Azurewave Base, Area A Cloudtop Manor.
Su Wu's figure materialized silently at the manor's entrance.
City Lord Pan Hong, usually swamped with administrative duties, was waiting at the gate.
Seeing Su Wu return without a single drop of blood on him, Pan Hong's anxiety eased by half.
"Senior!" Pan Hong hurried forward. "The beast king of the Falling Sunset Mountains..."
"It's dealt with," Su Wu replied flatly. "Arrange the martial exam preparations. Ensure no mishaps occur."
"Yes! Thank you, Senior!"
Pan Hong's face lit up with relief. He bowed deeply to Su Wu before tactfully withdrawing.
After dismissing Pan Hong, Su Wu didn't return to the villa to rest. Instead, he headed straight for the back mountain.
The Beast Arena there lay in ruins.
Over a dozen corpses of D-grade ferocious beasts lay scattered across the ground, the air thick with the stench of blood. At the center of the carnage, Su Yu stood shirtless, clutching his alloy battle blade, panting heavily.
Fresh wounds crisscrossed his body, but his eyes burned with an unnerving intensity.
"Dad, you're back."
Su Yu saw his father, casually flicked the blood off his blade, and grinned.
The murderous aura he had carried from the mountain of corpses and sea of blood vanished instantly with his smile, transforming him back into the sunny young man he usually was.
"Hmm, not bad," Su Wu nodded, about to offer some praise.
"Huh? Dad, what's that fluffy thing on your shoulder?" Su Yu's gaze suddenly locked onto the white, furry ball perched on Su Wu's shoulder.
The creature resembled both a cat and a fox, lounging lazily with an air of aloofness that seemed to say, "Don't touch me."
Hearing the word "thing," Xiao Bai, who had been feigning death, instantly bristled.
It shot upright, planted its front paws on its hips, and glared at Su Yu with wide, round eyes, its voice both childishly high-pitched and outrageously arrogant:
"How dare you! You're the thing! Your whole family are things!"
"I am an ancient divine beast! A spirit creature born of heaven and earth! For your disrespect toward this venerable one, I hereby sentence you to be my underling!"
Su Yu froze, blinking in disbelief.
He stared at the palm-sized ball of fluff, then at his father's calm expression.
"This thing... can talk? Is it sentient?"
Su Wu shrugged, reached out, and flicked Xiao Bai on the forehead, sending the little creature stumbling. "This is Xiao Bai, a little guy I tamed in the Falling Sunset Mountains. Don't let its size fool you—it's the one who triggered the 'Beast Tide Crisis' that kept Pan Hong up all night."
"What?!" Su Yu's eyes widened, his interest instantly piqued.
He crouched down, bringing his gaze level with Xiao Bai perched on Su Wu's shoulder, and teased with a playful grin: "Oh, so you're a divine beast, huh? My deepest respects! I'll be relying on your protection from now on. Will I be able to strut around Azurewave Base without any trouble?"
Xiao Bai haughtily lifted its chin, its pride stung by Su Wu's earlier flick. It couldn't lose face in front of its "underling."
It swished its fluffy tail and huffed, "Naturally! As long as you obey, this venerable one will treat you to the finest delicacies. Within a hundred miles, every female beast—ahem, feral beast—will give me a wide berth!"
But he would soon discover that this "divine beast" was far more valuable than he could have imagined.
Over the next half-month, life at Cloudtop Manor became unusually "fulfilling."
Su Yu had initially expected the arrival of a divine beast to throw the household into chaos.
But he never imagined that this creature, named Xiao Bai, would become the ultimate cheat code on his martial dao journey!
Though tamed by Su Wu, Xiao Bai's terrifying qi and blood, comparable to that of a Martial Emperor Realm expert, acted like a constantly leaking nuclear reactor.
Too young to control this power, Xiao Bai often experienced surges of qi and blood, becoming unbearably hot and restless, forcing him to suppress it by sleeping.
Meanwhile, Su Yu, as the possessor of the Chaos Body, desperately needed high-purity qi and blood energy!
Thus, an utterly bizarre yet harmonious scene unfolded.
Every afternoon, Su Yu would abandon his sword practice and sit cross-legged in the courtyard.
Xiao Bai would sprawl out on Su Yu's head or in his lap, his face radiating pure bliss.
Su Yu would circulate his cultivation technique, frantically drawing the escaping qi and blood energy from Xiao Bai.
The qi and blood were so pure that they required no refinement; upon entering Su Yu's body, they instantly transformed into his own.
Su Wu watched this "mutually beneficial" exchange between man and beast, his lips twitching uncontrollably.
This isn't cultivation!
It's clearly two cheaters exploiting a bug!
Xiao Bai was an infinite power bank, while Su Yu was a super-fast charging adapter.
When these two teamed up, their leveling speed became utterly absurd!
By the third day, Su Yu had broken through to the great perfection of the Innate Realm.
By the seventh day, he had touched the threshold of the Master Realm.
By the twelfth day...
Boom!
An incomparably powerful aura erupted from Su Yu's body!
The Master Realm!
An eighteen-year-old Master!
Su Yu opened his eyes, his gaze blazing with brilliance.
He clenched his fist, savoring the sensation of absolute control, so overwhelmed with excitement that he nearly fell from the sky.
"Dad! I've become a Master! I really did it!"
Meanwhile, Xiao Bai lay sprawled on the ground, panting with exhaustion, his tongue lolling out. "This venerable one is utterly drained... Is this kid a gluttonous beast? He nearly sucked me dry..."
At the very moment Su Yu broke through to the Master Realm, Su Wu, who had been guarding him on the second-floor balcony, heard the long-awaited celestial sound in his mind.
Father-Son Glory System assessment: Offspring has crossed a major realm. Host receives feedback!
Host's realm synchronizing... Congratulations, Host! Advancement to the early stage of the Martial Saint Realm!
Rumble—!!
At that instant, not only Cloudtop Manor but the entire Azurewave Base City's sky transformed.
The clear sky suddenly gathered auspicious clouds, and a three-thousand-mile stretch of purple qi surged from the east!
A vast, majestic, and indescribable aura, centered on Su Wu, instantly enveloped the entire city.
Every martial artist within the city, whether cultivating or sleeping, was horrified to discover that their qi and blood were uncontrollably surging toward District A in reverence!
On the balcony, Su Wu slowly opened his eyes.
Martial Saint Realm!
This was no longer mere physical strength but a harmonious union of spirit and the heavens and earth.
He could now subtly manipulate heaven and earth primordial qi.
This primordial qi, born with the universe itself, was the spiritual energy often associated with various powers, both formidable and enigmatic.
Human cultivation begins with refining qi and blood to reach the Martial Emperor Realm, granting immense spiritual power. Ultimately, the goal is to merge one's spirit with heaven and earth, allowing mastery over heaven and earth primordial qi.
This feeling...
Su Wu took a deep breath. Even after two lifetimes, his heart surged with emotion.
A Martial Saint!
He had truly reached the pinnacle of this world.
With a lifespan of five hundred years, an immortal body, and the ability to traverse outer space through Flesh Refinement alone!
He glanced down at his foolish son, who was still celebrating his breakthrough to the Master Realm, and a fond smile tugged at his lips.
An eighteen-year-old Master is indeed a prodigy.
But your father... is a Martial Saint.
Su Wu suppressed the celestial phenomena that had filled the sky, reverting to his ordinary middle-aged appearance.
He leaped lightly from the second floor, landing silently before Su Yu.
"Tomorrow is the Martial Arts College Entrance Examination."
Su Wu gazed up at the starry night sky, his voice deep and distant.
"Yu'er."
"Here," Su Yu replied, his expression straightening.
"Just do your best on the martial exam this time. Your safety comes first," Su Wu said earnestly.
Leaving aside the feral beasts, the greatest danger in this year's Martial Arts College Entrance Examination would likely come from other humans.