Chapter 29: The Divine Beast Guards the Treasure, the Hero Finally Finds His Reward

In the dim passageway, the air was as thick and stifling as solidified jelly, making it hard to breathe. Mao Ling gripped the hem of Mao Yu’s garment tightly, her knuckles turning white. Although Feng Yao appeared calm on the surface, the slight trembling of her eyelashes betrayed her inner tension.

Mao Yu could sense the emotions of the two women. He took a deep breath and muttered to himself, "What is there to be afraid of? It’s just a guardian divine beast. I’ve got the system backing me up!"

Passing through the final archway, the space ahead suddenly opened up. A magnificent, golden temple appeared before them, and in its center, a giant beast radiating a golden glow lay coiled. It possessed the body of a lion, the wings of an eagle, and a pair of deer antlers on its head—it was essentially a deluxe, "all-in-one" hybrid.

"Whoa, this design is way too cool!" Mao Yu couldn't help but exclaim. It was truly a divine beast; it came with its own special effects, blinding him with its brilliance.

However, the divine beast was clearly unimpressed by their admiration. It let out a deafening roar, and a powerful wave of energy swept across the temple, as if intending to grind them into dust.

"Whoa, it’s playing for real!" Mao Yu quickly pulled the two women aside, narrowly dodging the beast’s first attack. The floor of the temple was gouged by the assault, sending debris flying. Mao Yu’s heart sank; the strength of this beast was far greater than he had imagined. He immediately activated the system scan to analyze its weaknesses.

"Ding! Scan complete. Target weakness: abdomen."

"The abdomen? How am I supposed to hit that? Is it going to roll over and let me stab it?" Mao Yu quipped, though his movements remained swift. As he dodged the beast’s strikes, he pondered a strategy.

"Mao Yu, watch out!" Feng Yao cried out as the beast’s massive claws swiped down at him. In the nick of time, Mao Yu activated his ability, vanishing from the spot and reappearing behind the beast.

"Now!" With a focused gaze, Mao Yu condensed a ball of powerful energy in his hand and slammed it into the beast’s abdomen. The creature let out a pained roar, its massive body swaying. Mao Yu felt a surge of joy—the system’s analysis was correct!

Just as he prepared to press his advantage, he suddenly felt a powerful suction force pulling him toward the beast. "What’s happening?" Before he could react, his body was uncontrollably drawn toward the creature.

"Mao Yu!" the two women screamed. Mao Yu sensed trouble; did this beast have other abilities?

He struggled to stabilize himself, but it was in vain. Just as he was about to be sucked into the beast’s maw, he had a sudden inspiration and shouted, "Wait!" The beast paused, actually stopping in its tracks. It looked down at Mao Yu, who was suspended in mid-air by the suction, and let out a puzzled low growl, as if asking, "You got any last words, kid?"

Mao Yu quickly shouted, "Big guy, don't be so excitable! Look, do you recognize this thing in my hand?" He opened his palm to reveal a stone emitting a faint golden light. He had picked it up in the tunnel earlier without much thought, but now, he was treating it as a last-ditch effort.

The beast’s eyes were instantly drawn to the stone—it was shiny and golden; it looked expensive! It extended a claw, carefully touched the stone, and emitted a satisfied hum.

"It’s working!" Mao Yu felt encouraged. It seemed this stone was important to the beast. He struck while the iron was hot, saying, "Big guy, look, isn't this stone beautiful? I have plenty more. If you let me go, I’ll give them all to you!"

Upon hearing there were more, the beast became excited and nodded in agreement. Mao Yu hurriedly emptied his pockets and dumped all the stones he had into the beast’s claw. The creature clutched the stones, clearly enamored, and completely forgot about Mao Yu’s existence.

Mao Yu took the opportunity to land back on the ground, letting out a long sigh of relief. He dusted himself off and said to Feng Yao and Mao Ling, "How about that? My acting was pretty good, right?"

Both women breathed a sigh of relief. Feng Yao scolded him, "You scared me to death! No more taking risks like that next time." Mao Ling looked at Mao Yu with pure admiration: "Young Master Mao, you’re amazing! To think you’d use stones to bribe a divine beast!"

Captain Liu and the others nearby were stunned, having never imagined that such a powerful beast could be bought off with a few rocks. Captain Liu thought to himself, "This kid actually has some skills..."

Mao Yu walked up to the beast, patted its claw, and laughed, "From now on, you’re with me. I guarantee you’ll be living the good life!" The beast seemed to understand and nuzzled his hand happily.

Just then, Mao Yu felt a scorching heat from the stone in his hand. He looked down to see it melting and seeping into his skin. "What’s going on?!"

Golden light spread along his arm like threads of silk, quickly covering his entire body. He felt a powerful surge of energy erupting within him like a volcano, rampaging through his veins. "Whoa, what is this? Am I going to explode?" Mao Yu panicked.

At that moment, the system spoke: "Ding! Detected host absorbing divine beast power. System automatically initiating fusion mode." Mao Yu finally relaxed; it was a relief to have his old friend, the system, around.

The golden light gradually dissipated, and Mao Yu felt his body brimming with inexhaustible energy. He clenched his fist, feeling the surging power of his abilities, and a confident smile curled his lips: "Now my strength has leveled up again! Who dares to mess with me?"

The beast seemed to sense the change, lowered its head, and nuzzled Mao Yu affectionately, its eyes full of submission and awe. Mao Yu patted its head and laughed, "From now on, I’ll call you Xiao Jin!" The beast—or rather, Xiao Jin—happily wagged its tail in agreement.

Led by Xiao Jin, the group ventured deep into the temple, where endless piles of gold, silver, and jewels glittered with blinding light. Feng Yao and Mao Ling were mesmerized; they had never seen such treasure. "We’re rich, we’re rich!" Mao Ling jumped with excitement, eager to haul it all home.

Though Feng Yao was also thrilled, she remained level-headed. "Mao Yu, these treasures are precious, but we shouldn't be greedy. Let's just take the important items."

Mao Yu nodded. He walked to the center of the treasure hoard and discovered an ancient stone tablet inscribed with strange characters. "What is this?" As he curiously touched the tablet, a flood of powerful information surged into his mind.

"So that's it! This is the secret of the abilities!" Mao Yu realized with a start. He finally understood the origin and techniques of his powers. He shared the knowledge with Feng Yao and Mao Ling, who were equally shocked.

"With this knowledge, we can better control our abilities and increase our strength!" Feng Yao said excitedly. Mao Yu nodded, looking at the treasure with a heart full of ambition. "I will stand at the pinnacle of this city of abilities, build my own faction, and protect my home!"

The three of them left the temple with their treasures, with Xiao Jin trailing obediently behind them. Sunlight hit them, as if coating them in a layer of golden light. Captain Liu and his men hurried to meet them. Seeing the treasure and the beast, a flash of greed appeared in Captain Liu’s eyes, though he quickly masked it with a beaming smile. "Congratulations, Young Master Mao, on securing the treasure!"

Mao Yu gave him a cold, indifferent look. "Captain Liu, we’ll settle our accounts another time." The captain’s expression flickered, but he remained silent.

Mao Yu left with Feng Yao, Mao Ling, and Xiao Jin. Little did they know, a pair of cold, murderous eyes was watching them from the shadows.

"Boss, should we...?" a subordinate whispered.

"No rush. Let them be smug for a few days," the cold voice replied. "When they lower their guard, that will be the moment of their demise."