Martial arts have become extinct worldwide, yet I am forced to have a large family.

enemy?

Where did the enemy come from?

Yang Xian was taken aback and turned around in confusion.

The enemy was not seen.

Two petite, silver-gray figures darted out of the woods and pounced straight at Yang Xian.

"Daddy's amazing! He took care of those three big cats in one go!"

"When... will Ling be as good as you?"

Two wolf cubs, each over half a meter long, affectionately rubbed their heads against Yang Xian's trouser legs, their fluffy tails wagging.

A smile appeared on Yang Xian's face as he squatted down and stroked their fur.

"It won't be long."

Yang Xian wasn't lying to them.

These two little guys absorbed the cores of the Five Realms Beasts, and their potential was greatly stimulated.

I'm just one step away from breaking through to the first realm. Once I've fully digested them, my realm should reach around the third realm.

"Aren't they enemies?"

Meanwhile, Zhou Xiyan, leaning against a tree, quietly watched Yang Xian interact intimately with the two wolf cubs.

She couldn't understand the strange syllables coming from the two wolf cubs, but she knew that Yang Xian and they seemed to be communicating without any barriers.

"Mr. Yang, you...you're...talking to them?"

Zhou Xiyan's voice carried a hint of disbelief.

"That's right." Yang Xian stood up and nodded casually.

"Both of them are my contracted beasts."

"Xiaofeng, Xiaoling, come over and say hello to your big sister."

Contract Beast?

Zhou Xiyan's mouth opened slightly, her expression moved.

In just a few days, they actually managed to form a contract with a native monster in the secret realm?

Two or two?

How did he manage to do that?!

As a top student at Canglan Martial Arts University, Zhou Xiyan also has some understanding of the field of "contract beasts".

Just how difficult is it to form a contract with a monster?

First, and most fundamentally, you need to obtain a "contract scroll".

The materials used to make the scroll are extremely rare and expensive, and the manufacturing process is incredibly complex, with a very high failure rate.

Currently, in the entire country of China, only a few sects in the north are capable of consistently producing qualified contract scrolls.

Secondly, and most difficultly, is to cultivate a relationship with the monster and gain its absolute trust.

To fulfill the contract, the demon beast must willingly offer up a wisp of its original soul.

This means that the monster must unconditionally trust the human it has made a pact with from the depths of its soul, without any resistance or doubt whatsoever.

Any threat or inducement is ineffective at the level of the soul.

This is why, nowadays, if you want to contract a demon beast, you almost always have to raise it from its cub stage, eating and living together, cultivating together, and experiencing life and death together...

This process can take anywhere from a few years to several decades.

Many people, even after a lifetime of effort, are unable to truly gain the approval of demonic beasts.

"Xiao Feng, Xiao Ling!"

"Go, dig out the beast core and eat it."

Yang Xian pointed to the three cheetah monster corpses lying not far away.

"Awoo!" Feng and Ling immediately let out an excited cry and transformed into two streaks of silver light as they rushed over.

Eating the beast core helps them digest the energy in their bodies more quickly.

Zhou Xiyan was deeply shocked by what she saw.

She finally couldn't help but speak again: "Mr. Yang, you seem to... speak the language of this secret realm?"

"I guess so..."

Yang Xian certainly wouldn't expose the system.

So he changed to a more plausible explanation: "I learned it from my 'contract beasts' after I made a contract with them."

This explanation is much more convincing than "I cheated".

Zhou Xiyan nodded thoughtfully and did not ask any further questions.

Everyone has their own secrets, especially in this treacherous secret place.

Yang Xian's gaze fell back on her:

"Let's not talk about me, it's you."

"Why were you injured like this?"

"Also, why did you want to team up with me back at the camp?"

"Let me answer the second question first." Zhou Xiyan swallowed a few pills, and her pale face regained a little color.

With her uninjured right hand, she took out a warm, white jade pendant from the inner pocket of her combat uniform.

A crescent moon is carved on the jade pendant, emitting a faint, clear glow.

It is indeed the "Water Moon Pendant".

Zhou Xiyan raised her head, her clear eyes looking directly at Yang Xian.

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Zhou Xiyan, and I am a disciple of the Shuiyue Sect."

"At the same time, I am also Xi'er's older sister."

Upon hearing this, Yang Xian's expression froze for a moment.

Xi'er's older sister?

No wonder……

No wonder I felt a strange sense of familiarity with her eyes and brows when I first saw her.

Especially her magnanimous heart, which is exactly like Xi'er's.

So this is due to their family's superior genes?

Is the "help" that Master Xuan Yue mentioned her?

Yang Xian took off the "Water Moon Pendant" from his body: "So, this is what you saw back then? And that's why you wanted to team up with me?"

"Um."

Zhou Xiyan nodded gently: "Thank you, Mr. Yang, for taking care of my sister. I saw your performance in the qualifying rounds in the live broadcast room."

"You're welcome." Yang Xian put away the jade pendant and smiled.

"I really like my little sister Xi'er. Since you're her older sister, you can just call me Yang Xi'an from now on."

Just then, two streaks of silver light darted back.

Feng and Ling excitedly circled around Yang Xian, their auras far stronger than before.

"Dad! I feel full of energy!"

"Ling seems to have gotten bigger!"

Through the soul connection, Yang Xian could clearly feel that after swallowing the three beast cores, the energy barriers in their bodies were broken through in one fell swoop.

The two little ones broke through to the first realm at the same time.

"Not bad, not bad."

Yang Xian squatted down and interacted affectionately with the two wolf cubs.

[Ding! Intimacy +1!]

At that moment, Zhou Xiyan's face turned deathly pale without warning, and she swayed, almost falling over.

"What's wrong with you?"

Yang Xian immediately noticed that something was wrong with Zhou Xiyan and rushed forward to support her.

I got a piece that was piping hot.

His gaze sharpened and landed on the girl's left leg.

There was an inconspicuous scratch on the lower leg of the combat pants; the wound appeared to have turned black.

The next second, everything went black before Zhou Xiyan's eyes, and she completely lost consciousness.

"Hey, wake up!"

Yang Xian didn't care about anything else and directly tore open the pants at the wound site.

The skin around the wound had turned an eerie black, and it was spreading upwards.

"Oh no, she's been poisoned?!"