The baldheaded man was enraged as he said this, gathering his energy and gripping his staff tightly.
"Old Man Zhou, stand down."
The simple looking man took the stage, his broadsword at the ready. "I will take it from here."
An almost physical blue aura revolved around him, making him appear divine.
Yuan Zhen nodded before saying, "Smart kid."
The man frowned. Hearing a youth of around fifteen years call him a 'kid' made him feel disrespected.
"My name is Dong Ming, of King Xian's guard. Who are you?"
Yuan Zhen flashed his fangs in another cold smile behind the mask, letting his energy and bloodlust run wild.
Dong Ming, Old Man Zhou and the woman watched with wide eyes as his energy poured out from his body and rose into the sky. A towering figure appeared behind Yuan Zhen, resembling a fearless Warlord with his broadsword drawn. The Warlord looked up to the heavens, letting out an earthshaking roar that created terrifying soundwaves.
Countless soldiers felt unbearable pain before their heads exploded. Others lost their hearing and starting bleeding from their orifices, dying a while after.
Yuan Zhen now looked at the three of them like they were tasty pieces of meat, his eyes glowing a bright red.
"Yuan Zhen! Lord of the East Springs!"
His imposing aura exploded even further before he attacked, both swords cutting a converging arc toward Dong Ming. He raised his sword hurriedly, but was too late to do anything. Both blades easily bisected him, but Yuan Zhen did not stop there. He went so far as to seal Dong Ming's wounds so that he would suffer the pain longer before dying.
The baldheaded man let out a loud grunt as he swung his staff, seeing that Yuan Zhen was already coming straight for him. The staff was sent flying out of his hands by a powerful sword stroke, shocking him.
"Wait!"
As if he didn't hear, Yuan Zhen followed this up with a deep cleaving motion, removing the man's arm. He then kicked at his neck, smashing his throat and soon causing him to suffocate.
As for the woman, she had been rooted in fear the moment Yuan Zhen had released his energy and caused that bizarre scene. Ever since she had seen him devour Yun Mo's soul, she was reminded of something she had read in records of ancient battles.
A Monster of a Beast, unrivaled in his battle strategy and mercilessness. A beast who would drink the blood and eat the flesh of innocents, while also devouring their souls. What shocked her even further was the fact that he had summoned the image of the Warlord. According to the records she read, that very beast would cause such a phenomenon whenever he released his full power.
The moment she heard his name and title, she froze up. The beast she had read about was none other than Yuan Zhen during his past life.
Some records were missing, but from what she could gather Yuan Zhen had gone against his race. However, she realized that it made no sense. Yuan Zhen's entire life was spent killing humans and expanding the Beast's territory. His actions weren't the slightest bit cruel to him.
The more she read about him the more she admired his character. She was firmly grounded in the belief that such a person would never betray his kind. At some point, Yuan Zhen had become an unparalleled and perfect existence in her mind. She could only begin to question the historical records.
Why would Yuan Zhen suddenly turn against the beast race? Even if he did, how could one as powerful as him fall to any conventional means?
What scared her, though, was that she had sought out information from various sources when she was searching for the truth. One of her sources was an old woman who had been alive back then. She said that, before Yuan Zhen perished, he vowed to return in his next life.
At this point, she was afraid that the young beast was telling the truth. She was terrified of the thought of that youngster being a reincarnated Yuan Zhen.
Why? Because she had been standing in opposition to him all this time!
After watching him kill her companions, there was no doubt in her mind that she would be next despite what she did. Whether or not the young beast was telling the truth, she had to submit. If she wanted to live long enough to find out, she had no other choice.
Hastily, and full of fear, she fell at Yuan Zhen's feet and pressed her head into the cold hard floor. her action of kowtowing caused Yuan Zhen to cease his attack. With a surprised look and a raised brow, he retracted his swords.
"Oh, Great Lord Yuan Zhen, this lowly one has spent years studying your life. Forgive my blasphemous act of standing against you and allow me to remain at your side."
Yuan Zhen frowned, a single brow raising.
"You studied my life? So has a century truly passed?"
She hurriedly responded, not wanting to anger him any further. "Yes! It has been almost one hundred and ten years since your esteemed self graced these lands."
Yuan Zhen finally retracted his aura and manifestations, allowing her to relax a bit.
When she looked up at him, the wind blew her hair into her face and she quickly pushed it out the way. With the mask gone, she saw a bright faced youth with deep red eyes. As she looked closer, she could see something within those eyes. It was like a surging tide of blood, crashing and retreating with each breath he took.
Yuan Zhen also looked deep into her azure eyes. Only then did he notice the sincerity in them. If anything, she wasn't lying about how much time had passed since his death. She also didn't seem to be lying about having studied his life.
Ignoring everything around the, Yuan Zhen plunged the swords into the ground and folded his arms behind his back.
"If what you say is true, then you know of the Siege of Whitehaven."
She was brought out of her reverie. Hearing his question, she quickly nodded and replied, "Yes."
"According to the records, Yuan Zh- um, I mean- You and only seven of your men breached the famously impenetrable walls of Whitehaven. In only a few hours, you did what no other beast had ever done, ridding the stronghold of human filth and sending them running back to their own realm." Yuan Zhen nodded, inwardly praising her knowledge.
"It was indeed an unprecedented feat, but things weren't as they originally appeared to be."
The woman's eyes lit up. She prepared to carefully nitpick his words for mistakes. If he was the real Yuan Zhen, she would be able to tell.
He continued, "Whitehaven was indeed known as an impenetrable stronghold, but beasts had breached its walls long before me and my men ever did. Once we cleansed it, a detailed investigation resulted in over fifteen beast remains being found. It was discovered, based on obvious evidence, that those were my family members."
Immediately, the woman's eyes narrowed. "But, my Lord, there is no record of you ever having a family? Do you think you remember wrong?" She sneered, thinking she had caught him in his lie.
"Silence, wench! Your ignorance offends me!" His killing intent exploded, bringing with it a pressure that stopped her breathing.
"Humans wiped my family off the face of the earth long before I could ever get to know them. As for your historical proof, think back to the Establishment of the Eastern Springs Faction. It's headquarters was called the Highland Manor, but I am sure there are no records of when it was built."
She was silent. He was right.
"My father was the one who had it built. For whatever reason, my Yuan Family was erased from the records."
She did not know what to say. It was possible that he was right though, so she chose to apologize. "Forgive this fool's ignorance."
"You are pardoned. Now, there is something I must ask."
Her eyes widened as she stifled a gasp. She didn't expect that he would take the initiative to ask her something. Bowing her head in reverence, she said, "Anything you ask, this lowly one will answer honestly."
"Then look me in the eyes once more."
She took a deep breath, then raised her head once more. In his fiery pupils, a dim, violet light danced. This was a technique that could pierce the soul of those who looked into it. Yuan Zhen decide to stop wasting time.
Seeing as how the young woman submitted to him, he knew it would be easier to read her soul. He instantly realized that she was absolutely obsessed with him. Almost all of her memories had something to do with him, and thus he made his decision. He directly transferred some his own memories into her soul, proving his identity once and for all.
She gasped, her eyes filling up. She saw him in an entirely new light, and felt the need to bow once more.
Before she could do that, he asked, "Are you prepared to slaughter all who stand in my way?"
Yuan Zhen asked this, still looking into her eyes with his soul piercing technique.
"Yes, my Lord. I am, and I will spend all my life proving it."
"Then, tell me your name."
She nodded, "I am Qi Zixie, of the East Springs Region."
Yuan Zhen's eyes widened. He was surprised to hear that she was a resident of his territory.
"My Lord, may this lowly one ask you something?"
Yuan Zhen thought about it for a moment.
He had pierced her soul so he could sense the sincerity in her words, and he knew that she admired him from the very depths of her soul.
"You may."
Thus far, he had little idea of how the world changed after thirty years. Having someone who knew things would be beneficial. Aside from that, she was also someone from his territory, and thus he decided to treat her like an ally, unless she made a move against him later.
Either way, he could kill her relatively easily.
"What happened to you? How come you now appear to be a youngster?"
He waved his hand, allowing her to stand up. Looking around, he saw that the entire army was either dead or dying. His previous display of power was too much for them to handle.
"The Beast Race Factions colluded with humans to kill me. I didn't see it coming and fell into their trap. As fate would have it, I ended up reincarnating just as I promised all those years ago.
Just speaking about his death roused his killing intent. Qi Zixie had to take a few steps back just to be able to bear the pressure.
Seeing her state, he reined in his murderous aura.
"Apologies."
She frantically shook her head, "There's no need."
He suddenly began walking in the direction of the city. He didn't say a word, but Qi Zixie knew that he expected her to follow behind him. She started walking behind, drifting over to his left side.
The corner of his lips raised slightly; he was pleased with how she obediently fell in line.
"Tell me about this city. Ji Xie is no longer it's ruler?"
They entered, seeing that a large scale evacuation was underway. People were fleeing for their lives and heading to the south gate, hoping to escape that one youngster. After seeing him easily kill their strongest protectors, all reason and logic went out the window. They all decided to run away.
"That's right, Lord Yuan. Ji Xie's son, Ji Xian, took his place."
As they carelessly walked through the city, amidst the chaos, Yuan Zhen noticed the distant pagoda.
"The four of you were members of his royal guard?"
Qi Zixie nodded, then said, "We were sent out to deal with you, so King-- Ji Xian remained in the pagoda. He expected us to easily deal with you."
Yuan Zhen smiled. "Perfect. Let's go surprise him."