Peregrine Falcons

"Is this Evolution?"

Xuan Wu quickly noticed that the fox's sharp claws were tearing fiercely at the ground, leaving deep furrows.

By this point, the red fox's claws seemed to have grown several times bigger, making them look sharper.

What's even more incredible was that the size of the red fox was increasing!

In just a short amount of time, the one-meter-long red fox had stretched to over one and a half meters, looking like a cheetah.

However, compared to a cheetah, it appeared more elegant. Its fur dancing along the wind looked no different than flames, and it's deep red eyes were burning like fire, radiating a stunning and magnificent beauty.

"..."

"Haha! I'm amazing! It seems that my 'Mutable Solution' can not only heal wounds, but also accelerate the evolution of creatures!"

"Four great masters, who? I am the true master! Hehe.."

At this time, Xuan Wu looked at the glowing drop of liquid that had accumulated at the tip of one of his limbs.

Though he had no concrete evidence, he felt as if the reason why the fox had come here was due to this newly acquired liquid of his…

'Was it scent…?'

"Anyways, how did it get injured?" He turned to the fox, looking at the slight trail of poison on the ground that had dripped from its now healed side.

"Was it chased by humans? After all, its hairs are quite valuable!"

He tried to touch the poison as it intrigued him, "It looked like the wound was caused by some sort of sharp object!"

'I'm still not ready to get associated with humans…'

'If I get a little unlucky and encounter some extreme humans, as a monster, I would be cut open and studied!'

He couldn't take that risk.

'Before I acquire any defensive ability, I should keep a low profile!'

'After all I'm no match for machine guns and missiles!'

*Tsss!

The moment Xuan Wu's limb came into contact with the poison an immediate sizzling like sound came as a thin wisp of smoke was emitted from his tendril.

"Ow! What the hell is this!?" Xuan Wu was shocked by the sting he had received..

He flicked the black substance away from his limb, commenting on how reactive it seemed to his body…

"?" As Xuan Wu was thinking of all this, the fox looked at him strangely as he couldn't read Xuan Wu's thoughts…

With a slightly puzzled voice, Xuan Wu now deliberately focused his attention on his limp tentacle.

"Hmn..."

"Uh…" Xuan Wu's heart throbbed as he noticed that the limb had already withered. He even found that he could not control it either.

"Shit!"

"No way!"

"So, extracting the solution would actually affect my body so severely?"

Fortunately, it was only one limb.

If it were more, Xuan Wu would have perhaps cried himself to death.

However, at this moment, Xuan Wu also had some speculation.

Having since enhanced his Mutable Solution, it allowed for some new skills he hadn't owned once before.

Though this solution was very useful, he wondered if he could somehow utilize it for other purposes.

He thought back to the many well known alchemists of the novels he had read..

But with the loss of the solution, Xuan Wu's control over this branch had plummeted.

Although he could still control it, the control and strength was very weak. He could no longer break a rock into pieces with just a lash.

"Perhaps, time can replenish the lost essence of this limb.?" After giving it a thought, Xuan Wu speculated again.

At this moment, the fox was already affectionately licking Xuan Wu's outstretched tentacle.

"Aside from that, it seems like animals behave like this, slaves to their instincts. They do not have a complex mind like Humans. If I am kind to them, they might get close…"

And now, the Red Fox was acting like this because Xuan Wu's essence had helped it evolve.

One thing was worth mentioning was that this Red Fox was not like any other beast. Its red fur was exhibiting radiance like flames. It was not only strong, but it also radiated beauty in its strength.

More importantly, the shine in the Red Fox's eyes was currently becoming brighter and brighter as if flames were rising

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***

As the moon ascended the horizon, its bright and gentle light illuminated the night, setting an atmosphere of calm and tranquility.

Under the gentle moonlight, A few figures could be seen laying together under a willow tree.

At this moment, a Fox, the size of a calf, was lying under this Willow Tree, letting out high-pitched fox calls every now and then, as if it was afraid that no one was aware of its existence.

"You little brat!" A tentacle swished through the air, lightly whipping the Red Fox. Xuan Wu was also helpless to do anything about it.

The Red Fox was simply too naughty; it kept letting out long high-pitched screams from time to time.

Or, it would climb up the tree's body and chase after the brood of fledglings, teasing them.

Luckily, it was smart. It knew that Xuan Wu was raising these eight Peregrine Falcons, and they could not be eaten.

*Chirp… chirp… chirp* Suddenly, continuous chirps resonated from the tree.

Looking up, he saw that the few Peregrine Falcons had their heads poked out of their nests, vigilantly staring at the Red Fox under the tree. One of them even chirped toward Xuan Wu from time to time, as if it was complaining about something.

"Okay, okay, I got it." Smiling, Xuan Wu gently whipped the Red Fox with one of his limbs.

He had placed the falcons at the branch of this tree, trying to give himself a little bit of rest between the teasing of the fox towards the birds…

The Red Fox was not just disturbing Xuan Wu, but it was also scaring these Peregrine Falcons.

Right at that moment, Xuan Wu was suddenly startled as if he was struck with an idea.

"If I used my solution to nourish the Peregrine Falcons, wouldn't they also evolve like the Red Fox?"

As for the loss of essence, it did not have much effect on him. Only half a day or so had passed, but that withered tentacle had already regained most of its vitality.

"This should be one of my inherent abilities, Hmm."

With all that said, green liquid once again seeped out from a tentacle.

"Kyu… Kyu…" With very excited cries, the Red Fox under the tree immediately sprang up, staring intently at the tip of Xuan Wu's tentacle. There, a drop of a crystalline liquid was seeping out.

"This is not yours." Xuan Wu gently stroked the Red Fox with another tentacle, calming it down.

Afterward, he finally drove the limb toward the nest above.

Although there were eight Peregrine Falcons, when all was said and done, they were just fledglings.

"A drop should be enough, right?"

Xuan Wu carefully pondered. He too had his own concerns.

In the end, it was ultimately going to cost his own foundation. Thus, Xuan Wu was not willing to give too much.

…

*Chirp… chirp… chirp*

Looking at the drop of green liquid on the verge of falling, the Peregrine Falcon suddenly became all excited. It looked like they too were attracted to it. One of them, in particular, fluffed up its feathers.

"Tsk tsk, it looks like it's extremely tempting to animals." Heaving a deep sigh, Xuan Wu became a little despondent.

This was extremely bad news.

"Just because we haven't seen pigs climb trees, that doesn't mean that pigs don't run… The Philosopher's stone is the best example. Since my Life Essence can accelerate the evolution of other species, it is akin to the Philosopher's stone. Worst of all, apart from the animals around, there are Humans as well." At this thought, Xuan Wu could not help but be wary.

"If it can accelerate the evolution of animals, it should have the same effect on the Humans as well. In that case…" Heaving a deep sigh, Xuan Wu was suddenly filled with a sense of dread.

He decided that he needed to speed up his cultivation. At least he needed to become strong enough to hold down the fort before the Humans found out.

Otherwise, he would be reduced into a fish on a chopping board for sure.

As for whether he could live in peace with the Humans or not, Xuan Wu had not even given it a serious thought. Hope was not something that should be pinned on others.

The only way they could live together peacefully was when they both held the same status.

Currently, if against the Humans' high-tech weapons, not only him, but most of the animals and plants were not qualified to go against them.

At this moment, sharp, high-pitched screeches suddenly pulled Xuan Wu out of contemplation.

As he looked, the drop of essence on his tentacle had been divided into eight smaller drops, which had already fallen into the mouths of the eight Peregrine Falcons.

*Chirp… chirp… chirp*

In the midst of very sharp, piercing chirps, the eight Peregrine Falcons started shaking a little.

Immediately after, their bodies started growing at an extremely rapid pace.

Originally, they were only the size of a fist, but at this moment, they had already grown to the size of a pigeon!

Furthermore, the most striking thing about them was that their beaks had taken on curvature of a Hawk's.

Their beaks now looked extremely sharp and dangerous, and were even radiating a cold sheen at the edges like the edge of a weapon!

Even their talons had also become bigger and sharper!

*Snap…!*

Just with the slightest force, the entire nest was torn apart because of their talons.

However, he was not paying attention to the nest at this moment. After all, the eight Peregrine Falcons had already spread their wings at this moment!

*Zoom!*

As their long and pointed wings slightly shook, they actually gave rise to powerful gusts of wind.

Immediately after, much to Xuan Wu's utter astonishment, the eight Peregrine Falcons had disappeared from sight.

"Holy shit, so fast!?"

Xuan Wu could not help but wear a look of dismay at the sight of the eight Peregrine Falcons turned into distant black dots as they shot out like bullets.

"Fast! They are really fast!"

The flight speed of an ordinary Peregrine Falcon was 60-100 km/hrs.

The only time when their flight speed reached 386 km/hr was when they dived at an angle of 45 degrees.

And now, just the flight speed of these Mutant Peregrine Falcons had already reached 100-200 km/hr.

"This…is ridiculous. If they are already that fast going up… then, their dive speed would be…" As if Xuan Wu had thought of something, his heart suddenly skipped a beat.

Right then…

*Screech… Screech…*

Ear-piercing cries like that of an eagle suddenly resonated across the sky. They were so sharp and high-pitched that they could rupture one's eardrums.

And the moment these cries reverberated…

*Boom… Boom …Boom…*

Eight streaks of light came shooting from the horizon in succession.

"Fast! Too fast!"

Even someone as strong as Xuan Wu, even with his amazing dynamic acuity and enhanced sight, only saw fleeting black shadows!

Afterward…

*Bang, bang, bang…*

An enormous rock not that far from Xuan Wu suddenly shook. Immediately afterward, under Xuan Wu's stunned gaze, eight fist-sized holes had appeared on that enormous rock.

Through these holes, Xuan Wu could even see the night sky behind it.

"They've penetrated it!"

A three-meter big rock was completely penetrated. This kind of penetration power was probably strong enough to pierce through a ten centimeters wide steel plate.

*Screech… Screech…* With a few screams, the Peregrine Falcons suddenly flew out from the back of the rock, wobbling.

Every now and then, they were even shaking their head, shaking the dust off them.

By the looks of it, they did not have it easy either.

"These little critters." With a doting glance, Xuan Wu stretched eight limbs toward them.

Looking at them, the Peregrine Falcons suddenly let out excited chirps. Afterward, very familiarly, they landed in the middle of the tentacles, enjoying Xuan Wu's gentle strokes.

"Damn, how fearsome, especially their innate skill. Though, it's something like a last resort that can only be used to fight for one's life." After making a simple comment, Xuan Wu looked at the Peregrine Falcons, narrowing his eyes slightly. Just the sudden appearance of their innate skill made these Peregrine Falcons incredibly precious.

"Perhaps it is connected to my solution? Or perhaps it is an inherent talent of Peregrine Falcons in general?"

Regardless, the status of these Peregrine Falcons had risen to a whole new level in Xuan Wu's heart, even a level higher than the Mutant Red Fox beside him.

In this era where transcendents were everywhere, and where everyone was advancing toward transformation…

These Peregrine Falcons, as well as the Mutant Red Fox, were qualified to become his right and left hands!

Having come to this conclusion, Xuan Wu began to dance once again.