The Black Tiger exuded a terrifying aura, and the faint sound of its heartbeating was like thunder, causing everyone to hold their breath.
"What kind of demon is this."
"What great demon is suppressed here."
People asked with trembling voices, and they also noticed that the light from the Black Gold Chains was gradually being eroded by the blood, and the ferocity emanating from the Black Tiger became even more terrifying and menacing, making everyone's scalp tingle.
"Roar——"
The fierce tiger roared, and the Black Tiger's huge head lifted from the blood, except one of its eye sockets was a huge hollow.
"No way, that strange moon in the sky, could it actually be this Black Tiger's eyeball."
"Was it blinded by Xia Luo?"
The Black Tiger spoke angrily, "Scoundrel, you insignificant human, by what right and ability did you see through the illusions I cast, finding your way here."
Luo Yu chuckled coldly, "If I'm not mistaken, you are the true mastermind behind the catastrophe in Jiang City, controlling the green corpses, the village chief, and Xue Can's continuous schemes against us, with the goal to buy time to use the blood stolen from the outside world to break through these seals."
"This..." Cao Ritian and others already had a tumultuous tide rising in their hearts, not expecting that this Black Tiger, while so powerful, could also be so cunning.
They were no ordinary people and understood all too well; that eye in the sky had been casting illusions, confusing them and affecting their sight and judgment. Otherwise, how could they have failed to notice the obvious coffins in the village, and how could they have been blind to the hidden mechanisms underground?
Realizing this, they couldn't help but look at Luo Yu with reverence. Who could this extraordinary individual be, to have seen through all the fog and led them to the true culprit?
Lord Black Tiger laughed, "Hahaha, impressive. I didn't expect that after two thousand years, there would still be such a shrewd younger generation in the world."
"No wonder the puppet I inhabited was defeated by you, you are far superior."
"Enough talk." Luo Yu's eyes emitted a chill, feeling no fondness for this blood-eating practicing Black Tiger, only killing intent.
The Mountain Lord said, "Boy, I admire you. Seeing as you have potential, why not become my disciple and plan for this prosperous era together?"
"Take you as my master?" Luo Yu said disdainfully, "A murderous beast who indulges in bloodshed, you are also worthy?"
"Roar——"
The Mountain Lord rattled the Black Gold Chains that bound him, his cold laughter sounding, "If humans can eat beasts, why can't beasts eat humans?"
"Natural selection, survival of the fittest, the law of the jungle—what wrong have I done?"
"Tell me, what wrong have I done!!"
The tiger's roar shook the heavens, and everyone looked terrified. Cao Ritian and others were panic-stricken, their hearts trembling with the mere sound of the voice. This Mountain Lord must've had an incredible Cultivation Level in the past.
"If you have done no wrong, then why did the Ancestral Dragon seal you here?" Luo Yu remained unmoved, his mind firm, not to be swayed by the words of this beast.
"The Ancestral Dragon?"
"I laugh at the Ancestral Dragon's foolishness. I defended a territory, ensuring that thousands of living beings were not disturbed by Ghost Charm, and occasionally devouring a few for sustenance—what's so wrong about that?"
"Protecting thousands while devouring a few—I've done no wrong. Emperor Qin Shi Huang merely for those mere mortals forced me to be sealed here alive. If it weren't for a secret treasure I happened to obtain in the past, I would've already been crushed to death under this earth."
Such resounding words left Cao Ritian and the other hundred Martial University team members in shock, struggling to find a rebuttal.
Yes, humans can skin tigers, eat tiger meat, and use tiger bones to brew wine, so why can't tigers eat humans?
While they may have killed a few, they protected tens of thousands of citizens. Although they had faults, they were not without merit.
"Babble."
Luo Yu's demeanor was solemn, and with a single rebuke, he brought everyone's disordered minds back.
"How dare you, a wicked beast, try to corrupt the hearts of the righteous."
"Emperor Qin Shi Huang's merits and virtues are not for you to judge at will. Why seal you, a Mountain Lord with divine powers, for the sake of commoners?"
"I can't believe you would ask such a foolish question."
The Mountain Lord was full of rebelliousness, not conceding, "With a mere wave of my hand, I can slay tens of thousands of such ant-like commoners. In terms of value, how could these lowly commoners ever compare with me?"
"I'll tell you!" Luo Yu's gaze was resolute: "Because the Ancestral Dragon was the emperor of the Human Race, Emperor Qin Shi Huang who protected the people, and not the emperor of your beast clan."
"In the Nine Provinces, any demon or monster that violates the Human Race—"
"Kill"
"Without"
"Mercy!"
With a resonant clang of the sword, the Slay-Immortal Sword was drawn, and Luo Yu's Longsword swept across, splitting the blood sea with a profound trench, his black hair flying wildly like a demon.
Luo Yu's words pierced the heart, the Black Tiger's spirit took a heavy blow, while Cao Ritian and others felt invigorated, inspired by having an emperor like Emperor Qin Shi Huang for the Human Race.
"Yes, it's precisely because the Human Race has had emperors emerge one after another, it's precisely because Great Xia has had heroic ancestors appear whenever there was great disaster, that it has repeatedly subdued strange and malevolent spirits and demons. And why are the foreign races always the ones who retreat? Because they lack such ancestors from generation to generation."
"Hahahahaha, well said. It's just a pity that my demon clan has no emperor to support us." The Black Tiger laughed heartily, tinged with a hint of sadness, the anger towards Emperor Qin Shi Huang seemingly dissolving. His giant eye glared at Luo Yu: "However, today you are all going to stay here."
"Emperor Qin Shi Huang, it's been two thousand years, and your seal can no longer contain me."
"Break for me!!"
The sea of blood surged furiously, and Lord Black Tiger's enormous body burst forth with world-shattering fluctuations, as the inscriptions on the black gold chains swiftly dimmed.
"Crack... Crack...
Cracks swiftly appeared, and then with a loud boom, the chains shattered completely.
Lord Black Tiger opened its mighty jaws, engulfing like a whale, all the foul-smelling blood was sucked into its belly and refined, and its aura soared by leaps and bounds.
First Grade Early Stage.
Mid-First Rank.
First Rank Summit!!!
The terrifying aura of the great demon caused space itself to tremble, as if it was about to shatter at any moment, and everyone clutched their chests, struggling to breathe.
Those with weaker cultivation levels, Third Grade and below, all knelt on the ground, unable to straighten their backs at all.
Only a very few were able to stand under this overwhelming presence.
Lord Black Tiger displayed a human-like mocking gaze and said playfully,
"Boy, if you had acted earlier, perhaps you might have had a chance, but I delayed you for too long."
"Now, if it weren't for the suppression by the Power of Heaven and Earth here, my cultivation level would be far beyond what you call the First Rank Summit."
"What can you possibly use to fight me now?"
Cao Ritian and the others were afraid, truly scared to death now.
First Rank Summit.
In the entire world today, that's the highest level, and clearly, this Black Tiger's former cultivation level was much higher, so it could exhibit much more than the strength of a mere First Rank Summit.
"It's over. If we let this Black Tiger escape, it would be an absolute disaster for Great Xia."
"It doesn't matter if we die here today, but living beings outside will suffer."
"If we let this Black Tiger regain an even higher cultivation level, I fear it will be an endless threat..."
Cao Ritian and the others were eager to fight the enemy but lacked the strength to rise, the gap in power leading to despair.
Even if they knew in their hearts that the mysterious Xia Luo was strong, he was not a match for such a powerful Black Tiger.
"Big Brother Xia, don't worry about me, hurry up and escape, inform the higher-ups of Great Xia, avenge us!"
"Don't be brave and fight recklessly."
A series of anxious roars erupted.
Luo Yu turned his head to look at them: "You, you don't understand me."
"Don't talk, lie down."
"What?"
Seeing that Luo Yu still had such a calm and confident guise, everyone on the team was dumbfounded.
Could there be a trump card at such a time?
But in the face of absolute power, all plots and guile had no place for heroism.
"Kid, you've got guts; I admire you."
"I can consider giving you another chance to kneel down and take me as your master." The enormous Black Tiger let out an authoritative and cold laugh.
Luo Yu snorted in disdain, and with a boom, a majestic figure wearing a black gold dragon robe stepped out from the void behind him, adorned with a crown and carrying the Tai'a Divine Sword at his waist, an endless imperial majesty instantly crushed the surrounding blood qi to one side.
"Damn it, another Ancient Spirit."
"A Three Lives Ancient Spirit?" The crowd was already shocked into numbness, and only now did leaders like Cao Ritian realize that Luo Yu still hid his true strength even at this moment.
But what shocked them even more was yet to come.
"Emperor Qin Shi Huang, it's you!! How could it be you!!!!" Black Tiger involuntarily stepped back a few steps as it clearly saw the figure behind Luo Yu, its expression changing drastically, exclaiming in shock.
Despite a millennium of resentment, to not voice Ying Zheng's real name face to face showed the profound reverence those bygone times commanded.
"Emperor Qin Shi Huang?"
"Aside from possessing Houyi the Great God, he also has Emperor Qin Shi Huang?"
"This is too crazy."
"Who is this divine being that's joined us in the Secret Realm?"
"We're saved!"
Luo Yu, in Human-Spirit Fusion, crowned, wearing black gold dragon robes, the Tai'a Divine Sword at his waist, holding the Imperial Jade Seal in his left hand and the Slay-Immortal Sword in his right.
"Come, vile beast, repeat what you said about taking me as your disciple again!"
The rebuke thundered like a shock from the heavens, echoing throughout the vast spaces of the Secret Realm, causing waves of echoes...