"Austin, do you think Humphrey has improved much lately?"
the sky-devouring dog asked worriedly the moment it saw Austin.
"He has the body of a chaotic sky-devouring beast, and as time goes on his strength increases as well.
He will be serious trouble to deal with in the future,"
the tiger sighed, already exhausted just by the thought of it.
"You're right. Once the chaotic sky-devouring beast has grown into an adult, he's going to be extremely fierce.
My guess is he will swallow the entire Sea of Chaos in one gulp and just disappear, never to show up again,"
the big black bull said, sighing as well. It seemed to be filled with sadness.
"We need to find a way to take him down together.
If we don't, it won't be long before he makes his way to the Fallen Divine Valley to harass us and cause us hassle.
The twelve of us are definitely no match for him.
Unless our master shows up to fight Humphrey.
But if our master reveals himself to take action, it would only throw things out of control and cause more issues.
I'm sure that our master's enemies will find him and then things would get real troublesome,"
said the colorful rooster, shaking its head dejectedly.
The twelve zodiac animals all already felt defeated and demoralized.
"I'm sorry, sirs. I brought this trouble to the Fallen Divine Valley. It's my fault,"
Austin apologized, guilt consuming him now.
He knew Humphrey had made the Fallen Divine Valley his target because of him. He was the one Humphrey wanted, the reason he had come here.
"Don't do that to yourself, Austin. Humphrey would have targeted the Fallen Divine Valley sooner or later, with or without your presence.
It's not your fault. There's nothing for you to be sorry for.
All you should be thinking about is a way to kill him,"
the black bull said, trying to ease Austin's mind.
"Right now, we don't really have a way to kill him.
That chaotic sky-devouring beast, is still in its infancy, but we can't do anything to him.
I'm scared to even imagine what it would be like when the chaotic sky-devouring beast grows into an adult. It would most likely be impossible for us to kill Humphrey then,"
the tiger said slowly, looking off into the distance.
The twelve zodiac animals all fell into a silent contemplation for a moment.
"Humphrey!
I will kill you! I swear it! Some way, somehow, I will bring you to your end!"
Austin screeched through gritted teeth and clenched fists. He had a great challenge ahead of him and he was determined to overcome it.
"Sirs, I apologize but I must go now. I'm going to cultivate in seclusion."
Austin said his goodbyes and left. He found a quiet spot within the Fallen Divine Valley, opened up a small world and began cultivating.
The main purpose of this was to study that piece of wood and learn all he could about it.
In the small world, Austin sat calmly with his legs crossed. He retrieved the piece of wood and let it hover in front of him.
"The maternal tree of the wood puppet race and the supreme grandmaster of the face race are both very powerful masters.
They were both quite eager to get their hands on this piece of wood.
That must mean it's not as simple as it seems. There's probably some secrets hidden within, waiting to be discovered.
Time to study it carefully and see what more there is to this strange thing.
Perhaps I can comprehend something useful from it,"
Austin murmured to himself, as no one else was around. He was preparing himself to dive deep into analysis of the piece of wood.
He began releasing his spiritual sense and focused all his attention on the wood floating before him, examining it thoroughly.
Time passed slowly in his seclusion.
One day, two days, three days...
One month, two months, three months...
One year, two years...
The concept of time and the speed at which it operated all faded during the cultivation process. All that mattered, was the cultivation itself.
Austin had not even realized it, and ten years had passed.
Still, in the small world, he meditated quietly.
He sat motionless and cross-legged, still as a rock, focused like an old monk deep in mediation, searching for enlightenment.
Time never stopped and neither did he.
More than one hundred years passed as a few minutes would have outside of his cultivation.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: The Supreme God of Martial Arts