Chapter 137: Chapter 137: High-Level Warrior
Tonight was destined to be an unpeaceful night.
After Edward tried to sleep and realized he couldn’t enter the resonance space, the boy woke himself up. Relying on the flickering torchlight outside the bed curtain and his keen beastman eyes, he carved a concealment array onto a flat piece of wood.
Depending on the material used to carve the array, its duration would vary accordingly.
If a talisman was drawn on a leaf, it could last for an hour and a half; if carved on wood, it could last for a day; on stone, five days; and on a magic stone, ten days.
While carving the concealment array on wood, Edward could feel his mental energy rapidly depleting. It wasn’t until past midnight that his array was finished. He only had enough time to hide the item back in its place before exhaustedly transforming into his beast form and falling into a deep sleep.
His mental energy was exhausted, so Edward slept very deeply. He didn’t know that just half an hour after he fell fast asleep, the Temple Lord had visited his room and taken Uncle Wofu away.
Before leaving, he looked at the little snake coiled on the bed. His hand reached out but then pulled back, as he muttered:
"No, it’s not time yet." Then, he quickly left. Throughout the entire process, all the servants and guards were in a daze, completely failing to notice anything unusual.
When Edward woke up the next morning, it was already bright outside. He let out a languid yawn, letting the servants help wipe his face. When he looked over at Wofu’s spot and saw it empty, Edward was startled, his sleepiness instantly vanishing. He tried to suppress any show of panic, asking as if casually:
"Where is that fat tiger?"
The servant’s eyes glazed over for a moment, a streak of red lingering in their pupils, and mechanically replied:
"First Holy Son, the Second Holy Son has finished breakfast and gone out to play. He will probably return shortly."
A question mark popped up in Edward’s mind. He knew perfectly well how lazy his old uncle was; why would he suddenly bother to get his butt up and go out today?
But he had important things to do today. Perhaps he would ask Wofu about it when his uncle returned later.
After breakfast, Edward acted lazy again. He didn’t even have any interest in the sweet fruits he usually liked to eat. Right after rinsing his mouth, he climbed into bed and went straight to sleep.
Waiting until the servants thought he was truly asleep, Edward reached under the stone crevice, took out the concealment array, and wore it. Once his body completely vanished, he bunched up one end of the blanket into a lump, then covered it completely with the other end, pretending he was still lying inside.
Then, Edward transformed into his beast form and stealthily slithered into a servant’s animal skin pouch. The servant only felt the pouch at his waist become slightly heavier. When he opened it to look, he saw nothing unusual and assumed it was just his imagination. After standing guard for a while longer, someone came to relieve him of his shift. The servant immediately left the room, walking out of the flower garden to head outside.
Edward poked his head out of the pouch opening, carefully observing the servant’s route and memorizing it.
He saw that once the servant left the flower garden, the man started to turn left. After making two left turns, the servant walked straight for a stretch, then turned right two more times, continuing straight through a large door carved with a giant tree motif.
Past this door was a flower garden five times the size of the backyard. At the end of this garden was the main gate of the Temple.
Edward looked around, clicking his tongue in silent awe. As expected of the Temple, there was a squad of guards stationed every ten meters, and the lowest rank among these soldiers was level six. He couldn’t help but gulp secretly, starting to worry whether his two fathers would be able to rescue him.
Given his fathers’ current levels, even with Divine Energy, the probability of defeating this group was rather low.
Just as the group of servants passed through a checkpoint, they encountered a patrol squad of over twenty people. They hastily stepped aside to the edge of the road, lowering their heads.
The leading beastman was a Black Wolf clan beastman. Just as he brushed past the servants, his footsteps suddenly faltered, and he turned to stare at them. Edward’s heart skipped a beat. Could it be that the wolf had discovered his presence?
When the beastman approached, Edward immediately shrank back into the animal skin pouch, not daring to breathe heavily.
Seeing the patrol captain staring intently at them, the servants broke into a cold sweat out of fear, wondering if they had done something wrong. The Black Wolf beastman looked at them for a long time, trying to find the strange scent he had just sensed, but no matter how hard he looked, he found nothing unusual.
He could only point at the pouch hanging at a servant’s waist and say:
"Your pouch is open. Be careful not to drop all your crystal stones."
The servant hastily looked down and indeed saw that his animal skin pouch had been unfastened at some point. He quickly tied it tight and mumbled his thanks. The Black Wolf beastman gave a grunt of acknowledgment, then turned and walked away.
After the patrol squad was out of sight, the group of servants finally breathed a sigh of relief. One of them patted his chest, soothing his wildly racing heart, and said:
"That scared me to death! I thought we had done something wrong!"
"I was so scared I almost peed my pants. The pressure of a level 9 beastman warrior is truly terrifying. It’s your fault, why didn’t you tie your money pouch carefully?"
"Yes, yes, it’s my fault. I apologize to everyone. Let’s hurry up and go, otherwise we’ll be late."
The group of servants hurried on their way again, failing to notice that the recently tightened money pouch of that servant had been opened once more.
Edward peered outside. Sensing that the oppressive aura had vanished, he hurriedly slithered out of the pouch and made his way back along the path he came.
He roughly knew the route out of the Temple now. It was not wise to risk going too far at present. If he were discovered by that Temple Lord or the High-Level beastman from just now, the consequences would be unimaginable.
His intention of telling his two fathers to rescue him was also half-extinguished. That Black Wolf beastman just now was already a level 9 warrior. Edward had solid grounds to affirm that there wasn’t just one level 9 warrior in the Beast City. Not only that, but this place certainly housed Holy Beast level beastman warriors. Edward felt incredibly anxious, and his slithering speed increased significantly.
Sneaking and hiding all the way, he finally slithered back to the backyard. First, he erased all suspicious traces on his body, then slithered into the room. Looking toward the tiger cub’s nest, he was very surprised that Uncle Wofu still hadn’t returned.
A sense of unease welled up in Edward’s heart. He hastily slithered back to bed and transformed into his human form. Hiding the concealment array, he quickly slipped under the covers, then made noises as if he had just woken up.
The servant standing outside the curtain immediately lifted it, waiting upon him to wash his face.
"Has the fat tiger still not returned?"
The servant paused slightly, then mechanically replied, "Not yet. The Second Holy Son is with the Temple Lord."
"I want to go there." Edward stretched and gave a long yawn, trotting outside. The servant immediately chased after him.
Edward walked faster and faster.
"Temple Lord, Temple Lord~"
Edward called out affectionately, brazenly running into the Temple Lord’s room just like always. However, this time he was blocked by a guard beastman.
"First Holy Son, the Temple Lord is busy. You cannot disturb him at this moment."
Edward frowned, glaring unhappily at the beastman, and shouted, "Who do you think you are to dare block me out here? Get lost!"
An oppressive aura radiated from Edward, pressing the guard beastmen down until their backs bowed and they lay prostrate on the ground. The guard beastmen and servants were absolutely terrified. They only knew that the Temple Lord had suddenly brought back two Holy Sons, but they had absolutely no idea that the First Holy Son was this powerful.
They were all warrior beastmen, the lowest being level four and the highest level seven, yet they were so easily crushed flat to the ground by the pressure emanating from a cub.
If the First Holy Son was like this, then the Second Holy Son was surely no less formidable.
The familiar jingling sound of bells rang out again, and the pressure radiating from Edward was instantly dispelled. A flash of profound depth crossed Edward’s eyes, after which he restored his innocent, pouting demeanor.
The Temple Lord slowly walked out. Seeing the little snake puffing his cheeks in anger, he chuckled softly and asked gently:
"Why are you so angry?"
Edward pouted: "They wouldn’t let me in to see you, so annoying!"
The Temple Lord blinked, extending a finger to lightly poke Edward’s forehead. "You’re so stubborn." He then picked Edward up and turned to walk back into the room.
Waiting until the two figures disappeared from sight, the servants and guards finally breathed a sigh of relief. A gust of wind blew past, and everyone shivered in unison. It was only then that they realized they were covered in a cold sweat.
Fortunately, the Temple Lord had appeared in time to neutralize the pressure released by the First Holy Son, saving them from having their bones and internal organs crushed. He was just a beast cub yet could already suppress them like this; there was no telling how fearsome he would be when he grew up.
Edward didn’t care what the people outside thought. He just intently swept his innocent gaze around the room. Seeing the tiger cub lying peacefully on a soft animal skin chair, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. However, since he was acting, he had to play the part to the end. He pouted and spoke with a sulky tone:
"You only took the fat tiger away and didn’t bother to bring me, do you not like me anymore?"
The Temple Lord laughed, pinching the little boy’s chubby cheek, and said, "I wonder who was sleeping so soundly that they couldn’t be woken up. I couldn’t bear to disturb your sleep."
Edward let out an "Oh," his cheeks flushing pink as he buried his face into the Sub-Beast’s shoulder crook. He could smell a very strong herbal scent mixed with a faint smell of blood on the Temple Lord’s body.
Was the Temple Lord injured? Who could possibly injure him?
Edward hid his thoughts very well. The Temple Lord completely failed to notice anything and set him down on the ground. The boy immediately trotted over to Wofu, calling out loudly:
"Fat tiger, fat tiger, this is my spot, get down right now!"
The fat tiger slightly opened his eyes for a glance, then turned around, leaving Edward with a round rump. Edward was so furious he was fuming, wanting to take a bite out of that butt. [You obnoxious old uncle, I was worried sick about you, yet you’re here sleeping like a log. Our uncle-nephew bond ends right here!]
The Temple Lord gave a light chuckle. Slipping his hands under Edward’s armpits, he placed the boy onto another softly cushioned chair. He pushed a plate of small red fruits over, speaking in a soft voice:
"The tiger cub is starting to enter its advancement phase. I want to keep him by my side for convenient observation. In a few days, I will take him to the Heavenly Temple. You stay obediently in your room, don’t run around outside."
Hearing this, Edward immediately acted spoiled: "I want to stay by your side too~"
"No." The Temple Lord said sternly. "It is very dangerous. I don’t want you getting hurt."
Edward remained unconvinced, pouting as he said: "What’s so dangerous? I see you just like that fat tiger more than me. Hmph, you’re just like the other Sub-Beasts, only liking those furry things, disliking the snake scales on my body."
The Temple Lord laughed, rubbing the little boy’s head, and said: "That’s not true, I like you the most. Wait until the tiger cub finishes his advancement, then I will bring you over to stay with me, alright?"
Edward hesitated for a moment, his gaze shifting between the tiger cub and the Temple Lord, his face filled with reluctance. The Temple Lord’s eyes suddenly turned cold:
"Little one, behave."
Edward paused slightly, then said with a pout: "Since you said it, you can’t go back on your word."
"Mm, I won’t go back on my word. I am a little tired, you head back first."
No matter how unwilling he was, Edward still had to leave. Before going, he subtly threw a glance at the tiger cub. Even though Uncle Wofu didn’t look much different from usual, Edward still couldn’t feel at ease.
It seemed he had to quickly find better materials for carving arrays.
After Edward’s figure vanished from sight, the Temple Lord closed the room’s door. The moment he turned around, his body suddenly swayed, and he hastily grabbed onto the door for support. A coppery-sweet taste surged up his throat; the Temple Lord clutched his chest and spat out a mouthful of blood with a *pfft*.
As soon as the blood touched the ground, a brown tree root immediately popped up, slithering over the bloodstain. The bloodstain quickly disappeared, and the tree root sank back down, restoring the ground to its original appearance. The Temple Lord used the pad of his thumb to wipe the streak of blood from his lips. His gaze turned toward the lying tiger cub, his eyes filled with gloominess mixed with murderous intent.
He could only blame himself for being too impatient, acting so hastily. He hadn’t expected these two brats to be stronger than he thought. Yesterday, he was almost beaten back to his original form by the Divine Seal on this tiger’s body. Fortunately, his quick wits had allowed him to keep his life.
It seemed that if he wanted to obtain the Divine Blood of these two kids, merely raising them into cripples wouldn’t be enough.
