My Arts Evolve When Perfected

And he was not short on resources. After all, they had been running the vast Thunder Great Realm for tens of thousands of years. All its resources were in the hands of their single, top-tier power. The lesser factions below them were hardly worth mentioning; they only got to pick at the scraps.

With the resources they had, a single Eight-direction Reversing Ship could be powered without any energy concerns. Of course, if they actually did that, the Thunder Clan would be ruined. So, a token gesture was enough, as the amount required was still by no means small.

Upon receiving his gift, Zuo Xuan nodded. "Not bad. Your clan is quite courteous. I am pleased. As for your request for aid—to temporarily nullify the Law’s constraints in the Restricted Area so your army can charge in and annihilate that so-called White Tiger Army—I will have to consider it. You know, wielding the Law Power of my ancestral world is immensely draining and comes at a great cost."

This was no lie. Although the Nine Venerables were invincible in their home Great Realms, they retained immense strength even when they traveled to other worlds, their power augmented by the terrifying protection of their world’s will.

However, they could not wield this formidable power lightly. For them, every use was a matter of last resort or absolute necessity. After using it once, they required a period of rest before it could be used again.

As a transaction, this was undoubtedly very expensive. It would take a substantial amount of resources to persuade him to agree.

The Thunder Clan was well aware of this, so the Unity Realm emissary quickly presented a list of resources and promised a host of favorable conditions. The goal was to persuade Zuo Xuan to act quickly and completely eradicate the White Tiger Demon Clan within the Restricted Area.

The two went back and forth for quite some time before Zuo Xuan was finally tempted. Feigning reluctance, he made one last demand. "I hear those Demon Race members in the Restricted Area are using the name of the White Tiger Demon Clan. This means they might have some connection to the legendary Ten Peak Demon Clans. After they are dealt with, I want the life of that Bloodthirsty White Tiger. What do you say?"

"This..." The emissary furrowed his brow. He knew full well that the most valuable thing in the Restricted Area was the Bloodthirsty White Tiger. After all, this being could directly control the Restricted Area and held too many secrets. If he truly was connected to the legendary White Tiger Demon Clan, he would be a priceless treasure. To hand him over so easily would be a tremendous loss. There was no telling if, in a few decades or even centuries, the Thunder Clan might be devoured by a White Tiger Army.

The current situation left them with no other choice. They had to eliminate the scourge of the White Tiger Demon Clan to regain their peace of mind and try to study why the Thunder in the Restricted Area had been brought under the control of a Demon Race that had appeared out of nowhere.

One must understand that the Restricted Area was a place sealed by Law, a holdover from a previous era. In other words, it was a relatively complete relic that had withstood the great purge of its epoch, thus becoming a Restricted Area.

This relic likely contained some kind of legacy, though not necessarily one from the previous era, as the Restricted Area seemed to have existed for a very long time. Its research value was immense, so much so that the Thunder Clan had been unable to do anything with it for all these years.

Now, the Bloodthirsty White Tiger represented the best opportunity for a breakthrough. Regrettably, he had to be used as a bargaining chip.

Steeling himself, the emissary stated that he needed to return and discuss the matter before giving a final answer. However, his reply came swiftly, indicating their agreement.

Compared to some illusory method of unlocking the Restricted Area, the survival of the Thunder Clan was the absolute top priority. Perhaps the Bloodthirsty White Tiger’s appearance was merely an anomaly, unrelated to some supreme treasure he might possess. In other words, even if they handed him over to Zuo Xuan, Zuo Xuan wouldn’t necessarily be able to use his body to control the Restricted Area.

With this line of thinking, the Thunder Clan compromised. They agreed to hand over the Bloodthirsty White Tiger to Zuo Xuan for him to deal with after the battle, so long as he didn’t touch any of the other Thunder-related legacies within the Restricted Area.

After all, to the Thunder Clan, while the Bloodthirsty White Tiger certainly held the secrets of the Restricted Area and was of great value, didn’t the Thunder legacy inherent to that place also possess immense value?

As long as they could seize the opportunity of the Restricted Area being opened to go inside and scour the place, it would still be a considerable gain. Such an opportunity was rare.

Zuo Xuan agreed readily enough. After all, the legacy of the Vast Thunder Spirit Charm had nothing to do with him. It wasn’t his cultivation path, so he didn’t care much about it.

As for taking more, he certainly wanted to, but the Thunder Clan was no pushover. Their foundation was deep. If he got any greedier, the deal would fall through.

And so, Zuo Xuan traveled alone to the Thunder Restricted Area. He wanted to see for himself the style and bearing of the legendary White Tiger Demon Clan.

Although it was highly likely that the Bloodthirsty White Tiger was just causing trouble under the banner of the White Tiger Demon Clan and almost certainly didn’t possess the true White Tiger Bloodline, Zuo Xuan did have some matters he wished to discuss with them. Coming in person was a great show of sincerity on his part.

However, things did not go as he wished. After the Demon Race members inside the Restricted Area passed on the message, the Bloodthirsty White Tiger indicated that he did not wish to meet.

"What? Your king doesn’t want to see me?"

Zuo Xuan’s brow furrowed, and the oppressive might of a Peak of Unity Realm expert flooded the sky. Even the Thunder at the edge of the Restricted Area trembled, and it seemed as if the entire world would roar and shake in the next moment. The Fusion Realm Great Demon who had relayed the message was so terrified he grimaced, his eyes wide. "Venerable Zuo Xuan, our Demon King, Lord Bloodthirsty White Tiger, simply does not wish to see you. If there is nothing else, please leave."

"Heh. What audacity."

Zuo Xuan snorted coldly and struck out with his palm. The world roiled and clouds surged; even the void itself seemed to tear apart as if from a world-ending blow. But when this earth-shattering palm imprint touched the Thunder inside the Restricted Area, it was instantly shattered. The resulting fluctuation of Spirit Charm sent the Fusion Realm Great Demon flying and also caused Zuo Xuan’s own robes to flutter and snap in the wind.

A Restricted Area rumored to stop even Unity Realm experts—its reputation was well-deserved!

This was a Restricted Area, after all. There were records of Unity Realm experts perishing within its bounds, so how could it be so easily interfered with?

Zuo Xuan’s expression instantly turned grim. It was the first time he had ever been refused, and the first time his attack had failed. He had only heard of the reputation of such Restricted Areas before and had never taken them seriously. It seemed he had underestimated it; his palm strike couldn’t even penetrate it.

’But what pisses me off more is that some nobody, who crawled out of who-knows-where pretending to be of the White Tiger Demon Clan, actually dared to refuse my offer to negotiate?’

’Doesn’t he even bother to ask around? Across countless worlds, who doesn’t know the name Zuo Xuan?’

’The Thunder Great Realm is very close to the Nine Venerable Great Realm’s sphere of influence; there are plenty of people here who know my name. And yet, this Bloodthirsty White Tiger gives me no face whatsoever.’

"Excellent. Truly excellent."

With a flick of his sleeve, Zuo Xuan’s figure vanished from mid-air. He returned to the Eight-direction Reversing Ship and sent someone to contact the Thunder Clan, demanding that the so-called White Tiger Army be annihilated at the earliest opportunity.

This reaction was a pleasant surprise for the Thunder Clan, who were desperate for Zuo Xuan to make his move as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, the Bloodthirsty White Tiger gradually received news of this but paid it little mind. He was confident that his own plans were more than sufficient. He had no need to accept the so-called Zuo Xuan’s negotiations and believed he could take control of the entire Thunder Great Realm on his own.

After all, his White Tiger Bloodline was about to finish coalescing. In just a few days, he would step into the Unity Realm!

He didn’t want to meet with the so-called Zuo Xuan and interrupt the rhythm of his cultivation, so he simply sent a thought to his subordinate, telling him to make these "irrelevant nobodies" get lost. His subordinate had actually been quite polite in relaying the message.

He hadn’t used the original words.