Chapter 147: Overlord’s Demeanor

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Outside the Secret Realm…

Fan Shan's mangled corpse hit the ground, torn asunder. Countless onlookers struggled to breathe.

The first death in this trial.

From an Eighth-Grade power, no less.

But what stunned them wasn't his fall it was how Bai Su Mei killed him.

"What did Bai Su Mei use? How could it boost her strength so terrifyingly?"

This thought gripped every cultivator watching.

Fan Shan's use of a cultivation-boosting pill was no surprise. Eighth-Grade powers often had such life-saving measures.

Yet such pills left lasting damage, hindering future cultivation. Only in desperation would one resort to them.

Bai Su Mei was different. After her surge, she was merely fatigued, her face slightly pale, her foundation untouched.

The crowd grew warier of the women beside Lan An.

"Likely a Secret Art!" an Academy elder concluded within the viewing space.

Most nodded, racking their brains to recall if such a Secret Art existed on the continent.

"Secret Arts that boost cultivation aren't rare here, but one without harmful aftereffects is unheard of," another elder said gravely.

"No Secret Art could be that overpowered. It must be limited to lower realms, losing effect at higher stages," they reasoned.

A perfected Transcending Tribulation cultivator with such an art matching a Half-Immortal or True Immortal? Impossible. Thus, they concluded Bai Su Mei's art was capped at lower realms.

Inside the Secret Realm…

Fan Shan's aura turned ferocious. Before countless eyes, his sturdy flesh split, mutating.

Thick fur sprouted, fangs and claws elongated, his body swelled tenfold, becoming a true beast-man.

Bat-like wings grew, resembling a demon.

"What blood did he consume?" Many faces darkened, sensing an invisible pressure from Fan Shan.

"Vampire blood, but a mere diluted drop, short-lived. Still, his strength has surged. Be cautious, Young Master!" Kim Nhi warned.

"Vampire?" Lan An raised a brow. From the Elven Clan to now a Vampire on Oceanic Continent…

As Fan Shan completed his transformation, the Blood Star Sect's First Saint Son, battling Mu Bai Yin, sneered gleefully.

Unknown to all, he'd secretly given Fan Shan that Vampire Blood.

"One-Strike Kill!"

Mu Bai Yin seized his distraction, her Purple Plum Blade flashing, aiming a lethal blow.

"Blood Pearl!" The First Saint Son panicked, raising his pearl to block, but a slash severed two fingers, leaving a gruesome, unhealing wound.

"Wretch, daring to sneak attack me? Die!" he roared, counterattacking with full force.

Mu Bai Yin smiled confidently, parrying with ease.

Before terrified gazes, Fan Shan roared savagely, his claws tearing a corner of the Peach Blossom Array.

"Explode!"

Seeing her array ravaged, Hua Yu Fei shouted delicately.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The formation detonated, its force crashing into Fan Shan.

ROAR!

He howled in pain, beast-like.

As dust settled, the crowd gaped.

Save for burns and minor wounds, Fan Shan stood ferocious, his blood-red eyes fixed on Bai Su Mei, fury intensifying.

"His strength now rivals a Fifth-Turn Body Cultivator!" Kim Nhi noted.

Lan An nodded gravely. Fearing an attack on Bai Su Mei, he condensed a Star-Piercing Finger at Fan Shan's heart.

Whoosh!

Sensing danger, Fan Shan flapped his wings, dodging.

But the finger's speed pierced a wing, blood gushing.

Fan Shan glared at Lan An, his rationality gone, his new target the one who struck him.

Flapping his wings, razor claws lunged.

Lan An frowned, preparing another strike.

"Die!" Lan Yu bellowed. Above, thunder rumbled, a bolt aiming for Lan An's head.

Yu Han, eyeing the black beast in his arms with murderous intent, hurled it forth.

"Go, my mightiest beast! Let the heavens tremble beneath you!"

ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!

Three deafening roars echoed. The tiny beast swelled into a mountain.

Pitch-black, dog-like, its maw spanned half its body, inky darkness within, acid-like drool dripping, utterly grotesque.

"Devouring Dog, bearing a faint trace of Taotie blood. No simple foe, Young Master!" Kim Nhi said gravely.

Lan An's eyes flickered. Taotie, one of the ancient "Four Ferocities" alongside Chaos, Tao Wu, and Qiong Qi, was a gluttonous, savage deity symbolizing greed.

Legends painted Taotie as wide-mouthed, short-bodied, ferocious, devouring all. Ancient vessels bore its image to warn against excess.

Yu Han's pet held a sliver of its blood.

Seeing his Devouring Dog's dominance, Yu Han retreated, laughing maniacally, "Kill him! Devour him! Show him the might of Beast Taming War Sect!"

At his command, the Devouring Dog roared, its vast maw charging Lan An.

Three devastating attacks converged:

Lan Yu's thunder.

Fan Shan's claws.

The Devouring Dog's maw.

Lan An faced three foes, yet remained eerily calm.

Suddenly…

The Dragon King Halberd appeared in his hand.

Blood Iron Battle Armor and Blood Iron Crystal Boots encased him.

He leapt skyward.

ROAR!

A commanding roar echoed, a colossal figure wreathed in purple thunder emerging beneath Lan An.

He landed on its back.

Purple lightning cloaked the sky, dwarfing Lan Yu's thunder in ferocity and dominance.

Facing the triple assault, a purple thunderbolt descended.

It repelled all attacks.

Lan Yu's thunder shattered.

Fan Shan was blasted back.

The Devouring Dog swallowed the bolt, yelping in pain, warily eyeing the new arrival. Its faint Taotie blood couldn't devour all like the true deity.

The crowd snapped from shock, beholding Lan An, a war god in armor, astride a majestic mount, a peerless overlord.

Snow-white fur with purple patterns, wings spanning miles, lion's body, eagle's head, lightning crackling, soaring nimbly, limbs robust.

Purple Thunder Gryphon.

"Purple Thunder Gryphon? Wasn't this beast extinct since ancient times?" Yu Han paled, muttering in disbelief.

Beast Taming War Sect studied nearly all beasts of the continent.

Yu Han knew the Purple Thunder Gryphon a hybrid of the ancient Thunder Lion King and Purple Feather Great Eagle.

His sect had squandered resources trying to recreate it, failing.

To see one now, owned by his foe, drove Yu Han mad with envy. He roared, "Kill him! I'll seize the Purple Thunder Gryphon!"

Countless women, including Hua Yu Fei and Nangong Wenyun, gazed at Lan An's gallant beast-riding figure, eyes dreamy.

ROAR!

Fan Shan, blasted back, charged again, claws slashing at Lan An.

"Lan Moon Ice Palm—Furious Thunder Barrage!"

Lan Yu roared, eyes bloodshot at Lan An's majesty, bellowing.

His arms rose, condensing two Heaven-Grade techniques simultaneously.

One hand Ice, one hand Thunder.

With domineering force, they crushed toward Lan An.

His talent was terrifying; few prodigies could match him.

The Devouring Dog recovered, its maw not devouring but forming a massive dark orb, brimming with destructive power.

Once more, the three strongest foes unleashed their might against Lan An.

"Sweeping Transcending Armies!"

Facing the triple onslaught, Lan An, atop Little Lion, sneered, swinging the Dragon King Halberd savagely.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

His arms numbed, Little Lion forced back by the force.

Opposite, Lan Yu, Fan Shan, and the Devouring Dog were flung back, struggling to rise.

"How? How is he so strong? How can a former cripple be this powerful?" Lan Yu stared at his bloodied arms. His dual Heaven-Grade techniques, combined with two formidable allies, were repelled by Lan An.

Disbelief fueled his jealousy. This "cripple" must have gained a heaven-defying opportunity to rewrite his fate.

Killing Lan An would claim that fortune. Greed and malice flickered in Lan Yu's eyes.

Lan An ignored their thoughts. With a thought, Little Lion, in sync, became lightning, charging Fan Shan.

First, slay this Vampire.

The Dragon King Halberd thrust brutally, Flame Heart Cauldron activating, its tip wreathed in Variant Fire, unstoppable.

Fan Shan, fearless, roared, blood condensing into claws slashing at the halberd.

BOOM!

Like a mantis against a chariot, he was blasted back, an arm charred, utterly wretched.

Lan An's face radiated killing intent. He held no goodwill for Mortal Hidden Temple, whose monks targeted his Bai Su Mei, deserving death.

Little Lion prepared to strike again.

But Lan An sneered, sensing two stealthy attacks behind him.

A sinister Blood Claw and a Slaughter Sword brimming with killing intent, aimed at his nape.

He deftly swung the halberd backward.

The ambushers flinched, their strikes missing.

CLANG!

The attacks hit his Blood Iron Battle Armor, metal clashing, leaving Lan An unscathed.

Little Lion, enraged at the sneak attack, roared.

ROAR!

Lion's Roar, its innate skill.

Sonic waves laced with thunder shook the air. Many clutched their heads, the ambushers dazed, struck by Lan An's sweep, sent flying.

Lan An now observed his attackers as they rose.

A man with blood-red hair, pale skin, effeminate, wielding sharp claws.

Another, face obscured by a cloak, held a Low Heaven-Grade Slaughter Sword, marking him from a Ninth-Grade power.

"I don't fight nameless rats! State your names!" Lan An gripped the Dragon King Halberd, his voice a cold command, a war god's presence.

"Xue Zi!" The red-haired man spoke softly, his shifty eyes leering at the harem.

Unknowingly, this habit placed him on Lan An's kill list.

"Haha, Wang Lin!" A haughty voice came from the cloaked figure.

Meanwhile, Fan Shan reverted to normal, the Vampire Blood's power spent.

He glared at Lan An and Bai Su Mei, tossing his Token.

Teleported out, he preserved his life.

Xue Zi, Wang Lin, Lan Yu, and the Devouring Dog now faced Lan An warily.

"Wang Lin? I've no grudge with Celestial Mountain Immortal Realm," Lan An said, puzzled.

"Indeed. Hand over your Star-Piercing Finger technique, and I, Wang, will leave this battle," Wang Lin proposed.

Lan An chuckled, "You covet my Star-Piercing Finger? Is a Ninth-Grade power so poor it lacks Heaven-Grade techniques?"

Ignoring the taunt, Wang Lin's face darkened, "I know you won't give more. Just the Star-Piercing Finger, and I'm gone."

"Hahaha!" Lan An laughed skyward, his voice echoing.

His laughter mocked Wang Lin, enraging him. Had he not feared Lan An's strength, he'd have attacked. He growled, "What's so funny?"

Lan An ceased, killing intent flooding all directions.

A domineering voice, befitting an overlord, resounded:

"A mere ant dares threaten a dragon soaring the nine heavens. What's more laughable?"