Easter frowned. Indeed
What were the odds that two prodigies of such terrifying caliber could appear in the same region at the same time? The probability was lower than winning the cosmic lottery. And yet, here they were clear as day.
If Easter hadn't been tied down by his duties as a high-ranking elder, he would have gone to the Jiangnan Base himself just to see what kind of monsters were being born there. If this continued, planetary-level warriors would become as common as cabbages sold on the street.
As Easter and Fael conversed, an unsettling surge of energy rippled through the sea surrounding Mist Island. The instant the fluctuation appeared, everyone turned their heads toward the ocean it was massive, primal, suffocating.
The air grew heavy.
A colossal vortex began spinning violently at the center of the sea, waves crashing outward. Then, with a thunderous roar, the surface of the water exploded. Three enormous tentacles, each hundreds of meters long, burst out of the depths and swept toward Mohandson's military base.
The soldiers stationed there froze in terror. Before anyone could react, one of the tentacles slammed into an armored unit, crushing tanks, vehicles, and over a hundred armed troops including three high-level warriors into nothing but blood and flesh.
The destruction was absolute.
"Damn you, beast!" Mohandson roared, fury twisting his face. The cannon mounted on his shoulder flared to life, charging with freezing energy. A dazzling white beam shot forth, striking one of the thrashing tentacles.
In an instant, the monstrous limb froze solid, encased in a crystal layer of ice. Mohandson exhaled in relief, thinking he had won.
A sharp crack split the air.
The ice shattered, scattering fragments like broken glass, and the tentacle continued its rampage unscathed.
"What?!"
Before Mohandson could react, two more tentacles lashed toward him with terrifying speed. Just as they were about to crush him, a deafening shout split the heavens.
"Beast! Don't get too arrogant!"
A flash of thunder descended from the sky. Thor, the Second Elder, charged forward with his lightning-wreathed dual-blade, the light of his thunder god weapon blazing brighter than the sun. He slashed down with a roar, knocking the two tentacles away with a violent explosion of sparks.
"Thank you, Second Elder!" Mohandson gasped, cold sweat pouring down his back.
Ryan was about to rush in to help, but Thor stopped him mid-flight. "You and Rowan stay out of this," he barked. "This creature is at least Planetary Level Four. You're not its match."
Thor didn't believe that either Ryan or Rowan no matter how talented could handle such a monstrosity. Their training time was still too short. Ryan had only just reached Planetary Level One, and even if Rowan was a so-called prodigy, he couldn't be higher than Level Two. There was no way they could defeat a creature of this caliber.
Beast Kings like this had natural advantages body mass, regeneration, raw strength. At equal ranks, they were far stronger than humans. Even Thor himself couldn't be sure he could slay such a monster easily.
Rowan said nothing. He only watched quietly, eyes narrowing. The aura radiating from this Beast King was far stronger than what he remembered from the original timeline. Judging from its energy fluctuations, it wasn't a Level Four at all but a Level Six.
That meant it was only one rank below Thor.
Its strength was comparable to the Deep Sea Kings that lurked far beneath the waves. With its enormous five-hundred-meter body and terrifying regenerative ability, this creature was the embodiment of destruction.
Still, Thor was no ordinary warrior. His combat power far surpassed his level. Wielding the dual-blade infused with divine lightning, he fought at full force, his strikes rapid and devastating.
Each blow tore deep gashes into the monster's flesh but within seconds, the wounds sealed shut.
Its hide was thick, its regeneration monstrous. Even Thor's mighty lightning couldn't destroy it completely.
"Lightning Blade Ninth Form!" Thor shouted.
His entire body became a storm of living thunder. The ground beneath him cracked and scorched as he launched his ultimate strike.
The blade flashed like the wrath of the gods, slicing clean through one of the tentacles. Green-black blood sprayed into the air like a torrential downpour.
The onlookers erupted into cheers, rallying behind the Thunder God's courage.
But Rowan remained unmoved. His gaze was cold, distant. He already knew how this would end. Whether it was Thor or Magnus, the Beast King would fall sooner or later. What truly mattered now was the Wood Crystal.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Rowan activated his Celestial Shuttle, darting across the sky like a silver streak and heading straight for Mist Island.
Mohandson saw the move instantly. "That bastard's going for the treasure! Stop him!"
He launched into the air, chasing after Rowan. But Easter had already anticipated this and was moving faster. The other planetary warriors quickly caught on, abandoning the spectacle of Thor's battle and turning toward the island in pursuit of fortune.
Thor noticed, but he was locked in combat. There was no way to intervene now.
"Damn it… how is he flying that fast?!" Easter cursed. Even at full speed, Rowan's figure grew smaller and smaller until he vanished completely into the thick fog surrounding the island.
Mohandson gaped. "That speed… he's using some kind of alien psychic weapon!"
As members of the HR Alliance, they knew fragments of what existed beyond Earth fragments enough to make them greedy. Easter's eyes gleamed with covetous light.
Rowan landed inside the fog, his mental power expanding outward like a tidal wave. His telepathic field now reached fifty kilometers unfathomable even for most planetary-level mentalists.
He quickly pinpointed every Wood Crystal within the island's underground labyrinth.
Three hundred and forty-eight crystals in total.
Eight of them lay directly below his feet, glowing faintly and releasing a sweet, rice-like fragrance.
Rowan extended his telekinesis. The crystals rose smoothly into the air and floated toward him. With a thought, he shaped a storage pouch from his Black God Set and tucked the crystals safely inside.
But before he could move to the next area, Easter, Mohandson, and Fael burst through the mist above him.
They froze when they saw the purple-glowing crystals.
"What is that?" one of them gasped.
"None of your business," Rowan replied coldly. He turned to leave, intent on collecting the rest of the Wood Crystals. He needed them to raise his own Golden-Horned Beast.
He would never waste time seizing Earth's primitive beast. Its bloodline was strong, yes, but limited. The cosmic ceiling was too low. Even the mightiest of its kind could only reach the level of a Universe Lord. Out there, far beyond the stars, far stronger bloodlines awaited him.
For that, he needed power and patience.
But Mohandson was done talking. He raised his cryo-cannon and fired.
"Die!"
Rowan's eyes glinted. "Courting death."
He was about to strike back when Ryan suddenly descended from above, his sixteen flying blades spinning into a radiant shield that intercepted the freezing beam.
"Anyone who dares attack Rowan dies by my hand!" Ryan's voice was ice-cold, his gaze deadly.
"Ha! Two newcomers, fattened up on stolen treasures you really think you can challenge us?" Mohandson sneered.
Easter's own fourteen psychic blades floated around him, locking onto the two brothers like a shimmering net of death. Fael's hands blazed with fire.
Three versus two.
And among them were the Third and Fourth Elders veterans whose names alone commanded fear.
"Drop the treasure and get out," Easter said darkly. "Do that, and we might let you live."
He wasn't eager to kill them outright. Rowan and Ryan were the Extreme Dojo's prized talents; eliminating them would create too many problems. Still, if they refused to yield, he wouldn't hesitate to cripple them and toss them out.
Ryan's heart pounded. Their enemies' killing intent was suffocating.
"Rowan," he whispered, "we should split up. With our speed, they can't catch both of us."
"No need," Rowan replied calmly. "I'll clean up the trash."
He rose into the air, his gaze cold as the void. "Three seconds," he said. "Leave Mist Island, or die."
Mohandson laughed, unhinged. "You arrogant brat. You want death? I'll oblige you!"
He charged, frost gathering around his fist as the air temperature plunged below freezing. The space itself seemed to groan under the weight of his power.
Rowan snorted.
A single glimmer of light flicked from his Celestial Shuttle. A blade detached and flashed through the air.
In the next instant, Mohandson's body burst apart into a thousand crimson fragments. Flesh, bone, armor everything disintegrated before the crowd's eyes.
It had taken 0.01 seconds.
"Wh–what? Mohandson… he's dead?!" someone screamed.
Blood pooled across the ground, the smell sharp and metallic. For a moment, no one could speak.
Then the fear hit.
"Three… two…" Ryan began counting down.
Panic erupted. Easter and Fael exchanged a single terrified glance before fleeing with all their might. No one dared linger not even Easter himself.
Too strong.
Even Thor couldn't kill Mohandson so swiftly.
Outside the mist, Thor finally felled the Tentacle King after three grueling Ninth Lightning Blades. He was exhausted but victorious. As he prepared to descend toward the island, he saw Easter and the others bolting out in terror.
"What happened?! Why are you retreating?"
Fael's face was pale. "Mohandson's dead… Rowan killed him in a single strike. He's claimed Mist Island anyone who enters will die."
Thor froze. The disbelief in his eyes was quickly replaced by shock. After confirming it several times, he realized the impossible truth.
Mohandson a Planetary Level Three powerhouse had been slain in an instant.
Even Thor couldn't have done that.
Rowan… had surpassed him.
"By the gods…" Thor whispered. "That kid's a monster."
And in the heart of the fog, Ryan could only stare at his brother, trembling.
"The Third Elder… he's dead?"
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