chapter 26 “The City”

The moment Lu Yan saw it, his breath caught.

A colossal beast, unlike anything he had encountered before, prowled through the dark expanse of the forest. It was a towering, nightmarish figure, covered in thick, obsidian fur that shimmered unnaturally beneath the fractured moonlight. Muscles rippled beneath its hide, each movement exuding an unrelenting aura of dominance. Its claws, wickedly curved like sickles, tore into the earth with silent menace.

[Dreadclaw Behemoth – Level 25]

Lu Yan's pulse quickened. He wasn't arrogant enough to believe he could face such a thing—not yet.

Instinct took over.

Silently, he stepped back, pressing his body into the thick foliage, his breathing controlled, deliberate. He dampened his Qi, forcing every trace of his presence to fade into the surrounding energy of the forest. His heart pounded, but he didn't move. Didn't breathe too heavily.

The beast's crimson eyes flickered, scanning the area with primal intent. Its nose twitched, inhaling the air deeply.

Did it sense me?

The silence stretched. An eternity compressed into a handful of seconds.

Then—without warning—the behemoth turned, its massive frame gliding through the trees with unnatural grace, its focus elsewhere.

It had found its prey.

Lu Yan's gaze followed. A Spirit Beast—a young stag-like creature wreathed in faint azure flames—stood frozen beneath the gnarled roots of a fallen tree. Fear radiated from its trembling form.

The behemoth lunged.

A flash of motion. A single strike.

The young beast had no chance.

Its agonized cry was swallowed by the night as the behemoth's claws cleaved through its body. Blood splattered against the darkened bark, its azure flames flickering violently before vanishing into nothingness. The monstrous predator devoured its prey in eerie silence, its hunger mechanical, unfeeling.

Lu Yan turned away very quickly in a panick, This was not his battle.

He moved, slow and soundless, weaving through the labyrinthine embrace of the trees, guided only by the pull of the ancestral artifact within his grasp.

By dawn, the trees thinned, giving way to something else.

A city.

But not just any city.

Lu Yan's breath stilled as his eyes swept across the ethereal sight before him. Towering structures of jade and silver rose from the mist, adorned with glowing spirit inscriptions that pulsed like the heartbeat of the land itself. Floating lanterns drifted lazily through the streets, their soft golden radiance casting dreamlike reflections across pristine marble pathways. The air shimmered, thick with condensed Qi, every breath infused with potent energy.

A Spirit Beast City.

Lu Yan barely had time to register the sight before a sensation rippled through his body. The artifact in his grasp glowed faintly, its energy unraveling in silent waves.

Then—

A shift.

A surge of unfamiliar power rushed through his veins. His flesh twisted, bones reshaping, his entire being flooded with an overwhelming, otherworldly sensation.

When he opened his eyes again, he was no longer human.

A mirror-like surface of a nearby fountain reflected his new form—a beastly figure, sleek and powerful, adorned with an obsidian coat and streaks of faint silver patterns etched into his fur. His body was smaller than the true Spirit Beasts here, but his presence was unmistakably one of them.

The Spirt Beast Ancestor's Gift had worked.

He was no longer an outsider.

Or so he thought.

As Lu Yan walked 

and walked...

The city was haunted, alive in a way that sent a shiver through his bones.

Every towering structure pulsed faintly, as if breathing. Mist slithered through the streets, curling around unseen figures, whispering in hushed tones. The lanterns flickered—not just from the wind, but as if they were watching. The roads stretched endlessly, pristine yet untouched, as if no true life had walked them in centuries.

Yet, the air was thick with something unseen. A presence. A thousand silent gazes pressing in from all sides.

This city was not just alive.

It was aware.

Spirit Beasts of all shapes and forms roamed freely, their intelligence mirroring—perhaps even surpassing—humanity's own. Stalls lined the streets, filled with glowing herbs, shimmering ores, and exotic delicacies unknown to the outside world. Conversations buzzed, but the language was not spoken—it was felt, a resonance of emotions and will, an unspoken understanding shared among them.

For a moment, Lu Yan was swept up in it, marveling at the impossible civilization thriving in secret.

Then—

"Father! A foreign beast has entered our land!"

The voice was young—sharpened with fear and hostility.

Lu Yan turned sharply, locking eyes with a young spirit cub, its golden fur bristling as it pointed at him.

A murmur rippled through the surrounding crowd.

Then came the figure that silenced them all.

A towering Spirit Beast, his mane flowing like cascading stardust, his presence radiating unchallenged authority. His eyes, sharp as tempered steel, locked onto Lu Yan with immediate disdain.

Unlike others slient, his aura bristled with hatred.

"You dare enter my city?" His voice was deep, laced with venom. "Outsiders have no place here."

A chill crept into the air. Lu Yan's muscles tensed, but he didn't respond.

He didn't have to.

Because from behind this Middle age humaniod Beast Man, another voice emerged