The legendary warrior

"His power's too strong!" A palpable tension sailed through whispers of quivering mouths. "A-amazing…"

The mysterious man in Blood Robe spared a spiteful glance to the onlookers. Driven still by the ominous threat that lay behind the being's scrutiny, they sealed their mouths shut in fear of offending him.

This male was not normal by any means. After all, he was none other than the incarnation of the Sacred Blood Lion.

"Welcome to Lion King Castle!"

Benson and his disciples fell to their knees in one swift movement, displaying their unwavering reverence for the spirit before them. They couldn't be more delighted to be standing on the dais as they beheld his awaited arrival.

However, the guest harbored such deep and clear hostility towards the group, that their futile attempt to plow past his indifference with the use of courtesy went ignored.

It was a fact that Ricky couldn't completely comprehend. He thought that the relationship between the subjects would be one filled with homage, what with the widespread legend of its ancestry. And yet, a disturbing truth dawned on him as he further observed the situation; humans and beasts, with their glaring differences, were just as incompatible as mixed oil and water.

If it weren't for the submissiveness of the contenders, the spirit would have started a massacre if he had felt even the slightest malicious intent drifting from one of them.

He shifted his predatory gaze to Benson's form, not bothering to hide his distaste. "Here are the three drops of blood essence from my body. Take them," he said as he regarded them coldly, stretching out his right hand to reveal his bloodstained fingertips. Three dark beads of blood slipped past the thick surface of his skin and floated towards Benson.

The receiver took out a jade bottle from his loose sleeve hastily as he prepared to catch the flying drops of liquid. He couldn't help but feel excited at the sight of it, his hands trembling with the obvious effort to stay calm.

"Thank you, my honorable Sacred Blood Lion!" Benson bowed deeply to the benevolent figure. His disciples followed his actions shortly after.

"This marks the end of the debt I once owed to your castle. From now on, expect that I will no longer be back. Your kind and mine shall never mingle again, and if ever we do--" his glare bored into them, chipping away at the chunks of metal serving as their armor. To him, it must've looked like mere toys. "--we are to meet as enemies."

He left in a trail of dark red smoke, disappearing without a trace in the open air.

It appeared that the Sacred Blood Lion was more than unwilling to pay a visit to a human's territory.

The warriors all sighed in relief at his departure, finally able to breathe at ease without the all-encompassing presence.

Then, one by one, heads snapped like magnets entranced to a piece of metal as the king held the white, delicate jade bottle that contained the blood essence. Greed reflected in their eyes, burning rays into the small object that almost seemed to melt under its intensity like wax against a white-hot flame.

No warriors in this world could've had the tenacity to resist the temptation of the rare matter.

Even so, resorting to using underhanded tactics was a taboo amongst the whole region. One must go through the Iron Blood Trial to earn such a prize; if not, they would face the wrath of the Snow Sect.

A conceited warrior of Bone Reinforcement had taken it upon him to commit such a foolish, daring act once.

name found its own home on the Sect's death list as a prime wanted man. Soon enough, the

the nerve to oppose the

always followed the tradition of pouring all the blood essence into the Sacred Blood Pond, but if his disciples fail in the test, what would be there for Lion King Castle to gain?" he pondered over the matter as he whispered with a childlike sense of wonder tainting the sound of his voice. "The Lion King Castle would only be doing a huge favor to the other participating sects. In my opinion, it's a deal that would only

the blood's energy has been drawn out before it's dribbled into the Scared Blood Pond?" Grace answered,

rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly before flashing her an awkward smile, "Oh… Is that so?" At least now, all doubts inside

itself with guarding this place. Having

and strong really is everything, I'm

Grace's words as a source of hope for him to

...

I hold in my hand. The Iron Blood Trial will proceed three days from now as scheduled; I hope you'd all do well, especially with the knowledge of this event being

the crowd into shouting with glee and jubilation with his

Everyone in the area had come with an undeterred will; they were all prepared to see

...

pack slowly dissipated in numbers as everyone began to leave the venue. Ricky and Grace followed suit but were

to Ricky in a venomous tone, while she was

appraising manner, and immediately

of nature. Ricky bristled at the foreboding sense of feeling he got from the male, more so when he saw Grace's expression shift into one of surprises upon

away, choosing to prioritize dealing with the annoying woman belittling him without

I

signs of the vulnerability Connie must've hoped to see after

painted their atmosphere with straining pressure. It was

no right to judge my disciple!" Grace argued,

could you say such a thing? Both of us are core disciples of the Snow Sect. It's our collective

basked in joy upon witnessing her face crumble in lividity. "This guy doesn't even know how to act in front of his senior. I'd very much like to teach him about manners, but my disciple shall take over in my

you be willing to do this job

and asked, knowing full well that his question was

him would surely be in good hands during the

to his jeers and asked him instead, "Is this young disciple of yours at the eighth grade of Skin Refinement? Or higher?" Ricky visibly recoiled as his attention swept to Jim,

ourselves? I'll be looking forward to it," he studied Ricky in contemplation, a sneer appearing on his cruel face as

let's leave it

followed

...

recede into the distance, Harald went to Connie and said, "Be at ease, that bastard won't survive the trial." He whispered what he thought

it so bad to kill Ricky right there and then, stopping at the right time when she realized that she was