CH 89

Chapter 89: Beating the Naughty Rhinoceros

Xiao Qingyang finally found an opportunity to test his own strength, and he certainly wouldn't miss it.

In the eyes of the rhino beast, this two-legged creature jumping down from the tree was simply seeking death. It was just figuring out how to bring down these two-legged creatures, but this one jumped down on its own, practically serving itself as a meal.

However, before the rhino beast could get excited and prepare to enjoy its feast, a barrage of punches landed on its body, completely disorienting this recently matured rhino beast.

Xiao Qingyang didn't plan to use his spiritual power for the time being. After all, once he used it, it would create a dazzling light that would easily attract attention in the darkness.

Therefore, Xiao Qingyang infused the power of the earth into his fists and relentlessly punched the rhino beast in front of him, which happened to be his most frequently used fighting technique in his past life.

Despite the rhino beast having tough skin and thick flesh, it couldn't help but cry out in pain under Xiao Qingyang's fists.

This was different from what it expected. It was the first time this young rhino beast had encountered such a two-legged creature, and it felt bewildered.

It had heard stories from the elders in its clan about the behavior of two-legged creatures, portraying them as timid cowards who would turn and run when faced with them. The previous encounters with two-legged creatures had only confirmed this point.

So when it sensed the presence of a two-legged creature on the tree, it bravely came here alone, intending to feast on these two-legged creatures without competing with other elders for the ones that escaped.

However, why was this two-legged creature different from what the elders had described? Why did the punches landing on its body hurt so much?

While the rhino beast was lost in thought, Xiao Qingyang continued to mercilessly punch it, one punch after another, occasionally even kicking. Finally, he brought the distracted rhino beast back to reality.

"Moo!" Damn it, it was determined to devour this two-legged creature. How dare it treat it like this!

The rhino beast became furious and roared at Xiao Qingyang, attempting to scare him, but it only received a more fierce and intense barrage of punches in return.

The rhino beast was in intense pain all over its body and could only instinctively resist. It aimed its sharp rhinoceros horn at Xiao Qingyang, accelerated, and charged at him.

Xiao Qingyang had long sensed its movements and made a prompt judgment, swiftly evading to the other side, making the rhino beast's charge miss, and delivering a few more punches to its body.

The rhino beast realized that the two-legged creature was quite agile. For the first time, it failed to collide with him. So it redoubled its efforts and charged at Xiao Qingyang once again.

Xiao Qingyang effortlessly dodged the rhino beast's charges every time and managed to land a few punches after evading.

The current scene was as follows: Xiao Qingyang stood in front of the rhino beast while the enraged rhino beast lowered its head, aiming its rhinoceros horn at him, and charged forward fiercely.

With his agile figure, Xiao Qingyang evaded the rhino beast's charges and then moved in to deliver a few punches to its back while it was still turning around. When the rhino beast finally faced him and charged again, he evaded once more, landing a few more punches in the process.

Xiao Qingyang's seemingly effortless performance was more like bullfighting than a real fight.

If it were daytime, Su Zihan and Gu Xiaotian would be able to clearly see the situation below and wouldn't be so worried about Xiao Qingyang.

Because the one who should be truly worried was the recently matured young rhino beast.

This back-and-forth continued for more than ten rounds, yet the rhino beast never managed to get close to Xiao Qingyang. Instead, it endured dozens of punches that made every part of its body ache. It wished it could just fall to the ground and roll around in pain.

Watching Xiao Qingyang evade its charge once again and raise his fist to strike, the rhino beast made a sudden and extremely tricky move. Xiao Qingyang stared in disbelief as his raised fist froze in mid-air.

The rhino beast, which had been roaring and attacking him menacingly just moments ago, now suddenly collapsed to the side, appearing helpless and unable to get up. Its large eyes looked pitifully at Xiao Qingyang, causing a trace of compassion to well up in him. His raised fist couldn't bring itself to strike.

Damn, has this rhino beast gained sentience? It actually knows how to play possum, and it's doing it right in front of him, especially with those eyes that show human-like emotions. Xiao Qingyang just couldn't bring himself to strike.

This was a world completely different from his previous one. Whenever he encountered something or someone, be it an object, person, or animal, that bore even a slight resemblance to his previous world, Xiao Qingyang felt a sense of familiarity.

In the cultivation realm, although demonic cultivators and human cultivators could coexist peacefully, their interactions were still relatively limited. However, after coming to this world, demonic cultivators felt incredibly familiar to Xiao Qingyang. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so kind and caring towards the little dragon.

Now, seeing an animal that seemed to have gained sentience, Xiao Qingyang truly couldn't bring himself to strike.

"I can spare you, but you must not attack my companions again. Otherwise, my fists won't show any mercy," Xiao Qingyang walked up to the rhino beast, raised his small fist, and sternly warned it.

The rhino beast, as if understanding, immediately nodded vigorously in response.

This two-legged creature was truly terrifying. The Rhino beasts clearly felt that his fist was not big enough for even the smallest gaps between his teeth, but every time it struck him, it felt like being pricked by a needle.

Moreover, there was something off about the aura emanating from this two-legged beast. It was different from other two-legged beasts. Although it was still weak, it gave off a feeling that made it hard for the beast to resist submitting to it.

It really has gained sentience, hasn't it? Seeing its reaction, Xiao Qingyang became even more certain that this rhino beast had gained sentience, which made him happy.

However, he didn't know if this rhino beast was special or if all the third-level exotic beasts in this place had already gained sentience.

"Do all of you rhino beasts understand what I'm saying?" Xiao Qingyang asked the rhino beast in a soft voice.

The rhino beast shook its head, then proudly puffed up its chest. It was clearly more intelligent than other members of its kind because it could understand the language of the two-legged creatures, while the others couldn't.

Thus, Xiao Qingyang understood that it was only this particular rhino beast that had gained sentience, while the others remained regular rhino beasts.

This realization made Xiao Qingyang even more eager to learn about mutant beasts in this world.

It was only after participating in this adventure that he discovered the existence of mutant beasts, which were divided into nine levels based on their abilities. The higher the level, the stronger the individual.

This reminded him of the spirit beasts in their world, except the spirit beasts in the cultivation realm were mostly semi-sentient. The higher their level, the greater their sentience.

If this third-level rhino beast had gained sentience, then what about higher-level mutant beasts? Could they also possess sentience?

Even if they did, Xiao Qingyang wouldn't find it surprising. After all, this planet had spiritual energy, so it wouldn't be unexpected for mutant beasts here to gain sentience.

Xiao Qingyang was now eager to search for information, but unfortunately, the terminal's starnet signal was blocked during the adventure. He could only wait until the adventure was over to look it up.

"You can leave now. Don't hurt anyone in the future," Xiao Qingyang stated after asking what he wanted to know.

However, the rhino beast showed no intention of leaving. Instead, it cautiously approached Xiao Qingyang and nuzzled its big head against him, indicating its submission.

"Don't you want to leave?" Xiao Qingyang was surprised by the rhino beast's response.

Although Xiao Qingyang felt a certain affinity towards the rhino beast, he never considered keeping it. Mutant beasts gaining sentience was rare and scarce. Typically, when a sentient demonic cultivator emerged, they would hide deep in the mountains away from human civilization until they successfully transformed and entered the world.

Moreover, this place had spiritual energy, making it the most suitable for the rhino beast to cultivate.

The rhino beast nodded immediately upon hearing Xiao Qingyang's words. Although it was relatively safe here, it sensed a strange aura emanating from the human in front of it. Its instincts told it that following this human would help it become stronger and smarter.

The rhino beast had just reached adulthood and had probably gained sentience not long ago. Its capacity for thought was limited, mostly relying on intuition and instinct.

Its intuition told it that sticking with Xiao Qingyang would be beneficial, so it decided to stay by his side.

After communicating with the rhino beast for a while, Xiao Qingyang realized that it truly didn't want to leave. In the end, he had no choice but to bring it along. Now, besides the little dragon, he had another demonic cultivator by his side, and he was quite happy about it.

Sitting on the tree, Su Zihan and Gu Xiaotian couldn't see anything happening below. As the commotion grew fainter, their fear grew stronger. They anxiously shouted, "Qingyang, Qingyang! Are you okay? Are you still there?"

Xiao Qingyang had been too engrossed in communicating with the rhino beast and had forgotten that his two teammates were still on the tree, worrying about him. Upon hearing their worried and fearful voices, he quickly replied, "I'm here, don't worry. The rhino beast won't harm us anymore. I'm coming to find you."

"Stay here and keep watch," Xiao Qingyang instructed the rhino beast and swiftly climbed up the tree.

Su Zihan and Gu Xiaotian felt relieved when they saw Xiao Qingyang return. The weight that had been hanging over their hearts finally lifted, and they hurriedly asked, "Are you injured?"

"I'm fine, everything's good. The rhino beast didn't hurt me," Xiao Qingyang reassured his two teammates.

"That's great. As long as you're not hurt," Gu Xiaotian said, feeling relieved. He didn't have any curiosity about how Xiao Qingyang managed to escape from under the rhino beast unscathed. As long as Xiao Qingyang was safe, that was enough for him.

However, after confirming that Xiao Qingyang was unharmed, Su Zihan's curiosity flared up once again. He asked, "Qingyang, where is that rhino beast? You're so amazing, being able to handle even a rhino beast. You're incredible! Can you take me as your disciple?"

"I'm not that amazing. The rhino beast has just reached adulthood, so its strength doesn't compare to that of a fully grown rhino beast. Additionally, it's dark now, and its vision is impaired, which is why I was able to get the upper hand," Xiao Qingyang humbly replied.

Hearing this, the rhin obeast below rolled its eyes at the sky, feeling quite dissatisfied.

Even in the darkness, its vision was just as effective. Did they have to belittle its abilities like this? It was an insult to beasts!