My Children’s Gifts Give Me 1000x Returns!

The stench of copper and rotting vegetation grew heavy as Gabriel led the twins deeper toward the Ironwood Ravine. The ground sloped sharply downward, jagged black rock replacing the soft mud of the outer woods.

Ahead, the earth trembled beneath rhythmic, mountain-shaking thuds.

BOOM! BOOM!

Desperate shouts and the shrill scrape of broken steel against bone echoed up from the ravine floor.

"Hold the line! Shift the heavy shields to the front!" a battle-worn voice roared, choked with blood. "We can't let it reach the inner path! The wall guards haven't responded!"

Ethan and Elena crept to the edge of a rocky ridge, peering through the thick mist into the gorge thirty feet below.

Three mercenaries wearing cracked steel armor were backed against the cliff wall. At their feet lay two corpses, smashed beyond recognition. Standing over them was a monster the size of a two-story house—the Earth-Crushing Bear. Its fur was coated in thick, stone-like calcified armor, and its bloodshot eyes glowed with furious, red light.

It was a Grade-4 Peak beast, boasting raw physical power equal to a peak Spirit Vein Opening cultivator!

"Dad..." Elena swallowed hard, her hand involuntarily tightening around her azure sword. "That thing... its aura is crushing. A single swipe from those claws would shatter our weapons."

"Its armor is thick, but its joints are exposed," Gabriel said calmly, standing right behind them on the ridge. His dark coat fluttered in the draft rising from the gorge. "It relies purely on brute force and primitive earth-element Qi. A brute with no technique is just a bigger target."

"Help! Is anyone up there?!" One of the surviving mercenaries, a grizzled man missing an eye, looked up and spotted the three figures on the ridge. His face turned pale when he saw two eighteen-year-olds and a man in simple leather attire.

"Run! You fools, run!" the mercenary screamed, spatting blood as he barely blocked a massive stone-encrusted claw with his battered tower shield. "It's a Grade-4 Peak beast! Get the City Guard—AARGH!"

The shield shattered into a dozen sharp iron splinters. The mercenary was blasted backward, slamming into the rock wall and collapsing in a heap, unconscious.

The giant bear turned its massive head toward the ridge. Scenting fresh prey, it let out a deafening roar that sent a shockwave of dust and loose gravel cascading down the ravine. It slammed its tree-trunk-sized forelegs onto the ground.

CRACK!

A jagged wave of earth spikes erupted from the gorge floor, racing up the cliff face directly toward Ethan and Elena!

"Test your movement techniques!" Gabriel commanded, his voice cold and steady. "Do not retreat!"

Ethan and Elena didn't hesitate. Trusting their father implicitly, they leapt off the ridge straight into the gorge.

Mid-air, Elena activated the subtle footwork principles she had absorbed from her training. Her body blurred like a streak of blue lightning, treading light as a feather on top of the rising stone spikes, completely dodging the crushing wave.

Ethan dropped like a meteor, channeling his gold-tempered bone strength straight into his heels.

BOOM!

He landed heavily ten feet from the beast, his linen-wrapped spear already loaded with concentrated physical power.

"Roar all you want!" Ethan yelled, stepping into the beast's dead angle. He thrusted his spear forward like an iron bolt, targeting the soft leather-like skin behind the bear's left front leg.

STAB!

Blood squirted out as the spear pierced two inches deep into the beast's hide before grinding to a halt against its massive ribcage.

The bear howled in rage, its massive tail whipping around to crush Ethan's skull.

CLANG!

Elena appeared in a flash of azure light, her sword ringing like a tuning fork as she deflected the tail swipe, redirecting the devastating momentum into the rock wall behind them.

"Its hide is too dense!" Ethan shouted, leaping backward as the bear's giant claw smashed the ground where he had been standing a split-second ago. "Our current physical strength can only scratch it!"

"That's because you're fighting its armor instead of its Qi flow!" Gabriel's voice sounded directly beside Ethan's ear.

Ethan blinked. His father was suddenly standing in the middle of the chaotic battleground, hands tucked casually into his pockets, completely unbothered by the terrifying pressure of the Grade-4 beast.

The Earth-Crushing Bear swung its lethal, stone-clad paw straight at Gabriel's head, the sheer wind pressure tearing up the surrounding stone floor.

Gabriel didn't even move his hands from his pockets. He simply raised his right foot and tapped the air gently.

THUMMMMM—

A ripple of invisible, gold-tinted spatial pressure exploded outward.

The air in the ravine froze. The massive, house-sized bear was instantly stopped mid-swing, its enormous claw hovering barely two inches from Gabriel's face—completely immobilized by an absolute, crushing domain!

The surviving mercenaries who were still conscious gasped, their eyes almost popping out of their sockets.

"S-Spatial pressure?!" the eye-patched mercenary stammered, coughing up blood as he stared at Gabriel in utter disbelief. "He... he stopped a Grade-4 Peak beast with a flick of his foot?! Is he a Martial Grandmaster?!"

Gabriel looked up at the roaring, helpless beast, his eyes glinting with a cold, calculating light.

"You're a bit too wild to be a good punching bag," Gabriel murmured softly.

He reached into his coat and drew out two small, blank silver talismans—Low-Grade Spirit Binding Seals he had bought from a street vendor in the Outer City for ten copper coins.

He flicked his fingers, driving a strand of his refined Martial Scholar Qi into the talismans, and slapped them onto the bear's forehead.

[Ding! Host has used 2x Low-Grade Spirit Binding Seals on a wild beast to aid in Offspring training.]

[Triggering 300x Critical Return!]

[Host receives: High-Grade Ancient Beast-Taming Artifact — 'Grand Sovereign Collar'!]

(Subdues and completely controls any wild beast up to the Martial King Realm, suppressing or amplifying its power at the Host's command.)

Gabriel felt a heavy, ornate golden collar appear instantly inside his System inventory. A sharp, satisfied smile broke across his face.

With the Grand Sovereign Collar, he could lock this Grade-4 beast at a Grade-2 or Grade-3 power level, allowing Ethan and Elena to fight it in a controlled environment inside their villa's private arena without any risk of fatal accidents!

Gabriel snapped his fingers. The golden collar materialized around the giant bear's neck, flashing with ancient runic light before sinking beneath its thick fur.

Instantly, the raging, bloodthirsty fury in the bear's red eyes vanished, replaced by complete, absolute submission. It dropped its massive front legs to the dirt, bowing its head toward Gabriel like an obedient house dog.

Ethan and Elena stared at the giant monster kneeling at their father's feet, completely speechless.

"Dad..." Ethan rasped, lowering his spear. "Did you... did you just make a Grade-4 beast your pet?"

"Not my pet. Your sparring partner," Gabriel corrected, patting the giant bear's snout. "I've suppressed its power. From tomorrow, you two will fight it three hours a day in the Radiant Crest Villa arena until you can break through its hide without my help."

He turned his gaze toward the three surviving mercenaries leaning against the cliff wall, who were looking at him as if he were a god descended to the mortal realm.

Gabriel tossed a small pouch of silver coins to the eye-patched leader.

"Take your dead and wounded, get back to the city, and keep your mouths shut about what you saw here," Gabriel commanded, his voice cold and commanding. "If word spreads that I'm keeping a Grade-4 beast in the Outer District, it will cause unnecessary noise."

The mercenary leader caught the pouch, bowing frantically until his forehead touched the ground. "Y-Yes, Senior! We saw nothing! We were saved by a wandering senior expert who killed the beast and left! We swear on our martial hearts!"

"Good." Gabriel waved his hand. The massive Earth-Crushing Bear shrank down under the power of the collar, becoming the size of a large hunting dog, and trotted submissively behind Gabriel.

Gabriel looked back at his son and daughter, his expression turning strict once more.

"The sun is high. We have two more hours of wilderness hunting before we return to the villa to begin your intensive training." Gabriel's eyes narrowed as he looked toward the Inner City walls looming on the horizon. "Three months pass quickly. I want you both at the Spirit Vein Opening Realm before you take one step into that college."