A Prelude to Slaughter

Both Xiao Chen and Liu Mu were utterly spent. After resting long enough, Liu Mu re-entered the black mist, continuing his cultivation in that harsh environment. His spatial spiritual power had sealed him in place; he stood like a fossil, unmoving. Xiao Chen, meanwhile, resumed his circuit around the fog-shrouded zone.

The fight had been swift and brief, contained within a sealed space, and had not disturbed the three skeletons or Keke. Off in the distance, King Qin Guang, King Yan Luo, and King Samsara had never followed; the forbidden zone around the divine stele seemed to affect them profoundly, leaving them ill at ease. Keke had not come either, lingering alone among the bone fields far away.

Completing a full circuit around the stele, Xiao Chen found that there was simply no way to penetrate the life-forbidden zone. At best, like Liu Mu, he could advance a few meters before sensing a terrifying aura of annihilation.

When Xiao Chen returned, Keke chattered and bounded up to him, pointing at the hundred-meter-high divine stele and gesturing vigorously, as if trying to tell him something it had discovered.

'Ya-ya-ya-ya-ya.'

Dissatisfied that Xiao Chen could not understand, Keke threw a small tantrum, dismantling a pile of giant bones more than ten meters high beside them, then waving its tiny white paws in a fierce gesture. But it possessed not a shred of menace, and Xiao Chen found it oddly amusing, reaching out to stroke its fluffy body.

Five days passed in an instant. Xiao Chen spent all his time near the Bone Sea, probing its secrets—most of it near the divine stele, using the destructive aura it emitted to stimulate his own potential. The outer edge of the life-forbidden zone proved an excellent place for cultivation.

During those days, Xiao Chen noticed that besides Liu Mu, others had begun to appear in the region. He knew they were experts—people who had ventured deep into Dragon Island early were confident in their own strength.

Keke did not actually follow Xiao Chen; it was merely curious about everything new. Days it spent circling the divine stele, muttering 'ya-ya' to itself, as if lost in thought. Xiao Chen let it be. This strange little beast could certainly not be tamed by force.

As for the three skeletons, they seemed unwilling to approach the stele or even remain in the Bone Sea. They chose to cultivate in the silent forest bordering the bone fields, the lotus marks on their foreheads growing more brilliant by the day. It was evident their cultivation was on the verge of a breakthrough.

On the eighth day, several figures suddenly appeared in the Bone Sea, and more than a dozen practitioners emerged from the dead-still forest, breathing life into this deathly silent region for the first time.

Those from the outer island had arrived!

In the wooded mountains dozens of li away, many more figures were moving about, with people building wooden huts on various suitable peaks. The outer-island cultivators had made a collective migration, advancing deep into Dragon Island!

In truth, this was only natural. Everyone was trapped on Dragon Island, which meant they would be living here for a long time. With savage beasts roaming everywhere, only by gathering together in the same area could cultivators ensure their safety.

Dragon Island was vast; sooner or later they would have to explore every region, never content with the outer perimeter alone. This push into the central zone was a major collective action; thereafter they would gradually map out all areas.

Of course, not every practitioner followed the crowd—many had already left on their own.

Several hundred people were now scattered across dozens of mountain peaks, the various alliances keeping their distance. This region bordered the silent forest, about a dozen li from the Bone Sea.

When Xiao Chen appeared, he immediately drew widespread attention. After the recent great battle, many alliances knew he was powerful—a 'sharp blade' not to be trifled with.

Xiao Chen noticed that everyone he met looked at him with a strange light. Later, from an alliance founder who tried to recruit him, he learned that Yan Qingcheng's Undying Alliance had publicly declared a month-long life-or-death pursuit. And after vanishing for so many days, he had now reappeared so brazenly—no wonder people were astonished.

This news left Xiao Chen momentarily stunned. The thing he had feared had come to pass. Though alliance sizes were limited to prevent any one power from becoming king of Dragon Island, matters were still sliding in the wrong direction. Alliances might appear constrained on the surface, but as long as enough power was concentrated, anything could be manipulated from the shadows.

In the earliest days of these rules, no one dared to be the first to break them. But now that a precedent was set, it would become inevitable—everything could be controlled from behind the scenes. This was precisely why Xiao Chen had withdrawn far away after the great battle—he had foreseen this situation.

He had already deduced that the earlier restrictions were only temporarily effective. Eventually, hidden hands would undermine them, making Dragon Island increasingly brutal. Those with burning ambition and restless behind-the-scenes manipulators would gather alliances into secret superpowers.

Clearly, once the various regions of Dragon Island were fully mapped, a terrible reshuffling was inevitable. The great powers would wage hidden, bloody conflicts, and of the current six or seven hundred people, half might die in the turmoil.

Xiao Chen sensed the danger. Perhaps it was time to form an alliance. But all the true experts had already been recruited. After careful consideration, he decided he did not necessarily need to establish an alliance—only needed to rally a few experts like Liu Mu to watch each other's backs. That would be better than any formal alliance.

Liu Mu alone had the strength to challenge an ordinary alliance. If three or five fighters of his caliber stood together, no one would dare provoke them.

Xiao Chen's appearance drew considerable notice, but to avoid unnecessary trouble, he quickly vanished from sight and spent a long time making his way to the Dalai Alliance encampment of Yizhen and Yichi.

The two monks, whose bearing was transcendent and otherworldly, were enjoying their midday meal—meat and fish, as usual, so incongruous with their refined air that Xiao Chen could not help a smile every time he saw it.

'A rare guest.'

'Join us for a vegetarian meal.'

The two monks were warm and welcoming. Xiao Chen was speechless—such a lavish meat feast, and they still called it a vegetarian meal. These monks truly possessed a carefree heart.

Over their shared lunch, Xiao Chen gathered considerable intelligence. Yan Qingcheng had indeed led her people in pursuit of him, but it seemed they had taken the wrong direction, not following him into the depths of Dragon Island, instead entering a mountain range midway.

Brother Yichi speculated that Yan Qingcheng and her group had likely discovered a juvenile companion dragon king and wanted to capture it. Though they could not leave Dragon Island, subduing a companion dragon would make any alliance invincible once it fully matured. Without an Ancestral Dragon, a companion dragon king would be a terrifying invincible overlord.

After finishing the wild game feast, Xiao Chen accepted a bamboo cup of coconut juice and asked Yizhen, 'Did the Undying Alliance dispatch its full force?'

'You aren't thinking...' Yizhen quickly guessed Xiao Chen's intention.

'Since they've already made their move against me, why should I be courteous? Rand is badly wounded—he probably didn't go with Yan Qingcheng. I want to wipe out their remaining forces.'