Chapter 75: The Interruption of Wolf Sky Mercenary Corps (Part-6)

At that moment, several men in black closed in. Xiao Hei suddenly took a step forward, its small body blocking Ryan completely. Its expression turned fierce, a sharp contrast to its usual cute demeanor.

The men in black sneered. To them, it was nothing more than a pet. Small, soft, harmless. Even when Xiao Hei bared its teeth, they ignored it and continued walking forward.

They were completely fooled by its appearance.

No one imagined that this seemingly harmless little tiger was a Fifth rank.

The moment Xiao Hei released its aura, the world seemed to change. A terrifying pressure burst forth, overwhelming everything in its path. The ground trembled. The air felt heavy, as if crushed by an invisible mountain. That momentum was even more terrifying than the earlier clash between the two Upper Exalts.

If measured by human standards, Xiao Hei’s strength was somewhere between a six-star and seven-star Upper Exalt. Against such power, Shen Yu was insignificant.

Before the men in black could even react, Xiao Hei moved.

Its body blurred, turning into a streak of golden lightning. With a sharp whoosh, it vanished from sight. When it reappeared, it was already among the black-clad warriors.

No one could see its attacks clearly. They only saw Xiao Hei flash before one man, then another, weaving through them like a phantom. In the blink of an eye, it passed in front of seven men and returned calmly to its original spot, sitting down again with the same soft, harmless expression as before.

For a heartbeat, nothing happened.

Then a light breeze swept across the ring.

The seven men in black trembled. Their bodies stiffened, eyes wide with disbelief. In the next instant, their forms shattered as if struck by an invisible blade, breaking apart and collapsing into pieces.

The ring fell silent.

“Ding. Congratulations to player Ryan for killing an Exalt-rank enemy.

“Ding. Congratulations to player Ryan for killing an Exalt-rank enemy.

“Ding. Congratulations to player Ryan for killing an Exalt rank enemy.

A string of system notifications echoed rapidly in Ryan’s mind, each one crisp and unmistakable. Because Xiao Hei was his contracted pet, every kill it made fed experience back to him. As the black-clad warriors were shredded and erased from existence, Ryan’s experience bar surged violently.

Before he could even react, a warm golden light bloomed beneath his feet. The familiar sensation of breakthrough flooded his body, and a wave of power roared through his meridians like a released dam.

“Ding. Threshold reached. You leveled up. Current level: 40

“Ding. Congratulations to player Ryan for advancing in rank. Current realm: Upper Exalt.”

“Ding. Congratulations to player Ryan for reaching the Upper Exalt realm. You have gained 10,000,000 experience points, 100 God of War points, and 100 All-Attribute Pills.”

“Ding. You have acquired the Heaven-rank technique: Dance of Blazing Flames.”

“Ding. All professional skills have been upgraded.”

“Ding. All combat skills have been upgraded.”

“Ding. The system store has been unlocked.”

A cascade of rewards slammed into Ryan’s consciousness one after another. His heart skipped, then pounded violently.

Too good.

This was simply too good.

Ever since advancing to Nine-Star Exalt in Forest of Death, he had been stuck at the bottleneck.

Even after killing Song Fengxi, an Upper Exalt, and several Exalts, the experience he gained had still fallen short. The requirement to advance into the Upper Exalt realm was absurdly high, far beyond ordinary imagination.

Yet now, with Xiao Hei casually slaughtering a few Exalts, the final gap had been filled just like that.

Ryan couldn’t help but feel exhilarated.

Before this, even though he could fight Upper Exalts through superior techniques and attribute enhancements, there had always been an invisible restraint on him. He couldn’t fly. In true high-rank combat, that limitation was crippling. When enemies took to the skies, he could only grit his teeth and endure.

Now, that shackle was gone.

He had become an Upper Exalt.

Flight, overwhelming power, a fundamental transformation of strength. Compared to before, his combat ability had risen by several levels at once.

On top of that, the system store had finally opened.

Ryan’s eyes burned with excitement. He already knew what that meant. Countless possibilities were about to unfold. However, he forcibly suppressed the urge to check everything immediately, because the situation in front of him was far from over.

Not far away stood Shen Yu, an Upper Exalt, along with several remaining Exalts.

But to Ryan, they no longer felt threatening.

In truth, he didn’t even need to act.

After Xiao Hei annihilated the seven warriors in an instant, the remaining black-clad figures froze where they stood. Not a single one dared to step forward. Their eyes were filled with naked terror as they stared at the small, fluffy figure before Ryan.

“This… this is impossible…”

Shen Yu muttered under his breath, his mind in complete chaos. The aura he had felt just moments ago was unmistakable. That was the pressure of a Fifth rank, and not an ordinary one. It was vastly stronger than his own.

In other words, the seemingly harmless little beast standing in front of Ryan was a Fifth rank-rank monster.

The realization hit him like a hammer.

How could this be real?

A pet that looked no different from a kitten, cute and soft, actually possessed power that eclipsed his own?

Silence fell over Wushuang Square.

The men in black stopped breathing.

The family patriarchs on the high platform stopped speaking.

The candidates on the ring froze.

Even the audience seemed to forget how to make a sound.

For a brief moment, the square was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.

Then someone inhaled sharply.

That single sound broke the spell.

A second gasp followed, then a third, until the entire square erupted like a boiling pot.

“What the hell did I just see?”

“Those black-clad experts… they’re all dead?”

“That little beast just ran past them once, and they exploded!”

“Did you feel that pressure earlier? That was terrifying. I thought I was going to suffocate!”

“That aura was even stronger than the examiner’s. It felt like a demon descending!”

“If that thing didn’t look so cute, I would’ve sworn it was a calamity beast!”

“Wait… isn’t that Li Wei’s pet?”

“No way. Absolutely no way.”

“This has to be a dream. I refuse to believe it.”

Shouts, disbelief, fear, and awe tangled together as the square descended into chaos.

Mu Xianling stood rooted in place, her eyes wide open, her lips slightly parted. She had always liked Xiao Hei because it was cute, gentle, and endearing. Every movement made her want to reach out and touch it.

But now, that same little beast had casually slaughtered a group of elite warriors.

The contrast was too great.

The fear she felt earlier wasn’t an illusion. That momentum had shaken her to the core, making her soul tremble. There was no denying it now.

This was Xiao Hei’s true face.

A terrifying existence hiding beneath a harmless exterior.

And Ryan… had been carrying this monster around the whole time?

At that moment, Mu Xianling finally understood the meaning behind Ryan’s constant smiles. They weren’t confidence born of ignorance.

They were mockery.

Disdain.

A quiet, knowing amusement at everyone else’s ignorance.

And suddenly, she realized something else.

In that bet between them, Ryan had never stood to lose.

“Could it be that Li Wei really encountered some kind of fortuitous opportunity and gained true strength?” Mu Xianling couldn’t help thinking. The thought flickered through her mind like a spark.

But almost immediately, she shook her head and rejected it.

Impossible.

A waste was still a waste. Even with a powerful pet, Ryan himself was still useless. No matter what tricks he had, there was no way he could defeat her.

And that bet…

Mu Xianling’s eyes hardened. No matter what, she would win. There was absolutely no way she would serve Ryan for three years. That outcome was unacceptable.

On the ring, Ryan watched Xiao Hei return without a single drop of blood on its fur. He reached out and rubbed the little beast’s head, smiling. “Well done.”

“Meow!”

Xiao Hei narrowed its eyes, clearly enjoying the praise. Then, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, it stretched out its small paw again, waving it expectantly.

Ryan immediately understood its gesture. Attribute pills.

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