Talented Martial Hero
Chapter 381 Meet Denise Again

After the law enforcer left, Darren could no longer hold on to his curiosity so he started to sift through the colorful bead. His eyes were big in awe, not missing a single detail of the shimmering treasure that was in his hands.

"Hah! That bead is really a precious gem. I can sense that there's a tremendous force of lightning in it which was even more potent than the power Landon owned,”

with a high pitched voice, Darren exclaimed in surprise after checking the bead with his spiritual sense.

"Eh... Master, I can see that the bead is very similar to my Natal Divine Bead. The breath contained in it smells ancient just like mine,” the Water Kylin uttered, astonished when he suddenly sensed the power of the bead. Darren's words interrupted him as he was focusing on healing himself. Besides, the bead was such a rare treasure that was hard to ignore—even by the Water Kylin himself.

"Your Natal Divine Bead?" asked Darren. He was baffled at the Water Kylin's mention of a Natal Divine Bead.

"Yes. I guess that is a Natal Divine Bead of another powerful legendary beast. As for the fantastic amount of lightning force contained in it, it might belong to the Thunder Beast, which was another legendary ancient beast.

Millions of years have passed, but the force of lightning in it was still so strong. It is not hard for me to imagine how powerful the bead's owner was when it was alive," the Water Kylin narrated. Looking intensely at the Water Kylin, Darren had never seen him show such a solemn face. He was bothered though if the grim face was because of the injuries he had suffered from the battle or because he sympathized with the Thunder Beast's fate

"How did you know all that?" Darren asked out of confusion. He was determined to know the story behind the mysterious bead.

"I have known those things because the internal memories passed down from the ancient legendary beasts of my race are so deeply rooted in my concepts. The Thunder Beast with pure bloodline is, no doubt, a kind of legendary beast. They could even match up with my ancestors.” As the Water Kylin was explaining the notion to Darren, he couldn't help but gasp in admiration

With the cloud that hovered on his mind, a bit cleared by now, Darren nodded as a consent. In that case, it wasn't a surprise that Landon, such a mutant in the border would acquire the powerful lightning skill. It turned out that the bead made the most significant contribution.

"What am I supposed to do with the bead?" Though Darren got the great treasure, he had no idea of how to use it, so he could only ask the Water Kylin. Besides, the beast was the only one who had an idea of what the bead was in the first place.

"Well...As for that!" Clearing off his throat, the Water Kylin flicked his head up high, and deliberately coughed in a condescending way.

Clever, as Darren was, just then, he immediately noticed that there was a cunning look in the Water Kylin's eyes.

"The bead needs to be nourished first before it could do you anything useful, and the process of sustaining it would be filled with suffering and painstaking.

But, since you are my dear master, I'd like to nourish the bead for you even if I will suffer severe attacks from this bead. Now just give it to me. I can manage.”

The Water Kylin sounded righteously loyal when he said those words.

"How could he be so devoted this time? There is something wrong with him. He must want to take my bead!" Darren thought to himself. He knew the Water Kylin so well that he was able to read his thoughts.

"Okay, I will give it to you. Catch it,” said Darren as he used his spiritual sense to pick something black from a distance and let that thing hover towards the Water Kylin. He decided to pull a prank on him.

Hearing Darren's words, the Water Kylin was so excited that he caught it with his mouth and swallowed it up before he was able to realize what it actually was.

"Oh shit! It's really a shit!" A horrid stench filled the Water Kylin's mouth, and he came to know that what he had swallowed was not the Natal Divine Bead at all. He felt so disgusted that he began to throw up.

"Darren! How could you? I'll kill you!" the Water Kylin rasped in annoyance, tears welling up in his eyes.

"Are you mad at me?" Darren asked with a sheepish smile. Seeing the Water Kylin's eyes glimmering with tears, he realized that he indeed had overdone the prank this time. He shouldn't use a piece of excrement to make fun of him. After all, he was a legendary beast; eating some dung would undoubtedly make him feel humiliated.

"You are my master. You can do whatever you want, and I wouldn't reject it," the Water Kylin sneered in between sniffs. Then he turned his face aside out of the angry expression.

“I'm.

Swoosh!

Darren was just about to make an apology when suddenly a black figure flickered past him with lightning speed.

"Ha-ha! I got it! There is nothing I want that I can't get my hands on. Ha-ha!" the Water Kylin laughed while charging toward the sky.

"What the hell? The bastard beast has cheated me!" Darren murmured to himself. After realizing that, he immediately disappeared from the spot to chase the cheater.

The next moment, he had pinned the Water Kylin down as he punched him furiously in the back multiple times.

"Spit it out! Damn you, dead dog!" Darren bellowed.

"No, I won't give it to you. To obtain the Natal Divine Bead, I have even tasted the fucking shit! There is no possibility that I would return it unless I am dead,” the Water Kylin said in a firm tone. Bearing Darren's punches, he swallowed the bead and tried to merge it with his own Natal Divine Bead.

Boom!

Then with an explosive sound, the hair on the Water Kylin's body suddenly became glistened against the sun. Powerful lightning forces appeared around him. Consequently, Darren's entire body had been burned and turned into a charcoal shade of black before it was thrown into the air as an aftermath of the explosion.

"Wow! That's really awesome!" Darren marveled at the power of the bead. Maintaining his balance, he mobilized all his strength so that he could finally steady himself.

"I'm sorry, master, the force of lightning is out of my control.” The Water Kylin's voice was heard from afar, and it sounded like that he was in great agony.

"Fine." Darren smiled and said to himself, “Giving him the Natal Divine Bead is not a bad idea. If it could really strengthen his power, it is also a good thing for me."

In fact, when Darren noticed the Water Kylin's desiring eyes for the bead, he had decided to give it to him. That piece of excrement was just an accessory to his joke. Moreover, Darren knew that the bead would be more useful for the Water Kylin, a legendary beast than for himself.

While Darren was rooted in his thoughts, the Water Kylin from afar kept howling in pain, and he fled in fear that Darren would come after him. But instead, Darren just healed his burned flesh and changed into new clothes. It was as if he did not care for the Water Kylin nor at the Natal Divine Bead at all.

With his mind at peace now, Darren wandered around aimlessly, enjoying the tranquility of the Ancient Void Battlefield without the presence of the annoying Water Kylin.

Through his wanderings, while he was enjoying the chilly breeze and the warm sunshine, he caught sight of a graceful figure which looked quite familiar.

"It's Denise. I haven't seen her for a long time,” Darren grumbled.

Then, as a knee-jerk reaction, he flew toward Denise, eager to greet the lovely maiden.

She was on a meadow, in the middle of which was a clear river that flowed quietly.

Denise crouched by the river, staring at the water. It was as if she was looking at her reflection on the clear waters and whispering something to herself.

As Darren drew close, he finally heard what she was twittering clearly.

"Do you know, last night I dreamed that I became a fish. I kept swimming as far as I could.

I didn't know what I was looking for, but I felt that there was a lovely place waiting for me to be discovered in the distance.

I swam across the streams, the rivers. My tail had been broken thousands of times due to tiredness, but I still couldn't find what I wanted. In the end, a blue sea appeared in front of me.

There was nothing but waves in the sea. So I kept swimming until I got lost. There was no way at all. I was so scared at that time. I wanted to go swimming forward, but I couldn't find my way. I wanted to go back, but I forgot the way where I came. I was completely lost. Adorable fish, please tell me, what was I looking for?"

Denise was talking to a fish in the river, and Darren listened carefully. He felt a surging sense of bitterness in his heart. Denise was really a poor, naive girl.

'What was she looking for?"

Darren thought for a moment. Denise's words made him curious and confused at the same time. "Don't go yet! I am not finished," Denise said to the fish.

Seeing the fish swim away, she stamped her feet heavily on the shore. She was so lovely, and her radiance was the most beautiful scenery in the world.

"You are looking for freedom, right?"

Darren suddenly appeared beside Denise and asked her in a curious tone. Darren's question startled her a lot, the same way as it surprised her in her dreams.

"Ah! It's you!" Turning back to see who was the owner of the voice, Denise was excited to see Darren. She didn't answer his question. Instead, tears were glistening in her eyes.

"You know what? Last night I dreamed... Never mind. I am not going to say it, or you are going to leave too like that fish.

Am I a sad sack? Boring to talk to? No one wants to hear my stories, like butterflies, bees, birds, and fishes. They are all gone. They all hate me,” Denise said in a quivering voice.

Sensing her grief, Darren decided not to comment. He just stood there quietly with a smile on his face, listening to her rants.

Denise kept talking and seemed to have forgotten Darren's existence. She was crying and laughing at the same time while narrating her experience. Though, Darren thought that she was out of her mind, he kept on listening to her, making silly reactions from time to time to keep her talking. At that point, time seemed to freeze for both Darren and Denise.