Zhang Daring glanced disdainfully at these ignorant nobodies, his expression and tone dripping with condescending arrogance. Only then did he continue.
"Don't be fooled by how powerful these creatures are. For various reasons, people deliberately engineered all sorts of weaknesses into them, so they could be controlled with ease."
"After all, you've seen how devastating their power can be. Who'd dare claim they could take them down easily without some kind of trick? And even if they did, how many casualties would it take?"
"By chance, when this Ice Silkworm was still weak, it nearly got eaten by a mouse. You can tell from that notch in its body."
At his words, everyone looked closer and sure enough, spotted a tooth-shaped notch in the Ice Silkworm's tender white body.
"Because it nearly died when it was weak, even after becoming an Ice Blood Cold Silkworm, it retained a weakness: when faced with a particular kind of mouse, it panics and gives up all its strength, leaving itself at the creature's mercy."
"What a powerful, yet tragic creature."
As he spoke, Zhang Daring couldn't help but sigh.
"And by chance, this mouse is the new generation of inhibitor chosen by that old immortal after the previous one died of old age."
As they spoke, the mouse had already managed, with some difficulty, to pick up the Ice Silkworm and stuff it into the little wooden box.
The Ice Silkworm didn't move at all, as though it were dead.
An ordinary mouse certainly couldn't have done this, but this one had undergone special training and conditioning. Its actions had long since become almost reflexive.
Then it picked up the box again and started walking back.
But now, one of the people present wasn't willing to let it go.
Before, there had been secrets to hear—secrets only people of a certain stature were qualified to know. But now that they'd heard them, the treasure was about to get away.
Who'd be happy with that?
Snake Granny first whispered to the person behind her, "Zhao Girl, leave with your brother. This is beyond you now."
Then she was the first to attack. Though she was already frail with age, she now displayed a nimbleness that belied her appearance.
Faint traces of scales appeared on her face. She slithered forward like a venomous snake and, in just a few movements, reached the mouse, reaching out to snatch the box.
"Squeak!"
The mouse was so startled that it dropped the little wooden box with a smack and froze on the spot.
As soon as the box was out of the mouse's reach, the Ice Silkworm inside began thrashing about. The whole box looked as if it had gone berserk.
She was just about to grab the box.
But would Zhang Daring really allow that? Had he told them so much just to blab honestly?
Of course not!
He'd only been stalling for time. After all, he'd broken through by relying on an external object.
It had let him ascend in a single leap and gain power comparable to the peak of the Six Limits, but it had also made it difficult for him to control that immense power at will.
After stalling for so long, he had nearly managed to bring all that power under his command.
The muscles in his right hand, clad in the enormous Golden Gauntlet, suddenly swelled. Countless fine, hard black hairs burst out like shoots after a spring rain, spreading up his arm.
In a split second, his arm turned completely black and thickened into a hulking, inhuman limb.
The gauntlet, which had looked slightly ill-fitting before, now fit his massive arm perfectly, as if they had always been one.
Then he clenched his fist, surged forward, and leaped, bringing the massive golden gauntlet crashing down on Snake Granny from above.
"What?"
A fist like a little giant's came crashing down from overhead. Snake Granny's pupils contracted sharply. She let out a startled cry and hurriedly checked her stride, barely dodging the enormous fist by bending as if she had no bones.
Only then did she have time to get a clear look at Zhang Daring.
He no longer looked human. His muscles had flushed red from the rush of blood, and wisps of white vapor slowly rose from his body. His right arm had turned entirely into a thick limb covered in black hair.
The huge black arm and the Golden Gauntlet complemented each other, like the right hand of a giant god.
"Is this the Six Limits? Is that a Wrathful Vajra of the Buddhist Sect?"
But as soon as Snake Granny said it, she took it back herself. "No, that can't be right. At your age, and with Master Guangshan being such an impoverished cultivator, you couldn't have reached the Six Limits. This is..."
"He swallowed the Martial Stone!"
Before Snake Granny could finish, the Handsome Young Man, who had kept a low profile all this time, spoke up. He gave the bald giant a complicated look and sighed. "You're throwing your life away!"
Zhang Daring didn't care what they said. He grinned. "Heh, if I hadn't swallowed the Martial Stone, the Buddhist Sect would've already purged me. As long as I can swallow everyone who dies here, along with the Ice Silkworm, I can reach the Seven Limits and join the Demon Sect."
"I see. So that's what you were after all along?" The Handsome Young Man nodded in understanding.
Snake Granny cut in, "Then you should tell us who you really are, too. You know so many secrets. I doubt you have an ordinary background."
"Mm." The young man smiled and took a silver token from his waist. "I'm Zhou Zhen of the Demon Slaying Bureau."
"Zhang Daring, you slaughtered an entire village when you broke through some time ago. You've been on the Demon Slaying Bureau's radar ever since. I'm here for that very reason."
"Another one after my head, huh? If you've got what it takes, come and get it!"
Zhang Daring bared his teeth in a savage grin. Black stripes, like tattoos, had already spread all over his body. The eerie thing was that the Black Veins seemed alive, rising and falling as if they were breathing.
As they spoke, the three of them clashed once more.
Interesting, very interesting!
Bai Chuan, who had listened to the entire exchange from high in a tree, couldn't help but exclaim.
He'd learned a whole heap of secrets in one go. His understanding of this world had deepened considerably; he was no longer completely in the dark.
But the three of them were now too busy fighting to spare a thought for anything else, and the only siblings left had finally left after some hesitation.
It looks like no one's near the Ice Silkworm down there now?
At the thought, Bai Chuan felt his heart stir. Could I take advantage of this and pick up a huge bargain?
The Demon Slaying Bureau, the Martial Stone, the bald giant's black arm that looked like an ape's, the old woman who moved like a snake.
Bai Chuan realized that this world's system of power seemed utterly unfamiliar to him. There was no flashy battle aura, no dazzling magic, and no cultivators.
What exactly did the Demon Slaying Bureau slay? Demons as he understood them, or madmen with ape-like arms?
And what was the Martial Stone?
Could he gain this kind of power, too?
All at once, countless questions bubbled up in Bai Chuan's mind.
Ever since he'd started evolving the abilities of various animals, he'd found himself increasingly eager to understand the reasons behind each ability and the principles that governed it. He desperately wanted to expand his store of knowledge.
Only then could he make better use of the Panel's abilities and become stronger.
Otherwise, he'd be like someone entering a mountain of treasure and leaving empty-handed.
He just didn't know whether the Ice Silkworm below could answer any of his questions about the true source of power in this world.
With that thought, Bai Chuan silently climbed down the tree trunk.
While the three were still fighting, he quietly made his way over to the little wooden box.
Meanwhile, the mouse was still foolishly clutching the box, standing there in a daze instead of running away.
The next moment, just as it watched the three fighters intently, a huge claw suddenly reached out from behind. In an instant, it snatched up both the mouse and the box.
Before you continue