Chapter 1003 The Western Jungle
Against the low-level sea monsters in the region, Rainshine and Snowscar were like unstoppable water missiles. They had both speed and lethality.
Their rapid movements leave trails of chaotic water currents that look like flood dragons.
And they pierce through the bodies of the sea monsters with uncanny precision and ease, robbing the sea monsters' lives and monster cores.
Leon could see how Duke Blizzardpaw toiled for the Winter Cat Tribe when it was the only Paragon capable of such feats in the past.
However, Leon found it strange.
Even if the weaker Winter Cats weren't on the same level as Duke Blizzardpaw, they all had Paragon-level lethality.
Hunting in the Boundless Sea shouldn't be difficult for them unless the sea monsters they hunted were powerful.
Nevertheless, Leon didn't dwell on the matter.
During the time Leon was away from the Radiant Heaven Realmship, the Bone Sea had recovered its normal sea level.
But now that Leon was refining the Bone Sea again, the sea level decreased once more, albeit at a slow rate.
Leon collected all the wisps of True Grandmist Energy, but he only stored half of them in his Black Vortex Space.
The other half was given to Tak-si to repair the Radiant Heaven Realmship.
"Take it, Tak-si."
"Thank you, Master!"
The male realm spirit was overjoyed by his master's generosity and enthusiastically accepted the bountiful True Grandmist Energy with his spiritual body.
"Start working on recovering the realmship's maneuverability, but leave the damaged hull on the western edge for the time being. I need that opening to remain for the sea monsters to enter," Leon instructed.
"Understood, Master."
…
Several hours flew by in the ice warehouse before Faelyn sat up from the bed.
"I can't be wasting too much time on resting," Faelyn said to herself.
Shortly after, she crossed her legs, albeit with a bit of struggle and pain in her private area.
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Nevertheless, she entered the meditative position and started channeling wood energy through her body to speed up her recovery.
Before long, Faelyn recovered enough to walk without an issue and equipped her green dress equipment.
Afterward, she hesitated for a moment before calling out to the empty space.
"Are you there, Tak-si…?"
"You called, Mistress?"
Tak-si manifested his spiritual body in front of Faelyn with a humble bow, readily at her service, giving Faelyn a slight surprise in the process.
"You respond so quickly… Do you know right away whenever someone calls you, Tak-si?" Faelyn asked curiously.
"The entire realmship is my body. As such, I am aware of everything that happens inside, Mistress," Tak-si replied politely.
"Everything…?" Faelyn's expression turned awkward before she uttered with some embarrassment, "Does that mean that you have seen… No, actually. Never mind. It's better if I don't know."
Shortly after, Faelyn found out what Leon was doing in the Bone Sea.
However, she chose not to bother him.
"I can need a suitable place to practice my alchemy. Can you take me to such a place, Tak-si?" Faelyn inquired.
"Of course, Mistress," Tak-si affirmed.
The realm spirit had just the place in mind.
The realm spirit teleported Faelyn to the western region's surface shortly after. Faelyn quickly found herself in a walled-off area.
It was a nice place for her to practice alchemy in peace.
Even better, there was a cultivation chamber for her to use.
"Great, this place will do just fine. Thank you, Tak-si."
"It's my honor to serve you, Mistress."
Shortly after Tak-si left, Faelyn took out the pill cauldron, Fire Induction Array, and a list of spirit herbs for refining the Tier-1 Energy Gathering Pills.
Having succeeded in refining Tier-1 Energy Gathering Pills before, Faelyn was ready to advance to the next level and attempt the refinement of Tier-2 Spirit Foundation Pills.
However, Faelyn was not satisfied with her mediocre success.
Unless she mastered the tier-1 spirit pills by consistently producing batches of pills at the High-rank and Supreme-rank quality, Faelyn wouldn't attempt to refine higher-level pills.
A firm foundation is the key to life-long success on her path of alchemy.
Just like that, Faelyn immersed herself in refining Tier-1 Energy Gathering Pills, which were helpful for energy cultivators at the Body Tempering Realm.
…
…
…
Three days later, Leon stepped out of a spatial rift in the Infertile Plains' westernmost region with Rainshine after dropping Faelyn and Snowscar off at the World Tree.
Nevertheless, Leon and Faelyn enjoyed one last steamy session together at the World Tree before they parted.
"So this is the western jungle…" Leon muttered while glancing at the vast jungle ahead.
He could see that the desolate land of the Infertile Plains and the lush vegetation of the western jungle were divided at a glance.
The difference between the two domains was like that of two polar opposites. One was thriving with overwhelming lifeforce while the other was lifeless and barren.
"The vegetation in the western jungle is thriving a little too well despite neighboring the Infertile Plains… It's as if the western jungle had sucked all the life out of the Infertile Plains…"
Leon thought.
The western jungle wasn't just vast; it was also towering, making Leon feel small. It gave him the impression that it was grander than Extreme Misty Forest.
"Let us check it, Rainshine. Perhaps, we will find some interesting and unexpected surprises in the western jungle," Leon uttered.
"Meow," Rainshine responded while resting on Leon's shoulders.
Leon stepped into the thick bushes and disappeared inside the vast western jungle shortly after.
…
Western Region, Golden Suanni Tribe
Several dozen miles away from the western jungle, a Mid-rank Great Warrior on sentry duty rubbed his eyes on the edge of a high-rise plateau.
"Strange, I thought I just saw someone appearing out of thin air at the outskirts of the western jungle…" the Mid-rank Great Warrior uttered.
"Appearing out of thin air? How is that even possible?" another Mid-rank Great Warrior from the Golden Suanni Tribe refuted his sentry buddy's claim.
"Are you sure you weren't seeing things because your eyes have gone tired from the watch?"
"Maybe," the Mid-rank Great Warrior replied.
The Mid-rank Great Warrior also thought it was impossible for a person to appear out of thin air.
Considering he couldn't see clearly at such a great distance, he must have been hallucinating due to fatigue.
Chapter 1004 The Western Tribes' Meeting
"You should have already finished your hours for the night shift. Go find the next person for sentry duty and get some sleep, brother," the other Mid-rank Great Warrior suggested.
"Alright. I think I will do just that," the Mid-rank Great Warrior nodded.
…
The entire Golden Suanni Tribe was founded on top of the high-rise plateau. Its particular terrain made it a natural fortress with great defense and a good view of its surroundings.
Even so, it wasn't a reason for the Golden Suanni Tribe to be complacent.
As such, they had sentries on duty at every time of the day, especially during such turbulent times when another tribe could attack them at any time.
Nevertheless, the Golden Suanni Tribe never paid much thought to the aesthetics of their buildings, which were all tents made of beast bones, hide, and leather.
At that moment, a high-level meeting was held inside a bone tent that was fourfold the size of the average tent in the Golden Suanni Tribe.
The chief of the Golden Suanni Tribe and various western tribe leaders were all present.
They gathered around a stone table with a big leather map of the Infertile Plains laid out on it, recording multiple strategic points of interest.
All the tribes of the other regions were all marked on the map, as well as their threat level.
"News of the Battle God Palace launching major campaigns on the eastern tribes arrived earlier in the day. The Battle God Palace has finally started assuming an active role in its conquest. We need to start preparing as well," a western tribe leader mentioned objectively.
"Considering the distance between the westernmost region and the eastern region, this piece of news should be over several days old already," Chief Sur-Kahn of the Golden Suanni Tribe frowned.
"How did the King-rank tribes in the central region respond to the Battle God Palace's movements?"
"According to our intelligence, none of the four King-rank tribes made any move on the Battle God Palace. Even the Holy Sunfire Tribe, which lies to the east of Steelpeak Mountains, only scouted from a distance as the Battle God Palace's troops were passing their territory."
Another western tribe leader by the name of Siwu-Tahk reported.
"Besides the Black Warbear Tribe and Divine Tortoise Tribe solidifying the powers in their territories, only the Mighty Whitewolf Tribe made a move on the northern tribes," Siwu-Tahk added.
"This is such a good chance to understand the situation within Battle God Palace. Unfortunately, none of these King-rank tribes dare to investigate," Sur-Kahn said with a frown.
"No surprise there, Alliance Leader. The prestige of Battle God is undeniable. Everyone wants to rule, but no one wants to take the risk," another western tribe leader by the name of Sar-Rakshi inserted.
They were all Battle Kings, but only the Alliance Leader Sur-Kahn was a Peak-rank Battle King.
Everyone else was at the Low-rank Battle King level.
"Make sense. A single mistake could spell the downfall of the entire tribe when it involves the Battle God Palace," Siwu-Tahk nodded and said.
"However, the First Palace Lord was secretly manipulating the situation in the eastern tribes. For the Battle God Palace to attack the eastern tribes now…"
"Does that mean something happened to the First Palace Lord?" Siwu-Tahk wondered.
The meeting went silent for a few moments before Sul-Dahki, another western tribe leader, decided to contribute a piece of information to the table.
"It's unconfirmed, but I received news from my spies in the Black Warbear Tribe that all three of the Battle God Palace's Palace Lords went to the southern tribes. However, only the Third Palace Lord returned from there."
"What?"
The various leaders quickly expressed their astonishment.
"Does that mean the southern tribes had someone capable of killing the first and second palace lords? Is that possible? The first and second palace lords were both Extremity-rank Battle Kings!"
Sar-Rakshi stated with astonishment written all over his rough face.
Sur-Kahn frowned deeply in thought.
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"The southern tribes were under the Third Palace Lord's protection. I'm more inclined to believe the Third Palace Lord laid a trap for the First and Second Palace Lords to jump in," Siwu-Tahk stated.
"However, it doesn't make sense that the Third Palace Lord could mobilize the Battle God Palace's troops to launch campaigns on the eastern tribe right after. It should have taken him time to unite the scattered powers in the Battle God Palace."
"Even more baffling is the fact that there's still no news from the Battle God himself after all that had happened," Siwu-Tahk mentioned.
"We've long suspected that something had happened to the Battle God," Chief Sul-Dahki stated.
"That's why everyone dares to challenge the Battle God Palace for hegemony over the plains. The Battle God's inactivity after all this has pretty much confirmed our suspicions."
"But the Battle God Palace isn't what we should be worrying about right now, is it?" Chief Sul-Dahki said objectively.
"That's right," Chief Siwu-Tahk agreed with a nod.
"We've gathered today to discuss the future direction of the western tribe alliance. Although our western region is united, we are still far from the hegemon position."
"We will need to absorb the northern tribes or southern tribes, or even both, to have the other King-rank tribes and the Battle God Palace acknowledge our hegemony," Chief Siwu-Tahk stated.
"The southern tribes are off-limits while the situation with the first and second palace lords remain unknown to us," Alliance Leader Sur-Kahn stated solemnly.
"The southern tribes are too close to the demon's territory. We don't know if the southern tribe has a Battle God or any dealings with the demons that resulted in the two palace lords' disappearance."
"Either way, both are bad news for us," Alliance Leader Sur-Kahn stated in a firm tone.
"Then are you suggesting we direct our swords at the northern tribes, Alliance Leader?" Chief Sul-Dahki asked for confirmation.
"Targeting the northern tribes is our best option." Alliance Leader Sur-Khan nodded and said, "But we will only launch minor skirmishes to test the strength of the northern tribes."
"After all, we still have to watch the Divine Tortoise Tribe neighboring us."
The western tribe leaders nodded in agreement.
They couldn't be too careless with the Divine Tortoise Tribe. The Divine Tortoise Tribe could be waiting for a chance to strike at them for all they know.
Chapter 1005 Abnormal Plant Growth
Western Jungle was a place thriving in vegetation.
It was unknown where the jungle drew its abundant lifeforce from, allowing its plants to grow prosperously and generously, but one thing was certain; it was abnormal.
The grass was as high as Leon's knees, and the bushes and shrubs were even higher, not to mention the trees.
Although the trees weren't at the same level as an Elder Tree, their towering presence cannot be denied.
And when there was an entire jungle of tall trees, it was pretty imposing and intimidating to the adventurers and explorers who dared to venture within its territory.
If Leon did not have divine sense, a high level of defense, and Paragon-level poison immunity, even he would have to tread carefully for the sake of safety.
Given the environment, they could be attacked from any and all directions.
It was the perfect hunting ground for stealthy creatures.
But unfortunately for them, none of their stealth would work on Leon; his divine sense detects everything within its range.
As Leon walked through tall grass and thick bushes, a venomous snake suddenly thrust itself at Leon's neck from one of the dangling vines.
However, Leon had already foreseen its presence and anticipated its attack.
But before Leon could even make a move, Rainshine's eyes flickered with sharpness before she swiped at the venomous snake with her claws in a silvery-white flash.
Puchi!
The venomous snake was sliced into more than a dozen pieces before it dropped into the veil of grass and gushed with blood.
No further movement was felt from the snake; it was deader than dead.
Leon didn't bother with the snake carcass and left it as is, continuing their journey into the depths of the western jungle.
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Nevertheless, Leon only traveled a few dozen yards before encountering another attack.
However, the attack came from a different creature; it was a green frog the size of a full-grown watermelon.
It was hungry and definitely not friendly.
But like the first time, Rainshine quickly intercepted and sliced the green frog into numerous pieces with her sharp claws before returning to her spot on Leon's shoulders.
"Master, since your objective was to subjugate the western tribes, where are we heading this way? I believe there was a human settlement not far from the jungle outskirts," Rainshine mentioned.
"Even if there was one, acquiring their allegiance peacefully with just words alone wouldn't work," Leon casually replied.
"Look at how thriving this place is. They wouldn't lack any water and food in this place. Thus, the southern tribe's advantage in these aspects wouldn't appeal to the western tribes. Alternatively, I could reveal my strength to make them submit. But if they are stubborn, they will definitely fight back."
"As such, looking for the Golden Suanni Clan will be a more fruitful endeavor. The western tribes' resistance won't be as strong once they lose their backer. Nevertheless, that isn't the most important point."
"The most important point is I am much more interested in the Golden Suanni Clan than the western tribes," Leon stated.
"I see…" Rainshine uttered.
As they traveled deeper into the jungle, Leon started to think that he should have brought Faelyn along.
The western jungle was a suitable place for deepening one's comprehension of the Wood Law.
There was definitely something special about the western jungle.
Leon wouldn't have been surprised if he had found a place like the western jungle in the Wildlands back on the Desolate Beast Continent.
However, the western jungle was situated on the Dark Abyss Continent, a dark place devoid of direct sunlight. As such, the plants relied on a different energy source to thrive.
Furthermore, the western jungle lacked spirit energy despite its plethora of overgrown plants.
"There's definitely something special in the heart of this jungle…" Leon uttered along the way. He had a guess on what the plant's special energy source could be.
Suddenly, Leon spotted a rare spirit herb with his divine sense before making a beeline toward it.
As Leon approached the location, the trees became increasingly sparse in the area. The thick bushes also cleared, and the sound of water became evident.
It was a river.
The rare spirit herb was none other than the few stalks of grasses growing along the riversides. But unlike other green grasses, they had tints of blue and silver.
Bluesilver Grass was their name, and they were actually quite common in the Divine Realm.
However, Leon had never seen such tall stalks of Bluesilver Grass. As such, they were mutated variants of the normal Bluesilver Grass.
When it comes to variant spirit herbs, they usually have much stronger properties, or they may even have entirely new properties.
Whatever the case may be, it doesn't hurt to collect them.
Bluesilver Grass was a supplementary ingredient in many pill recipes. Thus, Leon didn't have to worry about not finding a use for the Bluesilver grass.
However, the true value of variant spirit herbs lies in exploring and innovating new pills in the art of alchemy.
After harvesting all the stalks of Bluesilver Grass in the area, Leon planted them all in the Worldspace.
With the blessing of the Sacred Garden, the potency of the Bluesilver Grass would definitely increase.
Leon continued to follow the river and pocket every mutated variant of the Bluesilver Grass he could find along the way.
Collecting spirit herbs became a side objective as he searched for the Golden Suanni Clan.
Puchi!
Another creature was felled by Rainshine's claws as she cleared the hostile beasts from the area. This time, it was a hyena.
However, the hyena was not alone, and their strength varied from Low Rank 1 Transcendent to High Rank 1 Transcendent.
"Master, there's a lot more beasts in this area, and their numbers are growing. I think we are attracting them here," Rainshine mentioned.
"With all that blood, it's only natural that they are attracted," Leon casually said while plucking another stalk of Bluesilver Grass. "If they attack, continue to kill them all."
"Yes, Master," Rainshine complied.
Searching blindly for the Golden Suanni Clan was a waste of time. Leon thought it was better if they attracted the kings of the jungle to them instead.
Chapter 1006 Food Attraction
As the smell of blood became more pungent, the number of beasts attracted to the area also increased.
Besides snakes and hyenas, gorillas, crocodiles, leopards, jaguars, and even an elephant came to the river.
Nevertheless, not all of them were attracted by the blood and hostile to Leon and Rainshine; some came to drink water from the river.
However, they quickly fled after catching the sights of their natural predators.
Of course, those that didn't flee were quickly attacked. Alas, the hostile beasts were outmatched when they saw Leon as prey and targeted him.
Leon caught the neck of a jaguar with his vice-like grip when it pounced at him. He easily snapped the Rank 1 Transcendent-level jaguar's neck with a bit of force and killed it.
The jaguar's body was casually tossed aside shortly after.
Afterward, Leon glanced back at the trail of carcasses along the riverside left by Rainshine before he paused in thought.
"Interesting…" Leon muttered.
Leon discovered that hostile beasts would rather hunt fresh living beings than eat from the already-dead carcasses of other beasts along the riverside.
If the beasts were simply hungry, they would ignore the amount of food lying on the ground.
It became clear to Leon that the hostile beasts had a clear target in mind when they came to the river.
This could be clearly seen from the fact that the hyenas, jaguars, and leopards ignored each other. Rather, they were working together.
Perhaps they were under orders from a higher-ranking beast that ruled the territory.
"Rank 2 Transcendent-level beasts have started appearing… Are they trying to gauge our strength?" Leon casually shook his head.
It was a meaningless endeavor.
Leon suddenly raised his hand and drew blood essences from all the beast carcasses along the riverside towards him. Then, he refined them and absorbed their origin blood into his bloodstream, increasing his accumulated origin blood types to 615.
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Shortly after, Leon grabbed a hyena's leg and dragged its somewhat-intact carcass over to the river for a quick wash. The blood was quickly drained, and the fur was removed with fire.
Afterward, Leon removed the organs and stuffed some spirit herbs inside.
Then, Leon took some powdered dry herbs mixed with freshly squeezed herbal essence from the Worldspace before marinating the hyena's carcass in the caramel-like mixed herbal juice.
Rainshine was curious about Leon's actions before she gradually realized her master was cooking the hyena.
However, Leon wasn't just cooking; he was experimenting and baiting.
The marinated hyena carcass didn't look all that appealing, nor did it smell great.
But once Leon placed it over a spitfire that he made on the spot and started roasting the marinated hyena carcass, an incredibly appetizing and pleasant aroma surged out from it explosively.
Rainshine took one whiff of it before she subconsciously started drooling and gazed at her master's food with desire.
At the same time, the explosive aroma spread far and wide, attracting all the beasts within several tens of miles.
Rainshine had never had cooked food before.
As such, the hyena carcass's transformation was like magic to her, which further heightened her anticipation and expectation regarding its taste.
However, the growing number of beasts in the area quickly snapped Rainshine out of her reverie as her eyes flashed with coldness.
"There's no need to kill arbitrarily if they don't attack us first, Rainshine," Leon casually said while squatting over by the spitfire, slowly rotating the marinated hyena carcass over the fire.
After hearing that, Rainshine immediately noticed the beasts were gathering, but they weren't attacking.
They only kept a safe distance and watched from afar.
Rainshine confirmed that the beasts weren't attacking despite the growing desire in their eyes.
Thus, Rainshine shifted her attention back to the marinated hyena carcass that started to shine with caramelized color.
It was starting to look very soft and tender.
As Rainshine watched marinated hyena carcass rotate intently and up close, a piece of firewood suddenly cracked apart, and embers flew about, startling her.
Rainshine quickly retreated with a short hop and raised her paw at the flying embers as if wanting to smack them and fight back.
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Leon slightly smiled at Rainshine's antics in amusement.
"Are you curious about its taste?" Leon casually asked.
Rainshine shifted her gaze to Leon and nodded repeated eagerly.
Leon was also curious about the taste.
As such, he decided to peel off a piece of meat and let Rainshine taste-test for him. The meat broke off from the carcass with little-to-no resistance.
It was incredibly tender.
Although Rainshine was eager to try, she carefully accepted the piece of juicy meat from Leon's hand in fear of accidentally cutting his fingers with her exceedingly-sharp fangs.
The moment Rainshine swallowed the food, she immediately gave a shrill cry of joy and rolled on the ground as she relished in the aftertaste.
At the same time, she felt a warm power flowing through her body, mildly improving her physique.
After Leon watched Rainshine's reaction, he also peeled a piece for himself and tasted it.
'The taste is excellent but not as exaggerated as Rainshine makes it. It still falls short of eating fresh sea monster meat dipped in special sauce,' Leon evaluated.
Nevertheless, Rainshine probably enjoyed it much more as it was something different from what she usually eats, which also makes it more exciting.
'Overall, this food is comparable to tier-2 cultivation pills," Leon continued assessing his first attempt at spirit cooking.
'But considering I used some tier-3 spirit herbs to produce this, some energy was definitely lost in the cooking process…'
'This attempt was a failure, huh?' Leon thought.
A true master of spirit cooking wouldn't allow any energy loss in the cooking process. Leon still had a way to go before reaching such a level.
That being said, it was not bad for his first attempt.
Roar!
The mighty roar of Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level beast suddenly echoed throughout the area, causing Leon's eyes to flicker thoughtfully.
It was undoubtedly the roar of a lion.
"Looks like we've successfully attracted a king of the jungle with the scent of food," Leon commented with a slight smile.
However, Rainshine immediately revealed a look that implies she wouldn't share the food with anyone besides her master.
Chapter 1007 Exerting Dominance
"What's this? You don't want to share the food?" Leon softly chuckled at Rainshine's behavior and said, "But if the golden suanni is cooperative, we might have to share the food."
"Meow!" Rainshine voiced her unwillingness.
"I can always cook more."
After Leon said that, Rainshine paused with a contemplating look for a moment before her eyes started beaming at Leon.
'Cooking more was good; please cook more' – Rainshine's eyes conveyed.
Before long, the gathered beasts in the distance split up and lowered their heads as they made way for the ruler of the jungle, a Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni.
It was only half the size of an average elephant, far from being comparable to other Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level beasts found throughout the Wildlands on the Desolate Beast Continent.
However, being smaller didn't make the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni weaker.
In fact, its strength and defense were both high and sturdy due to its compacted body size.
Even so, Peak Rank 2 Transcendent is far below the adequate level to rule the entire western jungle. Most likely, the golden suanni was only the ruler of a small territory in the whole jungle.
Roar! Roar!
The Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni growled at Leon, but its eyes were fixed on the hyena carcass being roasted over the spitfire.
Leon could tell it was trying to say something. But unfortunately, Leon did not understand what it was trying to say exactly.
He turned to Rainshine and said, "You're both from the cat family. Do you understand what it's trying to say?"
"The golden suanni is demanding you hand over the food to it, Master," Rainshine answered with a gloomy look.
"It's also saying that if it finds the food palatable, it will spare us from the death penalty for arbitrarily killings beasts under its rule. Furthermore, it said it will also permit you to serve it as its new head chef, Master."
"In my opinion, this golden suanni is too pompous and needs a reality check. Can you let me handle this matter, Master?" Rainshine requested.
"Hm?" Leon studied Rainshine's dark expression for a moment before he casually said, "As long as you can learn the Golden Suanni Clan's location without killing it, I don't mind."
Nevertheless, Leon was amused that the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni's desire was to try the food he made rather than avenging the beasts under its rule.
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The Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni viewed all the beasts in its territory as cannon fodders and food.
It was just a matter of when it wanted to eat and from which beast.
Despite that, the other beasts still chose to live fearfully under the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni's rule.
Leon could clearly see how much power and influence the Golden Suanni Clan held over the jungle from this.
"Thank you, Master," Rainshine nodded. After a momentary pause, she confirmed again, "As long as I don't kill it, right, Master?"
"Yeah," Leon affirmed.
Shortly after, Rainshine approached the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni and stopped a few yards in front of it.
The other beasts retreated further to give them space.
At the same time, the difference in build between the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni and the Early Paragon-level Winter Cat became evident.
As such, the golden suanni didn't view Rainshine as a threat.
Roar!
(Step aside, pipsqueak.)
(I have no interest in you, or do you think you can challenge me, the king of this jungle region, with your tiny body?)
(I have heard and seen your strength. It's only enough to bully the Rank 1 Transcendents in my animal kingdom, still far from challenging me, who stands at the peak of Rank 2 Transcendents.)
The golden suanni flagrantly boasted in front of Rainshine, but she showed a disinterested and bored look while grooming the fur on the back of her paw.
Meow!
(You talk too much.)
Rainshine replied.
Shortly after, Rainshine's hind legs erupted with strength as she dashed forward and headbutted the golden suanni in the chin, knocking it up into the sky.
The tremendous force of the impact immediately caused the golden suanni to view Rainshine in a different light.
But even though it had realized Rainshine's strength was much greater than what it gave her credit for, it reacted too late.
The golden suanni was stunned by the concussive blow.
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And as its body landed back on the ground with a heavy thud and found the world spinning, Rainshine's tiny paw stepped on its neck and pressed its head back into the ground.
Roar!
The golden suanni roared angrily at its carelessness, which landed it in a humiliating position in front of its countless subjects.
(You might have surprised me with your strength, but this much is still nothing to me—!)
The golden suanni tried to overpower Rainshine with its strength and regain control of the situation, but it failed to break from Rainshine's paw.
Her paw was like an enormous mountain weighing on its neck, impossible to overcome.
Furthermore, Rainshine's claws grew out and slowly sunk into the golden suanni's neck with ease, causing its resistance to weaken and fear to sprout in its heart.
Roar…
(How can your puny body hold so much strength…?!)
(You… You're strength is at the level of the Monarchs…!)
The revelation horrified the golden suanni as it could only look at Rainshine from the corner of its left eye with fear and a hint of pleading.
Meow!
Rainshine slightly exerted a bit more strength, pressing the golden suanni into the ground before making it look her in the eye directly.
(You, look at me; I am the boss now. Do you understand?)
(Y-yes, ma'am! No, Boss! You are my boss!)
The golden suanni quickly tried to express its understanding and submission after Rainshine exerted her dominance.
(Good! Then, you will do as I say and tell me what I want to know, won't you?)
(Of course, Boss!)
The golden suanni tried to nod its head submissively.
(Do you still want to eat my master's food?)
(Y-yes…? No! I mean no, Boss!)
The golden suanni quickly corrected itself after being frightened by Rainshine's darkened expression and gloomy aura.
Chapter 1008 Easy Submission
Meow!
Rainshine released her paw from the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni's neck, allowing it to breathe with ease again before strutting off back to Leon's side.
Although the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni regained its freedom, the thought of rebelling and striking at Rainshine's back did not cross its mind.
It was questionable whether it would succeed, not to mention whether its attack would deal any damage to Rainshine.
An Early Paragon-level beast had at least 10-million jin physical strength at the bare minimum.
On the other hand, a Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni like itself only had 3-million jin strength.
Although the golden suanni didn't experience Rainshine's full strength, it could tell that Rainshine's strength was higher than the bare minimum for an Early Paragon-level Winter Cat.
As such, even if the golden suanni was one rank lower than Rainshine, her actual strength exceeded it by at least four to five folds.
Roar!
The Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni growled at the gathered beasts in the area, shooing them away.
It did not want them to see it continuing to make a fool of itself in front of the powerful intruders.
Nevertheless, the gathered beasts vaguely understood the golden suanni's command and quickly fled from the area.
…
"Master, I made the golden suanni submit to me," Rainshine reported.
"So it seems that way," Leon casually glanced at the terrified golden suanni standing nervously in the distance and said, "It must have received a big blow to its ego after being overpowered by you."
"Yes, Master," Rainshine raised her head with a proud look.
How dare a mere Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level beast behave so arrogantly in front of her master when she, an Early Paragon-level Winter Cat, doesn't dare to do so?
"Did you find out from the golden suanni where its main Golden Suanni Clan is located yet?"
"Not yet, Master," Rainshine her head before shooting the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni a stern look, gesturing it to come over with a flick of her head.
The Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni carefully approached Leon and Rainshine before glancing at Leon with apprehension.
If the small cat was already a powerful Early Paragon-level beast, then how powerful would her master be? – the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni thought.
None of its prior arrogance could no longer be seen.
Rainshine had certainly put it in its place.
For some reason, Leon found the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni to be pitiful. Or, at the very least, its current appearance seemed quite pitiful.
Seeing that its neck was slightly bleeding from Rainshine's sharp claws, Leon waved his hand at the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni and helped it recover from its light wound.
The golden suanni was astonished by Leon's casual means and became more mindful of its actions in his presence.
It wouldn't dare to make the same mistake it did with the winter cat.
After Leon healed the golden suanni's wound, he peeled an entire hind leg off the roasted hyena and offered it.
The golden suanni's eyes immediately sparkled like it was looking at a saint. But before it could accept the roasted hind leg, it saw Rainshine's stern expression from the corner of its eyes.
Its body immediately trembled.
Afterward, the golden suanni quickly shook its head, expressing its intention to decline the roasted hind leg even though it really wanted it.
(I-I don't want it. Please take it, Boss.)
(Very good. I'm starting to like your attitude very much.)
Rainshine nodded with approval before strutting over to accept the roasted hind leg from Leon in the golden suanni's stead.
However, Leon's other hand formed a fist before he gave Rainshine a light bump on the head.
"Stop bullying it so much. How am I supposed to earn the entire Golden Suanni Clan's loyalty and allegiance if you keep terrorizing its members?" Leon casually said.
"Furthermore, the Golden Suanni Clan definitely has stronger members if it can rule the entire western jungle. Are you sure it's a good idea to be bullying the Golden Suanni Clan's weaker members?"
"I'm not going to back you up if the Paragon-level Golden Suannis start coming after you due to your bullying, you know?" Leon stated.
Although the bump on Rainshine's head didn't hurt, she still held the spot with her paws, feeling wronged.
"This isn't about bullying, Master. This is about seniority. How can you give it an entire leg before I get one? Isn't this blatant favoritism, Master?" Rainshine complained.
However, Leon glanced at Rainshine with amusement.
"I was going to give you the rest of the roasted hyena. Are you really going to fight the golden suanni for one leg? Should I give the rest of the roast hyena to the golden suanni and give this hind leg to you instead?" Leon asked with a smile.
"Eh?" Rainshine was immediately stunned by her master's words.
At the same time, the golden suanni wasn't sure what was going on, but it was feeling surprisingly excited as if something good was about to happen to it.
Rainshine frowned and gave golden suanni a smack on the head with her paw.
(Hmph! What are you getting excited for? You can have the hind leg. Don't even think about eating the rest of the hyena. It's mine, you hear me?)
(Y-yes, Boss.)
After receiving the golden suanni's answer, Rainshine turned back to Leon and replied coyly, "On second thoughts, it can have the hind leg, Master."
"That's what I thought," Leon rolled his eyes with mild amusement at Rainshine's antics before tossing the hind leg to the golden suanni.
The Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni immediately leaped up and gobbled the whole roasted hind leg without hesitation.
In that instance, its eyes dilated before it rolled on the ground with shrill joy as it tasted the best thing ever, much better than what the other humans ever offered.
As expected, the taste is absolutely delicious – the golden suanni thought.
Shortly after, Leon noticed the golden suanni looking at him with reverence and worship. It seems that he could tame just about any beast with delicious food, he thought.
"Ask it where the Golden Suanni Clan is, Rainshine. I think it will cooperate without a problem. You can eat the roasted hyena after."
"Yes, Master," Rainshine complied eagerly.
Chapter 1009 The Golden Suanni's Lair
After Rainshine started her interrogation, the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni didn't just answer her questions with complete honesty; it even expressed its willingness to guide them to the Golden Suanni Clan.
"Master, it's saying it is willing to lead us to the Golden Suanni Clan's main territory," Rainshine reported.
"Is it now? I suppose that works in our favor. At the very least, we won't have to worry about getting lost," Leon thought.
As he glanced at the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni, Leon could see its eyes fixed on the remaining roasted hyena with desire.
For a big boy like the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni, it was clear that a single roast hind leg was far from enough.
Nevertheless, it would be quite interesting if Leon could gain the Golden Suanni Clan's allegiance and loyalty with delicious food.
'I should run some tests with this Peak Rank 2 transcendent-level Golden Suanni first,' Leon thought.
Shortly after Rainshine went to devour the remaining roasted hyena for herself, Leon gathered all the scattered beast carcasses in preparation for another cooking session.
However, Leon only performed the first step of cooking preparation by removing the fur and organs, draining the blood, and cleaning the meat.
Afterward, Leon stored everything in his Worldspace for later.
By that point, Rainshine had also finished her sumptuous feast under the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni's envious gaze.
It even whined a little.
However, Rainshine didn't share a single bite. She ate everything, bone and all, and even licked her paws after finishing.
Despite finishing the entire roasted hyena, which was a few dozen times her size, Rainshine's stomach showed no sign of inflation.
It was a wonder where all the food actually went or how her stomach was built.
"Tell it to lead us back to its lair, Rainshine," Leon instructed.
"Understood—" Rainshine suddenly paused before asking with doubt, "The Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni's lair, Master? Not the Golden Suanni Clan?"
"Yeah, we won't be heading to the Golden Suanni Clan's main territory just yet," Leon stated.
"Understood, Master." Rainshine didn't question her master's decision.
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Meow!
Roar!
(Lead us to your lair!)
(Y-yes—my lair, Boss?)
(Yes, is that a problem?)
(N-no, Boss!)
(Then lead the way!)
(Y-yes!)
After a short exchange of meows and growls between Rainshine and the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni, they finally went on their way.
Nevertheless, the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni's lair was not that far away from the jungle.
About thirty miles down the river, Leon and Rainshine left the vicinity of the thick jungle trees and bushes and entered a vast open grassland with a stone mountain at its center.
The stone mountain was Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni's lair.
Leon quickly spotted the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni's other family members within the mountain cave upon their arrival.
There were five lionesses at the Mid Rank 2 Transcendent level and thirteen cubs with Early Rank 1 Transcendent-level strength.
'A cub already has the strength of a Transcendent? Explains why the Golden Suanni Clan can rule the entire jungle,' Leon thought.
The five lionesses glanced at Leon warily before shifting their gaze to the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni with questioning looks.
However, the cubs didn't have the same awareness.
Some of them ran up to Leon's feet and started biting him, thinking he was food. Alas, their biting strength was too weak to break through Leon's defense.
In the end, it looked like they were just playing with him.
Leon casually picked up a cub with a pinch and watched it struggle to break free by flailing its four limbs about.
Rao!
The cub growled after failing to escape from Leon's hand.
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At the same time, the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni growled at its cubs, telling them to all backoff.
Afterward, it shifted its gaze to Leon pleadingly, hoping he would spare its young.
However, Leon didn't have such intentions.
He casually took out a piece of sea monster meat and fed it to the cub in front of him.
The cub quickly devoured the sea monster meat with a voracious appetite before looking back at Leon with its big round eyes. It hung in the air obediently without trying to escape.
Rao!
The cub softly growled, hoping Leon would feed it another piece of delicious sea monster meat.
"You've become so obedient after only being fed once, huh?" Leon commented with interest. The cub was like a slave to food.
Whoever fed it good food would become its master.
Nevertheless, Leon placed the cub back down before taking out a much bigger chunk of sea monster meat for all the cubs to share.
Afterward, Leon went outside the mountain cave to prepare his new spitfire to roast the beast meat he previously collected.
The Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni was relieved after understanding Leon meant no harm to its family.
It started to watch Leon cook with anticipation.
However, it was forced to keep some distance as Rainshine also watched Leon roast the marinated beast meat over the spitfire.
Before long, a tenderizing and mouth-watering scent exuded from the roasted beast meat, attracting even the five lionesses and thirteen cubs' attention over.
"Tell the golden suanni that if it wants to eat, it'll have to exchange some of its blood essences for it, Rainshine," Leon instructed.
Nevertheless, Rainshine appeared reluctant before Leon added, "You'll get some too. Don't worry."
"Master is the best!" Rainshine immediately beamed with excitement.
Shortly after, she conveyed the message to the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni before it nodded at Leon.
Afterward, it offered one of its paws to Leon before turning its head away, not daring to look as if it was about to lose the entire limb.
However, its worries were unfounded.
Leon simply made a small cut that didn't even hurt the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni before he started extracting its blood essence.
"Alright, you can all dig in," Leon offered the roasted beast meat after he finished collecting a sizable amount of blood essence.
He proceeded to refine Golden Suanni Origin Blood shortly after without paying any more attention to the others.
Chapter 1010 Paragon-Level Golden Suanni
Two days quickly flew by within the blink of an eye.
During this time, several changes had taken place at the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni's lair—or rather, the golden suanni was no longer at the Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level of strength.
The Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni was promoted to the Paragon level after having its blood refinement by Leon.
And after it received a partial bloodline awakening to reach the Paragon level, it opened its Wisdom Gate and unlocked memories from its past ancestors.
As a result, the Paragon-level Golden Suanni gained many skills and techniques related to the Golden Suanni Race and learned how to understand and speak the human tongue.
Despite its rapid growth, which could put its present strength on par with Rainshine, the Paragon-level Golden Suanni didn't have a single rebellious thought—at least not towards Leon.
The Paragon-level Golden Suanni and the rest of its family were completely loyal to him.
Even if they were reduced to lackeys, their present lives would still be better than their past life.
By following Leon, they get to enjoy good food and have opportunities to awaken their ancestral bloodline.
What more could they ask for?
Even the five lionesses were all promoted to High Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suannis. Only the cubs' strengths remain unchanged as Leon deemed them too young to experience blood refinements.
Besides the big cats' improvements, Leon had also used some of the Golden Suanni Origin Blood he gained from the Paragon-level Golden Suanni to raise his bone forging phase up to Peak Rank 1 Body Transformation.
Furthermore, Leon became a Tier-3 Spirit Chef from the repeated practice in spirit cooking. He could make tier-3 spirit food without losing any precious energy in the cooking process.
Apart from that, one of his divine consciousness, the one working runes, had completely absorbed all the knowledge on tier-4 runes and started comprehending tier-5 runes.
He could be considered a supreme Tier-4 Runemaster, but not for long.
2023年の世界で最も売れた自動車トップ20のうち,半数が日本車で,1位の車種は64%の成長を達成しました.TOPSSEEK
Once his divine consciousness comprehends his first tier-5 rune, Leon would advance to become an Early Tier-5 Runemaster.
…
At that moment, Leon roasted a few freshly-killed hyenas that the Paragon-level Golden Suanni had brought back from its hunt.
"After this meal, you will lead us to the Golden Suanni Clan's main territory, Cindertail," Leon suddenly said as he was brushing mixed herbal juice onto the slow-roasting hyena meat.
Cindertail was precisely the name of the Paragon-level Golden Suanni, which Leon had learned shortly after it learned to speak in the human tongue.
"What about my family, Master?" Cindertail inquired before raising his concern, "The Golden Suanni Clan's main territory is quite far away from here. I'm afraid something will happen to my family if I leave them for too long."
"You can bring them along. We can travel together," Leon said as he threw a casual glance at Cindertail's big body.
After Cindertail experienced his partial bloodline awakening and was promoted to the Paragon level, his body to the size of an average full-grown elephant.
"Thank you, Master!" Cindertail said gratefully.
"It's not a big deal. Don't worry about that," Leon casually shook his before mentioning, "You said that all the golden suannis' lairs are all like yours throughout the jungle?"
"Yes, Master," Cindertail confirmed.
"How strange."
As Leon rotated the marinated hyena meat over the spitfire, he glanced at the towering jungle trees at the far edges of the grassland in the distance.
"This vast grassland doesn't seem like something that was artificially made according to your clan's preference. Why would the western jungle have so many empty grassland regions like this within it?" Leon wondered.
"To be honest, I'm not quite sure, Master," Cindertail scratched his head with a baffled look and said, "I only know that the jungle has always been like this."
"Always been like this, huh?" Leon softly muttered.
Given the abnormal growth of the jungle plants, there shouldn't be any reason for the vast vegetation to avoid growing across the grassland—not unless there was something special hidden in the grassland that prevented the plants' growth from encroaching its territory.
'Perhaps there's something special under this stone mountain?' Leon thought.
But before Leon divided a portion of his divine consciousness to investigate the earth below, he cast a glance at Cindertail.
"You're not going to challenge Rainshine today?" Leon casually asked.
However, the moment Cindertail heard the question, he immediately shot up on all four limbs from his resting position by the spitfire.
"Thank you for the reminder, Master. I just remembered now," Cindertail stated before shooting his gaze at Rainshine, who was lazily resting on Leon's shoulders.
"Rainshine, I challenge you again! You have to acknowledge me as the new boss if I win!" Cindertail declared.
Rainshine slowly cast her lazy eyes at Cindertail.
"This again? Just because you reached the Paragon level, it doesn't mean you are my opponent. You've already lost all seven times out of the seven times you challenged me," Rainshine said lazily.
"If you win, you get to become the new boss. But if I win, I only get to retain my position. I'm too lazy to accept your challenge. There's nothing for me to gain out of it."
"This… why don't you state your condition for winning then? I'm feeling good today. I will definitely beat you this time," Cindertail stated confidently.
"Yeah, yeah, sure," Rainshine slowly stood up on Leon's shoulders before saying, "If I win, you have to offer up all your share of the roasted meat to me."
"This…" Cindertail immediately hesitated.
"What's wrong? Weren't you confident?" Rainshine goaded.
"Hmph, of course!" Cindertail snorted and said, "F*ck it, let's do it!"
Shortly after, Rainshine and Cindertail left the stone mountain to duel each other on the grassland a few miles away.
The cubs quickly occupied their spots and eyed the slow-roasting hyena meat on the spitfire.
Leon broke off some pieces of roasted meat and fed them each a piece.
Rao!
The cubs growled with joy, causing a smile to appear on Leon's face.
Nevertheless, Leon shortly shifted his focus elsewhere as he sent his divine sense into the ground to investigate the earth beneath the stone mountain.
Chapter 1011 Golden Suanni Tribe's Backer
Leon thought he would discover something after searching under the stone mountain with his divine sense but found nothing special besides a rich metal deposit.
"How strange…" Leon furrowed his brows.
Leon couldn't understand why the jungle plants' growth didn't reach the grassland and only grew around it instead.
It was clear that something prevented the jungle plants from entering the grassland.
However, he couldn't find the source.
'The land formation of the western jungle is unnatural. But since I can't find the source out here, I shan't worry about it for now. Perhaps, I will learn something once I reach the deeper parts of the jungle,' Leon thought.
Sometime later, Cindertail and Rainshine returned from their duel.
Rainshine was perfectly fine as she strutted in front.
On the other hand, Cindertail lagged behind her with his head hung down, feeling dispirited; light scratches and cuts filled his body.
Leon didn't need to ask to know who won.
After seeing everyone was back, Leon hurled all the roasted beast meat in the air and sliced them into numerous smaller pieces with a fine thread of condensed fire energy.
The roasted beast meat pieces shortly landed on several large banana leaves.
"Food is ready," Leon stated.
The lionesses and cubs quickly went to their designated banana leaf as they were taught and dug straight into the food.
Rainshine and Cindertail each had their own banana leaf worth of food.
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Unfortunately for Cindertail, his portion was forfeited to Rainshine as a result of losing his bet with Rainshine.
Cindertail could only watch enviously as Rainshine devoured his food portion with sheer bliss.
Leon shook his head wryly and took some sea monster meat for Cindertail to eat before patting him on the head.
"Master…" Cindertail looked at Leon like he was looking at a saint.
"Maybe this will teach you not to gamble with your food recklessly," Leon softly chuckled before suddenly saying, "Alright, finish eating quickly. We have a long journey ahead of us."
Shortly after Rainshine and the Golden Suannis finished their meals, they packed their homes and prepared to depart for the Golden Suanni Clan's main territory.
Nevertheless, Cindertail's family did not have anything to bring with them besides themselves. As such, they finished packing quickly and went on their way.
The five lionesses carried between one or two cubs on each of their backs, while Cindertail carried the remaining five cubs.
"I'm going to miss this place," Cindertail commented with a sentimental gaze while looking back at the stone mountain.
"It's not like you won't ever come back," Rainshine lazily said.
However, Cindertail shook his head.
"No, I don't think I will be returning."
"Why not?" Rainshine asked.
"How can I follow Master if I return to my home? Would I still get to enjoy Master's cooking? Following Master is the dream life. Why would I still want to go back to that mountain cave?" Cindertail replied.
Cindertail was definitely hugging Leon's thighs until the end.
"Idle chat aside, there's something I want to ask you, Cindertail," Leon suddenly spoke as they re-entered the thick jungle and continued westward.
"What do you want to know, Master? Please ask away. I will answer to the best of my knowledge," Cindertail stated.
"You had contact with other humans outside the western jungle, right? What is the Golden Suanni Clan's relationship with them exactly?" Leon inquired.
"The Golden Suanni Clan's relationship with other humans? Ah, those people." Cindertail recalled the Golden Suanni Tribe and said, "I don't have any special relationship with them, Master."
"And they are still far from being qualified to have any relationship with the Golden Suanni Clan's main branch. They just seemed like nice people since they kept delivering good food to my lair. Thanks to their persistence in doing so, they won the hearts of my eldest sons."
"So that is why you are the only male in your pride, huh?" Leon muttered.
"Yes, Master," Cindertail nodded.
"My eldest sons are all grown up. It was time for them to leave and start their own families elsewhere anyway, so I didn't stop them from following the humans."
"But why did you mention those humans, Master? Do you have a problem with them?" Cindertail curiously inquired before assuring Leon, "If they are your enemies, I will definitely not side with them, Master."
"Furthermore, I will recall my eldest sons immediately. Even if they are all grown up, they still have to listen to me, their father," Cindertail stated confidently.
"There is a bit of problem with the Golden Suanni Tribe and the rest of the western tribes," Leon nodded.
"You see, I don't come from the same tribe, and the major powers in the Infertile Plains are currently at war for supremacy. However, something doesn't make sense to me."
"Even if your eldest sons were as strong as the past you, the Golden Suanni Tribe shouldn't have the strength to quickly dominate and unite the entire western region's tribes," Leon mentioned.
A Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level beast was only equivalent to a Half-step Battle King in strength.
Even if the Golden Suanni Tribe had many Half-step Battle Kings, it wouldn't make much difference. They needed Paragon-level Golden Suannis at the very least to deter and control the western tribes.
"Ah, I understand why you are baffled, Master. I forgot to mention it, but those humans also paid food tributes to the other territories close to the jungle outskirts," Cindertail stated.
"They might have succeeded in gaining the cooperation of a more powerful pride than mine, Master. That being said, most of the lords from the other pride situated close to the jungle outskirts are only around Peak Rank 2 Transcendent level like me in the past, Master."
"The only pride I can think of that had a Paragon-level Golden Suanni would be Lord Firemane. His territory is situated further in the north," Cintertail mentioned shortly after.
"I see…" Leon rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
He was pleasantly surprised that the Golden Suanni Tribe could only gain the cooperation of a single Paragon-level pride.
'I wonder what the western tribes would feel once I acquire the entire Golden Suanni Clan's allegiance?' Leon mused.
Although he shouldn't count his chickens before the eggs hatched, Leon was fairly confident in achieving his objective.
Chapter 1012 Aura Suppression
As Leon ventured deeper into the jungle with Rainshine and the Golden Suanni, they encountered many jungle beasts along the way.
However, unlike the time when it was just Leon and Rainshine, the beasts did not attack them.
They were all deterred by Cindertail and his family's presence.
"Are we still inside your territory, Cindertail?" Leon casually asked as he watched the pack of gorillas fleeing the area.
"Definitely not, Master. We should have left my territory some time ago," Cindertail answered.
"Hoh? I see," Leon rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Your kind are truly all kings of the jungle. Even when we are outside of your territory, your presence can still deter the beasts of other ruling golden suanni's beast kingdom. I'm impressed."
"Your kind words are wasted on me, Master," Cindertail said humbly before adding, "The beasts just can't differentiate their rulers apart. It's common for the beasts to mistake other visiting adult golden suannis as their lords."
As they ventured deeper into the jungle, Leon watched the beasts either flee or lower their heads submissively as Cindertail passed them.
After traveling another few miles, Leon suddenly noticed changes in the beasts' movements. They were gathering and appeared coordinated.
Before long, Leon's part found their path obstructed by another group of golden suannis being led by a Paragon-level Golden Suanni.
"Cindertail! Just where do you think you're heading? Do you think this Lord's territory is a place you can just pass through without dropping by this Lord's lair to pay your respects to this Lord?" the Paragon-level Golden Suanni spoke oppressively.
"If it weren't for this Lord's subjects informing this Lord of the disturbance in this Lord's territory, this Lord wouldn't have known you were passing through this Lord's territory. Do you still have this Lord in your eyes?!"
As the Paragon-level Golden Suanni spoke, it exerted its dominance by releasing its powerful aura that contained both a lion and a dragon's aura.
The Golden Suanni Race was a mighty hybrid race with lion and dragon ancestry.
Nevertheless, their forms were closer to that of lions.
2023年の世界で最も売れた自動車トップ20のうち,半数が日本車で,1位の車種は64%の成長を達成しました.TOPSSEEK
Rao!
The cubs on Cindertail and the lionesses' backs cried in pain as they suffered under the Paragon-level Golden Suanni's oppressive aura.
Cindertail quickly frowned.
In the next instance, Cindertail released his own mighty Paragon-level aura to counteract the Paragon-level Golden Suanni's aura and ease his children's suffering.
However, Cindertail's aura didn't just counteract the Paragon-level Golden Suanni's aura; it overwhelmed it.
"I might have been impolite for not visiting you while passing through your territory, but if you continue to use your aura on my young, I will not be polite, Goldmane!" Cindertail said grimly.
The Paragon-level Golden Suanni named Goldmane was quickly astonished by Cindertail's Paragon-level aura.
At the same time, the other golden suannis behind Goldmane wore difficult expressions.
Cindertail's Paragon-level aura had a certain depth that made it even superior to Goldmane's Paragon-level aura, even though they roughly had the same strength.
That made Goldman even more astonished.
"You've ascended… But what is this aura…? How can your aura be superior to this Lord's when you've only just ascended? Just what sort of fortuitous encounter did you experience? How can you improve so quickly?!"
Goldmane's astonishment quickly turned into shock.
"I have no interest in satisfying your curiosity, nor am I obligated to pay you any respect now that we are at the same level. Now, if you excuse me, I am still in the middle of escorting my master to the main territory," Cindertail said coldly.
"Your master…?!"
Goldmane quickly shifted his gaze to Leon before glaring back at Cindertail.
"Are you out of your mind, Cindertail?! How dare you, a Paragon of our noble clan, take a mere human as your master! You're an embarrassment to every Paragon in the clan! Someone like you shouldn't step foot in our clan's main territory!"
"Hmph, words of the ignorant," Cindertail snorted disdainfully before turning to Leon.
"Master, Goldmane is looking down on you too much. Someone like him doesn't deserve to serve you, nor should he enjoy any of your cooking and blood refinement sessions."
"Furthermore, he is just an Early Paragon like me. The true leaders of our clan are all Peak Paragons, at the very least. Don't waste your time on him, Master. If you can gain the allegiance of the Peak Paragons in our main territory, you will automatically gain control of the entire Golden Suanni Clan."
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"We should just continue on our way there, Master," Cindertail suggested.
Leon agreed with a nod.
What Cindertail made a lot of sense.
Nevertheless, Leon was surprised to hear that a clan with so many Paragons would not even have a single Half-step Divine Beast.
As Leon's group made a detour around Goldmane, Rainshine swept her cold gaze past Goldmane without a word.
This golden suanni does not know what it was missing out on.
At the same time, Goldmane caught Rainshine's gaze as they were passing. He immediately frowned at their departure when he didn't permit them to leave.
Goldmane quickly moved to obstruct their path again.
"Didn't you hear what I said, Cindertail? An embarrassment like you doesn't have the qualification to set foot in our clan's main territory. Take your human master and get lost from these lands! You're not welcome here!" Goldmane barked.
Cindertail's gaze immediately flashed with gloominess.
"Master, let me teach this bastard a lesson for obstructing our path and wasting your time," Cindertail requested.
However, Leon shook his head and said, "Even if you experienced a partial bloodline awakening, your strength is still roughly the same. It'll take too long for you to beat him. Stand down. I will handle this."
"You will handle this? Did this Lord hear that correctly? What can a mere human do to this—"
Before Goldmane could finish speaking, he immediately felt the almighty dragon aura gushing out of Leon's body.
The dragon aura generated by Leon's Peak Rank 9 Body Transformation-level dragon viscera was so powerful that it overwhelmed Goldmane and made his entire body freeze in fear.
Goldmane had the illusion that he was facing one of the top leaders of his clan.
"Move aside," Leon calmly said.
Goldmane subconsciously obeyed as if Leon's words were the mandates of heaven. Goldmane retreated with his head lowered, not daring to look at Leon directly.
Goldmane felt unworthy and insignificant to be in the presence of such majesty and grand aura.
Chapter 1013 Leon's Discovery
After Leon revealed his aura, Cindertail's eyes sparkled with awe and reverence.
Cindertail knew his master was powerful, but he didn't know his master was powerful to this extent. As expected, his master was not an ordinary human.
No ordinary human should have a dragon aura, let alone a dragon aura that was powerful to this extent.
Goldmane was so intimidated by Leon's aura that he did not dare to utter a single sound, not even offer an apology. He just wanted to pretend he was dust so that Leon would not spare him a second look.
Little did the golden suannis know that Leon's actual strength was not as powerful as his dragon aura made him out to be.
Nevertheless, it was extremely useful in scaring off his opponents.
After Leon's group left the territory, a Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni growled at Goldmane.
(Are we just going to let them leave like that, father?)
(Otherwise, what do you suggest your father should do? Do you want your father to continue offending a Peak Paragon and get himself killed?)
Goldmane growled back at his son.
Shortly after, Goldmane glanced back in the direction Leon and Cindertail's group left with a thoughtful look.
'Cindertail was only a Peak Rank 2 Transcendent a few days ago. Yet he became a Paragon and solidified his aura in such a short time. And he calls that Peak Paragon, his master. Cindertail's transformation must be related to that Peak Paragon!'
Goldmane silently concluded.
(Go back to the lair and call everyone over. Tell your mothers to bring all your younger brothers and sisters. Our entire pride is moving.)
(Where are we moving, father?)
The Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni was surprised by Goldmane's instruction.
(We're moving to the clan's main territory. Something tells your father that something big is about to happen in the main clan. We wouldn't want to miss it.)
2023年の世界で最も売れた自動車トップ20のうち,半数が日本車で,1位の車種は64%の成長を達成しました.TOPSSEEK
Goldmane said.
…
Meanwhile, Leon continued to venture westward, passing through several more territories in the vast jungle with his group within a day.
They encountered more golden suannis during that period.
But unlike their encounter with Goldmane, they were less oppressive and more curious about Cindertail's reason for passing through their territories with his entire family.
Of course, the main reason why the golden suanni lords weren't oppressive like Goldmane was that they weren't Paragons.
Naturally, they didn't have the inflated ego and pride of one.
(Where are you heading that requires you to bring your family with you, Lord Cindertail? Why have the other lords also joined you with their families? What's going on here, Milords?)
A High Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni inquired politely when it spoke to Cindertail while casting its curious gaze at Leon's group, which had inflated by fivefold during the span of their journey.
Nevertheless, Cindertail didn't answer the High Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni's questions.
Instead, Cindertail turned his head to Leon and said, "This one's attitude is pretty good. I think we should take him in, Master."
"Alright," Leon casually approved with a nod.
After receiving his master's permission, Cindertail immediately shifted his attention back to the High Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni.
(You're in luck, Firepaw. Your humble attitude has landed you a spot within our ranks. We are guiding our master to the main clan. Pick up your family and follow us. If you are lucky, my master might grant you an opportunity to become someone like me.)
As Cindertail spoke to the High Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suanni, he slightly revealed his Paragon-level aura.
Firepaw was immediately astonished by Cindertail's reveal of strength.
At the same time, Firepaw cast a short glance at Leon with silent doubt, neither questioning nor criticizing Cindertail's choice in taking a human as his master.
Firepaw wasn't in a position to criticize a Paragon's decisions.
(Alright. I will do as you say, Lord Cindertail.)
(Hold on.)
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(Is there something else you need, Lord Cindertail?)
Firepaw politely inquired after Cindertail suddenly stopped him.
"Master, we've been traveling for a full day. Should we take a small break at Firepaw's lair before continuing our journey?" Cindertail suggested.
Leon contemplated for a moment before he nodded, "Alright."
Cindertail and Rainshine immediately felt excited.
There was only one meaning behind a break; they get to enjoy their master's cooking.
When Cindertail informed the rest of the golden suannis in the group, they also started looking forward to it.
Cindertail had raised their anticipation.
(We will take a break at your lair. You won't mind accommodating us, will you? Firepaw?)
(Of course not, Lord Cindertail. It's Firepaw's honor to be your host.)
Sometime later, Firepaw led Leon's large group out of the thick jungle and arrived at his lair in the center of similar grassland with a stone mountain.
Apart from the stone mountain's formation being different from the one at Cindertail's lair, everything else was almost the same.
Nevertheless, after they arrived at the stone mountain, Cindertail and Rainshine quickly volunteered to hunt for beast meat while Leon set up several dozen spitfires to accommodate all the beast meat they would bring back.
Only the cubs were left behind with Firepaw at the lair as Cindertail and Rainshine grabbed all the adults with them when they left.
Shortly after Leon finished setting up his spitfires, he shifted his alchemy-focused divine consciousness to comprehending the Wood Law.
The richness of wood energy in the region had grown to the point that Leon could no longer wait till he reached the densest part of the western jungle to start comprehending the Wood Law.
He had decided to get a head start on the Wood Law.
While the other two divine consciousnesses were focused on comprehending runes and the Destruction Law from the Wrath Law comprehension fragments, Leon used his main consciousness to recall his journey through the jungle.
The numerous sceneries of the thick jungle, grassland, and stone mountains flashed across his mind one by one.
And when Leon pieced all the lands together to form a bird's eye view of the overall jungle that he had explored thus far, doubt immediately festered in his heart.
'This… unnatural yet seemingly natural western jungle almost seems like one incomparably enormous formation…!'
Leon's gradually widened with shock.
Chapter 1014 Gran Crevasse
'I can't believe it. No matter how I look at this, it definitely looks like one enormous formation. But what kind of being can create a natural formation of this scale?' Leon wondered.
'Even Celestial Lords and Celestial Kings might not be capable of such feats… This seems like something only the Celestial Ruler of the world can create… Did Celestial Earthshaker create this formation?'
Although Leon is curious, he can only pay Celestial Earthshaker and Saint Voidflame a visit when he is free.
As Leon waited for Cindertail and the others to return from their hunt, the Cindertail's cubs started crowding around Leon.
Rao! Rao!
The cubs whined.
A few of them placed their small paws on Leon and shook his body with begging looks as they felt hungry and couldn't wait for the adults to come back and then further wait for Leon to finish cooking.
"You little ones can't wait, huh?" Leon casually commented. He gave the cubs some gentle scratches and belly rubs as they rolled over.
Nevertheless, they couldn't enjoy it as much due to their anger.
Leon didn't make them wait long. After playing with them for a short while, he took out an elephant-sized sea monster meat and chopped it up into small pieces.
Then, he prepared the special sauce using the spirit herbs in his Worldspace before lightly drizzling it over the sea monster meat.
Cindertail's cubs immediately dug into the food with joy.
At the same time, the cubs from the other golden suanni lords watched them eat enviously without daring to join them.
Due to Cindertail's status as the only Paragon-level Golden Suanni within their group, Cindertail's cubs were like young princes and princesses.
The other cubs whose fathers were only at the Peak Rank 2 Transcendents or weaker had to treat Cindertail's cubs respectfully.
Nevertheless, Leon had prepared enough food for all the cubs.
"Dig in, all of you," Leon signaled for them to eat.
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Once the cubs received permission from the big boss, their eyes sparkled with excitement immediately. They growled to express their joy before joining Cindertail's cubs.
Rao!
The cubs expressed greater joy after tasting the sea monster meat as they had never tasted something so delicious before.
Meanwhile, Firepaw watched Leon curiously, wondering what was so special about him, a human, for Lord Cindertail to call him master.
Suddenly, Firepaw felt his cubs tugging his body with pleading looks as they wanted to join the other cubs and dine in on the sea monster meat.
However, Firepaw wasn't sure how he should approach Leon about it.
But then, Firepaw didn't notice Leon had already grabbed a portion of the sea monster meat and brought it over to them on a big banana leaf.
Firepaw looked up with surprise.
"For your cubs to try," Leon casually said.
Even though Firepaw couldn't understand what Leon said, it vaguely understood his intention and nodded his head gratefully.
…
Sometime later, Cindertail and the others returned from their hunt, each carrying a hyena, jaguar, or deer in their mouths.
"We have returned, Master," Rainshine reported.
Leon nodded.
Before long, Leon prepped the beast meat and placed them all on the spitfires for roasting. The incredible scent had Rainshine and all the golden suanni drooling with anticipation.
After they had a hearty meal, Leon performed another blood refinement session on Cindertail, allowing the other golden suannis to watch and understand the benefits.
At the same time, they realized the secret to Cindertail's growth.
Once Cindertail's blood refinement session ended, the golden suanni lords all lined up eagerly, hoping to get a turn as well, which, in turn, was what Leon wanted.
As such, Leon didn't reject any of them and performed blood refinement on each of them.
"It looks like there will be more Paragons in our ranks after this," Cindertail commented.
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Cindertail watched two Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suannis wear difficult expressions after receiving their blood refinement sessions and absorbing the drops of Golden Suanni Origin Blood from them.
Roar!
Before long, the two Peak Rank 2 Transcendent-level Golden Suannis couldn't take the increasing temperatures in the bodies anymore and roared.
Their auras quickly surged in that instance.
Firepaw and the other adult golden suannis all watched in awe as they personally got to witness the birth of two new Paragons.
However, Leon didn't share the same interest as he had already witnessed a golden suanni's partial bloodline awakening and ascension to the Paragon level before.
Leon used the drops of Golden Suanni Origin Blood he collected from Cindertail to cultivate his Suanni Lion Bone Forging Method.
…
…
…
About three days' journey westward from Firepaw's lair was the heart of the Western Jungle, also called the Central Western Jungle.
It was the place where the Golden Suanni Clan's main territory was said to be situated.
However, contrary to expectations, the centermost land of the Central Wester Jungle was neither a thick jungle nor a vast grassland with a stone mountain.
It was an enormous crevasse, one that was circular like an amphitheater with numerous layers of different depths. Each layer of land was deeper than the last as they got closer to the center.
There were divided opinions within the Golden Suanni Clan that the concaved land looked closer to an inverted stone mountain that was formed naturally.
Others claimed that concaved land was formed after a colossal object was uprooted from the place.
Even though the Golden Suanni Clan had made the place their main lair, they did not know the truth in regards to its history.
The land had always been the way that it was long before Golden Suanni Clan moved into it.
But even though the Golden Suanni Clan was divided in their opinions on the origins of the concaved rocky land, they had a collective name for it that they could all agree on.
It was called Gran Crevasse.
At that moment, a huge Peak Paragon-level Golden Suanni was standing on a sturdy thick tree branch on the edge of Gran Crevasse while overlooking it with a frown when another Peak Paragon-level Golden Suanni passed by on the ground level and noticed it.
"Lord Goldenstride, why do you look so troubled?" the Peak Paragon-level Golden Suanni inquired.
Chapter 1015 Forbidden Territory
After hearing his name being called out, Goldenstride shifted his gaze down to the other Peak Paragon-level Golden Suanni that spoke.
"Lord Wildfire, huh? It's nothing much. I'm just pondering the future prospects of the clan, nothing more. Don't worry about it," Goldenstride said.
However, Wildfire was rather interested in the topic.
"Oh? But I am rather curious. Why don't you talk about it? Maybe I can offer some of my opinions on the matter, Lord Goldenstride," Wildfire said.
"Well, if you insist, Lord Wildfire," Goldenstride replied with a nod before suggesting, "Why don't you come up here and join me in my view of Gran Crevasse first?"
"Sure," Wildfire agreed.
Shortly after, Wildfire nimbly scaled the thick jungle tree and landed on the same tree branch as Goldenstride.
Surprisingly, the tree branch only budged slightly before regaining its sturdiness and supporting the weight of both Peak Paragon-level Golden Suannis.
Perhaps due to the overwhelming wood energy within the tree, it was far more tenacious and firm than ordinary trees of its kind.
In fact, all the plants in the Central Western Jungle were more or less around this level of tenacity and firmness.
The concentration of wood energy found within the plants of the Central Western Jungle was on a whole different level.
"Well, I'm here now. What do you want me to see, Lord Goldenstride?" Wildfire inquired.
"Our clan members in Gran Crevasse. What do you think when you look at them, Lord Wildfire?" Goldenstride casually asked.
On the vast concaved land of Gran Crevasse, the main lair of the Golden Suanni Clan, Wildfire could see more than twenty thousand golden suannis widely spread out into smaller groups and lazing about.
On top of that, one-tenth of them were at least Paragons.
"I see a prosperous clan, strong and mighty rulers of the jungles, both current and future ones," Wildfire stated before suddenly adding, "Well, at least that is what it looks like on the surface. However, we lack something very critical, purpose."
"Exactly," Goldenstride nodded.
"Although the number of Paragons in the clan grows over time, our overall population remains the same. Even though we are the kings of the jungle, we can't hunt as we please, eat as we please, or breed as we please."
"We have to strictly control both our population and the population of other beasts within our animal kingdom. Otherwise, we will eventually destroy the ecosystem and run out of food. The way we are now cannot be considered living; we are simply surviving."
"I don't want to stay in this cage for the rest of my life; I want to break free from this cycle," Goldenstride stated.
After listening to Goldenstride, Wildfire smiled wryly.
Even though the Golden Suanni Clan was prosperous and other beast races would die to be in their shoes, Goldenstride saw their life as being pathetic.
However, Wildfire couldn't refute it.
It was true that their current way of life wasn't one by choice but one forced by circumstances. The idea of freedom was an illusion.
Even when their Paragons were many, not a single golden suanni could reach the Half-step Divine Beast, let alone evolve into a Divine Beast.
It came as no surprise to Wildfire that Goldenstride felt trapped.
"But even if you say that, there isn't much we can do to change our fate, Lord Goldenstride," Wildfire stated.
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"To the west, we have the Boundless Sea. Although it contains an equally boundless food source, our kind wasn't born for the sea. We are like stones in water, sinking to the bottom. As such, we are restricted from venturing west."
"On the other hand, the Infertile Plains is a vast open land to the east. Our kin could freely traverse this land if we wanted to. However, it's too barren and desolate. The food source there won't be able to support our clan unless we make all the humans our enemies."
"Although they aren't as strong, they are many in numbers. This might have been a good thing for us if not for the fact that they pollute their bodies with dark energies and don't have much meat anyway. A single wild boar is much more satisfying to eat than twenty polluted humans."
"Let's not even mention the cold north. That place is just an ice land full of snow and blizzards. All the creatures that could live in that land are the polar opposite of our Golden Suanni Clan, creatures of the sun. Our people will only suffer in that place."
"And finally, we have the demon territories in the south. Although the south has the vastest lands, there are too many powerful demons there, not to mention the overwhelming density of dark energy in that place. If we lead our clan down south, there will be nothing but war and death."
"If we look at the circumstances, our Golden Suanni Clan has it easy compared to other races. We should be satisfied with our situation, Lord Goldenstride," Wildfire stated.
"I know all that. But even so, I am not content. I cannot be content," Goldenstride said defiantly.
"You mentioned the four directions, Lord Wildfire. However, you forgot to mention the last two; the sky above and the earth below. There must be much better worlds out there among the stars that we cannot see in this land."
"Of course, there are," Wildfire asserted.
Having opened their Gate of Wisdom and inherited portions of their ancestral memories, all Paragon-level Golden Suannis knew that countless other worlds exist among the stars.
"However, ignoring the fact that we can even leave this world, only a Divine Beast can survive in outer space," Wildfire stated.
"That's right," Goldenstride didn't deny it.
"In order to go up, we must first go down. There must be countless secrets buried under Gran Crevasse. If we can just unearth them, we might just learn the secret to break free from our shackles and ascend to the Divine Beast Realm."
Swoosh~!
Shortly after Goldenstride finished speaking, a dozen other Peak Paragon-level Golden Suannis suddenly appeared, led by another Peak Paragon-level Golden Suanni that seemed to be the leader.
"I cannot ignore what you just said, Lord Goldenstride. You know the abyss is forbidden territory," the leading golden suanni said sternly.
Chapter 1016 Vanishing Spirit
The abyss was the name given to the subterranean space that exists underneath Gran Crevasse, and its entrance could be found at the very center.
However, the hole that leads to the seemingly bottomless abyss was sealed with vines—sturdy, long vines that could be found throughout Central Western Jungle to Gran Crevasse.
"Have you forgotten the teachings of our ancestors, Lord Goldenstride? The abyss must never be opened, nor should it ever be explored. That was the one and only law that everyone must absolutely follow," the leading golden suanni stated sternly.
"We've guarded the abyss entrance together for so many years, Lord Dawnchaser. Aren't you the least bit curious about what is down there and why our ancestors forbid everyone from exploring it?"
Goldenstride did not back down on his opinion despite being surrounded by many other Peak Paragon-level Golden Suannis.
"There isn't a single soul in the clan that isn't curious about what's down there. But despite that, we all chose to abide by our ancestors' teachings. The ancestors did this for our own safety. God knows what dangers are hidden down there for them to set up such a law," Dawnchaser stated.
"Are you content with living like caged animals forever, Lord Dawnchaser?" Goldenstride asked with a contemptuous look.
"There is no reward without risk. We live on an entire mountain of unknown treasures, yet we can do nothing except guard them. Does that even make sense? We should have long opened up the abyss entrance and seized those hidden opportunities!"
"The secret of ascension definitely lies down there in the abyss! If even just one of us could unlock the secret and ascend to the Divine Beast Realm, we could break free from this cage that the ancestors had built around us!"
Goldenstride attempted to convince the other Peak Paragon-level Golden Suannis with his words and invite them to share his vision.
However, Dawnchaser remained unmoved in his stance.
"It seems like you are unwilling to abandon your intention on the abyss. In that case, you leave me no choice, Lord Goldenstride."
Dawnchaser's eyes flashed with decisiveness.
"Escort Lord Goldenstride back to his cave and have four Peak Paragons watch him! Lord Goldenstride is not allowed to leave his cave unless he decides to abandon his idea on the abyss!" Dawnchaser ordered the Peak Paragon-level Golden Suannis.
"This way, please, Lord Goldenstride," the Peak Paragon-level Golden Suannis surrounded Goldenstride before seeking his cooperation in following them back to his cave.
"Hmph, it's just a house arrest. Do you think you can keep me home forever?" Goldenstride snorted.
Nevertheless, Goldenstride did not resist and obediently followed the Peak Paragon-level Golden Suanni's lead in returning to his cave.
All Peak Paragon-level Golden Suannis were leaders of the clan, wielding great authority and power. Nothing good would come out of a direct conflict between them.
After Goldenstride was escorted away, Dawnchaser noticed Wildfire's contemplative look and frowned.
"Lord Wildfire, you're not considering Goldenstride's words, are you?" Dawnchaser inquired with a sharp look.
"You should know that even though we were brought to this land by our ancestors, they didn't build this cage to trap us here and force us to guard the abyss entrance to the end times. Our present life might not be ideal, but we have a good life."
"Everything our ancestors did was to protect us, Lord Wildfire. You should understand that, right?" Dawnchaser added.
"I know. You don't need to worry about me, Lord Dawnchaser," Wildfire glanced at Dawnchaser before replying coolly, "Even though I don't approve of what Lord Goldenstride said, you have to admit that Lord Goldenstride had a point."
"It doesn't matter if Lord Goldenstride has a point or not. We mustn't be tempted by his words. The abyss was sealed for a reason, and it's best that we keep it that way," Dawnchaser firmly said.
Nevertheless, Wildfire noticed that Dawnchaser seemed to know something about the abyss for him to strongly opposed the unsealing of the abyss entrance.
"Do you know something about the abyss that I don't, Lord Dawnchaser?" Wildfire inquired suspiciously.
"It's a taboo topic. Just know that our ancestors once explored the abyss once and suffered disastrously. Unsealing the abyss entrance won't do the clan any good. It might even summon a calamity upon the clan," Dawnchaser stated.
"I see…" Wildfire uttered with a frown.
Dawnchaser was a descendent of one of the few surviving leaders who made it back from the very first abyss exploration.
Wildfire became more certain that Dawnchaser knew something.
However, Wildfire found it strange that the truth behind the first abyss exploration had always been a tight secret from everyone else in the clan.
'Just what exactly did the clan's ancestors find down there?' Wildfire wondered.
…
…
…
"Master, we have just entered the Central Western Jungle. The clan's main territory, Gran Crevasse, isn't much further from here," Cindertail informed.
At that moment, Cindertail's strength had already reached Late Paragon from the repeated blood refinement sessions we received from Leon.
But unlike other Late Paragons at his level, Cindertail could use his bloodline ability, allowing golden flames to erupt from his body and enhance his combat prowess to Peak Paragon.
On the other hand, only a few other golden suannis had reached Mid Paragon. The rest was still Early Paragons.
Even so, the number of Paragons in the group had exceeded twenty as they picked up more golden suanni groups along the way.
Leon's bone-forging phase has also reached Peak Rank 3 Body Transformation Realm.
As such, his bones alone gave him 30-million jin of raw physical strength. And coupled with his other body forging attainments, his combat prowess had already reached the same level as a Mid Paragon.
Furthermore, this was just the strength of his body alone.
It was hard to say what was his true combat prowess if he was to factor in all his other abilities from awakening, demon, and soul cultivation.
Leon would need a worthy opponent to test his limits.
"We're almost there, huh? I can't be the wood energy concentration is much higher here," Leon softly muttered.
He could also vaguely sense spirit energy in the region—but it was only for an instant before the spirit energy disappeared off his radar like it just vanished into thin air.