Chapter 67: Unstoppable Might, Slaying the Eight Beast Kings!

Lu Yuan’s voice was exceedingly calm, devoid of any hint of debate. He merely stood atop the Golden-Winged Roc, gazing down at the vast tide of beasts below. Fixing his eyes on the White King at the vanguard, he spoke again, “You’re right. In this new era, the law of the jungle reigns. Survival of the fittest—there’s only one way to resolve conflict, and that’s with strength. You can lead a beast tide to threaten human cities because you’re powerful. And I, alone, can slay all the beast kings present. So my words, too, are truth.”

His words drifted down to the eight great beast kings assembled below.

Roars erupted, one after another.

They were all enraged. For a mere human to be this arrogant—did he truly believe he could single-handedly annihilate all the kings present? To them, it was an insult, a naked declaration of war.

Their furious bellows echoed across the region, shaking the distant forests, sending leaves tumbling down. These beast kings, all shackled realm existences, possessed intelligence rivaling humanity’s—perhaps even greater pride. Now, thoroughly provoked, they seemed ready to tear the man before them to shreds.

“You certainly have courage. Let’s see if your abilities match your bravado,” the White King snarled, scarlet eyes blazing. As a beast itself, the killing intent it released became a tempest, surging toward Lu Yuan in the sky.

“You wait for me from afar,” Lu Yuan said, instructing the Golden-Winged Roc to withdraw.

Without hesitation, he raised his right hand, splitting the storm, then leapt down from the heights. His aura surged outward.

Thunder boomed.

When he landed, he struck out with his right fist, aiming at the White King. The immense force vibrated the very air, generating a roaring gale of power.

The weaker beasts around him staggered back, unable to withstand such pressure. With senses more acute than any human, they could instinctively feel danger. Though Lu Yuan hadn’t unleashed his full aura, what he showed was already enough to instill fear, forcing them to retreat.

Lu Yuan had but one goal: kill all the leading beast kings, and the beast tide would naturally scatter.

A wild bull appeared then, massive horns atop its head glinting with a dark light. Another beast king, it had broken two shackles, and now its hooves—like grinding stones—sought to trample Lu Yuan to pulp.

The battle had finally begun.

At the temporary command post in Chang’an City, Commander Xu and the others watched the scene unfold on their monitors. Their faces were masks of shock and disbelief.

A lone figure appeared, first engaging the White King in conversation, then, moments later, initiating combat. And his opponents were shackled realm beast kings! The onlookers were dumbstruck, desperate to discern what was happening, but poor signal meant they couldn’t hear a thing.

“Can we get a clearer image? I want to see who that person is,” Commander Xu ordered, deeply shaken. For someone to plunge into a beast tide and directly confront the beast kings—this was unbelievable.

Even if they couldn’t hear, at least they might see. As far as he knew, humanity had a handful of shackled realm existences, but none were as advanced as this one. This figure was not among their known ranks.

“It’s impossible. The beasts’ auras disrupt the signal, and with this level of battle, the energy fluctuations are too great. With our current technology, just keeping a visual is the limit,” a soldier replied, trying his best but unable to do more.

“Commander Xu, should we intervene? He’s fighting alone—he may not survive,” someone suggested.

“Exactly. There are eight beast kings, all of them shackled, and the White King is among them.”

“We must help, or this man is doomed.”

The room was full of anxious voices. To charge into a beast tide and fight the kings—one must be shackled realm at least, but even so, facing eight such beings alone—how could anyone win?

“No, wait—he’s just killed a beast king!” someone exclaimed. It was the Northern Emperor, who had been glued to the screen, now visibly shaken.

All eyes turned. They saw the blurry figure suddenly leap into the sky. Without any weapon or special technique, he drove his fists forward, shattering a beast king’s massive body—the resulting blood mist rained down, staining the earth red.

“My God, how long did that take? He killed a shackled beast king already?”

“Is this real? Could the equipment be malfunctioning?”

“Incredible. He’s terrifyingly strong.”

Commander Xu, Director Zheng, and the white-robed elders sent by the authorities were all wide-eyed, stunned beyond words. They’d expected disaster, but now the situation had exceeded all expectations.

“Pass down the order—everyone stay silent,” Commander Xu said after a moment’s shock. They mustn’t risk distracting the mysterious stranger now.

The others agreed. The prior gloom was swept away—they now believed the beast tide would be broken. If they used thermal weapons, they might even injure this powerful ally, which would only complicate matters.

A mighty man had appeared, slaying a beast king in an instant.

Perhaps the tide would be turned.

“Not good—he’s being surrounded!” someone cried, seeing the figure hemmed in. Once again, hearts leaped into throats as everyone watched tensely.

As they saw on the screen: after slaying the wild bull king, Lu Yuan faced the White King’s shock. The White King ordered the remaining six beast kings to attack and joined them himself.

This human was strong—no wonder the Golden-Winged Roc had chosen him as master. Yet, so what? The plan to attack the human city would not cease.

“All of you at once?” Lu Yuan mused. “Good. Saves me the trouble of hunting you down one by one.”

He showed not the slightest worry, remaining as composed as ever. Taking a step forward, his inner energy roiled, his organs thundered with such force that his blood boiled, his entire being erupting with might—a primeval beast from ages past.

The world itself seemed to thunder around him. His aura surged with a golden sheen, but he still relied solely on physical prowess.

Ahead, a mantis the size of a human appeared, with sickle-like forelimbs flashing with a cold gleam. It was powerful, having broken three shackles, and moved with uncanny agility, as if wielding a mantis-style martial art, drawing near with ghostly speed.

“Pointless theatrics,” Lu Yuan scoffed. His fist fell like a comet.

His understanding of the world’s sword had given him a new perspective—technique and movement were superfluous. Absolute strength was everything.

One force can shatter all arts.

He punched, accompanied by the roar of his blood. A faint golden light cloaked him, making him appear almost divine.

As his fist collided with the mantis king’s sickle arms, the air exploded.

In an instant, the mantis king’s body shattered, disintegrating completely.

Without pausing, Lu Yuan turned to another beast, stomping down with one foot.

The ground fractured, unable to withstand the force. The beast king’s head exploded, and it died on the spot.

Next, a shadow flickered within his energy, his heart pounding like a war drum. A wolf king, attempting a sneak attack, was crushed before it could draw close, its bones splintering, blood gushing forth.

Three beast kings dead, each slain with a single blow, their bodies reduced to bloody rain. Yet Lu Yuan stood amidst the carnage, untouched, immaculate.

He was like a god, or perhaps a demon—unstoppable in every sense.

“Four beast kings, dead just like that?”

“Incredible—just how strong is he?”

“In so little time? Does this mean he might kill all the beast kings by himself?”

In the command room, everyone felt a chill run down their spines. When had humanity birthed such a formidable being?

Their shock was swiftly joined by exhilaration.

Earlier, all had been prepared to fight to the death, knowing that even if they held back the beast tide, the price would be immense. But now? Before the battle had even begun, one man had reversed the entire situation.

Four beast kings—if any of them had been alone, they would surely have died.

But could this man defeat the strongest of all, the White King?

According to what they knew, the White King had broken ten shackles.

On the battlefield, the White King trembled at the sight, never having imagined a human could wield such terrifying power. Yet it did not retreat—rallying the remaining three kings, it attacked once more.

The White King’s body was immense, like a moving mountain, sending tremors through the earth. Yet it was agile; its tail, thick as a pillar, swept across like a thunderbolt.

The three other kings, led by the long-armed ape, joined in.

Lu Yuan was unafraid. His organs thundered again, his aura rising higher. Feet planted on the ground, his eyes shone with a piercing divine light. He punched—meeting the White King’s tail, capable of destroying a small mountain, and repelled it outright. The scales, harder than alloy, shattered, flesh exploding to reveal bone.

As for the other three kings, he raised his palm. The Jade Emperor’s Celestial Thunder Art appeared.

Thunder rolled. Lightning seemed to gather in his hand.

The three beast kings couldn’t evade and were struck head-on. The blazing thunder raged through their bodies, two fell dead within moments. The last one didn’t last much longer, collapsing to the earth, its charred flesh cooked through.

Seeing this, terror finally flickered in the White King’s eyes. Understanding its foe’s strength, it opened its jaws and unleashed its most powerful attack.

From its mouth burst a dazzling silver light, packed with terrifying energy, blasting toward Lu Yuan. The explosion was cataclysmic—dust and debris soared skyward as if a missile had struck. Many beasts retreated, their bodies trembling.

As the mightiest beast king, the White King was indeed formidable—stronger even than the Golden-Winged Roc.

Yet Lu Yuan charged forward. Gathering his blood and energy in his palm, he tore through the silver radiance, appearing before the White King in an instant and struck out again.

Compared to the White King’s massive bulk, he seemed insignificant—a mere ant. But that punch contained immeasurable force.

The White King, mountain-like, was sent reeling, its colossal body rolling for hundreds of meters. Its scales were blown apart, unable to resist at all.

But Lu Yuan did not relent. He transformed his fist into a blade and brought it down upon the White King’s vital point.

With a sickening crunch, the White King was cleaved in two, its life-force rapidly fading.

It was a scene of awe—the slayer of seven beast kings, Lu Yuan now stood as a war god incarnate. Even the White King, strongest of all, was no match, crushed utterly.

Yet Lu Yuan frowned slightly, gazing ahead.

The remnants of the White King’s body, though halved, were not yet dead; writhing, it fled at breakneck speed.

It was truly afraid—this human was too terrifying. Desperate, it raced over a thousand meters in the blink of an eye, heading for the Qinling Mountains.

The White King knew: if it stayed, it would die. It had been trampled from beginning to end. As for its plans to destroy cities and slaughter humans? All that was forgotten in the face of death.

Smart, Lu Yuan thought with a cold smile. “But do you really think you can escape?”

With a flick of his hand, the Heaven-Shaking Bow materialized. In an instant, he drew it. The energies of heaven and earth converged, forming a golden arrow. As in Qingyang City before, he poured thunder into the shot, ensuring a kill.

A wave of annihilating energy surged forth.

Lu Yuan aimed at the fleeing White King.

“You may kill me, but what then?” the White King roared, sensing mortal peril. “There are more and stronger beasts than you can imagine. A grand plan is in motion. Kill me, and you declare war—you’ll only have temporary safety. If you let me live, I can mediate. The war between humans and beasts could be averted—I can...”

It broke off, seeing Lu Yuan had already released the arrow.

A golden shaft streaked out, charged with thunder. The White King, grievously wounded, exploded under the impact; what life remained was instantly extinguished.

The war between humans and beasts was inevitable, with or without the White King’s death. Even if it had been spared, it could not have stopped the conflict. As both sides had said: the law of the jungle prevails.

Only absolute strength can resolve all troubles. Mediation, at best, brings fleeting peace.

Lu Yuan understood this, and so he did not hesitate.

He stood as before, his clothing immaculate.

Dead.

The White King was dead. All eight beast kings were dead!

In the temporary command post, silence reigned. The shock in every heart would not subside.

This man was too powerful—beyond all they had ever known of human Awakeners. Words failed them.

Alas, the energy surges had blurred the signal—the image was just a hazy silhouette.

At last, as Zhu Qingyu witnessed the White King’s death, her spirit shook violently. She murmured, “I think... I know who he is!”

(End of chapter)