“Human?” The young man with black skin instantly fixed his gaze on Luo Feng and his companions, quickly confirming that Luo Feng and the others were indeed humans.
“Are you the leader?”
The black-skinned youth looked at Luo Feng in surprise. It was clear from their positions that Luo Feng stood at the forefront, while Dylan, an immortal, stood to one side, and the other five human Monarchs and Kashna stood behind.
“Hello,” Luo Feng smiled at him.
“Haha…” The fierce youth, who had previously radiated a violent aura, now broke into a grin. He swept his gaze across the large group of young warriors. “I get it now. No wonder you all gathered here. Oh, Gae, you’ve come too. Haha… It seems everyone wants to challenge this human genius.”
The muscular youth, his skin gleaming like polished iron, fixed his gaze on Luo Feng. “Human, I, Beichuang of the Elder God Palace lineage, formally challenge you!”
“Beichuang is so disgusting.”
“Beichuang, trained by the Elder God Palace, is indeed very strong.”
The thousands of Gold-Horned warriors murmured among themselves.
“Beichuang?” Luo Feng looked at the muscular youth with black skin. At a glance, he could tell the youth was indeed a Domain Lord at the ninth stage.
“Accept my challenge!” The fierce youth with black skin stared at Luo Feng with eyes like lightning, as if he wanted to devour him whole.
Luo Feng shook his head with a smile, ready to refuse. However, as his gaze swept over the thousands of young Gold-Horned warriors in the distance, he suddenly had an idea. “A branch of the Elder God Palace? It seems my identity as a human has indeed drawn the attention of many Gold-Horned talents who wish to challenge me. If they keep coming one after another, I might as well accept one challenge and display my strength. At least that will deter some weaker talents from bothering me.”
“Accept my challenge!” The fierce youth roared again.
“Fine, I accept, but… you must agree to one condition,” Luo Feng said, looking at him.
The fierce youth, Beichuang, was taken aback, then his face lit up with excitement. “What condition? Speak!”
“I heard the palace guards call you Commander earlier. You must hold some rank within the Elder God Palace,” Luo Feng pointed to the massive Yisuo Beast in the distance, a creature nearly as tall as the palace itself. “I’ve never seen a Cosmic Beast before, so I’d like to get a close look and interact with it. Is that possible?”
“Close up?” Beichuang frowned slightly. “Getting inside is no big deal, but that Yisuo Beast has the power to rival an ordinary immortal. If you go in, your safety…”
If a human prodigy were to die in the world of the Gold-Horned Race…
The consequences would be severe.
“Don’t worry,” Luo Feng looked at Dylan beside him.
Dylan nodded.
After all, Dylan was nearly at the Marquis level, or at the very least, a Celestial Venerable who had barely crossed the threshold of Marquishood—his strength was unfathomable.
“Since you can guarantee safety, getting a close look at the Yisuo Beast is a small matter. I can make that decision,” Beichuang glanced at the guards within the containment formation. “Let these humans in. Show them the safe passage.”
“Yes, Commander.”
The guards complied.
Getting a close look at the Yisuo Beast was indeed a minor matter. What could they do just by looking? In the Gold-Horned Race, high-ranking individuals often got close to the Yisuo Beast. After all, it was the only Cosmic Beast in the entire Lasor World.
“Clang!”
The metal door opened.
“This is the only passage that leads inside without triggering the containment formation,” Beichuang said. Luo Feng smiled and, with Dylan and the others, followed the passage into the area spanning thousands of kilometers. This area was where the Yisuo Beast normally lived.
…
Treading through the untamed wilderness, they caught the faint, metallic tang of the Yisuo Beast lingering in the air.
On the ground, black dried bloodstains were still visible, along with scattered, disheveled fur.
“Luofeng, the blood has dried for too long, so it’s probably no longer usable for extracting genetic material to cultivate a clone. But those hairs that haven’t fully decayed should work,” Babata’s voice echoed in Luo Feng’s mind.
“Hmm.”
Luo Feng knelt down and gently touched a strand of fur.
It was called a hair, but it was as thick as a tree. Each strand was several meters thick and stretched for several kilometers in length. From a distance, it looked fine and soft, like the fur of an ape. But compared to the Yisuo Beast, which stood over a thousand kilometers tall, it was perfectly normal. Looking around, the wild terrain was littered with tangled strands of fur. Anywhere you looked, there were hundreds of them.
There were countless strands of fur scattered across the wild terrain.
“Beichuang, may I take one strand of the Yisuo Beast’s fur as a souvenir?” Luo Feng turned to ask.
Outside the containment formation, Beichuang couldn’t help but feel puzzled. A strand of fur as a souvenir? This was pure trash. Only a few of his kin had ever taken one or two strands as souvenirs when they came close. But in reality, it was utterly useless.
“If you, a human, want to take a strand of the Yisuo Beast’s shed fur, of course you may,” Beichuang called out.
“Thank you.”
Luo Feng nodded and immediately stored the strand of Yisuo Beast fur into his spatial ring.
“Done. With this fur, I can use the Gold-Horned Beast’s innate ability to cultivate a clone and create an embryo to birth a Yisuo Beast,” Luo Feng thought to himself, then walked toward the massive creature.
Looking up, he approached slowly.
Gazing at the bound Yisuo Beast crouched there, a creature that should have roamed freely across the cosmos, now tied up like a pet. It was a tragedy. And with Luo Feng’s special identity, seeing the Yisuo Beast in this state stirred a sense of shared sorrow within him.
“Roar~~” A deep growl echoed through the mountains.
The Yisuo Beast opened its massive eyes, golden-green in color, and looked down at Luo Feng.
Luo Feng looked up at it, while Dylan stood beside him, cautiously on guard.
“Human?” The Yisuo Beast’s deep voice rumbled.
“Hello,” Luo Feng nodded.
One human, one Cosmic Beast—one looking up, one looking down.
In their eyes…
There was a faint sense of something shared—
A similar coldness of heart!
A similar suppressed, ruthless killing intent!
Luo Feng suppressed his ruthless, murderous intent because of his human identity and the Gold-Horned Beast’s nature. The Yisuo Beast, bound for so long, had also suppressed its own murderous intent.
“Human,” the Yisuo Beast’s voice directly entered Luo Feng’s mind. “You give me a sense of closeness. There are similarities between us.”
Similar?
Luo Feng sighed inwardly.
Yes.
Similar indeed, because in a way, he himself was also a Cosmic Beast! If he had the power, he would certainly rescue this Yisuo Beast. But he was merely a human prodigy. The Elders of the Gold-Horned Race were Beings of Venerable status. Even though the race had allied with humanity, such an existence was not something he could easily provoke.
“Is there anything I can do for you?” Luo Feng’s consciousness asked.
“Nothing.”
The Yisuo Beast, with its golden-green eyes, looked down at Luo Feng, transmitting its thoughts. “You can’t help me. And the Elder from the palace who bound me gave me a promise three million years ago—if I can break through to become an immortal, he will grant me freedom.”
“What?” Luo Feng was startled.
There was such a promise?
A promise made after three million years of bondage. Probably, the Elder had developed a slight admiration for the Yisuo Beast’s stubbornness. But deep down, the Elder would never easily release it. Thus, he set the condition of reaching the level of an immortal.
“Is it hard to become an immortal?” Luo Feng asked.
“A thousand to ten thousand times harder than for your kind,” the Yisuo Beast replied. “I can already defeat ordinary immortals, but I still cannot break through the final threshold. I’ve endured for twenty million years. I will become an immortal. I must!”
“Human.”
“It’s rare to meet a lifeform that feels close to me. I’ve spoken enough. Go now, go,” the Yisuo Beast slowly closed its eyes again.
Luo Feng sighed.
Yes.
He couldn’t help it. Even to observe and study the Holy Stele, he had to submit an application and wait for the Elder’s approval. He had no standing to make demands.
“Prince Luo Feng, why are you inside?”
“Hmm?” Luo Feng turned his head and saw the golden-armored elder, Elder Sifanqi, standing outside the containment formation.
Luo Feng quickly led Dylan and the others back through the passage.
“I went for a close look at the Yisuo Beast,” Luo Feng said to Elder Sifanqi. “Elder, what’s the situation?”
Elder Sifanqi laughed heartily. “The Elder spoke with me and then agreed to your request to observe and study the Holy Stele. Moreover, he has specially permitted you to observe and study the Holy Stele alone for a month! Also… after you finish observing and studying the Holy Stele, you may choose one secret technique from the treasures stored in the Sacred Land.”
“Observing and studying the Holy Stele alone for a month, and choosing one secret technique?” Luo Feng was surprised.
“Yes,” Elder Sifanqi smiled. “The Holy Stele is merely for observation and study and does not contain a systematic technique. However, the secret techniques stored in the Sacred Land are systematic techniques left behind by great warriors of our Gold-Horned Race throughout the generations. They are techniques combining ‘Space and Gold.’ These belong to the Xi Luoduo lineage. You may choose one, and only one.”
Luo Feng’s eyes lit up, and he nodded immediately.
“You’re actually named Luo Feng? You’ve had your close look at the Yisuo Beast. Surely you won’t want to delay our battle until after you’ve studied the Holy Stele?” The black-skinned youth in blue armor, Beichuang, spoke with a fierce tone nearby. “Now, let’s go to the martial arena and fight.”
Luo Feng looked at him.
“Prince Luo Feng, are you going to fight him?” Elder Sifanqi was startled and quickly transmitted his thoughts. “Your Highness, don’t agree. You’ve only recently advanced to the ninth stage of Domain Lord… But Beichuang is one of the two talented brothers of the Beichuang lineage, cultivated by the Elder of the nearby palace. His comprehension of the laws, according to your human classification, should be at the level of the ninth tier of the Heaven-Soaring Bridge.”
Luo Feng was taken aback.
Comprehension of the laws at the ninth tier of the Heaven-Soaring Bridge?
Damn!
The most outstanding talents of the Gold-Horned Race were indeed formidable.
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