35 Little Nian Gao

As Chu Fan thought of what names he could call his combat beast, he noticed it was whimpering and would suck on his fingers. He created a makeshift bottle and fed the combat beast some soy milk. After feeding it, he brought it back into his room.

Chu Fan pet his combat beast which rolled over on its back. His combat beast was in its infant stage and its belly bulged like most puppies would after having their fill of milk. After a while of having its stomach petted, it drifted into slumber. Seeing this, Chu Fan had an epiphany. He leapt for joy, but caught himself before he could yell.

"I got it. I'll call you Nian Gao. From this day forward, you shall be my little Nian Gao."

Hearing its new name, Nian Gao opened its eyes and smiled at Chu Fan before falling fast asleep. It had acknowledged its own name. Letting the combat beast sleep, Chu Fan went about his day as usual.

He finished his cooking for the day and went to water his little treant at the store's entrance. At this time, his treant stood about 30.5 cm tall. It was growing faster than most plant-based magical creatures due to Chu Fan's diligent care.

With no other plants to fight it for any sunlight and abundant qi in the surrounding area, it was left to flourish. It had grown a conscience and swore an allegiance to Chu Fan, who it saw as a friend. Chu Fan gave his treant a name also: Chun Juan.

After he was done tending to Chun Juan, he continued with his cultivation training. By now, he had mastered the first volumes of his cultivation techniques and started on the second volumes. He was getting stronger by the day, but he struggled with his solitude. He was used to being alone, but he did miss his friends that he had become accustomed to seeing everyday.

He had discovered that, until further investigation of his past interactions were over, none of the other disciples were allowed to talk with him. He worried that he might become like Vault Keeper Wang, a friendless and unsociable person.

His combat beast could not have arrived at a better time. He wouldn't have to worry about being lonely anymore. After wrapping up his cultivation practice, he went back into his room to check on his little Nian Gao.

Opening the room, a gush of wind flew about as a foul stench exited the room. Smelling this, Chu Fan was both shocked and terrified.

"They poop?! Well I guess I have a lot of work ahead of me."

He grabbed a broom and mop from his kitchen and entered the room, gagging as the smell entered his nostrils. He looked around and noticed that Nian Gao sat on the bed patiently waiting for him, its tail was wagging. Strewn about Chu Fan's blanket was fresh poop.

Chu Fan picked up Nian Gao and noticed that it had been stepping in its own filth and needed a bath. After cleaning up the mess and changing out his bed sheets and blankets, Chu Fan gave Nian Gao a bath. Nian Gao put up a small fuss, whining the whole time. But with Chu Fan's reassurance, it soon calmed down and began to enjoy the bath.

After Nian Gao was done bathing, Chu Fan got cleaned up and ready for bed. He got on his bed and Nian Gao followed, curling up at his feet.

"Alright Nian Gao, we have a long day tomorrow. I have a lot to teach you."

"Bark!" Nian Gao seemed to understand and shut its eyes, falling asleep. Chu Fan shortly followed suit and the night passed peacefully.

.........................

The next morning Chu Fan got up real early and finished his knife skill training. He then started making soy milk for his combat beast. Waking up to find that his master was not present, Nian Gao started to wail and run about in Chu Fan's room. Hearing the ruckus, Chu Fan ran to the room and opened the door to see Nian Gao looking at him like a lost child reuniting with its parent.

After feeding Nian Gao, Chu Fan began his teaching lessons. Over the course of a week Nian Gao had learned many things. It was only this easy because it and Chu Fan were linked mentally as it was born from Chu Fan's blood; they could understand the thoughts of the other without much effort.

Nian Gao had started getting popular with the many disciples that came to the cafeteria. They all adored him as he loved to be pet and always wondered about the cafeteria grounds. He knew not to leave the cafeteria grounds unless allowed by Chu Fan. He had also grown accustomed to Chun Juan, the two were afraid of each other at first, but they warmed up to each other. They saw one another as equals, being under the care of Chu Fan.

At the end of the month, Nian Gao had gotten bigger and started eating solid foods. Its appetite was getting bigger and Chu Fan was starting to struggle with keeping his combat beast fed. He had no other choice but to go out and hunt for ingredients. Seeing as Nian Gao was an omnivorous combat beast, he didn't have to focus on only hunting and could collect herbs and vegetables also.

He left Nian Gao in the care of Da Bao, Tian Han, and Yao Lingyan. He had left them a letter that was delivered by his puppets. In the letter, he stated that he would be gone for a couple of days. His three close friends had already met and befriended Nian Gao, so they happily agreed to watch the cute combat beast.

Chu Fan left the sect in the middle of the night, all alone. When he arrived in the mountainside, the sun had just come out. He did not come with any hunter or guides as he wanted to hunt magical beasts that may be too powerful for normal hunters to handle.

He set up camp 200 meters away from the nearest stream of water. After he was finished, he made his way into the forest marking trees along the way. He looked around for many hours before he stumbled across droppings with steam coming from them.

"Fresh poo. Now where did it go?"

He looked at the ground and saw the tracks leading into the dark part of the woods. Chu Fan chose to follow after dousing himself with a special concoction he had made to conceal his scent.

He moved quickly in the dark, making no noise at all as he followed the tracks. The tracks eventually lead to a cave by the mountain.

"RAWR!" sounded out from the cave entrance. The magical beast exited its cave and stood its ground, defending the cave. It was giving its trespassers a warning and chance to escape. This magical beast was a Venom Clawed Leopard.

The Venom Clawed Leopard was equal in strength to a cultivator of the first stages of Foundation Establishment. But this particular leopard's strength surpassed that limit and matched that of a cultivator in the middle stages of Foundation Establishment. Added with it's robust leathery hide, it's battle prowess was actually most comparable to a late stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Chu Fan hid in the bushes and stayed motionless; any noise might have alerted the magical beast and angered it. Such a beast earned its name through its vicious poisonous claws, and he had unknowingly entered its territory uninvited. But Chu Fan was not alone; he had been tailed ever since he left the sect territories. Chu Fan had entered the beast's territory undiscovered, his two stalkers were the ones that had been discovered.

*Rustle* *Boom*

The two people tailing him had no choice but to reveal themselves since this particular Venom Clawed Leopard seemed more intelligent than the average Venom Clawed Leopard. One was more handsome than the other, though the more handsome one was older than the uglier one who was much younger.

"We apologize for invading your territory, we shall leave and never return."said the handsome one.

They both bowed and turned to leave, thinking the leopard would let them leave. It took a giant leap forward and blocked their path back into the woods. They both jumped back in shock as they took defensive stances.

The leopard was a smart magical creature; it did not survive to this point by trusting humans and their false words. In fact, it merely tricked the two cultivators to come out of hiding; now it did not have to hunt down these two down and kill them.

Naturally, this Venom Clawed Leopard was guarding a treasured item that allowed it to become this intelligent and strong. It would stop at nothing to eliminate a threat to its safety and treasure. Surely these two cultivators were only retreating for the moment to gather backup forces to kill the beast and collect its treasure.

"Tch! That little fatty has lead us into a trap! I was a fool to think that this Venom Clawed Leopard would spare us for the more succulent fatso; then we wouldn't have to go through the hassle of following this disciple of our sect's sworn enemy."

"Brother, we have no choice but to fight. This damned leopard wants to end our lives. It must be guarding some treasure, let's split it evenly after killing this wretched beast."

The Venom Clawed Leopard took the initiative, pouncing at the one who called him a "wretched beast." He swiped at the younger uglier lad, aiming for his throat.

"Mreow!" it shrieked, giving the younger lad a fright, stunning him in place.

*Clank* The handsome lad had brandished his short sword and swiftly parried the attack aimed at his companion.

"What are you doing, idiot? Dodge!"

Shaking his head, the uglier person leapt into the air and produced talismans from his storage ring. He began chanting and threw a talisman at the leopard, it attached itself to the leopard's right shoulder. Sparks started to fly about as the talisman burst into flames, charring the patch of hair and skin of the leopard.

Feeling the intense heat, the leopard rolled around before getting back up and pouncing at the uglier man with intense fury. The leopard's claws were about to land a blow, its eyes widened as it had entered a crazed state.

*Clang* It's attack was deflected again by the handsome man. It tumbled back where it was cut by a piercing blow of the handsome man's short sword. It landed back on its feet with a limp as it backed away; the two cultivators landing a brief moment after the leopard.

Rethinking its method of attack, the leopard began circling the two cultivators who were now standing back to back. These two cultivators were very adept in their teamwork. One focused on defense and distraction, while the other did far-range damage. This battle was becoming more and more epic by the moment.

Off to the side, Chu Fan's eyes flashed and his mind was currently guessing what treasure the Venom Clawed Leopard was guarding with its life. The fool was so immersed in his delusions of what treasure lay within his hand's grasp that he could not be bothered with this battle to the death.

"I got to check out this 'treasure'. Now to wait for the perfect opportunity to present itself." he thought to himself as he finally turned his attention towards the battle.