"Woo woo..."
The flute music rose again, with a rhythm even more urgent than before.
At the same time, the sky, originally clear, began to darken. As clouds seemingly emerged out of nowhere and obscured the sun, the space around them plunged into complete darkness.
"Big sister, has it become dark?"
Chu Chen climbed atop the corpse of a green wolf, his chubby little face raised towards the sky, full of confusion.
"It's strange, how did it get dark all of a sudden?"
Chu Xin was just as puzzled, her big eyes blinking as she stared into the darkened sky.
Suddenly, a red moon rose in the dark sky.
After the appearance of the Blood Moon, its faint red glow pierced the darkness, allowing people to faintly make out their surroundings.
"Awoo!"
All the green wolves howled skyward, their aura becoming even more ferocious.
"Blood Moon in the sky, green wolves howling at the moon. Myriad Beasts Sect's Blood Wolf?"
The State Governor's voice rang out, tinged with a hint of shock.
"Is it very powerful?"
Chu Chen, who was close by, asked curiously upon hearing this.
"Quick, stop their Blood Transformation."
The State Governor didn't reply but urgently shouted instead. She then swung her long sword, launching an attack on the nearby wolf pack.
Sword Qi whistled through the air but was blocked by a layer of red Protective Shield.
The women Sword Cultivators guarding her also launched attacks, but all were blocked by the shield.
"This Protective Shield is too strong; we can't break through," said one of the women solemnly.
At that moment, the fur on the bodies of the green wolves began to turn red.
Once these green wolves turned into true Blood Wolves, their strength would rise by one rank.
A Fifth Rank Demon Beast was comparable to a Martial King.
With at least twenty green wolves densely packed together, that was equivalent to facing twenty Martial Kings; their demise was certain.
"Is the defense very strong?"
Just then, the nearby Chu Chen heard their words, looked curiously at the red Protective Shield in front of him, and swung his chubby little fist, hammering it with a punch.
Crack!
The red Protective Shield was covered with cracks and shattered like a mirror in the next moment.
"That defense wasn't all that great," muttered Chu Chen under his breath.
The State Governor and the others were all stunned. Was this little guy specifically here to deflate their egos?
They were Martial Emperors, yet even with all their might, they couldn't break through the red Protective Shield. Yet, this little fellow broke it with a single punch; how great was his strength?
"Little brother, don't just stand there like a fool. You start the fire, and I'll do the killing. My mouth is watering already."
At that moment, Chu Xin's childlike voice chimed in.
As she spoke, she had already dashed into the midst of the wolves undergoing Blood Transformation, her small white hands swung, and with each bound, she felled a green wolf with her fist.
"Okay, big sister."
Chu Chen nodded obediently and proceeded to move in front of the crowd. He took out a conical stove from his ring, placed a large pot on it, then threw a bundle of kindling into the stove, and struck flint to light the fire.
As the fire blazed vigorously, Chu Chen took out a small bottle, uncorked it, and poured some oil into the pot. It was unclear what it was made from, but it smelled delightful.
The State Governor and the others watched in amazement. Did this little fellow really have such things in his Sumeru Ring?
Seeing his practiced movements, it was clear that this wasn't his first time doing this.
Meanwhile, white smoke billowed from the pot, and the scent of oil grew even richer, prompting the State Governor and others to unconsciously sniff the air.
Chu Chen waved his little hand, throwing a handful of seasonings into the pot, then took out a spatula from his ring and began to stir-fry.
Since the stove was somewhat high for him, he had to float in the air to complete the stirring motions.
He fried for a while before taking out a small bottle and pouring it into the wok, a stream of clear water with a special fragrance pouring out.
That bottle, roughly the size of Chu Chen's small hand, seemed to possess infinite space; he poured half a pot of water yet it still wasn't empty.
"Done!"
Chu Chen clapped his hands, descended from mid-air, and threw out a large basin, calling out loudly, "Sister, catch some fresh big dog blood."
"Got it!"
Chu Xin leapt up to catch the basin, while with her other small hand, a small knife appeared. With a flicker of her body, she appeared in front of a green wolf, plunged the knife into its throat, and blood sprayed out like a fountain.
"So much blood."
Chu Xin excitedly caught the blood with the large basin, leaving the State Governor and others dumbfounded.
Meanwhile, Chu Chen arrived beside the carcass of a green wolf, took out a small knife, and expertly removed its sinew, skinned and gutted it, then used the water from that small bottle to wash it. Afterward, he took out a large knife, chopped the green wolf into pieces, threw the bones into the pot to stew, and quickly processed the massive green wolf.
"Enlarge!"
Chu Chen stood in front of the barbecue grill, formed a hand formation, and uttered a low shout, instantly turning the grill, originally not much larger than himself, into one spanning over three zhang in length and more than a zhang in width.
With a loud clang, he placed all the processed green wolf meat onto the grill, then took out a large number of specially made skewers from the Sumeru Ring, looking towards the State Governor and others, and said, "Aunties, could you help with skewering these?"
"Huh?"
The women finally snapped back to reality, their faces full of astonishment.
Come on, there are so many green wolves undergoing Blood Transformation nearby, and you're fussing about food? And you want them to help?
"Little brother, these green wolves after Blood Transformation will become Fifth Rank Demon Beasts, comparable to a Martial Arts Sect master."
The State Governor reminded him again but then felt that a three-year-old might not understand how formidable a Martial Arts Sect master is, so after thinking it over, she added, "Roughly ten to twenty times more powerful than the current green wolves."
"Martial Arts Sect master?"
Chu Chen counted with his chubby fingers, "Martial King, Martial Emperor, Martial Arts Sect master, um, two levels more powerful than Martial King, that is indeed formidable."
"Then, should we not slay the Demon Beasts first?" the State Governor suggested.
"No need, we can skewer the meat while sister goes to kill the Demon Beasts," Chu Chen said as he waved his chubby hand and turned to shout, "Sister, Auntie said they will become very powerful soon, so let's kill them quickly."
"Okay!"
Chu Xin responded, then formed a sword technique with her hand. Countless Sword Qi burst forth from her body, enveloping the entire battlefield.
The sound of puncturing flesh was incessant; one by one, the green wolves undergoing Blood Transformation fell to the ground, until only two remained in mere moments.
The State Governor and others stood agape, realizing that the little girl had just been toying with them this whole time.
"Awoo!"
Just then, the remaining two green wolves, their bodies blood-red, completed the Blood Transformation, and their auras surged dramatically.
"Not good, they've finished the Blood Transformation."
Someone exclaimed with a trembling voice.
There was a world of difference between a Martial Arts Sect master and a Martial Emperor, even though they were only one rank apart in strength.
A single Martial Arts Sect master could take on all of them here; not to mention two Fifth Rank Demon Beasts comparable to one.
After completing Blood Transformation, one Blood Wolf pounced towards Chu Xin, and the other charged at the State Governor.
"Protect the State Governor!"
The women shouted in unison, standing in front of the State Governor, ready to face death without hesitation.
At that moment, a tiny figure appeared in front of them, swinging his chubby hand and swatting at the incoming Blood Wolf.
Slap!
A crisp sound echoed, accompanied by the clear noise of breaking bones.
The Blood Wolf howled in pain, hurled over a dozen meters away, crashing through several trees before rolling to a stop on the ground, motionless.
"Auntie, those Fifth Rank Demon Beasts you mentioned don't seem very formidable," said Chu Chen with a puzzled expression. He had actually thought these Fifth Rank Demon Beasts would be very powerful and even increased his strength on purpose. Now, it seemed they weren't as formidable as that auntie had said.
"..."
The State Governor and others stood in stunned silence, at a loss for words.