Ji Xuan was drenched in blood, golden liquid splattered all over him.
He wiped the bead of blood sliding from the corner of his eye, his expression darkening to the extreme.
The dying man suddenly sat bolt upright—turns out I was the clown all along!
Who would've thought that besides borrowing a knife to kill, there was also a trick called concealing the truth?
No matter how many precautions you took, you could never guard against a thief in your own house.
Zhou Yuan and the other six had joined the alliance under different identities and through different channels, each claiming they didn't know the others. All of them were "spies" Mu Chen had planted within their ranks.
Ji Xuan had been delighted to find such talented people and had even made all sorts of promises to win them over.
Now that he thought about it, it was nothing short of silent mockery.
Meanwhile, Mu Chen took out a fist-sized Spirit Beast Essence, brimming with spiritual energy. A tiny golden beast drifted within it. He hurled it with all his might toward the mountain peak.
With a bang, the Spirit Beast Essence struck a massive beast squarely and exploded.
"Roar!"
The giant beast sprawled across a huge blue boulder froze for a moment, then raised its head and let out a mournful howl.
It was enormous, like a small mountain, its body covered in golden scales the size of palms. Under the sunlight, they glittered and gleamed in dazzling splendor.
A pair of dragon horns rose from its head, but it had a tiger's head. Its four limbs were thick and powerful, with sturdy, razor-sharp claws extending from its fingertips—almost like a tiger's paws.
A high-level spirit beast, the Golden Armored Dragon Tiger Beast!
The adult Golden Armored Dragon Tiger Beast caught the scent of its offspring and was overcome with grief. After a furious roar, it leaped straight off the boulder and charged toward the mountainside.
Golden light flashed as it tore up mountains and toppled trees, smashing rocks and splitting the earth as it came, its momentum tremendous.
From afar, it looked like a war fortress hurtling across the landscape.
A high-level spirit beast capable of battling Divine Soul Realm warriors of the human race—once it charged, its murderous aura enveloped the world like an invisible net, even before it drew near.
"Not good! The ferocious beast lord sleeping on the mountain peak has awakened!"
"It really is the Golden Armored Dragon Tiger Beast! King Mu's scheme—run!"
The alliance ranks were made up of people from all sorts of forces. Their members were a mixed bag, with wildly varying abilities. They could only fight when things were going their way; they absolutely had no courage to turn the tide when the odds were against them.
The overlord among high-level spirit beasts had awakened. Who could still think about surrounding the Black and White Duo? Everyone bolted for the foot of the mountain, crowding and jostling in a chaotic mess.
Mu Chen grabbed Luo Li and his companions, then ducked into the dense woods.
The Golden Armored Dragon Tiger Beast had caught the scent of its cub's blood. It would surely go berserk and hunt down the alliance members stained with its offspring's blood.
But they couldn't forget that Luo Li was the "true culprit" behind its offspring's death.
They couldn't afford to get caught in the crossfire, so caution was essential.
"No one leaves! Not a single one of you! You're all staying here!"
Ji Xuan ordered his trusted aides to hold the line, doing everything he could to keep the situation under control. He even sent his Spirit Soldier flying to cut down several unlucky men who dared to flee.
With over a hundred people packed into such a cramped space, a stampede would mean certain death. They had to restore order first.
"Ji Xuan, whatever trump card you've got, use it now!"
Yang Hong and Qiu Beihai urged him on, their expressions panicked and their voices anxious.
If they hadn't always trusted Ji Xuan, Yang Hong and Yang Qiu—both just as frantic as the others—would have abandoned their subordinates and fled for their lives long ago. Who cared about keeping order?
That was a high-level spirit beast, for crying out loud!
Seal the spiritual power of a hundred Sensing Realm warriors and one Divine Soul Realm warrior, then toss them into a sealed space. Who do you think would be the last one standing?
The vast gulf between them couldn't be bridged by sheer numbers.
"What are you panicking for? When have I ever deceived the two of you?"
Ji Xuan's face was deathly pale. He swallowed and answered in a rush.
He might have looked calm on the surface, but deep down, he was panicking too.
A Golden Armored Dragon Tiger Beast was charging right at you. Who could possibly stand up to that?
"Ji has never let his friends down. Just watch what I can do!"
Forcing himself to stay calm, Ji Xuan took a deep breath. Wearing a white robe and a grave expression, he walked to the front under the gaze of one panicked onlooker after another.
He stood alone to face the ferocious beast overlord, his figure imbued with an uncanny, tragic grandeur.
"Keer!"
A shrill, ancient eagle's cry suddenly rang across the world.
The cry was especially old and weathered, a sound from the primeval wilds.
Beneath its piercing edge lay an indescribable ferocity, as if a primordial beast asleep in the abyss of darkness were awakening to seize the authority of the world.
At the same time, thump, thump, thump—the visible ripples of sound waves surged outward from Ji Xuan in every direction. Even the air seemed to distort slightly.
"Argh!"
The ferocious beast overlord, halfway through its charge, abruptly froze. It seemed to have been spotted by a natural enemy from the Spirit Beast Realm, a member of a supreme race, and let out a mournful cry.
It crouched on the ground, terror in its eyes, not daring to move.
In the end, its instinct to survive overcame its fury at the death of its offspring. The Golden Armored Dragon Tiger Beast hesitated for less than half a breath before turning and fleeing without a moment's thought, vanishing into the forest.
In just a few breaths, the golden flash had disappeared among the mountains.
"Phew..."
After doing all that, Ji Xuan let out a long breath.
His face was utterly bloodless, yellow as paper. His tall frame swayed, and he nearly collapsed to the ground from weakness, but Yang Hong reacted quickly and caught him.
Clearly, bringing out his strongest trump card had not come easily to Ji Xuan.
"That overwhelming sense of power... the might of a Sovereign..."
He touched his abdomen, his gaze growing ever more profound.
"Brother Ji, you really are something!"
Yang Hong and Qiu Beihai pumped their fists, looking overjoyed.
The two of them were now thoroughly impressed by this prodigy from a great clan in the Southern Border.
If Ji Xuan tried to recruit them now, they might not fall at his feet on the spot, but he would certainly win over a large group of devoted followers with half the effort.
After a moment of dead silence, a thunderous wave of cheers erupted across the scene.
The alliance members who had survived the disaster shouted "King Xuan" again and again.
Ji Xuan discreetly swallowed several pills, and a little color returned to his face.
As he listened to his followers sing his praises, he regulated his breathing, growing more and more pleased with himself.
I, Ji Xuan, am the true child of destiny.
Turning disaster into fortune and defying fate to change my lot—neither is beyond me!
"Clap, clap, clap."
Just as Ji Xuan's men were cheering, a crisp round of applause rang out.
Mu Chen and the others emerged from the woods, completely unharmed.
"That was quite a performance, Brother Ji. As expected of you."
Mu Chen clapped his hands, his face full of admiration.
That power just now—it was the Ancient Heavenly Dragon Eagle, wasn't it?
The Ancient Heavenly Dragon Eagle ranked above the Nine Nether Sparrow on the Myriad Beasts Record Earth Ranking. It looked neither fully like an eagle nor fully like a dragon. Its combat strength was terrifying, and it was a rare ancient species.
It usually fed on powerful spirit beasts with the bloodline of the Dragon Clan. It could hunt giant pythons, vicious flood dragons, and ancient hornless dragons. The species was well known throughout the Great Thousand World.
The Golden Armored Dragon Tiger Beast had a barely perceptible trace of Dragon Clan blood in its body.
That was exactly why the Ancient Heavenly Dragon Eagle's cry had intimidated the high-level spirit beast. It had faced what felt like its natural enemy, panicked, and turned to flee.
P.S. Lately, my book got featured on the web recommendation page, so some new readers have started following it—and there have been quite a few more haters, too.
For example, yesterday a guy left me a message saying he didn't think my writing was any good. I replied that if he didn't like it, he could just read another book. It wasn't a big deal.
Right? If you don't like something, why force yourself to read it?
I figure even a big-name author couldn't write something everyone loved.
But maybe this guy thought I'd offended him, or maybe he thought a nobody like me shouldn't talk back to him. He immediately started cursing me out, even dragging my family into it. That was way out of line. What a tough guy.
I didn't even want to say anything to him. He'd been registered for 400 days and was still an ordinary member, with only seven trial reads to his name. Didn't he have any self-awareness?
I thought it over and decided to put a restriction on comments to cut down on incidents like this. I'm raising the bar a little.
After the restriction takes effect, users with at least one point of fan support will be able to post or view comments, chapter reviews, audio recordings, and similar content on Qidian. Other things, such as reading or browsing on non-exclusive platforms, won't be affected.
One point of fan support is worth one fen.
You can get one point by giving a custom tip or tipping one Qidian coin on a chapter paragraph.
Qidian's been running promotions lately. You can watch a video at the end of a chapter to get coins, and there are videos you can watch on the check-in page, too. They're real Qidian coins, not bonus coins. You can get around 50 a day, or 100 in two days.
One coin shouldn't be too much, right?
Old Li isn't obsessed with money, and I'm not so greedy that I'd covet your one fen. I just want to raise the bar for commenting a little. Otherwise, sooner or later, the haters are going to drive me to my grave.
Before you continue