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"This is the City Lord's Mansion," the young werewolf said, leading Tang San, Meng Meng, and Nian Nian to the center of the town. He pointed to a stone house over 30 meters tall and proudly declared, "It's the tallest building we have here!"
The young werewolf then guided them to the marketplace, the wealthy district, and the central square, introducing each place along the way:
"This is the marketplace, the busiest spot every morning."
"This is the wealthy district, home to those who have cultivated their battle energy to the third tier."
"And this is the square, also used as an arena. Strong beastmen come here to fight, and every year we hold the Dragon Martial Arts Tournament."
Peter Jack Trask Griffinel's explanations were simple and direct, without any fancy language, just straightforward descriptions of each place, its name, and its purpose.
Even so, Tang San had gained a general understanding of this area.
The town was still quite primitive. Compared to the Douluo Continent, it could at best be considered a slightly larger town, nowhere near the level of a proper city.
According to the young werewolf, there were more than 300 such towns on Dragon God Island, all governed by a central city: Beast King City.
This was the entirety of the Beastmen Kingdom.
The beastmen were a martial race, and the energy they cultivated was called battle energy, or dou qi. Their cultivation was divided into nine tiers, with each tier further broken down into ten sub-levels, measured by stars.
The average beastman in this town had a cultivation level between Tier 1, 1-Star, and Tier 1, 5-Star. The young werewolf was often mocked because his level was below Tier 1, a mere 0-Star, 3-Stage.
On Dragon God Island, that was a joke.
After all, even a newborn beastman typically had a 0-Star, 5-Stage cultivation level. The fact that the young werewolf only had 0-Star, 3-Stage made him a laughingstock on this island where strength was everything.
However, he wasn't lying about his bloodline. He did indeed possess the lineage of the Howling Moon Wolf King. In fact, he was originally from Beast King City and had once been considered a prodigy. Three years ago, his cultivation had been at Tier 3, 3-Star. But for some unknown reason, his power regressed, and no one in his family could figure out why. As a result, he was ridiculed, bullied, and even had his engagement broken off by his fiancée.
Furious, Peter Jack Trask Griffinel publicly broke off the engagement himself, challenging his ex-fiancée to a duel in 300 years' time, then fled from his family. Officially, he claimed he was going out to train in hopes of a breakthrough.
In reality, he had come to this small town to hide, hoping to spend the rest of his life in obscurity.
"That's my story," the young werewolf said, "but don't think I'm telling you this to gain your sympathy. I just feel that since you paid me a gold coin, you deserve the service."
He didn't worry about Tang San and the others spreading his story. After all, who would believe he was really Peter Jack Trask Griffinel?
Before coming to this small town, he had traveled through many cities, spreading his tale far and wide. He had even hired beggars to impersonate him and tell the story on his behalf.
In fact, his story had spread to at least a hundred towns, with each of them having one or two—sometimes even three—"Peter Jack Trask Griffinels," all living off the legend he had crafted.
He had long since given up on preserving his reputation.
The young werewolf felt that the past three years of his life had been more interesting and eventful than the previous hundred years he had spent with his family.
As for feeling guilty toward his family?
To be honest, he had no attachment to them. After all, a family that mocked him the moment his cultivation declined wasn't one he could feel any affection for.
Now, living freely like this, the young werewolf found that he didn't mind it at all.
After hearing the young werewolf's story, Tang San studied him carefully for a long moment, a strange and meaningful expression crossing his face.
"If your surname were Xiao," Tang San remarked thoughtfully, "your fate might have been different."
The young werewolf was momentarily stunned, not understanding, but then quickly caught on. He asked, "You're not seriously implying that I'm the handsome, strong, wise, and… shameless—uh, I mean, dashing Peter Jack Trask Griffinel, right?"
"With that long list of prefixes, it's clear you're not an imposter," Tang San chuckled. "After all, no impostor would refer to themselves like that. It seems our great Griffinel has a bit of an ego."
Peter grinned, tongue lolling out. "Well, I got caught up in the role, heh."
"Do you want to regain your honor?" Tang San's gaze turned serious. He knew that in an environment like Dragon God Island, where strength was revered, there was no way this guy had really given up.
"I do!"
Peter dropped the pretense, his sharp instincts telling him that the solution to his problem—his sudden loss of power—was right in front of him. If he didn't seize the opportunity, he'd regret it for the rest of his life.
He, Peter Jack Trask Griffinel, would rise again with dignity and power!
"But—"
"What's your goal? You don't have a grudge against my ex-fiancée's family, do you? You're not hoping I'll grow strong and wipe them out or something? Sure, they're all pretty snobby, but wouldn't that be a bit extreme?"
Tang San laughed. "You're overthinking it. I just want you to understand what you're truly living for."
The beastmen on Dragon God Island were martial by nature, but their faith in the Sacred Dragon permeated their society.
Many of them had expressions like:
"By the great Sacred Dragon!"
"Oh, my Sacred Dragon!"
That didn't bother Tang San too much, but compared to the elves of Easton Forest, these beastmen placed a higher value on brute strength. Tang San wanted to cultivate a truly powerful beastman—one who could defeat the Sacred Dragon. His goal was to shatter the beastmen's blind worship and unwavering faith in the dragon.
Just as the flora in Easton Forest owed its growth to the efforts of the elves—while King Easton mostly slept in his cave—the beastmen's civilization on Dragon God Island was built through their struggle against magical beasts. The Sacred Dragon hadn't gifted them knowledge of construction or craftsmanship out of mercy.
"You want me to defeat the Sacred Dragon?!" The young werewolf felt a chill down his spine. This hairless ape must be out of his mind. Still, he cautiously asked, "Do you have a grudge against the Sacred Dragon?"
"No."
Tang San shook his head, his gaze deepening, giving him the air of a mysterious figure trying to sway a naive young soul. In a slow, compelling tone, he said, "It's actually a mission from the Creator God."
"God."
"You don't need faith."
"The greatest respect you can show a god is to have the courage to challenge them."
"To stand before them and declare, 'We have grown. We are no longer the helpless children who cry in their cradles. We are capable of facing the future on our own, no matter how unknown or dangerous. We will explore and take that first step with confidence.'"
"This is the test the gods have set for all living beings—"
"To defeat them and lead our people into a new era, to explore the vast, infinite sea of stars!"
(End of Chapter)