"Haha, Mo Fan, which do you think is better—summoning a dimensional beast or contracting one?" Ye Chenfeng chuckled, glancing at his companion.
"Of course, it's a contracted beast!" Mo Fan replied without hesitation. To him, the answer was obvious.
"True," Ye Chenfeng said with a nod. "But a contracted beast has to be exceptionally powerful or rare to justify the effort it takes to train one. Now imagine if you had an extremely rare and powerful dimensional beast. Could you achieve the same level of success with it?"
Mo Fan paused, considering this. If he had contracted a dragon instead of a Nether Wolf, he'd probably be ecstatic for the rest of his life.
"What are you getting at, Old Ye?"
Ye Chenfeng grinned. "The summoning plane is vast. How far can we realistically explore it with just our mental power?"
Mo Fan frowned, listening intently.
"Why not send a scout—let the summoned beast explore for us? Once it finds a powerful creature, we can step in and conquer it ourselves. Wouldn't that be amazing?"
Mo Fan clapped his hands in admiration. "Old Ye, you're insane, but you might be onto something! Our time in the summoning plane is limited, but for a summoned beast, exploration could go on indefinitely. Once it discovers a high-potential creature, we could dismiss it and take on the stronger one."
"But isn't that a bit... unscrupulous?" Mo Fan asked, though he couldn't help but admire the idea. It felt like exploiting a temporary worker and discarding them afterward.
Ye Chenfeng laughed, throwing an arm around Mo Fan's shoulder. "Do I look like the kind of guy who cares about that? Besides, why do you think I summoned a slave-level White-Feathered Peregrine Falcon instead of a general-level one?"
Mo Fan froze, realizing the implications.
With Ye Chenfeng's abilities, capturing a general-level White-Feathered Peregrine Falcon would have been simple. Yet he'd deliberately chosen a lower-tier version, one that lacked combat power and excelled only in speed.
"Hehe, you see," Ye Chenfeng continued, "if I forced a general-level beast to follow me, it would likely resent me, leading to sloppy results. But what if I help this slave-level falcon grow into a general? Do you think it would stay loyal to me?"
Mo Fan's eyes widened at the revelation. "Is that even possible?"
"Of course," Ye Chenfeng said, his confidence unshaken.
Mo Fan found himself torn. His bond with his Swift Star Wolf was deep, forged through countless battles. Could he follow Ye Chenfeng's example and exchange his current companion for something more powerful? The thought was tempting, but it gnawed at his conscience.
That night, Mo Fan lay awake, unable to focus on his cultivation.
The next morning, the group continued their journey toward Jinlin City. After nearly ten days of travel, they finally arrived. The sight before them was bleak: ruins overrun with vines, moss, and weeds. Streets and buildings lay in shambles, a testament to the destruction wrought by demons.
"Let's survey the perimeter first," suggested Song Xia. "We need to assess the demon population and determine if rebuilding the city is even feasible."
The outskirts were littered with demons, but the creatures they encountered—mostly one-eyed wolves at slave level—posed little threat and were swiftly dealt with.
As they prepared to move deeper into the city, Lu Zhenghe, riding his Ghost Pattern Violent Wolf, asked, "Should we split up or stay together?"
"Split up?" Ye Chenfeng teased. "You must have a death wish."
Mu Ningxue quickly intervened. "We'll stay together."
The group moved cautiously into the residential area, navigating through moss-covered ruins, abandoned vehicles, and the eerie silence punctuated by distant monster roars.
"We need a place to rest before we start exploring," Bai Tingting suggested, glancing at Ye Chenfeng.
"That one looks promising," Mo Fan said, pointing to a relatively intact municipal building. Its structure appeared well-preserved compared to the crumbling ruins surrounding it.
"Why there?" Ye Chenfeng asked.
"The location is strategic," Lu Zhenghe explained. "It offers a good vantage point and is defensible if we're attacked."
"Alright, let's check it out," Ye Chenfeng agreed.
The group made their way to the building, finding it surprisingly clean despite the devastation around it. For now, it would serve as their temporary sanctuary as they prepared to uncover the secrets lurking in Jinlin City.