After Senju Yukika killed those people, he felt nothing. Without pausing, he led the two companions farther across the desolate plains.
He seemed aimless, wandering without direction, but in truth, he was concealing his true intentions.
Senju Yukika didn't speak, and neither Shangguan nor Tanaka dared to question him casually.
Yukika deliberately veered to the right instead of walking a straight path.
They were getting farther away from Stone City…
The massacre on the plains earlier hadn't yet spread to others. But as Senju Yukika drew near, a hidden group of powerful individuals sensed his presence and were immediately alarmed!
Soon, a formidable leader appeared, accompanied by more than a dozen elite warriors.
One among them was an elder from the Beast King Palace. His strength had reached the half-step divine realm, making him a core figure within their ranks.
Senju Yukika stood calmly in place.
The elder called out loudly, "Young man, if you hand over the Eye of the Gods, not only will I spare your life, I will accept you as my final disciple. What do you say?"
This elder was renowned. In terms of seniority and experience, he far surpassed the two men from earlier.
He had never taken a disciple before. Offering to make Yukika his only student, he believed Yukika would be filled with gratitude and reverence.
But in Yukika's eyes, the man resembled a pitiful insect.
Suddenly, Yukika squinted. He had noticed something.
The elder was riding a fierce beast that looked eerily familiar—almost like a Qiongqi!
Upon closer inspection, Yukika was shocked. The beast bore a strong resemblance to the legendary creature.
At that moment, as if sensing the beast's presence, the Qiongqi residing in Yukika's storage space sent him a mental pulse:
"My descendant might be right there, but I can't be certain..."
Yukika and Qiongqi engaged in rapid mental communication. Only then did he realize that the true Qiongqi had vanished in ancient times.
The beast before him had inherited much of the original Qiongqi's bloodline.
Through countless years of evolution, many beasts had retained traces of that primal essence.
The elder's mount was unusual precisely because it had inherited a sliver of this ancient lineage.
The Qiongqi within Yukika's storage didn't possess as much of the bloodline, but they all shared a common ancestor.
"Though we are of the same origin, I do not wish to see this end in violence," Qiongqi murmured in his thoughts.
Yukika nodded in agreement. Since the beast now served him, he would honor its request.
This was part of the karmic bond between Yukika and the Qiongqi.
Even the connection between the beast mount and the original Qiongqi was woven with karmic threads.
With that in mind, Yukika ignored the blustering leader and looked directly at the Beast King Palace elder.
"Remove the blood imprint from yourself and the beast. If you do, I will spare your life."
The elder was stunned.
He hadn't expected this young man to be so arrogant, especially with death staring him down. Was he... begging for mercy?
The elder of Beast King Palace laughed. The surrounding warriors looked uneasy.
This boy had blatantly ignored the words of one of the world's most powerful men—as if he didn't exist.
This was a man whose very footstep could cause the Rasetsu Kingdom to tremble.
The towering warrior's voice turned icy. "You're quite bold, boy. You've successfully enraged me."
He took a slow step forward.
A bitter chill burst from his body. Rings of glacial chakra spiraled outward, turning the entire world into a frozen wasteland.
Even the other powerful warriors dared not come too close, wary of the indiscriminate power.
This frigid chakra would freeze friend and foe alike.
But Yukika didn't even blink.
When the Beast King Palace elder remained silent, Yukika sneered and lifted his finger.
With that gesture, a golden light formed a sharp claw that lashed out and gripped the elder's shoulder.
The elder was terrified. The moment the claw touched him, he could feel the immense pressure. He knew then and there that he wasn't this young man's match.
But if he couldn't claim Yukika's beast mount, then he would destroy it!
With a fierce expression, the elder made a snap decision. He struck the beast's neck hard with a palm strike.
The devastating force caused the beast to scream in agony. Its neck broke, and the vital spiritual core within its head was instantly shattered by the elder's chakra.
The beast's wail echoed across the sky as its massive form crashed to the ground.
Even Yukika hadn't expected the elder to be so cruel—to slay his own mount without hesitation!
Yukika's fury erupted.
He clenched his golden claw.
In an instant, the elder's body was crushed into fragments.
Meanwhile, the other elite warrior, still hoping to intimidate Yukika, realized his presence was being completely disregarded...
He snapped.
The world of ice around him erupted again with layer upon layer of frosty barrages.
From the sky, countless ice blades hurtled toward Yukika.
But then Yukika calmly opened his mouth and uttered a single word:
"Break."
A wave of energy erupted from his breath, sending shockwaves through the air.
The incoming ice blades shattered instantly, their invisible frost dissipating with them.
At the heart of the frozen domain, the mighty warrior sneered, summoning a massive shield of pure ice.
But within a single breath, the shield cracked apart.
And the battle had only just begun.
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