"What do I do now?" Zhen Len murmured.
He had recently reached 68 years of cultivation. He had planned to become independent from his parents when he turned 100 or 200 years, but a week ago, his younger siblings had turned 10 years. That day, his father and mother began teaching them how to hunt. He wasn't included because he had already mastered that skill. As a result, his parents stopped paying attention to him, and Zhen Len simply continued cultivating.
But when he woke up that morning, he discovered that his mother had vanished. The same was true of his father, who usually kept watch to protect them from dangerous soul beasts. For them to have disappeared without leaving any signs, the message was clear. They had been abandoned.
Thinking about it, it was something that would happen sooner or later. He just hadn't expected it so soon. He and his siblings were no longer cubs. They had entered the juvenile stage, and for some soul beasts, that was enough to fend for themselves. If they died... it was due to bad luck or lack of strength. Their parents would simply wait for the next mating season to have another litter.
Zhen Len sighed. He looked at his siblings, carefree, unaware of the gravity of the situation. He hesitated. Should he take care of them or leave? Possibly he would feel guilty leaving them to their fate… but he quickly pushed the thought away.
Having them around was like having pets. Even though he was a soul beast, he still had a human mind and struggled with absolute solitude. With no one to talk to or interact with, he would probably go insane. A life dedicated solely to survival and cultivation wasn't for him because he wasn't the protagonist of a xianxia novel, one of those who survive hundreds, thousands, or even millions of years in complete isolation with only nutrient pills, as if it were just a nap without any psychological consequences.
Once he made his decision, he chose to stay with them for a while, letting them naturally become independent. Being solitary soul beasts, they would eventually leave this place, so for now, he set out to explore the surroundings.
Their parents had never let them stray far from the den, so this was his first real chance to get to know the area. He picked a random direction and began walking calmly.
After about fifteen minutes, the landscape changed. The forest became denser, very different from the open, rocky forest where the den was located. As he walked, he occasionally activated his Purple Demon Eye technique, in case a camouflaged soul beast tried to ambush him. Even though he could see very well without it, it never hurt to be cautious.
That's when he noticed something strange in a tree. At first glance, the vines looked like those on other trees, but thanks to his sharp vision, he realized they were green vine snakes entwined. He ignored them and kept walking.
A bit later, he saw a black cheetah with purple spots. Judging by the intensity of its color, he estimated it was between 200 and 300 years old. It hadn't noticed him, as Zhen Len was several kilometers away.
He felt like he was cheating. He could spot any threat from afar, allowing him to avoid unnecessary confrontations.
Noticing he had strayed quite far, he decided to return when he began to feel hungry.
On the way back, his sharp vision spotted a great opportunity a river. He hadn't eaten fish in a while. He watched the water attentively, and after a few minutes, several blue flying salmon began jumping out of the water periodically, carried by the current. He waited for them to get closer and, using the Lightness Skill and Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track techniques, moved with incredible speed across the water's surface. He identified the largest gray flying salmon and caught it with his jaws.
The soul beast thrashed desperately, trying to escape, but Zhen Len activated his flame fangs. In a matter of seconds, the salmon stopped struggling and died, releasing a white soul ring.
With his catch in his mouth, he headed straight to the den, cooking the salmon along the way.
When he arrived, he noticed his brothers and sisters were upset, wandering around confused. Unlike other days, their parents hadn't returned with food.
Seeing him arrive with a gray salmon nearly half his size, they ran toward him joyfully, expecting him to share his prey.
But Zhen Len pushed them away with a growl. He didn't let them get close to the fish.
It wasn't out of selfishness. He would've liked to share it, but he wanted them to learn to hunt on their own. If they failed, he planned to give them part of it, but they at least had to try.
Unfortunately, his siblings didn't understand his reasoning. From their perspective, Zhen Len just wanted to keep all the food for himself, taking advantage of their parents' absence.
Offended, the four siblings who always acted together looked at each other. As if sharing a single mind, they attacked at the same time.
But Zhen Len was ready. Thanks to the gem on his forehead, named the Eye of Truth, because it could vaguely perceive the intentions and emotions of those he observed, and the innate ability granted to flame spirit foxes, which allowed him to use stored spiritual power to directly impact a target's mind, leaving them comatose or, if slightly stronger, unconscious for a while, he had the advantage. And that time was enough to finish them before they woke up.
He sneered and stood still as his eldest brother, who was the closest, lunged at him. But just before being hit, he dropped the salmon, used Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, and vanished from his brother's view. In a blink, he reappeared and struck his brother with his front paw, slamming him hard into the ground.
His eldest sister, beside her brother, was grabbed by the neck with his fangs and slammed into the ground, taking care not to bite too hard to avoid excessive bleeding.
The second brother tried to attack from behind, confident in what seemed to be an opening. But he was met with a sharp blow to the head from one of Zhen Len's hind legs. At that moment, the pad of Zhen Len's paw glowed with a milky jade hue.
The second sister, who had hung back, was the last to react. Seeing how Zhen Len effortlessly took down the others, she let out a trembling whimper, lowered her head, tucked her tail, and curled up against the ground.
Zhen Len looked at her for a moment. He didn't attack her.
Instead, he approached the salmon, tore off a piece with his teeth, and tossed it to her. 'Smart pets deserve rewards,' he thought with a spark of amusement as he watched his sister happily devour the piece.
His other siblings, still aching, got back up. They realized they couldn't beat him, and upon seeing what their sister had done, tried to imitate her, crawling in submission.
But this time, Zhen Len gave them nothing.
He simply raised a paw and pointed at a furry gray rabbit chewing grass, unaware of its fate.
At first, his siblings didn't understand. They just looked at his raised paw, confused.
A few seconds passed until the second brother, perhaps by instinct or chance, noticed the rabbit. Though he had no complex thoughts or full awareness, something in his body activated. A tingling in his legs, muscle tension, and he used his hunting instinct.
It was what their mother had managed to instill in them days before.
Slowly, stealthily, he began moving toward his prey. One leap was enough. The rabbit didn't have time to react.
No soul ring appeared. The animal hadn't lived the necessary ten years.
But it was enough.
His siblings finally understood that from now on, they had to hunt their own food. And also that Zhen Len had taken the place of the leader their parents once were temporarily until they returned. But as the days passed, they would realize that wasn't going to happen.
While the other two foxes remained still, watching the second brother awkwardly bite the rabbit's still-warm jugular, Zhen Len grabbed the salmon and turned around without making a sound. He didn't need to. They had understood.
The life of a soul beast offered no second chances. If you didn't hunt, you died. And if you died, then you simply weren't meant to survive in this world.
He wasn't going to waste his time guiding their every step when a stronger soul beast, or a soul master in search of a soul ring or spirit soul, could show up at any moment. He needed to become stronger first.
With a soft sigh, he walked to a flat rock and lay on it, watching the leaves rustle in the wind. From there, he activated Purple Demon Eye, not to look for prey, but to check for nearby threats so he could cook and eat in peace before meditating.
"That's enough. As long as they can stay alive, it's enough," he murmured softly, though the only sound that came out of his mouth was a chirp.
Whatever they did beyond that was up to them. If any of them wanted to stay near the den under his rule, he would allow it. But if they became a burden, bothering him without reason or causing too many problems. he would find another territory or drive them away.
It was a bit hard for him to separate from them, but he had to prioritize his goals.
Zhen Len had a clear purpose, to cultivate, grow, and survive until he reached 100 years, then 1,000 years, when he'd have the minimum strength to roam the forest in search of materials and practice the professions he had pursued in his past life.
Taking care of others, guiding them, feeding them… those were distractions he couldn't afford for now, being at the very bottom of the food chain as a soul beast that hadn't even reached 100 years of cultivation, let alone 1,000 years.