The intense pain shot through Lin Xun’s body and it made him feel as though everything had darkened before him. He almost lost consciousness and he couldn’t help but inhale sharply.

“Chirp chirp—” A soft baby voice sounded.

Lin Xun lowered his head, and to his surprise, it was a little monster who slammed into his chest!

Its body was glowing with a fiery golden light. Its eyes, nose, and ears were all round. Even its body was as round as a ball.

It had only facial features and no neck or limbs. The only word it could be described with was—round.

At that moment, its crystal clear black eyes were staring curiously at Lin Xun as it made chirping noises from its little round mouth.

Lin Xun’s eyes widened. What the heck is that?

Who could imagine that a little thing was sealed inside the mysterious bronze box?

“That’s—”

Xu Sanqi, Old Mo, and Xiaoke also gathered around and stared at the little monster in bewilderment. Clearly, they also didn’t think that such a tiny thing was the one releasing cryptic waves of energy inside the bronze box.

“It seems to have a similar aura to the Golden Flame Beast but its appearance is completely different. Look at its shape and the flowing golden light around it. It’s so beautiful.” Old Mo marveled.

“There doesn’t seem to be a beast like it recorded in the All-Beast Record. It’s really strange.” Xu Sanqi frowned. He sharply sensed a violent and chilling aura coming from the little monster. He found it very unusual.

𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

“Lin Xun, do you know about its background?” Xiaoke raised her eyes and looked at Lin Xun.

Lin Xun rubbed his sore chest and said with a grimace, “I only know that the bronze box came from a Golden Flame Beast. But I didn’t know that little thing was sealed in the box.”

The little thing seemed to think that Lin Xun was talking to it and so it chirped happily again.

Then, its soft and round body bounced up and it curled up in Lin Xun’s arms. It looked comfortable and relaxed like a child snuggling up to his mother.

Lin Xun couldn’t help but stroke the little thing. It felt soft, elastic, and very comfortable as if his hand was sunk into a cotton ball.

The little thing chirped again and seemed to really enjoy Lin Xun’s caress.

Fortunately, the dangerous aura around it had faded after it sent Lin Xun flying with a body slam. Lin Xun didn’t have to worry.

“Golden Flame Beast?” Xiaoke said ruminatively, “Is it the one that appeared in the Great Three Thousand Mountains last year? I heard that Little Sword Lord Xie Yutang from Qinglu Academy killed the beast. Why would you have the bronze box?”

Lin Xun shuddered inwardly as he realized that he had said something that he shouldn’t have.

He said in puzzlement, “I only remember that the bronze box was already taken away before the Golden Flame Beast was killed and I happened to get it.”

Xiaoke wanted to question him further when Xu Sanqi interrupted. “Let’s deal with that matter later. We should first find out what the little thing is.”

Old Mo said thoughtfully, “The little thing indeed has a similar aura to the Golden Flame Beast. But it doesn’t resemble a true Golden Flame Beast. Perhaps it is an offspring of a beast that we haven’t heard about.”

Old Mo was a well-read and knowledgeable rune master, so Xu Sanqi and Xiaoke were surprised that he didn’t know about the little thing’s background.

“Should we test it?” Old Mo suddenly asked Lin Xun.

“How do we test it?” A feeling of unease rose in Lin Xun’s heart as he found that Old Mo’s expression had turned a little strange.

“It’s very simple.”

As expected, a gleam of excitement appeared in Old Mo’s eyes as he stared intently at the little thing snuggling in Lin Xun’s arms. He spoke rapidly, “Just like how rune masters dissect beast corpses. You can remove its skin, take out its bones, draw its blood, examine its spirit, and even gouge out its eyes. Perhaps you can find some special uses. Oh right, there’s also its little head. You can break it open to see if it has a different structure inside to other beasts...”

The more he talked, the more excited he was. His saliva splattered everywhere and his hands danced about in the air. “Think about it, this is a beast that no one has ever seen before. Its body parts could perhaps be made into rune materials never seen before in the world! Perhaps it can create a new type of rune ink!”

Lin Xun’s expression changed before Old Mo had finished. He felt the little thing trembling and constantly chirping in his arms as though it sensed danger.

Xu Sanqi couldn't help frowning, but he knew that rune masters all had such a quirk. They were full of excitement when they discovered a new species. It was as though they had discovered a new world.

Surprisingly, Xiaoke was the first who couldn’t stand Old Mo. She lashed at him with a whip-like kick and sent him flying.

“Perverted! Cruel! How can you do that to such a cute little thing?” Xiaoke coldly scolded.

Old Mo lamented bitterly, “Woman, that little thing looks stupid and cute but who knows whether or not it will become dangerous in the future? If we don’t find out more about it now, it will be too late to regret it in the future!”

He got up, walked over to Lin Xun, and stared at the little thing with a fanatical look. “For the safety of everyone. Give this little thing to me.”

“No!” Lin Xun and Xiaoke firmly refused.

“Chirp—” The little thing stared back at Old Mo and grinned.

In the end, Xu Sanqi made a decision. “It belongs to Lin Xun. He can decide what to do with it.”

Lin Xun breathed a sigh of relief and Xiaoke’s expression became much gentler. Lin Xun felt a little uncomfortable. Xiaoke has always seemed cold and indifferent. She wouldn’t really like the silly and cute little thing, right?

“However, if that little thing poses a threat to the camp’s safety, I will kill it right away!” Xu Sanqi added, sending a chill down Lin Xun’s heart.

……

Deep in the night.

Old Mo’s warehouse.

Lin Xun was sitting down on a chair and pressing Jiujiu’s soft and round body into various shapes like he was kneading dough.

It was sometimes twirled around like a twisted donut and sometimes pulled flat and long. It had amazing elasticity.

Jiujiu wasn’t the least annoyed. Instead, it made cheerful chirps. They were like the groans that people made during a massage. Lin Xun also found it really fun to knead it.

This little guy is really too mysterious. It's like a little ball and its whole body glows like golden fire, but it is soft and comfortable upon touch.

Swoosh—

Jiujiu fell to the ground and then bounced up again. Then, Lin Xun flung it into a wall and it rebounded.

Jiujiu constant chirps spread in the night like the bell of a desert camel.

Xiaoke sat with her chin propped in her hand as she quietly watched. A rare gentleness came to her usual cold and calm face.

She hadn’t uttered a word but the fact that she followed Lin Xun to Old Mo’s warehouse and stayed so long late in the night was already very unusual.

Perhaps, she really liked Jiujiu.

At first, Lin Xun found it strange, but he paid little attention to it in the end.

“I wonder what this little thing’s background is. It looks stupid and cute but I don’t know what it will turn into in the future.” Lin Xun lifted Jiujiu up and studied its features. The more he looked at it, the more he felt it didn’t seem like the descendant of a fierce beast. It looked more like a silly little pet.

Lin Xun couldn't help pinching its stomach. With a swoosh, a jet of flame shot out from Jiujiu’s mouth like a bolt of lightning.

With a rumble, a deep bottomless hole was split open into the ground and a terrifying, blazing aura incinerated the stones around.

Lin Xun’s heart trembled. He couldn’t help but feel aghast. Who would have thought that Jiujiu could spit fire and had such terrifying powers?!

The power of that jet of fire was at least equivalent to the full-strength attack of a ninth layer True Martial cultivator!

Xiaoke sprang to her feet and stared at the hole blasted into the ground. Clearly, she was also a little shocked.

Jiujiu had a wide-eyed innocent look as it rolled its round, ball-like body in Lin Xun’s palm and laughed simple-mindedly.

“I already told you that the little thing looks innocent but is actually extremely dangerous. There is danger lurking inside its body and it will perhaps break out one day,” mumbled Old Mo.

“If you dare touch it, I will cripple you.” Xiaoke shot an indifferent look at Old Mo, and despite her speaking calmly, Old Mo’s body stiffened and he couldn’t help but smile bitterly.

“Hey, it seems to be hungry…”

Lin Xun felt a pain in his fingertip and he looked down to see Jiujiu biting it like it was sucking milk.

Xiaoke said, “Wait a moment,” and rushed out of Old Mo’s warehouse.

In just a moment, Xiaoke returned with a giant blue-horned wolf. She tossed it to the ground with a bang and said, “We have been keeping this female wolf after it was captured because she was pregnant. She only gave birth a few days ago. It should have enough milk.”

Carrying Jiujiu, Lin Xun quickly went to find the source of milk.

Unexpectedly, the giant blue-horned wolf roared in terror and frantically struggled like it sensed danger.

Huh?

Lin Xun, Xiaoke, and Old Mo narrowed their eyes at the same time as they realized Jiujiu was the problem.

“Chirp—” It looked confused and uninterested at the giant blue-horned wolf.

“Maybe we can feed it some aeth fruits and vegetables,” suggested Old Mo.

Xiaoke nodded and hurriedly left with the frightened giant blue-horned wolf.

That night, Jiujiu tried all kinds of aeth fruits and vegetables with Xiaoke’s help but found nothing it liked.

It didn’t even take a bite of anything.

Xiaoke scrunched her brows while Lin Xun looked a little annoyed. He slapped Jiujiu’s soft buttocks and said, “You are tormenting me to death.”

Jiujiu pitifully opened its eyes wide like it had been wronged.

“Haha, what a picky little thing. Here, do you want to try an aeth crystal?” Old Mo teased Jiujiu with a rock-hard aeth crystal.

Xiaoke’s eyes widened and she was about to snap when Jiujiu flashed past her with a swoosh and snatched the aeth crystal in Old Mo’s hand. It swallowed the aeth crystal into its round belly in a mouthful.

Old Mo cried out like a pig being slaughtered, “No—!”