Thick white mist spread outwards from the top of the mountain, however, Lin Dong’s eyes were tightly locked onto the figure who was awkwardly walking out of the white mist with heavy footsteps.
The figure was fairly muscular and his black skin made him look exactly like a steel tower. Merely standing there made others feel a pressuring aura that caused one’s breathing to turn ragged.
Looking at this figure, his face looked pretty dull. However, upon closer inspection, one would realize that this face actually vaguely resembled Lin Dong.
The atmosphere on the mountain peak seemed to have frozen while Lin Dong blankly stared at the sturdy figure standing at the edge of the cliff. Moments later, he finally opened his somewhat dry mouth and said, “Little Flame?”
When that black steel tower-like figure heard that name, it’s originally dull and black eyes suddenly lit up. Following which, he unblinkingly stared at Lin Dong, scratching his head as if he was trying to say something. However, in the end, only the sound of exhaling came out. Nonetheless, Lin Dong still managed to clearly witness the sudden surge of enthusiasm in his eyes.
“Tch, finally left its beast form…” Little Marten smiled and said, somewhat surprised as it stared at the Little Flame who had now completely broken away from its beast form.
Lin Dong stared curiously at Little Flame’s body, before he asked, “Why can’t Little Flame speak yet?”
“Even though he currently possesses an intellect that would not lose out to humans, it would take time for him to adapt before he can speak.” Little Marten rolled its eyes.
Lin Dong was delighted as he floated forward and stood right next to Little Flame. Standing beside Little Flame, his head only managed to reach the latter’s waist. Meanwhile, the pressure and formidable aura emerging from Little Flame’s body caused his breathing to turn slightly ragged.
“Mast….”
Little Flame stared at Lin Dong as a silly grin revealed itself. Following which, it kneeled down before an extremely deep yet raw voice clumsily emerged from his lips.
“Master my ass” When Lin Dong saw this, he chose to gently chide Little Flame as he lightly patted Little Flame’s steel-like head, “In future, you shall be called Lin Yan. Since I was the one who brought you up, call me big brother.”
Little Flame scratched his head. Now that it possessed genuine intellect, it could clearly detect the heartfelt joy within Lin Dong’s words and expression. Immediately, a slightly hideous smile appeared on his dull face as he solemnly nodded his head.
“Bi… big brother.”
Lin Dong was all smiles as he pointed at the tiny rider on his shoulders and said, “This is your second brother.”
“Even though you proclaim yourself to be grandpa Marten, I know that in the Celestial Demon Marten clan, your age should be about the same as mine.” Lin Dong casually said. After being together for so many years, he knew Little Marten very well. This fellow liked to exaggerate his accomplishments and experiences. However, some of its actions would occasionally reveal the truth.
Even though Lin Dong did not deny that Little Marten had lived for a long time, Celestial Demon Martens had a long lifespan. Therefore, within their clan, someone like Little Marten was perhaps only a teenager.
“Second brother.”
Nonetheless, Little Flame took no notice of Little Marten’s vigorous resistance. In his heart, he felt absolute loyalty and kinship to Lin Dong, who had raised him since he was a tiger cub. Therefore, Little Flame would not object to anything Lin Dong said.
Little Marten, who was objecting to Lin Dong’s arrangement in a shrilly voice, turned silent after Little Flame spoke. Meanwhile, a special glint seemed to flashed across its normally crafty eyes.
“Two idiots.” Little Marten pursed its lips before it viciously swore. However, surprisingly, it did not speak anymore.
Lin Dong smiled. From a certain perspective, the three of them had quite a deep bond. To Little Flame, Lin Dong was perhaps like a master and a father, whereas for Little Marten, Lin Dong was a tutor and a friend. The three of them had relied on one another since their time at Qingyang Town and had experienced numerous trials together before they finally charged out of the Great Yan Empire. Furthermore, Lin Dong believed that this was not the end for them. In future, there would eventually be legendary tales belonging to them.
“Put on some clothes first Little Flame.” Lin Dong retrieved a fairly large black robe from his Qiankun bag before tossing it over to Little Flame. The latter quickly caught it and even though he was somewhat clumsy, he eventually managed to put on the black robe.
After wearing his clothes, Little Flame stood beside Lin Dong like a steel tower. It’s tall and powerful body had a strong deterring effect. In fact, even the Blood Soul Puppet was slightly lacking in comparison.
Of course, based on Little Flame’s current strength, even the Blood Soul Puppet would have difficulties facing him. After he successfully survived a Nirvana Tribulation, Little Flame had advanced to the One Yuan Nirvana stage. In fact, this speed was considerably faster than Lin Dong. Although it was in part due to the Heavenly DevilTiger Bone, his progress would still make many envious.
“Kid, where do you plan to go next?” Little Marten lazily asked. Even though it did not object to Little Flame calling it second brother, it was practically impossible for this prideful fellow to call Lin Dong big brother.
“Heh, of course we are going to open that Mysterious Ancient Treasure Trove!” The corners of Lin Dong’s mouth gently lifted. In another ten days, it would be the perfect time to unlock the Mysterious Ancient Treasure Trove. How could he possibly miss this opportunity?
“I am afraid the Devil Cliff Empire will be there already…” Little Marten slyly smiled as it said.
“Devil Cliff Empire? Do I still need to fear them?” Lin Dong chuckled. Now that Little Flame had successfully survived a Nirvana Tribulation, Lin Dong had two powerful companions who could rival a One Yuan Nirvana stage practitioner. This lineup would be considered quite powerful even among the high rank empires. Hence, even though it would still be a stretch for him to wipe out the Devil Cliff Empire, if they dared to mess with him, Lin Dong would show them exactly what a steel board was!
The current him no longer feared the Devil Cliff Empire. In fact, he was even a little eager to meet them again. He could already imagine how interesting Shi Xuan’s expression would be.
“Though Little Flame has survived a Nirvana Tribulation, it has not adapted to this body and it will take some time before he can fight against those powerful practitioners. However, since this stupid tiger has addressed me as second brother, grandpa Marten will not let you down.” Little Marten waved its claws as a black glowing scroll appeared in its hands before it tossed it towards Little Flame.
“This martial arts is a treasure of the Heavenly Devil Tiger Clan, the Heavenly Devil God Transformation. This cannot be compared to the garbage I previously gave to the Mighty Earthsplitting Tiger. If you successfully master it, heh, you will be able to obtain a place for yourself even in Demon City.”
Little Flame stretched out his palm and grabbed the glowing tube. A peculiar black glow surrounded the glowing tube, while a deep tiger roar could be faintly heard. Obviously, it was no ordinary object. Nonetheless, even though Little Flame fancied this item, he did not take it immediately. Instead, he instinctively turned towards Lin Dong.
“It’s rare for second brother to be so generous, so just accept it. He has never given me something so good before.” Lin Dong smiled as he said.
“Most of the things I have are for Demonic Beast cultivation and you cannot use them. Furthermore, you cannot become a truly powerful practitioner by relying on others.” Little Marten stretched, a playful glint flashing across its eyes as it said, “However, if you are willing to swap positions, perhaps I will give you something good.”
Lin Dong grinned. This fellow was truly persistent about titles. Looks like it was exactly as he had predicted, this fellow was not a senior figure in the Celestial Demon Marten clan at all…
“Right now, Little Marten still lacks a weapon. When we enter the Mysterious Ancient Treasure Trove, let’s see if we can find him a Heavenly Soul Treasure…” Lin Dong ignored Little Marten as he turned to Little Flame and said.
“Weapon… I have one.”
When he heard Lin Dong’s words, Little Flame foolishly grinned. Promptly, he reached out with his large hand as a black glow quickly accumulated in his palm, transforming into a black pole that was thicker than Lin Dong’s thigh.
It was hard to tell what material that pole made of. Upon closer inspection, it seemed as if there were layers of black scales scattered across the pole. Meanwhile, the head of the pole was as sharp as a spear and it looked like an open snake’s mouth. With sharp fangs hidden within, it gave off a cold and menacing glint.
This was a fairly unique snake pole.
“This should be a Destiny Soul Treasure that Little Flame refined using his cut off tail. Hehe, I never expected that he would possess this ability after surviving a single Nirvana Tribulation. Typically speaking, only Demonic Beasts that have survived more than three Nirvana Tribulations possess the ability to refine Soul Treasures from a part of their body.” Little Marten exclaimed in shock.
“These Destiny Soul Treasures will become increasingly powerful as their strength increases. It is practically a growth-type Soul Treasure!”
Shock filled Lin Dong’s face. He could feel an exceedingly great pressure from the pitch-black snake pole. In fact, this sensation did not lose out to his Heavy Prison Peak or his Heavenly Crocodile Bone Spear. Furthermore, the raw ingredients used to refine this snake pole was originally a part of LIttle Flame’s body. Therefore, it would be very natural to use, allowing it to be extremely powerful.
“Looks like we can forget about getting you a weapon. Oh well, it’s time to make a move. I am curious to find out what the Devil Cliff Empire can do to me now!”