Chapter 1364 — Elder Yu's Discovery

With Elder Yu making a run for it, Wei Zhao could easily have used the monster's distraction to press on alone into the underground palace — but he could not bring himself to do it. Qiu Lingshan, Chen Yutian and Yu Xiaoke were all outside, and he could not simply wash his hands of them. What if Elder Yu shifted the disaster onto their heads?

Elder Yu now burned with hatred and regret alike. Not long ago he had congratulated himself on his own clever scheme, fancying that the monster's eyes were fixed on Wei Zhao while he himself merely struck from ambush — surely no danger in that. Who could have guessed that the sneak attack would fail and, worse, bring the disaster crashing down on his own head!

"Thief, you brat — give me a hand!" Elder Yu shouted as he ran. By the look of it, the monster would not rest until it had run him down.

Wei Zhao had no choice but to give chase. Elder Yu might be of the Earth Rank, but his movement skill was not necessarily superior to Wei Zhao's; before long Wei Zhao overtook both monster and Elder Yu and went on ahead. Elder Yu bellowed with fury, yet could do nothing about it.

Spotting Qiu Lingshan, Chen Yutian and the others in the distance, Wei Zhao roared: "Run! That monster has gone mad!"

As he passed Yu Xiaoke, Wei Zhao simply tucked her under one arm and carried her along as he sprinted. Of everyone here, Yu Xiaoke was the weakest, and whether she could outrun the monster he could not say — so it was far better to take her with him.

Qiu Lingshan and Chen Yutian exchanged a glance at Lao Hei. Chen Yutian, somewhat helpless, had no choice but to hoist Lao Hei onto his back as well. Their mission this time had been to capture the tomb-raiding gang; now Lao Keng, James and Lord Hao were all dead, and Lao Hei was the only one left — they could hardly let him die too.

So Chen Yutian could only carry him as he ran. This moved Lao Hei no end — what good people, truly good people! He had been half-minded to do away with them himself, yet in the crucial moment they were still thinking of him. This bandit husband and wife were good souls indeed!

Elder Yu did spot General Weiwu, but he was not kind-hearted enough to take a dog along; instead he cursed: "Out of my way, you beast!"

General Weiwu's gaze sharpened, yet for the moment he paid Elder Yu no mind. He simply stood there, stalwart and imposing, in the center of the passage — chest out, head high — facing the charging monster head-on!

Wei Zhao had left General Weiwu alone earlier because the dog was no slow runner and would flee on his own. He had never imagined the beast would refuse to run and instead go to meet the enemy face to face!

"Roaaar--" the monster bellowed at General Weiwu.

"Woof, woof--" General Weiwu barked back twice, true qi radiating from every inch of his body, his early Mysterious-rank strength laid bare for all to see.

When General Weiwu was behaving normally, unless you were watching him deliberately, no one would take him for a cultivating dog. Even when he slipped right under Elder Yu's nose, the old man never suspected for an instant that a dog could be a cultivator. Only when General Weiwu flaunted his power in all its domineering glory did Elder Yu suddenly realize that this was, remarkably, a high-tier Mysterious-rank dog!

Damn! Could it be that the male thief keeps a spirit beast at his side too? Elder Yu nearly wept. You had a high-grade Mysterious-rank dog all along — what were you waiting for? Why didn't you say so sooner? And here I was, smashed half to pieces by that monster's palm, vomiting blood without end — is this how you screw people over?

"Doggy, go subdue that monster!" Elder Yu's spirits shot up at once, and he commanded General Weiwu.

Though General Weiwu understood human speech perfectly well, he held Elder Yu's command in utter contempt!

For no reason he could have named, General Weiwu had felt an urge to conquer the very first instant he laid eyes on the monster — an inborn instinct. And so General Weiwu chose to meet the enemy head-on!

Elder Yu, however, had stopped running. Breathing a great sigh of relief, he planted himself beside General Weiwu and, as though he had just discovered a new continent, pointed at the monster with high-handed glee and railed: "Weren't you putting on airs with me? Where's your swagger now? Gone soft?"

Wei Zhao, running in front, too sensed that something was wrong behind him and stopped in his tracks. Qiu Lingshan and Chen Yutian halted as well, both turning to look back — and there met the sight that left them utterly astonished.

"Thief, you brat — with a spirit beast at your side, why didn't you say so sooner? Did you mean for me to get hurt?" It was hardly surprising that Elder Yu should think so. In his view, this male thief had wanted nothing more than to be rid of him, so that no one would contest him for the treasures in the tomb.

"A spirit beast? You're saying General Weiwu is a spirit beast?" Wei Zhao stared, baffled, not knowing what Elder Yu was talking about.

"You own an early Mysterious-rank spirit beast — a high-grade dog — and instead of letting it deal with that monster, you send me in to make a sneak attack. What are you after? Trying to get me killed?" Elder Yu demanded, his face dark as a thundercloud. Had the dog not belonged to Wei Zhao, he would have slapped him there and then, and let Wei Zhao taste for himself what it felt like to be injured!

"You're an Earth-rank master and even you can't handle that monster — and you'd send a Mysterious-rank dog to do it?" Wei Zhao asked in bewilderment. Bewildered though he was, he also noticed that with General Weiwu blocking the way, the monster had truly stopped in its tracks, not advancing another step.

"You don't know?" Elder Yu was taken aback for a moment as well, then snorted: "No wonder — a mere tomb robber naturally knows nothing of these secrets. To have a high-ranking spirit beast at your side and not even be aware of it! What a waste!"

"Oh? What do you mean?" Wei Zhao genuinely did not understand what Elder Yu was driving at. Besides, this was no spirit beast — merely an ordinary dog he had modified himself.

"Though spirit beasts come in many races, each unlike the next, and each with its own abilities — offensive, healing, fire, water and the like — the hierarchy among spirit beasts is determined strictly by rank alone. That is to say, to them, Mysterious Rank will always outweigh Yellow Rank; even if the Yellow-rank beast is an attacker and the Mysterious-rank beast a healer, the only thing a Yellow-rank spirit beast can do before a Mysterious-rank one is submit! That is the greatest difference between spirit beasts and humans! Some people are not even fit to be compared with beasts!"

Elder Yu's final remark seemed pointed, aimed darkly at Wei Zhao — that he was beneath the beasts, a mere Mysterious-rank fighter presuming to stand up to an Earth-rank master like Elder Yu.

But though Wei Zhao caught the barb, he did not bother to argue. What genuinely stunned him was the little lecture Elder Yu had just delivered! He had never before laid eyes on a spirit beast and knew nothing of their lore — he had never imagined there was so much to it!

"So you're saying this monster will be subdued by General Weiwu?" Wei Zhao was equal parts excited and astonished. He had brought General Weiwu along without a second thought, and it turned out he had brought exactly the right companion. At the same time he was deeply grateful to Elder Yu for having uncovered this secret and passed it on to him.

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