Teng Yin’s fangs sunk into Lei Hu’s neck.
Although white tigers’ fur was firm as iron, it was useless in the face of Teng Yin’s fangs.
The Flying Serpent Clan members’ fangs contained potent venom. The instant Teng Yin’s fangs entered Lei Hu’s neck, the tiger’s body started writhing about violently. Over and over again, his tail lashed against Teng Yin’s body like a steel whip.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
It tore into both skin and flesh.
Teng Yin truly seemed determined to take Lei Hu down with him. No matter how many times Lei Hu hit him, he didn’t budge in the slightest. His fangs remained embedded in the tiger’s neck.
“Teng Yin, you’re seeking death!”
Lei Hu no longer attempted to stabilize his technique. Teng Yin’s poison had already left him somewhat numb.
If he let the poison spread any further, he was doomed.
Boom!
His claws cut into Teng Yin’s body. Before long, both of them fell from the clouds and crashed into the valley below.
Lei Hu opened wide and chomped down on Teng Yin’s neck.
Although they were both heads of one of the Ten Primordial Divine Beast Clans, all they could rely on now were their most basal, animal instincts.
Claws.
Fangs.
These were their most fundamental weapons.
Stomp.
Lei Hu stepped on Teng Yin’s tail, holding him in place, and swung his claws at the serpent’s head.
“Roar”
As Lei Hu let out a lengthy roar. Teng Yin finally relaxed his bite. However, in but an instant, his thick tail wrapped around Lei Hu’s. Then his jaws, finally empty, took yet another bite.
Chomp!
They tore into each other.
Lei Hu’s claws raked at Teng Yin’s sides, leaving behind b.l.o.o.d.y gashes. Fresh blood gushed out of the gaping wounds.
“Bleh.”
Lei Hu spat out a mouthful of flesh and blood. Between the two of them, Teng Yin was undoubtedly in worse shape. However, as the poison spread throughout Lei Hu’s body, his consciousness gradually started to fade.
He couldn’t stop himself; blood poured out of his jaws and spilled onto the ground and lightning whirled uncontrollably around him.
The two great divine beasts’ collided right in the valley, shattering cliffs and sending rocks flying.
“Die!” roared Lei Hu.
Boom!
The compressed cyclone exploded against Teng Yin’s head, shattering his neck into pieces.
Teng Yin had been cut in two. His snake’s tail relaxed its grip on Lei Hu but his fangs remained stubbornly embedded in the tiger’s neck.
Wham!
Lei Hu collapsed to the ground with a loud bang. His majestic and imposing true form gradually reverted to his human shape.
He reached and removed Teng Yin’s head, which was still stuck to his neck, then plucked out his fangs.
Black blood poured out of the wound. He weakly opened his eyes and leaned into Teng Yin’s corpse.
He didn’t speak.
Memories of the past rose unbidden in his mind. Images of Zhuge Hong rose to the surface, to linger there forever more.
In this lifetime, there was something he’d never dared say to her.
Tiger Lei, you’re really a good-for-nothing.
He could no longer control the sphere of light amongst the clouds. Pythons of pure lightning flooded outward. Their target? Lei Hu, who lay collapsed at the bottom of the valley.
Boom!
Dazzling white light burst out of the valley. As lightning poured out of Lei Hu, the surrounding mountainsides crumbled in his wake, burying him beneath the rubble.
Back within the White Tiger Clan, a scar-faced man felt a sudden surge of pain in his chest, then shut his eyes.
“Ol’ Lei!”
Boom!
Ye Zichen and the others were tangling with Gu Li and Black Dragon when they saw the burst of white light followed by the valley’s collapse.
“Tiger Lei!” the other three Sacred Beast clan heads cried out, eyes bloodshot.
Floating amongst the clouds, Black Dragon shook his head and sighed, “they went out together. It’s a pity about brother Teng Yin. But then, this is good too. At least he got what he wanted.” His expression was somewhat grieved.
Not far off, Gu Li smirked, “Your Excellency Black Dragon, isn’t that a little too fake? What you’re really thinking right now is definitely, ‘Teng Yin was somewhat useful. At least he managed to take the White Tiger down with him,’ isn’t it?”
“What a joke. Even if the tiger lived, so what? Hmph. He got what was coming to him. Would this have happened to him if he’d agreed to be my mount?” Black Dragon snorted in contempt. However, he spoke out loud rather than sending a transmission.
The other three clan heads were mourning the White Tiger’s death. When they heard this, they glowered at Black Dragon with bloodshot eyes.
Ye Zichen did the same. Although he hadn’t known Lei Hu for particularly long, his straightforward personality had left a great impression on Ye Zichen.
He never would have guessed that Lei Hu would die.
“Scree…..”
The sonorant cry of a phoenix echoed through the air as they saw an enormous bird take to the skies, its hundred-foot long body bathed in flames.
A vermillion bird.
That was a vermillion bird’s true body.
“Roar……”
The roar of an azure dragon.
Practically the instant Zhuge Hong returned to her true form, Xia Hua’s body shook as he transformed into a roaring azure dragon, followed by a snake-headed, turtle-bodied Xuanwu tortoise.
The Azure Dragon of the East.
The Vermillion Bird of the South.
The Xuanwu Tortoise of the North.
Each of the three great sacred beasts took their positions. Their terrifying fury reached the heavens.
“So you’ve all taken on your true forms. Shouldn’t you have done that earlier? If you had, that old friend of yours might have fared better.”
As he looked at the fully transformed Sacred Beats, Gu Li smiled flippantly. By bringing up Lei Hu, he was clearly deliberately rubbing salt in their wounds.
Then he turned to Black Dragon and arched his brows. “Your Excellency Black Dragon, what do you think? It seems these sacred beasts want to avenge their fallen friend. Also, they’ve all returned to their true forms. It’s actually pretty terrifying!”
“Hmph, I’m afraid they haven’t got the strength.” Black Dragon smiled with wanton arrogance. “Let’s just send them off to see that white tiger. But we’d best leave me that dragon. I feel like he ought to make a good mount.”
“No problem. I’ll catch him alive, then.”
They spoke as if the Sacred Beasts didn’t even exist. The clan heads ignored them, instead greeting them with a raging fireball.
Black Dragon hefted his sword.
Just like before, he cut the flames directly in half. This time, though, the flames didn’t dissipate. Instead, after colliding with his sword, they spread out.
In the blink of an eye, Black Dragon and Gu Li were completely surrounded by the raging flames.
The entire sky transformed into a sea of fire.
“Open!”
A streak of sword light shot through the flames, slicing the sea of fire in half. It flew towards the vermillion bird but, just as it was about to land, the xuanwu tortoise blocked its path.
“Roar!”
Almost simultaneously, the Eastern Azure Dragon made his move. His draconic tail swept through the sea of flames, only for someone to grab it, stopping it in its tracks.
Gu Li walked out of the flames.
They soon saw Gu Li, his entire body burnt black. He grasped the dragon’s tail as he strode there the flames.
He shook.
As he shook himself, his outer, blacked lair of skin instantly sloughed off. Gu Li was like a snake shedding its skin; there was a layer of fresh, undamaged skin beneath the burnt outer crust.
And his hand still held Xia Hua’s tail firmly in place. No matter how much he struggled….
He couldn’t escape.