The moment the voice rang out, it was as though the atmosphere in the boundless forests had suddenly fallen silent in deference.
Delighted, Wang Shan immediately let out a shout.
Roar~!
“Big Brother!”
At the front, goosebumps erupted all over the currently-fleeing Old Second. Reverence filled the tiger’s face.
Not daring to run anymore, he stopped in his tracks right away. The tiger’s gaze swept across the surroundings, and he spoke with great emotion without a second thought.
Roar~!
“You’re here, Big Brother. I, Second Brother, am finally going to see you again.”
His sincerity-filled voice traveled very, very far. Wang Shan also stopped in his tracks and stared at Old Second, the look in his eyes somewhat thrown off-guard.
Am I mishearing things?
No, I’m likely not.
But why does it sound like Old Second—no, he’s now Old Third—wishes very much to meet Big Brother?
Suddenly, a golden light arrived from somewhere and landed on the ground in a flash before transforming into a figure.
Wang Shan immediately greeted his eldest brother, upon which Wang Hu nodded at him. Fairly satisfied, he said with a smile, “Wonderful. You did pretty well this time, Old Third.”
Roar~!
“Hahaha, of course. Everything I do is great, Big Brother.”
Wang Shan burst into happy laughter, his demeanor in no way humble. It was just that he was secretly also thinking to himself: This must be the first time that Big Brother’s complimenting me, right? He’s so petty.
No, that’s not right. I’m not Old Third anymore. I’m Old Second now.
Roar~!
“Big Brother, I’m not Old Third anymore. I’m Old Second now. Old Second has already given the position of Old Second to me,” said Wang Shan as he hastily reminded Wang Hu.
Wang Hu smiled at him. He had already been here for a few minutes. Thus, he had heard the whole conversation between Old Second and Old Third just now.
Old Third had indeed performed well this time. He hadn’t let Wang Hu down after all the attentive education that Wang Hu had given him over such a long time.
As for Old Third becoming Old Second, it was nothing more than them messing about and playing the fool.
He didn’t pay any attention to Wang Shan’s claim. Instead, his smile disappeared, and he looked at Old Second dispassionately.
Old Second was currently staring at the figure in front of him in alarm and unease. Was that Big Brother?
That scent…
Suddenly, as though something had occurred to him, he let out an astonished exclamation.
Roar~!
“Big Brother, you’ve attained the Divine Body Realm!”
A description related to that existed in the memories in his mind. It was just that it was too distant a notion for him at the moment, resulting in him not being able to quite react for a moment there.
The Dao form!
Big Brother had attained the Third Realm, or in other words, the Divine Body Realm. That was his Dao form.
The fearful reverence in his heart instantly severely intensified. He was finished. Big Brother had already attained the Third Realm. He had absolutely no chance of resisting anymore.
His entire face turned gloomy and despondent for an instant before he immediately corrected his frame of mind and turned it into an expression full of longing.
Roar~!
“Big Brother!”
He called out lovingly and immediately dived toward his eldest brother. It was as though he wanted to give him a good hug to relieve his yearning.
A cold smile flashed across Wang Hu’s eyes. Then, his finger emitted a flash of golden light.
At once, the figure diving toward him rose into the air as though it was flying.
The next instant, it started to spin rapidly. It spun faster and faster. In the blink of an eye, it had become as though a spinning top.
Roar~!
“Big Brother, I m-miss you so… so much~”
As though flung out of someone’s mouth, every bit of the sporadic speech was shaking.
Wang Hu’s lip corners quirked upward. Still being stubborn?
With a thought, the spinning became even faster.
Roar~!
“Big… Brother… I… I… s-swear… I really… miss… you… v-very much… I’ve… wanted to… go to… you… since… a long… time… ago…”
The increasingly shaky voice was as determined as ever. As though it would never change even unto death itself, it was as firm and resolute as the unmoving mountains.
Wang Shan, who was watching from the side, was already utterly stunned. He watched the ongoing event in a daze.
That wasn’t what ‘Old Third’ had said just now. How could he spout such nonsense?
Roar~!
“Big Brother, Old Second—no, Old Third is lying. He doesn’t miss you at all. He didn’t want to look for you at all. He’s lying to you even now.”
Wang Hu glanced at him and stopped him from speaking further.
Roar~!
“Big… B-Brother… Please… believe… Second Brother… I’ve been… thinking of… you… all this while…”
As he spoke, some unidentifiable substances came flying out from the spinning top.
They were filled with a horrible stink. However, Old Second remained as stubborn as ever.
Wang Hu couldn’t help but let out a cold laugh. He really wanted to see for himself just how stubborn that fellow over there could get.
As he put down his finger, the golden light disappeared, and the intangible power also dissipated accordingly. Old Second fell from midair right away and crashed squarely onto the ground. He puked up even more things, and it was obvious that he had mostly lost consciousness.
Wang Hu waited leisurely for a few seconds before he asked calmly, “Do you really miss me badly?”
Roar~!
“O-Of course, Big Brother. I’ve made preparations to look for you a long time ago.” A heavily panting Old Second tried his best to reply to Wang Hu.
“Sure. Since you miss me so badly, then how about letting Big Brother properly deepen his bond with you?”
With an awful look on his face, a trembling Old Second nodded.
Roar~!
“S-Sure!”
Wang Hu snorted lightly. Golden light flashed in his palm; upon which, the tiger lying limp on the ground immediately rose into the air again. Facing a different direction this time, he began to spin crazily with his limbs splayed out.
Roar~!
“Big Brother, I’m… your… younger… b-bro… brother! I… will… definitely… obey… what… you… say… in the future.”
“You’ll obey what I say?” asked an expressionless Wang Hu.
Roar~!
“Yes… d-definitely,” replied Old Second hastily with great difficulty.
“But Big Brother here doesn’t believe you,” said Wang Hu dispassionately.
He pointed in a different direction.
The spinning top momentarily stopped spinning. However, it then started to spin in another direction.
Roar~!
“Big Brother, I really… c-can’t take it anymore. If this goes on… t-this y-younger brother… of yours will… be gone.”
The voice, which sounded as though its owner was crying, rang out intermittently. Incredibly weak, it sounded somewhat half-dead and as though the owner was in a living hell.
It was only after he had spun for another whole half a minute that Wang Hu finally snorted and dispersed his power.
Old Second crashed onto the ground with a loud bam. Even though he no longer had even an ounce of strength left in him, he nevertheless kept throwing up bile anyway.
As for the others, he had already puked them all out a long time ago when he was spinning just now.
The way he was barely breathing right now was as if he was on the brink of death.
At the side, Old Third was already all smiles a long time ago from watching the show. He wasn’t worried in the least. What could a bit of spinning possibly do to a big grown tiger? There was no way he would die from this.
“Do you acknowledge your wrongdoings now?” asked Wang Hu aloofly as he held his hands behind his back.
Roar~!
“Y-yes, I do.” Old Second grunted weakly while lying limp on the ground.
“What have you done wrong?” Wang Hu’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Roar~!
“I… shouldn’t have… disobeyed Big Brother. On top of that, I had even lied to Big Brother,” replied Old Second honestly.
He didn’t want to experience that feeling from just now ever again in his entire life. It was even worse than receiving a beating.
“Hmph.” Wang Hu snorted coldly. Here he was, thinking that he was going to continue being stubborn.
“To think you dare to lie to me when all you have are those little tricks up your sleeve. Do you think that, just by looking for an excuse and refusing to admit it no matter what, I won’t be able to do anything about you?
“What a joke. Does your Big Brother need a reason or an excuse if he wants to beat you up?”
As though he had expected better from Old Second, Wang Hu admonished this younger brother in a right and justified manner.
Old Second’s expression was full of dejection and exhaustion. He didn’t even feel the urge to curse anymore. All he wanted to do was cry.
Wang Hu was still that unreasonable bastard that simply loved to beat them up.
At the side, Old Third—who had originally been very happy—also found his joy immediately diminishing somewhat… because he had realized that Big Brother wasn’t just talking about Old Second, no, Old Third.
His brother’s statement also extended to him.
Big Brother had never needed any reasons or excuses to beat him up as well.
Wang Hu, however, was still angry. To be honest, he really was somewhat incensed.
It wasn’t just about Old Second wanting to live by himself and deciding not to look for Wang Hu. It wasn’t as simple as that; there were a lot of implications involved.
“Judging from how you look, you must have been really happy living alone. What a shame. You must have such an exaggerated opinion of your abilities if you think that you can live a carefree and unfettered life by yourself.
“Without the protection of the whole species uniting to form an even greater power, who can live a carefree and unfettered life in the current world?
“Do you think you’re very smart? You’re actually the stupidest of all. In this aspect, even Old Third’s much smarter than you are. You don’t even have any awareness of how stupid you are, yet you’re even thinking of dragging Old Third along with you and separating yourselves from the community. Ha, who do you think you are?
“Do you think you can safely live a carefree and unfettered life in the current world? You can’t even compare to a frog at the bottom of a well, yet you think you’re very clever.
“If you weren’t my biological younger brother and if it weren’t for our deceased mother, do you think I would want to bother with you?
“Do you know that by dragging Old Third along with you, you’re doing him harm instead of good? I really wish I could beat you up until you’re dead.”
The more he spoke, the angrier and frustrated he became. He raised his arm and struck Old Second on the head in a flash of golden light.
Old Second, who didn’t even have the strength to cry out in pain, could only bear with it in silence and watch his eldest brother pitifully.
Astonishment came over him after he regained some clarity of mind.
Was it real, the things that Big Brother said?
How could it possibly be that serious?
Suddenly, Wang Hu sneered and asked, “Are you thinking that I’m lying to you? And how could it possibly be that serious?”
Alarmed, Old Second immediately shook his head docilely.
Wang Hu let out another cold snort. “I can’t be bothered to say that much to a fool like you. I’ll give you time to look around and think about it yourself.
“If you cannot give me a satisfactory response after that, I’ll break two of your legs and keep you in a valley. I’ll rear and care for you your whole life, lest you be killed someday because of you overestimated your own abilities and I end up having to even avenge your death.”
Fear came over Old Second at once. He could sense that Big Brother wasn’t joking with him. Big Brother was serious.
Wang Hu really might break two of his legs and keep him captive for his entire life. He didn’t want that.
At the side, Old Third was also shocked. He involuntarily wondered: Will Big Brother also do that to me if I enrage him?
After much thought, he arrived at only one answer—definitely.
As he thought about it, he couldn’t help but cower, not daring to look at his eldest brother.
Roar~!
“I was wrong, Big Brother. I definitely won’t disappoint you again in the future, Big Brother.”
Old Second obediently admitted to his wrongdoings and gave his promise.
Wang Hu didn’t want to say more. Unlike Old Third’s straightforward, simple, and honest nature; Old Second was smart, quick-witted, and cunning.
No matter how much Wang Hu tried to talk sense into him at the moment, the effect would only be temporary; he would forget about it very soon. All Wang Hu could do was let him see the world and think about it himself. Only then would he gain a deep understanding and work toward it.
Did one really think that Wang Hu was the biggest beneficiary of his action of gathering the tigers?