Chapter Fifty-Three: The Emperor of Savage Beasts

After witnessing the images within the four screens, especially the annihilation of the four great powers by the ferocious beast army, the elders of the Tiger Clan could not help but widen their tiger eyes in terror. A chill crept over their bodies as they silently stared at the glowing curtains. The White Tiger Hall, which had just regained a trace of vitality, fell once again into utter silence—not merely quiet, but as cold and still as the abyss.

“Everyone! Of the five great powers of the Western Wilds, four have already been destroyed by the ferocious beast army. Now, the beasts stand before White Tiger City, clearly intent on wiping out the Tiger Clan and unifying the Western Wilds!” Tiger Moon’s silver eyes flashed with divine light as she swept her gaze across the elders, her voice solemn and commanding.

Indeed, the beast army had come prepared, seeking to eradicate the five powers of the Western Wilds and claim dominion. Four had already fallen; only the Tiger Clan remained. Yet, could the Tiger Clan preserve itself?

The elders looked toward Elder Tiger Moon in the center of the hall, their hearts filled with countless doubts, yet powerless to voice them. Against the absolute strength of fifty million beasts, the Tiger Clan had neither hope nor possibility of survival.

“Beast army? How did the beasts suddenly awaken intelligence and launch simultaneous attacks against us and the other four powers of the Western Wilds? Tiger Moon, do you know the cause?” Second Elder Tiger Sun, unlike the others who wallowed in despair, remained clear-minded and raised a crucial question: Why had the beasts suddenly awakened?

His inquiry jolted the elders from their reverie. They had focused solely on the overwhelming power of the beast army, neglecting the cause of its sudden emergence. Since the dawn of the primordial era, beasts had roamed the world in ignorance, never possessing such wisdom or strategic intent—how could they now attack all five powers at once, seeking to unify the Western Wilds?

Beasts were ranked by strength: Beast Soldier, Beast General, Beast King, Beast Lord—corresponding to True God, Lord God, God King, and God Lord. Heaven cherishes life, and there is always a path for survival. Though beasts are violent and bloodthirsty, hated by heaven and earth, they can gain some intelligence through cultivation. According to studies by the myriad races, Beast Generals possess the intellect of a two-year-old, able to distinguish life and death; Beast Kings have the mind of a seven- or eight-year-old, aware of advantage and harm; Beast Lords are like adolescents, roughly fourteen or fifteen, capable of rudimentary scheming.

But the grand plan to unify the Western Wilds was far beyond the capacity of a mere Beast Lord.

Herein lay the problem: what had happened among the countless beasts of the primordial world to awaken their intelligence?

Tiger Moon, hearing Tiger Sun’s question, narrowed her eyes, a gleam flashing within, yet she did not answer. Instead, she looked toward the lofty throne.

The elders of the Tiger Clan, each possessing a keen mind, turned their thoughtful gazes to the imposing figure upon the throne—steadfast as a mountain, majestic and noble.

Tiger Shatian met their looks without avoidance—he had no need to hide. Though his heart bore a thousand wounds, his face remained expressionless as he spoke slowly, “Among the countless beasts, a Beast Emperor has emerged.”

What?!

Hearing Tiger Shatian’s raspy yet authoritative voice, the elders felt their brows twitch violently, their hearts struggling under the relentless barrage of shocks.

The leader who guides a race to rise and prosper is called “Emperor”—like the Ancestral Dragon, Phoenix Mother, Qilin Ancestor, White Tiger Ancestor Tiger Shatian, and so forth. These pioneering figures could all be termed “Emperor.” Yet, Emperor could also mean the supreme Divine Emperor.

The likes of the Ancestral Dragon, Phoenix Mother, Qilin Ancestor, White Tiger Ancestor Tiger Shatian, being proud and lofty, did not wish to bear an empty title, and thus called themselves “Lord” instead of “Emperor.” As far as the races of the primordial world knew, no true Divine Emperor had yet emerged.

Thus, the Beast Emperor did not refer to someone with the cultivation of a Divine Emperor, but to the leader of the countless beasts. If the beasts had produced such a leader—a Beast Emperor—they could be called the Beast Tribe.

The Beast Tribe! What a weighty term.

Beasts were synonymous with ignorance; the Beast Tribe, however, signified intelligence. If the countless beasts had become the Beast Tribe, who among the myriad races could withstand their onslaught?

Although the Western Wilds were known as the Western Desert, in truth, only thirty percent of the land was barren. In the primordial era, spiritual energy was abundant and the environment superb. Only the regions bordering the Central Continent were desert, hence the name Western Desert.

At the heart of the Western Wilds—

Where once endless verdant mountains and crystalline rivers flourished, blessed with spiritual energy and sacred peaks, now all had been transformed into hills and streams of blood, exuding boundless murderous intent.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Countless beasts, radiating lethal aura, marched solemnly across the land—no longer savage, but dignified, as if proclaiming their dominion as masters of the earth.

Legions of blood knights, clad in crimson armor and wielding blood-spears, their emotionless eyes cold as ice, rode these ferocious beasts into the distance.

At the far edge lay a snow-white, sacred, and magnificent city, aglow with endless golden light—White Tiger City.

At the center of the blood knight army, ten Beast Kings pulled a vast, crystalline, and mesmerizing blood palace with reverence.

Blood Palace. Blood Hall.

A figure, seated upon a throne of blood, slowly opened a pair of crystal-clear, blood-hued eyes, in which was reflected the holy, snow-white White Tiger City.

“So, you’ve finally realized? Too late.”

A cold smile touched the blood-colored figure’s lips, then he closed his eyes again to resume his arduous cultivation.

Indeed—too late.

Had they discovered the birth of the Beast Emperor at the outset, the united strength of the five powers of the Western Wilds, together with the other four regions, could have destroyed the Beast Emperor and nipped the threat in the bud.

But the Beast Tribe had risen in sudden violence, gathering absolute might to crush four powers of the Western Wilds, leaving only the Tiger Clan in peril.

Even if the Tiger Clan now sought aid from the other regions, it was already too late.

Now, the Tiger Clan was beyond salvation.

A thousand thoughts whirled through Tiger Shatian’s mind, endless schemes and possibilities, but in the end, all that remained was a sigh from the depths of his heart.

“How I wish to battle you.”

Suddenly, Tiger Shatian thought of the Beast Emperor whom he had never met, and a boundless fighting spirit welled up within him.

To face such a formidable foe and be denied battle—what greater regret could there be in this life?