Humans and Beasts

Prince Shui calmed down a great deal after seeing Yuan Zhen's name. Even his aura shrunk, and he involuntarily moved back a few feet. Even the man alongside him seemed shook.

Ji Xie shook his head, "Indeed. Someone wants us to lose our focus, and so is trying to use that ghost to rattle us."

Prince Shui scoffed, him and the man with him exchanging incredulous looks. Ji Xie smiled, almost breaking out into laughter as he said, "Surely you don't think he actually came back?"

Their eyes widened, but they said nothing.

"Listen. Yuan Zhen, though mighty, was just a mortal. You have all seen the might of a true cultivator, have you not? In the face of such power even the 'Slaughtering Devil' Yuan Zhen is no more than a fart in the wind."

Prince Shui nodded, "Even such an expert cannot break through the shackles of Samsara. Sigh... I have lost face and shamed my royal title."

Ji Xie shook his head and added, "You worry too much. I fear that even your Royal Father, the Human Emperor, would have such a reaction at seeing this."

They descended, standing atop the remnants of the embassy with varying expressions of contemplation. Suddenly, Prince Shui spoke up.

"Investigators from both our races should act together on this. That will easily put to rest any ill effects this incident may have caused, while showing whoever did it that their attempt was futile."

Ji Xie seconded his notion, then they continued to discuss other matters.

While they were talking, a cloaked figure had already crept into the city. They were carefully taking in the layout of the place and making mental notes, looking every bit the clueless newcomer.

This was, of course, Yuan Zhen. Qi Zixie had been instructed to stay behind, as he would not be needing her just yet.

Yuan Zhen was able to deduce that, at least within the city, human presence was at a minimum. Aside from the embassy, the only humans he came across were street vendors.

From listening in on certain conversations, he found out that Ji Xie, the 'Emperor's Right Hand,' was spotted on the scene. When he heard that, his energy flared for a brief moment.

He turned around and began to walk toward the western end, where the embassy once was. From what he understood, the people were more worried about how the humans would react. They cared for their relations with them more than they cared about finding the perpetrator.

This intrigued him, as he began to suspect that the beasts were at something of a disadvantage.

There was a marked barrier along the perimeter of the ruins where a small crowd had gathered. Yuan Zhen moved directly up to the barrier and laid his eyes on three men.

Despite Ji Xie being much older, he easily recognized his main target. With every ounce of mental energy he had, he suppressed the desire to separate Ji Xie's head from his body. Instead, he sent out an undetectable wisp of soul power in order to listen in on them.

"Now, now, Ji Xie. My royal father is simply tired of waiting. You promised us untold benefits, yet all we receive is a yearly contribution of energy beast cores and slave women. These are things we have no need of, so you must understand where my father, the Human Emperor, is coming from." Prince Shui had said this in a somewhat annoyed manner.

"I do understand, but His Highness has already expressed his opinion on the matter. Until we have secured what we need, we cannot allow humans to access it. You wouldn't want us to lose out on our ancestral inheritance, would you?" With an underlying dissatisfaction, Ji Xie retorted and then turned his face toward Yuan Zhen's inscription.

"More importantly, we should put an end to this fanaticism. They've never been bold enough to do something like this before, but maybe it's our fault for never suppressing them."

Prince Shui nodded and said, "It's been our opinion from the start, but you and the Beast Emperor couldn't bring yourself to take action against your own people. Something about them 'being misguided and needing redirection onto the proper path,' was it?"

In the face of Prince Shui's mocking, Ji Xie said nothing.

While they were doing this, a cruel smile crept onto Yuan Zhen's face. In order to disguise himself, he had his horns shrink down and was suppressing his aura. This way, he wouldn't appear out of the ordinary. Even his perceivable cultivation was reduced to the peak of Spirit Manifestation.

He suddenly divided his focus, sending out another imperceptible stream of soul power toward a randomly selected, unsuspecting target.

This was a human woman in her early twenties, wearing a blue dress and beginning to walk away from the scene to return to her stall. Yuan Zhen infiltrated her body, immobilized and hijacked her soul, then turned her into his puppet.

Without a care for her well-being, he transferred a portion of his energy to her bodyz through the spiritual link. As this happened, her body and mediocre channels immediate began to deteriorate.

Her weak body could not withstand his powerful energy, and would soon explode.

However, he had more than enough time to do what he had to do.

Dark clouds appeared in sky, darkening the morning and turning it into a dismal scene. As this was happening, the latent intent left behind where he had carved his name resonated, recognizing its master.

Ji Xie, Prince Shui and his bodyguard all noticed this, taking a few steps back. Their eyes and soul immediately began searching the area.

They all locked onto one woman, who was now being bathed in red energy. Everyone that had been near her hastily retreated, putting as much distance between themselves and her as possible.

Yuan Zhen also played along, but he made sure to keep feeding her enough of his energy through the spiritual link.

Ji Xie and the others approached her, ready for anything.

"Miss, you're a human, are you not? How can you support Yuan Zhen?" Prince Shui frowned, coating his arm in raw energy.

Suddenly, a peal of thunder tore through the heavens and the sky was briefly brightened. That flash of light reached the city, surprising everyone.

As if the thunder was a signal, the woman moved. The energy around her resonated with the willpower hidden away within the characters of Yuan Zhen's name.

When the energy connected with that will, an astonishing phenomenon drew gasps from the onlooking crowd.

In the air behind the woman, the image of a towering Warlord with his broadsword pointed at heaven appeared. Her voice exploded, like the voices of millions of people coalescing into one disorienting noise.

Ji Xie's eyes were trained on that Warlord. His was so taken aback by it that he almost missed what that horrifying loud voice was shouting.

"Did I not say I would return? Ahhahahahaha!! My revenge has transcended even the laws of heaven and will be unleashed upon you all! Have you forgotten my words? Whether in this life or the next, I will slaughter you and your descendants and burn this world to the ground!"

Prince Shui could take it no more, and was about to attack. However, the building pressure within the woman's body became too much. With a final cry, she exploded into blood mist, ending the cataclysmic event just like that.

Ji Xie was rooted in place. Unlike everyone else present, he had been alive over a century ago. He had lived in the same era as Yuan Zhen, and had experienced his power firsthand.

It was one thing to read about the mighty image that would appear behind Yuan Zhen as his aura and will were released, but to experience it again after all those years?

Even Ji Xie was overcome with fear and trepidation. Prince Shui was young, compared to other cultivators at his level, and thus had never felt Yuan Zhen's power.

Even so, he could tell that the power he just felt did not belong to any normal expert.

Prince Shui scoured the area with his soul power, but was barely able to search through all the people in the crowd. Most of the bystanders were in absolute shock, hardly even able to talk about what they had just seen.

When Prince Shui saw Ji Xie's face, he unknowingly began to feel afraid of Yuan Zhen in his heart.

That was because Ji Xie, a beast regarded as the number two powerhouse in just about the entire world, was covered in icy sweat and shaking like a leaf.

"Is this Yuan Zhen truly that fearsome?"

Ji Xie seemed to have not heard, but he was actually trying to calm his soul and gather his thoughts. As soon as he saw the image of the Warlock, the suppressed worry and anxiety that Ji Xie carried for more than a hundred years resurged.

His soul's current turmoil was even further amplified since he had already convinced himself that Yuan Zhen would not and could not return to the land. Because of that conviction, seeing the image of the Warlock now, despite it being no more than a physical manifestation of willpower, was like seeing the impossible occur to Ji Xie.

He was utterly stupefied.

"Prince Shui, perhaps your father did not think it necessary to tell you, but the reason he is without his right hand is because of Yuan Zhen."

Prince Shui gasped, running those words from Ji Xie through his mind.

"But my father is almost three hundred years old. Do you mean to say that Yuan Zhen was my age when he injured him?"

Ji Xie shook his head, looking dispirited.

"Yuan Zhen was thirteen years old when he came out of the Grotto. It was in that very same year that fought against and defeated all the Beast Lords in single matches. After that, he began his slaughterous 'crusades' against the humans. He fought and defeated your father then, before he had even turned fourteen."

That was enough for Prince Shui to have to force himself to stifle a disbelieving objection. Even if it was absurd, based on the little that his father had told him he knew it was true.

"This is a matter that involves this entire world. No matter what, we must take action. Alliances must be strengthened, then we must share this news. We must remind the people that we have defeated him once, together, and ensure them that we can do it again." Ji Xie said this with a deeply melancholic expression.

Prince Shui said nothing. He waved his hand and took off with his bodyguard, heading back to one of the human realms.

Ji Xie soon left, perhaps to report to the emperor. As for Yuan Zhen, he departed from the crowd in unbridled satisfaction.

His little show went even better than he had hoped. It seemed that after all that time passed, Ji Xie and the Human Emperor and not gleamed the secrets of cultivation and stepped beyond the Immortal Spirit realm.

As for the Beast Emperor, Yuan Zhen was unsure. However, judging by Ji Xie's reaction, the Beast Emperor was probably in the same boat.

He returned to Qi Zixie, giving her the good news.

....

Across the massive sea, deep and dark despite the brightly shining sun, was a massive continent. Unlike where the beast's resided, this continent was snowy, entirely mountainous and devoid of forests and plains. Frozen lakes abounded in any open area.

Within one of the many mountain ranges, where the snowfall was far heavier than normal, a familiar individual descended from the sky with another man close behind.

This was Prince Shui, and this 'winter wonderland' was one of the so-called human realms. Actually, the realms were continents separated by unnaturally spacious expanses of ocean. Prince Shui had relied on his full speed and yet it had still taken him, someone that had recently cultivated an immortal spirit, eight hours to make it back.

Atop the central mountain, a large castle had been constructed. Parts of the castle were actually crafted from the mountain itself, and it was covered in a fine blanket of snow. A scant few guards were stationed at various points, but each of them emitted the fluctuations of someone at the earlier stages of Soul Nourishing.

Prince Shui passed them by without so much as a glance. His only goal was to relay the information to his father.

He landed on a designated platform, which led straight into the upper levels of the castle.

The Human Emperor, Tian Shifeng, was in the dining room, enjoying a meal. Dim moonlight streamed in through the windows, providing a peaceful atmosphere.

Prince Shui burst into the room without greeting any of his relatives at the table. He went straight to his father's side and whispered something in his ear.

"I see you are troubled by this news, so much so that you ignored even your mother and siblings. However, we are among family and close, trusted friends. You are free to share your news with them as well, Tian Shui." Tian Shifeng swallowed some food, took a sip of wine and then placed an elbow on the table beside the plate, hand on his chin

"As you wish father."

Prince Shui slightly shifted his body, ensuring that he could see everyone that was seated at the table.

He opened his mouth, mind in slowly increasing turmoil.

"Ji Xie, right hand to the Beast Emperor, has confirmed that Yuan Zhen has returned to this world. His hand has been seen at work in the destruction of our embassy in the beast capital, and also in a direct declaration of war against all that once stood against him."

All in the room was stunned, immediately losing their appetites. Before anyone said anything, all eyes turned to the loosely fluterring sleeve of the emperor's robe.

They all knew, in some way or another, that Yuan Zhen had been the one responsible. Even without Ji Xie saying it, Prince Shui had suspected it to be the case.

Han Shifeng had never said it plainly, as it was still likely a stain on his martial heart that plagued him ever since.

"Is there a chance Ji Xie is mistaken?" Han Shi'er, the youngest daughter of the emperor, suddenly spoke out. Within her eyes, countless ripples could be seen.

"No. I was there myself. I experienced the manifestation of Yuan Zhen's willpower."

They gasped, no longer finding words to speak. That was when Han Shifeng sighed and looked at Prince Shui.

"So you saw it? You saw the Demonic Warlord. How fortunate you are to have been born in this time. Had you seen it before, when Yuan Zhen still roamed the world freely, you would not have lived to talk of it."

An overwhelming unwillingness surfaced on the emperor's face, but he shook his head and continued.

"Ji Xie is the only person, besides myself, that I would trust to identify the Demonic Warlord. It can only be the truth. Ah... I recall his words from back then... He said it. I should have known better."

Everyone knew the story, so they naturally know what he was speaking about.

"He said he would return and we doubted him even though we knew better. Now look." Small tears slid down the sides of his face, and he subconsciously touched the shoulder of his missing arm.

He looked out at the sky, seeing the distant full moon in all its splendor and celestial glory.

"O, Heavens above... In this world ...why must there be a Yuan Zhen?"