Beast Taming: Slaughter Atlas

Chu Chen prepared to head straight to the territory of the Four-Armed Strength Ape.

According to the information he had, it was about half a day's journey to the territory of the Four-Armed Strength Ape from here, and that was assuming they encountered no Star Beasts.

Obviously, this assumption wouldn't hold, so he had to hurry, compressing their rest time.

Mu Chengxue didn't object to this; she was here to train anyway. It mattered little where they went, and following Chu Chen, she could learn a lot.

For instance, how to control the battle situation and determine the number of Star Beasts by observing traces.

After walking for an unknown period, Chu Chen suddenly halted.

Mu Chengxue was just about to ask when Chu Chen beckoned her and said, "Look over there."

Mu Chengxue followed Chu Chen's pointing finger and saw the weeds ahead leaning to both sides, indicating a Star Beast had passed by.

"What do you observe here? Let's test you," Chu Chen said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Mu Chengxue became interested. Chu Chen had explained to her many times along the way, and now it was her turn to practice, so she felt a touch of excitement.

She walked briskly to the weeds and bent down to observe carefully.

A moment later, Mu Chengxue returned.

"Tell me, what did you find?"

Mu Chengxue confidently said, "From the creases in the weeds, the Star Beast passed not long ago. From the range of weed flattening, the group of Star Beasts should number between ten to thirteen."

Chu Chen nodded and said, "Not bad. Now, let me teach you how to judge their strength and type from the footprints."

Mu Chengxue, upon hearing this, raised her eyebrows expectantly and said, "Great, tell me now."

Chu Chen pointed to the ground below the weeds and said, "Look at those footprints. From their depth, this group of Star Beasts should weigh about a thousand pounds. From the shape of the footprints, the edges are triangular while the inside is plum-shaped. These are footprints of a canine Star Beast. Combining both aspects, they're all in their mature stage, with strength above Seventh Rank Servant Level."

Upon hearing this, Mu Chengxue was amazed. She never expected there to be such intricacies in commonly seen footprints.

"Oh, there's another footprint here." Chu Chen exclaimed while pointing to the ground in front of the footprints.

Seeing this, Mu Chengxue quickly said, "Let me." And with that, she rushed over.

"This footprint is much shallower than those of the canine Star Beasts, weighing probably around five to six hundred pounds. It looks like it's still in its growth stage, and there's only one. That's all I can discern." Mu Chengxue said somewhat helplessly.

Chu Chen nodded and said, "You're right. Look at the shape of this footprint's edge, it resembles a water drop, while inside it looks like a peach blossom. This is the footprint of a feline Star Beast, and since it's in its growth stage, it means it came from outside the Secret Realm. We just don't know if it's from our side or the Two-winged Demon Leopard's side."

Mu Chengxue asked seriously, "What should we do?"

"Let's follow and see. If it's from our side, it wouldn't hurt to rescue it. We might gain an ally. If it's from the Star Beast's side, we'll send it on its way and give Director Chen a report."

"Alright, let's go take a look then."

The two of them continued tracking along the Star Beast's trail.

Soon they crossed the grassland and reached the foot of a mountain.

At this moment, Lei Yao suddenly let out a low growl.

Upon hearing Lei Yao's growl, Chu Chen immediately stopped.

"Wait, something's up."

Mu Chengxue also stopped immediately upon hearing this.

Chu Chen slowed his pace and continued forward for a hundred meters, discovering a group of blue canine Guardian Beasts surrounding a black cat and a young man.

Chu Chen didn't immediately rush to rescue them but observed from a distance.

The canine Star Beasts had shoulder heights of about two meters, body lengths of three and a half meters, with protruding fangs and four ears on their heads. Their fur was blue, with long, powerful limbs and dagger-like claws.

From the Slaughter Atlas, this type of canine Star Beast was known as the Four-Eared Frost Dog, an Elite Level Middle Grade, rare ice attribute beast, mostly in the Seventh and Eighth Rank, with three at the Ninth Rank, totaling eleven.

Overall, they were about as Chu Chen and Mu Chengxue estimated.

The young man was rather short, with dark skin and acne on his cheeks. His facial features were fairly upright, dressed in a black combat suit, appearing very inexperienced.

His Guardian Beast was a feline Guardian Beast, shoulder height around seventy centimeters, body length only about one and a half meters, with black fur that shimmered like silk from afar. It had long limbs and large eyes, looking quite elegant.

The feline Guardian Beast was a Shadow Cat, already at the Peak of Ninth Rank Servant Level, an Elite Level Upper Grade with a Dark Element attribute.

The Shadow Cat was already injured, but fortunately, the injuries were not serious, just superficial.

However, facing the assault of eleven Four-Eared Frost Dogs, it probably wouldn't last much longer.

"Chu Chen, should we help him?" Mu Chengxue asked quietly.

"Of course, we'll use the tactics I used to rescue you," Chu Chen said with a smile.

Mu Chengxue nodded immediately, as this tactic was quite fitting for the current situation.

She didn't hesitate in the slightest, directly commanding the Golden Armored Bull to charge.

Seeing this, Lei Yao followed closely behind.

The commotion caused by the two beasts naturally alerted the dog pack.

The Dog King quickly barked in response, and three Four-Eared Frost Dogs immediately launched an assault on the Golden Armored Bull.

Rich ice elements converged towards them, and in a blink, four ice spears formed before them.

The Golden Armored Bull didn't slow down at all, but instead, sped up even more.

The four ice spears tore through the air, producing a sharp sonic boom.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The four ice spears landed accurately on the Golden Armored Bull, but the bull's golden armor blocked them.

The spears shattered, and a hail of ice shards shot out in all directions like bullets.

At this moment, the Golden Armored Bull was covered in a layer of frost, its speed greatly reduced.

Then Lei Yao made his move; the Thunder Blade transformed into a lightning bolt and landed right in the middle of the dog pack, with Thunder Serpents spreading over them.

The dog pack was instantly paralyzed by the electricity, unable to move, with the Shadow Cat also caught in the shock.

With a low roar, the Golden Armored Bull shook off the frost as golden radiance covered its body.

Like an unleashed stallion, it charged into the dog pack, lifting its hooves high before stomping down.

"Boom!"

The ground shook as the dog pack staggered and swayed.

The Shadow Cat had already recovered from the paralysis, slightly leveraging its limbs to leap into the air, dodging the Golden Armored Bull's control.

As the Shadow Cat elegantly trod through the air, it headed towards the nearby Four-Eared Frost Dogs.

Its claws extended from the pads, surrounded by a mass of dark elements.

With a swing of its razor-sharp claws, the Four-Eared Frost Dogs were instantly dismembered into pieces, with the blood and flesh corroded by the lingering dark elements, emitting a sizzling sound.

With Lei Yao and the Golden Armored Bull joining in, the battle ended quickly.

A dozen breaths later, the dog pack was completely exterminated.

"Thank you both for your help," the young man expressed his gratitude.

"No need to thank us, encountering is fate."

After chatting for a bit, Chu Chen got to know the young man a bit better.

The young man was named Xie Licheng, from the medium-sized Black Mist City, and was sent here by the White Tiger Daoist School for training.