The Pride's Fall and the Lion's Roar
"Too weak," Yao Xuan stated, his voice cutting through the frozen air with calm disdain. "Is this the confidence that let you raise your hand against me?"
The three ice barriers were formidable—each could likely withstand a full-force strike from an ordinary early-stage Soul Elder. Xu Xiaoyu's defensive instincts were sharp, his reaction praiseworthy.
But Yao Xuan was no ordinary Soul Elder. And the claw descending upon those barriers was sheathed in the millennium might of the Ancestral Dragon, carrying the supreme concept of rending.
CRACK-CRACK-CRACK!
Three sharp, almost simultaneous reports echoed like snapping bones. Under the golden dragon claw, the thick, shimmering ice barriers offered no more resistance than layers of crisp parchment. They exploded outward in a glittering storm of harmless crystal dust.
The chilling wind of the claw's passage washed over Xu Xiaoyu's back. In that instant, he felt the brush of true mortality—a cold, clean slice of terror that had nothing to do with elemental ice. His combat pride evaporated, replaced by primal survival instinct.
'If this were real... I'd be dead.'
His hand, moving on pure reflex, slapped violently against the emergency beacon on his wrist.
Yao Xuan's claw tore through the space where Xu Xiaoyu's torso had been, closing on empty air. The youth's form dissolved into a shower of blue-white light particles, whisked away by the Platform's safety protocols.
"Escaped," Yao Xuan murmured, his claw slowly retracting. A faint frown touched his brow, then smoothed. 'A swift decision. Clever.' He allowed a hint of respect to temper his earlier contempt. 'No matter. He's insignificant. And his sister will be a classmate... a teammate. It's better this way.'
A dense, multi-hued stream of spiritual energy—the accumulated essence of the soul beasts Xu Xiaoyu had hunted—bloomed in the space where he vanished. 'Compensation for my trouble,' Yao Xuan thought with wry amusement. His Ancestral Dragon Spirit materialized and eagerly consumed the rich energy, further solidifying its millennium foundation.
Outside, in the real-world observation area of the Spirit Pagoda, a tall, square-jawed man in an expensive suit watched his two children materialize from their pods. Xu You, Treasurer of Donghai City and a man accustomed to control, wore a stormy expression.
"Why are you both out already?" His voice was low, tight with suppressed anger.
Xu Xiaoyu, pale and shaken, straightened. "Father, I'm sorry. We had a millennium beast cornered, severely wounded it, and someone stole the kill. I... confronted him. He was stronger than anticipated. We had to withdraw." His explanation was technically true but artfully trimmed.
Xu You's sharp eyes flicked to his younger daughter. Xu Xiaoyan stood slightly behind her brother, her hands clasped, her sapphire eyes wide and anxious. She said nothing, but her expression spoke volumes.
"What you say," Xu You's voice turned icy, "seems to differ from what your sister's demeanor implies."
Xu Xiaoyu flinched, unable to meet his father's gaze.
"You!" Xu You's disappointment was palpable. "I called in favors, spent a fortune, for those riot-period passes. So you could help your sister strengthen her spirit for Donghai Academy's elite class. And you waste it on a petty squabble? Over pride?" He took a sharp breath, mastering his fury. "Return home. Now. Reflect on your conduct."
With a last, disapproving glance, he ushered a silently trembling Xu Xiaoyan away, leaving a humiliated Xu Xiaoyu to follow. The grand opportunity had been squandered.
Back in the simulation, Yao Xuan journeyed deeper. He dispatched several more millennium beasts, his methods efficient, his power a constant, radiant pressure in the chaotic forest.
Then, the environment shifted. The air grew hot and thick, carrying the scent of ash and musk. The ground began a low, rhythmic tremor. From ahead, through the trees, came deep, guttural roils that shook leaves from branches.
A tide of flame and fury emerged.
Lions. But lions wrought from living ember and savage grace. Their fur burned with actual fire, from small, dancing licks on the five-meter females to roaring mantles on the three-meter males. Thirty sets of predatory eyes, glowing like molten gold, locked onto him. The Flame Lion Pack.
Normally, creatures of such individual power would be solitary. But Flame Lions were a proud, social exception. A mature male was a millennium beast with the combat power of a three-thousand-year creature; a female, a five-century beast rivaling a millennium foe. Together, they were a force that could scour a forest clean.
Yao Xuan's blood didn't run cold. It sang. A fierce, challenging light ignited in his eyes.
'Perfect.'
The Flame Lions' greatest weapon was fire—precisely the element his Ancestral Dragon heritage and Overlord Body were most resistant to. The strongest among them, through his [Eye of Observation], radiated the power of a two-thousand-year beast. Dangerous, but not insurmountable for him.
His decision to stand and fight wasn't born of mere bravado. As the pack slowed, fanning out in a practiced semi-circle to surround him, a new system prompt etched itself into his vision:
Slay 10 Lions: 50 Gold Evolution Points.
Slay 20 Lions: 150 Gold Evolution Points.
Slay 30 Lions: 500 Gold Evolution Points.
Five hundred points. That was the key. That would not only secure his bloodline's breakthrough to 20% but leave a substantial surplus. The reward justified the risk. Even if he failed to clear the entire pack, partial rewards were valuable. And the safety of the beacon was always there.
The lead male, a massive beast with a fiery mane like a burning sunset, roared. The sound was a physical wave of heat. The pack answered, their chorus a promise of incineration.
Yao Xuan didn't retreat. He settled into a ready stance, the nine-colored light around him intensifying, pushing back against the waves of oppressive heat. The dragon scales on his arms gleamed. He was a solitary golden mountain against a surging, flaming tide.
"Come on then," he whispered, a promise to himself and the system. The trial of the Riotous Period had just escalated into a war of annihilation.