Thunder-Winged White Tiger

In the central region of the Youquan Mountain Range lies a nameless valley with open terrain.

This valley appears unremarkable, yet for a hundred miles around it, everything is deathly silent, with not a single Magic Beast to be found.

The reason for this peculiarity is simply that a powerful Saint Realm tiger Magic Beast resides within the valley.

"Hmm?"

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

This figure was none other than Leian, who was out for training.

A human Saint Realm?

The giant tiger's eyes widened, shooting out two cold, piercing beams of light. As a Magic Beast, he had absolutely no fondness for humans. Had the intruder not been a Saint Realm expert, the mere act of stepping into his territory would have earned him only one fate: being swallowed as food.

However, the giant tiger still issued an immediate warning:

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

As the voice, sounding like a thunderclap, rang out, Leian slowed his speed and looked toward the source of the sound.

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

The moment he saw it, Leian's eyes lit up, and he subconsciously sighed:

"It's actually a Saint Realm Thunder-Winged White Tiger. This majestic appearance would make for a fine mount, but unfortunately, I no longer have any need for one..."

Leian had already reached the limit of the Saint Realm, and every expert at the Saint Realm limit had their heart set on becoming a god; Leian was no exception.

With his near-invincible strength among the Saint Realm, he could not muster any interest in anything less than a divine beast.

However, to the Thunder-Winged White Tiger, these words sounded like a grave insult and provocation.

"Human, you are courting death!"

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

"Roar!"

Amidst an angry roar, arcs of lightning rapidly condensed on the surface of the Thunder-Winged White Tiger's body. Then, with a loud "boom," two blue-and-white bolts of electricity shot out from the tiger's eyes, striking toward Leian's body like two streaks of lightning.

The laws of the thunder element are inherently superior in speed, and this strike from the Thunder-Winged White Tiger was fast to the extreme. Even Leian, caught unprepared, would have found it difficult to dodge.

Since he could not dodge, Leian simply abandoned the thought of evading. He stood with his hands behind his back, letting the lightning strike him.

However, the moment the lightning reached him, a black radiance suddenly surged from Leian's body, rapidly enveloping him.

The lightning struck the black radiance and, like winter snow meeting the scorching sun, quickly turned into a wisp of blue smoke and dissipated into nothingness.

At Leian's current level, Saint Realm-level lightning posed no threat to him. Although he could not yet force it back into its elemental state, destroying it was an effortless task.

"Not bad attack speed!"

Although the power of that lightning was lacking, the speed was worthy of Leian's sincere praise.

"Hmm?"

Seeing his full-force strike so easily neutralized by the human before him, the Thunder-Winged White Tiger was taken aback. He could no longer maintain his previous nonchalance; he leaped up, his amber tiger eyes filled with intense vigilance.

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

At this moment, even though the Thunder-Winged White Tiger could not identify Leian's background, the move Leian had just displayed told him that the person before him was definitely a peak expert among human Saint Realm practitioners.

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

"Human, your strength is quite good. If you retreat now, I can pretend that nothing ever happened."

Upon hearing this, Leian could not help but laugh. It is said that the more powerful a Magic Beast is, the more unruly it becomes. In truth, powerful Magic Beasts are also highly intelligent; for instance, this fellow before him knew very well how to be flexible.

Of course, this was based on the premise that one's own strength was sufficient. If one were not strong enough, the Saint Realm Magic Beast would not be so easy to talk to.

Leian's purpose for this trip was to seek inspiration for a breakthrough through combat. Although this Thunder-Winged White Tiger's strength was average, it must be very knowledgeable about other Saint Realm Magic Beasts in the central region, making it a perfect subject to question.

However, given the arrogant nature of Saint Realm Magic Beasts, it would likely be difficult to make it cooperate obediently without thoroughly beating it into submission.

Thinking of this, Leian deliberately provoked it: "If I don't leave, what can you do about it!"

The Thunder-Winged White Tiger had expected Leian to take the opportunity to retreat after being given an out. Who would have thought that not only would the opponent refuse to leave, but he would also deliberately provoke him? How could he endure this? He immediately roared:

"Roar—if you won't leave, then face my fury!"

Before the words had even faded, the lightning on the Thunder-Winged White Tiger's body surged. Amidst a piercing sound, the tiger's body transformed directly into a thick bolt of lightning, tearing through the air.

The moment he neared Leian, his lightning-flickering tiger claws, like the spear of a thunder god, struck directly toward Leian's chest.

"Good!"

Facing such a ferocious attack, Leian felt no fear; instead, he laughed excitedly. Without dodging or evading, he threw a punch to meet the tiger claw.

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

Bang!

"Awoo—"

After a dull, thunderous boom, the Thunder-Winged White Tiger let out a pained howl. His figure flickered, and he retreated dozens of meters away in an instant, as fast as lightning.

Leian, on the other hand, remained motionless. With his level-nine physical body combined with his Battle Qi, his strength was in no way inferior to that of the Thunder-Winged White Tiger.

At this moment, the Thunder-Winged White Tiger's eyes were filled with terror. Hovering in mid-air, he quietly raised his tiger paw to look at it.

The originally hard and sharp claws had vanished, and the entire paw looked as if it had been pierced by countless blades, riddled with holes and nearly reduced to pulp.

"What kind of bizarre attack is this?"

As the Thunder-Winged White Tiger felt terrified, deep confusion surged in his mind. The opponent had clearly used his fist, yet it had given him the sensation of being pricked by needles and slashed by knives.

However, he did not know that Leian had held back; otherwise, his tiger paw would have already vanished under the Destruction Profundity.

Leian's punch had completely subdued the Thunder-Winged White Tiger, and the latter quickly withdrew his killing intent, growling lowly:

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

Clearly terrified yet still unable to let go of his pride, the Thunder-Winged White Tiger's stubborn demeanor made Leian chuckle.

After laughing, he stated his name.

"Byron Empire, Leian."

"I am Cecil."

The Thunder-Winged White Tiger let out a low growl and asked, "Leian, you entered my territory without cause; what exactly do you want?"

He had clearly heard just moments ago that Leian was not here to look for a magic beast companion.

"Cecil, how much do you know about the Saint Realm Magic Beasts in the Youquan Mountain Range?" Leian asked indifferently.

Upon hearing this, Cecil quickly guessed Leian's intentions. Since he wasn't here for a companion, he must be here for combat and sparring.

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

Such ascetics were often very powerful, and to avoid angering Leian, Cecil sold out the other Saint Realm Magic Beasts without hesitation.

"Leian, the Youquan Mountain Range is vast. I don't know exactly how many Saint Realm Magic Beasts there are, but I only know of the dozen or so closest to me."

The Youquan Mountain Range spanned across the continent, containing countless magic beasts. Although Saint Realm Magic Beasts were invincible existences, 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, so he naturally did not know much about the Saint Realm Magic Beasts in the northeastern region.

Leian understood this logic and did not make things difficult for him, smiling, "Tell me about them!"

The Thunder-Winged White Tiger swallowed hard, looked around as if he had a guilty conscience, and then poured out everything he knew in one go.

For instance, to the south of his valley was Yunfeng Mountain, which was the territory of the Saint Realm Magic Beast, the Hurricane Iron-Winged Eagle.

To the west of Yunfeng Mountain was a dense forest, inside of which lived a Torrential Lightning Leopard...

Following that, the Earth Violent Bear, the Saint Realm Black Dragon, the Nine-Headed Serpent Emperor, and others—the dozen or so Saint Realm Magic Beasts opened Leian's eyes.