Chapter 156 Rampage

Time passed quickly, and today marked the fifth day since chubby little Gu arrived within the dense fog of the Mysterious Beast Forest.

By day, he led Bai Ling'er and Lu Xinrou in giving special training to nearly ten thousand young mysterious beasts; by night, he returned to his tree-fork wooden house to cultivate in solitude. Five days passed just like the first.

By the fourth day, the weight of the mountain peaks that all the mysterious beasts carried—either on their backs or humps—had doubled. The special training that they had finally managed to endure with ease once again turned into a struggle of arduous, halting steps.

Yet, none of the young mysterious beasts held the slightest bit of resentment. Instead, they lived in terror that their companions might make further progress, leaving them with heavier loads in the next stage while they themselves were ruthlessly left behind to carry the original weight.

After all, these nearly ten thousand young mysterious beasts were the absolute elite, selected through layers of screening from all the mysterious beast territories across the Wind God Continent. Possessing exceptionally high innate talent and potential, they embodied the fervent hopes of countless supreme elders within the Mysterious Beast Forest.

None of them would ever admit to being inferior to their peers; in fact, every single one yearned to make a massive breakthrough and fiercely outshine the others.

Therefore, all the young mysterious beasts gritted their teeth and braced themselves, moving their legs forward at a agonizingly slow, snail-like pace. The earth trembled even more violently beneath their heavy strides.

"Crack!"

"Roar!"

"Roar! This beast has broken through! Hahaha..."

Suddenly, amidst the struggling formation, a third-rank early-stage black lion with bristling fur emitted a faint yet exceptionally crisp snap from within its body. Immediately following that, a hearty, supremely refreshing lion roar soared into the heavens.

Almost simultaneously, all the beasts halted their steps and turned to gaze at the bristling lion. They watched as its previously sealed cultivation suddenly surged rapidly, skyrocketing all the way from the early third-rank to the mid third-rank, stopping not far from the peak of the middle stage. Envy burned fiercely in everyone's wide, bloodshot eyes.

"Crack, crack, crack, crack..."

"Roar, roar, roar..."

As if influenced by the breakthrough of the bristling black lion, dozens of crisp cracking sounds suddenly echoed consecutively from various parts of the formation, accompanied by exhilarating, earth-shaking roars.

Under the gaze of the multitude, dozens of young mysterious beasts from different tribes saw their auras surge dramatically. Every single one of them advanced by at least one rank and made considerable refinement within their new realm.

"Roar!..."

"Screech!..."

Stimulated beyond measure, all the remaining young mysterious beasts let out continuous, ferocious roars. Firmly bearing the massive mountain peaks on their backs or humps, they pushed themselves even harder and continued to trudge forward.

Seeing this, Lu Xinrou parted her lips in astonishment and remained speechless for a long time.

This was because the wave of breakthroughs was far from over. Driven by the main force's even more desperate efforts, several more successive waves of breakthrough auras erupted from the ranks, acting almost like a chain reaction.

Roars shook the heavens—some echoing excitement over successful breakthroughs, others driven by anxious frustration at not yet having broken through themselves.

"Little Gu, really? It's actually true! This really helps with breakthroughs!"

"Obviously! When your Big Boss takes action, the results are bound to be extraordinary!"

Gu Xiao Pang seemed to thoroughly enjoy the admiration and flattery of the great beauty Lu Xinrou. His handsome little face beamed with a cocky, punchable, yet comical expression, causing Bai Ling'er to smile outright as she watched from the side.

"Little ones, keep going!"

"The opportunity for a breakthrough is right before your eyes! Only those who strive will win!"

"Eyes that have shed tears are brighter; a heart that has bled is stronger!"

"Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, but learning to dance gracefully in the rain!"

"Only after experiencing hardships akin to hell do you earn the right to enjoy the power to conquer everything!"

"Yes! Just like that! Clench your teeth and persist to the bitter end even if it kills you! Continue! Faster! Even faster!"...

Whether truly infected by Gu Xiao Pang's passionate performance or driven by something else, the number of people breaking through within the main army suddenly multiplied several times over compared to before. Crisp cracking sounds filled the air, while roars and cries of release rose one after another, as if responding in kind to Gu Xiao Pang's encouragement.

Bai Ling'er maintained her usual calm demeanor, while the light of adoration in Lu Xinrou's beautiful eyes grew even more intense.

Outside the dense fog, countless supreme elders across various regions were startled awake by this scene, casting sidelong glances of astonishment.

...

The first day passed thus, and the second day remained the same. The breakthroughs of the main force continued, and Gu Xiao Pang did not stingy with his medicinal pills in the slightest.

By the evening of yet another day later, out of the nearly ten thousand young mysterious beasts, only a little over a hundred fourth-rank individuals had failed to break through. Every single one of the others had successfully advanced by at least a small sub-rank.

Those hundred-odd individuals who failed to break through all wore bitter expressions on their furry faces, staring longingly at Gu Xiao Pang with hearts full of eager anticipation.

"Don't worry. Because your levels are relatively high, this training method might not be very effective for you."

"However, this Big Boss will absolutely not abandon you to your fate."

"I guarantee that in the second stage of special training, you will definitely succeed in breaking through. Overtaking the predecessors is not impossible at all!"

"Roar!"

As soon as Gu Xiao Pang's voice trailed off, not only those hundred-odd individuals who had yet to break through, but every single young mysterious beast with bell-like eyes gleaming brightly roared to the heavens in enthusiastic response.

"Come forward, little brother from the Giant Shield Elephant tribe."

"Little ones, listen carefully to what your Big Boss has to say!"

With a casual wave of his finger, Gu Xiao Pang summoned a three-meter-tall giant shield elephant cub from the group of over a hundred who had failed to break through in the first stage. Amidst rumbling sounds, it walked to the front of the main formation.

After reminding all the cubs to listen attentively, Gu Xiao Pang began his on-site teaching using this seemingly rather shy giant shield elephant.

"Little brother, your physique and size are simply too massive!"

"Boss, you can't blame me for that. Our tribe has always been famous for our massive size."

"Can you make yourself smaller?"

"Naturally, I can! Uh... but if your cultivation is sealed, then definitely not."

"Good! Listen up, little ones. This Big Boss will demonstrate for you personally, so watch carefully!"

"Come, little brother, I have also completely suppressed my own cultivation. The two of us will engage in a purely physical combat!"

"Remember, you must use your full strength!"

"Hehehe... Don't even think about holding back against this Big Boss, because I will absolutely not hold back against you!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Xiao Pang, having restrained his entire body's cultivation, launched a fierce attack amidst the astonished gazes of ten thousand young mysterious beast cubs against the shy giant shield elephant, whose cultivation was similarly sealed.

"Bang, bang, bang!..."

"Moo! Moo-moo!..."

The young mysterious beasts, who originally assumed Gu Xiao Pang would be at a disadvantage in a pure physical contest, blinked their eyes vigorously in disbelief, terrified that they might be seeing things.

The reason the Giant Shield Elephant tribe had the word "shield" in their name was precisely because of their race's formidable defensive power.

Normally, the human race, whose physical bodies were inherently weak, was far from qualified to compete physically with mysterious beasts—let alone the fact that Gu Xiao Pang had chosen a Giant Shield Elephant, which possessed the absolute peak of physical defense among all mysterious beasts.

Yet, what were they witnessing in the training arena?

They saw Gu Xiao Pang, whose figure was vastly and disproportionately slender, executing specialized footwork while mercilessly bombarding the giant shield elephant from all directions. The giant shield elephant, whose knee joints seemed restricted in their flexion and extension, could only shake its massive head frantically, flapping its fan-like ears while its pair of frost-gleaming tusks swept and stabbed passively as it spun around.

As for Gu Xiao Pang, he would occasionally dart toward the elephant's belly for a flurry of blows, and the moment the elephant lowered its body to press down, he would swiftly leap out onto its back to continue raining down punches.

Before the massive trunk could swing over, Gu Xiao Pang would gracefully float down once again, circling its gigantic body to unleash another round of powerful strikes.

Every single punch landed solidly on flesh, creating a continuous barrage of impacts.

In this extremely short span of time, the poor giant shield elephant had already taken no less than a thousand violent blows. Even though Gu Xiao Pang had held back considerably, it was still too much for the creature to withstand, resulting in bulging flesh all over its body and fractures in multiple bones.

Driven to extreme annoyance and rage, the giant shield elephant spun its body wildly, causing the ground to rumble with heavy impacts, yet it failed to counterattack Gu Xiao Pang even once.

This could hardly be called a sparring match; it looked far more like the giant shield elephant undergoing one-sided abuse.

After a few more breaths, the giant shield elephant collapsed directly onto the ground, kicking up layers of dust and sand.

Ignoring the anxious expressions of the young mysterious beasts gathered around the perimeter, Gu Xiao Pang casually produced several medicinal pills, either crushing them over the beast or feeding them to it. Within a short moment, the wounds both inside and out on the giant shield elephant were completely healed.

Calling out a greeting, Gu Xiao Pang once again circled the fully recovered giant shield elephant and subjected it to another severe beating.

This time, the giant shield elephant seemed to have grown smarter. Realizing that even with all its might it couldn't hit Gu Xiao Pang a single time, it simply decided to stand completely still, close its eyes, and let the boss do whatever he pleased—punish it however he wished.

It hurt—truly hurt—but the boss had pills! No matter how severe the injuries, it could always recover, right? Thus, facing the violent onslaught this time, the giant shield elephant appeared remarkably resigned.

After being beaten unconscious and collapsing again, followed by another handful of pills to restore it to full health, this identical process was repeated nearly twenty times.

Every single time, the giant shield elephant was beaten completely out of shape. From the initial worry and sympathy shown by the other young mysterious beast cubs, what was the sentiment now? Did that tough-skinned brute deserve anyone's sympathy?

Absolutely not. That thick-skinned creature had completely disgraced all mysterious beasts. Failing to beat someone was one thing, but it actually gave up on even counterattacking altogether...

Yet, what none of them noticed was that under Gu Xiao Pang's repeated, deliberate and violent beatings, the giant shield elephant, which originally stood three meters tall, now appeared a fraction shorter, a fraction leaner, and its flesh and blood had become a fraction more refined.

After a dozen more rounds of fierce beating, the giant shield elephant, just as it was about to faint and collapse once more, suddenly experienced a powerful breakthrough in its sealed cultivation. Its cultivation at the peak of the fourth-rank middle stage began to soar rapidly, and right before everyone's eyes, it skyrocketed all the way to the late fourth-rank realm.

"Moo! Moo-moo!..."

The surprise came far too delightfully. Gone was any trace of shyness from the giant shield elephant as it swung its long trunk, opened its wide mouth, and let out a joyous, uninhibited roar to the heavens with its massive tusks pointing upward.

Suspended in mid-air, Gu Xiao Pang watched this scene with a face full of gratification.

At the same time, he sighed inwardly, realizing he had chosen the wrong target. If he had picked someone less resilient from the start, wouldn't he have succeeded much earlier instead of working himself half to death like this?

"Moo! Boss is mighty!"

"Stop howling! First, check and feel if your body has become a fraction smaller, while your physical strength has grown stronger by several folds?!"

"Roar, roar, roar! Boss is mighty!"

"Quiet! The on-site teaching I just gave you is the method for your next stage of special training!"

"In a moment, this Big Boss will seal your cultivations once again. After that, each of you will choose a companion whose physical strength matches your own, and you will engage in all-out mutual bombardment!"

"Don't be afraid of injuries; this Big Boss has plenty of healing pills."

"When your bloated bodies are tempered through these mutual strikes and begin to shrink—becoming smaller and denser—you will not be far from your next breakthrough."

"So! Little ones! Go berserk! Enjoy the crazy baptism of physical strength bombardment to your heart's content!"

Following that, Gu Xiao Pang combined his mental energy with his divine sense and swept it across the area like a tempest. In an instant, the cultivations of all the young mysterious beast cubs were sealed once again.

Influenced by the breakthrough of the giant shield elephant, the nearly ten thousand young mysterious beast cubs, brimming with passion and motivation, didn't even wait for Gu Xiao Pang's specific instructions before pairing up with suitable opponents and launching into a fierce mutual barrage.

Witnessing scene after scene of this, Lu Xinrou remained speechless for a long time. Having lived this long, she only now learned that cultivation could actually be conducted this way!

Even the countless mysterious beast supreme elders outside the dense fog were struck dumbfounded by Gu Xiao Pang's audacious methods.

Yet, immediately afterward, they all shook their heads with helpless, wry smiles.

Every single one of them knew in their hearts: this was only possible because it was Gu Xiao Pang, who refined supreme-grade spiritual pills as effortlessly as drinking water. If it were anyone else, how could such a feat ever be achieved!