"Tch… controlling this thing isn't as easy as I thought."
Bai Tian Long muttered aloud, sitting cross-legged in his courtyard with a sheen of sweat on his brow. His eyes were closed, his focus immersed in the deep link between him and his newly formed split soul avatar—White Fang.
Ever since the soul fusion with the dead White Boa, the avatar had gained a peculiar sentience, its movements both instinctual and responsive. But when Bai Tian Long consciously guided it, it was as though the beast became an extension of his will—graceful, agile, sharp.
He clicked his tongue again.
"Still… it's growing fast."
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Three Days in the Wild
In the three days that followed the fusion, White Fang and Little Yan had been dispatched into the nearby wilds of the family estate under Bai Tian Long's orders. It wasn't only a training expedition—but the beginning of White Fang's evolution path.
Though Bai Tian Long remained at the estate, controlling White Fang from afar when needed, he entrusted Little Yan to supervise the hunts. Despite being a cub, the Rosegold Flame Monarch Lion had already begun to show its potential.
Its claws were sharper now, small ivory tips visible under its paws, and two tiny fangs poked out when it yawned or growled. Every movement Little Yan made felt tighter, firmer, more refined than before.
Together, the pair became an unusual but fearsome combination.
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White Fang had started small—its body barely 20 centimeters long, its scales still soft. But every successful hunt, every swallow, added to its strength. And it grew.
The system clarified that evolution points varied depending on the prey's strength, meat volume, and spiritual essence.
Tiny snakes or rats – 1 point
Wild rabbits or larger birds – 2 points
Boar cubs or aggressive reptiles – 3–4 points
Spirit-imbued creatures – potentially more
Though weak, White Fang compensated with intelligence and stealth, often using the dense underbrush or sudden lunges to catch prey off guard.
By the end of the first day, it had accumulated 12 evolution points, reaching a length of nearly 68 cm.
The second day saw harder battles—larger hares, a fanged desert lizard, even a territorial wild dog cub. These pushed White Fang to its limits. Little Yan had to leap in when the dog cub almost clamped its jaw around the serpent's tail.
The lion cub's fire-imbued claws glowed faintly, slashing across the dog's snout and driving it back.
"Roar!" Little Yan growled proudly, standing guard over White Fang as it recovered.
The duo made an effective team.
By the end of day two, White Fang had gained 18 more points, pushing its size to over 1.4 meters.
---
Little Yan wasn't idle in his growth either. Bai Tian Long noticed through the beast taming space how his cub's body was thickening with muscle.
It began to sprout stronger claws, larger teeth, and its aura flickered faintly with hints of monarch fire. He had even attempted a basic swipe technique from his ancestral memory, and although crude, it forced a fleeing fox to the ground with one paw.
"Even Little Yan is advancing. The wild is making him mature faster than the tube ever did."
The exposure to live combat and hunting seemed to awaken something primal within the cub. His gaze was keener, his steps more assured.
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The Final Hunt of Day Three
On the third day, White Fang and Little Yan entered a shaded glade near the eastern cliffs. It was here they faced off against a scaled ground crawler, a thick-bodied burrower serpent known for its burrowing ambushes.
White Fang took the first strike—darting under the crawler's coiled body and biting its soft belly. The crawler retaliated by slamming its tail. It would've struck true had Little Yan not intervened, biting down and pulling the crawler back just long enough for White Fang to finish the job.
White Fang's body glowed faintly afterward as it devoured the entirety of the crawler in segments. This single kill gave it 5 evolution points.
By sunset on the third day, White Fang had amassed a total of 50 evolution points.
Its body had now reached over 220 centimeters, nearly 2.2 meters in length. Its white scales had hardened, and faint silver lines began to appear along its spine—subtle marks of mutation.
---
Back in his courtyard, Bai Tian Long slowly opened his eyes.
"Already halfway to 100... At this pace, he'll hit peak mortal grade soon."
The target was clear—reach 100 evolution points, and White Fang would evolve into a Demon Servant. And with the right materials—a full mortal beast, a demon beast bloodline, a spiritual herb, and a demon beast corpse—White Fang could initiate a true evolution ritual.
But for now, the wilds would serve as his battlefield. Each point earned, one bite at a time.
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Reflection and Anticipation
Back in his courtyard, Bai Tian Long slowly opened his eyes.
"Already halfway to 100... At this pace, he'll hit peak mortal grade soon."
A soft flicker of white light lingered in his palm—a trace of feedback energy returning from his avatar, White Fang. It was faint, yet sharp, and he could feel how it subtly enriched his soul.
He chuckled under his breath, eyes narrowing in contemplation.
"The feedback from White Fang… it's already more than what I got from Little Yan."
It was no insult to the lion cub. After all, Little Yan was still young and in early growth stages. But the Split Soul Avatar was directly tied to his own soul. Every bit of nourishment it gained, every breath it grew stronger, resonated through the bond with an amplified echo.
Where Little Yan gave spiritual feedback in pulses—like steady drips of rain—White Fang's feedback was like ripples through his soul. It sharpened his focus, eased his energy flow, and even slightly enhanced his control over spiritual perception.
"No wonder soul cultivators were feared in ancient eras," he murmured, stroking his chin. "Even an F-rank soul avatar talent has such effects…"
He stood up slowly, body relaxed but alert, eyes glowing faintly under the twilight sun.
"Still… this is just the beginning."
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