First Kill

"Young man, don't let your emotions get the better of you. It's just a strange dog. You can find them anywhere in the primeval forests. It isn't worth making a 'mistake' like this."

The slightly plump middle-aged man stood behind his subordinates and spoke with unhurried composure, insisting that he genuinely wanted to buy the strange dog.

"How about this, then? If you really want to buy him, offer a price I find acceptable. Let me think... a jar of true blood from a Primordial Remnant. I could accept that." Di Yi watched the men surrounding him with interest and smiled.

"Young man, are you toying with me?!" How could the slightly plump middle-aged man miss the sarcasm? His gaze instantly darkened.

"I suggest you don't court disaster. Up until now, this was merely a deal that fell through. But if you resort to violence, that changes everything." Ignoring the middle-aged man's dark expression, Di Yi walked toward a gap in the encirclement.

"Brat, since you can't see the situation clearly, I'll teach you what it means to travel away from home-even a mighty dragon cannot overpower the local snake!" Runes emerged on the slightly plump middle-aged man's arms, and his blood surged rapidly as he signaled his subordinates to prepare to attack.

"Only a tribe of tens of thousands can produce a single person in the Blood Moving Realm. I didn't expect to meet one just after leaving the Great Wilderness." Di Yi sensed the fluctuations from the middle-aged man's arms. They were a manifestation of the Blood Moving Realm.

"Brat, I suggest you know what's good for you. Hand over that strange dog obediently, or you might lose both your money and your life!" The slightly plump middle-aged man stared darkly at Di Yi. He had cultivated for a long time to reach this realm, and it was the foundation of his arrogance.

He did not believe that Di Yi, who looked so young, could be particularly powerful. After all, as Di Yi himself had said, only a tribe of tens of thousands could produce a single person in the Blood Moving Realm.

Unless he was an exceptional genius nurtured by a powerful family's vast resources. But would someone like that appear on the Stone Kingdom's frontier? Absolutely not.

"Roar!"

Sensing the hostility, the Golden Hou immediately grew fierce, and the lightning-patterned fur on his feet lit up.

"Lightning runes... truly extraordinary. No wonder you refused to sell him. He most likely carries a thin trace of a vicious beast's bloodline!" The slightly plump middle-aged man's eyes suddenly shone. He had been wondering all along why Di Yi would not sell the strange dog.

In his view, a jar of a vicious beast's blood essence was enough to offset any effort or price. He had never expected there really was a hidden reason.

He had to get this strange dog, no matter what.

Taking it a step further, if that cherished young lady took a liking to the strange dog and focused on nurturing him, awakening the vicious beast's runes inherited through his bloodline, he might soar into the heavens in a single leap.

When the credit was tallied, even a mere sip of the soup would be enough for him to squander away for the rest of his life.

"Attack! We must take the strange dog. As for him, alive or dead!" The slightly plump middle-aged man made up his mind. He had to secure this merit. Whatever happened afterward, or whether anyone bore him a grudge, was no concern.

After all, he came from the Rain Clan and had a powerful marquis of the Stone Kingdom behind him. He believed that even if this young man had a considerable background, it could never match the Rain Clan's might.

"It seems you really are determined to court disaster." Di Yi sighed softly. He had not actually wanted to clash with these people. After all, they shared the same form, and after endless desolation and solitude, that had given him a sense of belonging.

"Roar!"

The Golden Hou sensed Di Yi's emotions and instantly shifted into an attacking stance. Then... he swiped a claw.

Splat! Splat!...

The men charging at the very front were struck by lightning on the spot. Their foreheads were pierced through, and they immediately collapsed, blood spilling all over the ground.

At the same time, Di Yi moved as well, so fast that the slightly plump middle-aged man had no chance to react. He met him with a punch.

In an instant, the slightly plump middle-aged man became a mangled mass of flesh and blood. The divine radiance produced by his Blood Moving Realm shattered like thin ice, broken beyond recognition. His body continued hurtling onward with undiminished force, collapsing a small hill and triggering a violent earthquake.

"Let's go." Di Yi ignored the "mess" strewn across the ground and set off with the Golden Hou.

"Roar!" The Golden Hou looked at the dead little people with utter disdain. Although he did not understand what had happened, anyone who dared oppose Di Yi and exude killing intent simply had to be killed.

Yet although Di Yi and the Golden Hou had left, the matter was far from over. An important figure had died, which was no small matter-especially one from that manor.

The city guards who rushed over upon hearing the commotion all sensed a storm approaching.

"What?!" In the imposing manor, Yu Qing and the others received the news shortly after the incident. Once their shock passed, anger took its place.

Who did not know what this manor represented? Although the slightly plump middle-aged man was merely a "dog" they kept, he still represented the Rain Clan.

Now someone had actually dared to kill their "dog," without even leaving a corpse behind. This was tantamount to provoking the Rain Clan and slapping the face of one of the Stone Kingdom's supreme princely houses.

"Have you uncovered that person's background?" Yu Qing's expression was utterly grim.

"We couldn't find anything. The information registered when he entered the city was incomplete. All we know is that his name is Di Yi," said the young man who had played the good cop earlier.

"What about the people he brought into the city? Have you seized them?" Yu Qing rubbed his brow. Di Yi-what an audacious name. He was certain it could not be real. From ancient times to the present, no one in the Stone Kingdom had dared to use Di, meaning "emperor," as a surname.

"We can't easily touch those people. They went to the Stone Kingdom's Second Ancestral Land. They seem... to be descendants of a branch of the Stone Kingdom's lineage in the Western Frontier," replied the young man who had played the good cop earlier.

"What? They went to the Stone Kingdom's Second Ancestral Land?" Yu Qing sprang to his feet upon hearing this. "Why would they go to the Stone Kingdom's Second Ancestral Land...? There are plenty of people with the royal surname along the Stone Kingdom's borders, but the Western Frontier... this does not bode well."

"Elder Brother, what's wrong? Is there something troubling about them going to the Stone Kingdom's Second Ancestral Land? Isn't it merely a place of exile for criminals bearing the Shi surname?" the young man who had played the good cop earlier asked in confusion.

"You don't understand. I heard the clan's elders say that the real reason we established a foothold in Cloud-Rushing Town, near the Western Frontier, was to search for the Stone Kingdom's First Ancestral Land-a place absent from the kingdom's records, one that cannot even be found."

"What? The Stone Kingdom's First Ancestral Land? Does it really exist?!"

"It's precisely because we don't know whether it really exists. Otherwise, why would we need to search? But now... this important information must be reported. Whether or not they truly came from the Stone Kingdom's First Ancestral Land, we have to dig deeper."

"What about that Di Yi, then?"

"He certainly won't be easy to handle. To beat that useless fool into pulp, he must be a Spirit Transformation cultivator whose flesh has attained spirituality. He'll be difficult for us to deal with. However, difficult doesn't mean impossible. Since he didn't go to the Stone Kingdom's Second Ancestral Land with those people, it means he isn't someone surnamed Shi. Even if he has a considerable background, it won't be greater than our Rain Clan's. There will be no trouble in acting against him."

"Elder Brother, you mean to use the Treasure Tool we brought to deal with him?"

"Yes. The dignity of our Rain King Mansion cannot be violated. He just killed one of our people. Even if it was only a 'dog' we kept, he must pay the price. Otherwise, if word of this gets back, won't people think anyone can push the Rain King Mansion around?"

"But according to the report, that strange dog also took part. Every strike was a precise, one-hit kill. His control over divine radiance runes has reached a terrifying level."

"No matter. Our Rain Clan's fame extends throughout the world. We can invite this city's lord to help. This happened under his jurisdiction, and its repercussions can be made as serious as we wish. He will certainly be willing to join us in apprehending the criminal."