"Not bad. Killing an S-Class Spirit Beast saved me quite a bit of trouble!"
A teasing voice rang out. The leader whipped around, his pupils contracting.
"Who's there?!"
A moment later, a young figure appeared in the leader's field of vision.
Several of the leader's subordinates were bound, unable to move their hands or feet.
It was obvious who was responsible: the young man standing before them!
And that young man was none other than Yang Chen.
Yang Chen looked at the Island Nation man with a pleased smile.
After all, an S-Class Spirit Beast could be a bit of a hassle. This White Tiger wasn't even as strong as the Flying Tiger, but it was still nice to deal with it without lifting a finger!
These human tools were seriously useful!
"An ability user? What do you want? Number 98s aren't allowed to kill each other!"
The Island Nation man forced himself to stay calm as he spoke in halting Huaxia Chinese.
"Number 98? What are you playing at, you Island Nation guy? Do you think I'm an idiot?"
Yang Chen smiled at him. The amusement in his eyes made the Island Nation man uncomfortable.
"How did you find out?!"
The leader asked in a low voice. He'd thought his disguise was flawless, but he hadn't expected this kid to see through it.
"Find out? Are you stupid? Have you ever seen anyone in Huaxia wearing wooden clogs for no reason?" Yang Chen looked at the leader as if he were an idiot, his eyes full of scorn.
"I see." The leader lowered his head, his expression hidden. Then he suddenly raised it, his face twisted into a ferocious sneer, and roared, "Die!"
At some point, a small dagger had appeared in the leader's arms. A faint chill gleamed along its blade, and a trace of killing intent emanated from it.
Then he thrust it at Yang Chen!
Triumph shone in the leader's eyes. Yang Chen was still too young, as far as he was concerned. Even though he was already at the end of his rope, that didn't mean he couldn't make one last desperate strike!
And this dagger was his final attack!
The leader could already imagine the blade plunging into Yang Chen's body, sending blood spraying everywhere.
It would be a beautiful sight!
But for some reason, halfway through the thrust, a tremendous force suddenly seized the leader's arm.
No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't pull free.
The leader stared at Yang Chen in horror, only to see the same smile on his face as before.
"What? Still trying to kill me?"
Yang Chen's smile never wavered. He might have been a rookie when it came to ability users, but he was no novice in this kind of dirty business!
Yang Chen had noticed the leader's movements the moment he made them. Yang Chen was already far stronger than him, and much faster, too. Taking the dagger away was a piece of cake.
The smile on Yang Chen's face slowly turned cold. He moved his hand slightly, and a tremendous force crushed the leader's arm. Then he took the dagger and plunged it into the man's heart.
Pfft~
The blade sank into flesh. Blood gushed from the wound and spilled across the ground.
A trace of unwillingness showed on the leader's face. His head tilted to one side, and even as he died, his eyes remained fixed on the entrance to the White Tiger Grotto.
He couldn't accept it!
He'd made it all the way here. They'd even defeated the guardian beast. The inheritance should have been his! Why—why had someone snatched it from him at the very last moment?
He couldn't accept it!
Yang Chen pulled out the dagger expressionlessly. Then, using the same method as before, he killed the three B-Class Island Nation men and tossed them aside. Only then did he dust off his hands and walk over to the White Tiger's corpse.
The White Tiger's head had been smashed to pieces, but its core was still intact.
After rummaging around inside the White Tiger's corpse, Yang Chen pulled out a bead glowing with blue light.
Faint arcs of lightning seemed to flicker across its surface.
Yang Chen's eyes flashed. A dark gleam appeared at his fingertips and enveloped the blue bead.
Brrm, brrm.
A clear ringing sounded. Yang Chen immediately felt an unfamiliar power fill his body and gather at his dantian.
Then a blue arc of lightning slowly emerged from the black bead within his dantian!
Thunder Ability!
Yang Chen's soul shuddered. With a thought, faint arcs of lightning danced across his fingertips, shattering the surrounding air!
"Hiss, that's powerful!"
Yang Chen's brows lifted, and he felt a surge of delight.
Of all his abilities, the Flame Ability had been the strongest in terms of offensive power. But now, after devouring the Thunder Ability, his attacks had become even more terrifying.
That meant Yang Chen's strength had improved once again.
With his Grandmaster Body and his cultivation in spiritual energy, Yang Chen had already been the strongest below the Grandmaster level. Now, after his trip to White Tiger Mountain, he'd gained three new abilities and grown even stronger. Yang Chen was now confident that he could stand against a newly ascended Grandmaster.
His spiritual-energy cultivation had also reached S-Class.
Yang Chen had actually been quite tempted by the Island Nation man's weapon ability. After all, he'd been wanting a weapon. But the man's ability only produced a staff, and honestly, Yang Chen wasn't fond of staffs.
What Yang Chen liked best was swords!
The sword immortals he'd seen in TV dramas, with their otherworldly bearing, had always filled him with admiration.
"One sword, its cold light spanning nineteen provinces."
That was what they said of sword immortals!
Emmmm, more importantly, sword cultivators looked cooler!
As for the abilities of the other Island Nation men, Yang Chen had only devoured the ability of the one with ice powers. Like fire, ice was quite useful.
Then a snowflake slowly appeared on the surface of the black bead in his dantian.
When he was done, Yang Chen used fire to burn the men's corpses to ashes, along with the White Tiger's body.
After all, this was still White Tiger Mountain. Though he couldn't sense any other Spirit Beasts nearby, the smell of blood would inevitably spread. If it attracted more Spirit Beasts, even weak ones could interfere with Yang Chen's entry into the White Tiger Grotto.
Yang Chen didn't want to invite trouble.
When he was finished, Yang Chen turned his attention to the depths of the White Tiger Grotto.
Yang Chen hadn't gone inside with the others earlier, and the Island Nation men had encountered the guardian beast shortly after entering, then come back out.
So Yang Chen had no idea what awaited him inside.
But he'd read the information on White Tiger Mountain.
According to legend, White Tiger Mountain was where a White Tiger at the Grandmaster level had died. The records didn't say exactly what level the Grandmaster had been—whether it was the shackles, Heaven Gate, or simply Grandmaster.
But whichever it was, it was beyond Yang Chen's ability to contend with right now.
Yang Chen couldn't believe that the cave of such a powerful being would be left without any protective measures.
Take this White Tiger, for instance. It was clearly one of the methods the fallen being had left behind. Yang Chen had no idea what other measures there might be. He'd have to wait until he went inside to find out.
Yang Chen took a deep breath, then walked through the entrance.
Beyond it lay darkness. A flame sprang to life at Yang Chen's fingertips, and its faint glow softly illuminated the area around him.
"If only I had a light ability. I could use it as a light bulb whenever I wanted!"
Yang Chen grumbled, then used the faint light to take in his surroundings.
The place looked like a simple, old-fashioned room. It was enormous, perhaps three or four hundred square meters, and furnished with a bed, a table, and other things.
Yang Chen froze, his expression turning strange.
The hell was this a grotto for?
This was just a bedroom!
You put the inheritance in your own bedroom?
Yang Chen looked around again, bemused, and realized it really was just a bedroom!
There were no other so-called protective measures in the room. Perhaps the S-Class White Tiger Spirit Beast had been the only obstacle in the entire grotto.
Well, that was certainly casual!
Yang Chen muttered to himself, feeling a little sorry for the four Island Nation men.
If Yang Chen hadn't been there, they might really have gotten the White Tiger's inheritance. But after they'd killed the only obstacle, he'd swooped in and taken it.
Sigh, sometimes bad luck was a real problem!
That was just their fate!
Yang Chen wandered around the room and discovered that, apart from a few old-fashioned furnishings, there was nothing else inside.
"Hm?"
Yang Chen searched through the room, opening drawers and turning things over. But in the end, he found nothing at all in this so-called White Tiger Grotto.
Then why keep a White Tiger locked up here?
Yang Chen was completely baffled.
This was just messing with him!
Yang Chen felt speechless.
Such a huge grotto, and you didn't leave anything else behind? Were you just pulling everyone's leg?
Yang Chen grew irritated. He hadn't done much himself, but the outcome still left him frustrated. Arcs of lightning began to flicker around him.
He wanted to blow the whole grotto to pieces.
But the very moment the lightning appeared around Yang Chen, a dazzling light suddenly burst from a corner of the room.
Yang Chen's gaze was drawn to the light. When he saw what was shining inside it, he couldn't help blurting out,
"This is..."
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