Translated by: Sephilia
Edited by: Rango and Brian
TLCed by: Sephilia, Shiroyukineko
"You guys should get a good beast first . " This single phrase from Yi Nan caused everyone to rush to the beast store .
Ye Kong did not have a beast, and the Li brothers' beasts were absolute trash . If they could not get a good beast, not to mention chain quests, even the Blackstone Labyrinth's Heart of Oak Tree's trial would be biting off more than they could chew . Originally, Yue Yang only hired them to search for Yue Bing . Since the mission was already accomplished, if it was another person that hired them, they would probably paid the commission and then bid their farewells and go on their separate ways . However, Yue Yang felt that although Ye Kong and the others were not of a big help when it came to battles, but with regards to survival experience within Tong Tian Tower, they completely outclassed Yue Bing and Yi Nan . With their participation, doing chain quests would go a lot smoother .
Therefore, Yue Yang decided to keep Ye Kong and the others .
In any case, Ye Kong was still a genius that was past his prime . If not for him losing his beast, how could he have become so miserable?
The Li brothers' beasts' levels were low, and there was a limit to the strength provided after the strengthening fusion with their beasts . However, the Li brothers' own battle techniques were not bad, and they were also resilient . They could be compared to Hui Tai Lang with their vitality of a cockroach . Although they could not hold the frontline on their own, they could still pass for doing labour work .
Instead, with regards to Fatty Hai who had a summoning grimoire, Yue Yang's opinion of him was the worst . This guy had completely no experience, and was completely an inconvenience to him .
The only advantage that he had was that he could be made a human shield .
If Yue Yang needed a person to take the blows for him and be a human shield, Fatty Hai was undoubtedly the best meat shield available .
After collecting the hundred gold coins as a reward for the expedition in the abyss, Yue Yang, along with Yue Bing, Yi Nan, Ye Kong, Fatty Hai and the others, went to the Hundred Roaring Beasts Shop .
As they entered the shop, the Bronze-ranked Level 5 Hui Tai Lang caused all the adult beasts in the store to be frightened until they lay down on the ground, silent and subdued…
Only now had Yue Yang realised how extreme an achievement it was to get a Bronze-ranked Level 5 beast for a normal warrior .
"We'll come out with five hundred gold as down payment . If you accept, you and your friends will be lifetime VIPs of our store, having a 20% discount on all purchases; we'll also send you a Bronze-ranked Level 4 graded Beast Egg as a gift, to make up for your loss . Each of your friends can pick a beast for free, and as long as our people can succeed in contracting with this Two-headed Demon Wolf, we will immediately pay you another five hundred gold . " The white fatty manager of the shop desperately tried to convince Yue Yang to sell Hui Tai Lang to them . The store's employees were shrewd and ruthless . Seeing that Hui Tai Lang was a beast of the best quality that rated five stars or above, they kept clinging onto Yue Yang . In their attempt to buy Hui Tai Lang, they were willing to do so much that it could be said they wouldn't even care if they died in the process .
"Manager, your way of thinking is too naive . Did you really think that you could get a psychic Two-headed Demon Wolf with merely a thousand gold?" Yi Nan sneered .
"It would be a pleasure to negotiate with you with regards to the price . We can sit down and discuss this slowly . " The manager accompanied his words with a smile .
"We're not selling, no matter how much you offer us . " Yue Bing refused flatly .
"You have to be clear that we're here to buy beasts, not to sell them . If you don't want to do business, then we can just go to another beast store . " Although Yue Yang did not contract with Hui Tai Lang, it had accompanied him for a long time . He felt that having this gluttonous yet clever little dog by his side would make his life a little more interesting .
Without a punching bag to appease his anger, what would he ever do in the future?
Besides, this was a beast that he had cultivated with his own hands, so how would it be possible for him to sell it to other people? Yue Yang would never openly say it, but he would never sell Hui Tai Lang .
Since the manager could not do anything about it, he could only urge over and over again . If Yue Yang wanted to sell Hui Tai Lang at any point of time, he could find the manager at any time . He insisted that it wouldn't bother him even if he was preparing to lie down with a woman in the middle of the night .
Within the Hundred Roaring Beasts Shop, all the beasts available were Ordinary-ranked Level 3 or below . There were only a mere handful of Level 4 beasts, not to mention good beasts that were Bronze-ranked .
After looking at the beasts for a long time, Yi Nan and Yue Bing did not take a fancy to any of them .
Within Ye Kong and the others' hearts, they too felt that there were no good beasts around here . But, taking into account the reality of the situation, they did not dare to set the bar too high either .
"Having a Level 3 Huge Baboon is not bad either . Furthermore, it's a strengthening type, like my Long-limbed Golden Ape King that I had previously . " As he said this, Ye Kong's heart turned sour . If only his Golden Ape King was still around, how would he take a fancy towards this Level 3 Huge Baboon? This Huge Baboon had already completely matured, and it most likely would never be able to advance a level within its lifetime . Although Level 3 was not considered low, without the hope of ever increasing in level, it would only cause people to despair . Could he really be destined to be a guide who laboured for nothing for the rest of his life? When he was young, he had his own dreams of success and his parents had had earnest expectations for him .
"We want those two Wind Wolves . We have the Gale Sickle Mouse to strengthen ourselves . Adding two Wind Wolves to assist it, our strength can be boosted quite significantly . " Li Qie and Li Ge's desires were more realistic . They felt that those Wind Wolves were their greatest stroke of luck already .
If not for them being acquainted with Yue Yang, they would have had nothing in the first place.
Now, they were at least honoured warriors who had gone on a campaign into the Abyss . Although they did not kill a single demon, they had at least been inside the Abyss .
How many mercenaries in the world were even able to have the chance to counterattack against the Abyss? The Li brothers had felt that they could not achieve any great exploits in their lifetime, and resigned themselves to being menial worker mercenaries for hire . That was the most steady kind of life they could have led . For a boy like Yue Yang who could even kill a Demon General by himself, would he need mercenaries that served as anything other than menial work?
Yue Yang furrowed his eyebrows at what Ye Kong and Li Clan brothers had said .
He turned towards the manager and asked, "Do you have better-quality beast eggs here?"
The manager kept gazing at Hui Tai Lang . When he heard Yue Yang, a plan formed in his mind, "Please, go ahead and take a look at all of our beast eggs . You can pick any egg you want, and all of them will be free, as long as you are willing to sell Hui Tai Lang to us . Whatever you want to do, we can fulfil it . "
"Please exclude what you said just now . We only need beast eggs, do you understand? Thank you . " Yi Nan was about to be speechless at how this manager carried himself .
"Okay . " The manager was extremely regretful . His sadness was comparable to if his wife had taken all his assets and fled with another man .
Although the beast eggs were slightly better in comparison to the mature beasts, the price was also ten times higher .
Looking at the eggs, Ye Kong felt more pleased . He had found a beast egg with great potential . After it hatched, its growth would not differ much from the Golden Ape King's growth . He estimated it to be a Level 4 and above Iron-limbed Demon Ape . As for another two Bronze-ranked beast eggs that could hatch a Roaring Wind War Tiger and a Shadow Wolf, their prices all exceeded a hundred gold coins . This was completely unimaginable for them .
The reward for the campaign in the abyss was only a hundred gold coins . Not only that, he and the Li brothers did not do anything helpful at all, they only came along to look around .
Being able to get an Iron-limbed Demon Ape was one of the greatest demands he could ever make .
Yue Yang still shook his head . "They're all trash, don't you have any other beast eggs?"
The manager almost choked . He thought: Aren't you aren't getting back pain speaking so arrogantly like this?! You have a Bronze-ranked Level 5 Two-headed Demon Wolf, of course you think that these are all trash . But if any other warrior saw the Bronze-ranked Shadow Wolf and Roaring Wind War Tiger, no matter how much they desired it, no matter how much they drooled for it, they would never be able to hope to get it .
However, these VIPs had come here . The manager still used his best service attitude, accompanied with a smile, to bring out the treasure of their store .
Their store's treasure was priced at five hundred gold coins .
It was a Thunder Demon Panther beast, a Bronze-ranked beast egg . After being tested for twenty times, the outcome was identical, and the evaluation was four stars .
The masters of beast appraisal, authorities in this area, believed that the final level of evolution for the Thunder Demon Panther was Bronze-ranked Level 4 and above . If it ate many electric-type magic crystals for a long time, it could even rise up to Bronze-ranked Level 5 . The only drawback was that its maturing period was very long . It was estimated to take at least 3 years, and its growth would be far too stable . The chances of it undergoing a variant evolution to become Silver-ranked was next to zero . Although this was not much with regards to the entire chain of Hundred Roaring Beasts Shops, but within the store on this floor, it was the gem of the store .
"I don't want this, it's trash . " Using his Divine Vision, Yue Yang had seen through this beast egg . Not just Hui Tai Lang, even the beast egg that he had obtained from the energy cauldron in the Aries Temple was far more superior than this egg, as heaven was compared to earth .
The beast egg that he had obtained there, was one that was evaluated to be of five stars .
This Thunder Demon Panther that was claimed to be four stars was actually three and a half stars . It completely failed to meet the standard for four stars . The only reason why it was marked as four stars was because there was no such grading as three and a half stars . It could be said that this four star Thunder Demon Panther, within the evaluations of all four star beasts, would be the worst out of them all .
The manager was almost spewing blood at this point . "Young Master, how can you say that it's trash? It's four stars… You say five stars? Who would sell five star beast eggs in a beast store? Really, the country would prioritise them and buy them . The great families would also buy them with great amounts of gold . If you want five star beast eggs, you'd have to at least get to Floor 3 in Tong Tian Tower or higher . How many stars is the beast in your hands? I'll use a crystal to appraise it… Oh god, five stars? I'm going to faint… "
Yue Yang's original intention had been to find a good beast for Yue Bing . But, taking a look all around, he found that they were all trash beasts . He was shocked, and immediately handed over that small best-quality five star egg in his embrace to Yue Bing .
After enthusiastically appraising the egg, the manager of the Hundred Roaring Beasts Shop fainted on the spot .
How could this guy bring around a Bronze-ranked Level 5 Two-headed Demon Wolf and bring out a five star beast egg at his convenience?
Would a prince of a country even be this casual with these top-quality beasts?
Who in the world was he?
"Third Older Brother, hold on . I'm not good with beasts that aren't plant-type beasts . I don't want it, please…keep it . " Yue Bing hurriedly shoved the beast egg back into Yue Yang's embrace .
"I'm going to faint too . " Fatty Hai spewed out a waterfall of saliva .
"How about betting with your luck? Ye Kong and the others, select a beast egg and a chaos egg, and see what reaction you get after fusing them . If it's not good, then it's too bad for you . " What Yi Nan had just described was a terrifying gamble . Normal mercenaries would not dare to do this . Normally, this was done by elite soldiers in the army, who, under the situation of desiring to be exceptional, would use this kind of extreme methods to gamble using their own lives .
A chaos egg was a kind of raw egg which did not have an embryo .
(Sephillia: Look up chaos scroll for a rough idea of what this does)
Nobody knew what type it was, and the reaction it would cause after the beast fused with it .
With a fifty percent chance, the two would reject each other, causing the fusion to fail and the beast to die on the spot… With a thirty percent chance, the beast's abilities would be affected by the chaos egg, and its strength becoming far weaker; With a fifteen percent chance, the beast would not change, and the chaos egg would not have any effect .
With only a five percent chance, the chaos egg would successfully fuse with the beast, causing an increase in the beast strength or a variant evolution of it .
It was also reportedly said that there was a 0 . 01% chance for the chaos egg to have extremely good compatibility with the beast, causing a variation level up immediately after fusion . After increasing in level, it could even change from Normal-ranked to Bronze-ranked .
(Sephillia: Psst, anyone remember this?)Image
For a few thousand years, countless people tried these types of fusion countless times . Aside from a few lucky people, almost all the fusions had ended up in tragedy .
A chance of 0 . 01% was akin to despair for people .
As an example, nobody had succeeded in variant evolution in the Hundred Roaring Beasts Shop for over fifty years . The one lucky fellow recorded on the wall was already something that happened fifty years ago .
"Let's bet . " Ye Kong's hands were trembling, but he gratefully nodded his head towards Yi Nan .
This was the last chance for him to turn his luck over . Without enough gold, he could only bet his luck . He had turned into a useless person anyway . As long as he still had a single glimmer of chance, he would bet on it . He would bet on whether the Iron-limbed Demon Ape would rise up to become Bronze-ranked . Then, he would regain everything . The dreams he had when he was young, the expectations of his parents, all of it could be realised . As long as the heavens did not give up on himself, and grant him sufficient luck .
Yue Yang was curious . So there was this kind of gambling?
If this was the case, then wouldn't his own gift of Divine Eyes be put to good use?
Seeing how respectful the manager was on the surface with a ridiculing expression, Yue Yang was furious . You want us to fail? I'll just find a suitable one and infuriate you .
Ye Kong was so anxious that his entire body was trembling . He held the Iron-limbed Demon Ape's beast egg in his hands while looking at the row of chaos eggs, not knowing which one was the better option .
There was only one chance for him .
This gamble, even if the beast died, would also cost him two places in his summoning quota .
If he chose incorrectly, then his life would be completely over…
"Is it really that hard to choose? This one seems good!" Yue Yang took a chaos egg leisurely and threw it over to Ye Kong . His heedless attitude was as if he had picked up a bean from the ground to throw . The crowd was completely astonished at his actions . This, this was not a joking matter! One had to be extremely cautious! Once the chaos egg fused with the beast, then there was no possibility of backing out . Whether the beast was to live or die, or whether it was good or bad, all depended on this one gamble .
Who could have known that Yue Yang possessed the gift of Divine Eyes at level 2 . In fact, long before everyone was choosing their eggs, he had already found the most compatible chaos egg within the pile .
Although his movements seemed heedless in nature, in truth, it was only to deceive that cunning manager .
If he let this guy know that this was the most compatible chaos egg in the pile, he would not hesitate to demand Hui Tai Lang in exchange or raise the price of the eggs a hundredfold .
"Third Young Master, I… I believe you!" Seeing Yue Yang's brilliant smile, Ye Kong felt lucky and relieved . Gritting his teeth, he decided to believe Yue Yang . He used some force to bite his finger and used his trembling finger to draw the same contract pattern on both eggs . Finally, suppressing the fear in his heart, he closed his eyes and contracted with both beast eggs .
The result would be clear in a second .
Whether the fusion was compatible, whether the beast died or became trash, whether it was strengthened or underwent a variant evolution, would immediately appear in front of his eyes .
A pillar of golden light appeared between Ye Kong's fingers . The manager's jaw dropped until it was able to fit in a war beast . It was a miracle that had never been seen for over fifty years . Today, he had witnessed a miracle appearing in front of his eyes .
"The variant evolution succeeded . It's, it's a Bronze-ranked King Kong Demon Ape . Third Young Master, my, Ye Kong's, life, was given back to me with your hands . " Ye Kong's first reaction was to kneel at Yue Yang's feet, hugging his legs . He was so emotional that he could not control himself and started crying loudly . The gamble had succeeded . From this moment on, that crippled Ye Kong finally received his new life .
The dreams he had, the expectations of his parents, everything could be started anew again .
Now, he finally had the dignity to return to see his parents… Finally, he did not have to face their eyes full of despair . Now, he had been awarded a new life, one that was equal to his first .
Yue Yang wryly smiled .
This, was only the beginning . He would use the Divine Eyes to see through much more, although compatible chaos eggs were extremely hard to find . Ye Kong's chaos egg just happened compatible .
However, with the Divine Eyes to see through them all, would there be any fear of not finding a suitable one if one invested some time to search continuously?
His younger sister Yue Bing, along with Yi Nan, both needed strong beasts . Why not use this kind of "gambling" to pick the best beast eggs for them?
With his heart set, Yue Yang supported Ye Kong up, and prepared a few sentences to console him . However, he suddenly saw the chaos egg in Fatty Hai's hands had another abnormal reaction… This, this chaos egg was weird, it was completely different from all the other chaos eggs .
That, what kind of beast egg was that?
And, what effect would it have?