Chapter 271: The Furious Panda

Everyone in the palace stared blankly at the empty giant cauldron. When the golden light faded, Ye Feng and the black mist had both disappeared.
“Boss!” Xiao Bei was the first to rush toward the cauldron, standing on top of it and looking around.
“Xiao Bei, the boss will be fine!” Xiao Yu seemed much calmer. “Don’t forget, we’re connected to him through a contract. If anything happens to him, we’ll know!”
At that moment, the giant cauldron began to blur before their eyes, fading away like a 3D projection until it finally disappeared. In its place appeared a golden gate.
“This trial is over!” someone in the crowd exclaimed excitedly.
Seeing the gate appear, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
“We should leave too!” Fat said to Bernard as everyone filed into the gate.
“I’m not leaving!” Bernard was stubbornly persistent. “I won’t leave until the boss returns!”
“Xiao Bei, Ye Feng will be fine!” Fat tried to comfort him. “There’s no need for you to act like this!”
Bernard ignored Fat’s attempts to persuade him, clearly determined in his decision.
Kasdiou, Lilith, and Meng Shan also had gloomy expressions, making Fat even more frustrated.
“Since I brought you all in with Ye Feng, and now he’s missing, it’s my responsibility to get you out!” Fat looked at the people behind him. “Besides, Ye Feng isn’t dead. He’ll surely find a way out on his own. Staying here won’t help at all!”
After listening, Lilith remained silent for a while before nodding. “Fat is right! Staying here won’t help at all! We don’t even know where the boss went! Waiting here is just a waste of time. It’s better to leave this palace first and figure something out when we get back.”
Although Bernard knew Lilith was telling the truth, he still refused to compromise.
“You go ahead!” Xiao Yu spoke up then. “I’ll convince him!”
“Xiao Yu, you don’t mean…” Fat frowned, thinking Xiao Yu’s plan might be just as stubborn as Xiao Bei’s.
“I know what you’re thinking. Don’t worry, we’ll follow!” Xiao Yu knew what Fat was thinking and immediately denied it.
“Let’s go. Xiao Yu knows when to stop!” Kasdiou, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke up.

Fate glanced at Kastdio, whose expression remained gloomy, and nodded helplessly. “Then we’ll leave first! Come after us as soon as you’re ready.”
After watching Fate lead the others away for the last time, Xiao Yu turned her head toward Bernard’s direction. “You should know they’re right about what they said! If you refuse to leave, I’ll stay with you!”
“Xiao Yu, go ahead. I don’t need anyone to accompany me!” Bernard turned his head away and sat cross-legged on the ground, arms crossed, as if pouting.
“Xiao Bei, you need to know I’ve been with the leader longer than you have. I signed a contract with him less than three minutes after I was born. Ever since Earth, I’ve been by his side. I know all his friends on Earth, and I know the secrets he never shares with others. Do you think I wouldn’t worry if the leader disappeared? Wouldn’t I be sad?” Xiao Yu shouted at Bernard. “Besides, I’m older than you, and my strength is greater too! If anyone stays, it should be me, not you!”
“I can’t just leave like this!” Bernard lowered his head. “Every time, I can’t help with anything. I only manage to hold things back…”
“Xiao Bei, we’re not weak. It’s just that our growth rate can’t keep up with the leader’s. That’s why he never wants to take us with him when something serious happens. It’s not because he thinks we’re useless, but to protect us. The more this happens, the stronger we need to become! You saw that black dragon—its power is at the Absolute Immortal level. We can aim to reach that level first! With such strength, even if the leader ascends to the heavens later, we’ll still be able to help!”
Hearing Xiao Yu’s words, the despair in Bernard’s eyes gradually faded.
“The longer the leader is away, the more we need to train hard so he can see our progress when he returns!” Xiao Yu continued. “What’s the point of sitting here feeling sorry for yourself? When the leader comes back and sees no improvement in our strength, he’ll still have to deal with new problems alone. Is that what you want?”
“I can’t tolerate this happening again. I have to get stronger!” Bernard’s fighting spirit began to ignite.
“Let’s go!” Xiao Yu stretched out her wings, pointing at the still-open gate.
This time, Bernard rushed in without hesitation. Xiao Yu shook her head helplessly as well. When she reached the door, she glanced around once more. Seeing nothing, she stepped through the golden gate.

After Xiao Yu left, the golden gate slammed shut abruptly and then disappeared into the void. The entire golden palace was now completely empty. Xiao Bei and Xiao Yu, who had left the palace, stared in shock at the scene before them. Birds in the sky covered the entire sky, and endless herds of beasts surrounded everyone on the ground. Although these magical beasts were not very strong, mostly below the Tribulation stage, the vast number of them made the scene quite spectacular. As the saying goes, many ants can kill an elephant—let alone these bloodthirsty magical beasts. By the time Xiao Yu and Xiao Bei arrived, the situation at the scene had already become chaotic. Everyone was separated by the herds and fighting on their own. When the two beasts arrived, a group of beasts quickly inserted themselves between them, isolating them. “Xiao Yu, let’s see who can kill more!” Bernard, who was already annoyed, wanted to vent his frustration, so he naturally didn’t miss this opportunity. After all, group attacks were his strongest skill. “Sure!” Xiao Yu agreed readily. He knew he might not win in such a situation, but Bernard also needed a success to boost his confidence. With a roar, Bernard’s body swelled to about ten meters before stopping, taking on the appearance of a giant beast. His fierce aura made the surrounding magical beasts hesitate to attack. “Protect yourselves. My attacks are indiscriminate, but they won’t work on experts at the Lingxian level. They’re perfect for taking out these guys,” Bernard shouted at Fat and the others nearby. Although the battlefield was noisy, Bernard’s voice, amplified by his massive size, was clearly heard by everyone else, who immediately became more alert in his direction. Though his attacks wouldn’t be fatal to Lingxian-level experts, minor injuries were inevitable. As soon as Bernard finished speaking, Xiao Yu soared into the sky, his size instantly changing from a harmless palm-sized figure to several meters tall, transforming into a white raptor. A red flame erupted from his mouth, spreading rapidly through the air in just a few breaths, turning it into a sea of fire that illuminated the previously gray sky.

Seeing Xiao Yu create such a masterpiece, Bernard naturally refused to be outdone. He slammed his palms hard on the ground, instantly covering the area within hundreds of miles with a layer of white frost. The frost quickly froze, encasing everything within its reach in ice.

Those who had prepared in advance avoided this attack and looked in surprise at the frozen magical beasts. They hadn’t expected Bernard’s attack range to be so extensive.

Before everyone could fully recover from their shock, Bernard moved again. His right claw grabbed a bunch of withered grass on the ground, his expression cold. “Grow wildly!”

As soon as he spoke, the already yellowed weeds on the prairie began to grow wildly. In just a few breaths, they wrapped tightly around all the ice sculptures.

“Rip them apart!” A fanatical glint appeared in Bernard’s eyes.

In an instant, the ice sculptures were torn to pieces by the surrounding weeds, revealing numerous demon infants. They tried to escape.

“Devour!” Bernard still had a trick up his sleeve. A huge black vortex appeared on the ground, with dark elements swirling wildly.

The demon infants quickly disappeared into the center of the vortex, their destruction leaving everyone stunned.

At that moment, black dust falling from the sky made everyone realize that the battle in the sky had also ended.

Xiao Yu’s fighting style was completely different from Bernard’s—extreme destruction. With just fire, he could burn away all living things, turning everything to ashes in an instant…

The battle between the two beasts clearly made many of the powerful warriors present feel inferior. Although their individual combat skills might not be weaker than those of the beasts, facing such a coordinated attack, they might eventually be exhausted to death. Yet the two beasts handled everything efficiently, resolving everyone’s crisis in less than a minute.

In just those few minutes when Xiao Yu had persuaded Bernard in the palace, four or five people had already died…

“Thankfully, you two arrived in time. In just a few minutes, five people have already died. If it had been any longer, who knows how many would be left alive.” Fat was very pleased to see the two beasts arrive as promised and save everyone.

“It’s no big deal. We’re just good at area attacks. Our individual combat skills might not be much better than yours!” Bernard wasn’t shy about admitting his weaknesses.

“How many trials are there in this palace?” Xiao Yu slowly descended, clearly growing tired of this game. “We still don’t know what we’ll end up getting!”
“Anyway, we have no choice but to move forward. We can’t go back to the starting point; to get out, we must reach the end and finish this game.” Fat also shook his head helplessly.
At that moment, someone in the crowd shouted, “A new gate has opened!”