Slime

Gu Tian walked toward the Soul Monarch, his gaze cold as he pointed his gun directly at its head.

"Surrender or die," he said in a calm but overwhelming tone. "If you choose to surrender, open your spiritual channel. I'll count to three."

The Soul Monarch lifted its head to look at Gu Tian, its eyes filled with fear. It had never lost before, and being forced into a contract with a human was the greatest humiliation it could suffer. However, its power was fading fast, the poison from the bullet working through its body at an alarming rate.

"One."

The Soul Monarch clenched its teeth. A dark light surged from its body, and at last, it opened its spiritual channel.

"You made the right choice," Gu Tian said with a satisfied smile. He raised his hand, releasing his spiritual power into the Soul Monarch's spiritual channel, and within a fraction of a second, the contract was sealed.

BOOM!

A surge of dark energy exploded from the Soul Monarch's body. It slowly floated into the air, then knelt before Gu Tian, its once arrogant and defiant eyes now filled with submission.

Gu Tian smirked. Looking at his new beast, he declared, "From now on, your name is Death."

In the western forest of the dimensional gate, waves of death energy swept through the area. 500 undead warriors mercilessly hunted down every beast they encountered. Countless creatures perished, their corpses consumed by Grimm, the Cursed Skeleton Knight, one of Gu Tian's contracted beasts. With every step, Grimm left behind a trail of devastation.

Elsewhere in the forest, a crimson sea churned violently, brimming with elemental power—fire, water, wind, earth, and more raging in chaotic destruction. Everything caught within was annihilated without mercy. The entire forest was wiped clean, leaving nothing but scorched earth.

Above this ocean of blood, Xiao Bai, the Blood Dragon, hovered ominously. His deep crimson eyes shimmered coldly as he opened his maw, inhaling the entire sea of blood into his body in an instant. His power surged, his aura growing stronger with every breath.

At the entrance of the gate, Lin Yuntian soared through the air before descending toward Gu Tian. "I've captured all the slimes," he reported. "In total, there are about 3,000 of them."

Hearing this, Gu Tian nodded in satisfaction and thanked Lin Yuntian. He walked over to examine the slimes, yet to his surprise, his eyes did not display any notifications indicating that a single one met his requirements.

Gu Tian let out a small sigh. "Bring out the ones from before as well."

Without hesitation, Lin Yuntian released all the slimes he had captured from the previous dimensional gates. With the newly collected ones, there were now roughly 15,000 slimes gathered in one place.

Gu Tian looked at the wriggling mass of creatures before issuing another command. "Seal them all inside a barrier."

Lin Yuntian nodded and conjured a transparent water barrier, enclosing all 15,000 slimes. The area was now completely isolated from the outside world.

Gu Tian retrieved a glass vial filled with an unknown substance from his dimensional ring and tossed it into the center of the enclosure.

The moment the slimes made contact with the substance, their eyes turned blood-red.

A sudden madness overtook them.

They began devouring each other.

The grotesque sound of flesh being torn apart and consumed echoed throughout the barrier. The weaker slimes were torn to shreds, becoming nourishment for the stronger ones. Their bodies fused, and their power began to skyrocket at an alarming rate.

Gu Tian observed everything with an indifferent gaze before turning to Lin Yuntian. "Help me gather all the spirits in this secret realm."

Upon receiving the order, Lin Yuntian soared into the sky. A powerful force spread throughout the area, pulling in the souls of every beast that had perished in this secret realm. A storm of spirits swirled around him, growing stronger by the second.

Meanwhile, Gu Tian's aura surged. He smirked in satisfaction. "So, I've finally reached Gold level."

Gu Tian took a moment to stabilize his energy when he suddenly felt a light fluttering sensation on his shoulder. A small white dragon, Xiao Bai, had perched itself there, while the tiny skeleton, Grimm, clung to his leg in an oddly affectionate manner.

Gu Tian chuckled at the sight and shook his head. "You two really don't match the image of being cute. My mother must've been the one who taught you this, huh?"

As soon as he said that, Grimm and Xiao Bai froze, as if they had been caught red-handed, before awkwardly looking away.

Gu Tian let out a soft laugh. "Alright, let me introduce you to your new companion. Death, come out."

A small, child-like purple spirit emerged from Gu Tian's body, floating gently in the air. It respectfully bowed to its senior companions. However, as soon as it looked up and met the gazes of Xiao Bai and Grimm, it realized that both were staring at it with unsettlingly sinister grins.

Sensing danger, Death immediately darted behind Gu Tian's cloak, using it as a shield.

Gu Tian shook his head again before gently patting Death's head. "You two, no bullying Death, got it?"

Xiao Bai and Grimm nodded rapidly, their expressions suddenly turning innocently obedient, as if they had never intended any mischief in the first place.

Gu Tian sighed lightly before looking at Death. "Alright, it's your turn. Time to feast on souls."

Death's eyes gleamed. Slowly, it peeked out from behind Gu Tian's cloak and looked toward the sky, where countless souls floated, lingering restlessly. After a brief moment of hesitation, it spread its arms wide and shot toward the spirits.

"Aaaaaahhh!!"

Horrifying screams echoed through the secret realm as Death opened its mouth wide, devouring every soul in its path. Dark purple energy spiraled around its small form, swirling as it absorbed the raw spiritual essence into its body.

At the same time, within the barrier of slimes, the brutal battle came to an end.

Gu Tian turned his attention to the final survivora massive slime, towering over its kin. This one was clearly different from the others. It was several times larger than an ordinary slime, and it stood alone in the bloodied battlefield, having devoured all of its competitors.

Its status window appeared before Gu Tian.

[Name: Slime]

[Power Level: Black Iron – Low]

[Race: Slime]

[Element: None]

[Special Abilities: Unlimited Adaptation (SS), Charge (F)]

[Potential: Black Iron – Low]

[Evolution Paths: 9999+]

[Evaluation Compared to Black Iron-Rank Beasts: F]