It was barely 9 a.m. when Lianhua's voice rang through the house.
"Come on, hurry up, kids!"
"The kids were… tired," Yu's system announced in a dramatic reporter's tone. "They stayed up all night thinking and talking about killing." It heavily emphasized the 'and,' like it wanted credit for surviving the conversation.
"Yeah," Chi's system added, sounding like an irritated teenager. "They didn't let us sleep even for a second with all that nonsense."
Lianhua crossed her arms. "You two have changed a lot after the update."
"Yes, mother. This… 'phase'… 'shall'… 'too pass'… in a short while," Yu's system replied, emphasizing every random word like it was performing in a stage play.
"And this, too, shall pass," Chi's system echoed. "We're just irritated because we didn't rest last night."
"You're telling me that?" Lianhua snapped. "Do you know how much sleep I sacrificed when I had Lian? You two don't know anything! So shut your mouths and have them here already!"
The next moment, Yu and Chi were instantly standing at the front door—none of them were sure if they walked or if she teleported them out of frustration.
Outside, Haoran and Yuanhai were waiting for them. As soon as the boys stepped out, both men smiled.
"Don't worry," they said in unison to Lianhua, "we'll take care of Lian."
Loch stepped forward, calm and collected. His foot touched the ground once, and he was already levitating. Lianhua rose beside him effortlessly.
Then Loch lifted a single finger.
In the blink of an eye, both Chi and Yu were yanked off the ground and floated after the adults like two confused sacks of rice.
In the next moment, they were all launched into the sky at ridiculous speed.
One heartbeat—they were above the city.
The next—they crash-landed at the entrance of a Beast Domain.
Chi and Yu immediately dropped to their knees, throwing up in perfect synchronization.
Even Liora and Buddy, who had been snuggled inside their clothes, poked their tiny heads out… and also threw up.
It was a tragic scene.
Lianhua crossed her arms and looked at them with pure disappointment.
"Let's go already. And don't you dare complain. You chose this path. Much worse things will happen later."
Chi and Yu both wanted to cry but pretended to be brave.
The moment they blinked, Lianhua, Loch, Haoran, and Yuanhai vanished—leaving the two boys alone at the entrance of the domain.
Yu stared at the wooden sign:
"E-Rank Beast Domain – Enter at Your Own Risk."
"…Isn't E-rank like… bottom-tier?" Yu said. "No wonder they abandoned us."
Chi nodded seriously. "Yes. The lowest of the low. Truly humiliating."
On the outside, they both looked confident.
On the inside?
They were dying.
Absolutely terrified.
And both knew it.
The field ahead was vast—endless plains of waving grass under the wind.
Far away, a few cultivators were casually fighting small beasts, like it was just their morning workout.
Yu whispered, "Should we… pretend to be calm too?"
Chi replied, "We must. For dignity."
Both kids walked past the sign.
Liora and Buddy peeked out from inside their clothes, cheering softly like excited sports fans.
"Chi-chi! Yu-yu! Fighting!"
Their tiny voices echoed in the empty field.
Chi and Yu nodded proudly—
then immediately froze.
A rustling sound.
A thump.
Another thump.
From the tall grass, a group of wild One-Eyed Horned Rabbits hopped into view.
Five of them.
Each the size of a medium dog, snow-white fur, one glowing red eye, and a sharp spiraled horn that looked like it wanted to pierce several important organs.
Yu's face went pale.
"That rabbit's eye is literally glowing red. WHY is it glowing red?!"
Chi swallowed hard.
"No Qi, remember. Just our bodies."
They steadied their stance, gripping their swords with both hands. Their hearts hammered in their chests as the rabbits lowered their heads—
—horns pointed like living drills.
Yu whispered, panicking, "It's looking at me like I'm lunch!"
The nearest rabbit screeched, the other four joining in, and suddenly—
They charged.
Grass flew. Dust rose.
Five one-eyed monsters sprinting full speed at two terrified children.
Chi exhaled sharply.
"Yu. Focus."
Yu looked around, panic gripping his chest.
The rabbits were small, but the red glow in their single eye and the spinning drill-like horn made his stomach twist.
Then he glanced at Chi.
Steady stance.
Calm expression.
Sword pointed forward, unwavering.
Yu inhaled sharply.
If Chi can stand like that… so can I.
At the same time, Chi felt the same pressure.
Yu's not backing down. I can't embarrass myself now.
Their fear snapped into determination.
The One-Eyed Horned Rabbits shrieked—high, sharp, and unsettling—and charged.
Their horns spun so fast they whistled, slicing through the air like rotating blades.
"Move!" Chi shouted.
Both boys leapt at the same moment, the ground cracking where they launched from.
The rabbits shot underneath, too fast to stop—
CRACK!
Two of them collided head-first.
The impact was brutal.
Their skulls burst open like smashed fruit.
Shards of bone and horn scattered across the dirt.
Skin tore apart, spraying dark blood in messy arcs.
One rabbit's eyeball popped out, hanging grotesquely by a thin strand as its body twitched violently.
The other's horn punched straight through its partner's throat, leaving a gaping hole that spilled warm, steaming flesh onto the ground.
Yu landed, saw the mess, and nearly screamed.
"WHAT— Chi! Chi! They— they EXPLODED!"
Chi swallowed, trying not to throw up. "They… did that to themselves."
Yu gagged. "Bro… its eye is looking at me—still looking at me—why is it moving—"
"Focus! There's still three!"
As if angered by the death of their kin, the remaining horned rabbits turned slowly toward the boys.
Blood dripped from their cracked horns.
Their single red eyes glowed brighter, locking onto Chi and Yu with pure killing intent.
This time, they weren't going to miss.
This time, Chi and Yu were shit-scared, and neither of them hesitated for even a second—they let their qi flow the moment the rabbits lunged.
Side by side, they prepared their attacks, each one embedded with core qi.
Yu's palms ignited first.
A tightly compressed ball of fire formed, humming with heat before he launched it forward.
At the same time, Chi's fingers sliced through the air, shaping a compressed wind blade sharp enough to whistle.
Yu's fireball struck one of the horned rabbits and exploded on impact, engulfing it in a burst of flame.
Chi's wind blade met the second rabbit head-on—
a clean, vicious slash that took its head off in one motion.
And the third?
It didn't even get a chance to leap.
Liora and Buddy struck together, perfectly copying Yu and Chi's attacks—
a fire blast and a wind slash—finishing the last horned rabbit in the same brutal instant.