44: Chapter 44 I'm used to being alone

"Little brother, this should be your first time entering a medium-sized secret realm to hunt for treasures, right? Why not join our hunting squad and act together? Secret realms are dangerous, and having more people makes it easier to look out for one another."

As Chu Xiu looked toward the old man guarding the entrance of the secret realm, a middle-aged brawny man walked toward him and extended an invitation.

The middle-aged brawny man had a robust figure with muscles bulging high on his chest, exuding the powerful aura of a Silver-Rank Beastmaster.

Behind this middle-aged brawny man followed three other Beastmasters—two men and a woman. Aside from the female Beastmaster, who was a Silver-Rank Beastmaster, the remaining two male Beastmasters were both Bronze Tier.

The strength of such a hunting squad was definitely at a top-tier level in Linjiang City, but moving about in a medium-sized secret realm still required utmost caution.

The middle-aged brawny man stepped forward to invite Chu Xiu to join their hunting squad for their operations, firstly because he valued the strength of the Snow Shadow Battle Lion, and secondly because he considered Chu Xiu's identity.

In the eyes of the middle-aged brawny man, the fact that Chu Xiu could cultivate a Silver Grade beast at such a young age meant his background was definitely extraordinary, and he surely possessed quite a few trump cards to save his life.

Traveling with such a talented youth would greatly enhance their safety in the medium-sized secret realm.

"Mister, thank you for your kind invitation, but I am used to acting alone."

Facing the invitation from the middle-aged brawny man, Chu Xiu smiled apologetically and declined the other party.

"Dabai, let's go."

With that, under the gaze of the four people, Chu Xiu rode the Snow Shadow Battle Lion and walked toward the entrance of the secret realm.

Passing through the light barrier at the entrance of the secret realm, the figures of both Chu Xiu and the Snow Shadow Battle Lion disappeared from the sight of the four people.

"Ah, what a pity."

Seeing this, the middle-aged brawny man could only shake his head and let out a long sigh of regret.

...

"Such a dense mana source; it's three times denser than the mana source inside the school's Weimang Secret Realm."

"If I use the intermediate mana nutrient solution to accelerate my cultivation inside here, I will definitely break through to the Silver Grade before the college entrance examination!"

In the valley within the secret realm, as soon as Chu Xiu entered, he was shocked by the dense mana source in the medium-sized secret realm, instantly feeling an urge to cultivate right on the spot.

"Forget it. A Beastmaster's strength almost entirely lies in their beast. Allowing Xiaodao to complete its evolution and enhance its strength is the top priority."

"Besides, I am already a Bronze Tier Beastmaster, and I still have an empty beast slot, so I'm not in a rush to break through."

But soon his reason suppressed this urge. After all, nurturing the two beasts he had contracted was already enough to keep him busy for a while.

"Xiaodao, come out!"

After pondering, Chu Xiu immediately summoned the Dark Blade Mantis.

Looking at the Dark Blade Mantis appearing before him, Chu Xiu commanded, "Xiaodao, fly up to conduct reconnaissance and early warning. Dabai and I will scout ahead to see if there are any Silver Grade demonic beasts nearby. Be sure to restrain your aura."

Hearing this, the Dark Blade Mantis nodded, then spread the wings on its back and flew high into the sky with a 'buzz' sound.

"Dabai, let's go. This place is different from the outside, so you should also put away your momentum."

Seeing this, Chu Xiu bent forward and reached out to pat the head of the Snow Shadow Battle Lion.

"Roar."

Hearing this, the Snow Shadow Battle Lion let out a low roar and nodded, then completely restrained its own aura before carrying Chu Xiu forward as it ran.

The valley where the entrance of the secret realm was located was not large. It took the Snow Shadow Battle Lion and Chu Xiu just over a dozen minutes to successfully leave this barren valley and arrive at a forest region.

Perhaps because the entrance to the secret realm was at the end of the valley, and this valley was a must-pass path for incoming Beastmasters, the demonic beasts inside had already been cleared out by the people ahead. All the way here, Chu Xiu had not encountered any demonic beasts.

It was only after entering the forest region that he began to successively encounter some demonic beasts, but they were mostly existences with strengths at the Black Iron or Bronze Tier.

Facing the two major Silver Grade beasts—the Dark Blade Mantis and the Snow Shadow Battle Lion—these demonic beasts had no room to fight back and were all slaughtered by Chu Xiu's two major beasts.

Just like that, they trudged through the forest for a quarter of an hour.

Boom!

"There's a situation!"

"This commotion is not small; it should be caused by a Silver Grade demonic beast!"

"Hahaha, after searching for so long, I've finally encountered a Silver Grade demonic beast!"

A roar suddenly came from the left-hand direction. Perceiving this commotion, Chu Xiu's spirits instantly perked up, and a look of pleasant surprise appeared on his face.

Feeling the commotion coming from the left-hand direction getting closer and closer, Chu Xiu immediately issued an instruction to his two beasts: "Xiaodao, take a look at the situation on the left and come right down. Dabai, return to the Beast Taming Space first."

As soon as his voice fell, he withdrew the Snow Shadow Battle Lion back into the Beast Taming Space.

In mid-air, the Dark Blade Mantis, having received Chu Xiu's command, glanced toward Chu Xiu's left-hand direction and saw a massive spider leaping through the forest and rushing toward this side from a kilometer away.

In front of this giant spider, the Dark Blade Mantis also faintly saw a few figures fleeing for their lives.

After seeing the situation clearly, it immediately put away its wings and landed beside Chu Xiu.

"Squeak, squeak..."

After the Dark Blade Mantis came to Chu Xiu's side, its pair of forelimbs gestured toward Chu Xiu for a moment, its hind legs carried its body hopping back and forth in front of Chu Xiu, and it let out anxious cries from its mouth.

"You mean someone on the left is being chased by a large spider and is fleeing toward our side?"

After watching the Dark Blade Mantis's actions, Chu Xiu understood what it wanted to express through the connection of the beast taming contract, and immediately asked.

"Mmm-hmm."

Hearing Chu Xiu's question, the Dark Blade Mantis's triangular head nodded rapidly like a chick pecking at rice.

"Xiaodao, who do you think is stronger between you and that spider?"

"Squeak."

Facing Chu Xiu's question, the Dark Blade Mantis immediately cried out twice, its pair of blade arms gently bumped against each other, and it straightened its back in front of Chu Xiu with its head held high.

"Then I can rest easy."

"Since that demonic beast is charging toward our side, let's just wait here for it to walk right into our trap."

Seeing the confident look of the Dark Blade Mantis, Chu Xiu showed a trace of a smile. After finishing, he turned around toward his left.

The Dark Blade Mantis beside him also showed an eager-to-try look by his side.

Rumble!

At this moment, the sounds coming from ahead were getting closer and closer, accompanied by bursts of explosions from time to time.

"Thump... thump... thump..."

At the same time, Chu Xiu also clearly felt the intense vibration sounds coming from the ground.

"Such a huge commotion, it seems that spider is not small in size!"

Chu Xiu felt the vibrations coming wave after wave from the ground, thinking inwardly.

"It's here!"

The next moment, a flash of sharp light suddenly crossed his eyes.