Monster spirits followed a system of strict hierarchy. Far beyond being tied to their respective races, the hierarchy was intimately connected to bloodlines. The silver bloodline was a particularly noble pedigree, akin to monster spirit royalty.
The Silvermoon Wolfking and silverback gorilla both belonged to this bloodline. The former, moreover, was at the very top of the social ladder. After all, the six Wolfkings before it had all achieved arcane dao immortal or better.
When the Silvermoon Wolfking manifested its blood strength through the giant wolf shadow, itâd naturally drawn the attention of every monster spirit nearby. Snarling and poised to lunge, the ferocious vestige glowed with a radiance reminiscent of the full moon.
It scared the seven mountain divines out of their wits. Their tribe wasnât a particularly strong oneâdefinitely a far cry from Silvermoon Wolfkings, in any case.
âYouâre a Silvermoon Wolfking!â The leader among the seven yelped in surprise. âThe other six Wolfkings have already become protectors of the North Sea Sacred Land. Theyâre sworn enemies of humanity. How can you be allies with⊠them!â
âRoooooaaaaagh!â His only reply was a deafening roar. The wolf flung a mountain divine onto the Blood Sea section of the Ingress Path with a swipe of its paw. Sea monsters snarled and pounced, tearing the divine to shreds in the blink of an eye.
âWhat a ridiculous question. Those humans are the young kingâs slaves, of course. As expected of a bumpkin divine like him,â a monster spirit merrily chuckled nearby.
Humans and monster spirits were opposed to each other, but every race considered the divines a greater threat as theyâd enslaved everyone else eighty thousand years ago. Although they were now gone from the world, their ambition to return as its rightful rulers had never diminished.
A silent and efficient throwing machine, the Wolfking tossed out a second mountain divine in a matter of seconds.
Four powerful divines suddenly joined the fray. Although they bore auras that were characteristic of their race, it was difficult to judge what tribe they hailed from.
All of them wore black blades upon their backs, but none made a move to draw their weapon. Even barehanded, the four of them together were evenly matched with the Wolfking. With the help of the remaining mountain divines, they succeeded in holding the wolf back for a time.
âAw, no! Itâs them!â The onlooking monster spirits blanched when they saw who it was.
These divines were the initial ambushers, responsible for severely injuring cultivators and throwing them into the Blood Sea. There werenât many of them, but they were individually extremely strong. The average genius couldnât possibly hope to best them.
âYou there, human slaves! Why arenât you doing something?â one particularly fervent monster called out angrily to Lu Yun and Qing Han. The two humans were calmly watching the fight from the side, completely unperturbed by what was happening.
Speaking was all the monster spirit would do, however. Neither it, nor anyone else, would step in and help a fellow competitor in the Sovereign Ranking.
âAll of you, shut up!â The silverback gorilla didnât particularly enjoy the commentary from the peanut gallery. âIf you keep talking, Iâll rip you all to pieces!â Brandishing its iron staff, it leaped to the Wolfkingâs aid.
The other monsters didnât take to the gorillaâs roaring very well at all. They were scared of the Silvermoon Wolfking, but would hardly be shaken by a mere silverback gorilla.
âOh, itâs them!â a human cultivator spoke up in realization. âWhen I came here, I think I saw two people riding a silverback gorilla and a Silvermoon Wolfking.â
âAh, me too! Those two monster spirits are their mounts. I saw their names in the Sovereign Ranking as well: one is Qing Yu, and the other oneâs Qing Yuâs Sidekick!â
âI heard they had a small run-in with a Silvermoon Wolfking back in Destiny City, but I really hadnât expected theyâd commandeer it as a ride!â
âQing Yuâs Sidekick is a void realm expert whoâs been blessed by the Dao Flower! Qing Yu broke through himself in Jadeite Manor, and caused that huge commotion.â Quite a few of the surrounding cultivators began chatting about what had transpired in Destiny City.
âAhâŠâ A group of injured youths traded confused looks among the crowd.
âSenior brother, didnât you say they were just spoiled rich kids?â one of them, a girl, asked weakly.
Resounding silence answered her. These people were the same ones whoâd proposed grouping up before the Blood Sea. The âsenior brotherâ in question had a rather contrite expression; if heâd followed Lu Yun and Qing Han, they wouldnât have suffered the losses they had along the way.
âAbsurd! How can the young Wolfking be someone elseâs mount! You humans are a shameless bunch, trying to ruin our kingâs cultivation mindset like that! Die!â Several of the more hot-tempered monsters came rushing in his direction.
Theyâd heard the rumors on their way here, but had dismissed them as human gossip intended to put down monster spirits. Hearing the words again here⊠well, they really didnât want to believe it.
âThe truth is right in front of you, but you donât want to admit it! If you want a fight, thatâs exactly what youâll get!â
âHaha⊠we should learn from the two seniorsâ examples! Why donât we catch a few monster spirit mounts of our own?â A handful of chortling human cultivators immediately moved in to intercept.
The world of immortals was an enormous place, home to an innumerable amount of geniuses, and the thirty million who were competing in the Sovereign Ranking were the cream of the crop. Their exceptional talents gave them the pride to meet any challenge head-on.
The area near the Blood Sea descended into greater chaos as humans and monster spirits waded into a free-for-all with the divines.
âŠâŠ
âCareful!â Suddenly, Lu Yun felt the hairs on his neck stand on end. Turning reflexively, he stretched out his arms and put himself in front of Qing Han.
Splort!
A sword stabbed out from the void through his shoulder.
âGet lost!â Lu Yun growled. Energy surged all over his body, shaking free a humanoid figure from the void. âHow dare you!â
The young man was furious, his expression dark with killing intent. If he hadnât reacted in time, the sword wouldâve pierced Qing Hanâs neck and eliminated her. Because their cultivation was limited to golden core, their spirits were unrefined and the Purple Manor yet to be established. If their bodies died, that meant the end of their lives.
He stepped up, projecting an engulfing force with an outstretched hand. The person heâd just sent flying was sucked back in. The assailant was dressed and equipped exactly the same way as the ones fighting the Silvermoon Wolfking. However, he was clearly stronger than his peers. He could probably take on the Wolfking by himself!
Combined with his unpredictable sneak attack techniques, the Wolfking would lose in a single round.
âDonât kill him!â The little daoist nun trembled at Lu Yunâs bloodthirst. âIf you kill him, youâll be eliminated by the rules here too!â
The divine in black sneered at that. âIf you donât kill me now, Iâll always be able to try again⊠until the person behind you is dead. The blood monsters on the path cannot hurt me.â His voice was raspy.
âThe Blood Sea monsters on the path canât hurt you?â Qing Han mused coolly. âIâm pretty scared of death, but I donât like leaving loose endsâŠâ
âAre you going to kill me?â The divine smirked.
âNo!â Qing Han shook her head decisively. âSidekick, toss him into the Blood Sea itself. Letâs see what happens.â
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