Chapter 111: The Beast Knight

“Take this!” With a fierce shout, Fang of Light dashed toward me in a zigzag pattern. Caught off guard, I was kicked and sent flying far away, tumbling seven or eight times before finally getting back on my feet.

“Fang of Light, what are those things attached to you?” I asked as I stood up.

“We’re not things, punk! We’re the souls of beasts, or simply ‘Beast Souls!’” The bird-headed spirit suddenly appeared again, this time with an angry tone.

“Beast Souls?”

Fang of Light smiled and explained, “Exactly. They are Beast Souls—the spirits of summoned beasts. Actually, like you, I’m a summoner. But ever since I took on the Beast Knight profession, my summoned beasts transformed into what you now see as Beast Souls. Do you know the difference between a Beast Knight and a summoner?”

I shook my head.

Fang of Light continued, “A summoner is someone who can summon various creatures to fight for them and manipulate these summoned beasts in battle—a kind of alternative mage. Summoners rely on large armies of summoned beasts to overwhelm their enemies. As a summoner, you only command your subordinates, enhancing their combat abilities, then watch the fierce battles unfold. Summoners are always the supporting role; the summoned beasts are the true stars! But the Beast Knight is different. The Beast Knight controls the souls of summoned beasts, making their souls...”—Fang of Light’s words cut off abruptly as he swung his battle blade toward me.

I jumped back to dodge, but Fang of Light leapt high, and white energy coiled around the wolf head strapped to his left leg. With incredible speed, he launched a kick from the air. Instantly, I activated Thunderstorm, shattering the ground beneath and enveloping Fang of Light in a storm of lightning. The attack dealt him considerable damage, but he quickly burst out of the lightning and, at the same time, swung his Ruyi staff down. Fang of Light reacted swiftly, blocking with his shield.

Then, with a flash, he vanished from my sight. I was momentarily stunned before something kicked me in the stomach, sending me sliding over ten meters, leaving two marks on the ground.

“What’s with the sudden attack? You hadn’t finished your explanation,” I grunted.

“Why not fight a bit first? We can talk later.” With that, he stepped forward in an arrow-like stride. I launched a sudden cloud assault, clashing my Ruyi staff against his turtle-spirit shield. Both of us were knocked back. I then shifted forms fluidly and swept horizontally. Fang of Light jumped high, and I looked up just in time to see him delivering a flying knee strike. I dodged back at once, and the ground exploded into a large crater, sending a shockwave outward.

Before I could fully recover, the shockwave blew me across the ground. I crashed down and slid further, looking utterly defeated. “Miss, looks like this guy’s useless, a complete waste,” the bird-headed spirit sneered.

At that moment, a snake’s head appeared on Fang of Light’s arm, speaking in a soft, slightly mocking female voice, “Stop talking so much. Just finish this quickly.”

The snake head’s voice was followed by a lazy remark from the turtle spirit on the shield: “Right, this is just wasting time.”

“Agreed,” said the wolf head strapped to his leg.

“I concur,” added the leopard head on the other leg.

“These animals are really annoying!” I muttered, carefully observing Fang of Light’s entire body. His physique was impressive, and I noticed each beast soul was attached to different parts of his equipment—the turtle spirit on the shield, the snake, wolf, bird, and leopard spirits affixed respectively to his gloves, left leg greave, shoulder guard, and right leg greave.

Wait a minute—looking at it this way, this state must be what’s called...

“Kid, still not giving up? If you surrender now, I might let you off,” the bird head shouted.

I said, “I get it now. You’re attaching the souls of your summoned beasts to your equipment, using parts of your gear as conduits for possession, making the souls manifest physically. This state must be what they call the ‘Super Spirit Form.’”

“Super Spirit Form? Sounds like something from an anime... Never mind. Fine! From now on, I’ll call this state ‘Super Spirit Form.’ Any objections?” Fang of Light asked the beasts.

“No objections.” (Bird)

“Okay.” (Turtle)

“As you wish, Miss.” (Snake)

“Agreed.” (Wolf)

“Mm.” (Leopard)

“Great, unanimous approval! Yay!” Fang of Light happily jumped and bounced on the spot, clearly thrilled, occasionally breaking into a nervous sweat. This guy was such a child.

After his excitement died down, he smiled sweetly and said, “Tonight was a real haul. Alright, let’s settle this with the next strike. Now I’m serious.”

“Serious?” I growled low, and Fang of Light spread his arms wide, shouting, “Combine!”

Immediately, the five Beast Souls merged into his body, propelling him skyward amid a golden light. Then, a two-meter-long cannon barrel descended from above. Fang of Light inserted his battle blade into a slot on the barrel, lifted it, and rested it on his shoulder.

“This is my Totem Cannon Pillar! It gathers the full power of my friends. Do you have the guts to take this hit?”

“Bring it on!” I roared and charged first.

“Looks like you’re ready. Take this—Ultimate Roar!” Fang of Light shouted as the bird head at the front opened its beak, revealing a silver cannon muzzle that fired a red-and-white energy blast at me. In less than a second, it slammed into me—15,000 damage flashed across the screen.

“Haha, idiot! Taking a direct hit like that? You’re dead meat. Hahaha!” the bird head laughed wildly.

But Fang of Light’s expression suddenly changed. He tried to dodge, but it was too late. The next moment, I appeared right in front of the bird head.

“How is this possible? You’re unharmed!” the bird head shouted in shock, but a hand was already grabbing its face.

“Grab Blast!” I yelled. With a mighty shout, the bird’s face exploded, and the entire cannon barrel shattered. Fang of Light’s Super Spirit Form instantly collapsed.

He stood there stunned for five seconds before saying, “Wow... what a beautiful strike. Impressive, truly impressive. Since mastering this skill, you’re the first to dismantle my Totem Cannon Pillar. You really are the most promising candidate on Miss Phantom’s list.”

“What?” I found that odd.

Then Fang of Light suddenly struck a deal and gave me something I knew well—a Town Portal Scroll—saying, “Here, don’t forget to bring this next time you go out.”

I took the scroll and said, “Thanks.”

“No need to thank me. It’s getting late; I have to log off. We’ll meet again sometime. And I hope you catch up with Miss Phantom soon. Bye-bye!”

“Wait...” I called after him, but he had already teleported away. I also used my Town Portal Scroll to return home promptly. I didn’t want to linger longer—who knew who else I might run into.

After logging off, I made a bowl of instant noodles to fill my stomach, then Dragon Xin dragged me out shopping. We didn’t get back until ten o’clock, and then I went straight to bed.

—

“Ring, ring...” The noisy alarm woke me from sleep. I headed to the breakfast shop at the community gate, quickly swallowing five vegetable buns, five large meat buns, and two glutinous rice balls, washing it all down with steaming soy milk until my stomach was full. I bought breakfast for the others and returned home refreshed and content.

Back home, I put on my helmet, reconnected to the Second World, and began a new day of gaming.

In the following days, I stayed mostly in Sighing Canyon leveling up. My summoned beasts could no longer evolve, so I decided to hatch the summoning beast egg I had obtained last time. I targeted elite monsters and above. Summoned beasts gain experience at 50% of the player’s rate, but I increased this to 80% to speed up the egg’s incubation without stopping myself. It took a full five days, and that blasted egg hadn’t moved at all.

On the sixth day, the egg showed some cracks but still didn’t hatch. At that moment, Dragon Xin messaged me: “Hey bro, come to Sighing Canyon coordinates and join me for a quest.” After replying, I prepared to head there, when suddenly, I saw two people approaching—and they were familiar faces.

My expression instantly changed.