Chapter 74: Let Him Think I’m Obedient!

As Cloudia effortlessly dismantled the leader's subordinates, their cries of pain and desperation echoed through the mist, a chorus of agony swallowed by the swirling fog.

Reon, standing amidst the chaos, turned his gaze toward the leader—the last man left standing.

Or rather, the last man left kneeling.

Each of Reon's blows had landed with ruthless precision, breaking the leader's defenses, stripping away his arrogance, reducing him to nothing more than a battered husk of his former self.

Blood dripped from the man's split lips, his breath ragged, his trembling hands barely able to keep him upright.

He was broken.

And yet, despite his pathetic state, Reon did not look down at him with pity. He loomed like a specter of judgment.

On the sidelines, the little white tiger watched intently, her wide, unblinking eyes flickering between awe and frustration.

Her claws dug into the dirt as she let out a soft, irritated growl—she had wanted to join the fight, to prove herself.

But Cloudia, ever the guardian and mentor, had not allowed it.

With a flick of her tail and a sharp glance, she had stepped between the young tiger and the battlefield, her stance firm, almost regal.

The unspoken message was clear:

"This is my fight, little one. Watch. Learn."

Cloudia moved with a lethal grace, her every strike deliberate and devastating, a dance of shadow and steel.

The little tiger, though brimming with frustration, could not look away.

Slowly, her impatience gave way to admiration.

"She's strong… too strong."

Reon, glancing briefly at the cub, allowed himself the smallest smirk.

"If she fights now, Cloudia won't be able to flaunt her full strength as a senior."

As the mist thinned, the aftermath of the battle was revealed in grim clarity. The defeated Inner Sect disciples lay motionless, their weapons discarded, their pride left to rot in the dirt beside them.

The leader—bloodied, trembling, humiliated—tried to crawl backward, his wide, terror-stricken eyes locked onto Reon, as though staring at the harbinger of his downfall.

The young white tiger sat motionless, watching the exchange unfold.

For the first time in her life, a flicker of understanding passed through her gaze.

These two—Reon and Cloudia—were not just protectors.

They were something more.

And deep within the fragments of her memory—fractured, distant—a familiar sense stirred. A whisper from the past, a lingering trace of something she had long lost.

Something… or someone… that had led her here.

It was that same feeling that had driven her to bond with Xue Taiyang, to become his contracted beast.

But for now, she would do what Cloudia had commanded.

She would observe. She would learn.

Reon stood tall amidst the fallen, his Sword Aura no longer raging but still present, a quiet force of authority that demanded submission. 

Yet, despite the totality of their defeat, the battle was not yet over.

A single, lingering truth made Reon's blood run cold:

The task was not marked as complete.

Which could only mean one thing.

The young tiger's life was still in danger.

A strained, bitter chuckle broke the silence.

The leader spat blood onto the dirt, his lips curling into something between a sneer and a grimace.

"What are you staring at?" he rasped, his voice raw with defiance and despair. "If you're going to kill us, just do it! At least death would be better than this humiliation!"

Reon's expression remained unreadable. His voice, however, was sharp as cut steel.

"I'm not going to kill you."

The leader flinched. Confusion flickered in his bruised eyes.

Reon took a step closer, his shadow swallowing the man whole.

"Not if you do exactly what I tell you."

A beat of silence.

The leader's breath hitched, his mind scrambling. He could feel Cloudia's gaze boring into him, her very presence a silent promise of destruction if he stepped out of line.

Then, as if coming to terms with his situation, he bowed his head slightly, his voice shaking.

"Y-you won't kill us? Fine… fine… I'll do whatever you say."

But in the depths of his eyes, beneath the mask of submission, a different fire burned.

A fire of hatred. A fire of revenge.

"Heh… all I have to do is play along."

"Once I return to the sect, it'll be a different story."

"This bastard thinks he can humiliate me and walk away?"

"No matter what it takes… I'll make him pay for this a hundredfold." His lips twitched, almost imperceptibly. A smirk buried in defeat.

"Let's see how arrogant you are when Young Master Niu gets his hands on you."

Feigning compliance, the leader exhaled sharply and lifted his head.

"What do you want from me?" he asked, voice tight with forced obedience. "I'll do it."

Reon studied him, his own expression revealing nothing, though his instincts screamed at him to remain wary.

"You're going to keep everything that happened here to yourself."

The leader nodded. "Fine."

"When you return to the sect, you will tell Niu Ling you found nothing in the Mystic Evergreen Forest—that I likely died there."

A slow nod. "Understood."

"And most importantly—"

Reon's eyes darkened, his tone dropping to something cold and absolute.

"You will say nothing about the White Tiger. Not a word. Is that clear?"

For a moment, there was silence.

Then, the leader's head dipped lower. His shoulders shook slightly, not from fear, but from the effort to contain his laughter.

"Hah… this fool."

"He really thinks I'll comply?"

"I'll expose everything the moment I return. His pet's strength. The White Tiger."

"Young Master Niu will send stronger men to deal with him. With this information, I'll earn his trust… maybe even a place in his family. That'll be my revenge."

"I'll make sure I watch when you crumble beneath Niu Ling's wrath."

But for now…

He bowed lower, his face an illusion of solemnity.

"Of course, Brother Xue."

His voice was smooth. Deceptively sincere.

"I won't breathe a word to Young Master Niu or anyone else."

"If I do… may I bring disgrace upon my ancestors."

His words carried the weight of an oath.

But his eyes—his eyes betrayed him.

And Reon saw it.

A flicker of something in the man's expression, too well-hidden for most to notice. But not well enough to escape him.

Reon's lips curled slightly.

This wasn't over.

Not yet.