Thunder-Winged White Tiger

In the central region of the Youquan Mountain Range lay an unnamed valley with open terrain.

The valley appeared utterly ordinary, yet within a hundred-mile radius centered on it, everything was silent. Not a single magical beast could be found.

It was so unusual only because a powerful tiger-type Saint Realm magical beast lived within the valley.

"Hmm?"

One day, the giant tiger, which had been dozing, suddenly opened its eyes and looked toward the valley entrance. In its sight, a human figure was flying through the air.

That figure was none other than Leian, who had gone out to train.

A human Saint Realm expert?

The giant tiger's eyes widened, shooting out two cold beams of light. As a magical beast, he held no goodwill toward humans. If the newcomer had not been a Saint Realm expert, merely setting foot in his territory would have earned him only one fate: being swallowed as food.

Still, the giant tiger immediately issued a warning:

"Human, you have crossed the line. You are not welcome here. Get out at once!"

A voice like rolling thunder rang out. Leian slowed down and looked in the direction of the sound.

It was a white-furred tiger two meters tall and nearly four meters long, with a pair of enormous wings growing from its back.

The instant he saw it, Leian's eyes lit up, and he instinctively sighed.

"It's actually a Saint Realm magical beast, a Thunder-Winged White Tiger. It does look imposing enough to serve as a mount, but unfortunately, I no longer need one..."

Leian had already reached the limit of the Saint Realm. Every Saint Realm peak expert had only one goal in mind: becoming a god. Naturally, Leian was no exception.

With strength that made him nearly invincible within the Saint Realm, nothing short of a divine beast could stir his interest.

Yet to the Thunder-Winged White Tiger, Leian's words were an extreme insult and provocation.

"Human, you are courting death!"

Sure enough, the Thunder-Winged White Tiger was enraged.

"Roar!"

Amid its furious roar, arcs of lightning rapidly condensed across the Thunder-Winged White Tiger's body. Then, with a boom, two blue-white bolts shot from its eyes, striking viciously toward Leian like lightning.

The Laws of Lightning were naturally known for speed, and the Thunder-Winged White Tiger's attack was unbelievably fast. Even Leian would have found it difficult to evade without preparation.

Since he could not dodge it, Leian simply abandoned any thought of avoiding it. He clasped his hands behind his back and allowed the lightning to strike him.

However, the instant the lightning reached him, a black radiance suddenly surged from Leian's body and swiftly enveloped him.

When the lightning struck the black radiance, it was like winter snow meeting the blazing sun. It instantly turned into a wisp of green smoke and vanished.

At Leian's current level, Saint Realm lightning posed no threat to him whatsoever. Although he could not yet return it to its elemental state, destroying it was effortless.

"Not bad speed!"

Though the lightning's power was lacking, its speed still earned Leian's sincere praise.

"Hmm?"

Seeing his full-force attack so easily neutralized by the human before him, the Thunder-Winged White Tiger was shocked. He could no longer maintain his earlier casual manner. His body leaped into the air, and his amber tiger eyes filled with vigilance.

Although Saint Realm magical beasts lived in the Youquan Mountain Range year-round, they were not entirely ignorant of human experts.

At this moment, though the Thunder-Winged White Tiger could not identify Leian's origins, the move Leian had just displayed was enough for him to realize that this man was definitely among the strongest human Saint Realm experts.

He did not wish to offend such an expert too deeply, so he said,

"Human, your strength is impressive. Leave at once, and I will pretend nothing happened."

Leian could not help laughing when he heard that. They said that the stronger magical beasts were, the more unruly they became, but in truth, powerful magical beasts were also highly intelligent. This fellow, for instance, knew very well how to adapt.

Of course, that was only when your strength was sufficient. If you were not strong enough, Saint Realm magical beasts would not be nearly so reasonable.

Leian had come here to seek inspiration for a breakthrough through battle. Though the Thunder-Winged White Tiger was only moderately strong, it surely knew the other Saint Realm magical beasts in the central region well. It was an excellent source of information.

However, given the prideful nature of Saint Realm magical beasts, unless he thoroughly beat it into submission, it would be difficult to make it cooperate obediently.

With that thought, Leian deliberately provoked it. "What if I refuse to leave? What can you do about it?"

The Thunder-Winged White Tiger had originally thought that, since he had offered Leian a way out, Leian would leave accordingly. Who would have thought that not only would the other party refuse to go, but he would deliberately provoke him? How could he endure that? He immediately roared,

"Roar—if you will not leave, then face my wrath!"

Before the words had faded, lightning flared across the Thunder-Winged White Tiger's body. Amid a piercing crackle, its body transformed directly into a thick bolt of lightning and tore through the air.

The instant it closed in on Leian, its lightning-wreathed tiger claw became like the spear of a thunder god, lunging straight for Leian's chest.

"Good!"

Faced with such a ferocious attack, Leian not only felt no fear, but burst into excited laughter. Without dodging or evading, he threw a punch directly at the tiger claw.

His fist, wrapped in Destruction Battle Qi, was like an iron hammer as it collided with the tiger claw.

Bang!

"Aoo—"

After a dull, thunderous impact, the Thunder-Winged White Tiger let out a pained howl. Its body flashed, retreating dozens of meters in an instant like a bolt of lightning.

Leian, in contrast, did not move an inch. With his level-nine physical body reinforced by battle qi, his strength was in no way inferior to the Thunder-Winged White Tiger's.

At that moment, the Thunder-Winged White Tiger's eyes were filled with terror. Hovering in the air, he quietly raised his tiger claw before his eyes.

The hard, sharp claws had vanished. The entire paw looked as if it had been pierced by countless blades, riddled with holes and nearly mangled beyond recognition.

"What kind of strange attack was that?"

As terror filled the Thunder-Winged White Tiger's heart, deep confusion also surged through his mind. The other party had clearly used a fist, yet it felt as though he had been pricked by needles and sliced by blades.

What he did not know was that Leian had held back. Otherwise, that tiger paw would already have vanished beneath the Destruction Profundity.

Leian's punch had completely intimidated the Thunder-Winged White Tiger. The latter swiftly withdrew his killing intent and growled,

"Human, your strength has earned my respect. Tell me your name!"

He was clearly frightened, yet still unwilling to lose face. The Thunder-Winged White Tiger's stubborn posturing amused Leian greatly.

After laughing, he gave his name.

"Leian of the Byron Empire."

"I am Cecil."

The Thunder-Winged White Tiger growled and asked, "Leian, why have you entered my territory for no reason?"

He had heard Leian clearly just now. Leian had not come looking for a magical pet.

"Cecil, how much do you know about the Saint Realm magical beasts of the Youquan Mountain Range?" Leian asked calmly.

Upon hearing this, Cecil quickly guessed Leian's intentions. Since Leian had not come to seek a magical pet, he must have come to spar in battle.

After all, he had heard that among human Saint Realm experts, there were ascetics who often challenged experts of the same level, including Saint Realm magical beasts.

Such ascetics were usually extremely powerful. To avoid angering Leian, Cecil did not hesitate to sell out the other Saint Realm magical beasts.

"Leian, the Youquan Mountain Range is vast. I do not know exactly how many Saint Realm magical beasts there are. I only know of the dozen or so closest to me."

The Youquan Mountain Range stretched across the continent and contained countless magical beasts. Though Saint Realm magical beasts were invincible beings, they rarely left their own territories.

The valley where the Thunder-Winged White Tiger lived was located in the southwestern section of the Youquan Mountain Range. Naturally, he knew little about the Saint Realm magical beasts in the northeastern region.

Leian understood the reasoning and did not make things difficult for him. Smiling, he said, "Tell me."

The Thunder-Winged White Tiger swallowed, then furtively looked around as if he had a guilty conscience before pouring out everything he knew.

For instance, south of his valley was Yunfeng Mountain, the territory of the Saint Realm magical beast Hurricane Iron-Winged Eagle.

West of Yunfeng Mountain lay a dense forest, home to a Torrential Lightning Leopard...

Then there were the Earth Violent Bear, the Saint Realm Black Dragon, the Nine-Headed Serpent Emperor, and more. The dozen or so Saint Realm magical beasts opened Leian's eyes.