The scent that drifted off from the meat was so enticing that Shui had to literally hold Cin back so that he could finish cooking it. This naturally made Cin very upset and caused him to fully list out his vocabulary of insults. However, when the meat was finished and he got a bite, he wasn't disappointed.
"Mmm, didn't think this guy would taste so good."
"A high beast is still flesh and bones at the end of the day."
Both of them were quite satisfied with the taste and were also pleased with what came with it. Roasted it may have been, but the juices contained in a high beast's flesh filled them with energy. He may have only recently become a high beast, but by eating this flesh, Cin felt his cultivation improving by a few decades. Without any extra resources, a normal high beast would need to live for at least two hundred years before becoming a great beast, so this was quite the jump even though the effect was reduced as he continued eating.
Shui also received a great boost from eating this meat. The rich nature energy that he converted into divine energy pushed him to the third level of the Soul Realm without any struggle. With how powerful his body was, this increase in cultivation wouldn't improve his strength by much, but it was still an improvement.
'Tch, I shouldn't have burnt the other two.'
Shui briefly lamented his mistake before going back to eating. Without any trouble, the two of them ate half of the waning moon bear and saved the rest for another time. For a high beast it was a lot, but manageable, but for a human cultivator like Shui to eat at the same rate was truly monstrous. With their bellies full, the two continued on their journey.
Once they finally made it out of the poison mist, they were in the territory ruled by the beast lord and its kin, the crown panthers. They were still inside the forest so there wasn't much difference in how the place looked, but this area was more mountainous compared to the rest of the forest. Now that they were here, the eyes that landed on them jumped in number. Neither of them were very well-known, but in this place everyone was scoping out the competition.
"Alpha Cin!"
In the midst of checking the ones paying attention to them, someone called Cin. It was a dark grey wolf around three feet tall, exuding both youth and ferocity. Cin looked much different from before his breakthrough, but his aura and scent hadn't changed much so he could still be identified.
"Oh, Riu. Teil as well."
"Cin, you've finally reached my level now."
Behind the dark grey wolf was an older and bigger wolf with the power of a high beast. Wolves were usually very cold to those outside their pack, but Cin seemed to have gotten close to these two wolves through some circumstances. Teil was the alpha wolf of its pack and served under one of the three great beasts in Malirin Forest. He had asked Cin to join his master's faction once before, but didn't break off relations with Cin even after he refused. This was because Cin had saved the life of his son, Riu, when it had accidentally wondered into the territory of a strong and hungry beast spirit. This was back when Cin had just entered the forest and didn't have his own territory yet.
When Riu was about to be killed by that beast spirit, Cin saved it and took over the beast spirit's territory. Normally, this would draw the ire of the high beast of which that beast spirit served under, but after hearing what happened from Riu, Teil stepped up and protected Cin from the stonehide lion, who was the high beast that the beast spirit served. However, once Cin also became a high beast the deal was no longer valid.
Since it didn't want the news to spread too quickly and provoke any of his enemies to attack his territory, Cin didn't mention that he killed the high beasts targeting him.
After some casual banter with Cin, both Teil and Riu, turned to Shui. Neither of them had ever seen a golden rabid monkey before so they looked at him curiously.
"Who's this, Alpha Cin?" asked Riu.
"Oh, this is my lil' bro. Shui."
"Nice to meet you."
It didn't explain much, but as a high beast Teil's instincts told him that Shui was hiding great strength. Riu, on the other hand, only thought that Shui wasn't 'half bad'.
"Oh, so you look up to Alpha Cin too. But I'm first so I'm your senior okay."
As Riu puffed out his chest in pride, Cin couldn't hold back a chuckle.
"No, I actually met him before I met you," said Cin.
"Oh, so you're my senior."
Riu quickly accepted this information although he appeared to be a little disappointed.
'I really wanted a junior.'
"Grr...!"
Interrupting their chat and causing every beast to turn silent, was a loud growl. The beasts here weren't pups who would become scared of just a growl, but they knew that this wasn't a threat, just a greeting. The growl indicated that the selection would soon begin.
After the growl, everyone turned their heads to the top of a small hill. On that hill, was black, four-legged beast that remained of average size despite possessing great strength. This beast had three vertical white marks on its forehead and radiated with the dignity of being part of the reigning species. This crown panther was one of the three great beasts and served directly under the beast lord.
"My fellow beasts, the time has come once more for us to venture into the secret world and increase our strength so that one day we may topple those foul humans."
His speech just started but there were already many beasts roaring and howling in support. Shui already knew that most evolved beasts hated humans but listening to this speech still left him feeling a little weird.
"Know that on this day, the ones who have a quota at the end will not just be given a wonderful opportunity, they will also be brave beasts who will lead our charge to supremacy."
Considering how the crown panther's speech quickly excited the crowd, Shui knew that this beast had quite the silver tongue. For the most part, the speech was just propaganda for beast supremacy so Shui and Cin tuned it out until near the end.
"Give thanks to our beast lord!"
It was for only a short moment. In that time everyone felt a pressure on their very souls. However, this wasn't spiritual sense, just aura. The aura of the beast lord alone was enough to invite fear into their hearts. Shui managed to guard his heart but he still felt wary. He had no reason to fear a beast lord, but that didn't mean he could look down on one. Cin also seemed to control himself, but he was obviously under stress.
"You okay?" asked Shui.
"Hmph, my dad was stronger."
Cin's reply was accurate, but Shui knew it was still a brave front.
"That's true. I guess it's just a matter of time before you surpass this beast lord then."
"Of course."
If they weren't communicating telepathically, this conversation would surely invite eyes of ire.
"Now, onto the rules of the selection. Everyone with a quota, gather in front of me."
Shortly after, ninety other beasts made their presences known to the rest. A total of one hundred beasts would enter the secret world, but the other spots were reserved for the crown panther great beast and the younger generation of the crown panthers.
"Rules are the same as last time. Any of these ninety beasts can be challenged three times in total and every one has the right to challenge a beast three times. There is no need for narrow wins here. If you want to ensure your spot then you better defeat your opponent completely."