My avatar is becoming the final boss

Chapter 357 The Little Year Beast Displays Its Divine Power for the First Time, and the Great Lord Returns (Two Chapters Combined, Seeking Monthly Tickets)

"You can all come at me together, one isn't enough for me."

Just as the little beast finished hurling threats at the Zodiac team, the totoro on its back suddenly came over and licked its cheek. The wet touch made the little beast silent for a while.

It looked up helplessly and saw the little Totoro staring at it with an innocent expression.

"Aren't you annoying? Can you stop clinging to my back?" the little beast said impatiently. "Whether you're a chinchilla or a panda, get off me right now!"

After saying that, it suddenly twisted its body and threw the Totoro off its shoulder, then slapped it away, sending it rolling back onto the futon.

Totoro rolled around on the ground once, then lay down on the red cushion with a pitiful expression.

"What did Lord Little Year Beast just say?" the Rat Demon asked at this moment.

"Was there anything wrong with what I just said?" The little Nian beast raised its head and looked at the three zodiac demons: snake, horse, and ox.

It suddenly remembered something and said with a start, "Oh, I forgot to mention... I didn't mean the three of you attacking together, but all eight of you attacking together, understand?"

A brief silence enveloped the vast temple, followed by a burst of laughter.

The little monster raised an eyebrow and looked up in the direction of the laughter. It saw the Rat Demon and the Monkey Demon, the former laughing so hard that his beard trembled, and the latter shaking the half-eaten peach crumbs out of his mouth, which fell with a thud inside the temple.

"What's so funny?" the little Nian beast asked, puzzled.

"The younger generation is truly formidable, truly formidable..." The Rat Demon grabbed his beard, trying to suppress his laughter.

“Even the Nian Beast King, at your age, probably wouldn’t dare say he could fight against the entire Zodiac team at the same time,” the Monkey Demon sighed lazily.

The Green Serpent Demon narrowed its eyes, its vertical pupils so cold they seemed to freeze.

It already disliked the Nian Beast Prince who had left home without a word, causing countless demons to die on Haifan Mountain. Now that the little Nian Beast had shamelessly returned to the mountain, acting as if nothing had happened, it was even more annoying, not to mention the little Nian Beast's contemptuous attitude.

The little beast looked at the members of the Zodiac Team and said, "You guys were the ones who suggested testing me, so can you stop talking nonsense?" It scratched its ear and said, "You're all so slow and hesitant. I would have thought your zodiac signs were turtles."

“Since Lord Nian Beast has said so, then I’ll be the first to ask, let me see what Lord Nian Beast has been doing for the past ten years,” said Mad Bull Demon.

In the blink of an eye, the Mad Bull Demon had already opened its eyes.

It suddenly stood up, its horns pointing forward, its four limbs landing on the ground. With a deafening roar, it shattered the ground, creating a crack. Then, its massive body charged towards the little beast, stirring up a dark, swirling gust of wind.

The little beast heard a deafening roar in its ears. The entire temple trembled, and even the waterfall at the temple's exit was deformed. With howling winds, the fifty-meter-tall behemoth charged straight at it.

It was as terrifying as a train speeding along.

The angry bull drew closer, and the bull's face reflected in the pupils grew larger and larger.

The little beast stomped its foot and leaped, its slender body tumbling once in mid-air. Its body rapidly expanded, from tiny to enormous, like a datura flower that sprouted from a seed and finally bloomed.

In an instant, a 30-meter-long, purplish-red giant lion opened its massive jaws, roared, and crashed down, its body enveloped in a raging torrent of flames, like a purplish-red meteor falling from the sky, illuminating the entire dim temple.

[Fierce Assault of Demonic Flames: The Little Nian Beast is covered in demonic flames, charging forward with all its might, transforming into a torrent of fire to attack its opponent, entering a state where it cannot be stopped.]

The members of the Zodiac Team were all taken aback. They seemed to have never expected the little Nian Beast to grow so quickly. The normal lifespan of a Nian Beast is around two hundred years, and to reach the size of a Nian Beast King, it would take at least eighty or ninety years.

But the Little Year Beast is only 19 years old, and its growth rate far exceeds that of other races of the same age.

In an instant, the little beast transformed into a massive pillar of fire, colliding with the mad bull demon. A thunderous gale swept outwards, carrying with it fragments of embers and flames, the purple-red light both alluring and ferocious.

Suddenly, the Rainbow Horse Demon swung its tail, and a burst of rainbow light swept out, enveloping the Little Year Beast and the Mad Bull Demon, absorbing the sweeping flames into it.

"Bang—!" A muffled, loud thud resounded as the Mad Bull Demon's body was uncontrollably thrown backward, its limbs scraping against the ground and creating sparks, plowing out two furrows that stretched for hundreds of meters.

It raised its head in disbelief, looking at the 30-meter-tall, purplish-red giant lion.

At this moment, the Green Serpent Demon silently sprang up from its seat and shot towards the Little Year Beast from mid-air, like a green arrow.

"It's faster than I expected. It seems it's more than just a near-catastrophic event..."

Little Nian knew that every demon in the Green Snake Demon clan possessed a toxin powerful enough to kill a whale instantly, and the Green Snake, chosen to be a member of the Zodiac Team, naturally had an even more dangerous toxin.

Even a cataclysmic mech might not be able to withstand the Green Serpent's potent venom. Being crippled or paralyzed is a minor matter; if the toxin were to penetrate the vulnerable parts of the body, leading to infection and death, that would be truly terrifying.

At that moment, the little beast's body suddenly shrank, and even gradually transformed into the outline of a human, a teenager with black hair and black eyes, and a wisp of purplish-red hair on his forehead.

The flames had not yet subsided, and his body was covered in purplish-red flames, so he was not seen naked in their eyes.

"It transformed into human form during the battle?" The Rat Demon was taken aback. "What is Lord Little Year Beast thinking?"

"Is he showing weakness?" Mad Bull Demon frowned. "But Green Serpent isn't someone you can just talk to."

The Rainbow Horse Demon raised its heterochromatic eyes and stared motionlessly at the human-shaped Little Year Beast, ready to stop the Green Snake Demon with a burst of rainbow light at any moment.

The next second, the little beast suddenly raised its right hand towards the direction from which the green snake demon had shot, its five fingers growing out like those of a wild beast. It then drew a dark crack in mid-air, and the crack generated a violent suction force.

"Do you want to go head-to-head with me?"

At that moment, the Green Serpent Demon's body was covered with layers upon layers of scales, each scale coated with deadly poison. Simultaneously, the scales suddenly became transparent, and its entire body vanished from the spot.

This is one of the racial talents that the Green Serpent Demon has developed over hundreds of years of hunting, allowing it to become like air, thus avoiding attacks from enemies.

But it was no use. Even though it was prepared, its transparent body still plunged into the spatial rift. Immediately, the rift closed and it vanished from the spot.

[Spatial Claw: Creates a spatial rift leading to an independent space. You can enter this independent space or temporarily teleport enemies into it. After the time limit expires, the enemies will automatically return to reality.]

"This is... a spatial ability?" The Rainbow Horse Demon could no longer contain his surprise and suddenly jumped up from the huge futon.

At this moment, the little Nian beast turned its head and gave Hongma a cold look. It thought that Hongma Demon also intended to be its challenger, so it clenched its right fist and entered a dark, circular spatial rift.

In an instant, his fist appeared fifty meters away, right at the jaw of the Rainbow Horse Demon.

"Soliugen—!" Little Nian Beast shouted, mimicking the "Rising Dragon Fist" move from Street Fighter, plunging his entire arm into the spatial rift and delivering an uppercut that slammed into Rainbow Horse Demon's chin!
Rainbow Horse Demon then came to his senses, a look of astonishment appearing in his eyes.

An ordinary human punch would certainly be no match for this colossal horse. But this was the fist of the Little Nian Beast. Even in human form, the Little Nian Beast's power far surpassed that of ordinary Calamity-level beings, and it could even hold its own against the Four Great Bee Lords who had not yet become kings.

At that moment, the Little Year Beast's uppercut slammed into the Rainbow Horse Demon's jaw. The Rainbow Horse's flesh and bones rose and fell like waves, and then its entire head was raised high with a neigh, spittle flying out.

[A surprise attack from a distance: The human-form Nian beast's limbs burrow into a spatial rift, instantly appearing within a 50-meter radius to launch a surprise attack on the enemy.]

"Have you had enough fun?" The little Nian beast snorted and withdrew its fist from the spatial rift.

While the lingering flames in the air still provided some cover, it quickly transformed into its Nian beast form, becoming that bouncy little lion again, with a wisp of flame rising above its head.

The crack that had closed and disappeared suddenly opened up, as if a strange creature had opened its chaotic mouth and spat out the Green Serpent Demon.

The Green Serpent Demon pressed its tail against the ground, then quickly launched itself backward, landing on the prayer mat.

At this moment, apart from the Totoro Demon who was still lying on the futon with a pitiful expression, wagging its tail, the other seven zodiac demons were all looking at the little Nian beast with surprise.

"I'm asking you a question... are you testing me?" The little Nian beast squatted down on the ground, raised its paw to cover its mouth, yawned, and scratched the fur on its head.

The Green Serpent Demon remained silent, not even understanding what had just happened.

"No more exams." The Rat Demon stroked his beard. "The Little Year Beast's strength is truly beyond what it used to be... Not only can he use demonic flames flexibly, but he can also bring spatial abilities to such an advanced level. He truly deserves to be the Great Lord's child."

The mischievous monkey demon took a bite of the peach, swallowed the whole thing, and then patted the peach crumbs off his hands.

The Aries Demon suddenly spoke up, "Let's leave it at that. Don't make things too difficult for Lord Little Year Beast. It was indeed wrong of it to leave without permission for ten years, but now that it has returned to help us, isn't that a way of making amends for its mistake?"

The little Nian beast looked curiously at the kind-faced white sheep, never expecting that someone would speak up for him.

Although, from their perspective, the conflict over the Nian Beast Lake back then was indeed caused by the little Nian Beast running away from home.

However, from Ji Minghuan's perspective, regardless of whether he generated the "Little Year Beast" body or not, the conflict between the two sides was something that would happen no matter what. The appearance of the Little Year Beast merely changed the reason that served as the trigger.

Therefore, he has no need to feel guilty about it, and even less need to apologize to these people in a humble manner.

It's as if he didn't consider Xia Pingzhou's family as his own, because if the second unit hadn't been created, Xia Pingzhou wouldn't have existed in the first place.

Even if the family killed by the Ripper were all dead, no one named "Xia Pingzhou" would feel angry about it or even try to take revenge.

Similarly, Su Ying's death was the same; in Ji Minghuan's view, she had no obligation to avenge Gu Wenyu's mother.

Since he never existed in the first place, Ji Minghuan had no need to bear the emotions and responsibilities of a non-existent person. All his actions were for his own benefit. If he hadn't had to kill the Ripper, he wouldn't have bothered with all that trouble.

"So where's my dad?" The little Nian beast tilted its head.

The Rainbow Horse Demon, who had been inexplicably punched, lowered its head and prostrated itself on the futon once more, pondering, "The Great Lord has not yet returned, Lord Nian Beast, please wait a moment."

"I'll go find the Great Lord and tell him this news," the Green Serpent Demon said coldly.

"What news?" the little Nian beast asked. "Tell him I've passed your test, and he can come see me now?"

"No, the Great Lord doesn't know that Lord Little Nian Beast has returned yet."

The little Nian beast was taken aback.

"The test I mentioned earlier was just something I made up. I apologize to you." With that, the Green Serpent Demon's figure shot out from the futon, passing by the Little Year Beast like a phantom, and disappearing into the morning light through the waterfall.

"Has it always been like this?" The little Nian beast looked at the Rat Demon.

"It's always like this. If we don't cooperate, it'll start sulking again," the Rat Demon sighed.

"Little Nian Beast, why did you punch me just now?" asked the Rainbow Horse Demon. "Oh, sorry, I thought you were going to test me too," said the Little Nian Beast. "I should have known better than to give you a Rising Dragon Fist. Since my father hasn't come back yet, I'll go out for a stroll." With that, the Little Nian Beast skipped away.

It flew through the waterfall, spewing columns of fire from its hooves, leaping through the forest like fireworks, before finally settling down on a branch of a giant tree.

The little beast quietly gazed at the distant valley. When it was a child, when the Great King was too busy to take it for a ride on the cliffs outside, it would often stay alone on this tree, watching the grass grow and the birds fly in spring, and watching the snow fall in winter.

Looking at the forest bathed in the morning light, the little beast suddenly remembered what had happened eleven years ago.

After meeting on that smuggling boat, Lin Xingshi and Xiao Nian Beast talked for an entire night.

Finally, Lin Xingshi told the little Nian beast to take a nap first, while she would keep an eye on the bad guys on the ship. The little Nian beast didn't think much of it, rested its head on Lin Xingshi's shoulder, closed its eyes, and wanted to sleep.

“My clothes are very dirty, covered in dust,” Lin Xingshi said. “Don’t lean against me.”

“It’s alright, you smell very nice,” said the little beast.

Lin Xingshi was taken aback, and his face turned slightly red.

The little Nian beast fell into a deep sleep.

When they woke up the next day, the human smuggling ship had already arrived in Lejing, the capital of China.

Lin Xingshi and Xiao Nian were visiting such a big city for the first time. The two of them leaned against the ship window, curiously looking outside.

What comes into view is a vast steel metropolis, with towering skyscrapers standing side by side like giants. Billboards along the streets display advertisements for "Nutritional Express," and stylishly dressed people stroll through the streets.

“This is Li Jing.” Lin Xingshi wiped the dust off his face.

“Li Jing,” the little beast murmured.

"Xiao Nian, have you ever been to Lijing?" she asked, turning her head.

The little monster shook its head, staring blankly at the bustling crowd outside the window. The morning light streamed down, illuminating the faces of the two children in the cabin.

"Let's go." Lin Xingshi took the little Nian beast's hand, humming a song softly as he led him down from the cabin, while keeping an eye on the stowaways inside.

Just as they were about to leave, someone on the ship suddenly tried to attack them. He hurriedly approached with a cloth bag and a rag, but Lin Xingshi only turned his head once, and a burst of blazing flame from his hand burned a bloody spot on the man's hand.

At that moment, the little Nian beast seemed to see a blurry, crimson lion shadow above the short-haired girl's head.

He suddenly remembered what the Nian Beast King had once told him: exorcists are the greatest enemies of demons. But Lin Xing Shi seemed to be an exorcist. Could he really go with her?
"Don't follow me, or I won't be so lenient next time." With that, Lin Xingshi wiped his nose and, amidst the man's screams, smugly pulled Little Nian Beast away.

As the two walked down the street in Lijing, Lin Xingshi glanced at Xiao Nian's clean clothes, then at his own tattered overalls, and suddenly felt a little inferior.

She hadn't changed her clothes for days, and hadn't showered in a while. She was a mess, her face covered in dust, looking like a little beggar.

"Don't I look like a beggar?" She suddenly let go of the little beast's hand, put it behind her back, and asked in a low voice as she walked, her expression nonchalant.

What is a beggar?

“You mean those guys who have no money and can only beg from others?” Lin Xingshi raised an eyebrow. “How come you don’t know anything about this? No wonder you got kidnapped.”

"Then I want to be a beggar too," the little Nian beast whispered. "Being a beggar is great, so free, so powerful."

“You…” Lin Xingshi shook his head, “Forget it, you wouldn’t understand even if I told you.”

"Forget it, you wouldn't understand even if I told you." The little Nian beast was mimicking her words again.

"By the way, where did you get such clean clothes?" Lin Xingshi suddenly asked again.

"I don't know." The little Nian beast shook its head.

He knew he couldn't reveal that he was a demon, nor could he say that he had secretly taken a set of clothes from the children's clothing store, otherwise Lin Xingshi might beat him to death.

She's a dangerous exorcist; demons should fear exorcists the most!
"Fine." Lin Xingshi pouted and muttered, "Then let's keep our distance, otherwise people will look at us with strange eyes, as if I, this little beggar, really kidnapped you."

"Weren't you going to kidnap me?" The little beast stopped, tilted its head, and stared blankly at her. "You... don't want me anymore?"

Lin Xingshi was stunned.

After a long while, she opened her mouth but couldn't speak. Finally, with a speechless expression, she took his hand and said, "Okay! Let's go. Who cares what others think?"

“My mom says… girls should be pretty.” Little Nian, being led by her, suddenly said, “I’m a boy, I should give you my clothes.”

Lin Xingshi shook his head. "How can this be? I don't want to."

"you want."

"I do not want."

“Okay, then you’re a boy and I’m a girl,” said the little monster. “That way I can wear pretty clothes and you can wear dirty clothes. It’s fair.”

Lin Xingshi choked.

She coughed several times, then laughed and touched his forehead. "I'm so curious about how your head is structured... But I don't want to be a boy, and if you treat me like one, I'll be sad."

The little beast looked at her quietly and attentively. He could tell that Lin Xingshi was a little sad, but he didn't know what to say.

A moment later, he walked away without saying a word.

"Where are you going?" Lin Xingshi was taken aback. She asked as she followed the little Nian beast.

The little monster ran to the outside of a children's clothing store, peered out from behind the glass display case for a while, and then reached its hand into the dark, gaping rift in the space, grabbing a little dress and a denim jacket.

Lin Xingshi stared blankly at the scene, completely stunned.

Under her unwavering gaze, the little beast withdrew its hand from the spatial rift, then turned around and handed the clean clothes to Lin Xingshi.

"You... are you a superhuman?" Lin Xingshi asked after a long pause.

"The Little New Year is not a demon, the Little New Year is not a demon..."

The little Nian beast seemed a bit uneasy and muttered something to itself.

"What are you talking about? What kind of demon can use spatial abilities?" Lin Xingshi said seriously. "My father said that only humans can use spatial abilities. It is the highest level of superpower. If used well, it can defeat anyone."

She paused for a moment, then said, "Besides, it takes a very, very long time for a demon to transform into a human. How could someone as young as you become a human?"

"Oh, oh, oh, oh." The little Nian beast slowly raised its head. "Then I am a superhuman."

"You don't actually think you're a demon all this time, do you?" Lin Xingshi asked, looking at him curiously.

"It's all my dad's fault. He said I was a demon, but it turns out I'm a superhuman." The little beast suddenly realized, "My dad is such a bad guy."

"Didn't your parents die?" Lin Xingshi asked suspiciously. "You told me that on the ship."

The little monster suddenly shut up, then nodded vigorously, "Yes, it's dead."

Lin Xingshi remained silent for a while, looked at his lowered head, and then at the clean little dress and coat in her hand. She suddenly felt like crying.

At this moment, the store manager of the children's clothing store came out. She was stunned for a moment, wiped her eyes, grabbed the little monster's hand and ran away.

As they ran, a light drizzle suddenly began to fall, so they ran into an abandoned building to take shelter from the rain.

Lin Xingshi and Xiao Nian Shou sat down against the pillar, gazing at the white expanse of the city outside the window, where the traffic lights shifted their hazy glow in the rain.

"Thank you," Lin Xingshi suddenly said.

"What's wrong?" the little Nian beast asked, puzzled.

"Only you treat me like a girl." Lin Xingshi hugged the clothes that the little beast had stolen for her and said in a low voice, "My family members all say that it would be better if I were a boy... but I don't want to be a boy at all, I really don't want to at all."

"Then I won't be one!" the little beast shouted angrily. "I don't like my family either. They lock me up and won't let me leave."

It rained harder and harder.

The two children in the abandoned building remained silent, gazing at the torrential rain outside the window.

"It's so good to have met you," Lin Xingshi suddenly said. "Otherwise, I would be all alone, not even knowing where to go."

"Me too."

The little Nian beast nodded.

The heavy rain blurred the view reflected on the window, where two blurry, small black figures nestled together in the abandoned building, quietly asleep.

"The Great King is back—!" Suddenly, a sharp rooster crowed through the forest, the sound wave sweeping across the entire mountain forest like a whirlwind, reaching the ears of the little Nian beast.

This was undoubtedly the work of the Divine Chicken Demons. Whenever the Great Lord of the Year Beast returned, the Divine Chicken Demons clan in the forest would shout loudly like a messenger eunuch.

The purplish-red lion cub opened its eyes from the tree branch, slowly raised its head, and realized that it had been reminiscing about the past and had fallen asleep without realizing it.

It looked into the distance and saw that the originally dark forest had suddenly become brightly lit, like a long street in a city at night. The lantern demons emitted warm light, illuminating the deep paths.

The little Nian beast slapped the gear panel with its paw, bringing up the main quest.

[Main Quest 1 (Phase One): Gain the approval of the "Nian Beast King" and the "Zodiac Team," thereby succeeding the Nian Beast King and gaining control over all demons on Mount Haifan.]

"Has the Nian Beast King returned?" the little Nian Beast wondered, shaking its head. "If I hurry up and beat up my dad in front of the Zodiac Team, can I make them admit that I am the true Demon King?"

(End of this chapter)