Chapter 133: The Blazing Cloud Lion

The sky was as clear as polished jade, and the sunset glowed like a melancholic song. Beneath a perilous peak, stained crimson by the dying light as if by fresh blood, a fierce battle was reaching its climax. The combatants were a man and a beast. The man was a handsome youth of about twenty-seven or twenty-eight, dressed in azure robes and wielding a three-foot-long jade ruler. At a glance, he appeared to be nothing more than a gentle, refined gentleman; this man was Su Ye.

His opponent was a lion with a coat as red as fire. Its mane blazed like flame, and a pair of round, pale green eyes were embedded in its leonine face. Standing about a meter and a half tall, the creature was thick-skinned and moved with lightning speed, occasionally spewing torrents of blue fire from its maw. The two were locked in an inextricable struggle, crashing into each other with deafening roars before being flung apart by the sheer force of the impact.

This creature was a Blazing Cloud Lion, a top-tier beast in the Earth Realm. Within the nameless mountain range, they were undisputed overlords. This particular lion was a rare, mutated specimen. Among the beasts of these mountains, even those a full rank higher would struggle to hold their own against it, let alone match it blow for blow.

The young Cloud Lion was at the peak of the third rank, equivalent to a human at the peak of the Condensing Core stage. Yet, it could usually kill a fourth-rank beast with a single pounce. This human had appeared out of nowhere three months ago, and though his cultivation matched its own, they remained perfectly deadlocked. Every three days, Su Ye would come to challenge it, and they had fought thirty times to date. Unable to determine a victor, they would fight until both were utterly exhausted. Over these three months, what began as a fight to the death had slowly evolved into a strange sort of camaraderie.

In the blink of an eye, the sunset faded into the soft glow of moonlight. They had been fighting for over an hour, yet there was still no end in sight. The Blazing Cloud Lion swiped a claw against the jade ruler, only to be sent tumbling dozens of feet away. It flipped gracefully in the air and landed on the ground, panting heavily as it glared at the youth. "Enough! We've been at this for so long and still no winner. Unless one of us breaks through, neither of us can claim true victory."

"Little lion, we've fought for so long that we’re practically friends now. There's no point in you rotting away in this valley. Why not come with me and see the world?" Seeing that the lion was done fighting, Su Ye didn't press the issue. He tossed the jade ruler into the air, where it dissolved into a green light that submerged into his brow. He looked at the lion with a mischievous grin.

The Blazing Cloud Lion was still a juvenile, in a stage of life filled with curiosity. Su Ye's proposal tempted it, but remembering the warnings of its elders, it hesitated. Its eyes darted back and forth before it said with a huff, "Go with you? What makes you think you're worthy of being my master?"

"Master? I never asked you to serve me. Can't we just be friends and go on an adventure together?" Su Ye asked with an expression of feigned surprise. This rascal was clearly trying to trick a powerful bodyguard into joining him, yet he made it sound so noble.

"Are you lying to me? I've heard that humans are the most cunning and deceitful of all living things." The lion stared at Su Ye suspiciously, as if trying to peer into his very soul.

"While humans certainly have their share of scoundrels, there are also plenty of honest and sincere folk. In that regard, we're no different from your kind. Don't beast-kind have their share of greedy, vicious, and cunning creatures?" Su Ye rolled his eyes at it.

"Then which kind are you?" the lion asked, blinking its large eyes.

"What do you think?" Su Ye’s eyes twinkled as he watched it with amusement.

"I don't know. Even though I don't think you're a bad person, every time I look into your eyes, I feel like you're full of wicked schemes," the lion said bluntly after tilting its head to study him for a long moment.

"Nonsense! Which eye sees me as a schemer? What could I possibly gain by tricking you into coming with me? Should I con you out into the world just to skin you and sell your bones? Anyone with half a brain knows that having a powerful companion like you is far more valuable than harming you! Tell me, what could I possibly gain from deceiving you?" Su Ye retorted, exasperated.

His subtext was clearly that the lion was an idiot. The lion was furious, nearly pouncing on him again, but realized that after so many fights, they were evenly matched and further combat was futile. It could only glare at him, breathing heavily.

"Stop glaring and think about it. My offer is good. Of course, if you insist on becoming my beast servant before you'll come with me, I suppose I could reluctantly agree," Su Ye said, sitting on a rock, crossing his legs, and leaning back with his hands behind his head.

"In your dreams! You lack the ability to make me serve you. I've said it before: the only ones who can make me submit are those who can truly crush me in the same rank," the lion retorted.

"Pfft, if you wanted to serve me, I'd have to consider it. Your combat power is decent, but compared to my junior sister's beast pet, you're lacking. My goal is to find a divine beast no less impressive than hers to be my companion." Su Ye looked at it with disdain.

"What kind of spirit beast does your junior sister have? I've never seen a spirit beast in the same rank that could outclass me. Are you bragging?" The lion’s suspicion was piqued, and it momentarily forgot its annoyance.

"Believe it or not. Would I bother lying to you? My junior sister's pet is a Qilin. It's only at the high stage of the Condensing Core, but I already can't beat it. Judge for yourself," Su Ye said.

"A Qilin? You mean your junior sister has a Qilin as a companion? Who... who is your junior sister? How could she possibly make a Qilin serve her?" The lion’s voice trembled with excitement. A Qilin was a top-tier beast with the bloodline of a divine creature; with the slightest bit of opportunity, it could soar into the heavens and become a true god-beast. Though the lion was extraordinary, the very name of a divine beast held infinite allure.

"Ahem, well, it's not strictly a Qilin. It was originally a Lightning Beast, but it happens to look just like a Qilin when it transforms. So, over time, I just got into the habit of calling it a Qilin," Su Ye coughed.

"Hmph! Humans truly can't be trusted. I thought you were different, but here you are, tricking me from the very start by calling a Lightning Beast a Qilin!" The lion was furious.