Chapter Sixty: The Tiger Tribe's Lament

Southern Wilderness, the Ten-Thousand Mountains.

The Ten-Thousand Mountains sprawled in a circular formation, their heart dominated by a towering divine peak that soared ten thousand zhang into the heavens. This mountain, rising to such heights and rooted deep within countless earthly dragon veins, was awe-inspiring, magnificent—a veritable ladder between heaven and earth, the pillar of the Ten-Thousand Mountains: Titan Mountain.

Atop Titan Mountain stood a grand, imposing palace—the Titan Hall—gazing down from its heights upon the Ten-Thousand Mountains and even the vast lands of the Ancient Wilderness. The Titan Hall, serving as the highest center of power for the Titan clan, fully embodied their aesthetic ideals. Its exterior was earthy yellow, bold and unrestrained, its style rugged to the extreme. Within, nine great pillars of earth-yellow supported the hall, endlessly drawing upon the spiritual power of the land.

Inside Titan Hall, ten earth-yellow stone thrones were arrayed—one central, nine subordinate—each radiating boundless light and suffused with the infinite strength of the earth. The thrones varied in height and aura, reflecting the authority and power of their owners. The throne that shone with the strongest divine light and rose ten zhang high was the supreme seat of the Titan clan, reserved for their chieftain: Titan.

The remaining thrones measured nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, and three zhang—the last three each three zhang tall.

In the present era of the Ancient Wilderness, a barrier known as the "Gate of Celestial Dimensions" blocked the path for Divine Kings seeking to ascend to Divine Lords. Thus, the lands were filled with many beings at the peak of Divine King power. Yet even among these, there were differences in strength.

Take, for instance, the Candle Dragon Ao Xuan and the Water Dragon King Ao Run: both were peak Divine Kings, but their power was worlds apart. The Candle Dragon alone could defeat ten Dragon Kings of Ao Run's caliber.

To differentiate the strength among peak Divine Kings, the denizens of the Ancient Wilderness used the ten-zhang true form of the Primordial Divine Lord as a standard. The three-zhang true form marked the lowest grade; with each added zhang, one drew closer to the power of the Primordial Divine Lord. From three to nine zhang, there were seven tiers, known as the Seven Heavens.

The Candle Dragon possessed the nine-zhang true form of the Seventh Heaven, while Ao Run held the eight-zhang true form of the Sixth Heaven. The difference of one zhang meant a tenfold disparity in power.

Those who achieved the nine-zhang true form among peak Divine Kings were also called "Half-Lords."

In ancient times, respect was reserved for the Primordial Divine Lord, whose ten-zhang true form reigned supreme. Yet, some ordinary beings, through arduous cultivation and countless fortunes, also ascended to the rank of Divine Lord.

However, ordinary Divine Lords could only attain the nine-zhang true form, falling short of the Primordial Lord's ten-zhang. In other words, a peak Divine King with a nine-zhang true form was already on par with a regular Divine Lord. Thus, the Seven Heavens' peak Divine Kings were known as "Half-Lords."

Of course, even reaching the Seven Heavens was not within reach for just any creature. Aside from the Primordial Divine Demons, only the elders whose bloodline most closely matched their ancestral founders among each race could attain this pinnacle.

At this moment, all ten earth-yellow thrones radiated boundless light; except for the nine-zhang throne, which stood empty due to the Grand Priest Taishan being away on a campaign, the rest were occupied by the rulers of the Titan clan.

A towering figure sat upon the highest, most radiant throne, exuding unmatched authority—the lord of Titan Hall. This was Titan, chieftain of the Titan clan.

"Taihai, tell us in detail the intelligence you've gathered. What has happened in the Western Wilderness?"

Titan's tone was calm, yet it pressed upon every priest present with a powerful aura, tightening their hearts. As a Primordial Divine Lord who had ruled the Titan clan for millions of years, every gesture and word carried immense pressure, like the master of the earth, compelling all demons to submit unconsciously.

Fortunately, the priests were accustomed to Titan's overpowering presence; otherwise, any ordinary elder of another clan would have been subdued instantly, their life and death at Titan's mercy.

"My Lord, behold! This is the soul memory extracted from the mind of the Tiger Clan's Grand Elder, Tiger Star."

Taihai respectfully bowed to Titan, then extended his right hand, gently pointing to the space above the hall's center. A golden screen, ten li wide, appeared out of thin air, its images flickering as it replayed the Tiger Clan's annihilation.

The footage showed White Tiger City besieged by fifty million ferocious beasts, the council of the Tiger Clan announcing the Beast Emperor, the beast army breaching the city, and the Tiger Clan's chieftain, Tiger Shatian, leading his elite in escape.

As the priests watched, their faces changed drastically, anxiety gripping their hearts. Titan himself remained expressionless, unmoving, as if unsurprised—perhaps he had known all along.

Taihai, observing Titan and the other priests, seemed to find an answer in Titan's demeanor: the chieftain was indeed aware of the Beast Clan's affairs, perhaps even involved. The more Taihai pondered, the more anxious he became; his body, usually impervious to heat or cold, suddenly broke into a sweat. From the sudden rise of the Beast Clan to their conquest of the Western Wilderness, Taihai, with his exceptional intuition, sensed the whiff of a conspiracy.

For millions of years, the major clans had dominated the Ancient Wilderness, firmly controlling its fate. How could the Beast Clan rise without a trace, annihilate the great clans of the Western Wilderness, and unify it?

There was only one answer: all the great powers knew of the Beast Clan's existence, deliberately allowed their ascent, even kept it secret from the Western clans, letting the beasts sweep and conquer.

As Taihai's thoughts grew wild and his mind unraveled, a stern gaze landed on his expressionless face, as if it could see his very thoughts.

That gaze, both concealed and obvious, escaped the notice of the other priests, but Taihai felt its power. He immediately realized the chieftain had caught him speculating, quickly composed himself, and pretended nothing was amiss.

"Stay after the meeting," came Titan's authoritative voice within Taihai's mind.

If it is fortune, it will come; if it is calamity, there is no escape.

"Yes," Taihai replied with a wry face, respectfully.

As Titan and Taihai exchanged words, the screen reached the most intense, most shocking moment.

Tiger Shatian, leading the Tiger Clan's elite aboard their warship, flew toward the border of the Western Desert, seeking to cross into another wilderness and escape annihilation.

But upon reaching the border, Tiger Shatian realized his doom was inevitable.

All across the Western Desert, the sky was shrouded in endless blood clouds, while the land below teemed with a countless, ferocious beast army.

What did "endless" mean?

For a common tiger, a thousand beasts would be endless; for a divine tiger, ten thousand; for a true tiger, a hundred thousand; for a celestial tiger, a million; for a Tiger King, ten million.

But for Tiger Shatian, who had attained the Divine Lord realm, "endless" meant at least a hundred million beasts.

Yet, as he looked out across the millions of li of the Western Desert, sky and earth alike were crowded with the beast army. The number was enough to bring despair—even three hundred million! Moreover, the army kept marching in, swelling the ranks ever further. How many beasts would there be then?

Tiger Shatian did not know; he only knew his fate was sealed.

"The Ancient Wilderness is in peril!" he cried, his roar echoing with the final wail of a Tiger Lord. Transforming into a great white sun, he burst open a rainbow-colored tunnel through space, hurling the surviving Tigers into its depths.