses TangGu
Editor: M
Guo Shier aimed at the Marked Snow Wolf that sprang into their circular formation.
This Marked Snow Wolf was very cunning—it went for the gap within the defense. It was incredibly fast.
Its goal was Huo Bao and the rest of the kids because they were the weakest (and tastiest) among their group of people. The Beast intuitively knew that they were delicious.
Two golden lines flew over.
Puff! Puff!
The Marked Snow Wolf uttered a mournful howl, coughing out blood as two small holes emerged from its body.
But those two small holes were not enough to kill it.
Infuriated, it immediately turned to attack Guo Shier.
In the eyes of the Beast, he was nothing but a little guy riding on the back of a bull.
Huo Bao shouted, “Shier be careful!”
The Marked Snow Wolf suddenly exhaled a frigid white mist, and then channeled it like an arrow shot towards Guo Shier.
Guo Shier activated the Firebird glyph to meet the white mist and neutralize it. A series of puncturing sounds pierced the air. The Firebird and the white mist dissipated.
The Marked Snow Wolf stumbled out of the lingering mist, still exuding extremely frigid air with every step.
Guo Shier jerked out the tail of the Dark Winged Scorpion, its stinger suddenly exerting force.
The Marked Snow Wolf let out a frightened whine.
Wu! Wu!
(Note: Yeah, this is the Chinese onomatopoeia for the sound of crying.)
The length of the Scorpion’s stinger hit the Marked Snow Wolf’s jaw, piercing into its head and coming out through the back of its neck.
The Beast hanged on for dear life but very quickly died on the Dark Winged Scorpion’s stinger.
Meanwhile, Qi Nan Shan rushed to the Wolf King.
The Wolf King could not have imagined the speed of this human. Nevertheless, it tried to bite out of instinct.
Qi Nan Shan sneered and then—like a huge hammer—suddenly smashed the Beast down with lethal force.
That was not enough to kill it, though.
The Wolf King attacked back, exhaling a burst of freezing cold air and spraying it directly on Qi Nan Shan’s chest.
But Qi Nan Shan was quick—his fist fell on the Wolf King’s head before it could fully retaliate.
Boom!
The force was so great that it pushed the Wolf King’s head into the earth.
Qi Nan Shan felt the cold spreading on his chest. The chill made his movements slower. Furious, he kicked the Wolf King’s huge body and made it fly. Not waiting for it to land, he chased it and gave it another kick.
Boom!
The Wolf King took off again, this time even higher. It started coughing out blood.
Qi Nan Shan roared like a furious devil and kept up the constant frenzy of attacks.
The Wolf King never touched the ground until it finally died.
Concurrently, Luo Jie sent several Rings of Heavenly Thorns and directly beheaded a Marked Snow Wolf.
Lan Tian Bao commanded a swarm of bugs to bite a Marked Snow Wolf until it was riddled with holes.
Tan Laoxi sadly discovered that he was the weakest among all the Grandmasters. He hadn’t even killed a single Marked Snow Wolf.
The four kids encircled a Marked Snow Wolf, but embarrassingly weren’t able to get rid of it until two Marked Master Warriors joined in.
Guo Shier’s Sword Glyph demonstrated its power by continuously beheading three Marked Snow Wolf one after another. The golden light blade was invincible and very fast.
But Guo Shier also realized a flaw. The Sword Glyph’s potency seemed to get weaker the farther it flew away. The best distance was within 10 to 30 meters; within this range, it remained astonishingly powerful.
In less than five minutes, the pack of Marked Snow Wolves was completely wiped out.
They also caught three Marked Snow Wolf pups alive.
(Note: I’m changing ‘Coyote’ to ‘Wolf Pups’ for clarity.)
This fight was a lesson in humility for Tan Laoxi. He took a long time to kill just one young Wolf. His performance was really no better than that of the four children.
He realized the strength of this teammates, especially Qi Nan Shan, who killed the Wolf King like he was just killing a chicken.
Qi Nan Shan dragged the body of the Wolf King, laughing. “Hahaha! Shier, this is what you want right? The Wolf King’s fur fully intact without any damage. I killed him with my fist!”
Guo Shier was amused. “Master, Grandpa Nan Shan had the strength to fight with a Marked Beast Variant!”
“Fuck! Our strength is very strong!” Tan Laoxi excitedly interrupted. “If we don’t hunt Marked Beast Variants then it would be a fucking shame.” He started talking nonsense again.
Guo Shier ignored him. “Master, we should go to where the Marked Beast Variants are located,” he said.
“Hehe! I didn’t expect Da-Shan to be so fierce. Fine, we’re going to hunt Marked Beast Variants!” Luo Jie replied.
Guo Shier laughed. “Master, you should purify the blood of the Wolf King. I would like to practice on the other beasts. Can you give me a hand?”
Tan Laoxi kept silent all the time and just consistently hovered around Guo Shier non-stop.
“Uncle Tan, you’re following me all the time. What’s up?”
Luo Jie glanced at Tan Laoxi and suddenly realized what the guy wanted. Luo Jie laughed and said to Guo Shier, “Hehe! Hey, Shier is asking you something!”
“Oh! Hehe! Shier… ah, can this Uncle ask you for one thing? Hehe!”
“Say it!” Guo Shier snapped.
“You know I am a Beast Artificer Grandmaster,” Tan Laoxi sheepishly replied, smiling. “There are so many Marked Snow Wolf corpses. Uncle can use them to make several Beast Glyphs.”
Guo Shier could not help but be interested.
“You want to make Beast Glyphs? But we don’t have time for this. I’m afraid it’s too late.”
Tan Laoxi continued, “I’ll make it in time! I already have a ready-made semi-finished Beast Glyph here. I just need to extract the spirits of the Marked Snow Wolves.”
Guo Shier pondered on the idea. “No. If you just want to extract the spirit of the Snow Wolves you didn’t have to discuss this with me,” he said. “Spit it out, there must be something else you’re hiding.”
Luo Jie, Qi Nan Shan, and the rest of the group laughed.
Tan Laoxi was trying to fool Guo Shier—and that would be almost impossible.
“Hehe. The spirit and blood of a Marked Beast are interlinked,” Tan Laoxi explained. “If I want to extract the soul of the beast, well… the blood will become useless.”
Guo Shier won’t allow for Tan Laoxi’s nonsense. In addition to the fur, the blood is the most valuable material on the Marked Snow Wolf. Once Tan Laoxi draws the spirit, the essence of the blood will be lost.
“Impossible!” Guo Shier barked back. “You can only make a Beast Glyph on the Marked Snow Wolf that you killed. I can’t give you the materials on the beasts that others have killed.”
Tan Laoxi got frustrated. “Fuck! Motherfucker! Uh…”
He suddenly remembered that he must not curse and quickly changed his tune.
“Oh Shier, you are my little ancestor. Please, please just say yes to little Grandpa! What do you say?”
(Note: Age is important in Chinese/Korean culture. You kinda automatically win if you are older than someone, so addressing someone as an ‘ancestor’ is the ultimate praise.)
“I’m just a child,” Guo Shier retorted.
“No! You are not a child, you are my ancestor.”
The crowd roared with laughter. Tan Laoxi was exhibiting his impressive rogue skills.
“I AM a child,” Guo Shier said sharply. “If anyone wanted to grab a kid’s belongings, what do you think will happen?”
Tan Laoxi was dumfounded.
If Guo Shier was a normal child without strength, of course he will get robbed. However, Guo Shier possessed strength more than he had himself. The consequences of stealing from this child won’t be good.
Having solved this little brain teaser, Tan Laoxi now understood this situation.
“I get it, I get it,” he finally said. “So how many Beast Glyphs do you want?”
Guo Shier smiled. “Hehe! Uncle Tan finally got it! I am not asking for too much. I want the Beast Glyph of the Wolf King’s spirit. How about you, Elder Sister Lan? Do you want a Marked Snow Wolf Glyph? Choose one for yourself. Master, do you want one also?”
Luo Jie shook his head. He was not interested in any Beast Glyph. Lan Tian Bao, on the other hand, will not refuse. This was a great opportunity to acquire a Rune from another Sect Faction.
“Thank you Shier. Hehehe!” she said.
She did not thank Tan Laoxi—she only showed gratitude to Guo Shier.
Tan Laoxi couldn’t wait to kill this little bastard. This Wolf King was a Marked Beast Variant. Its spirit should be mighty and must be sealed using a Spirit Level Beast Glyph.
“So do you agree to the condition?” Guo Shier asked him. “Hurry up! If not, I’m going to ask Master to start purifying its blood.
Tan Laoxi was reluctant to act. He wanted the Wolf King for himself. But he couldn’t do much alone. He already had a hard time dealing with a regular Marked Snow Wolf and had no chance of winning against a Wolf King—and a Marked Beast Variant, at that.
“I’ll do it,” he finally said, gnashing his teeth. Of course, I’ll fucking do it. I can’t fuck this up this time, he said to himself, mourning losing the body of the Wolf King.
Tan Laoxi took out a Silver Glyph and then cast a Rune Spell to cut a small incision on the Wolf King’s body. “This Wolf King is a Marked Beast Variant. What a strong body. What beautiful fur,” he said as he worked.
When the body began to bleed out, the Glyph quickly absorbed the blood into itself. He cast a dozen more Rune Spells to pierce the wolf’s body.
He then pulled out a Beast Glyph and began the process of creating a Spirit Level Beast Glyph. This Spirit Beast Glyph was only one step away from completion. It was specifically prepared for use in the field, for absorbing the spirit of Marked Beasts.
He placed the Beast Glyph beside the Silver Glyph and skillfully started casting Rune Spells on them.
Suddenly, the Wolf King’s blood started to rise up and its visage gradually appeared on the Silver Glyph. It desperately struggled. With its huge mouth, it bit and growled but no sound came out. The whole sight was eerie.
“Receive this spirit!” Tan Laoxi shouted.
The scarlet colored spirit of the Wolf King rushed into the Beast Glyph like water.
“It’s done!” Tan Laoxi announced, sweating profusely.
Guo Shier decided not be polite—he and immediately grabbed the Spirit Level Glyph.
“Uncle Tan, make another Beast Glyph for Elder Sister.”
Guo Shier was being very generous—it’s just that Tan Laoxi would have to pick up the bill.
Tan Laoxi finished making the Beast Glyph for Lan Tian Bao.
“This is not easy. Fuck!”
He brought together the bodies of a dozen Marked Snow Wolves and took out a larger version of the Silver Glyph. He then started bleeding all the dead wolves all at once. He was planning to turn a dozen Mark Snow Wolves into a single Beast Glyph.
Guo Shier realized this guy’s plan. “Uncle Tan, you are very cunning.”
“I dare not. I am nothing compared to you,” Tan Laoxi replied while continuously working on the Beast Glyph.
“Interesting,” Luo Jie remarked. “It’s a pity you are wasting so much blood.”
Translator: Glasses TangGu
Editor: M
Tan Laoxi was now holding the finished product.
“It’s finally done. Haha!”
With this Glyph, his combat power will at least double—especially because he has accomplished its production on site, while the essence of the Marked Beast was still almost completely preserved.
The quality of the Spirit Beast Glyph he created was extremely high.
Tan Laoxi had almost no friends and followers in the West Rune Sect. He would never have been able to do this if he acted alone. He could hardly hunt a normal Beast—let alone a Marked Beast.
But with this new Glyph, he could now hunt a lone Marked Beast and slowly grow his strength. This was the advantage of entering the Secret Realm with Luo Jie’s team.
Meanwhile, Chen Hong was holding three Marked Snow Wolf pups, stroking their fur gently. “They have yet to open their eyes. They’re so cute!” she said.
“Little Hong, can you give me one?” Lan Tian Bao asked.
Chen Hong became a bit sad. “What do you plan to do with it, Elder Sister Lan?”
“I’ll give it to my daughter Yingying. She also likes small animals.”
Tan Laoxi interjected. “Whoa. Marked Beast pups are worth a lot of money…”
Guo Shier stopped him. “Little Hong, let Elder Sister Lan pick one.”
Tan Laoxi huffed and turned around to face the hills. Little bastard! Little motherfucker! I’ll fucking bite your head off, he thought to himself. He couldn’t understand why Guo Shier was so against him.
“Okay, Elder Sister Lan,” Chen Hong relented. “You can pick one. Please treat it well. They’re so cute.” One pup bit her finger and then started to suck it hard. She couldn’t help but chuckle. “Hey, it’s hungry. What we going to feed them?”
Lan Tian Bao took out a crystal bottle. “I have a purified animal blood here. Give it to the pups for them to drink.”
“And remember, Little Hong. If you want them to recognize you as their master, you must be the first one they see when they open their eyes,” she advised. “Keep this in mind; otherwise, a Marked Beast is hard to tame.”
“Well, let’s clean up the Marked Snow Wolf bodies and let’s go!” Luo Jie ordered.
Ying Mo carried Guo Shier on his back and everybody started their journey again.
****
A group of people surrounded Xu Cheng.
“Ah Cheng, what the hell is going on?” Xu Guang Heng asked furiously. “What the fuck! What are you crying for? Aren’t you a Grandmaster? Why are you acting like a child? Get up—they are starting to arrive.”
Xu Cheng continued to wail. “Big Brother, you have to take revenge for me. Wu! Wu!”
“Ah Cheng, fuck—you are a Grandmaster! Don’t fucking cry! Old man, if you fucking cry again, I’m going to slap you!”
“Guang Heng! Why are you in a hurry? Wait till he calms down and ask. You should act like a Big Brother,” Hu Feng whispered. He was a Beast Caster Grandmaster from the Hu Clan, and Xu Guang Geng was his follower, so he can speak in this tone.
Xu Guang Heng angrily stomped his feet in anger.
After a few minutes, Xu Cheng was able to finally tell them what happened through, all the while sobbing.
Upon hearing the story, Hu Feng frowned. He didn’t care if Xu Cheng’s actions were reasonable or unreasonable. Why did the three Storm Brothers retreat? Why didn’t they fight? Xu Cheng’s enemies must have been powerful. Why else would the Storm Brothers refuse to go into battle?
Meanwhile, Xu Guang Heng started cursing at the three Storm Brothers.
“Don’t scold him,” Hu Feng said. “Let your brother take a good rest.”
All Xu Guang Heng can do was sigh.
“My life is over,” Xu Cheng uttered in tears. “I’m done. My Innate Rune Book was destroyed.”
Hu Feng’s calm face suddenly changed. “Destroyed?!? Who destroyed it?!?”
He knew how tough an Innate Rune Book was—it couldn’t be destroyed easily. This was shocking.
“It was crushed by a Marked Warrior Grandmaster!” Xu Cheng sheepishly replied.
Hu Feng asked, “Who is he?!?”
“I don’t know. Someone from the North Rune Sect.”
Hu Feng pondered for a moment.
“This man’s strength is not ordinary. He must be extremely tough,” he finally said. “This is scary. Hey Guan Heng, can you crush an Innate Rune Book?”
Xu Guang Heng looked at him in disbelief. “Crush it? Who the fuck can crush that stuff?”
Hu Feng took out his Innate Rune Book and angrily kicked Xu Guang Heng.
“Try crushing this.”
Xu Guang Heng hesitated. “Boss, if this crumbles, what will you do?”
Hu Feng cursed. “I wouldn’t even dare take it out if I knew you could easily crush it. Come on, try!”
Xu Guang Heng grabbed the Innate Rune Book and tried hard to crush it.
“What the fuck, it’s so hard!”
The Innate Rune Book suddenly glowed with a green light and forced his hands away.
“Do you now understand?” Hu Feng said.
“What? What should I understand?” Xu Guang Heng replied.
Hu Feng helplessly shook his head. This guy is as stupid as a donkey, he thought to himself.
“Never mind,” he said to Xu Guang Heng. “Arrange for your brother to rest. We still have a task to accomplish.”
He then turned to his group. “The first prize is 100 Marked Horses. I’m determined to win that. Everyone, work hard!”
Xu Cheng howled. “But Big Brother! You should take revenge for me!”
Xu Guang Heng begged. “Boss, will you help my younger brother just this once?”
Hu Feng got angry, “Why should I help him? Who’s gonna help me? Damn, are you guys stupid? Do you want to follow in his footsteps? Don’t you have eyes? I don’t want to try and grab someone else’s turf and be beaten half to death. I don’t want anyone to crush my Innate Rune Book. Please use your little brains. The three Storm Brothers are much stronger than you. They’re the smart ones!”
He then angrily kicked Xu Guang Heng’s legs.
“That’s my brother. My brother…” Xu Guang Heng pleaded.
Hu Feng turned to him angrily. “This is consequence of being dumb! Don’t follow in your brother’s footsteps!”
He then hit Xu Guang Heng’s head with his hand. Guang Heng was a Beast Warrior Grandmaster, anyway, so his head was harder than stone. Being hit a few times was nothing.
“I have a few precious materials and one million Big Rune Bills here. Big Brother, I’ll give them all to you as long as you revenge me!” Xu Cheng declared.
Xu Guang Heng looked at Hu Feng and cried, “Boss!”
Hu Feng sneered. “You want me to sell my life for this money? Unfortunately, I won’t be able to use it if I’m dead.”
By this time, Xu Cheng was steaming with anger.
“I still have a manor in West Rune City. If you can help me take revenge, that manor is yours!” he said while trembling.
Hu Feng can’t help but be a little bit tempted. The manor should be worth it. This was not something an average person can have.
“You go rest first, and I’ll think about it,” he said.
Hu Feng was a calculating and vicious person. Although the offer was huge, Hu Feng was not the type to go into battle without certainty. But he also wasn’t the type to give up on what Xu Cheng was offering.
He needed to figure out what can be done to avenge Xu Cheng.
“Come, let’s look for the three Storm Brothers.”
He must find the three Storm Brothers to understand the situation.
****
After a while, they found the three Storm Brothers. Each one was a well-known figure in the grasslands. Hu Feng immediately approached the three and got to chatting.
Xu Guang Heng stood at the side, itching to punch them. If these trio did not flee, his brother would not have been brought to his knees.
“Elder Du, I do not understand—why did you guys just leave? Who the hell are they?” Hu Feng asked, very careful not to use the word ‘escaped.’
Elder Storm Du smiled bitterly. “It was Artificer Grandmaster Luo Jie from the North Rune Sect Inner Door. Why do you think why we left? Hehe! We didn’t want to die yet.”
Hu Feng frowned. “Luo Jie from the North Rune Sect team?!?”
Elder Storm Xie nodded. “That group of people is a bunch for freaks! Luo Jie, their leader, is an Artificer Grandmaster. His apprentice is a ten-year-old child who is an Artificer Grandmaster. His name is Guo Shier. That kid has two Marked Warrior Grandmaster followers!”
“As for Luo Jie, he has three Grandmaster followers,” continued. “They have seven Grandmasters in their group, including Qi Nan Shan, who can kill two Grandmasters easily. That guy is terribly tough. They also have Tan Laoxi, an annoying Beast Artificer Grandmaster from the West Rune Sect. And there is another one from the South Rune Sect with the surname Lan, who is an Insect Caster Master.”
Hu Feng couldn’t help getting a cold sweat upon hearing all those names. “Fucking insane…”
Elder Storm Xie smiled. “Old Hu if it were you, will you fight?”
After a long while, Hu Feng asked, “If you had so many Grandmasters, would you plan on hunting Marked Beast Variants?”
“I will absolutely would!” answered Elder Du.
Hu Feng smiled. “Then maybe this is our chance.”
He turned to Xi Guang Heng, “There is a very small chance of getting revenge for your little brother. Are you willing to go through with this?”
Xu Cheng was already blind with hate. “If you successfully get revenge for me, in addition to the manor, all I have is yours,” he said.
Hu Feng liked the sound of the offer. “Alright, let’s see if we can seize the opportunity.”
“What opportunity?” Xu Guang Heng asked, confused.
Hu Feng turned to Elder Du. “How about you—do you want to join us? These guys are Grandmasters. They must have a lot of valuable possessions with them. We’ll split all the loot between us.
Elder Storm Du hesitated. He knew that Luo Jie’s team must be very rich. If they successfully kill them, they can certainly get a lot of treasures. He was also a little tempted.
“Let me think about it,” he said.
Hu Feng—having dropped the bait—left.
****
Luo Jie had no idea that someone was marking his team.
Their group marched continuously for two days until they reached an area close to where Marked Beast Variants were known to be active.
They started setting up their tents in a secluded spot. Six or seven people were sent out to scout the surroundings. According to Guo Shier’s plan, several Marked Warrior Grandmasters had to take turns surveying the area, looking for Marked Beast Variants.
He specifically ordered them to find weaker Marked Beast Variants. If they encountered powerful ones, they should not engage and immediately escape. He gave all of them Messaging Runes so they can call for help.
After three days of scouting within a radius of a hundred miles, they found only one Marked Beast Variant—a Marked Lynx. They saw traces of it several times, but because of its tremendous speed, they had a hard time finding it. Guo Shier decided to give up hunting the Marked Lynx Variant and transfer the camp immediately.
They found another site, still along the edge of the active area but on a different spot, about a hundred miles away from their last base.
As they were about to set up camp, they suddenly heard a warning roar.
Translator: Glasses TangGu
Editor: M
