Chapter Five: Zhao Yuan

Fierce Beast Mountain was flooded with people, all of them hunting Zhao Yuan. A hundred taels of bronze stone—a reward that could grant them a carefree life. They moved in groups, wary of one another, each step crackling with hidden hostility.

"You useless wretches, out of my way! Zhao Yuan's head is mine. Touch it, and you die!" roared a hulking brute, two meters tall, body crisscrossed with scars, his face twisted with savagery. He swung a bloodstained bone club bound with iron chains, glancing disdainfully at the crowd.

"Bloodhand Butcher! Why is that man-eating monster here?"

"I heard he's reached the peak of four stars. With a hundred taels of bronze stone, he could break through to five stars—then he'd be invincible."

A collective gasp swept through the crowd. To break through to five stars meant joining the ranks of the truly powerful—one could dominate even in a seven-star kingdom.

"Looks like we don't stand a chance this time."

"Wait… where are all the fierce beasts?" Bloodhand Butcher frowned. He remembered this area swarming with them.

Everyone paused, confused. Not a single beast had appeared since they'd entered.

A pained roar erupted ahead, more than one by the sound of it.

Bloodhand Butcher strode forward, the others following close behind. When they reached the scene, a gasp of horror escaped the crowd.

Before them yawned a massive pit, heaped with the corpses of savage beasts. Blood flowed in rivers, every body pierced through—without exception—and crimson flames still licked at the dead.

"Zhao Yuan! There he is—get him!" someone shouted, pointing across the pit.

On the far side, Zhao Yuan stood drenched in blood, chest heaving, eyes burning with murderous intent.

Four stars! He'd slain over a dozen one-star beasts and a three-star beast, breaking through to the next tier. His Barbaric Bull bloodline had mutated, now granting him the power of crimson flame.

"Haha! That head is mine—keep back!"

"Zhao Yuan, if you surrender quietly and end yourself, you won't have to suffer the torment I have in store."

Zhao Yuan's gaze was icy. "A fat pig like you thinks you can kill me? You overrate yourself."

After all he'd survived, he was certain: he could crush this man with ease.

"You're courting death!"

Bloodhand Butcher bellowed, hurling his bone club. The iron chain snapped taut, stretching the weapon over ten meters. With a mighty leap, he soared toward Zhao Yuan.

Zhao Yuan smiled coldly. Was the man delivering himself to death?

Barbaric Bull Horns! Zhao Yuan unleashed his bloodline. Two immense horns of crimson flame, each two meters long, condensed before him. With a sickening squelch, they speared through Bloodhand Butcher's skull and heart in a single blow, sending him tumbling into the burning pit.

A hush fell over the crowd.

Dead… he was dead! Bloodhand Butcher, slain.

"Don't be afraid!" someone cried. "This wretch just got lucky. All together—he can't kill fifty of us!"

But before he could finish, Zhao Yuan had already leapt into the air.

With a thunderous crash, he landed—a surge of brute force bursting from his body. Like a rampaging bull, he crashed into the speaker.

Bones splintered; the man twisted grotesquely through the air, utterly destroyed.

Zhao Yuan rampaged through the would-be assassins, trampling them like a true Barbaric Bull.

A five-star bloodline!

Yet even so, the lifeblood in these men was weaker than that of a single three-star beast. Even Bloodhand Butcher was no stronger than one.

Still, it was of some use.

It seemed, after all, that the blood of fierce beasts was the most valuable.

Zhao Ling'er fought the urge to retch, but resolutely followed behind Zhao Yuan. She knew there was no retreat; Fierce Beast Mountain was surrounded.

Zhao Yuan led her to a cave, already cleared of beasts. Zhao Ling'er slipped inside to hide.

"Stay put. Once I've killed them all, I'll come for you." Zhao Yuan gritted his teeth and turned away.

With a flick, he sent a firestone soaring into the sky, where it burst into flame. A signaling stone, scavenged from a corpse—he intended to draw the Zhao and Zhu clans to him.

Though he had only a five-star bloodline, he could sense the power of the black mist. Even a six-star would be as nothing before him. Besides, three new bloodline abilities had awakened in his mind, making him feel invincible.

Soon, a rumble of voices approached from the distance.

A figure emerged—it was Zhu Quan, head of the Zhu clan, flanked by ten black-clad guards. Zhu Quan's eyes blazed with fury.

"You beast! You dared kill my sons! Today, you die for it. Seize him! Slice his flesh from his bones, make him die a thousand times more painfully than my sons!"

Zhao Yuan replied coldly, "Your sons tried to kill me. Was I not supposed to resist?"

"You wretch, you are nothing compared to my sons! If he wished to kill you, you should have knelt and let him. Break his arms and legs!" Zhu Quan roared.

Zhao Yuan laughed. "Is that so? Then I'll just have to kill you all."

"Arrogant fool!"

With a hiss of steel, the black-clad guards drew their blades and closed in, ten swords flashing with cold light, aiming to sever his tendons.

"Begone!" Zhao Yuan roared, unleashing his bloodline power. Black armor condensed over his body, a shockwave blasting outward, halting the swords in their tracks.

With a crack, all ten blades shattered to fragments, which then hurtled through the air like daggers, piercing the guards in a storm of deadly shards. Blood sprayed; heads fell.

"Barbaric Bull bloodline! At least four stars," Zhu Quan snarled. "So you were hiding your strength all along. I cannot let you live."

"Die!" Zhu Quan summoned the full form of a lion beast before him. It roared, releasing wave after wave of sound that enveloped Zhao Yuan, as Zhu Quan charged in for the kill.

"Soundwave!" Zhao Yuan was startled—the waves actually bound his body.

"Let’s see you escape now!" Zhu Quan's palm struck toward Zhao Yuan's heart.

But Zhao Yuan merely smiled. This was the moment he had been waiting for.

Zhu Quan sensed danger, but it was too late to retreat. Zhao Yuan seized the opportunity, shattering the sonic shackles with a roar, and unleashed his second ability—the very horns that had slain Bloodhand Butcher, but this time ablaze with crimson flames.

With a wet crunch, the horns pierced Zhu Quan’s chest. Blood erupted from the wound.

Zhu Quan’s eyes widened in disbelief. "A five-star Barbaric Bull! And fire… You have a dual bloodline!"

But his resentment meant nothing; his body was soon reduced to a blackened husk by the flames.

Through it all, Zhao Yuan’s heart remained untroubled—perhaps because it had long since ceased to beat.

He waited, but the Zhao family head did not appear.

Had he given up?

Yet, after killing his son, how could Zhao Yintian possibly let him go?

"He’s here!" Zhao Yuan looked up.

"Impressive strength. No wonder you killed Zhao Hu. Dual bloodlines… Your father left you quite the legacy. But this is the end of the line."

Zhao Yintian!