Emperor of Soul Pets

Chapter 8: Loudy's Decision

Three hours later, a proud bark pierced through the morning sun.

"Hehe... See? I told you it would work." Rao Wu proudly beamed as he examined Xian Da's dark claws. Unbelievably the little guy's claws were now middle-stage phase one. With a little more training, the claws would rank up to high-stage. "Sorry it hurts," soothed Rao Wu as he patted down Xian Da's saw paws. However, there was a twinkle in his eyes as he looked at the faint lines on the tree bark. Just a few hours ago, Xian Da couldn't even dent the tree, but the little guy's perseverance paid off, allowing it to finally cut a few millimeters into the tough bark.

"Guo~" Nearby, Loudy thumped its chest, praising Xian Da's efforts. However, the depths of its gaze held complicated hesitations. Today was a prime example of how soul trainers greatly boosted a soul monster's chance of evolving. Only a soul trainer would think of healing a soul monster's injuries with Sage Dewberries to allow it to train continuously, thereby speeding up a process that would naturally take weeks. Loudy hesitated, but then let out a gibber.

"Hm? You want to meet your father before we go?" When Loudy confirmed, Rao Wu paused and scratched his chin. "I guess it's on our way. Yeah, I should probably let him know we're going to the city so he doesn't freak out."

Du-Du. Loudy beat its chest, and then led the way. Rao Wu placed Xian Da on his shoulder since the little guy was still too slow to keep up with them and then followed Loudy. Along the way, Rao Wu paused a few times to let Xian Da fight weak monsters like cave rats.

"Retreat!" Rao Wu would occasionally give Xian Da pointers, but mostly let the little Dusklight Wolf cub fend for itself. Xian Da, despite seeing the cave rat lying in a pool of its own blood obeyed Rao Wu's order and promptly retreated.

"Squee!" Shockingly, the cave rat that should have been on death's door suddenly jumped up and charged at the retreating Dusklight Wolf cub.

"Xian Da! Dodge and attack!"

Whoosh! Skrtchh!

"Squee!" The cave rat's cry rang out as Xian Da ducked under its charge and then tore its belly wide open. Xian Da's middle-stage phase one claws made mincemeat of the cave-rats defenseless stomach, causing blood and guts to spill out.

"Aowuuu~" The blood-drenched Xian Da proudly raised its head and howled after the corpse landed next to it. This was its fourth fight. The first three were not as smooth. Rao Wu had to bail it out during the first fight, but it subsequently got smarter until this fourth fight where it obtained a near perfect victory.

Rao Wu stored the corpse in his spatial ring and then approached Xian Da. He deliberately held back the praise in his heart as he coldly questioned, "Do you know where you went wrong?"

"Ruu~"

"Yes." Rao Wu folded his arms to prevent himself from petting the crestfallen Xian Da. "You got too excited. Monsters are smart. They can purposely fake injuries to lure you in and finish you off. Will you make that mistake again?"

Xian Da vehemently shook its head, but its sullen eyes broke Rao Wu's heart.

"Aish!" Rao Wu scratched his head with a helpless expression. "I can't be strict like Uncle Twilight." Rao Wu gave into his instincts and patted Xian Da's furry little head. "You did very well Xian Da. You're improving very fast. You're practically a genius!"

"Rraff!" Xian Da excitedly wagged its tail as it promised to not let Rao Wu down in the future. The next fight would definitely go better.

Rao Wu smiled, patted the little cub's head and then lifted it onto his shoulder. After confirming there were no nearby predators, Rao Wu once again set out with Loudy on the treetops as lookout.