Chapter 324 - 322: Birth of the Nebula Dog

Chapter 324: Chapter 322: Birth of the Nebula Dog

Duane descended the mountain and passed through the still-under-construction castle grounds.

As the population had grown, the number of laborers working here now approached a thousand.

While the architectural style was different, builders and carpenters like Adams had been working with it for nearly two years. What was once unfamiliar had now become second nature.

Furthermore, the introduction of red bricks and the use of Black Iron Wood harvested from the Secret Realm had streamlined the construction of many buildings.

As a result, the pace of the castle’s construction had accelerated dramatically over the past six months.

The inner and outer walls, the moat, the arched bridges, and the interior buildings and strongholds were all beginning to take shape.

Duane named the castle "Origin Castle," for it was the starting point of his rise to power.

WOOF WOOF~

With a few joyous barks, Fur Ball bounded excitedly toward Duane.

After nearly a year of cultivation, it had successfully passed the bloodline awakening phase and was now entering the second stage: muscle reconstruction.

This involved injecting an extract from snake venom glands into its muscle groups, forcing the muscle fibers to divide and multiply, which would grant Fur Ball immense explosive strength.

However, this process was even more brutal than the first stage!

The Fur Ball of today was covered in fleshy tumors, some of which bulged out to the size of soccer balls.

When this behemoth—standing 1.6 meters at the shoulder and nearly two meters long—ran, the tumors all over its body wobbled grotesquely, a truly horrifying sight.

It wasn’t just the uninformed common folk; even Logan, who was always at Duane’s side, felt a deep-seated fear whenever he faced Fur Ball. He was terrified the monstrous creature would suddenly open its cavernous, bloody maw and tear out his throat.

In truth, most of Fur Ball’s wild nature had faded. It wouldn’t attack unless deliberately provoked.

This change might have been because the agony of its cultivation had suppressed its wild instincts, or perhaps it was simply too tormented and drained of Spirit to bother moving.

Duane placed a hand on Fur Ball’s head and gave it a couple of affectionate strokes.

"Let’s go, Fur Ball. We’re going back to begin the final stage of your evolution. Soon, you’ll be as handsome as you were when you were a pup."

It was unclear if Fur Ball understood, but it let out a couple of barks and trotted alongside Duane toward Forest Castle.

The backyard of Forest Castle was home to several species of venomous snakes, the most potent of which was the Green-Scaled Snake.

The snake was small, covered in fine green scales, and had an appearance that warned others to keep their distance.

It had been discovered and captured by chance by Lune, back when the snake-catching operation began during one of his patrols in Thorn Valley.

Duane had been bitten once while cultivating the Nebula Dog. The toxin was indeed potent, numbing the wound, but that was the extent of its effect on him.

Protected by his Celestial Python Bloodline, he was immune to such venom.

Man and beast arrived in the backyard. Duane picked up a snake, pried its jaws open, and pressed its sharp fangs into Fur Ball’s skin, injecting the venom.

Fur Ball whimpered in pain but lay motionless on the ground. It had grown accustomed to the agony and even seemed to have developed a resistance to the venom.

Duane tossed the snake back into its cage and kept a close watch on Fur Ball’s condition. When he noticed the beast starting to drift off, he cast Holy Healing Technique several times.

After a period of ragged breathing, Fur Ball’s condition gradually stabilized.

The effects of the latest venom injection began to fade.

At that very moment, a text prompt appeared in Duane’s line of sight: the Nebula Dog cultivation Skill Level had reached Mastery (399/400).

This marked the completion of the second stage of cultivation.

Duane stroked Fur Ball’s head. "Alright, no more venom injections for you."

Fur Ball had one eye closed and the other half-open, looking utterly exhausted.

A warm smile graced Duane’s lips.

He retrieved the Dew of Dawn and the heart of a Level 5 Demon Beast from his Void Space.

"Here, open up!"

Fur Ball instinctively opened its mouth.

Duane first poured in the Dew of Dawn, letting the beast swallow, then placed the heart of a Level 5 Shadow Leopard into Fur Ball’s massive jaws.

The scent of blood stimulated Fur Ball’s appetite. It chewed rapidly and swallowed the heart in moments.

An extraordinary energy surged through its heart, causing it to shudder violently as if it had been struck by lightning.

’The final stage!’

Duane’s expression became intensely focused as a violet-gold light flared in his hands.

This was a Level 7 Magic, the Light Blessing Technique, cast using Arcane Shaping.

This spell was incredibly difficult to cast—even more so than Harmony Magic—and it was also very draining, consuming nearly forty percent of his Magic Power in a single use.

Even with Duane’s talent for Magic, his success rate with this spell was only about thirty to forty percent.

Fortunately, he did not fail this time.

As the violet-gold light intensified, the entire courtyard was bathed in its glow.

The convulsing Fur Ball felt a warm current flow through its body and gather at its heart, taming the rampant energy within.

It couldn’t help but let out a happy whimper. It hadn’t felt this at ease since the day its sinuses were fumigated with Dragon Spine Grass Spores.

The light of the Blessing Magic shone for a full five minutes.

During this time, earth-shattering changes were taking place within Fur Ball’s body.

The tumors on its body visibly shrank, then vanished;

A coat of long, silvery-white fur grew back, replacing its recent, unkempt appearance;

Its crystal-blue eyes grew clearer and sharper, and a purple, nebula-like marking appeared between its brows.

In addition to the physical changes, its temperament also stabilized, a result of the series of transformations and the influence of the Magic.

Fur Ball had now completely shed the wild nature of a Silver-Maned Wolf, becoming a stable-tempered, obedient Nebula Dog.

[Congratulations, Nebula Dog Skill Level has reached Perfection]

Duane let out a long sigh of relief, stopped casting, and a look of delight spread across his face.

’At last, the first Nebula Dog is born!’

AWOO~

Completely free of its negative state, Fur Ball couldn’t help but stand and throw its head back in a mighty roar. The sound sent shockwaves rippling outwards, unsettling the nearby poultry and horses.

"Tsk tsk!"

Duane couldn’t help but marvel at the massive creature before him.

He had never expected that the first of his subordinates to reach Level 6 strength would be a Demon Beast, rather than a Warrior or a Mage.

A Level 6 Demon Beast, the Nebula Dog!

"Let’s go, take me for a run outside!"

Duane leaped onto Fur Ball’s broad back. Without needing a command, the large, steed-like beast shot off, sprinting away from the castle.

Duane was amazed. While the Nebula Dog wasn’t quite as fast as his Magic Warhorse, it wasn’t far behind.

"To Thorn Valley! Let’s see your endurance!" Duane commanded.

Perhaps because it had been suppressed for a year, upon receiving Duane’s command, the Nebula Dog let loose and sprinted with abandon.

The busy servants in the castle cried out in surprise, "What is that?"

"Is that the Lord’s Fur Ball?"

"No way. Fur Ball is so ugly, and it sheds constantly. Do you see a single hair on the ground here?"

"But besides Fur Ball, is there any other creature this big in the castle?"

Along the way, it drew surprised looks and gasps from Guards and commoners alike.

The common folk simply saw a tall, majestic beast, but the stronger Warriors could sense the oppressive aura radiating from it.

「An hour later.」

Having sprinted the entire way, the Nebula Dog returned to the castle, its mouth open and its long tongue lolling out as it panted heavily.

"Not bad!"

Duane said, rubbing its head from his seat on its back.

The round trip was nearly a hundred li. ’Its endurance is truly impressive.’

No wonder the description mentioned that a Nebula Dog could run for three hundred kilometers straight.

Even while carrying eighteen hundred jin, it could sprint five hundred meters—stronger than even a high-quality warhorse.

"Logan, go inform Lune and Raymond. Have them begin rounding up the Thorned Fierce Dog packs in Thorn Valley. I want them captured alive, especially the females. Also, capture any she-wolves you see."

Fur Ball was nearly two years old. If the cultivation process hadn’t suppressed its physiological development, it would have already gone into heat.

Now that it was fully recovered, it was the perfect time to find it a mate.

While there were smaller dogs on the island, Duane considered their physical constitution far too weak.

To continue the Nebula Dog bloodline, it was only natural to look among other Demon Beast species.

"Yes, my Lord!"

Logan bowed in acknowledgment but didn’t leave immediately. Instead, he reported:

"Captain Heck has returned. He says he brings important intelligence. When he saw you weren’t here, he returned home. Shall I inform him to come see you?"

The Messenger Bird Passage between Black Forest Island and the Silver Jade Territory was now established. If there was an issue in the Silver Jade Territory, a message could simply be sent back via Silver Gale.

’Since Heck said it’s important intelligence, it probably isn’t about the Silver Jade Territory,’ Duane mused. ’Perhaps it’s related to the Starfall Islands. Could something have happened with Selena?’