Chapter 245: Consecutive Victories, Mountain Cat Slays a God

In the Nine Dragons Hall of Tianjing City, the seventh-ranked Great Island of the West is stationed.

The other participants are currently very nervous and busy, but inside the Nine Dragons Hall, the atmosphere is extremely relaxed.

This is because the Nine Dragons Island has sent nine Emperor Crocodiles to guard outside the city.

Each one is at the early stage of the Fourth Grade, possessing a Grade One Divine Bloodline.

Possessing a trace of the bloodline of an ancient divine beast, the Emperor Crocodile faces no pressure whatsoever in passing the preliminaries; the reason for sending nine is purely to snatch a few spots for the other Beast Tamers.

"Come, drink." Inside the hall, several officials are drinking heartily.

"For this preliminary, apart from Longquan Island, Xinyan Island, and Bear Island, which sent Frost Howl Giant Bears, Spirit Rhinos, and Fiery Soul Dragons respectively, the other Great Islands have not sent any powerful battle beasts."

A Fifth Grade Beast Tamer named 'Kang Jia' held up his wine cup and said.

"This official duty trip is actually quite relaxing."

"Yes, training is usually hard work; this month, we can finally rest a bit."

Bringing Emperor Crocodiles to participate in the preliminary is equivalent to resting, isn't it?

Although Tianjing Island also has powerful battle beasts like Frost Howl Giant Bears, Fiery Soul Dragons, and Spirit Rhinos.

But the top ten powers of the West all tacitly understand that snatching spots in the preliminaries is easy; there is no need to fight to the death.

Like the number one in the West, Dragon Lion Island, this time they didn't even send a single Fourth Grade battle beast.

Because in the spring, summer, and autumn preliminaries, Dragon Lion Island had already snatched enough spots.

"Kunte, why aren't you drinking?" Kang Jia looked across the table.

A man sat before the table, wearing a black long robe, with a handsome face and deep eyes. On his wrist was embedded a sparkling sapphire bracelet.

Among the officials commanding the Emperor Crocodiles in this instance, Kunte possessed the strongest strength. He held an exquisite Beast Soul Staff in his hand; although he also sat at the banquet, Kunte appeared very silent, and even occasionally seemed a bit distracted.

"Kunte, you are too serious; take a rest," a colleague beside him advised. "You are constantly connected to the Emperor Crocodile's soul contract; the pressure on the Emperor Crocodile is also great."

Kunte opened his eyes: "Someone must watch the situation outside; you drink, I won't disturb everyone's enjoyment."

Having said that, Kunte stood up and left the table to get some fresh air outside.

"Come, let's drink." Kang Jia and the others were used to Kunte's personality and continued to drink heartily.

…………

The barrier of Tianjing City's city wall has only four entrances; each barrier entrance is three thousand meters long and one hundred meters high.

Nine Emperor Crocodiles lay outside the city gate, completely blocking the East Entrance.

To enter, one must necessarily hand over a flag.

With Emperor Crocodiles guarding the gate, no strange beast dares to force its way in.

Zhao Xing controlled the Green Phoenix and the Tiger Crocodile to fly towards the East City Gate; when they were a thousand meters away, they circled and observed.

"Whoosh~" A golden streak of light flew from the distance; two golden falcons attempted to slip in secretly by relying on speed.

However, the golden flags in their mouths were too conspicuous; the nine Emperor Crocodiles immediately spotted them.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh~" The golden falcons' bodies erupted with light, instantly activating their Grade Nine Famous Bloodline and unleashing their innate ability.

In an instant, shadows of falcons appeared in the sky!

"Such fast speed; the golden falcon is already good at speed, and when the Famous Bloodline within the body is activated, the speed increases explosively again, actually producing so many afterimages."

Inside the hall, Zhao Xing watched the golden falcons through three perspectives.

In the eyes of the Green Phoenix and the Tiger Crocodile, only a sky full of shadows could be seen.

"Meow~" The Mountain Cat made a sound, then its pupils dilated; one green and one purple eye looked quite divine.

When the Mountain Cat sensed Zhao Xing's desire to 'see clearly', it voluntarily helped.

In its field of vision, the world appeared in green and purple hues, with no shadows existing.

The speed of the golden falcon also slowed down by dozens of times; in the green-purple vision, that touch of gold appeared very obvious.

"Can Aotian see through the flight trajectory of the golden falcon? Can the Emperor Crocodile?"

"Does it have any means to stop it?" Zhao Xing observed.

The Emperor Crocodile is huge in size; theoretically, even turning a corner would be difficult.

To stop the golden falcon from slipping in would probably not be easy.

But, the moment the golden falcon broke in, two Emperor Crocodiles roared at the sky in unison.

"Roar!"

The inverted spikes on the Emperor Crocodile's spine emitted a yellowish-brown halo; ripples spread through the air, instantly enveloping the entrance.

When the golden falcon broke in, its speed decreased greatly, as if it had plunged into a mud bog.

At this moment, even the weaker Tiger Crocodile could clearly see the tracks of the golden falcon, and the falcon's shadows had disappeared.

"Earth Domain." Zhao Xing looked ahead. A Spell Domain is a general term for various domains; generally, one must cultivate a high-level spell or high-level Wu Ji to the seventh transformation level for a domain to appear.

The Emperor Crocodile's kind is somewhat different from human Spell Domains.

They do not comprehend the Dao; it is simply because they are innately powerful, and their bloodline power aligns with a certain attribute, allowing them to instinctively unleash it.

"The Emperor Crocodile possesses the bloodline of the ancient divine beast Taowu; such battle beasts are called Divine Bloodline beasts."

"The grade of the bloodline mainly affects the power of innate secret techniques."

"Even if both possess a Five Elements Domain, a Grade Nine Famous Bloodline and a Grade One Divine Bloodline might differ in power by ten times," Zhao Xing thought silently.

Because many generations had passed, the Emperor Crocodile only possessed a trace of divine beast bloodline within its body, but even a trace makes it a divine beast species.

After the golden falcon flew into the Earth Domain, its speed slowed more and more; when its master realized something was wrong and wanted to make it return, it was already too late.

"Chirp chirp~" The falcon spat out the flag to the Emperor Crocodile, nodding constantly, as if begging for mercy.

"Hmph, giving it now is too late!" Inside the Nine Dragons Hall, Kang Jia snorted coldly and gave the order to the Emperor Crocodile: "Kill it!"

Following Kang Jia's order.

Outside the East City Gate, one Emperor Crocodile immediately opened its blood-filled maw; its black back had its spine spikes lighting up with waves of red light.

"Boom!"

From the Imperial Crocodile's mouth, a column of red flame instantly erupted.

The flame condensed into a pillar, instantly engulfing the Golden Eagle.

"Roar~" The battle beasts in the distance, startled, scattered in all directions.

Zhao Xing watched this scene and couldn't help but shake his head; the Fifth-Rank Golden Eagle had melted away like this, leaving not even a scrap.

"Aaaaaah! No!" Inside a public arena in Tianjing City, a Sixth-Rank Beast Tamer suddenly screamed like a madman.

He lay on the ground with a distorted face: "Damn it, damn Nine Longdao! I raised that Golden Eagle for over ten years!"

Unfortunately, he could only rage impotently within his private room.

Coming to Tianjing City requires the resolve that your battle beast might die; survival of the fittest, the strong survive—this is the very creed of the Ten Thousand Beasts Competition.

Seeing the Golden Eagle turn to ash, Zhao Xing felt some worry; he asked again, "Ao Tian, can you beat them? These big fish are acting together."

The Wildcat was only at the early stage of the Fifth Rank, while the Imperial Crocodile was at the early stage of the Fourth Rank; that was a full major tier gap between them!

Moreover, there were nine of them here!

Nine Longdao had no intention of playing any sort of one-on-one duel.

Just now, one Imperial Crocodile had deployed its Earth Domain, while another had spat out a flame laser.

Nine Longdao's training was clearly no joke; every single Imperial Crocodile had minute differences, and they likely followed different growth paths.

The Wildcat felt somewhat conflicted; with so many big fish, which one should it eat first?

"..."

Sensing the Wildcat's thoughts, Zhao Xing was speechless.

He strongly suspected that Ao Tian the Cat, having spent too much time with Long Xiao, had also become extremely confident.

In the end, however, Zhao Xing still let the Wildcat make a probe.

"Ao Tian, just provoke it from the edge and lure one big fish out to chase you."

"Yes, just strike it with lightning; its domain probably extends about fifteen hundred meters. Look, right there at the Tiger-Alligator's position."

Zhao Xing still played his role as a Controller, judging by the intensity of the secret technique the Imperial Crocodile had just used.

He could roughly determine that the Imperial Crocodile's Earth Domain extended only about fifteen hundred meters.

As long as they stayed fifteen hundred meters away from it, they would be outside the domain.

Zhao Xing went on and on, spouting a whole bunch of instructions.

"Old Wu~"

Ao Tian the Cat suddenly let out a cry.

It was getting somewhat impatient.

Are we eating fish or not?

"Fine, go try, but remember to run if you can't catch it!"

"Meow~" Ao Tian nodded, then launched itself from the back of the Green Phoenix.

As the Wildcat charged out, inside the Nine Dragon Hall, the Beast Tamer Kang Jia suddenly paused with the wine glass he was holding.

"Hmm? A cat?"

He closed his eyes to sense, and then discovered a tiny figure in the sky, walking down slowly with elegant feline steps.

"A Wildcat?"

Kang Jia was stunned for a moment.

"Brother Kang, what's wrong?" someone beside him asked.

"My Imperial Crocodile reported an anomaly; in its perception, a Wildcat has appeared, early stage of the Fifth Rank."

"Oh?" The person beside him immediately closed his eyes to link with his own battle beast, checked, and found it was indeed so.

"Who is so wasteful as to raise a Wildcat to the Fifth Rank?"

What kind of breed is a Wildcat? It doesn't even count as having a Jun-level bloodline.

Normally speaking, for a Wildcat to be capable of entering the ranked realm upon adulthood would already be considered good.

Reaching the Eighth Rank is already quite difficult.

Raising one to the Fifth Rank would require how many resources to cultivate?

If you have the resources to raise a Wildcat to the Fifth Rank, those same resources used on a God-level bloodline battle beast would probably reach the Fourth Rank! Isn't that just wastefulness?

"It's probably the pet of some noble Young Master," someone said. "Let me ask whose it is."

"Interesting." Kang Jia also found it novel.

The Beast Taming circle of the Zixiao Archipelago is this small; at their level, just asking around casually reveals whether it's a local or not.

Originally, the few of them didn't take it seriously; after all, the Wildcat was only Fifth Rank, its master behind the scenes was probably an amateur, it carried no flag, and the Imperial Crocodile wouldn't block it from entering anyway.

But suddenly—

Clang!

Kang Jia's wine glass fell to the ground, and he stood up with a shocked expression.

"What's wrong, Brother Kang?"

"That Wildcat actually ambushed my Imperial Crocodile!"

"Something's wrong; my Imperial Crocodile is injured!"

"What?!"

Outside the East Gate.

Ao Tian, walking with feline steps, descended step by step from the sky.

When entering the fifteen-hundred-meter range, the Imperial Crocodile raised its head and glanced at the Mountain Cat.

However, seeing the opponent carried no flag, it paid no attention.

When the Mountain Cat walked into the thousand-meter range, the Imperial Crocodile still turned a blind eye.

This was because the Mountain Cat's movements were too deceptive.

Normal battle beasts, long trained, all carry a scent of blood and an aura of killing intent.

Yet the Mountain Cat... although at the Fifth Grade, possessed absolutely no such feeling.

It was as if some Young Master's pet had not been properly managed and suddenly ran onto the battlefield.

Its innocent and cute appearance made Kang Jia pay it no mind at all.

The Imperial Crocodile also paid it no mind, thinking the Mountain Cat merely intended to enter the city.

But suddenly—

"Whoosh~"

Aotian Miao's body vanished at a distance of two hundred meters from the Imperial Crocodile, and like a bolt of lightning, instantly appeared at the Imperial Crocodile's right flank.

"Rip~"

Claws carrying lightning clashed fiercely.

Lei Ting Sky-Splitting Claw!

"Pfft!"

A ten-meter-long cross-shaped wound instantly appeared on the Imperial Crocodile's left flank.

Imperial Crocodile:???

What the hell kind of cat is this, how does it know how to ambush?!

The Mountain Cat, holding a piece of the Imperial Crocodile's flesh in its mouth, ran away.

At this moment, the Mountain Cat was like a combination of Old Master Zhao and Long Xiao.

Long Xiao taught it how to maximize damage; even when opening wounds, one must make them cross-shaped, so a piece of flesh can be torn off easily and to prevent the enemy from recovering quickly.

Old Master Zhao taught by example, letting the Mountain Cat learn how to be a cunning schemer.

If you can ambush, do not fight head-on!

Caught off guard, the Fourth Grade Imperial Crocodile suffered heavy impact to its abdomen.

After a piece of flesh was torn away, blood flowed ceaselessly from the wound, and a force of lightning prevented the wound from healing.

"Roar!" The Imperial Crocodile roared in fury.

Kang Jia was also furious; his Imperial Crocodile was actually injured, and by a seemingly harmless little creature.

"Kill it!"

Kang Jia, in a rage, gave the order.

"Vroom~"

Earth-yellow light radiated from its back, and the Earth Domain unfolded once more.

However, the Mountain Cat's speed was also very fast; it had achieved the Pure Origin Realm through the two heavenly and earthly forces of Wind and Thunder.

Cats are naturally fast, and being able to control the Wind heavenly and earthly force, the Mountain Cat's speed was fifty percent faster than a Golden Falcon!

After the Imperial Crocodile, in pain, unleashed the Earth Domain, the Mountain Cat had already appeared fifteen hundred meters away, returning to the back of the Azure Phoenix.

At this moment, Zhao Xing's eyes could not help but brighten.

"Aotian Miao's strength exceeds my imagination."

All along, Zhao Xing had regarded the Mountain Cat as a pet, not a battle beast.

Whether at Peak Inversion Mountain or the Extreme Night Sea, there was no opportunity for the Mountain Cat to perform.

At that time, the team composition included Long Xiao, Chen Shijie, Xia Jing, Zhao Xing who could command the Ten Thousand Methods Straw Man, and the shaman Ji Ji Ziyun... where was the need for the Mountain Cat to charge into battle?

Later, when Liu Tianning arrived personally, there was even less opportunity for the Mountain Cat to perform.

It was simply following Old Master Zhao, eating and eating.

Now the Mountain Cat had an opportunity to perform, but it also greatly surprised Zhao Xing.

These sharp techniques and cunning mind...

"Truly, it did not eat those Spirit-Refining Elixirs in vain." Zhao Xing could not help but smile.

Outside the city, the Azure Phoenix and the Tiger-Alligator were both trembling with fear.

This was because the Mountain Cat brought back a piece of flesh and asked if they wanted to eat.

The flesh and blood of the Imperial Crocodile carried the power of an ancient divine beast; even smelling it was terrifying, let alone daring to eat it.

"Aotian, stop eating; an Imperial Crocodile is chasing us!" Zhao Xing, observing through the Azure Phoenix's vision, immediately warned the Mountain Cat.

"Meow?"

Looking at the large fish crawling over, the Mountain Cat could not help but feel angry.

This cat has eaten so many fish, yet never seen one so bold!

"Grrr~"

The Mountain Cat let out a low growl and once more leaped from the Azure Phoenix's back, heading straight for the Imperial Crocodile.

With its low growl.

A purple bolt of lightning instantly shot from the Mountain Cat's left eye, striking the Imperial Crocodile's skull.

"Boom!"

The lightning descended upon the Imperial Crocodile's skull without any obstruction.

"Hmm? The eyes can also emit lightning? It seems the power is not small." Zhao Xing watched the battle through the Azure Phoenix's vision.

Lightning is hard to dodge, especially for a creature of the Imperial Crocodile's massive size, where evasion is also difficult.

"Roar!"

After the thunder, the Imperial Crocodile let out a roar.

A charred scar appeared on its head.

The Imperial Crocodile's head had no scales, but its bones were very hard; this was merely a superficial wound.

Yet the fact that it could breach the defense left both the Imperial Crocodile and Kang Jia utterly astonished.

Because the Earth Domain was active, the Imperial Crocodile's defense had increased greatly, yet the thunder still pierced through the domain and inflicted damage on the Imperial Crocodile. Just how powerful was this cat's thunder technique?

"Dingchen, Hanguang, you two attack together!" Kang Jia gritted his teeth and said, "Kill that damn cat!"

This was too shameful!

In front of everyone, the Imperial Crocodile of Nine Longdao had actually been injured by a cat!

"Don't kill it; capture it." At this moment, Kunter walked in. "This mountain cat is extremely extraordinary. If we capture it and take it back, we may have a chance to forcibly break its soul contract."

"Capturing it to turn it into our slave-seal war beast is better than killing it directly."

"Good." The others also saw the mountain cat's extraordinary nature.

"Damn, no martial ethics! The mountain cat is only early Stage Five; if you have the guts, fight it one-on-one!" Inside Kaiyang Hall, Zhao Xing cursed.

Dong Yuanqiu and Cao Jiang, standing beside him, exchanged bewildered glances.

They did not know what was wrong with Lord Zhao.

From Zhao Xing's perspective,

all nine Imperial Crocodiles had mobilized!

Nine early Stage Four war beasts, the Imperial Crocodiles, were hunting a single early Stage Five mountain cat!

Of course, Master Zhao was furious.

"Meow~" The mountain cat's cry appeared in Zhao Xing's mind.

"What do you mean? You want Qingluan and Hu Jiao to run first, while you stay behind?"

"Aotian, don't be impulsive! If you die, Long Xiao will kill me... Hey, don't go!"

Inside Kaiyang Hall, Zhao Xing jumped to his feet.

Because the mountain cat's stubborn temper had flared, it directly struck Qingluan and Hu Jiao with a bolt of thunder, forcing them to flee.

Then it itself charged toward the nine Imperial Crocodiles.

"Damn, you haven't learned a bit of my 'assess the situation' personality! You've truly been corrupted by Long Xiao! Are you going to become a Sword Immortal?" Cursing, Zhao Xing walked out the door.

"My lord, what is wrong?" Tao Anchun asked.

"My cat is fighting the Imperial Crocodiles. You stay here to guard; I must go to the city wall."

There was no choice; Zhao Xing could only run there personally.

If anything went wrong, even if it meant violating the rules, he would go over to rescue the mountain cat.

Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh~~~

From the Yunyu Tower Ship moored inside Kaiyang Hall, countless Myriad Dao Avatars flew out, each clutching weapons.

Ji An, who was controlling beasts in the courtyard nearby, heard the commotion and could not help but look over.

His eyeballs nearly popped out in shock!

"Stage Six Net Cannons, Stage Six Tianyuan Bows... damn, is that a Stage Six Supreme Grade Soul-Annihilating Ballista they're carrying?"

Ji An was completely dumbfounded.

These were all heavy military weapons!

Where in the world did you get them, old buddy?

Ji An's feeling at that moment was as if he had been saved by a 'terrorist' and then invited into his own home as a guest.

Both shocked and terrified.

He knew Zhao Xing was the Marquis of Yuanrang, but this Marquis of Yuanrang was only a Third-Rank Hou Jue; he was not a Wu Hou, so he shouldn't be allowed to possess such heavy military weapons, right?

Theoretically speaking, Zhao Xing indeed had no qualification to bring these items, but Luo Hou Wang, to protect his safety, had specially permitted him to carry them.

Back then, four million battle merits had been forced by Liang Wang to be exchanged only for Stage Four merits, raising his rank by two levels, while also stripping his honorary title; of course, Luo Hou Wang had to give Zhao Xing some compensation and ensure his safety.

With these items, Zhao Xing, in non-combat zones and in coordination with his avatars, would be difficult even for ordinary Stage Four or Five cultivators to kill.

"Lord Ji, do not be alarmed." Tao Anchun ran out to explain. "My lord is simply going to the city wall to watch the cat."

"Oh, I see." Ji An smiled very forcedly.

oco

Such a huge commotion outside the East Gate could naturally not be hidden from the people in the city; the news spread rapidly.

"Did you hear? The Stage Four Imperial Crocodiles of Nine Longdao have all mobilized!"

"What? Could it be they are fighting the Giant Bears of Bear Island?"

"No, it seems they are hunting a mountain cat."

"What nonsense are you talking?"

"It's true! Someone filmed it on the city wall! Look for yourself!"

"What? It really is! Let's go, hurry and take a look!"

"..."

The news that nine Stage Four Imperial Crocodiles were hunting a single mountain cat spread and immediately caused a sensation.

It was simply too curious.

What kind of cat was worth such a massive mobilization from Nine Longdao?

Inside the Bear Hall, a burly man with a beard was controlling his mid Stage Four war beast, the 'Frost Howl Giant Bear'.

He was Badalo, the team leader of Bear Island this time, a half-human, half-water-tribe hybrid.

At this moment, Badalo, sensing the movement of the Emperor Crocodile, strengthened his connection with the Frost Howl Giant Bear.

Because Bear Island and Nine Dragons Island were old rivals, and he had only brought three Frost Howl Giant Bears, he feared the other side would launch a sneak attack.

"It seems they are not targeting us." Badalo had the Frost Howl Giant Bear, wielding a massive axe, fly into the sky.

"Could it be that they are fighting the Lingxi Chong of Dragon Spring Island?"

Inside the Dragon Spring Pavilion, a woman with a fiery figure, dressed in beast skin, also walked out of the arena.

You Ji closed her eyes on the grass, connecting with the war beast Lingxi Chong outside the city.

"Nine Emperor Crocodiles, all mobilized, yet I cannot see who they are fighting."

You Ji's face was filled with confusion: "What is Kunte of Nine Dragons Pavilion up to?"

She took out the Earth Mirror and sent a message to 'Ao Feng', the leader of Heart Rock Island.

Because the Fiery Soul Dragons of Heart Rock Island had been flying in the sky, and that section of the city wall was closer to the Emperor Crocodiles.

Soon, Ao Feng replied: "The Emperor Crocodiles are hunting a fifth-grade wild cat, and one Emperor Crocodile has even been severely injured!"

"What?" You Ji was shocked; what on earth was going on?

"Someone come!"

"Your subordinate is here."

"Send someone immediately to check the East City Wall!"

"Yes."

…………

"Roar!" The nine Emperor Crocodiles roared in unison.

The forest outside the East City was now in a mess; a vast number of trees were broken and uprooted.

The ground was sunken, and many dense, huge footprints were left behind.

One fire-attribute Emperor Crocodile opened its bloody maw and spat out a ball of fire breath.

It headed straight for a black shadow in the half-sky!

The Emperor Crocodile possessed divine beast bloodline; if this breath could hit its mark, even a sixth-grade divine weapon would be melted!

"Boom!"

The flame breath surged toward the sky, even dyeing the cloud layers red.

Yet the shadow in the sky still remained.

"Sizzle sizzle sizzle~"

Ao Tian Miao waved its claws; the green-purple secret patterns on its claws lit up with light, actually detaching from its body and transforming into two secret pattern rings, appearing on this fire-attribute Emperor Crocodile.

The rings rapidly expanded; once the thousand-meter-long Emperor Crocodile was ensnared, the halos quickly contracted.

"Hiss hiss hiss hiss hiss~"

On the Emperor Crocodile's body, the scales and the rings rubbed against each other, creating sparks and sending up puffs of green smoke.

"Roar!!!"

The Emperor Crocodile struggled in pain.

A beast tamer beside Kang Jia immediately covered his head and squatted down.

"Dingchen, sever the soul contract connection and let the Emperor Crocodile act freely." Kunte immediately ordered.

The reflection of a cat's phantom was cast in his eyes.

"This wild cat has entered the Pure Origin Realm with wind and thunder power; it has not just one secret technique that has reached the high-grade perfection."

"There's no reason for it; why is the wild cat's innate ability so strong?" Kang Jia found it incredible.

Just after the clash, the wild cat had severely injured another one of their Emperor Crocodiles again.

If there was no defense before, now there was no excuse to make.

Because the wild cat had launched its attack while enduring the Five Elements Domain of the nine Emperor Crocodiles!

"This wild cat, who knows how many treasures it has consumed," Kunte said with a complex expression, "can no longer be regarded as an ordinary wild cat; its innate amplification is even stronger than the divine-level sixth-grade bloodline abilities!"

The beast tamers present were speechless.

The wild cat's performance completely shattered their understanding.

How many treasures must one consume to achieve such an effect?

Not only was the innate ability strong, but the quantity and power of the secret techniques also far exceeded their understanding.

"My Emperor Crocodile can't hold on!" the beast tamer who had just squatted down with his head in his hands cried out in pain.

"How could this be?!"

"Even if we die, we must die knowing the truth!"

"It kicked and shattered the Earth-Attribute Body-Protecting Secret Pattern of the Emperor Crocodile!"

"Not one kick; it kicked nine times!"

"What secret technique is this?"

"Wind-Controlling Ninefold Step."

"How is that possible? Can this secret technique of the wild cat reach such power? You must be mistaken!"

"Are you questioning my judgment?"

"Shut up!" Kunte shouted, "Stop making noise, everyone focus!"

Kunte waved his hands, and the Beast Spirit Staff emitted waves of light halos.

At the same time, outside the East City, the largest Emperor Crocodile's horns suddenly became crystalline.

In an instant, it became transparent, like a crystal Emperor Crocodile.

"Hum~"

The remaining seven Emperor Crocodiles also successively entered their second form.

Only the Emperor Crocodile trapped by the Mountain Cat's innate secret technique was unable to activate it.

Having consumed two high-grade secret techniques of the Mountain Cat, Wind-Thunder Lock and Nine Heavens Wind-Stepping, it was already on the verge of death.

Whoosh~

Taking advantage of the other Emperor Crocodiles' transformations, the Mountain Cat descended again, landing on that severely injured Emperor Crocodile.

Lei Ting Sky-Splitting Claw!

"Zzzzz~"

The Mountain Cat's figure appeared on the Emperor Crocodile's abdomen, the ring hoisting it up.

"Pfft Pfft Pfft~"

Fast, fast to the extreme, and agile to the extreme, the Lei Ting Sky-Splitting Claw seemed as if dozens of Mountain Cats were simultaneously unleashing high-grade secret techniques upon the Emperor Crocodile.

In an instant, the abdomen of this early-stage Fourth-Rank Emperor Crocodile was churned into a bloody mess.

"Haaah~"

The Emperor Crocodile fell, convulsing; its life force plummeted rapidly, sinking into silence.

Its internal organs were shredded; even if an immortal arrived, they could not save it.

Of the nine Emperor Crocodiles, only eight remained!

"One Emperor Crocodile is dead."

On the city wall, Tong Wanyang quietly watched the scene below.

After receiving the news, he too had rushed to the East City Wall immediately.

As the overlord of the West, although the Dragon Lion Island had not dispatched a Fourth-Rank War Beast with Divine Beast bloodline this time,

Tong Wanyang still came in person, because he discovered that this Mountain Cat was precisely the beloved beast of Zhao Xing, the Correct Supervisor of the Twin Dragon Horse Bureau.

"Truly incredible," Yu Pengcheng stood beside him, exclaiming, "This Mountain Cat absolutely cannot be older than five years."

"In less than five years, to cultivate it to this level, consuming other things would be useless; it was likely fed with the spiritual essence of Heaven and Earth," Tong Wanyang deduced.

"Yuanrang Hou Zhaoxing, who rose from the Ten Yang Grotto-Heaven; the Ten Yang Grotto-Heaven incident two years ago benefited him greatly, even his cat managed to reach the Fifth Rank."

A normal cultivation scheme could not possibly use the spiritual essence of Heaven and Earth as a routine resource.

Because there were not enough people to consume it, how could the spiritual essence of the Spirit Mountain be shared with non-human beasts?

Moreover, for the spiritual essence of Heaven and Earth, the effect on humans is the greatest; for non-human beasts, consuming double might yield only half, or even thirty percent of the effect.

But if the quantity is sufficient, swallowing vast amounts of Yuanfa spiritual essence, even a pig could advance to the Fifth Rank.

Only in this way could innate secret techniques be significantly enhanced.

"Events like the Ten Yang Grotto-Heaven cannot be replicated," Yu Pengcheng shook his head. "We are unable to cultivate this way."

The Mountain Cat had even entered the Heavenly Gate, soaked in the spiritual essence hot springs; even the Green Water Dao Academy could not replicate this cultivation scheme.

"This Mountain Cat will become our formidable rival," Tong Wanyang said. "Look, eight Emperor Crocodiles have transformed, the Mountain Cat has also transformed, yet we still cannot deal with it."

"Too clumsy," Yu Pengcheng commented. "The Crystal transformation still only strengthens the Emperor Crocodile's defense; it cannot match their speed. Their Crystal Five Elements Domain cannot completely lock down the Mountain Cat."

"Speed is affected, but it is still faster than the Emperor Crocodiles."

"However, for the Mountain Cat to kill another Emperor Crocodile will be difficult."

"If you and I can see this, Kunte can see it too," Tong Wanyang said. "I wonder why Zhao Xing does not order the Mountain Cat to withdraw; what exactly does he intend to do?"

"I cannot guess. If it does not withdraw soon, other War Beasts might arrive to help."

Tong Wanyang and Yu Pengcheng could not possibly imagine that Zhao Xing currently could not order the Mountain Cat to retreat.

He could indeed use the Soul Contract to forcibly intervene in the Mountain Cat's actions, making the Mountain Cat suffer until it finally submitted to his command.

But with the Mountain Cat currently surrounded and hunted, doing so would be tantamount to sending the Mountain Cat to its death.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh~"

The True Body and the Ten Thousand Dharma Clones finally arrived at the city wall.

However, upon reaching the city wall, Zhao Xing discovered that the Mountain Cat had already killed one Emperor Crocodile.

"Is Aotian this fierce?" Zhao Xing himself was somewhat surprised.

Under the siege of nine Emperor Crocodiles, it still managed to kill one.

Truly a sword cultivator among cats.

Seeing this, Zhao Xing was no longer anxious.

He simply watched quietly.

But his arrival drew surprised glances from the surrounding people.

Seeing Zhao Xing's setup, they were immediately greatly shocked.

? C〇

Because Old Master Zhao had set up a God-Slaying Bed Crossbow on the wall, and with numerous clones, all carrying large-scale lethal divine weapons.

"Ten Thousand Dharma Clones? Is this the Straw Man Technique of the Benwo Sect?"

"Who is this person, that he can cultivate Ten Thousand Dharma Clones?"

"Hiss, how can he bring so many military-grade heavy weapons? Is he not afraid of being arrested by the Tianjing City Patrol Bureau? Could he be a Wu Hou?"

"How could he be a Wu Hou? He is wearing Sixth-Rank official robes; have you ever seen a Sixth-Rank Wu Hou?"

"Hmm? Ten Thousand Dharma Clones, Ten Thousand Dharma Clones... what is the relationship between this person and Liu Wanfa?"

On the city wall, many people were discussing this.

Zhao Xing paid no attention to these murmurs, but instead contacted the Mountain Cat.

"Aotian, return to the city wall."

"Meow!"

The mountain cat indicated refusal.

If we go back now, what about that big fish? We can't bring it back!

Zhao Xing felt helpless because he noticed more and more battle beasts approaching.

If Nine Longdao has summoned help, the situation would be entirely different.

Against the Emperor Crocodile, the mountain cat has the advantage; it can fight when it wants and run when it wants.

But if the Fiery Soul Dragon or Lingxi Chong comes to capture the mountain cat, it would be dangerous.

The Twin Dragon Horse Bureau is obscure and has no helpers.

Now that the mountain cat has displayed its supernatural abilities, anyone can see with their toes that someone has set their sights on it.

"When we return, I'll catch you a big fish to eat, even bigger than this one!" Zhao Xuan coaxed.

"Meow!"

It won't be that kind of shellfish again, will it? This cat won't eat it!

"..."

Zhao Xuan felt somewhat melancholy; children grow up and are hard to trick.

It was also his own fault for feeding the mountain cat too much turtle meat before, giving it a psychological shadow regarding this kind of fish.

"Absolutely not that kind! Listen to me and come back first."

After much persuasion, the mountain cat finally agreed to return.

At this moment, the Green Phoenix and the Tiger-Jiao had already taken the opportunity to slip the flags through the East City Gate.

Before leaving, the mountain cat even dug a large chunk of meat from the corpse of that Emperor Crocodile.

"Swish~"

The mountain cat, covered in lightning, slashed with its claws all the way, forcibly tearing through the Crystal Five Elements Domain.

"Roar!" Eight Emperor Crocodiles roared incessantly.

Kunt and Kang Jia were also very helpless; the Emperor Crocodiles here had only recently grown to Fourth Grade, and their bloodlines had not been activated for very long.

They could only watch helplessly as the mountain cat darted and dodged, drilling its way out of the Crystal Five Elements Domain.

"Whoosh~" The mountain cat, trailing sparks and lightning all the way, appeared on the city wall with a piece of Emperor Crocodile meat in its mouth.

"Hah~" Zhao Xuan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

But in an instant, he flew into a rage, jumped up, and gave the mountain cat a sharp flick on the forehead.

"Good for you, you've learned some tricks! You don't even listen to me anymore, you rebellious son!"

"Wu Wu Wu Wu~" The mountain cat looked aggrieved.

The mountain cat faced off against nine Emperor Crocodiles, killed one, and then calmly escaped.

This matter immediately became a hot topic in Tianjing City! It caused a sensation.

"Are they crazy? The mountain cat can kill an Emperor Crocodile? And it was Fifth Grade fighting Fourth Grade?"

"What? It was a hunt by nine Emperor Crocodiles?"

"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"

"Nine against one, Fourth Grade fighting Fifth Grade, and yet one was killed by the mountain cat. Do the Beast Tamers of Nine Longdao even know how to play?!"

"Nine Longdao has truly declined."

"If the mountain cat can defeat an Emperor Crocodile, my Shadow Leopard can do it too!"

"Truly an eye-opener; in my lifetime, I actually got to see a mountain cat slay a god. What is impossible in this world?"

"This will spread through the Beast Taming World; this incident will be a laughingstock for Nine Longdao for a hundred years."

"Zhao Xuan of the Twin Dragon Horse Bureau? Never heard of him, but his mountain cat is truly formidable."

"..."

Countless people were discussing that heroic mountain cat.

As the background characters, Nine Longdao, Kunt, and Kang Jia were practically bursting with anger.

Many people sent private messages via the Earth Mirror asking if it was true.

Some were teasing, others mocking.

"What does he mean his Shadow Leopard can do it too? You scoundrel, if you have the guts, come fight me one-on-one!" Kang Jia held the Earth Mirror and kept slamming the table.

"Sigh, I suppose I've become famous," another Beast Tamer said, dejected.

He had become famous, but he never expected it to be for this kind of notoriety.

The Emperor Crocodile fell in the preliminary round, and it was killed by a mountain cat; one can imagine his Beast Taming career has reached its end.

When he returns to Nine Longdao, aside from resigning in disgrace, he probably has no second path.

Inside the City Lord's Mansion.

Wang Xuanyi watched the battle footage recorded by the Mirage Pearl.

The Fourth Grade Prefect Yu Hong had just told him about this matter.

At first, Wang Xuanyi didn't quite believe it, but after watching, he realized this was actually true.

"My lord, raising a mountain cat to this level, Zhao Xuan is truly a talent," Yu Hong explained beside him: "Crystal transformation, combining into the Crystal Five Elements Domain, seven attributes of Emperor Crocodiles—Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Wind, and Thunder—and two others were purely cultivating physical strength."

"And yet they could not harm a single mountain cat."

Wang Xuanyi set the Mirage Pearl aside and nodded, saying, "This mountain cat of his must be a Spirit-Shining Strange Species that has consumed too much of the world's spiritual essence."

"This time, the mountain cat displayed four secret techniques, and all were at the high-grade perfection level."

"Except for the Primordial Method Spiritual Essence, few other treasures can produce such an effect."

"My lord, what exactly is the background of Yuanrang Marquis Zhao Xing?" Yu Hong asked. "He brought a heavy artifact to inquire at the Patrol Bureau under my command, yet he produced a sealed royal decree; King Luo Hou specially approved him to carry such a great weapon."

Wang Xuanyi said, "He has some connection with King Luo Hou and is a direct disciple of Liu Wanfa."

"However, he has also offended the Liang Wang faction. The secrets here are hard to explain to you. Since I recommended you, I advise you: do not inquire into these matters."

"Yes." Yu Hong nodded obediently.

…………

In the Weapon Realm, inside the Hundred Weapons Tower.

King Xin and King Anning arrived at the Earth Mirror Observation Room, somewhat weary.

As the intensity of the war increased, various affairs began to multiply. As one of the thirty-three sealed kings of the Weapon Realm, both King Xin and King Anning were becoming a bit overwhelmed.

"Hmm? Luo Hou, what are you looking at?" After King Anning entered, he saw that many Earth Mirror screens had all switched to a certain sea area.

"Is this the East Sea Heavenly Competition Island?" King Xin Liu Yong glanced and quickly identified the region in the image.

"Hmm." King Luo Hou nodded. "The East Sea has begun the preliminaries for the Ten Thousand Beasts Competition. Just looking casually."

"Just looking casually?" King Anning asked in confusion, "How do you still have time to pay attention to East Sea matters?"

King Luo Hou smiled and said, "I do not have as many matters as you; if there are matters, my subordinates have already finished them."

"The Inspection Bureau should be the busiest, yet you, well, still have time to watch competitions." King Anning was somewhat envious. "Liu Tianning is truly useful."

"Why not have King Luo Hou let him take a concurrent post in the Shangyu Bureau?"

"Liu Tianning is already concurrently serving as the Transport Commissioner for two prefectures; if he also handles intelligence in your Shangyu Bureau, isn't his authority as a Fourth Rank official too great?" King Xin said.

"Already concurrently serving as Transport Commissioner for two prefectures, yet you fear him also serving as a Prison Commissioner?" King Anning laughed. "Luo Hou, what do you say? Lend him to me. Searching for people in the territory of the Yan Guang Wang Ting is truly troublesome; those sand worms are truly annoying."

The Babok worms are skilled at burrowing; the armies of the Yan Guang Wang Ting mostly move underground.

During the troop training phase, the most difficult intelligence to provide is military intelligence on the Yan Guang Wang Ting.

"Liu Tianning's Ten Thousand Avatars; losing even one requires consuming many treasures to replace." King Luo Hou said.

"This money will come from my Shangyu Bureau."

"He currently does the work of three hundred people alone; if you make him work for you, outsiders will inevitably say I am harsh on my subordinates."

"You, Luo Hou, fear this?"

"If Liu Tianning goes to your Shangyu Bureau, he will likely suffer..."

"I'll add money." King Anning said grumpily. "I will raise his salary, request a promotion in merit rank, and after the job is done, give him three Seventh Rank treasures."

King Luo Hou smiled and said, "Deal."

"..."

King Xin laughed, "Hahaha, if you had said that earlier, Luo Hou would have nodded."

"Borrowing a person from Luo Hou is truly not easy." King Anning said.

⊙￠O

"By the way, I recall his disciple Zhao Xing was sent to the East Sea; it has been two years now, hasn't it?"

"Not quite two years." King Luo Hou said. "He is currently participating in the preliminaries of the Ten Thousand Beasts Competition."

"Oh?" King Anning checked the Earth Mirror: "Twin Dragon Horse Monitoring Commissioner; performance evaluation has been 'Excellent' for one year..."

King Xin said, "The Twin Islands have a poor foundation. If he achieves 'Excellent' for five consecutive years and can lead the Twin Islands to advance from the Purple Sky Islands group stage to the East Sea elimination round, he can be promoted to Vice Fifth Rank."

"If he advances from the East Sea to participate in the Four Seas Summit Competition, Fifth Rank is inevitable."

King Anning said, "Rising from nothing to this within ten years is, I'm afraid, a bit difficult."

King Luo Hou nodded: "It is indeed difficult. Why not have King Anning and I make a bet? We bet on whether Zhao Xing can, by his own ability, raise a battle beast capable of participating in the Summit Competition within ten years."

King Anning pondered: "What is the wager?"

King Luo Hou said: "You, King Anning, are wealthy; at the very least, you must wager an Eighth Rank treasure."

King Anning nodded and said: "Fine, I bet he cannot."

King Luo Hou said: "King Anning, you can prepare an Eighth Rank treasure right now."

"What does this mean?" King Anning was stunned, then saw King Luo Hou wave his hand, and an Earth Mirror floated before him.

It displayed the scene of a mountain cat fighting a Imperial Crocodile.

"This cat is the battle pet raised by Zhao Xing; last year, it was only Sixth Rank."

"Now, through Zhao Xing's Hou Transformation Method, it has been cultivated to the early stage of Fifth Rank."

King Luo Hou said: "It is in the Ten Yang Grotto-Heaven, having consumed much of the spiritual essence of heaven and earth; now it can challenge Fourth Rank battle beasts."

? ￠o

"This is the battle scene just transmitted."

After King Anning finished watching, he couldn't help but widen his eyes: "Good for you, Luo Hou! You actually tricked me?!"

King Luo Hou: "I did not deceive you; this was truly just transmitted back."

King Anning snorted: "Even so, you may not necessarily win. Just a mountain cat, too isolated and weak; how can it break through the encirclement?"

King Xin Liu Yong clapped his hands and said: "Your words sound familiar."

"What do you mean?"

"I heard King Tianyan mention his bet with Luo Hou. The first bet was when Luo Hou did not believe Zhao Xing could succeed; the final result was that Luo Hou lost two Seventh Rank divine weapons."

"Hmph, I simply refuse to believe in this superstition." King Anning said. "I want to see how he can fight his way to the Summit Competition with just a mountain cat."