"Die."
Wild, searing flames poured forth from the blade in an unceasing torrent, condensing in the air into the shape of a colossal lion wreathed in fire.
"ROAR!!!"
The flame lion let out a tremendous roar and charged at Zhao Feng with blinding speed.
A gray beam lanced from Zhao Feng's pupils and collided with the flame lion head-on. The two rays—one gray, one red—locked in a brief, suspended clash. Less than a second passed before the scorching flames swallowed the gray beam whole, engulfing Zhao Feng in a cage of fire.
"AAAAHHH!!!"
The burning heat tore through his defenses as though they weren't there. Skin, muscle, meridians, organs—
He had, in truth, acquired a First Sequence talent. His power had leapt in the span of mere moments to a level where he could crush Second Sequence fighters like Luo Yang underfoot. But compared to the original First Sequence holders, the gap between them remained vast.
Petrification was a formidable ability, certainly. But it mattered greatly against whom it was used.
Petrifying Firewing's attacks was something that lay far, far beyond what Zhao Feng could accomplish at this point.
But just as Zhao Feng was on the verge of dying within the flames, a deep, fathomless darkness engulfed him—and swallowed him and the fire alike, vanishing without a trace.
"A space-type ability?"
"Another traitor, or—"
Firewing frowned at the dense woodland and mountain ranges stretching before her, then directed one of her summoned beasts to carry Luo Yang's petrified body, and began heading back toward the city.
For now, the priority was to have Ethan Yates come and purge the petrification from Luo Yang.
The parents of the girl whose ability Zhao Feng had plundered had been fully petrified for too long—beyond the point of reversal. But Luo Yang should still be salvageable. Zhao Feng, in order to complete the plunder, had deliberately left the head intact.
"Is it worth it? Taking the risk of being discovered, just to save a single human?"
A mutant giant lizard—seven or eight meters long—looked down at the human sprawled on the ground, still wreathed in the remnants of flame, and posed the question with genuine bewilderment.
"His ability makes it worth the trouble."
"Right now, the most pressing matter is this fire. If it keeps burning like this, he's going to actually die."
Beside the lizard, a mutant plant adorned with vivid purple blossoms spoke in a quiet, unhurried voice—and took two steps back as it did so.
The flames still clinging to the human were far too hot. They made it deeply uncomfortable.
"I'll handle it. Fire is within my domain."
A scarlet giant tiger stepped forward from among the gathered beasts, regarding the fallen Zhao Feng with a flicker of something complicated in its eyes.
Once upon a time, it too had been human.
The flame lotus on its forehead pulsed with a faint glow. The fire clinging to Zhao Feng's body paused for a brief instant—then began flowing toward the lotus, drawn upward like a current, and vanished entirely within seconds.
"Then let me take over the healing."
The plant that had spoken before relaxed a fraction now that the flames were gone. Its blossoms swayed gently. A faint, sweet fragrance drifted through the air. Zhao Feng's body was gradually enveloped in a soft green luminescence, and beneath that glow, the wounds that had laid bare bone began knitting themselves back together at a remarkable pace.
"Jin Hong—we believed in your prophecy. That is precisely why we let Kong take the risk of being discovered to rescue this human."
"If his future does not unfold into the powerhouse you foresaw, I will eat you without a second thought."
The scarlet tiger's cold, amber gaze fell upon the monkey perched in the trees above—the one it called Jin Hong. Lustrous golden fur. Eyes filled with an otherworldly sharpness. And most striking of all: between its brows, a single golden vertical pupil.
"Whether it comes to pass or not—that's not what I'm afraid of right now. What I'm afraid of is that human finding us because of this."
"That man. He's terrifying."
The mutant plant that was still tending to Zhao Feng shuddered as though recalling something horrific. Its purple blossoms curled inward, tight with absolute dread.
This territory had once been teeming with mutant beasts and mutant plants—many of them had even developed rudimentary intelligence. Though their wisdom fell somewhat short of what the elder beings among them possessed, under proper guidance they could grow and flourish.
They had even begun planning to expand outward from the creatures under their dominion here, eventually cultivating a force so formidable that even humans would not dare to provoke them.
Until the day that man walked in. The one whose very presence radiated an inexplicable, drawing pull.
Death.
All around—nothing but death.
Every mutant creature, without exception, lost the ability to resist before it could even try. Their life force simply ceased. And yet the man seemed to have done nothing at all.
It had been utterly, mortally terrified.
It had curled into a ball and hidden in the deepest corner it could find, chanting silently: "Don't see me." "Don't see me." "Don't see me."
It hadn't worked. Not even slightly.
"Any species will eventually give rise to a being capable of altering that species' fate."
"Your talent, your ability, and the destiny revealed to me by the Chronicle of Ages—all of it makes me deeply curious about what you will become."
It couldn't understand words like "fate of a species" or "destiny." But the man seemed to have no intention of killing it.
That, at least, allowed it to breathe again.
"That man isn't human at all!"
"He's too strong."
The scarlet tiger knew perfectly well who it was referring to.
The moment it recalled the man's silhouette, its eyes filled with fear.
After its rebirth as a tiger, the very first time it had died—had been at that man's hands. If not for the Sacred Flame's unique property of permitting a second rebirth, it would have been gone for good.
What frightened it even more was that, upon their second encounter, the man had recognized it on sight. And had spoken its ability aloud.
"This should be our second meeting."
"Sacred Flame is a fine ability. Remember to keep your bestial instincts in check."
Those had been his words.
"He won't come again."
"He is the one who holds the chess board. We are the pieces."
"Pieces that don't matter can be discarded. Pieces that do matter—those, he keeps."
"This is the lesson you taught us. Tiger Flame."
Jin Hong spoke from its perch in the branches above.
Its ability was precognition—a heart-stirring impulse that, when it came, allowed it to glimpse a sliver of the future.
In the future it had seen, someone had orchestrated everything.
That being had discovered Jin Hong's existence—and had chosen not to interfere.
It seemed as though even the act of Jin Hong perceiving that man had, in some way, been woven into the fabric of the chess game itself.
"That was just something I said offhandedly. And you don't even know what a chess game is, do you?"
The scarlet tiger let out a long-suffering sigh.
Still, one had to give this group of mutants credit—they were remarkably sharp. A single lesson, and they had already learned to apply it with impressive fluency.
"Oh—Tiger Flame, isn't it time for a story today?"
The mutant plant piped up eagerly. The other creatures all turned their attention to Tiger Flame as well, watching with bright, expectant eyes.
For them, what truly mattered was not the stories themselves—but the human knowledge woven into them. Though, to be fair, the stories were entertaining enough in their own right.
None of them had any idea how Tiger Flame—a beast, just like them—knew so many things.
"You remember better than I do."
The scarlet tiger muttered under its breath, then said:
"Where did I leave off last time?"
"Sun Wukong, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, strikes Zeus, King of the Gods—three times!"
"Right. Give me a moment and I'll tell you the next part. Tang Sanzang's Cunning Conquest of the Grand View Garden."
It couldn't be helped. The finer details of the original stories had long since faded from memory, so it simply made things up as it went. After all, none of its listeners had ever heard any story before.
As the conversation wound down, the group began drifting deeper into the woods. Zhao Feng, still unconscious, was dragged along by Jin Hong, which had seized him by the ankle. Given Zhao Feng's defensive capabilities, the scraping across the ground wouldn't cause him any real discomfort anyway.
(End of Chapter)