Now it seemed that breaking the four hooves of his chariot beast, deliberately blocking the rift in time, and refusing to leave this era had all been intentional.
But An Lan was unafraid.
Because he was An Lan!
"The victor has been decided. Why linger any longer?"
"Why haven't you left?"
An Lan spoke. His voice sounded like a young man's, without the weight or weariness of ages past.
"Heh."
The mysterious man chuckled but did not leave. His eyes only grew deeper as he watched An Lan.
An Lan met his gaze without flinching, though the man had just subdued a supreme existence.
"Moo!"
An Lan was unafraid, but the Ancient Beast pulling his chariot was not.
No, fear was not quite the word. Old Ox simply could not bear the pressure. His body stiffened, and even his blood seemed about to congeal.
His bones creaked, on the verge of shattering.
With a crack, Old Ox collapsed to the ground.
The bones in all four of his legs had broken and splintered. Before, he had merely knelt; now he lay flat against the ground.
The mysterious man had not attacked Old Ox. His presence alone had reduced him to this state.
The meaning of treating an Undying King's chariot beast this way was plain.
It was a provocation, a challenge to an Undying King's majesty.
Earlier, one might have said the man had only just arrived in this space-time and had been too occupied with battle to mind anything else. Now it was different.
This was aimed squarely at An Lan.
Whenever a stranger used his presence alone to force your mount to the ground, it was a provocation.
An open, brazen provocation.
And this was an Undying King's mount, more exalted than nearly every living being in the