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Through their telepathic link, Su Wen quickly understood what had happened.
The ancient tree they were on was called a Dragonbeard Tree. A fully matured one could reach up to a thousand meters in height, and out of every hundred or so mature trees, only one would bear the Dragonbeard Fruit. Coincidentally, the tree they were on was such a specimen.
Due to Xuanzi's presence, the soul beast originally guarding the fruit—a Nether Python with twenty thousand years of cultivation—had been forced to temporarily retreat. It had relocated to a nearby Dragonbeard Tree, anxiously watching over its precious fruit from afar.
Seizing the opportunity, Hurricane had snatched the fruit and brought it back.
"Hiss~~~"
The Nether Python coiled itself around the roots below, flicking its tongue nervously. It was terrified of Xuanzi's power but couldn't bear to lose the treasure it had guarded for months, only to have someone else reap the rewards.
"Heh heh…"
Xuanzi lay nearby, relaxed and amused, his gaze drifting to Su Wen with curiosity.
He wanted to see how principled this kid really was. If Su Wen spouted some righteous-sounding words but kept the fruit anyway, he'd be a hypocrite. But if he returned it to the python outright, that would be foolishly naive.
Su Wen calmly dusted off his robes and stood up. He glanced at Hurricane, whose eyes sparkled with hope, then at the clearly unwilling Nether Python.
Its stats were certainly impressive.
[Nether Python]
[Cultivation: 31,723 years]
[Attribute: Dark]
[Potential: 4]
[Evaluation: A mutated Green Spirit Python. Although its potential has peaked, it has already defied fate among its kin, whose average cultivation barely exceeds a thousand years…]
"Did you say thank you?"
The air seemed to freeze.
The Nether Python stared at Su Wen in stunned silence, a cluster of metaphorical question marks floating above its head.
Xuanzi nearly fell from his perch.
"I said—did you say thank you?"
Su Wen calmly fixed his gaze on the python. When it failed to respond, he turned to Xuanzi.
"Alright, Elder Xuan, please beat it until it says thank you."
Nether Python: "..."
"Hahaha! Good, good! I like your attitude. Since when does a mere ten-thousand-year soul beast dare to strut in front of me? If it were one of those hundred-thousand-year beasts, they'd have run off trembling already. Does it take this old man for a housecat instead of a tiger?"
Xuanzi grinned, flexed his fingers, and made a grabbing motion in the air. Instantly, the thirty-meter-long python froze, its cold eyes shrinking in terror. It twisted in a frantic attempt to flee, but Xuanzi had it locked in his grip.
With a blur, the man and snake vanished from the ancient tree.
Su Wen knew Xuanzi had taken the fight elsewhere to avoid drawing the Shrek team's attention to his location. He paid it no mind and turned to Hurricane.
The little guy's eyes were sparkling.
"You want to become this forest's overlord? So you can beat up whoever you want?" Su Wen asked in surprise. "Give it a few decades, kid. With that little body of yours, you'd be someone's snack in one bite."
"Roar~"
Hurricane looked a little disappointed.
However…
Su Wen opened Hurricane's status panel, and a gleam of joy flashed in his eyes.
The base stat had reached 0.22. That meant he had gained an entire level—just like that. This was so much faster than cultivating!
"Roar~"
But Hurricane quickly shattered that illusion.
"The second fruit has a diminished effect? And after eating one, you need time to digest it or you risk exploding?"
Su Wen nodded thoughtfully.
Still, this proved that if a bonded beast advanced, its growth would also feed back into the master. Even with limitations, combining that with his own personal cultivation was like having two people training at once.
He glanced at the juice-stained corners of Hurricane's mouth, then at the Dragonbeard Fruit the little guy was offering him. The vibrant red fruit was plump and fragrant, stirring his appetite.
[Dragonbeard Fruit]
[A soul beast-exclusive treasure filled with natural spiritual energy. Eating it may cause bloodline mutations. Spoils within three days of being picked. Note: Toxic to humans—consumption may result in death by internal explosion.]
Hurricane licked its lips, eyes fixed on the fruit.
Clearly, it had already eaten one and brought another back. No wonder the Nether Python had snapped and given chase. This little guy not only ate his fill but also looted an extra!
Hurricane scratched its head sheepishly.
Su Wen's mouth twitched. "You ate two?!!"
"In the future, learn to leave a little something behind. With treasures like this, at least leave some for the original owner," Su Wen said with a raised eyebrow.
No wonder the stats had spiked in two jumps—first 0.07, then 0.02…
"Roar~" Hurricane nodded obediently.
But at that moment—
Plop—
A limp snake body dropped in front of Su Wen.
Then Xuanzi appeared, picking his teeth and speaking lazily. "Gave it a solid beating. Whether you want it killed or skinned is your call."
"It didn't say thank you?" Su Wen looked at the hopeless-looking Nether Python and raised a brow. "If not, beat it again—until it does."
Hurricane: "..."
Nether Python: "..."
Xuanzi rolled his shoulders, cracked his knuckles, and reached out again.
"HISSSS!!"
The python wailed in despair.
"Wait!" Su Wen suddenly stopped him. "Can it even talk?"
"Who told you it could?" Xuanzi looked genuinely confused.
"Isn't it common knowledge that most ten-thousand-year soul beasts can speak? This one looks like it's at thirty or forty thousand years already…" Su Wen explained.
"Not all of them can talk. The Nether Python, being a special species, won't gain speech until it hits a hundred thousand years," Xuanzi sighed.
"And you didn't think to mention that earlier?" Su Wen's brow twitched.
"I thought you just wanted me to beat it up…" Xuanzi shrugged.
Nether Python: Hiss… (You motherf—!)
"Ah… hahaha…" Su Wen scratched his head in embarrassment.
The Nether Python glared at him with such seething resentment, it practically burned through the air.
"Alright then."
Su Wen casually tossed the Dragonbeard Fruit to the python.
Humans couldn't use it. Giving it to Sister Xiao Tao would only harm her. Hurricane had already eaten two and needed a month or two to digest them, by which time the fruit would have spoiled. Better not to waste it.
He didn't like wasting things.
"Hiss~"
The Nether Python gave Su Wen a surprised glance, hesitated a moment, then snatched the fruit and slithered away toward the other ancient trees at lightning speed. It was agile and lively—nothing like the half-dead state it was in moments earlier.
Xuanzi: "..."
Well, I'll be, he thought. It was acting for me this whole time!
"You're an interesting kid, though," Xuanzi said, relaxing again and taking a bite of a chicken leg. "I thought you'd ask me to kill it."
"I have my principles," Su Wen replied coolly.
"Principles are good, yes… principles…"
Xuanzi pulled out his wine gourd and popped it open. He tilted it back—but nothing came out.
"Out of wine?"
He peered into the gourd's opening, then sighed. "Food's almost gone too. The soul beasts around here are either dry and stringy or mushy and flavorless. How's a man supposed to live like this…"
"Wait a minute!"
Xuanzi looked at Su Wen, who had just entered deep meditation.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up.
"Aha! I've got it!"
(End of Chapter)