The standoff remained for several seconds before the Green Flash Viper finally broke the silence, temporarily dispelling the suffocating tension.
"I can't believe 'the most powerful false king' would lower himself to chat with a lowly one like me," Li Lun said, his tone dripping with feigned humility.
"I don't think I am worthy of it, but I do know someone who is," Li Lun playfully said.
"Someone truly deserving of your attention. You know who I am talking about, don't you, Liao Ying?"
A provocative smile crept onto the viper's face as his words struck true. The Black Cosmos Caiman's expression soured, his features twisting with a simmering anger.
"That monstrous presence lurking about in this little paradise of ours," Li Lun continued, his voice laced with mockery. "Rumor has it you and he are... acquainted."
The caiman's growl rumbled through the swamp, before morphing into a crackling hoarse laugh.
"Li Lun, you must be truly desperate if this is the hand you're playing," Liao Ying sneered.
The Green Flash Viper couldn't help but sigh in disappointment. He had hoped to provoke the caiman into a fit of rage, hoping it would provide him a chance to exploit and escape. Unfortunately, Liao Ying had reined himself in far quicker than expected.
For someone with a reputation for being volatile and bloodthirsty, the caiman's restraint was disheartening.
This was the same beast who had once slaughtered a close subordinate simply for stepping on his shadow.
"What do you want, Liao Ying?" Li Lun asked, his body tense with his single functional eye narrowing to a slit.
The Black Cosmos Caiman's smirk faded, replaced by a grim expression. A flicker of malice and bloodlust danced in his eyes as he spoke.
"I wasn't lying when I said I wanted to talk with you," Liao Ying began, his voice low and measured. "But seeing your current state, I might have to... adjust my plans."
"What plans?"
"Telling you now would be pointless." The caiman's lips curled into a mocking smile, his eyes darting provocatively to the viper's festering wounds.
"But," he continued, "on account of our history, I suppose I can share a bit. Even in your current state, you may still prove useful."
Greed, fear, anger, and bloodthirstiness flickered in the caiman's eyes as he spoke, his tone growing heavier.
"I don't care much for titles, Li Lun. When the time comes, I'll leave them behind when I move up—but before that, there are matters I need to resolve. One of them is shedding the title of 'false king.' You hate it too, don't you?"
Silence hung between them, thick and oppressive, before Liao Ying continued.
"For all the effort we've put in, only to be called false kings? It's laughable. I despise it, but what choice do I have? That golden-scaled alligator isn't a spirit beast I can face... not yet."
A shadow passed over Liao Ying's face, and his composure briefly cracked. Fear and humiliation flickered in his eyes, chased by a storm of anger and hatred. The mention of the golden-scaled alligator dredged up memories he had buried long ago—memories that gnawed at him more viciously than the scar that marred his body.
No matter how much time passed, the wounds from that encounter refused to heal.
Like a vengeful ghost, that memory relentlessly pursued him, leaving him tormented and irascible. It was a chain binding his progress, a scar on his pride, and a reminder of his failure. As long as that memory remained, his path forward would be forever barred. There was only one way to rid himself of it—the only way he knew—and that was to devour the one who had scarred him.
Even now, as he stared ahead, the injured Green Flash Viper, the lush forest, the twisting vines, and the green fog all faded from his sight. Instead, what loomed before him in his mind was a colossal figure, shimmering in radiant gold, exuding an overwhelming pressure that demanded everything—down to the very air itself—bend in submission.
"Li Lun," the Black Cosmos Caiman hissed venomously, "I want to kill that bastard. That true overlord. I want to tear him limb from limb and flood the entire Eighth Zone with his blood."
The caiman's voice trembled with rage, his hatred palpable, yet there was calculation in his words.
"But I can't do it alone. That's why I had hoped we would ally. Together, we could strike at the human cultivators in this region—hunt them, devour them, and grow stronger. Their bodies hold far more power for us than our own kind."
Liao Ying's cold gaze fixed on Li Lun as he took a step closer, the darkness surrounding him devouring the ground beneath his feet.
"With our combined abilities, it wouldn't be hard to harvest at least half of them. That would be enough to vastly improve our strength, enough to crush that alligator and end his reign. I'd thought about inviting the turtle too, but he's hard to find... and now..." His gaze narrowed, sharp and cutting.
"Now, I see you're barely capable of taking care of yourself." The caiman's lips twisted into a cruel smile.
"But you can still help me. What do you say, old friend? By the looks of things, you're not long for this world. Rather than die a meaningless death, let me devour you. As a false king, your body would be far more valuable than those human cultivators."
His tone grew deceptively soft, almost coaxing.
"What do you say, Li Lun? Let your death help us achieve our ambitions. You want that alligator dead, don't you? You held ambitions of ascending too, didn't you? Then Let me do it for both of us."
The Black Cosmos Caiman's expression was smug, his voice laced with a mock magnanimity that only made his greed more apparent.
Li Lun remained outwardly calm, his expression as unreadable as stone, betraying no trace of the storm within. He stood silent, a detached observer in this grotesque theater. But inside, frustration churned like a raging tide.
How had it come to this? A failed hunt had left him gravely wounded, and now he faced the most self-serving and treacherous creature in the entire zone.
He had clashed with Liao Ying countless times before. Each battle had been a near stalemate, neither willing to go all out and risk a pyrrhic victory that would leave them vulnerable to other opportunistic spirit beasts lurking in the shadows.
But this time was different. His injuries were severe, and he was already straining to suppress the frost qi devouring his strength and vitality. He couldn't afford such a disadvantage against Liao Ying. The caiman knew it too, which was why he hadn't attacked outright. Instead, he let the frost qi do his work for him, sapping away the viper's energy.
"Well, two can play at that game, you overgrown, black-scaled lizard," Li Lun thought, steeling himself.
He steadied his resolve, bracing for what was to come.
A sly smile crept across Li Lun's face, a sight that immediately unsettled Liao Ying. The caiman's confident stance faltered, his brow furrowing as suspicion seeped into his thoughts.
Each of the false kings had risen to their station not just through brute strength, but by surviving their formative years with cunning and carefully guarded tricks. Liao Ying couldn't help but wonder—did Li Lun have something up his scales?
"Bolin, it looks like I might be joining you soon," Li Lun thought to himself, a shadow of melancholy flickering in his mind before being snuffed out by the burning resolve that followed. "That human cultivator truly opened my eyes to what true ability is. We deserve to be called false kings. We're nothing but weaklings playing at being overlords. No wonder even the golden-scaled alligator doesn't bother interfering in our squabbles. To him, we're probably just amusing ants."
A faint chuckle escaped his lips, laced with bitter self-awareness. "Liao Ying, your hubris will be your undoing, but as your 'old friend,' it's only fair I leave you with some parting gifts."
Turning fully to face the caiman, Li Lun's smile widened, his amusement deepened by the cautious look now etched into Liao Ying's features.
"I always knew you were ambitious," Li Lun began, his tone dripping with mockery, "greedy to the point of lunacy, but even I didn't realize the extent of it until now. Attacking the golden-scaled alligator? You've truly grown tiger lungs and a dragon's heart over the years."
His voice carried a derisive edge as he added, "But if nothing else, at least you remain true to yourself. A greedy, insatiable, reckless beast who's blind to his own flaws—an inflated ego propped up by petty grudges and an unquenchable thirst for revenge."
Li Lun paused, savoring the sight of Liao Ying's narrowing eyes. "All this talk of a grand undertaking—who do you think you're fooling with that ridiculous spiel? Certainly not me. I know you, Liao Ying. Unlike those blind followers you keep at your side, I know your history."
The jab struck deep. Liao Ying's expression turned fiery, his eyes flaring with barely restrained fury. His enormous frame tensed as if ready to lunge, but something held him back. Li Lun's unexpected confidence gnawed at his caution like a persistent itch he couldn't ignore.
Li Lun watched the caiman's internal struggle with quiet satisfaction. He had expected this reaction. Despite his reputation for brutality, Liao Ying was no fool. His cautious nature was as much a part of him as his thirst for power, and Li Lun knew all too well why.
The air between them grew heavy, charged with unspoken threats and a tension that teetered on the edge of violence.
Li Lun's voice rang louder, ensuring that every spirit beast within the encirclement could hear him clearly.
"The spirit beasts and human cultivators out here keep saying you're fearless, the most powerful false king, the one with the highest chance of becoming the true overlord of this place. Hah, truly the rumblings of weaklings who don't know anything."
He let out a derisive chuckle. "They have no idea that their fearless leader here, once upon a time when he was just a young beast in the early stages of core formation, went to challenge the golden-scaled alligator. Blinded by pride from all his victories, he thought nothing could stand in his way. Isn't that right, Liao Ying?"
Li Lun's mocking tone sharpened. "Remind me again, what happened that day, Liao Ying? Oh yes... That naïve little beast found out what true terror was. A single gaze from the alligator petrified him, so much so that he couldn't move an inch."
He leaned forward slightly, his voice dripping with scorn. "The core formation champion, terrified for his life, spent hours groveling and crying, begging for mercy until his voice cracked. And you know what? The alligator spared him—not because of his pleas, but because it disdained eating something so weak-willed. You were nothing but a sniveling worm to him."
Li Lun's eyes gleamed as he raised his voice, addressing the spirit beasts around them. "LISTEN TO ME, ALL OF YOU! You all know Liao Ying loves battle, loves being bloodthirsty, especially over the last fifty years. That's the reputation you have come to know him by.
What you don't know is that most of the creatures he's killed in that time were all spirit beasts who knew his embarrassing tale with the golden-scaled alligator.
Now that you all know that particular dark secret, I wonder... I wonder what fates awaits you all. He is your leader, so surely you must have some idea.."
A wicked smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth as he turned his gaze back to Liao Ying, who looked ready to tear him apart.
"Pitiful. You even killed your closest subordinate because you couldn't stand anyone knowing about that embarrassing moment in your life. The story floating around is you killed him because he stepped on your shadow." Li Lun chuckled darkly. "Hehehe… It was creative, I'll give you that."
His expression shifted, becoming almost gleeful. "But you forgot one thing. There was someone else there when you challenged the golden-scaled alligator, and unlike the others, he lived to tell the tale. All this big talk, and all you really want to do is erase the biggest stain of your life."
Li Lun leaned back slightly, a teasing glint in his eyes. "I wonder what your odds will be this time…"
He threw his head back and laughed, completely ignoring the effect it had on his injuries. The sound rang out, mocking and defiant, as though he couldn't care less about the danger that loomed over him.
If he was to go, Li Lun decided, it would not be easy. Even in death, he would find a way to annoy the black cosmos caiman. He had already planted the seeds; what they would grow into, only time would tell. But he had a strong feeling things wouldn't be easy for Liao Ying, even if he managed to defeat him. There would be an endless heap of trouble waiting for him afterward.
Liao Ying's eyes turned dark with fury, his voice seething with rage.
"Good! Good! Li Lun, it seems you're just as good at running your mouth as you are at moving your body. I once considered giving you a quick and painless death, but now, I'll make it as excruciating as possible."
Li Lun sneered, his expression unwavering. "I'm not your underling to be scared by your threats. I may be injured, but don't think you'll be walking away from this scot-free. I've got a reputation as a 'false king' to uphold, after all."
The pressure from both beasts escalated to an almost unbearable intensity. A black wave clashed violently against a green light curtain, neither side giving ground.
For the first time in their lives, the two false kings charged at each other in full force, no longer holding anything back. Li Lun stopped fighting against the corrosive misty qi from Feng Xin, allowing it to eat away at his energy.
When their attacks collided, the resulting explosion reverberated through the air with a thunderous roar, obliterating everything within half a mile. The spirit beasts in the encirclement were forced to retreat further, afraid of being caught in the devastation. Some even had the sense to consider escaping entirely. This was a fight they couldn't interfere in, and even those who had hoped to profit quickly abandoned the idea.
It was in this moment that they finally understood what it meant to be a king—even a false one. The disparity between them and the two false kings was akin to that of a rhino and a rat.