Hao Ren's Shock

Hao Ren continued walking deeper into the cave, he was already familiar with it so didn't wander searching for where to go. After walking for about 10 minutes, he saw lights coming from the other side of the cave. On getting closer, one can see an opening that leads outside. He headed towards the opening as that was where he was going.

What awaited Hao Ren was a breathtaking view, although he had seen the place countless times during his stay at the sect, this scenery always seems to take his breath away.

Hao Ren stood at the opening of the cave that led outside and just stared at the beautiful scenery for a while. A valley could be seen just after leaving the cave. A lake situated not too far from the cave, It was in teardrop-silver in color, and it was shaped like a perfectly flat disc of metal. No sound rang out from the shimmering emptiness of space around it.

The blooming meadow was flush with orange, pink, and purple wildflowers. The heaven-leaking light from the sunset added a golden tint to the face of the lake, and it was paradise.

When the sun sets over the lake, its orange light hits the mountains in a dazzling way. The scenery was as striking as paradise, and he couldn't help but soak in the colors of the different flowers around it. It was impossible to feel anything but tranquility in a place that covered itself in pure beauty.

This place always brings him tranquility. Hao Ren looked around before heading into the valley, he walked closer to the lake and took a deep breath and felt the brisk forest air fill his lungs. He was always fascinated every time he sees this scene especially during sunset.

Once the sun sets completely, Hao Ren raised his head and looked at the night sky above him. He looked at the lake again and the serene atmosphere got him entranced for some time. On the lake, the moon could be seen clearly with the star filled sky, he was totally captivated by the beauty of nature.

Hao Ren walked up a mountain and looked at the opposite side. He had been visiting this place for some time and had gone deeper into it, but he hadn't really found anything strange about it. He turned around and stared at the lake at the bottom of the mountain.

Although it was dark, the view of the valley from the top of the mountain was still breathtaking. Hao Ren got down from the mountain, 'It's already late, I should probably head back. And Xiao would most likely have woken up by now'.

Hao Ren left the valley and went back the way he came. When he got to the sect, he went straight to his courtyard. He noticed Xiao outside immediately he got there.

"Where have you been?, I've been waiting for you for a while now"

Hao Ren was surprised when he heard this voice and turned around to look behind him but found no one there. He looked inside and still couldn't find who was speaking, what made him raise his guard was the fact the voice didn't sound familiar. Which indicates that it's someone he hadn't talked to before.

"Who's there?, show yourself" Hao Ren said vigilantly

"Who are you searching for, I'm right here. Or could it be that you can't see me?" the voice spoke once again.

Hao Ren was startled by the voice once again, but he couldn't sense from the sound of the voice that the person speaking to him didn't come with the intent to fight.

Hao Ren looked around once more, he glanced at Xiao for a bit before looking elsewhere. His head immediately returned to Xiao after he turned away from him. Xiao was staring closely at him, Hao Ren felt the way Xiao was looking at him felt weird.

Hao Ren thought of the possibility of the one talking being Xiao, but he immediately dismissed the thought as it's unheard of. Although he had heard of talking beasts from his father, they were all in high realms. They weren't something even Yuan Hai could defeat, so that wasn't something possible.

"Why are you staring at me like that?"

This time, Hao Ren saw Xiao moving his mouth the way people usually do when talking. "Ah!" An exclamation of surprise left Hao Ren's mouth.

Hao Ren stared at Xiao with his mouth agape, "You...you can talk" Hao Ren had a look of disbelief and he really didn't know how to react to what he was witnessing

"Of course I can, why can't I" Xiao said proudly while puffing out his little chest

"But you are still in the Foundation realm, how is this even possible" Hao Ren felt his view of the world was turning upside down. His calm state was totally gone as he astounded by what he was seeing.

"Humph, are you comparing me with other beasts. They aren't even fit to be master wolfs servants" Xiao said haughtily.

Hao Ren remembered what Senior Zhao said about Xiao being special. ''What's really different about him, he has one of the lowliest bloodline for beasts and beasts with this bloodline rarely gets to the Foundation realm. You can tell just by the stage of Xiao's mother even after she had reached maturity'' Hao Ren couldn't help but mutter to himself.

Xiao has stunned him too much since they started staying together, from the forest all the way to the sect. His intelligence is top-notch and now, he started talking after breaking through to the Foundation realm. Hao Ren looked at Xiao once more and couldn't help but shake his head when he saw how pleased Xiao felt with himself for being able to talk while just being at the Foundation realm.

Hao Ren immediately hid his surprised face and went back to looking calm again although with a light smile on his face as usual. "What's there to be so proud about. It's only talking, it's not like I can't talk" Hao Ren glanced at Xiao before walking past him and heading into the house to get some rest.

Xiao looked shocked when he saw how Hao Ren was acting towards his ground shaking feat. "Humph, he must be jealous of how awesome I am" Xiao said to himself in a consoling tone.

Seeing Hao Ren leaving him just like that hurt his pride as he has thought of all the possible reactions from Hao Ren, and he had a pleased look on his face whenever he was thinking of them. "Well, at least his first reaction is worth remembering" Xiao said while laughing.

He turned and headed into the house to also get some rest, since there was no one to talk to…