Chapter Fourteen: Human?

During the years spent with the old lion father, the lion mother, and the young white lion, aside from the black panther he saw upon his arrival, Wang Luo had never encountered any other animals besides the lion family. Now, inexplicably, a woman appeared before him.

She seemed around thirty, possessed the classic features of an ancient Chinese beauty, yet had golden hair and blue eyes like a Westerner. She wore a pale golden robe, unadorned by any decoration. At first glance, she radiated an aura of dignity and noble inviolability. Her face carried a gentle smile, which made her presence deeply comforting.

As Wang Luo met her gaze, overflowing with maternal affection, he was momentarily stunned. The look in her eyes reminded him of the way the lion mother gazed at him and the little white lion—filled with the same tender love. The memory flashed across his mind: when he’d told stories to the lion father and mother, he’d spoken of legendary monsters and imagined that his extraordinary lion parents might be such mythical beings, perhaps even capable of taking human form. He had excitedly described what they would look like as humans, and now, this woman’s appearance bore a striking resemblance to his imagined lion mother.

Returning to his senses, Wang Luo glanced at the little white lion resting comfortably in the woman’s arms. Hesitant, he spoke in an uncertain tone, “Lion Mother?”

The woman smiled and nodded, saying, “Luo’er, hurry up and come here. Your lion father will be back soon!”

At her words, Wang Luo realized he was still beneath the waterfall—the very same that had left him sore all over yesterday. Now, he felt only a dull ache. He quickly leapt out from under the waterfall, threw on a skirt made of beast hide, and eagerly pulled his lion mother to sit with him on several wooden stools he’d fashioned. Like a curious child, he asked her questions, one after another.

“Lion Mother, is it true that humans exist in this world?” Wang Luo asked with delight. He had never seen another human, and hearing from his lion mother that humans really lived on this continent left him astonished.

Through her, Wang Luo finally gained some understanding of the world. However, since she had never left the forest, her knowledge of the human world was limited, though she was well-versed in the monsters of the forest and grasslands.

This world was dominated by a vast land—the very continent beneath Wang Luo’s feet, known as the Profound Heaven Continent. Not only did humans live here, but many other races existed as well, all possessing intelligence and having built their own nations and civilizations.

According to the lion mother, there were many powerful people on the continent, some even stronger than she. What frustrated Wang Luo was that, by her account, he was the weakest person she had ever met. Yet, to his delight, the common language of the continent was Chinese, so he wouldn’t need to learn a new tongue.

Their home was called the Magic Beast Forest, and the nearby plains were the Sunset Grasslands. The strange beasts Wang Luo had eaten before were called magic beasts. The glowing gemstones in their heads were magic cores, crystallizations of the beasts’ energy. Consuming a magic core could strengthen a beast’s power and even allow it to advance in rank.

Humans classified magic beasts by strength, from level one to nine. Levels one to three were considered low-level, four to six mid-level, and seven to nine high-level. Beyond level nine were the Saint Domain beasts, capable of transforming into human form.

The lion father and mother were magic beasts as well, exceptionally powerful ones. By human standards, both had once been at the peak of level nine, and after breaking through, had become Saint Domain beasts. As for the little white lion, the mother said it was a mutated beast, though she didn’t know why the mutation occurred. Mutations were unpredictable; they could be for better or worse. Judging by the white lion’s situation, it seemed to be for the better.

The black panther had a special background. Among its kind, the weakest newborn was abandoned by its parents. In the perilous forest, these abandoned panthers rarely survived, but if they did, they became infamous jungle killers—cunning, ruthless, and bloodthirsty.

The black panther Wang Luo had encountered had provoked a level nine Earth Bear and fled into the lions’ territory, nearly devouring Wang Luo before being driven away by the lion father. At the time, the lion parents were focused on Wang Luo and, seeing that the panther was a rare beast, did not bother with it, so it wisely fled. Back then, the panther was barely a level six magic beast; only its speed and cunning, combined with the bear’s clumsiness, had saved its life.

By coincidence, the lion parents later encountered the panther again while hunting, and found it surrounded by a herd of Firehorn Cattle, facing imminent death by their fiery horns. The Firehorn Cattle were the creatures Wang Luo had named Redhorn Cattle; they lived in herds on the Sunset Grasslands. Adults were all level six beasts, their leader a formidable level seven, while the panther had just reached mid-level six. Without the lion parents’ intervention, its fate would have been grim.

The lion father recalled a story Wang Luo had told about a man who rescued a beast called a dog several times, and eventually the dog became the man’s obedient pet. The lions had intended to hunt two Firehorn Cattle anyway, so they saved the panther. Thereafter, the lion father kept an eye on it, hoping to tame the fierce panther into a docile pet dog.

Hearing this, Wang Luo was speechless at his lion father’s childish idea—those stories were pure invention. But when his lion mother explained that the lion father hoped to train the panther and gift it to Wang Luo for his protection, Wang Luo was touched. He had never expected the boisterous, childlike lion father to be so thoughtful.

“Oh, by the way, where has lion father gone?” Wang Luo realized he had been talking with the lion mother for quite some time without seeing the lion father, so he asked.

The little white lion, munching on unknown fruit nearby, also looked toward the lion mother.

At Wang Luo’s question, the lion mother remembered that soon she and Wang Luo and the little white lion would be separated. Her expression darkened, and Wang Luo’s face changed as well.

Seeing this, the lion mother realized Wang Luo had misunderstood. She quickly smiled and reassured both him and the anxious little white lion, “Don’t worry, your lion father is fine. He’s only gone to find the black panther!”

With eyes full of loving affection, she stroked Wang Luo’s head, and before he could speak, she continued, “Luo’er, in a few days, your lion father and I will go out exploring. It will be inconvenient to bring you and Xiao Bai along, so we’ve decided to send you both to the human world.”

Azure Dragon of Another World, Chapter 14: Humans? Update complete!