"Right!"
"Venture into the 'Path of Life and Death', slay the monstrous beasts!"
"Bai Zihe, if you can accomplish this, we will follow you to the ends of the earth."
"Bai Zihe..."
All the elders echoed the sentiment.
Qian Yuanshan felt a pang of dread and moved to intervene, but he heard Bai Zihe's clear voice.
"Alright, it's a deal then!"
Qian Yuanshan's expression changed drastically. He stepped forward to persuade, "Bai Zihe, you know nothing of our War Department's forbidden grounds. Making such a rash decision, I'll give you an opportunity to reconsider."
"Listen to me."
"Within the Path of Life and Death, the most formidable beast has long surpassed the Grandmaster realm, reaching a new, unparalleled state. It is, in essence, invincible!"
"You... give up."
Qian Yuanshan had already placed immense hope in Bai Zihe.
Seeing him easily defeat the combined might of the elders today, his heart was filled with even greater joy and anticipation. Naturally, he did not want Bai Zihe to perish within the Path of Life and Death.
Who would have thought...
Bai Zihe paid no heed to Qian Yuanshan.
His gaze swept towards the Grand Elder, Dongfang Tuo, and he said calmly, "Lead the way."
Dongfang Tuo gritted his teeth, and along with the other elders, led Bai Zihe to a location deep within.
"Inside, is the Path of Life and Death."
"Bai Zihe, do not blame us for not warning you. If you die in there..."
Dongfang Tuo started to say more.
But before he could finish, Bai Zihe interrupted, "If I die within, it will have nothing to do with you."
With that, Bai Zihe strode in.
"Alas..."
Qian Yuanshan sighed with resignation.
Bai Zihe was powerful, undeniably so, but once he entered... he would likely never come out.
The numerous elders sneered.
"Bai Zihe... so arrogant. Though we cannot stop him, perhaps heaven can!"
"Bai Zihe is too presumptuous, he treads the path of his own demise."
"He has no one to blame."
"..."
As Bai Zihe stepped inside, the world shifted, as if he had entered another realm.
Before him, all manner of ferocious beasts were as numerous as the hairs on his head.
Saber-toothed tigers with fangs longer than chopsticks.
Blood leopards with claws sharper than steel knives.
Giant pythons that left deep gouges in the ground simply by slithering past.
Agile, colossal apes capable of leaping ten to twenty feet into the air.
...
All sorts of them, swarming him.
Upon seeing Bai Zihe, these beasts became eager for a fight, roaring ferociously, stirring up foul,腥风 that assailed him.
"You dare roar at me?"
A peculiar light flashed in Bai Zihe's eyes.
As over a dozen ferocious beasts charged simultaneously, he suddenly let out a powerful roar: "Scram!"
This roar,
Fierce and unrivaled, unstoppable.
It struck the ground, causing all the charging beasts to collapse, their limbs weak and trembling.
Their gaze towards Bai Zihe turned to utter fear.
They were beasts, but they were not foolish.
They knew Bai Zihe was not someone they could contend with, and they scattered and fled, each vying to be the fastest, lest they be killed by Bai Zihe.
In a mere few breaths.
Here...
Aside from a few beasts directly killed by his roar, not a single one remained standing.
But at this moment.
"Roar—"
A mighty roar, filled with boundless brutality and bloodlust, emanated from the depths of the forbidden ground.
It reached Bai Zihe's ears,
Like the resonance of Buddhist chants, like the echo of demonic music.
It unsettled his mind, causing discomfort to his senses, truly possessing extraordinary power.
Even.
The sound pierced into Bai Zihe's mind, seemingly penetrating his very soul.
"Go—"
Bai Zihe let out a soft cry, his ears cleared and his mind calm.
The "buzzing" in his head gradually receded, returning to tranquility.
Despite the unknown distance between them, its roar still possessed such power. It was clear this was the beast exceeding the Grandmaster realm that Qian Yuanshan had spoken of.
Bai Zihe immediately strode forward.
Not long after.
Bai Zihe spotted a tiger.
This could no longer be called a tiger, for its sheer size was immense.
Lying there, it resembled a small hillock.
Bai Zihe surmised.
If it stood up, it would be at least two meters tall and six to seven meters long.
Even more terrifying.
On each of its ribs, there was a fleshy lump, as if wings were about to sprout.
The saying goes, a tiger with wings...
Tigers were already creatures of perfect evolution. If they sprouted wings, they would truly be capable of anything, flying through the heavens and moving across the earth.
"You..."
"Move, move a bit, take... take off your clothes."
"Good, eat more!"
To Bai Zihe's great shock, this strange tiger actually spoke human words!
Though not very clear, nor fluent, the mere fact that it could speak was astonishing and earth-shattering!
Shocked as he was.
Bai Zihe did not hesitate in his actions.
Looking at the ground littered with bones, he snorted, "Little tiger, you have committed countless evils and taken innumerable lives. Today, I shall act on behalf of heaven!"
With that, Bai Zihe flashed forward.
"Seek, seek, seek death..."
The strange tiger rumbled, and by the time it uttered the word "death," Bai Zihe was already before it.
Bai Zihe's speed was incredible.
But the strange tiger's speed was no less. Almost as soon as it spoke, it raised its claws and swiped, seemingly nonchalantly, not taking Bai Zihe seriously at all.
"Boom!"
Bai Zihe narrowed his eyes and unleashed a punch with all his might.
"Whoosh!"
"Bang bang bang..."
The colossal beast, like a small mountain, was actually sent flying by Bai Zihe's punch.
But that was not all.
As Bai Zihe landed, he pushed off the ground and leaped onto the tiger's back.
"Be proactive, right?"
"Bang bang bang!"
"Take off your clothes, right?"
"Bang bang bang!"
"Eat more, right?"
"Bang bang bang!"
"Seek, seek, seek death, right?"
"..."
With each sentence Bai Zihe spoke, he delivered a fierce blow to the tiger's head.
Half a minute later.
The strange tiger was dazed, its head ringing, utterly devoid of fight.
"Great, Master..."
"Spare, spare... spare my life..."
"I, I, am willing, to recognize you as... Lord!"