Chapter 27: Chapter 26: Bloom, Steel Rose
When the guard pointed at her, Hong Ji, standing behind Zhong Yi, spoke up.
"I am my master’s Guardian Beast. His credentials are all I need to enter the Secret Realm."
Hong Ji said this matter-of-factly, her face showing obvious pride as she declared herself Zhong Yi’s Guardian Beast.
A look of montary shock crossed the face of the Starlight Army guard responsible for managing entry and exit at the Secret Realm Entrance.
His gaze shifted to Zhong Yi, who affird her statent with complete certainty.
"That’s right, she is my Guardian Beast. Her power level ets the requirents for entering the Horned Demon Secret Realm."
’A Human-shaped Guardian Beast!?’
Human-shaped Guardian Beasts weren’t rare. In Starlight City’s Upper City District, almost everyone had a Contract with a Substitute Puppet.
But it was rare to see a Human-shaped Guardian Beast so lifelike and practically indistinguishable from an ordinary person!
Although the guard had never seen a Human-shaped Guardian Beast like Hong Ji before, he didn’t question it further.
He had just seen Hong Ji raise her hand and materialize five slender Bone Swords out of thin air.
There had been no fluctuation of Soul Power during the process, so it clearly wasn’t an Ability activated by a Guardian Beast Master through their Beast Pattern.
"I see from your records that this is your first ti entering a Secret Realm. Be extrely careful."
"Staying safe is always the number one priority when exploring a Secret Realm!"
"Horned Demons aren’t the only type of Demon in the Horned Demon Secret Realm. If you encounter a Demon, rember to use your Secret Realm Pass to look up its data."
"Once you enter the Secret Realm, your phones will lose signal. You won’t be able to communicate with the outside world or call for help. Rember to pack extra supplies in case of an ergency."
These words were both a kind warning to the newcors and part of the official protocol required by the Starlight Army for guards managing Secret Realm access.
The guard wasn’t curious why the young man and woman before him had chosen the Horned Demon Secret Realm for their very first exploration.
A Guardian Beast’s Level could be raised using the Energy Cores found inside Secret Realms.
It was common for the scions of powerful families to choose a sowhat difficult Secret Realm for their first foray!
However, among the First Level Secret Realms, the Horned Demon Secret Realm was considered exceptionally difficult.
As a guard, his authority was limited to registering their identification. Otherwise, he would have discovered that the young man and woman before him had only just awakened their Soul Bases and beco Guardian Beast Masters that very day.
Stepping through the mirror-like Secret Realm Entrance, Zhong Yi felt as if he had missed a step, and a wave of weightlessness and dizziness washed over him.
Imdiately after, though Zhong Yi didn’t feel the temperature rise, he slled the pungent stench of sulfur and heard strange cries from the distance.
The cry sounded sothing like a cow’s moo, but it was far more savage and guttural, carrying an air of brutal cruelty.
"Young Master, those two completely red monsters with long horns on their heads, those must be the Horned Demons, right? They’re charging right at us!"
Zhong Ling held the Secret Realm Pass she had received from the Beastmaster Association after her Soul Base awakening and began looking up information on the Horned Demons.
The Secret Realm Pass was a special device slightly larger than one’s palm, similar in appearance to the handheld learning devices from Zhong Yi’s past life.
It contained data on the various Demons found within each Secret Realm, allowing Guardian Beast Masters to instantly access information on any Demons they encountered.
Furthermore, if linked together, multiple Secret Realm Passes could be used to send ssages to each other within the sa Secret Realm.
Zhong Yi’s gaze fell on the charging Horned Demons in the distance. Two of them, both adults, were rushing toward their position.
The Horned Demons weren’t tall, only about a ter and a half, but they were incredibly muscular, their bodies packed with dense muscle.
A layer of extrely tough hide covered their brawny muscles. While a blade could cut it, the hide was as thick as the calluses on the palms of a bricklayer with ten years of experience.
The Horned Demons had a bovine appearance, but their gait and running posture were very similar to a gorilla’s, with highly developed forelimbs.
Zhong Yi didn’t use the Secret Realm Pass to look up data on the Horned Demons. A peculiar feeling blood within him as he watched these Demons—creatures he himself had designed—run toward him.
At that mont, the Soul-Controlling Flower rooted in Zhong Yi’s soul began to joyfully extend its tendrils.
Creatures like the Horned Demon, with their highly developed physical bodies, contained vast amounts of Life Energy. Their Soul Energy also barely t the standard for a normal life-form of their size.
To the Soul-Controlling Flower, they were an excellent source of nourishnt!
Hong Ji’s eyes scanned the Horned Demons’ bodies before finally locking onto their long, forty-plus-centiter horns, her face alight with eager anticipation.
Hong Ji had used her Exclusive Traits—Material Absorption and Body Deconstruction—to absorb the Guardian Beast Remains, and she didn’t just use the materials as weapons.
She also used these materials to construct her own body.
The reason Hong Ji had been so astonishingly fast when she faced the five mbers of the Hunting Horn Squad outside the Secret Realm was because she had integrated the most resilient muscle fibers and most sensitive nerves from various Guardian Beast Remains throughout her body.
Hong Ji already possessed the Skill Battle Skill Mastery, which gave her the Ability to learn combat techniques and comprehend the battle instincts of other life-forms.
With a body constructed from nurous high-level materials that she also wielded as weapons, Tier Jumping in battle was as easy as breathing for Hong Ji.
In a way, as long as she had a constant supply of higher-level materials, Hong Ji’s potential for growth was limitless.
However, Zhong Yi had no intention of letting Hong Ji show off against these two Horned Demons. Instead, he turned to Zhong Ling beside him and spoke.
"Xiaolingdang, you take care of these two Horned Demons. Rember to aim for their eyes and nose first, then their abdon."
Hearing Zhong Yi tell her to handle the two Horned Demons, Zhong Ling, who had never been in a real fight, felt a twinge of fear, but it was overwheld by a greater sense of excitent and eagerness.
Back in the lounge at the Zhenchong Comrce Association, Zhong Yi had helped her raise her Soul Vein Mother Butterfly’s Quality from Unranked to Bronze Quality.
This had granted the Soul Vein Mother Butterfly a new Exclusive Trait called Soul Energy Expansion, increasing its soul by nearly 1.5 tis its original size.
With her Mortal Beast Level, Bronze Quality Soul Vein Mother Butterfly, Zhong Ling had managed to form a Contract with a full nineteen Shattered Blade Butterflies.
"Young Master, I’ll do my best!"
Zhong Ling activated her Soul Base, summoning the Soul Vein Mother Butterfly. Guided by the mother butterfly, the bowl-sized Shattered Blade Butterflies hovered at her side like steel roses blooming in mid-air.
Then, as if to psych herself up, she clenched her fist and thrust it forcefully toward the two Horned Demons, which had now closed the distance.
The nineteen Shattered Blade Butterflies split into two squadrons, shooting toward the two adult Horned Demons like arrows, their steel-plate wings beating the air.
As they danced through the air, flashes of cold light flared within the sweltering Horned Demon Secret Realm, followed by the sound of tearing flesh.
Accompanying the sound of tearing flesh was the sight of Hong Ji’s pouting lips!
’How could they ruin the food!’
’Then again, it should still be delicious all chopped up. SLURP, SLURP!’
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