16: The transformation of the wolf cub

The black market was even more lively than usual tonight. Gamblers even forgot they were in the middle of betting; regardless of whom they had backed before, they all eventually became loyal fans of the Supersonic Mantis.

In one night, 12 battles, 12 wins. The Supersonic Mantis's record broke the nearly century-old record of the black market arena, becoming a new living record.

Aside from the Lightning Leopard faced in the second round, no other Demon Tamers Beast could pose a threat to the Supersonic Mantis.

These battles brought Xie Ning a total of 40 evolution value points. He continued to bet his winnings on himself. Although the odds were lowered later on, after 12 battles, he had earned over 400,000.

He never imagined money could come so quickly. Just the day before, he was aching over a few thousand for Materials, and now he had an income of over 400,000.

The only pity was that in the subsequent battles, the Supersonic Mantis did not trigger its potential again.

When Xie Ning returned, it was already past 11 PM.

The Little Wolf Cub, having watched all 12 matches, appeared exceptionally excited. It circled around the Supersonic Mantis, occasionally pouncing on its legs and howling "awoo awoo" incessantly.

"This fellow really can't stay still," Xie Ning said with a bitter smile, shaking his head.

The Supersonic Mantis told him, "It wants to fight me."

"Oh?" Xie Ning glanced at the Little Wolf Cub with some surprise, then picked up his clothes and headed to the bathroom. "In that case, go ahead and play with it. Just watch your strength."

"Okay."

While showering, Xie Ning could occasionally hear the sounds of collisions coming from the yard, mixed with a few unwilling cries from the Little Wolf Cub. He smiled and ignored it.

Twelve minutes later, Xie Ning came out of the bathroom, only to find to his surprise that the Little Wolf Cub had undergone some changes.

The Little Wolf Cub, which was originally not much bigger than a palm, had grown a size larger and was now nearly forty centimeters long, but its Rank hadn't changed at all.

"What just happened?"

"It couldn't beat me, so it triggered its potential," the Supersonic Mantis replied.

"Just like that?"

"Yes."

Seeing the Supersonic Mantis stop its attack, the Little Wolf Cub immediately howled "awoo awoo" in dissatisfaction.

Something surprising happened.

The Little Wolf Cub's body glowed slightly, its size gradually increasing, and a ring of pale red flames coiled around its body.

Within a few breaths, it grew a bit more, now reaching half a meter in length, yet its Rank still remained unchanged.

Feeling the changes in its body, the Little Wolf Cub excitedly turned its head to look at itself. It raised a paw to touch the swirling flames and grinned, but accidentally spat out a mouthful of fire, startling itself and falling to the ground.

But after the initial scare, it became even happier. It scrambled up to test the flames; a swipe of its claw ignited a small cloud of fire, and opening its mouth to the sky, it exhaled a breath of flame several meters high.

"Awoo~"

Watching the Little Wolf Cub's transformation, Xie Ning was beyond shocked.

He had never heard of any Yao Beast being able to trigger its potential twice in such a short time, especially during a non-dangerous practice session.

Thinking this, he fetched two bowls from the kitchen. Under the curious gazes of the Supersonic Mantis and the Little Wolf Cub, he took out two bottles of intermediate energy potion and poured them into the bowls, a wisp of energy drifting out.

intermediate energy potion: Contains a small amount of energy, can increase Rank and heal injuries. Only effective for Yao Beasts no higher than Bronze Rank.

Smelling the scent, the Little Wolf Cub became even more restless, rolling around frantically and acting cute in front of Xie Ning, making milky-sounding whimpers. Even the reserved Supersonic Mantis stepped forward, staring intently at Xie Ning.

Seeing this, Xie Ning chuckled and said, "One bowl each, no fighting."

The Little Wolf Cub gave an "awoo," though it was unclear if it understood. It then pounced toward its bowl and began to eat, and the Supersonic Mantis was no slower.

After the two beasts finished drinking, their bodies began to glow with overflowing energy radiance.

The Little Wolf Cub's Rank began to climb from Black Iron Rank 4... Rank 5... Rank 6... the level soared all the way, finally stopping at Black Iron Rank 8.

As its Rank rose, the Little Wolf Cub's size increased again. Now a full 1.5 meters long, it could no longer be called a "Little Wolf Cub"; it was clearly a White Wolf beginning to show its majesty.

On the other side, the Supersonic Mantis only increased by one Rank, reaching Bronze Rank 3. Its size was only slightly taller than before, with little change.

The White Wolf, its strength greatly increased, pestered the Supersonic Mantis, wanting to avenge its previous humiliation.

At that moment, Xie Ning heard two consecutive "ding-dong" sounds from his phone. They were messages from President Lin of the Cultivation Association and Mo Yu.

President Lin sent a string of addresses, while Mo Yu happened to be asking for the address.

What a coincidence.

"Then you two go spar for a bit to adapt to your new power as soon as possible. But remember to hold back; don't tear the house down!"

Xie Ning waved his hand, signaling the White Wolf and the Supersonic Mantis to go to the lawn. Then he opened his phone and checked the address first.

Coincidentally, it was in the same residential area as his.

Could it be... After a moment's thought, Xie Ning opened Mo Yu's chat window.

Xie Ning: Just received it. It's in the Huajing Residential Area. Let's meet tomorrow at Villa 22, Area C of the Huajing Residential Area.

Mo Yu: Okay, Great God. No problem, Great God. See you tomorrow then o(*￣︶￣*)o

Xie Ning: Okay.

After a few more words, he put down his phone. Seeing that it was about time, he said to the White Wolf and the Supersonic Mantis, "Alright, you two little guys, that's enough playing. We should go to sleep."

With a joyful howl, the White Wolf took a leap and pounced over.

Xie Ning: "Ouch~"

Supersonic Mantis: "..."

...He spent the entire night Cultivating cross-legged.

The next day, Xie Ning woke up early.

He began preparing breakfast for the two beasts.

Since he was going to someone else's home for a house call, it wasn't convenient for Xie Ning to bring the White Wolf, which he hadn't yet formed a contract with. After all, even if he could keep it under control, others might not feel at ease.

Then, with a "ding-dong," Mo Yu sent a message saying she had arrived at the entrance.

Without needing Xie Ning to speak, the highly intuitive Supersonic Mantis flew over first to open the door.

"You're here." Xie Ning turned back and smiled toward the door.

"Yeah," Mo Yu looked around the villa's environment and couldn't help but remark, "I didn't expect Great God Xie to be a hidden millionaire. A villa in Huajing Residential Area costs no less than ten million."

"It was just left by my parents." Xie Ning didn't want to discuss the topic. "Sit for a bit while I finish preparing their breakfast."

"Alright~"

Soon, Xie Ning had the food for the two beasts ready. After the Supersonic Mantis finished eating, he left the villa under the White Wolf's resentful gaze.

As one of the most high-end residential areas in Flower City, Huajing Residential Area covered a vast area. Since Xie Ning and Mo Yu didn't have suitable transport-type Demon Tamers Beast, they walked a short distance and found electric scooters for transport.

Just as they were riding toward the target villa, they suddenly heard heavy footsteps behind them.

Mo Yu looked back curiously, and the smile on her face instantly froze.

Xie Ning asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"

"Talk about bad luck today. We actually ran into that annoying guy from your class." Mo Yu buried her head lower and replied with a bitter face.

"Annoying guy?" Xie Ning also took a look and showed a hint of surprise. "Li Zhi? Why is he here too..."

On the Black Giant Wolf rapidly approaching them were two people. One was a white-haired old man with his eyes closed, resting, and the other was Li Zhi, who had a duel scheduled with Xie Ning.

Li Zhi also spotted Xie Ning at this time and said with a mix of surprise and sarcasm, "Yo~ Xie, I didn't expect you to be here too."

Xie Ning gave him a flat look and ignored him.

Li Zhi turned his gaze to the other person, looked closely, and recognized Mo Yu. Changing his sarcastic tone, he said warmly, "Sister Mo Yu, why don't you come over here to me? Riding a Demon Tamers Beast is much more comfortable than an electric scooter."

"No thanks." Mo Yu turned her face away, clearly not interested in Li Zhi. Not only that, she was quite repulsed by him.

Li Zhi wasn't annoyed either and pestered her with a few more words, causing the old man to give a muffled grunt in dissatisfaction.

"Great Master Li, don't be in a hurry, we're almost there." After saying that, Li Zhi didn't dare to chatter anymore and had the Black Giant Wolf speed up to leave.

At this point, Xie Ning noticed that the old man resting with his eyes closed was wearing a strange badge on his chest.

It was an Intermediate Cultivator Badge, exactly the same as Xie Ning's badge.

Thinking about the identity of the household they were going to, Xie Ning immediately understood—things had collided.

"I didn't expect to run into this guy," Mo Yu frowned as she watched the giant wolf gallop away. "Great God, the person sitting behind Li Zhi seems to be a fairly famous Breeder. Do you think their purpose is the same as ours?"

Xie Ning smiled and nodded, "Most likely. But don't worry. The Poison Flame on that Demon Tamers Beast isn't that easy to dispel."

"I hope so..."