200 The Hunt (6)

Athough nebula three-star soul was still a vague step away, Shui was confident that his soul was strong enough to compete with Masters in his base state. Furthermore, the green orb had also blessed his soul with the wood attribute. Having an elemental soul was far rarer than any type of elemental affinity, so Shui was eager to see what other benefits the orb had brought him. These effects made him curious about what that tree was, but it would have to wait until the next time the secret world opened.

'I should be strong enough to handle it by then.'

Even though several beast kings had become the tree's nutrients, Shui didn't doubt that with his half-step divine body and divine inheritances, he would grow to be capable of coming back to confront that tree.

'Still, why did it stop attacking me?'

"Did it get handled?" interrupting Shui's thoughts was Cin who was by his side.

The moment Shui stepped out of the secret world, he put on a grave expression so Cin asked him what was wrong and he told him that there was a problem that he had to take care of.

"Yeah, it's good now."

Like Shui, Cin had also obtained his own harvests. It wasn't heaven-defying enough to bring him to the great beast boundary, but the aura from Cin's body was more powerful and condensed. Any high beast that wasn't wary of this Cin was either reckless or fearless, as simple as that. Although Shui wasn't sure about divine beasts, he didn't think the beasts with legendary beast bloodlines were much better.

"So, how do you plan on doing this?" asked Cin.

He didn't specify, but Shui knew what he was referring to.

"I have everything set up already. Just watch."

Shui and Cin swaggered over to the five feet tall crown panther high beast that was collecting a portion of resources from those who entered. They weren't the last group, but anyone planning on going before them quickly took a step back and let them through. A few of them couldn't hold back their malicious smirks, but neither of the brothers were bothered by this.

When he reached in front of the high beast with a stern atmosphere, Shui dropped the space expansion bag that was in his hand. Many were surprised at how nonchalant they were about giving up a share of their wealth, but most also sneered at them for it. They were the same ones who meekly offered their harvests, but Shui and Cin didn't plan on mocking them for their hypocrisy.

The stern crown panther high beast placed its paw into the space expansion bag to get a good idea of how much was in there. Due to reports from witnesses, it was aware that the two would have quite the harvest and the amount that was in there seemed to fit that description. It poured out close to seventy percent of the fruits that were in there before pushing the bag back to Shui. When he felt the bag, Shui grimaced at its lightness but nothing else. He and Cin accepted the bag and left the area.

When they were out of sight, Shui gave the bag to Cin.

"Will that be enough?" he asked.

"Yeah, what about you?"

Cin had no problem with the amount left in the bag, but he was worried about whether or not Shui managed to keep his own share. In response, Shui brought his hand forward while purposefully showing off his storage ring.

"I'm good."

While there had certainly been enough fruits in the bag, other beasts would soon notice a decrease in the amount they had. Both of them chuckled and smirked at each other due to their successful trick.

"So, are you-"

Cin was about to ask Shui what he would do next, but a sudden earthquake interrupted him. It lasted for a brief moment, but it was enough to make everyone in the forest look in a certain direction.

The two sides were facing off. One group, stayed in the air, and consisted of the mayors of the five cities as well as a mysterious old man with a cane. The other group was just the beast lord and the silver tiger great beast. The beast lord had four vertical marks on its forehead, and towered above the forest as it stood on four legs. Even the silver tiger great beast, with its grey and black fur, looked like a child standing beside the beast lord despite being several cales tall. Nevertheless, it still took four of the city mayors to hold it back.

However, this didn't mean that the beast lord was being underestimated. Unlike the silver tiger great beast, he couldn't be stopped by quantity.

"Hmph, old brat, don't you get tired of this?"

The beast lord's words echoed into the minds of those nearby. It wasn't using its own vocal cords to do this, but the voice that they heard was rough and confident.

"What about you? Don't you think it's time that you gave up on your hopeless aspiration?"

The old man replied with a softer voice, but his tone wasn't any less intimidating. The mayor of Silver City hovered behind him, but unlike when he was venting to the elders, he appeared meek in this place. This was nothing odd since both the beast lord and the old man were one cultivation realm above him.

From Mortal to Soul and from Soul to Earth, the difference in power was great, but it wasn't impossible to find geniuses who could breach the gap. However, just like a chasm existed between Earth Realm and Sky Realm, the difference between a Sky Realm expert and a Master was like the space between heaven and earth. Therefore, if it wasn't for the existence of this old man, who was the previous mayor of Silver City, the city leaders would have no hope of suppressing the beast lord.

"Hoh~, is that so?"

The smile that appeared on the beast lord's scarred face held nothing but disdain, but the old man wasn't bothered by this.

"How many times must we go through this before you realize that you'll never be able to defeat us humans? If you can't even get past us, how will you defeat those who reside in the capital, or that Sir?"

The beast lord remained smiling for the first part of what the old man was saying, but once he mentioned 'that person', the beast lord scowled and glared at him. The old man remained unruffled, but the mayor of Silver City had to grit his teeth to resist the pressure from this scowl. Even though humans generally had stronger souls than beasts, the gap between a beast lord and a late Sky Realm expert like him wasn't something that was limited to simple strength. The beast lord's soul was comparable to the old man's and much much stronger than his.

"You seem so sure. I think it's time I break that composure of yours."

Finally, the old man showed interest. According to the usual set-up, after he taunted the beast lord they would normally go straight into fighting, but this time the beast lord seemed to have something up his sleeve.

'Could it be true?'

The old man knew about the report from Cyrus so he didn't think that this was a bluff.

"Hmph, you may try."

Once the old man replied, a smirk returned to the beast lord's face. He turned his head to the sky and roared, producing a force that shook the forest. This action made the old man certain that the beast lord wasn't bluffing, so he squinted his eyes and waited for what the beast lord called. Not long after, he felt a presence flying towards them. When he first saw the giant winged snake that flapped its wings towards them, he knew that it was the great beast that was causing havoc in the forest a few years ago. It was believed that it was killed since it appeared to be rebellious, but that seemed not to be the case.

However, the old man regained a smile as he saw it. Although another great beast would certainly be bad news, it wasn't enough for them to be worried about. But right when he was to about to sneer at the beast lord, he noticed the aura that the winged snake exuded.

"What?! Impossible!"