On the mountain road leading into the Demon Wolf Tribe's territory on Bluestone Mountain, the Leopard Army halted its advance.
"Lord Leopard King, the Demon Wolf Tribe's territory on Bluestone Mountain lies just ahead!"
A member of the Leopard People reported the situation ahead to the Leopard King.
The Leopard King nodded slightly, but just as he was about to speak, his expression abruptly changed. His arm transformed into a powerful demonic limb, and the claws on his hand flashed.
A crimson claw blast hurtled forward. The surrounding Leopard People stiffened, their expressions changing at his sudden move.
An enormous figure dropped from the sky, raised a massive fist, and slammed it down!
That punch shattered the Leopard King's claw blast. The enormous figure landed heavily, sending dust billowing more than ten feet into the air.
Chongli stood in his golden monkey form, a thin claw mark on his fist.
Clearly, his punch from above had not entirely overcome the Leopard King's claw blast.
That alone showed that Chongli was weaker than the Leopard King.
Dust swirled, and with a pulse of demon power, Mingye appeared before the demons.
"Demon wolf Mingye?"
The Leopard King stared coldly at the figure who had suddenly appeared. Though phrased as a question, his words carried absolute certainty.
"Little leopard, this road is closed!"
Dressed in an opulent black robe, Mingye raised his eyes slightly. His deep, abyssal gaze swept over the Leopard Army before him as he spoke calmly.
"You're awfully arrogant!"
At his words, the leopards erupted in anger, murderous intent spilling from them. The Leopard King's gaze turned utterly frigid as a cold, bloodthirsty killing intent burst forth, his words laden with boundless menace.
"Unfortunately, arrogance requires something to back it up. Conceit is the most common weakness of young brats like you!"
The Leopard King did not immediately attack Mingye. He had killed far too many self-important young demons who thought a little strength made them invincible.
He had killed countless demons like that.
And they all shared the same flaw: arrogance!
"You talk too much!"
Mingye frowned slightly. Who was the Leopard King trying to impress with this lecturing act?
Self-important?
Arrogant?
No, Mingye had never underestimated a powerful opponent. But the Leopard King before him hardly qualified as one.
Hidden in the shadows, Red Evil Ogre also frowned. He shared the Leopard King's impression: the demon wolf Mingye was acting far too arrogantly.
Yet Tōga had given Mingye exceptionally high praise.
"Let's see what gives you such confidence..."
Red Evil Ogre was curious about how Mingye would handle the Leopard King and an army of eight thousand leopards. Even he could not withstand a force of that size.
"Chief, let me kill that brat!"
Azure Leopard, a general under the Leopard King, could no longer stomach Mingye's arrogance and asked to fight.
"Go."
The Leopard King nodded. Azure Leopard was one of the strongest demons in his Leopard Tribe and had slain many demons at his side.
With permission granted, Azure Leopard licked his claws. His demon power surged like boiling water, radiating from his entire body.
"Brat, you killed our Leopard Tribe's vanguard! You deserve to die!"
Bloodlust flashed in Azure Leopard's eyes. He abruptly vanished from his spot, turning into a streak of azure light. His tremendous speed perfectly demonstrated the swiftness of the leopard tribe.
His claws swept through the air, heading straight for Mingye's neck!
"The arrogant ones..."
Mingye's cool voice rang out. His hand seemed to extend slowly, yet moved with incredible speed. In a flash, a single finger stopped Azure Leopard's claws:
"...are you!"
Terror filled Azure Leopard's eyes. He had unleashed his greatest speed in that attack, a move he often used to kill an opponent in a single strike.
Now a single finger had blocked him, and no matter how fiercely he unleashed his demon power, he could not advance an inch!
A stir ran through the Leopard Tribe. The remaining generals beside the Leopard King grew solemn, and even the Leopard King's eyes betrayed a flicker of surprise.
Azure Leopard tried to change his attack, but his vision suddenly went dark. A large hand clamped around his head, and with a pulse of demon power, his skull burst apart before he could even cry for help!
Ice-blue demon power kept the splattered brains at bay. The attack had been faster than any demon present could follow.
"What incredible speed! No! It's not just speed-it's strength, too!"
Watching from the shadows, Red Evil Ogre was aghast. A single move was enough to reveal a true expert's caliber.
That speed, that strength, that effortless manner!
Only now did Red Evil Ogre understand how terrifying Mingye's strength truly was!
At the very least, he could not have killed Azure Leopard so effortlessly!
"Brat, you're quite something!"
The Leopard King's expression darkened to the extreme. His aura erupted in full, blasting the surrounding Leopard People away and preventing them from approaching.
He was truly enraged!
Demon power burst from his entire body like a volcano that had built up pressure for years and was finally erupting!
He stamped down hard, and the ground beneath him abruptly cracked, fractures crisscrossing like a spiderweb.
Great chunks of earth shot skyward. His immense demon power stirred the air around him into savage shock waves!
With a tremendous boom, the Leopard King crossed the distance and appeared above Mingye's head in an instant.
His eyes were crimson. Bloodlust, murderous intent, and fury seemed to form a tangible leopard silhouette as his long, sharp claws suddenly pierced the air, producing a shrill howl like the wailing of ghosts and wolves!
Such power!
This was the strength of a mighty tribe's leader. A single burst of power made it clear that ordinary demons could never compare to him.
Mingye's eyes brightened slightly. The Leopard King was the strongest demon he had encountered since he began his journey.
Unfortunately, it still wasn't enough...
The Leopard King's savage assault unleashed powerful shock waves, but in the next instant, every sound was drowned out by a dragonlike ring of steel.
The Evil Sword at Mingye's waist had left its sheath, its pressure suppressing every shock wave!
Its light was like snow, its chill piercing to the bone!
That single slash of sword light sent the temperature plummeting across an area hundreds of feet wide!
It was as though a cold front had swept through. Even in the scorching summer, the chill made bodies tremble.
Ice-blue sword light blazed, and the ground beneath their feet instantly became frozen earth!
Flowers and grass froze solid, towering trees turned into pillars of ice, and hundreds of Leopard People became ice sculptures in an instant, their lives extinguished!
Merely drawing the sword had frozen the life out of hundreds of demons.
The Leopard King's remaining generals were among them.
The Leopard King himself shuddered, unleashing nearly all his demon power to resist that freezing light.
"You... you actually wield the same power as Lady Donglan!"
The Leopard King was horrified. This power that froze everything reminded him of Donglan, the strongest of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Leopard Cats. It was just as terrifying!
"This chill that freezes everything! What incredible power!"
Red Evil Ogre was shaken as well. He might have been able to withstand this attack by using the Red Evil Ogre Fan to produce scorching flames.
The Leopard King, however, had weathered it through sheer, abundant demon power.
That alone showed how powerful his demon power was.
"Donglan, the leader of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Leopard Cats..."
At those words, Mingye also recalled Donglan, the strongest of the four warriors serving the leopard cat Michinaga. Like him, she wielded the power to freeze!
There would be a chance to meet her in the future.
"You're going to die..."
Mingye's voice was like the ice freezing everything across the ground. It sent a tremor of dread through the Leopard King, filling his heart and mind with cold.
What terrifying freezing power!
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