The Master of Beasts

When Gu Xu, riding his battle-worn and scarred Lightning Bird, finally reached the Northern Territory, Chen Jiuge and the others had already cleared the battlefield.

Looking at the peaceful Northern Territory, Gu Xu wondered, Could it be that the Demon Clan didn't attack the Northern Territory?

"Duke, the Grand Duke has arrived."

"The Grand Duke?" Chen Jiuge echoed, startled for a moment. He then remembered that Elder Brother Gu Xu's title was indeed the Grand Duke and immediately instructed Anderson to welcome him.

Seeing the bleak expression in Gu Xu's eyes, Chen Jiuge asked in surprise, "What happened to you, Elder Brother Gu?"

Gu Xu, equally puzzled, looked towards Chen Jiuge, his gaze lingering on Chen Jiuge's slowly healing right hand. "Junior Brother, did you manage to repel the Demon Clan here?"

"Yes, I killed all of them and captured the leading Demon Generals," Chen Jiuge replied.

Then, Chen Jiuge led a disbelieving Gu Xu to see the four Demon Clan members bound by the Heaven and Earth Holy Weapon, the Vajra Lock. Upon seeing the four demons and hearing the full account, Gu Xu's expression shifted from disbelief to shock, and then to extreme excitement.

"You're saying this Vajra Lock is a Heaven and Earth Holy Weapon? And this demon woman is the thirteenth Princess of the Moluo Clan?" Gu Xu asked excitedly.

"Yes."

"Hahaha, Junior Chen, your Elder Brother needs to ask a favor of you! Don't worry, the benefits will definitely be immense," Gu Xu said enthusiastically, clutching Chen Jiuge's uninjured left hand.

At Gu Xu's request, Chen Jiuge took the Vajra Lock and, within three days, managed to bind the Demon Generals on the other three fronts. Without their generals, the threat from the Demon Clan's army, though still present, was significantly reduced.

After a month spent turning the Spirit Void Realm upside down, they finally eradicated the demonic presence completely, not leaving even a single Demon Worm behind.

***

"Three threes."

"Three fives."

"Four eights!"

Chen Jiuge and Yue Meng both stared at Da Bai, who had just played the "four eights." "Are you serious?" Chen Jiuge asked.

"With a hand this good, I can do whatever I want!" Da Bai bragged, paws on its hips.

Da Bai, having taken on a human form just to play cards, appeared to be only four or five years old. Though its pose was arrogant, Chen Jiuge still found it quite adorable.

"I'm not playing anymore! No more! This is boring!" Yue Meng tossed her cards down and whined.

"Fine, if you don't want to play, we won't," Da Bai agreed, slapping its own cards down.

Seeing the scattered cards, the highest of which was only a Queen, Yue Meng exploded, "And this is what you call a good hand?!?!"

"I like them, so they're good cards," Da Bai said, somewhat sheepishly.

"You... you... you're making this bunny furious!" Yue Meng fumed.

"Shall we go another round?" Chen Jiuge laughed.

During this period, since the Demon Clan's invasion had been completely resolved and the captured demons handed over to Elder Brother Gu, Chen Jiuge and the others found themselves with a great deal of leisure time.

After all, the Spiritual Energy in this small world was too low. Just being able to restore their original Mana was considered good. They couldn't even think about Cultivation. Hence, Chen Jiuge had used some minerals to create a deck of playing cards.

After many card battles, having lost everything and even having to mortgage itself again, Da Bai somberly left the game.

Chen Jiuge looked at Da Bai's retreating figure with some pity. Poor kid. Should I help it out?

But then he recalled Da Bai's arrogant demeanor at the card table. Forget it. It should solve its own problems. The kid's grown up now and can't always rely on its parents.

"Yue Meng, what are you planning to make Da Bai do? Repay with Artifact Refining or Spirit Stones?" Chen Jiuge curiously asked, looking at Yue Meng, who was laughing hysterically with her hands on her hips.

"Repay with Artifact Refining or Spirit Stones? How could that be? That would take forever! Of course, I'll have it as my Fire Burning Boy. It's a shame the Silver King doesn't play cards, or I could have gotten another free laborer out of him," Yue Meng responded with some regret.

The Silver King, who was currently enjoying a massage, suddenly shivered. What's going on? Is someone trying to harm me?

"Lord Silver King, did we do something wrong?" a beautiful woman immediately knelt, her face filled with fear.

"It's nothing. Keep going. I was just stretching a bit," said the Silver King, and then he continued enjoying the massive massage service provided by a hundred people.

***

"Spirit Void Realm: twelve Demon Generals captured, and the thirteenth Princess of the Moluo Royal Family."

Huh, wasn't that the small world Gu Xu is responsible for? He shouldn't possess that kind of strength.

The Stewards responsible for recording war contributions were somewhat incredulous that their fellow Steward, Gu Xu, possessed such capability. They had all known each other for so many years; everyone knew everyone else's abilities.

After verifying the identities of the Demon Clan members and reviewing Gu Xu's account, they finally understood what had transpired.

The Great Steward spoke, "After all, he is a direct disciple of Elder Wen. He deserves this record of war achievements. We'll record it for him. However, I need to report this thirteenth princess from the Moluo Royal Family to the upper Elders. That needs to be recorded separately."

"Yes, sir."

***

"Junior Chen! Junior Chen! Good news! Great news!" Gu Xu began shouting from outside the door.

Seeing Gu Xu rushing in, excitedly holding a Jade Scroll, Chen Jiuge was a bit surprised. What's going on? Elder Brother Gu is this excited even at his age?

"Junior Chen, you've struck it rich!" Gu Xu looked enviously at Chen Jiuge; the rewards from above were incredibly generous.

"Have the Sect rewards arrived?"

"Yes! First off, one million war achievements, which convert to three million Merits. Out of that, the Moluo princess accounted for two million Merits, and the remaining one million is the reward for the Demon Generals and eliminating the Demon Clan members."

"Secondly, the Northern Territory has been formally assigned to you as your domain. You own all resources produced there, except for a tenth of the output which must be submitted to the Sect. You can also bring resources back to the Sect, but you should avoid bringing people in indiscriminately."

"Finally, as for Treasures—the Sect has given you three choices: a Holy Weapon, a Divine Beast, or Divine Skills."

After finishing, Gu Xu looked on with an envy so intense his eyes nearly turned red.

As for coveting others' achievements, it was simply not in Gu Xu's nature. Furthermore, it was rumored that this reward was so generous because an Elder from the Sect's Main Hall had spoken up for Chen Jiuge. Otherwise, such a significant reward wouldn't have been possible.

Chen Jiuge didn't dwell on it. He was just amazed at how generous the Sect was. Then again, considering he had essentially saved the entire Spirit Void Realm, the reward seemed fitting.

In reality, the Sect cared little for the fate of such minor worlds. Worlds like these were constantly being destroyed and reborn, and their value was generally mediocre.

"To receive the rewards, you need to return to the Myriad Beasts Sect, but the Jade Scroll has already been stamped. Just take it with you to the treasury when you go."

"Also, we'll need to stay here for another year to ensure not a single demon remains before we can return. Junior Brother, take this time to relax a bit," Gu Xu said, passing the Jade Scroll over with a smile.

Taking the Jade Scroll, Chen Jiuge was a bit speechless. Another year? I'll die of boredom! Oh well, I might as well use this year to get acquainted with the Northern Territory, since it's all mine now.

The Demon Clan is so dangerous though... I wonder if the Chen Family and my parents have encountered any peril? Chen Jiuge still felt somewhat uneasy, even though he had provided quite a few Spiritual Beasts as assistance.