A few demon beasts noticed the chick. However, due to its Stage Two aura, they all avoided it. Even the weak ones knew how to avoid battles against Demon Beasts stronger than themselves. It's just that... well... the chick didn't seem that scary to start with. Still, all the Stage One Demon Beasts knew better to avoid it.
Rean, Roan, and Hulian followed the chick from far behind but kept it in their field of vision. Suddenly, the chick changed direction and ran even faster... or well... tried to run faster. Finally, after running deeper into the forest did the first Stage Two Demon Beast appear in front of the chick. Hulian then explained.
"It's a Blood Hound. With the blood-red fur and its form, there is no doubt about it. The young ones are at stage one. Once they reach the adult phase though, they can display the strength of a Middle Stage Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator."
Hulian then looked at Rean and Roan to confirm.
"Will your chick be fine?"
Rean and Roan had their doubts. Still, they decided to see what would happen first.
The chick also noticed the Blood Hound and showed a surprised expression.
*Chick! Chick!*
It then began to run in the hound's direction as fast as it could. Well, it was still relatively slow, though.
The hound, of course, noticed the chick as well. Not only that, but it didn't feel any danger coming from it. Without wasting any time, it immediately dashed in the Chick's direction as well.
"The hound is also attacking! Now we can see what the chick is capable of!"
The two quickly reached each other's range. Rean's group then grew tense (except Roan), waiting to see what would happen next.
Seeing that the chick was close enough, the hound pounced at it, aiming at its neck. However, just as it was about to bite it...
*Thud!*
The chick tripped and fell with its face on the ground. As the Hound attacked, it passed right above the chick, missing its mark.
Rean's group looked at the current situation with weird expressions.
The chick got up again with its face all dirty. On the other hand, the hound landed on the other side and quickly made a turn, rushing at the chick once more. As for the chick, its eyes were watery, as if it was about to cry. Nope, it did really cry in the end. However...
*CREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!*
*Boom!*
Immediately, a powerful sound wave spread outwards. Rean, Roan, and Hulian couldn't help but cover their ears with their hands straight away. They felt like their heads were about to explode! Only when they redirected their Spiritual Energy to their ears, nullifying the shrill scream, did they finally regain their composure.
As for the Blood Hound, it was right beside the chick when it began to cry. Right now, it was lying on the ground, as dead as it could be. In the end, Rean's group could only see blood coming out from its orifices. As a hound, its hearing was several times better than humans. If the chick's cry already made Rean's group suffer while they were far away, the hound who was just beside it undoubtedly fared worse. The cry messed up its brain completely.
The chick continued to cry while it sat on the ground for another minute or so. Only then did it finally regain its calm and tried to move again. It then looked at the hound, which was dead, lying on its side. Suddenly, its sad expression disappeared as its eyes shone once more. It walked beside the hound's body when suddenly...
As fast as lightning, the chick's head attacked the hound's head. But that wasn't all. During that split second, Rean and Roan could feel the power of Light and Dark Elements coming from the chick's body. The Dark Element concentrated on the chick's beak as the Light was used by its body.
*Zap!*
That single attack came with a burst of Spiritual Energy that spread a few meters around. In the end, a big hole appeared on the hound's head. As for the chick, it now had a Demon Core in between its beak. However, there was no blood. The Demon Core was as clean as it could be. If not because of the perfect hole on the Hound's Head, no one would be able to tell that the Demon Core came from there. Even Roan didn't have any confidence in removing that Demon Core without leaving a single drop of blood behind.
Hulian couldn't help but mutter.
"Too fast! How can such a fat chick move like that?"
Rean then replied.
"It's the support of Light Element. It's a lot cruder than my Life Style First Form, but I can tell that it can also use my Enhancement Ability."
Roan agreed with Rean.
"It also has high control over my Dark Element. Look at the hole on the hound's head. The Dark Element made the life force around it disappear instantly. Logically, there's no blood left anymore. Not only that, but I can tell that it also fused the Light Element in that Dark Element attack, increasing its power."
So far, only Rean and Roan could fuse those two opposite elements together. Well, they were the only ones that could use them to start with. Still, it came as a surprise that the chick could do it on its own.
The chick then swallowed the demon core as if it was a delicacy.
*Burp~~~~*
Not long after, the chick turned in another direction and began to run once again with its plumpy body. Rean's group, of course, followed it straight away.
"Wait. The chick had been running in the forest for a long time. It only stopped when it found this specific Blood Hound. How did it know that it had a Demon Core?"
Only now did they notice this small detail. Although the chick didn't find other Stage Two Demon Beasts before, it did pass close to places where they were present. Still, it seemed to know exactly where it was going, avoiding the others. One must remember that low-level Demon Beasts had small chances of having condensed Demon Cores. Of course, the chances increased as their Stages got higher. It is known that all demon beasts will definitely have a Demon Core condensed by the time they reached Stage Five.
However, Stage Two was still too low. Not to mention, this Blood Hound had only reached the strength of a Middle Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator in power. The rate of Stage Two demon beasts with demon cores wasn't even 1 to 100. Of course, there were a few exceptions, like Rare and Strong Demon Beasts. But this was definitely not the case for the Blood Hound as it was a relatively common and quite weak race.
Rean then thought up of a possible statement.
"I can use my Light Element to feel the presence of Demon Cores. That's because those Demon Cores have a lot more Life Force inside them than the rest of the body. The chick can also use the Light Element, so it shouldn't be a surprise that it can do the same thing."
Roan found it weird.
"In that case, the chick is much better than you. After all, it could feel the presence of a Demon Core from outside the forest. As for you, you can only do that when you are close to the Demon Beast."
However, Rean immediately shook his head.
"No, that's not it. The chick's sensory abilities are definitely not this heaven-defying. Instead, it's probably its instincts."
Roan and Hulian looked at Rean before simultaneously asking.
"Instincts?"
Rean nodded in response.
"Yes. It's not that the chick knew where the Demon Core was located, but it was because it knew that it could find Demon Cores in this Demon Beast forest. It's a hereditary ability of its race. Of course, its sensory abilities are still powerful. After all, it was able to prevent being found by nearby Stage Two Demon Beasts. It most likely used the same trick I've been using since I entered Foundation Establishment. It is using Light Element to feel the Life Forces in the surroundings. From what I can see, the chick is just a little worse with it than me."
Roan then asked.
"But how did it know that the Blood Hound had a Demon Core? Even you need to be a lot closer to the demon beast to tell if it has a Demon Core or not, right? The chick obviously noticed the Demon Core's presence from further away than you can."
Rean pondered a bit and then said.
"Well, this is just a theory, but I believe it has something to do with the fact it is also a Demon Beast. Perhaps, its own Demon Core is enhancing its perception ability regarding other Demon Cores."
"It has a demon core?"
"Of course! I have found it the moment it was born. Otherwise, where do you think all that Sprit Stones' Energy went to?"
Hulian couldn't help but ask.
"In the end, what race is this chick from?"
Rean shook his head.
"No one in the beast taming faction has any idea about it. I wanted to ask Elder Bob Ma- cough, cough... Elder Reliance about it, but I didn't get the chance yet."
Roan kept paying attention to the chick, though.
"Look, it changed direction once again."
Rean and Hulian nodded.
"If it is another Demon Beast with a Demon Core, then we will be certain about the chick's ability."
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Author's note: If you like the story so far, consider leaving a few Power Stones for the Super Chick!