Zhang Daosheng's Words

The Westwind Lion King slammed the table and shot to his feet. "Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

"I haven't set foot outside the Lianhai Mountains! A dragon? If one had really appeared, how could I not have sensed its aura?!"

"Dragons are born at the Myriad Stars Realm! Their bloodline alone would suppress mine! How could I possibly..."

Seeing how strongly the Westwind Lion King reacted, Dong Shizhang gave a wry smile.

"Why would I lie to you? If I hadn't received word, would I have come all this way just to see an old friend? We've fought for so many years that I stopped wanting to fight you long ago. If I'd had any choice..."

The Westwind Lion King froze.

Dong Shizhang was right. If it were a lie, he would have had no reason to come in person.

The lion king's expression shifted again and again. After thinking it over, he finally remembered sensing a strange energy that day.

"A few days ago, I did sense a surge of spiritual power," he said. "Whoever it was drew in a great deal of the surrounding spiritual energy, but wasn't very strong. From what I could tell, they were at the Awakening Realm at most. It came from roughly that direction."

The Westwind Lion King raised a hand and pointed toward the cave entrance. That day, Ye Chen had ridden the Wood Dragon straight toward him.

"The Awakening Realm? Impossible! How could a dragon be only at the Awakening Realm?!" Dong Shizhang demanded.

The Westwind Lion King shot him a sidelong glance, his eyes narrowing. "Believe it or not. If you hadn't joined the Beast God Cult and become half Beastfolk, I would've killed you long ago. I've already told you more than I owe you."

Dong Shizhang was speechless. How are you better at sounding human than I am? Every idiom's more impressive than the last.

He hurriedly bowed. "I'll be going, then."

"Wait."

Dong Shizhang stopped in his tracks.

"Bring me something tasty next time. Human food is still better," the Westwind Lion King said.

Ever since he had broken through to the Bright Moon Realm and taken on a Half-Human Form, raw food had tasted worse and worse to him.

So he had learned to make a fire and cook like humans did. It tasted much better.

An unlucky soul had once wandered into his cave and spent more than half a year there as his cook. Then one day, the lion king had accidentally killed him with a slap.

Dong Shizhang left him with a quick "All right" and hurried away.

The Westwind Lion King watched him go with an inscrutable look. Then he changed back into his beast form and lay down on the enormous Spirit Stone again.

Dong Shizhang had been so preoccupied with what to do next that he hadn't noticed the huge pale stone was a Spirit Stone.

"Looks like the plan will have to move up... I wonder how that fellow's preparations are coming along."

The lion king looked up at the sky, as if waiting for someone to arrive.

Then he recalled Dong Shizhang's words and scoffed. "A dragon? What a joke... Probably just a little flood dragon..."

A flood dragon was a flood dragon, and a true dragon was a true dragon. The difference was night and day!

Meanwhile, the Westwind Lion King's thunderous roar had swept across Zanghai City. Many of its weaker residents had passed out on the spot.

In the hospitals, many people undergoing surgery or lying in critical condition... died then and there.

That single roar had knocked countless people unconscious.

The entire city descended into chaos.

Car accidents were everywhere, leaving wreckage in their wake.

And all it had taken was one roar.

Bai Zhan looked over the reports piling up before him, his anger mounting.

"That lion king has gone too far!"

The city lord could do little about it. After all, he held a civilian post.

Work to restore order in the city was already underway, but as for the lion king...

That could only be left to Bai Zhan.

Bai Zhan felt just as helpless. He had been assigned to guard Zanghai City, but the lion king was at the Myriad Stars Realm, while he was only at the peak of Overturning Sea. How was he supposed to fight him?

Still, Zanghai City wasn't entirely without a means of fighting back. Technology was a powerful force too.

There were the intercontinental missiles, missile-defense networks, and interceptors the various nations had once developed.

Modern weapons posed some threat. Unfortunately, against someone at the Myriad Stars Realm, they would need heavy weapons, perhaps even nuclear weapons.

But nuclear weapons were out of the question. The human race had so little land left to stand on.

Using one would mean abandoning part of it.

"Focus on stabilizing the city first. Later, I'll go have a word with that lion king." Bai Zhan rubbed his temples.

The matter had already been reported to the higher-ups, but no concrete solution had come back yet.

Bai Zhan understood why. The situation on the front lines was dire, and they had no attention to spare for Zanghai City.

"Major General, you can't!"

"Stand down. Get into the city and help. Now."

Bai Zhan's tone hardened, leaving no room for argument.

The man dared say no more and hurried away.

Elsewhere, Ye Chen was helping rescue people in the city.

With the Wood Release Secret Technique and the support of the Shikkotsu Forest Sage Art, he could use his spiritual power to provide some basic treatment.

It wasn't nearly as useful as medical ninjutsu, though. All he was doing was transferring spiritual energy into others.

"Ye, how are things here?" Zhang Daosheng arrived at the infirmary and saw Ye Chen treating people. He hurried over to ask.

"Not too bad. Most people here aren't very strong, but there haven't been any deaths. They've only passed out. What worries me now are the kindergartens, elementary schools, and hospitals across the city..."

Ye Chen's face was grim. Zhang Daosheng took a deep breath and slowly closed his eyes.

"I just came from home. The whole way here... was a wreck..."

Ye Chen's head snapped up. He looked at Zhang Daosheng, a murderous glint in his eyes. "Zhang, you know who did this, don't you?!"

Zhang Daosheng fell silent.

He studied Ye Chen, then sighed. "What good would telling you do? You're too weak. Would you go there just to die?"

"North of Kyoto, countless people die or are wounded on the front lines every day! I'm glad you can feel anger for the civilians of Zanghai City."

"But you need to learn to control your emotions! Being upset or angry won't solve anything!"

Ye Chen froze and lowered his head to think.

Zhang Daosheng was right. He could be angry about this, but he couldn't let that anger rob him of his judgment.

He turned and transferred spiritual energy into another unconscious classmate.

Eighty percent of the school had passed out. Nearly all the first- and second-year students were among them.

Some third-year students whose cultivation wasn't strong enough had passed out too.

Most adults in the city had at least some cultivation, even if they were only at the first realm.

But what about the children in kindergarten? The elementary school students? The elderly people lying at death's door in hospital beds?

At the thought, a stifling pressure built in Ye Chen's chest, as though he couldn't force it out.

Why was he so angry? Because humans were being treated like ants.

Zhang Daosheng noticed something was wrong with Ye Chen and quickly stepped forward to pat his shoulder.

"Calm down. You have to get used to things like this. War is always cruel. What you've seen is only the tip of the iceberg, and you're already losing your composure?!"

Ye Chen fell silent. He didn't want to say anything more.