Chapter Seventy-Four: The Eighth-Level Magical Beast (First Update!)

“An elemental spirit? That thing?” Katherine was perched on Ling Mo’s shoulder, her legs draped over his broad shoulder blades. She froze for a moment at his words, feeling something was off. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but the viewers were already helping her out with their comments:

“Weren’t elemental spirits supposed to be dazzlingly beautiful? Why does the lightning spirit look like such a brute?”

“Someone up front clearly lacks culture. Who said ‘dazzlingly beautiful’?”

“I remember listening to Isser’s lecture; he claimed that elemental spirits were the most adorable beings in the world, so lovely they could make fish sink and birds fall! Was he lying to me?”

“Maybe not. Isser specializes in earth magic—perhaps earth spirits really are gorgeous?”

“I don’t think that’s important. I admit I don’t know much, but I want to know: what are those big-mouthed monsters and this lightning beast? Why haven’t I ever seen them in the beast catalog?”

“Maybe you bought a pirated book?”

“Viewer ‘Loves Watching Animal Mating’ has just tipped the streamer a Meteor Fire Shower! Comment: I just bought an official online edition of the Beast Catalog, checked it, and there’s nothing like these!”

“Viewer ‘Beasts Love Me!’ tipped a Meteor Fire Shower! Comment: Exactly! I bought the official Complete Guide to Magical Beasts, flipped through everything above level six, and found nothing!”

“Kneeling before the big spenders! The Complete Guide series costs about five hundred gold coins, right? Even as a graduate student in magical beasts, I can’t afford it!”

“A bunch of uncultured folks. Seeing the Devouring Demon and Nelbe, I’m starting to figure out where the streamer is!”

“Viewer ‘Can’t Stand Show-Offs’ tipped two Meteor Fire Showers! Comment: That guy’s all talk! If you know where they are, say so! If you’re right, I’ll tip you two hundred gold coins, no joke! My ID is pretty well-known, right?”

“……”

Just as the comment section was descending into its usual bickering, something astonishing happened on the livestream. With the death of the Annihilator Nelbe, the seemingly endless thick black fog dissipated in an instant. The view opened up dramatically, and the once-hidden landscape was fully revealed to all viewers!

Directly ahead, about a thousand meters away, stood a towering cylindrical mountain that reached up to the clouds! Its thickness was consistent from top to bottom, resembling the legendary pillar that held up the heavens. In terms of height, it was a mountain, but Katherine found it difficult to call this massive cylinder a peak. Its diameter exceeded eight hundred meters, stretching from base to summit with minimal variation. Its surface was a matte gray-brown, beneath which deep red energy faintly flowed. Even from a kilometer away, Katherine could sense the wild power contained within!

Looking into the distance, there were four such colossal pillars. They stood at the four corners, jointly supporting a gigantic conical mountain. One could vaguely see that the base of the mountain was set upon a sea of molten lava, and at its apex—unlike ordinary snow-capped peaks—there was nothing but pitch blackness. The summit had a distinct ring-shaped depression, much like an active volcano, from which clouds of black smoke erupted. Soon, the fog that had just cleared began to thicken once more.

At that moment, countless gifts flooded the livestream. No one in the comments was joking anymore; the atmosphere had become solemn:

“I think I know who Teacher Ling’s old friend is!”

“Obviously! How could you not realize at this point?”

“I thought I was watching entertainment, but now I feel like I’m witnessing an epic!”

“I never imagined I could observe the true form of such a terrifying being up close!”

“Just for this scene, Sister Kai has secured her position as the top shark streamer!”

“The moment this landscape appeared, it felt so familiar! Now I finally understand!”

“Yes, I suddenly remembered where I’ve seen or heard of this before!”

“In the required reading for eighth grade! That hand-drawn illustration!”

“I always thought that passage was exaggerated artistry, but seeing it live, the article was actually a serious scientific description!”

“I recall the last paragraph was so dramatic it felt embarrassing to read, but now I realize how accurately it captured this!”

“Dispel the mystery of the black house; the mighty sky pillars stand upon trembling earth!”

“Passing through the curtain of energy, the terrifying black volcano spreads the smoke of annihilation!”

“Don’t try to escape, don’t attempt to resist!”

“What you see is the endpoint of biological evolution, the pinnacle of power in this world!”

“Level Eight Magical Beast, Flame Devourer, Anton!”

“……”

Unlike the excitement in the comments, Katherine felt only a deep, bone-chilling fear rising from within. It was so overwhelming she forgot her pain, and took a long moment before she could ask, voice trembling, “Master, is your old friend… Anton?”

“That’s right. This old turtle. Surprised? Didn’t see it coming?”

So Anton is a turtle? That means those four giant pillars are its legs, and the black mountain is its shell? The thought flashed through Katherine’s mind, but she quickly pushed it aside. She struggled to steady her emotions, but her voice still came out with a sob: “Surprised… Forget surprise for now, Master, are we really here to steal from Anton?”

Ling Mo frowned. “Don’t put it so harshly. We’re borrowing. Healing isn’t theft.”

“I’m just dehydrated, is it really that serious?” Katherine felt tears prick her eyes again. She wanted to crack open her master’s head and see what went on inside.

“It is serious. It was my oversight, and I have to fix it perfectly,” Ling Mo said gravely. “Don’t think it’s nothing. This kind of fundamental dehydration will greatly affect your martial cultivation and lower your eventual potential.”

Honestly, I think dehydration is fine. Lower potential, so what? Let’s just go home, shall we? Katherine wanted to say this to Ling Mo, but after a few rounds in her mind, it finally came out as something even she didn’t believe: “Thank you, Master. I’m really moved.”

Ling Mo nodded with satisfaction and was about to step forward when Katherine quickly called out, “Wait, wait! I… I’m not mentally ready yet!”

Her tone was clearly timid, but no one in the livestream mocked her. In fact, everyone thought it was only natural: before them stood an authentic level eight magical beast, known as a moving cataclysm, the deepest nightmare. So many words had been used to describe their power. Throughout Katherine’s education, level eight magical beasts were summed up in one word—destruction.

The most recent conflict between humans and a level eight magical beast was two hundred and forty years ago, when the mechanical marvel, the Golden Fortress Meldicks, suddenly appeared on the Windy Plains and wrought unimaginable devastation. Eleven cities were destroyed, millions died, a Saint Mage was gravely injured, three Grand Magisters fell, four entire mage legions were shattered, and only then was the Golden Fortress finally wounded and driven off. That ultimate force now stood before her, and she was about to provoke it, to steal from it…

“No need to be so afraid. Anton is a very gentle level eight beast,” Ling Mo reassured her. “Besides, it’s especially fond of sleeping. We don’t even need to wake it. See that black volcano spewing smoke? There’s a volcanic lake there, which has the primordial water you need. I just have to toss you in for a soak, and everything will be fine. Then we can happily head back to the magical beast rainforest!”

(ps: One more beast, super evolution! Two~ more~ beasts~~!)