Battle Through The Heavens : I Am The Thunder Emperor

Chapter 98: Zihuo's Advancement

"This is... a Purple Crystal Winged Lion King?" Mo Yu was momentarily stunned as he recognized the familiar form of the beast.

He had once witnessed Yun Yun's battle with a Six-Star Purple Crystal Winged Lion King from afar, so he was quite familiar with the appearance of an adult Purple Crystal Winged Lion King. The skeleton before him looked almost identical to that lion king, with the only differences being its larger size and the addition of a spiral horn on its forehead.

Despite being long dead, the aura emanating from this beast's remains was much stronger than that of the Six-Star Purple Crystal Winged Lion King he had seen before.

"This must be the remains of a Seven-Star magical beast," Mo Yu speculated.

"A Seven-Star magical beast?" Little Doctor Fairy gasped in shock, covering her mouth as she stared in disbelief at the enormous skeleton.

A Seven-Star magical beast was comparable in strength to a Dou Zong (Battle Sect) expert among humans, a true powerhouse on the continent. Any clan or faction with a Dou Zong expert in their ranks would immediately be considered a top-tier power, even in places like the Central Plains, where it would be classified as a second-tier force.

To her knowledge, it had been many years since a Dou Zong expert had appeared in the Jia Ma Empire.

Mo Yu also looked at the massive beast skeleton with a glint in his eyes. The remains of a Seven-Star magical beast were incredibly valuable—beyond measure. Even if he couldn't use them now, they would surely come in handy in the future.

"Roar, roar..." Just as Mo Yu was greedily eyeing the skeleton, Zihuo suddenly ran over, let out two low growls, and then affectionately nuzzled Mo Yu's shoulder with its massive head.

"Oh? You want to eat its flesh?" Thanks to the soul imprint, Mo Yu could vaguely understand Zihuo's intentions, even though it couldn't speak human language. He pointed to the large beast skeleton.

Zihuo immediately nodded like an obedient kitten, looking at Mo Yu with a hopeful expression.

The soul imprint wasn't a cruel and oppressive master-servant contract that required constant torment to keep the magical beast in line. Instead, it simply altered Zihuo's consciousness to recognize Mo Yu as its master and to remain fiercely loyal.

Aside from its loyalty to Mo Yu, Zihuo's habits and behavior remained unchanged.

Seeing Zihuo's eager expression, Little Doctor Fairy couldn't help but giggle. "Zihuo is so adorable. It's a Three-Star magical beast, but it acts like a harmless kitten around you."

"Alright, since you've made Little Doctor Fairy laugh, you can go ahead and eat all the flesh you want," Mo Yu said with a smile, waving his hand to Zihuo.

Blushing slightly at Mo Yu's comment, Little Doctor Fairy looked at him with gentle eyes that sparkled like autumn waters.

"Roar! Roar!" Zihuo let out two excited roars before rushing over to the massive beast skeleton. Despite the flesh being mostly decayed, Zihuo eagerly devoured what little was left.

"It seems this beast had a powerful bloodline," Mo Yu thought as he watched Zihuo feast.

In the world of magical beasts, bloodline hierarchy was strictly observed. High-bloodline magical beasts looked down on those with lower bloodlines. The Purple Crystal Winged Lion King was a magical beast born with the ability to use sealing techniques, indicating its bloodline was quite high. But Zihuo's greediness suggested that this skeleton belonged to a beast with an even higher bloodline.

Seeing the spiral horns on the beast's head, Mo Yu wondered if it might belong to a higher-ranked species within the lion family.

Mo Yu recalled that the magical beast world had three major beast clans. Among them, the Taixu Ancient Dragon clan was undoubtedly the strongest, while the other two—the Sky Demon Phoenix clan and the Nine Nether Earth Python clan—had somewhat exaggerated reputations.

Mo Yu didn't know if there were other powerful, hidden beast clans in the vast Dou Qi Continent, but he suspected that this beast skeleton might belong to one of them.

As Mo Yu pondered this, Little Doctor Fairy suddenly spoke up. "Mo Yu, could I take some of the bone ash from this skeleton?"

Mo Yu was surprised for a moment before smiling. "This valley is your place to begin with. And besides, finders keepers—take whatever you need. In fact, you can have half of the skeleton if you want."

Little Doctor Fairy quickly shook her head. "No, that's too much. I just need a little of the bone ash for a new poison I'm researching."

Seeing that Little Doctor Fairy wasn't just being polite, Mo Yu nodded. A Seven-Star magical beast skeleton was indeed difficult for most people to handle.

He approached the skeleton and activated the twenty lightning patterns on his right arm, feeling a surge of powerful energy. With a fierce punch, he struck the joint of the finger bone he had first noticed, breaking it off.

"This skeleton is incredibly tough," Mo Yu remarked, handing the massive finger bone to Little Doctor Fairy while rubbing his shoulder. Despite the beast being dead for many years, its bones remained extraordinarily strong.

"Mo Yu, this is too much," Little Doctor Fairy said, feeling embarrassed as she took out some medicine to apply to Mo Yu's shoulder.

"It's fine. Take it and study it as much as you want. By the way, should Little Lan eat some of the flesh too? It could be beneficial for it, but if you wait too long, Zihuo might finish it all."

Little Doctor Fairy looked at her Blue Eagle, which was trembling in the air, and sighed. "I wish it could, but Little Lan is too scared."

Mo Yu couldn't help but chuckle as he glanced at the trembling Blue Eagle, which was nervously chirping as if trying to bolster its courage.

Even though the beast was dead, its terrifying aura was still overwhelming for a One-Star magical beast, much like a beggar trembling in the presence of an emperor. Little Lan had been too frightened to continue digging, choosing instead to hover at a safe distance.

Zihuo, however, was able to withstand the pressure due to its superior strength and bloodline, allowing it to greedily devour the remaining flesh.

After a quarter of an hour, Zihuo finally finished eating the decayed flesh and stopped. As it did, a strange aura began to rise from its body.

As the aura grew stronger, Zihuo's body slowly started to enlarge, and its purple-flamed wings expanded and burned more fiercely.

Mo Yu was momentarily stunned before realizing what was happening. "Zihuo is... advancing?"

(End of Chapter)