Chapter Twenty-Two: The Tiger

The cave remained unchanged, the sound of dripping water filling Long Yu with a sense of familiarity. At last, he had returned. Long Yu let out a long breath—how wonderful it was to be back on Earth! This familiar cave, this familiar river, and even these familiar snakes; everything felt so intimate.

Wait—something was wrong. The snake… the snake seemed to be biting him.

What are you doing? What are you doing?

Long Yu shook his leg, and the snake moved with it, its body swinging back and forth. The affectionate snake had already sunk its fangs into Long Yu, but his physical constitution was so resilient that the snake couldn’t pierce his skin. Because of this, Long Yu hadn’t immediately realized the snake had bitten him.

How familiar, indeed! Even the snake’s bite felt intimate—this was the same sensation, the same formula as before.

Long Yu gently pulled the snake off his leg, murmuring to himself, “Little fellow, you need to be smarter. Not everyone is worth biting. It’s been half a year since we last met, and you’re still as affectionate as ever. Last time you chased me, this time you went straight for a bite. Well, never mind. I’m in a good mood today—since you’re the first animal I’ve encountered upon returning to Earth, I’ll let you go.”

He set the snake down, and it flicked its tongue at him, unwilling to leave, before disappearing into the darkness.

After releasing the snake, Long Yu took a step forward and heard a crisp crack beneath his foot. What was that?

He looked down, felt something sticky, and glanced around. There were several oval eggs nearby—could these be snake eggs?

No wonder the snake was so brave, biting him relentlessly; she was a mother.

“Sorry, I stepped on one of your children,” Long Yu silently apologized before turning away.

His spirits high, Long Yu was now more than willing to show a little kindness. He walked more carefully, avoiding any further mishaps.

The cave was shallow, and after only a few steps, Long Yu emerged outside. It was daytime; the forest was lush, teeming with chaos.

Earth, after so many days, looked even more like a battlefield. Animals hunted each other everywhere. Not far ahead, Long Yu witnessed a mouse killing a cat.

Unbelievable—the mouse was over a meter long, its two enormous incisors protruding, and its front claws, dozens of centimeters long, could retract like a cat’s. He saw the mouse swipe at a stone while attacking the cat, leaving a clear claw mark on its surface.

The cat, by contrast, was pitiful—smaller than the mouse and slower as well. Unable to fight, unable to flee; it was killed in a single encounter.

After slaying the cat, the mouse didn’t rush to eat its flesh; instead, it used its massive teeth to bite through the cat’s skull, extracting a crystal core, which it promptly consumed.

Having devoured the crystal core, the mouse sprawled comfortably on the ground, eyes closed, looking thoroughly satisfied—as if it had just indulged in opium.

A while later, the mouse slowly rose and began to eat the cat’s meat.

Mice eating cats—how the world has changed! He wondered how things were at home.

Witnessing such mind-bending events only intensified Long Yu’s longing for his family. The joy of returning was slowly fading, replaced by deep concern.

He needed to hurry home, hurry home!

But where was he, exactly? Long Yu planned to use his Spatial Gate. With his current physical abilities, he could traverse about a hundred kilometers in one jump—his limit. The distance was enough for him alone, and only once.

The crucial problem, however, was that he didn’t know which direction to head. If he used the Spatial Gate and went the wrong way, he’d only get farther from home—not ideal.

Yet, after much deliberation, Long Yu saw no other options. He had to leave the mountains first, even if it meant going the wrong way. As long as he could find people, he’d know where he was and could then find his way home.

In the end, Long Yu decided to use the Spatial Gate, moving ten miles at a time—a cautious approach to avoid heading too far in the wrong direction.

He acted quickly. In an instant, the Spatial Gate opened, and the next moment, Long Yu appeared ten miles away.

What was this? Something soft beneath his feet.

Long Yu looked down.

A tiger was eating a deer, and Long Yu had landed right on the tiger’s back.

His sudden appearance startled the tiger, but it quickly accepted him—after all, why not add another dish to the menu? A human as dessert wasn’t so bad. As for where this person had come from, the tiger didn’t care.

It didn’t matter, as long as its meal wasn’t interrupted.

The tiger rolled over, tossing Long Yu from its back, then opened its massive jaws toward him.

In the next instant, everything changed. Long Yu pressed his hand firmly against the tiger’s head. The tiger roared incessantly, but couldn’t rise again.

Suddenly, an icicle materialized beside the tiger, hurtling toward Long Yu. Yet when it struck, it shattered, leaving him unharmed.

The icicle broke, but Long Yu remained perfectly fine.

At that moment, the tiger realized it was no match for the man before it. It tried to flee, but it was already too late.

The ferocious beast instantly changed its demeanor, lying obediently on the ground, emitting soft huffs and occasionally flicking its tail, like a cat tamed by its master.

Indeed, there was no animal that couldn’t be tamed—if not, it simply meant one wasn’t powerful enough. Look how docile this tiger was now.

“Maybe I should have a tiger as my mount—just imagine how impressive that would be.”

No sooner thought than done, Long Yu checked the tiger. Its physical attributes were about a hundred, not weak, but still far beneath his own. Judging by its demeanor, it was likely the dominant predator in the area.

Its strength was adequate—worthy of being his subordinate. Long Yu could already picture himself returning home with a tiger, basking in admiring glances.

Wealth unreturned is like wearing fine clothes in the dark. What’s the point of becoming powerful if you don’t show off? Long Yu wasn’t immune to such vanity.

Activating S-rank Beast Mastery, a surge of spiritual energy flooded the tiger’s mind. After a brief, not particularly fierce struggle, the tiger was completely under Long Yu’s control.

In that moment, a unique bond formed between them; the tiger became almost like an extension of his body. He could share its vision, control it freely.

The tiger retained its own independent thoughts, but those thoughts were subordinate to Long Yu’s commands. If he didn’t control it, the tiger’s mind would take over.

Now, in the tiger’s consciousness, Long Yu was everything—its god.

The sensation was exhilarating. S-rank skills truly were formidable, Long Yu mused inwardly, savoring the experience.