Scorching sun blazing, desert mountains stretch endlessly.

A boy and a fox stood at the foot of North Peak Mountain, looking up at the towering peak that pierced the clouds. Du Yu couldn't help but sigh, "Really need a mount. Walking everywhere is way too slow."

Du Yu entered at 9am, and by the time he traversed Thousand Blade Mountain and reached North Peak, it was already afternoon.

Last time, riding Bai Yujing, he hadn't thought Thousand Blade Mountain was so vast.

This time, endless mountains and desert taught Du Yu a tough lesson.

"Ying~" Xiaoyan crouched on Du Yu's shoulder, softly whining.

"Hehe." Du Yu chuckled, "You're so tiny, how could I bear to ride you?"

Ignoring the tail, Xiaoyan was only about 40cm long.

Just like a small pet dog. Judging from her appearance, Du Yu was actually worried he'd crush her to death with just one sit...

"Ying!"

Du Yu buried his head, climbing the mountain. "Fine, next time Xiaobai's not around, we'll ride Tai Sui instead."

Xiaoyan lowered her head with a sweet smile, nuzzling Du Yu's cheek affectionately.

The boy and the fox chatted idly, time flew by, and Du Yu climbed halfway up the mountain, reaching the end of the trail with practiced ease.

"Head back, you need to save your energy. If I lose to that big cat, you'll have to rescue me." Du Yu hugged Prince Yan, his forehead gently resting on hers.

Out with the one in red, in with the one in green.

As Xiaoyan was just stowed into the Acupoint Home, Little You Ying flashed out.

"Keep an eye on me, Ghost Firefly." Du Yu looked up at the jagged cliff, then leapt, gripping a protruding rock with one hand.

"Mhm!" The sigils beneath Little You Ying's feet rolled out one by one like stairs, and it bounced after Du Yu.

"Hmm..." Hands gripping the cliff, Du Yu closed his eyes and tilted his head slightly.

The mischievous Little You Ying passed right through Du Yu's head from left to right, sprinkling sparkles and a cool breeze.

The chilling effect of Ghost Firefly Fire worked well, but the desert sun really was too fierce.

Du Yu considered, and his Demon Soul flew from the Qi Sea Acupoint·Yan Residence straight to the Juque Acupoint Tai Sui Residence.

"Swish~"

Activate! Du Yu·Tai Sui Form!

Instantly, a conical hat appeared above Du Yu's head.

Demon Skill: Bamboo Leaf Armor!

A wide bamboo-leaf hat almost covered Du Yu's shoulders, naturally shielding him from the blazing sun.

Du Yu reached up with his left hand, and a Red Bamboo Stick appeared, stabbing it straight into the cliff.

Demon Skill: Hollow Bamboo!

As soon as the bamboo stick pierced the rock wall, a tiny bamboo shoot suddenly sprouted above and to the right of Du Yu's head.

Demon Skill: Hollow Bamboo Shoot!

Du Yu grabbed the tip of the shoot with his right hand, gave it a gentle tug to test its strength, then kept climbing up.

Beside North Peak, the silent figure in a conical hat looked very much like an ascetic monk.

His actions were unhurried, steady, and firm.

"Du Yu! Du Yu! Du Yu!" Little You Ying circled nearby, its tiny mouth babbling nonstop...

Compared to his last, embarrassing climb, this time Du Yu was much smoother.

After all, he'd leveled up, and his physical fitness had improved.

With the experience of a successful summit and no more fear of plummeting to his doom, his heart brimmed with confidence and calm!

...

"Tsk!"

The Bamboo Stick stabbed into the cliff again, and Du Yu's right hand grabbed a bamboo shoot on the rock face.

He'd lost count of how many times he'd repeated this sequence.

The scorching sun overhead kept drifting west, and Du Yu's clothes were soaked in sweat.

He worked to steady his breath, tilting his head up once more toward the heights.

The summit didn't seem far now.

"Hm?" Du Yu's eyes widened: on the cliff edge a hundred meters up, a head poked out.

It was an earth-brown beast's skull, leopard-like yet cat-like, with pointed, tufted ears.

Man and beast locked eyes for a few seconds. The Desert Lynx turned away, disappearing behind the cliff edge.

Du Yu felt reassured!

Looks like the Lynx Race still firmly guarded North Peak's summit— they hadn't been driven off.

"Mmm~" Little You Ying called out softly.

Du Yu climbed another two meters, glancing up again.

This time, the head that popped out over the cliff edge was much larger than the last Desert Lynx—and beautiful silver.

Orange sunset glinted on that silver fur, making it shimmer and glow, dazzling the eyes.

"We meet again," Du Yu murmured, a smile flickering across his face.

The big silver cat lowered its head, watching Du Yu for a moment, then sprawled down lazily to bask in the sunset, eyeing the sweaty human boy below.

The Silver Lynx looked down upon him, gaze playful, clearly enjoying the show.

Du Yu licked his parched lips and resignedly kept climbing upward.

He suddenly kind of got how those super smart dolphins and whales in aquariums must feel, forced to perform for humans.

"Tsk!"

"Tsk!" The Hollow Bamboo kept stabbing into rock as Du Yu climbed steadily up.

Throughout, the Silver Lynx never left, until Du Yu was about to grab the cliff edge—only to find there was nowhere to place his hands.

He tilted his head back, sweat stinging his eyes, blurring his vision and lending the huge lynx above him a dreamy aura. "Think you could scoot over?"

The Silver Lynx's front legs were crossed on the cliff's edge, unmoving.

No choice, Du Yu had to shift sideways along the rock.

The Silver Lynx twisted her head slightly; her long tail suddenly swept over the cliff edge, kicking up a spray of sand and gravel.

Du Yu ducked, shielding himself with the conical hat.

"Heh." Du Yu grinned, face flushed, breathing hard. "You are...seriously beggin'...for a beating, huh?"

Most felines are wicked playful—often cruelly so.

It's in their nature, especially a wild lynx queen like this one.

"Mmm!" Little You Ying was indignant, grabbed a torch and shouted loudly.

"Stop." Du Yu commanded, gripping the cliff edge tight and looking silver lynx straight in the eyes.

Above him, a silver tail two meters long swung back and forth, like it might flick Du Yu away at any second.

A giant like that, one swat of her tail could easily kill an ordinary person.

Not to mention—the Desert Lynx had a special move: Demon Skill·Gallows Tail!

Xuan Platinum Quality Gallows Tail!

For any Demon Tamer climbing North Peak, there'd be no need to wait for a deadly fall—one tail swipe would do the job!

Suddenly, a phantom Demon Soul surged from within Du Yu, probing at the Lynx Queen: "You're scared. Scared I'll come up and smack you around."

At those words, the Silver Lynx's tail froze in midair, and her eyes narrowed.

Taking the chance, Du Yu pulled himself up and flipped over the cliff edge.

Familiar with the summit's layout, this time he didn't roll away uncontrollably. He instead clung to the cliff, lying diagonally on the ground.

Little You Ying urgently flew up, glaring at the Silver Lynx with vigilance.

"You will not leave again. Human race, never."

Du Yu turned his head, looking into the fierce beast eyes of the Silver Lynx.

She...no, it should be 'she'.

Her voice was a dry, sandpaper whisper, low and magnetic.

In Du Yu's short lifetime, he'd never heard a voice quite like that.

Who'd have thought that today, a Demon Beast would fill that gap?

No doubt, the Silver Lynx was a queen. From her tone alone, you could tell she was the domineering and overbearing sort.

She must've been the terror of the Lynx Race for a long time.

It's the law of the jungle: might is right. Fair enough.

Still, after all that hardship to get up here, Prince Du wasn't planning to bow and scrape!

Just as Du Yu was about to answer, the Silver Lynx leaped lightly— with a resonant hum!

"Dong!"

She didn't attack, but her Demon Breath Battle Robe still sent Little You Ying flying.

The Silver Lynx planted her massive paws on either side of Du Yu, lowered her head, and stared at him fiercely: "Meow!"

Du Yu cocked his head, but there was no dodging that gaping maw.

On second thought, wow—her breath was fresh! Full of Sandstone Fruit aroma.

Well, look at that~

So you've been eating your veggies these days, big kitty?

Du Yu ordered Little You Ying mentally to prep a Ghost Firefly Blow, while steering his Demon Soul sideways.

When his Demon Soul touched the Silver Lynx's body again, he said, "Repeat that, my Demon Soul had left you just now, I didn't catch it."

Silver Lynx: "You have the protection of a mighty being, so you're not afraid to die. Is that it."

Du Yu: "Didn't we agree to be each other's pillow? How'd it turn into life and death again?"

Silver Lynx: ???

Du Yu patted her enormous paw, "Scooch, scooch, lemme rest a bit. Soon as I recover, I'll have you caterwauling."

The Silver Lynx glared at Du Yu, "I'm bored of toying with my kin. You can be next."

"Oh now?" Du Yu raised his eyebrows.

She might be a Demon Beast, but she had quite a high-level trash talk game.

Maybe Demon Beasts out in the wild grew up constantly exchanging banter with prey and hunters?

Or maybe she wasn't even trash-talking—maybe she meant every word...

Du Yu had seen the Silver Lynx in a raging fury.

That time, when a bunch of Desert Lynx tried sneaking back after fleeing, she instantly caught and thrashed them into a miserable mess!

"So let's do this properly—see who's the real plaything." Du Yu pushed at her paw, "Move over, lemme recover for a sec."

Hmm... Didn't budge. Well, that's awkward~

"Hmph." The Silver Lynx snorted, glanced at his right hand, then finally turned and walked away.

But as she left, her long silver tail slammed the ground with force.

"Bang!"

The earth cracked from the impact—a declaration of intimidation!

Beneath Du Yu's right palm, the brewing Spirit Level·Candle Core Cannon quietly dissipated.

From the moment he'd climbed over the edge, he'd been charging the Heart Slaying Cannon in his right hand.

A skill like that couldn't hurt her, but could send her flying.

Even with their prior agreement and Little Fen Yang's formidable deterrence as his lifesaver, who knew what an animal like her might do?

"Ying~" Little Tai Sui appeared suddenly.

Since Du Yu was lying on his back, Little Tai Sui, floating out from his forehead, landed butt-first atop Prince Du's head.

"Mmm..."

"Ying?" Little Tai Sui did a split, its stubby legs splayed out sideways, peering down at his master below.

"Summon Hollow Bamboo Shoot, help me recover some strength." Too tired to move, Du Yu's voice sounded muffled from below.

"Whoosh!"

A huge Hollow Bamboo Shoot appeared, lifting up Du Yu's body.

As the bamboo shoot slowly closed, Du Yu looked out at the Silver Lynx in the distance.

You just wait and see!

Tonight, you'll be the one caterwauling all night!

The Silver Lynx caught his defiant look, shot Du Yu an icy glare, and then, as she left, smacked a nearby Desert Lynx with her paw.

"Smack!!!"

"Wuuuu~" wailed the Desert Lynx, sent flying dozens of meters, trailing a cloud of dust the whole way.

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