Chapter 7: First Training

Having confirmed his soul pact with the little servant-ranked Dusklight Wolf, Rao Wu smiled. "Alright little guy. If you're gonna follow me from now on then you need a name."

"Wao! Wao!"

The other Dusklight Wolf cubs barked with displeasure and jealousy. It had to be known that Rao Wu had named all the Dusklight Wolves in the tribe except for them. Just because Rao Wu chose the servant-ranked Dusklight Wolf did not mean he should suddenly ignore them.

"Pfft!" Rao Wu burst out laughing as he looked at the indignant cubs. "Don't worry guys! I'm gonna give you all names." Indeed, the only reason Rao Wu did not name them earlier and kept his distance was to reduce the chance he favored one of them over the others before he made the soul pact. "I'm just gonna name him first, alright?"

"Wurwuu~" The cubs nodded and then watched with excited eyes as Rao Wu tapped the servant-ranked cub.

Rao Wu's eyes held warmth as he looked into the cub's determined eyes. Its stubborn gaze bore the desire to rise above its destined path, and one day stand at the top of all soul monsters. "The only way to achieve the strength you want is to continually fight, and breakthrough your limits. So, I'll name you Xian Da. Are you prepared to charge to the top with me?"

"Rraff!" Xian Da's energetic bark was weak and small, barely enough to frighten a cockroach, but it did not care. It would climb step by step, through a mountain of corpses and blood until a single bark would cause the continent to tremble. Perhaps it was an unreasonably lofty goal, but Xian Da had already set its little mind on it.

Rao Wu smiled when he saw the grit in Xian Da's eyes. After living for so long in the jungle, he had come to learn that strength was not enough to reach the pinnacle. Strength could protect one's position, but if they wanted to achieve even more, then they could only struggle to obtain the resources required. However, life was cruel, and without the necessary drive, many would become complacent with their lot. Rao Wu was thus completely satisfied with Xian Da's determination. Now, Rao just had to ensure that he kept Xian Da's flames forever lit. This was his job as a soul trainer.

"Wao! Wao!"

"Alright, alright, It's your turn." Rao Wu laughed as he turned to look at the remaining restless cubs. He looked at Midnight and Twilight and then nodded. Following the convention, he named them in order, "Lunar, Sunrise, Moonlight, and Eclipse."

Midnight and Twilight looked at Rao Wu with weird looks in their eyes. This was a little too carefree, right? "Wao! Wao! Wao!" However, their thoughts dissipated when they saw the joy in their cubs who were excitedly jumping around.

Twilight cracked a smile and then looked at Midnight. "Wu?" It felt the time was right. Rao Wu was at the perfect strength. Any longer, and they would miss the opportunity.

Midnight, however, had hesitation in her eyes. Even though she was cold and aloof, she truly saw Rao Wu as one of hers. Add to that, little Xian Da... It was too dangerous. However, she knew Midnight was right. This was the best time for them. Perhaps Rao Wu might even succeed where his father failed.

Seeing Midnight silent, Twilight knew he had convinced her. Only, this doting mother could not bring herself to say the words with her own mouth. Hehe, when did that selfish maverick become such a worrywart mother? "Rraff!" Twilight teased Midnight, causing him to nearly lose his tail from her sharp bite.

Twilight sweated as he dodged the irate mother. Why did he tease her like that? It wasn't like he did not know her temper.

Shaking his head, Twilight brought Rao Wu and Xian Da away from the other cubs. Once they were alone, Twilight's expression turned grave as he asked Rao Wu a question the child did not expect. 'Where do you think the Eternal Spring comes from?'

Rao Wu was confused. How was he supposed to know? All he knew was that the Eternal Spring seemed endless, could heal injuries, and he was not allowed to breathe a word of it to anyone else... not even his friend, Loudy.

Twilight, seemingly not expecting Rao Wu to know the answer, slowly revealed a strange history before Rao Wu could even open his mouth.

Many years ago, Twilight and Midnight were regular Dusklight Wolf cubs. One day, their tribe was attacked by a wandering Dusklight Wolf tribe. Their parents, who were part of the tribe's leaders were ultimately slain. Following the custom, Midnight, Twilight, and many other cubs should have been killed, but Midnight brought a group of them, helping them escape this ultimate calamity.

Unfortunately, the jungle was not a kind place to wandering cubs. Along the way, each of their friends died until only Twilight and Midnight remained. At this time, they came across a heavily injured youth who seemed to be running from some grave danger. That injured youth was none other than the young Taylor Wu.

Perhaps because he was in a precarious position, the young Taylor empathized with the lost cubs. He carried the faint cubs into a nearby cave and fed them his rations. However, Taylor's pursuers doggedly chased him into the cave. Realizing he would get caught, Taylor ran deep into the cave. Luckily, he lost his pursuers in the maze-like tunnels, but then, he also lost his way.

Days went by, and just when the youth was about to give up, they stumbled into a luminescent cavern with a spring lake. This lake had miraculous healing properties. A few sips and the despondent trio were once again full of energy, and Taylor's injuries completely healed.

Taylor did not dare go out the same way he came in for fear of once again getting lost in the dark caves. But, with no other way out, Taylor proposed checking if the lake was connected to another cavern. The boy was an experienced adventure and often found that most lakes in caves were connected to larger bodies of water. However, only luck determined if the channel was passable.

Fortunately, Taylor's guess proved to be true. There was indeed an underground channel that led to another cavern. However, this cavern housed a terrifying test with incredible rewards. At the time, Taylor, Midnight, and Twilight failed to go all the way before getting ejected, but the rewards caused Midnight and Twilight to mutate into Star Dusklight Wolves.

Twilight did not know the origins of the test, but he was certain that Rao Wu and Xian Da would reap immense benefits if they managed to pass. However, in order to ensure Rao Wu performed better than his father, Twilight asked Rao Wu to get two objects.

The first was a leaf known to the humans as Diver's Heart. The second was to purchase numerous jugs. Both items could be found in human cities.

Rao Wu's eyes lit up with excitement. "Really!? I can go to the city?"

"Gruu~" Twilight growled softly. He felt bad for restricting Rao Wu's movements for so long. A human child belonged in a human town surrounded by fellow humans. He was afraid that spending so long in the jungle would have permanently altered Rao Wu's life. It was about time the child began to familiarize himself with humans. "Rraff!"

"Yes! I'll be careful," Rao Wu nodded. He was about to say something, but then he paused and slapped his forehead. "Ah! Loudy's strengthening! I have to see how it went!" The child's attention span was still very short. He took off as soon as he remembered his friend, leaving a bemused Twilight behind.

Meanwhile, on the surface, Rao Wu excitedly ran out of the cave to the mound where he left Loudy. "Oooh!" The child's eyes glistened with amazement when he saw the young Steelback Ape sitting on the ground and examining its body.

The strengthening seemed to have worked. The Steelback Ape's skin had transformed into a deep silver, signifying its defensive ability had ranked up to general rank. For Steelback Apes, their main attribute was their defensive skin. Once it ranked up to general, the Steelback Ape was considered to have also ranked up to general rank.

Rao Wu's eyes gleamed with joy as he tapped Loudy's arms and back. Feeling the increasingly firm muscles, Rao Wu chuckled as he praised his friend, "Hehe! A phase 2 general. I bet none of your mates will dare fight you now."

Loudy proudly roared and thumped its chest. "Guo~ Guo~"

"Hehe, I can't even come close to your strength now." Rao Wu rubbed his nose, but the bright grin revealed how happy he was for his friend. "Ah, that's right. Check this out!" Rao Wu quickly summoned Xian Da and then grinned as the little cub popped out of the summoning circle. "What do you think? I'm finally a soul trainer! I have my first soul pet too!"

"Guo~" A complicated light flashed in Loudy's eyes as he looked at Xian Da.

Rao Wu, oblivious to his friend's internal struggle continued to babble, "Ah, that's right. Uncle Twilight always said I'll go out into the world once I become a soul trainer. Ah, but then I'll have to say goodbye to everyone." Upon realizing the implications of what he just said Rao Wu's mood fell just as quickly as it rose, and he plopped down next to Loudy. "Hey, Loudy. Is the outside world really that great? I don't think I can live without seeing you guys for so long."

Loudy looked at the sullen Rao Wu. After a few moments, it made up its mind and then quickly fired off a series of unintelligible sounds. "Guo! Guo!"

Rao Wu's eyes lit up as he looked at Loudy. "Really? You'll come with me?"

"Guo! Guo! Guo! Guo~"

"Haha! Yeah! We'll conquer the world together, and then come back as heroes." The easily excited Rao Wu jumped to his feet and then raised his eyes to meet the setting sun. "We'll travel all over, fight every soul monster, and then... and then..." Rao Wu hesitated. There was one phrase Uncle Twilight had repeated since he could remember. The goal all soul trainers aspired towards. The road was long and perilous. But, as Rao Wu looked at Loudy, and then the grit in Xian Da's eyes, he steeled his resolve and shouted, "We'll become the Emperors of Soul Pets!"

Early the Next Morning, Rao Wu awoke before the sun rose. He had a long trek to reach the city, but there were certain things he had to take care of first. Rao Wu left the cave with Xian Da, and then greeted the Dusklight Wolves on sentry duty as he made his way to a nearby stream.

Rao Wu and Xian Da drank some water and had a quick wash, then the young man walked to an enclosure that had many shattered rocks and tree barks. This was Rao Wu's training ground, where he spent the better part of his morning before he went hunting.

"Guo~" Unsurprisingly, Loudy jumped down from a treetop. Every morning, he too joined Rao Wu's intense training. That was one major reason why his strengthening succeeded. "Guo Guo~" Loudy sent an apologetic gibber at Xian Da. The little cub did not know what it had gotten itself into by becoming this crazy boy's soul pet.

"Stop scaring him," Rao Wu softly scolded as he walked over and knocked on several tree trunks. After finding one that was to his liking, he nodded and then called Xian Da over. He placed his hand on the tree and then softly said, "Since you're a wolf, there's no point in focusing your training on your defense. Instead, we'll focus on your claws, teeth, and agility."

Xian Da's little head cocked to the side, not understanding what exactly Rao Wu wanted.

"Just like this." Rao Wu, rather than explaining, showed with his actions. Riip! The young man swiped at the tree with his hand. Surprisingly, his fingernails tore through the bark, leaving four deep impressions. Rao Wu's eyes lit up as he waved to Loudy. "Hey, it looks like my nails finally ranked up!"

"Hnghh!" Loudy snorted as he dropped a fresh boulder nearby. Rao Wu was too much of a freak! Who heard of a human's nails increasing in rank? That was supposed to be reserved for monsters.

Rao Wu ignored Loudy and then turned back to Xian Da. "If I can do it, you can. Give it a try."

"Rraff!" Xian Da approached the tree with a strong gaze and then raised its hand. Swipe! "Rraoo!" The little cub cried out in pain. The tree was much harder than it looked, causing the cub to nearly rupture its claws.

"Other paw!" Without giving Xian Da time to rest, Rao Wu ordered Xian Da to swipe with its left.

"Rruu..." Xian Da was in so much pain. But then, out of the corner of its eyes, it spotted Loudy crashing into the new boulder. Despite just strengthening itself the previous day, the rough boulder tore into its skin, causing it to bleed. Xian Da's eyes trembled. Even Loudy, as strong as he was, still harshly trained. As a servant-ranked Dusklight Wolf, it's starting point was even lower. If it wanted to accompany Rao Wu on his path to becoming an Emperor, then it had to walk an even bloodier and more painful path.

"Rraff!" Its resolve bolstered, Xian Da quickly swiped at the tree with its left paw. "Rrao!" It swallowed the pain, and then quickly repeated the process. Left, right, left, right. At first, the pain was unbearable, but overtime, Xian Da settled into a rhythm that let it push the pain to the back of its mind.

"Xian Da, Punishing Claws!"

Rao Wu's sudden call broke Xian Da's concentration, but the little cub still instinctively used the low-level technique. Energy poured into its right paw as it swiped at the tree bark.

Piak!

Xian Da's vision nearly went white with pain as one of its claws snapped off. Punishing Claws was a powerful technique, but when used on a tough surface, it only resulted in more harm to the user.

"Punishing Claw!"

Rao Wu's merciless voice broke through Xian Da's pain. The little cub, with tears in its eyes, quickly put energy in its left paw and then swiped at the tree again. 'Piak'

"Rwuwuwu~" Xian Da cried as it collapsed to the ground, blood bleeding from its paws.

"Good job." Rao Wu kneeled next to the crying cub and patted its back. "Loudy, bring the Sage Dewberries."

"Guo~" Loudy, as if predicting the request, already had a batch of Sage Dewberries firmly clasped in its hands. It passed the red leaves and fruit to Rao Wu, who squashed then squashed and blended them between his palms.

Rao Wu smiled softly as he gently lifted Xian Da's paw. "Sorry, this will sting a little." Sage Dewberries, when crushed with their leaves had a profound healing effect. Although their effects were nowhere as strong as the Eternal Spring Wine, Rao Wu used them as cover when he was outside the cave. Unfortunately, the mulch stung injuries while healing them.

Xian Da bit back its cries as tears pooled in its eyes. Its fighting spirit refused to lose to mere pain. It had never suffered so much pain in its life, but it knew that in order to improve, it first had to undergo a baptism of flame.

"Guo~" Loudy comforted the little cub as it sat down. The Steelback Ape recalled its first training with Rao Wu. It had suffered just as badly, crying when its fists bled from punching the tree barks.

"There we go." Rao Wu patted Xian Da when he finished applying the Sage Dewberry. In a few hours, a new, stronger set of claws would grow. Of course, Xian Da would have to repeat this process countless times before its claws would rank up. Rao Wu gently cradled Xian Da's paw as he looked into the cub's eyes. "Good work, Xian Da. I promise we'll climb to the top together."

"Rraff!" Xian Da's proud confirmatory bark pierced through the night.