"Your Majesty!"
Eagle King bowed respectfully upon seeing Xiong Ba.
"This is my territory. I haven't said anything yet, and you're already demanding compensation? If you, a Fifth Tier, can't handle a junior, don't embarrass yourself here. Go somewhere cool and stay there."
Xiong Ba glanced at it, waved its hand dismissively, indicating it should go back where it came from, then its eyes lit up as it looked at Zhao Li.
Although Eagle King was only a Fifth Tier Magical Beast, it was an absolute peak existence among them. Zhao Li had taken its charged attack, and while he was a bit disheveled, this achievement was certainly something to be proud of.
Zhao Li felt a sense of dread when he saw the Black Demonic Bear accompanying Xiong Ba and tried to minimize his presence.
Seeing Xiong Ba's eyes light up as it looked at him, Zhao Li's heart went cold by half. He had clearly seen how respectful Eagle King was towards this burly man, running away dejectedly without a word even after being scolded.
Sure enough, Xiong Ba's booming voice came, making Zhao Li's scalp tingle.
"Was it you who bullied my son? And tried to steal his cave? You do have some skill. Come with me. Take good care of my son. If it's happy, I'll spare your life."
"Senior, this is a misunderstanding. I was just sparring with Brother Xiong. I absolutely had no intention of stealing his cave. Even in sparring, Brother Xiong swatted me, almost sending me away."
Zhao Li explained, his mind racing. However, the difference in strength was too great; there was truly nothing he could do. He sighed inwardly, "It seems I can only rely on Master."
"Old Xiong, you've scared my precious disciple. You don't have the ability to compensate me."
Lin Lan knew when to step in and didn't let Xiong Ba continue to frighten Zhao Li. Playing around was fine, but too much was counterproductive. If he let it go on unchecked, it would needlessly consume the trust and affection between master and disciple.
Seeing Lin Lan, Zhao Li also breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed. Naturally, he didn't think Lin Lan lacked the ability to take him away. However, from Lin Lan's words, it seemed they were acquaintances. Suppressing his speculation, Zhao Li complained to Lin Lan.
"Master, I've had such a miserable time on this journey…"
Seeing Zhao Li preparing to pour out his woes, Lin Lan's forehead dripped with sweat. He immediately interrupted Zhao Li.
"Alright, everyone's watching. You've grown some guts, haven't you? Either you're fighting with Big Xiong or causing a Beast Tide. Is this what you mean by not courting death? Is this how you make me feel at ease?"
Listening to his master's displeased tone, Zhao Li didn't dare to make a sound, letting Lin Lan lecture him. His actions were indeed thoughtless.
Lin Lan lectured for a while, then changed the subject, introducing Xiong Ba and Big Xiong to Zhao Li and helping Zhao Li and Big Xiong clear up their misunderstanding.
"Alright, tell me, how did you get into a conflict with Big Xiong?"
Zhao Li recounted the entire incident, even taking out the two incomplete maps.
Seeing the maps, Big Xiong let out an even more aggrieved bear roar.
It turned out this was something a Black Demonic Bear had shown Big Xiong in a dream. For some reason, it had remembered it and drew it out when it was bored. It never expected it to be stolen earlier, and now someone was even coming to snatch it. If it had known there would be so much trouble, why would it have drawn it out?
...
In the central area of the Myriad Longevity Mountain Range, within Xiong Ba's cave.
Lin Lan looked at Xiong Ba's worried expression, fearing his son had been harmed, and could only repeatedly reassure him.
"Old Xiong, I've checked. Big Xiong is very healthy, and there are no other consciousnesses present. Don't worry. Perhaps this is its own opportunity. Look at the place on this map. Do you recognize it?"
Xiong Ba had already looked at it several times, confirming that there was no such place in its memory. It shook its head and asked Big Xiong.
"Big Xiong, do you remember anything else from the dream?"
"Roar~"
Big Xiong roared a few times.
Lin Lan and Xiong Ba froze, seemingly stunned by something, unconsciously muttering.
"Emperor's, Fall."
Zhao Li didn't hear clearly, only hearing "Emperor's Fall." A storm raged in his heart, filled with various doubts.
"Dou Di? Fallen? Is this history from a long time ago on this continent? Where did the ancient Dou Di go? If it was because of a Dou Di battle, then the continent would have been shattered long ago. If it was ascension, it's impossible for so many prodigies to not make a name for themselves. Also, why doesn't this continent have a Plane Embryo, even though it's also a lower plane of the Great Thousand World?"
Zhao Li's heart was stirred with a desire for exploration. He decided he must thoroughly investigate this in the future. Suppressing his doubts, he saw his master still looking blank and pulled on Lin Lan.
"Master, Master, what's wrong?"
Zhao Li's voice brought the two back to their senses, but they were in low spirits, saying they were fine, just a little tired.
Zhao Li knew that no Dou Di had appeared on the Dou Qi Continent for ten thousand years. In the hearts of the cultivators on the continent, a Dou Di was already a god-like existence. For a moment, their emotions were affected by something that happened countless years ago.
...
Zhao Li kicked Big Xiong, looking exasperated.
"I told you to cultivate properly, but you wouldn't listen. I gave you Pills, but you wouldn't eat them. Now you rely entirely on roaring to communicate. Do you have any shame?"
"Roar~"
Big Xiong roared at Zhao Li, then ignored him and walked away on its own, looking like a bear that just liked to roar and asking what Zhao Li was going to do about it.
Zhao Li's face darkened, "You're so foolish it's hopeless!"
From this day on, Zhao Li resumed his peaceful cultivation journey.
Time slipped away in peaceful cultivation.
This year, Zhao Li was sixteen, and this period of cultivation had lasted for over three years. As his age and Cultivation Level increased, Zhao Li had fully matured.
After more than three years of cultivation, Zhao Li's Cultivation Realm had reached the peak of Dou King. As for combat power, within the Great Qian Empire, he was considered to have few rivals. His Alchemy Technique had naturally not fallen behind, reaching the Sixth Rank.
"Roar~"
A bear paw the size of a mat swatted towards Zhao Li. Zhao Li was already used to Big Xiong's occasional sneak attacks. With a lift of his hand, the surrounding energy was mobilized at his will, blocking Big Xiong's palm.
"Little brother, you're no good. Want another beating, do you?"
"Zhao Li, you're really abnormal. Sigh, if you become amazing in the future, I'll tell people you were beaten by a bear. That would count as a lucky bear life, right? Hehe."
Zhao Li was a bit speechless. This simple-minded bear was still dwelling on what happened back then. After returning, he started cultivating seriously, which indeed allowed him to advance to Fifth Tier Magical Beast. Then he did beat Zhao Li for a while, but Zhao Li quickly caught up and beat him back. Zhao Li didn't want to continue this topic.
"Haven't Uncle Xiong and the others returned yet?"
"No, they used to have to look after you. Now that they're gone this time, who knows how long it will be."
Big Xiong shook his dark bear head.
After Lin Lan and Xiong Ba got the map from Big Xiong, they took turns going out to wander. Sometimes for half a year, sometimes for as little as two months. In these past few years, they had almost traveled all over the Eastern Region of the Dou Qi Continent, but hadn't found a similar place.
Zhao Li had also tried to persuade them. This map was from who knows what era; with the passage of time, finding it would be incredibly difficult. Since Big Xiong had this opportunity, maybe he would just stumble upon it while wandering around in the future?
But the two old guys wouldn't listen. If it weren't for the fact that they still had to teach Zhao Li, perhaps they would have traveled together.
Three months ago, after Zhao Li successfully refined the Emperor's Extreme Pill, they let Zhao Li consolidate for over half a month and then stopped bothering him. The two of them left together.
"Old Xiong, I'm almost ready to leave too. Do you want to come out with me, truly venture outside, build a career, and genuinely dominate a region?"
After a moment of silence, Zhao Li asked Big Xiong.
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