n

n

nTheir figures soon vanished into the wilderness whilst Ao Qin stood there patiently waiting. And from then on, there was no trace of Ming Yue's existence, not of Hongyu or even the two beasts. They roamed through the Beast Continent, leaving the Halcyon Meadows for the Savage Lands instead.

nIt was far easier to avoid the tribes this way.

nBut where did they go?

nIn the far west of the continent laid a massive stone platform, weathered and broken from centuries of neglect. Trees and other florae had come right up to the edge of it, roots and vines had slithered and snaked into the cracks, digging in.

nIt was quiet but it was not abandoned. There was a large boulder in the middle of the platform, gently moving as if quietly breathing.

nThe grass shook as several figures emerged from the grass and looked at the platform from the side.

n

"It's here! It's really here! The scholars were right!

"

n

"With this, things will change! We just have to repair it and find a way to power it! Imagine connecting with the other lands again!

"

nThey tried to keep the excitement contained but it was hard to do so. Not when they've finally found this.

n

"The teleportation circle to the other continents. We finally found it.

"

n

"With this, everything will change.

"

nThese four figures emerged from hiding and stepped upon the platform. None other than the Four Claws, they each unsheathed their weapons and stared at the boulder warily.

nNiu Hong quietly turned to the others, sharing a look before nodding. Slowly, they approached this strange boulder. It continued to rise and drop before suddenly shaking, sensing the intruders.

nThere was a single crack that splintered off into hundreds of smaller cracks and the boulder transformed into a monkey, one made of rock.

n

"Stone Monkey, we found something good for you, Qiang Rong

", said She Xing.

nThe snake-kin looked at him to which he revealed a smile of greater excitement.

n

"This is good, very good actually! Maybe I'll mutate from using it, gain a new ability even.

", he said.

n

"Let's just deal with this first!

"

nStomping his feet down, Niu Hong charged forward, followed by the rest of his team. Seeing them come, the stone monkey sucked in a deep breath and opened its mouth to howl out.

n

"Don't even! Extend!

"

nJust as its jaws widened, Qiang Rong waved his staff and pointed at the beast's bottom jaw. At a word of his command, the staff lengthened and shot out, smashing into the bottom jaw and shutting the beast up.

nFrom there, the other three ran up and started attacking the beast, striking from three different directions.

n

"Retract! Expand!

"

nWith another command, Qiang Rong's staff returned to its original length before widening until it was as thick as a pillar. Holding it with both hands, the monkey-kin leaped forward and raised his staff over his head.

n

"Hah!

"

nHe shouted out, swinging his pillar of a staff down and smashing it right on top of the Stone Monkey's head. There was an audible crack as the Stone Monkey's head slammed into the platform, embedded into the ground.

n

"Don't let it recover, kill it now! Before it has a chance to transform!

"

nNiu Hong yelled out as everyone chipped away at the beast's skin while it was still stunned by that strike.

n

"Damn its skin! Our weapons are going to break first at this rate, only Qiang Rong can do any real damage!

" said She Xing.

nShe continued to strike at the beast but could see small fractures on her two swords.

n

"As long as we can keep it down for him to do enough damage, that's all that matters!

" Niu Hong answered.

nThe sound of metal grinding against stone shrieked with each attack as none of them took even a second to relax. Yu Tu then jumped back and hopped into the air, retrieving four giant stakes from her spatial ring.

n

"Get out of the way!

"

nHearing her warning, the others retreated just as each stake was thrown down, pinning the Stone Monkey down by each of its limbs. And then Qiang Rong stepped back in giving the beast's head one final smash.

nThere was a thundering crack as the beast's head broke apart, resulting in bits of rock and flesh. The beast was dead. From beginning to end the battle took just a bit over a minute, a testament to the strength and teamwork of the Four Claws.

nPulling his giant staff away, it shrunk back to its original size as Qiang Rong knelt down a looked at the smashed head. His hands moved over the remains as he looked for the Stone Monkey's core.

n

"Where is it?

"

nHe muttered to himself but found it soon enough.

n

"Ah, there it is!

"

nSwiftly, he snatched up a gray bead that glowed slightly with power, looking at it happily before carefully putting it into a small pouch tied to his waist.

n

"Your hands are as fast as always.

"

nShe Xing commented as she looked at the monkey-kin with a smirk. The others had a smile as well, happy for their comrade's gains.

n

"Alright, let's clean this up and survey the area. We'll camp here for tonight.

"

nNiu Hong spoke out as he approached the dead beast, taking Yu Tu's stakes out.

nEveryone nodded and carried out his commands. The Stone Monkey's corpse was put into one of the spatial rings and everyone split up to search the surroundings of the massive teleportation circle.

nNight soon fell and everyone had set up camp at the edge of the platform, eating rations together.

n

"We've marked it on the map, right?

" Niu Hong asked.

n

"Yeah, path and location.

"

nYu Tu nodded, placing a map on the floor for them to see. It was a detailed one of the entire continent with dozens of markings, one of which marked their location and the path they took.

n

"Alright, okay, then tomorrow at dawn we return home. Is everyone okay with that?

"

nThey all nodded and returned to eating their dinner. It was quiet for a bit until Qiang Rong raised his head and looked at them before staring at that platform. Niu Hong took notice, taking a brief look at the platform before facing Qiang Rong.

n

"What's wrong?

" he asked.

nThe monkey-kin scratched the back of his head as he turned to his leader.

n

"Ah, just thinking about Ming Yue and that little human girl. I wonder what they'd think if they found out that we discovered this, a way for them to return home

", he responded.

n

"...Well, it's been months since we last met them. Don't forget the Byakko Tribe had returned to Bai Sheng's old home and they found none other than the Crown Hunter there. They nearly came to blows with each other.

"

nShe Xing spoke as she looked at them both.

n

"Who knows what happened in that place but it would be hard to come across them again, not in this vast of a place. They may have even perished by now.

"

nQiang Rong clicked his tongue and looked at her.

n

"Ah, don't say that! She did help us in those ruins. And besides, I doubt that she'll die so easily. If she could best the four of us, I'm sure she can take on most of the beasts in the Savage Lands

", he said.

n

"Ahem, whatever the case, I'm sure news of this will enter their ears one way or another. Once we return this will surely reach each and every one of the tribes. Even if we don't look for her, she will probably find us. I'll start with the night watch so all of you can sleep first.

"

nHaving finished his food, Niu Hong stayed in the middle of their tents whilst everyone else finished and retreated to their beds.

nHe gazed at the night sky, watching it in a rare moment of peace.

n

"Where could you be?

"

n