Reason or Force-You Have to Pick One

"Little Jiuxiao, are we heading to the Blue Silver Forest now?"

"Normally, bringing Bi Ji along should make things go much more smoothly."

From the earlier conversation between Jin Jiuxiao and Di Tian, Xiong Jun had understood that they were going to make the Blue Silver clan relocate.

Xiong Jun actually thought Bi Ji would have been a better choice than him.

After all, Bi Ji handled more matters, great and small, and over half the Emerald Swan's reputation among soul beasts came from her.

"That's where you're wrong, Uncle Xiong." Jin Jiuxiao walked beside Xiong Jun. "Other soul beasts might not recognize Sister Bi Ji."

"Besides, Sister Bi Ji is too gentle. I'm afraid she'd go soft and give the Blue Silver clan more time to think."

Xiong Jun lightly slapped Jin Jiuxiao on the back and teased him with a laugh. "You little brat, you're calling me hot-tempered in a roundabout way, aren't you?"

"Of course not!"

"Status might not work, but strength never lies."

"In the Star Dou Great Forest, who besides Uncle Di Tian is a match for you?"

Jin Jiuxiao had brought Xiong Jun along precisely for intimidation and enforcement.

Today, you're moving whether you like it or not.

If I can't get through to you with reason, I'll let Xiong Jun explain the physics of force.

Reason or force-you have to pick one.

Those words truly struck a chord with Xiong Jun, leaving him delighted. "Naturally. Apart from Di Tian, no one in the Star Dou Great Forest is a match for me."

A purebred dark gold terrorclaw bear with ten thousand years of cultivation already had combat power comparable to an ordinary hundred-thousand-year soul beast.

How much more so for Xiong Jun, the king of the dark gold terrorclaw bears?

"Uncle Xiong, let's head to the Sunset Forest first. The Blue Silver Forest is deep inside it."

"Hmm... that's some distance." Upon hearing that their destination was the Sunset Forest, Xiong Jun grabbed Jin Jiuxiao by the back of his collar and flung him into the air.

He transformed into his true dark gold terrorclaw bear form. "Little Jiuxiao, keep your footing. I'm going to speed up."

Jin Jiuxiao steadied himself and landed on Xiong Jun's shoulder. "Got it."

Come to think of it... the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was also in the Sunset Forest.

But it wasn't time to go there yet.

A meal had to be eaten one bite at a time, and things had to be done one step at a time.

After traveling for a while.

Xiong Jun brought Jin Jiuxiao to the core region of the Sunset Forest.

"Little Jiuxiao, the Sunset Forest may not compare to the Star Dou Great Forest, but it's still pretty big."

"How do we find it?"

Jin Jiuxiao thought back for a moment. "Look for the interior of a valley where blue silver grass grows. At our speed, it won't take long."

Other people wasted a great deal of time searching because they didn't dare charge recklessly through the Sunset Forest.

But the one beside him now was Xiong Jun!

With Xiong Jun's strength, he could swagger through practically any soul beast gathering ground unchallenged.

There were only a handful stronger than him.

"All right." Xiong Jun had no objections.

He took Jin Jiuxiao along to search the valleys in the Sunset Forest's core region.

Every time they reached a valley's interior, Xiong Jun examined it carefully.

Only after confirming it wasn't the Blue Silver Forest did he move on to the next place.

The soul beasts along the way sensed Xiong Jun's terrifying ferocious beast pressure and didn't dare approach or disturb him.

They simply couldn't understand why such a powerful being had descended upon the Sunset Forest.

Xiong Jun and Jin Jiuxiao came up empty in the first three valleys.

Only in the fourth did Xiong Jun discover a hidden trail.

A jumble of trees grew there, with a few scattered stalks of blue silver grass on the ground.

It looked utterly unremarkable, the sort of place that neither soul masters nor soul beasts would pay any attention to when passing by.

"Could this be it?" Xiong Jun looked around. "What an inconspicuous place."

Honestly, if he had merely been passing through, he wouldn't have given it a second glance.

"Whether it is or not, we'll know once we go in and look."

"Mm." Xiong Jun lifted Jin Jiuxiao off his shoulder and set him on the ground, then transformed back into human form. "Stay behind me. Don't run off."

"Relax, Uncle Xiong. I'm not weak." Jin Jiuxiao walked shoulder to shoulder with Xiong Jun as they explored deeper along the trail.

As they ventured farther in.

The blue silver grass grew increasingly dense, covering the entire ground like an endless blue velvet carpet.

The blue silver grass here was far stronger than the ordinary variety found everywhere on the continent.

Its blades were broad and a deep azure blue.

Faint golden lines traced their veins, and some stalks of blue silver grass even reached one or two meters tall, nothing like the little weeds that grew everywhere along the roadside.

When a breeze swept through, countless stalks of blue silver grass swayed together, making the entire ground seem to flow.

"Looks like we've found the right place." Jin Jiuxiao surveyed the scene before him.

He was certain this was the place Tang San had visited when awakening his Blue Silver Emperor.

"It's certainly much lusher and stronger than the blue silver grass colonies in the Star Dou Great Forest." Xiong Jun sensed it more clearly. "The life energy here is very rich, too."

Suddenly, he raised an eyebrow and spoke toward the distance in a low voice. "Little fellow, peeking isn't a good habit."

Jin Jiuxiao wasn't surprised to hear Xiong Jun's words.

In this Blue Silver Forest, all the blue silver grass shared a mental network. The instant an outsider entered, the entire expanse of grass would sense them.

It would then relay that information to the Blue Silver King in the central region.

The Blue Silver King had already known of their arrival the moment he and Xiong Jun stepped inside.

As Xiong Jun's words fell, patches of blue silver grass before them shifted to either side on their own, opening a path.

The two exchanged a glance and walked deeper in.

When they reached the central region.

They saw an enormous stalk of blue silver grass, its vines spreading in every direction like the roots of coiled dragons, linking the entire Blue Silver Forest.

An aged face formed on its trunk. "May I ask what brings you two to our Blue Silver Homeland...?"

He could sense just how powerful this burly man was... he was no ordinary soul beast, but a ferocious beast!

Even when their Emperor had still been here, they could never have stopped this burly man.

This was not an existence their Blue Silver clan could afford to provoke.

Xiong Jun folded his arms across his chest and gave Jin Jiuxiao a meaningful look.

Jin Jiuxiao began with a brief introduction. "Blue Silver King, you should be able to tell what I am. My name is Jin Jiuxiao."

"The one beside me is a dark gold terrorclaw bear with four hundred and twenty thousand years of cultivation. His name is Xiong Jun, and he is one of the ferocious beast kings of the Star Dou Great Forest."

"My lords, surely the Blue Silver clan... has never offended the kings of the Star Dou Great Forest?" The Blue Silver King's tone grew cautious.

He could sense a soul beast aura from this youth named Jin Jiuxiao. Like their Emperor, he was probably a hundred-thousand-year soul beast who had taken human form.

As for this Xiong Jun... his cultivation was unfathomable. The Blue Silver King couldn't see through him at all.

But that pressure was undeniably real.

"Don't worry. This isn't bad news."

"We've come to tell you something."

"Your Emperor is still alive."

The Blue Silver King's voice instantly filled with excitement. "My lord, is what you said tr... truly real?!"