Chapter 177: Long Time No See, Big Brother
Sangkun deliberately unleashed the power of his eight-star beast soul, pinning Feiyan to the ground and leaving him unable to move.
Seeing Feiyan grit his teeth, struggling in vain to stand, Sangkun sneered. With the force of a falling mountain, he brought his weight crashing down on Feiyan.
The moment he came crashing down, Feiyan used every ounce of his strength to shift his body. Even so, Sangkun still landed on one of his arms.
Feiyan let out a muffled grunt of pain, but he immediately wrapped his legs around Sangkun’s waist. His uninjured arm locked around him as well, momentarily immobilizing Sangkun.
In a duel between beastmen, close-quarters grappling was the greatest taboo. Having Feiyan wrapped around him was extremely dangerous for Sangkun.
Sangkun’s hand morphed into sharp claws, and he thrust them swiftly toward Feiyan’s back.
But just as the claws were about to strike, Feiyan quickly released his grip and leaped off Sangkun.
"The Clan Leader is as valiant as they say. I concede."
Sangkun glared at him with a sharp gaze. He had won, but the victory felt hollow.
Feiyan leaped off the ritual platform, his figure quickly vanishing into the crowd.
Sangkun’s gaze swept across the other beastmen. "Is there anyone else who wishes to challenge me?"
The male beastmen below the platform hesitated. The snow fox male had been quite strong, yet he was defeated and had conceded so quickly. Their own power was far inferior to his. Wouldn’t going up there just be a pointless sacrifice?
At this thought, many of the male beastmen froze, not daring to make a move.
Bailing seized the opportunity to step forward. "Since there are no more challengers for the Clan Leader, I hereby declare that today’s..."
"Wait."
A clear voice rang out from the crowd. The beastmen turned toward the sound and saw Jin Ling standing among them in the distance.
Sangkun’s eyes fell on Jin Ling, his gaze cold and assessing. As Jin Ling raised his arm, Sangkun spotted the mark of a six-star beast soul.
Sangkun’s lip curled into an arrogant smirk. He hadn’t even given the seven-star snow fox a second thought, let alone this six-star Golden Tiger Beast standing before him now.
"You wish to challenge me?"
"That’s right."
Jin Ling strode toward the platform, and the beastmen spontaneously parted to let him through.
"You’re an outsider, too."
Jin Ling nodded.
Sangkun let out a knowing laugh. ’Only these reckless outsiders, who don’t know their place, would dare to step forward and waste my time.’
"It’s almost dark. Let’s begin."
Sangkun wasted no more words and attacked directly.
Jin Ling’s brow furrowed as he moved quickly to counter.
Sangkun had expected to finish Jin Ling even faster than he had Feiyan. What he hadn’t counted on was Jin Ling’s incredible resilience. Every time Sangkun launched what should have been a fatal blow, Jin Ling would nimbly dodge away.
Watching from below the platform, the male beastmen saw how effortlessly Jin Ling evaded Sangkun’s attacks, and their own fighting spirit began to stir again.
The beast world revered strength. If Sangkun showed even a hint of weakness in this duel, it would sow the seeds of serious trouble for his future rule. This was precisely why Bailing was so desperate for the challenge portion of the ceremony to end.
After Jin Ling evaded another one of his attacks, Sangkun grew furious.
By now, the sky had completely darkened and a large moon was rising, but the beastmen gathered around the platform showed no intention of leaving.
Of all the beastmen who had challenged the Clan Leader, he had lasted the longest on the platform. They were all curious to see just when their Clan Leader would finally defeat him.
Jin Ling dodged another of Sangkun’s attacks and quickly fell back.
’My beast soul is two stars weaker than Sangkun’s. I have no chance of winning in a direct confrontation, but if I just focus on dodging, I can drag this out for a very long time.’
’And time is exactly what I need.’
But Sangkun had completely lost his patience.
He let out a furious roar, concentrating all the energy of his beast soul into his hands before attacking Jin Ling once more.
This time, as Jin Ling tried to dodge, he felt an icy chill spread from beneath his feet. He glanced down to see a bone-chilling energy creeping up from the ground.
Sangkun had used his Ice Freeze Skill on him.
Seeing that he could no longer move, Sangkun sneered. "I was just toying with you. Did you really think I couldn’t catch you?"
Sangkun threw a punch at Jin Ling. Jin Ling quickly ducked, dodging the direct hit, but the powerful force of the blow still sent him flying.
THUD!
Jin Ling was thrown heavily onto the platform.
Sangkun’s lips curled into a prideful sneer as he walked step by step toward Jin Ling, looming over him.
"I admire your courage, but compared to me, you are still a long way off."
"Clan Leader, that’s him! He’s the Golden Tiger Beast who injured Sangli!" a Hua Bao beastman suddenly shouted from below the platform. It was the same guard Jin Ling had defeated back in the tribe.
Sangkun’s expression darkened. He glared at Jin Ling, his eyes filled with scrutiny. "What is your relationship to Sangze?"
Sangkun didn’t care whether Sangli was injured or not. A cub born with weak innate talent was of no value to him. What he did remember was that Sangli had been injured because an outsider beast had rescued Sangqi.
He didn’t believe any beastman would stick his neck out for a useless cub for no reason. Therefore, he immediately concluded that Jin Ling must have a connection to Sangze.
His gilded, golden tiger eyes stared coldly at Sangkun. Jin Ling suddenly let out a cold laugh.
"What are you afraid of?"
Sangkun’s face fell. "What did you say?"
"You’re afraid of him."
Sangkun’s face suddenly twisted into a ferocious snarl. "Shut your mouth!"
Jin Ling let out a low chuckle. "It’s because you’re afraid he’ll come back... and take back what you schemed so desperately to steal from him."
A vein throbbed on Sangkun’s forehead. "You dare harm my cub? I’ll kill you today!"
Sangkun drove a fist into Jin Ling’s face.
Jin Ling grunted, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
He glanced to the side and saw a ghostly figure in the darkness.
The hand he had just started to raise slowly lowered.
The Hua Bao male below the platform suddenly shouted.
"Kill the outsider who dared to harm a cub of our tribe!"
"Kill him! Kill him!"
The beastmen roared with excitement. In the beast world, females and cubs were the most precious treasures. They were the bottom line for every tribe.
"Clan Leader, kill him!"
The triumphant sneer on Sangkun’s face widened. He slowly stood up, his hand morphing into sharp claws that he pressed against Jin Ling’s throat.
"You shouldn’t have come here to die. If you have to blame someone, blame your own stupidity. Now, die!"
The claws glinted silver as they pierced Jin Ling’s skin. A startling drop of blood trickled down.
Jin Ling’s gilded, golden pupils contracted sharply.
Just then, a plume of black smoke shot out from the crowd and slammed into Sangkun’s claws. The force was so great that it sent Sangkun stumbling back several steps before he could regain his footing.
Sangkun’s eyes were cold. "Who’s there?"
A slender figure emerged from the shadows. The pale silver moonlight fell upon him, stretching his shadow long across the ground.
He slowly raised his head, and his mismatched eyes glinted with a chilling light under the moon.
The corners of his lips lifted in a delighted, yet humorless, smile as he looked at Sangkun, whose face had gone pale.
"Long time no see... *dear* brother."