About a month passed since Shui entered the forest to help Cin. Feeling that it was about time to leave, Cin asked Shui if he had a way to protect his den while they were gone.
"Oh, that's easy. Just give me a day."
In less than a day, Shui set up a tier 3 protection array around the den with the blood of the beast spirits that had died, as well as a little bit of his own blood. When Cin saw the deep blue light around his den, he knew that he wouldn't have to worry about anything happening to his women while he was out.
After Cin spent a long, long night 'parting' with his pack, the two of them left the den early in the morning. On the way, Cin started by explaining where they were heading.
"The secret world is protected by the beast lord's clan, so we'll be heading to the center of the forest for the selection. Since everyone else will be heading there too, we won't have to worry much about crossing territories, but there is one place we have to be careful about. Still, I'm sure the two of us will be fine.
Now for the selection, like I told you before, we just have to beat someone with a quota to get one. All the current quota holders have to be there or else the beast lord will personally punish them. And if one of them dies without someone to claim the quota, then there'll be a battle royale to decide who gets it. But from what I've heard, there shouldn't be any high beasts or beast spirits with quotas that have died. We'll be able to choose who we want to fight, but the same person can only challenge and be challenged three times. Even if you beat someone with a quota, if the victory was too hard then someone can challenge you and take it. I think that's basically everything for now, you get it?"
"Pretty much. But this should be the first time you've participated in this, where did you learn all this stuff from?"
"Oh, I'm rather close with most of the other wolf leaders."
Evolved beasts had their own power struggles, but they were generally more loyal to their species than humans were so Shui nodded in understanding when he heard this.
The farther they went in their journey, the more frequently they would see other beasts travelling to the same destination. There were a few tense moments but no one wanted to waste their energy before the selection. Therefore, it was mostly smooth sailing until they saw an area covered in purple fog. With no word from Cin, Shui could tell that this was the place they should be careful about. It was the territory of a great beast that had the poison attribute, so everywhere inside it was covered in this purple mist which was corrosive enough to melt the bones of a young evolved beast, and deadly enough to kill a high beast if inhaled. It wasn't as if there was no other path they could take to reach the selection, but not only would they take more time, the other areas would require them to pay a hefty fee of fifty beast cores each.
It wasn't that they couldn't pay it, but neither of them was to type to give up in front of this measly difficulty. With his half-step divine body, Shui doubted that he could be hurt by poison of this level, but he didn't want to take any chances. By using 'Protect' and 'Purify', he created a barrier that cleansed the poisonous air before delivering safe air to him. Cin also easily took care of this poison by using a spell that awakened from his bloodline. His body was covered in a warm glow that instantly sanitized any poisonous gas that got close to him.
While the two of them entered the poison mist area, there was a group of five high beasts watching them. In addition to the three who Shui fought off, the other two were a brown serpent and a black spider that was as large as the stonehide lion. The three who targeted Cin knew that he would take this route so they called for help from two other high beasts that had strong poisons. They were sure that even if the two of were stronger than them, they wouldn't be able to beat them while fighting off the poison.
"Is everyone ready?" asked the waning moon bear.
They all nodded in response. The flail lizard, the decay snake and the giant tarantula were all immune to this level of poison, while the stonehide lion and the waning moon bear had taken antidotes made especially for this area. They had to beg their master to get these antidotes for them, but they were sure they would make it worth it.
However, although they thought they were hidden, Shui had long detected them and secretly told Cin.
"Oh, looks like we'll have some fun then."
The five didn't know that their position as the hunters was already no more.
Shui and Cin acted like they didn't know anything and took their time walking through the poison mist. They even acted surprised when the five high beasts revealed themselves.
"Huh? Where did you guys come from?" asked a surprised Cin.
Cin even pretended to be wary of them, which obviously worked since the five felt proud of themselves for getting this reaction.
'Wow, I never knew he was an actor.'
While wearing a similarly wary expression, Shui sneered on the inside.
"You have two choices. Both of you can become our slaves, or you can die here."
The stonehide lion spoke with the confidence of a king as he looked at them. Shui expected Cin to continue acting like these fools were actual threats, but it seemed he was at his limit.
"Pfft! Can you hear this lil' bro? 'Become our slaves or die'. This guy actually thinks he can do anything to us."
Cin burst out laughing and Shui wanted to do the same as he saw their ugly faces.
"Don't tease them too much. We were just too good at acting." said Shui with a chuckle.
"I guess you're right. I'm just too talented."
"You-!"
The five high beasts seethed with rage as they were ridiculed by the two in front of them. Their bodies tensed as they prepared to attack, but Shui and Cin were still carefree.
"Lil' bro, you take the two new ones. I'll handle the rest."
"Got it."
The original three high beasts couldn't understand why Shui listened to Cin when he was obviously stronger, and hated how much they were being underestimated, but they didn't mind the arrangement. As long as they quickly took care of Cin, the five of them could gang up on Shui. Even if they couldn't win, they could at least escape.
Of course, both Shui and Cin saw through these thoughts. They even secretly conversed with each other to make a bet.
"I bet we can finish them in under ten minutes." whispered Cin.
"Sounds too long. Let's make it three."
"Oh, that does sound like a challenge."
"What? You don't think you can do it?"
"Of course not. I'm excited."
"Then let's do this."