Sensing Little Monkey’s presence, Lin Yun broke into a smile, after all, it was his battle pet, his companion on the journey to the cultivation continent.
“No wonder I couldn’t reach it, turns out this little guy landed in the Demonic Beast Mountain Range,” Lin Yun chuckled.
He’d always been certain Little Monkey wasn’t dead, their contract remained intact, but he couldn’t find it, he’d once thought it must’ve ended up in another empire.
…
Elsewhere.
In a desolate frontier of the Xingwu Empire, a remote location housed an unremarkable small fortress.
Beneath it lay a vast underground palace.
This was a major hidden stronghold of the demon clan within human territory.
A middle-aged man in a mink coat, with striking green pupils, sat in the palace’s main hall, though he appeared human, he was a genuine demon beast.
“This Lin Yun actually won the Wanhua Tournament?” the green-eyed man mused, utterly shocked.
He clearly recalled the last inter-sect war, Lin Yun had only taken first place thanks to his battle pet, back then, he couldn’t even claim victory with his own strength.
Now, he’d won the Wanhua Tournament on his own merit? What a terrifying growth rate!
How little time had passed since that inter-sect war!
“Envoy, Li Shi, whom we sent, lost to this Lin Yun, missing the chance to be taken under an Immortal’s wing,” a humanoid demon clan member below reported.
“We prepared so long for Li Shi to win, to infiltrate the humans, and it’s all gone to waste!” the green-eyed man on the throne said, his face icy.
Li Shi was a true human, but long ago claimed by the demon clan.
Humans had powerhouses taming demon beasts as pets, some even bred them, naturally, the demon clan sought to do the same with humans.
They secretly gathered abandoned infants, raising them.
With the cultivation continent’s vast population, a few missing orphans went unnoticed.
Li Shi was one such case, an abandoned infant, like countless others, taken in by the demon clan as a baby, trained en masse.
The training was brutal, survival of the fittest, hundreds of thousands of infants, starting at age three, faced relentless drills, ninety-nine percent perished in the harsh process, those who survived emerged from tens of thousands, driven by an instinct to live, forced to grow strong.
Li Shi was a genius among them, outlasting countless peers and demon beasts, cultivated with the clan’s resources to his current level.
Raised in the demon clan’s cruel regime, having killed countless rivals, he’d long lost his humanity—cold, bloodthirsty, savage.
The demon clan had pinned high hopes on him, if he won the Wanhua Tournament and joined an Immortal’s sect, trained for centuries, he might infiltrate the human core.
“Envoy, though Li Shi didn’t win, he’s joined the Xingwu Empire’s court this time, still beneficial to us, his background’s been flawlessly forged, no issues there,” the man below said.
At that moment, another humanoid demon beast rushed into the hall.
“Envoy, as you predicted, the Gu family and eleven renowned sects teamed up against Lin Yun, aiming to kill him,” it reported.
“And the result? With the Gu family and eleven sects striking together, he should be dead! I’ve always said humans are selfish, a prodigy like Lin Yun doesn’t even need our intervention,” the green-eyed man smirked darkly.
Such a prodigy’s fall delighted him.
“Envoy, he escaped, latest intel suggests he’s likely fled into the Demonic Beast Mountain Range,” the demon below said.
“Into the range? Interesting, daring to trespass on our turf, he’s walked into a trap! Report this immediately, have the demon clan in the range capture him, if he can be turned to our side, perfect, if not, kill him!” the green-eyed man’s gaze sharpened.
“Yes, sir, I’ll handle it,” the demon replied.
…
Demonic Beast Mountain Range.
The range’s vast expanse was divided into countless regions.
In a certain cave.
Little Monkey, the Three-Eyed Ape, rested inside.
“Hmm!?”
It jolted upright.
“It’s Little Master! It’s really Little Master!”
Overjoyed, Little Monkey sensed Lin Yun’s presence—how could it not be thrilled?
Just then, Lin Yun’s voice echoed in its mind.
“Little Monkey, I never thought you’d be in the Demonic Beast Mountain Range, I’ve finally found you, are you safe now?”
Hearing that familiar voice, Little Monkey grew even more excited.
“Little Master, I’m perfectly safe, when I arrived on the continent, I landed here, I didn’t know which empire you were in, didn’t dare leave to find you, being a demon beast, stepping into human territory rashly is dangerous, so I stayed, you won’t blame me, will you?” Little Monkey explained via transmission.
“How could I blame you? Staying here was wise, if you’d come looking, it’d have gotten you killed,” Lin Yun replied.
“Little Master, what realm are you at now? Little Monkey’s undergone a full transformation!” it said eagerly.
“Transformation? What do you mean?” Lin Yun asked, puzzled.
“Little Master, it’s a long story, let me explain slowly.”
Little Monkey recounted its tale since landing in the range.
At first, a Demon Venerable took it as a disciple, aiming to groom it as a capable subordinate, after over two years, a Celestial Demon discovered it had the hidden bloodline of a Sacred Devil Ape.
The clan activated that bloodline, causing its strength to skyrocket, it was then taken under the Celestial Demon’s wing.
In the demon clan, a Celestial Demon matched a human Immortal, a lofty status!
With its silver tongue, Little Monkey won the Celestial Demon’s favour, set to become a key asset.
Since activating its bloodline only seven or eight years ago, it was still in a growth phase, with immense future potential!
Hearing this, Lin Yun was stunned.
He hadn’t expected Little Monkey to find such fortune after landing here!
“Little Master, if I follow you again, I’ll surely do great things for you!” Little Monkey boasted, proud of its Sacred Devil Ape lineage.
It continued, “By the way, Little Master, why are you in the range? It’s a forbidden zone for humans, you’re in grave danger right now!”
