The Wolf King returned to Luoshan, his tribal territory.

In the Beast Realm, there are Seven Mountains and Eight Veins.

After returning from the Ruins, he successfully expelled the previous Wolf King and became the leader of the Luoshan Tribe.

The old Wolf King was not angry but rather pleased to be dethroned.

The Wolf King was his youngest child, and he had always been disappointed with him.

Now that the Wolf King finally showed some bloodlust, he gladly stepped down.

He said, “What you lacked was a bit of the ambition to compete, content with ease. If you could always maintain the bloodthirstiness of the day you seized the position, I think even Wumu would not be as good as you.”

Prince Wumu?

The Wolf King sneered.

He had always looked down on Wumu, thinking of him as a beast whose brain was consumed by beastly instincts, extreme in personality, and merely possessed of bloodline.

The Wolf King valued emotions more than the beastly bloodline revered by the Beast Race.

In a part of his heart he never revealed, he admitted he preferred the orderly manners of humans rather than being a beast who only knew bloodthirsty slaughter.

The Wolf King swept back to Luoshan like a gust of wind.

His subordinates wanted to report but fell silent in fear when they saw his unusually serious expression—being able to hold the position of tribe leader meant he had his own power and methods.

The Wolf King ignored this subordinate, waving his tail to dismiss him.

He paced in circles within the cave like a trapped beast.

His mind alternated between Qin Ruqing’s smiling face—thinking she was scamming him again—and her solemn appearance—“The Great King may think I’m joking, but the truth is there. You will know once you investigate.”

To investigate—hmm, investigate whether the Beast Emperor is dead?

Such a thought seemed absurd to the Wolf King even after a moment of contemplation.

He should have torn that human apart on the spot!

The Wolf King gritted his teeth in his heart.

Her words were nothing but lies; he was out of his mind to believe such nonsense.

The Wolf King felt he had made up his mind when he heard his subordinate’s voice from outside the cave.

Annoyed, he was about to dismiss them, but the subordinate, sensing his irritation, urgently explained outside the cave:

“Chief, it’s His Majesty. His Majesty has summoned the leaders of the Seven Mountains and Eight Veins, saying that there is a new deployment for the war!”

A new deployment?

The Wolf King was stunned.

At that moment, he did not feel relieved—relieved that the Beast Emperor was not dead.

If dead, how could he issue a decree?

Instead, he felt an unprecedented suspicion.

The human’s words kept echoing in the Wolf King’s mind, “The truth will be known once you investigate.”

To investigate.

The Wolf King shut his eyes tightly and, upon opening them, gave a low command.

“Send orders to go to Beast Head Mountain!”

---

Inside the Beast Head Temple, all the tribal leaders gathered.

The Beast Emperor did not appear but used the bronze statue in the temple to communicate with them.

Everyone was unaware of any abnormalities.

The Beast Emperors of past generations only showed their true forms on necessary occasions, mostly using disguises or bronze statues.

This practice was to set themselves apart from other beasts, highlighting the Emperor’s status.

Moreover, their true form was enormous and required the activation of bloodline power to fully manifest.

Like a human’s sword, once unsheathed, it had to be used, to achieve some effect.

This was a normal phenomenon, but to the Wolf King, who already had doubts, it made him ponder deeply.

How long has it been since His Majesty last revealed his true form?

When was the last time?

In the center of the hall, the bronze beast head statue’s voice rang like a great bell: “… Launch a full-scale attack to drive the humans back to the human realm.”

The voice echoed in the vast hall.

The Wolf King understood but was also stunned.

The Emperor’s intention was for an unprecedented scale of war, mobilizing all the forces of the Seven Mountains and Eight Veins, almost implying a decisive battle.

The Wolf King’s astonishment was not unique; voices of dissent arose, mostly questioning: With the current situation, is it really time for such a desperate fight?

Although the humans were acting like mad dogs now, they were a controlled kind of madness, with rationality and strategy.

The Beast Race was clearly in an advantageous position (even though they had recently been somewhat stifled); was there really a need to act so urgently?

But this time, the Beast Emperor did not seem to be consulting with the beasts but issuing an order, using bloodline power to suppress opposing voices.

The pressure was immense, like seawater cascading from the sky, instantly immobilizing all the beasts, who lowered their heads and made submissive murmurs.

The Wolf King, also among the submissive, felt the suppression of bloodline power unpleasant, but he found himself painfully trying to distinguish something.

… It did indeed have the Emperor’s level of aura, no different from the one from the last sacrificial ceremony.

But what was strange was this exactness.

Who, when angry, uses the same aura, strength, tone, and duration of voice?

Isn’t this strange?

The Wolf King’s rationality told him that there should be no problem.

The Emperor’s style was as usual; how could it be wrong?

Yet his instinct, driven by bloodline and nature, told him that something was very wrong!

The Wolf King felt inexplicable agitation.

Facing the bronze statue in the temple, he felt no instinctive closeness or reverence but rather irritation, unable to resist the urge to peek behind the bronze statue.

Was he influenced by that human?

Or was the “Beast Emperor” now revealed truly problematic?

After the meeting, the Wolf King exited the temple with a grim expression.

One of the leaders who had a good relationship with him wanted to approach and discuss the matter, but was intimidated by the Wolf King’s low-pressure aura and couldn’t help but ask, “W-what’s wrong?”

The Wolf King suddenly came to his senses.

Seeing the Moon Mountain Beast Leader, he turned his eyes and deliberately spoke in a sorrowful tone, “I still feel that our Emperor’s actions are too rash. At this moment, where we should be mobilizing all our forces, if we can delay the human forces peacefully, why make a big fuss?”

“Exactly!” The Moon Mountain leader stomped his foot angrily, his neck fur bristling like flowing water.

He looked around and whispered, “But for some reason, the Emperor’s attitude is unprecedentedly firm. I’m afraid he really intends to continue this fight.”

The Wolf King looked at him and sincerely suggested, “Why don’t we gather all the beast leaders who are against this and try to persuade the Emperor?”

The Moon Mountain leader hesitated for a moment and gritted his teeth in agreement, “Alright!”

The major mountain beast leaders returned to the temple to see the Beast Emperor but were stopped by the Emperor’s personal guards.

“We have urgent matters to report to the Emperor!” The Moon Mountain leader protested.

It was the first time such prominent Demon Kings were stopped by personal guards.

But the guards, apparently under orders, were particularly stern and did not let them through.

With a subtle test, the Wolf King deliberately released his bloodline pressure.

Normally timid guards were unusually unyielding today, still refusing to let them pass.

The Moon Mountain leader was both angry and astonished, “I didn’t realize you had such spirit!”

The Wolf King remained silent, feeling a heavy heart.

Was it really spirit?

He gritted his teeth and decided to take a risk, preparing for potential punishment later.

He forced his way into the temple.

With his lead, the other leaders followed, and the personal guards could not stop them.

However, upon reaching the inner sanctum, they found no sign of the Emperor.

“The Emperor isn’t here?” The Moon Mountain leader was puzzled.

Didn’t they just finish the tribal meeting?

“Where is the Emperor?” The Wolf King asked sharply, releasing his pressure on the guards who hurried in after them.

Under the combined pressure of the leaders, one of the guards finally couldn’t hold it in and said, “The Emperor is at Tianxing Mountain…”

The Moon Mountain leader scratched his head in confusion, “Wasn’t he just in the temple? How could he be at Tianxing Mountain so soon?”

To the Wolf King, this was like a thunderbolt from a clear sky.

Tianxing Mountain, which matched what the humans had said…

Since the meeting in the hall, less than half an hour had passed.

Had the Emperor gone back to Tianxing Mountain immediately after the meeting, or had he never left Tianxing Mountain from the beginning?

“We should go to Tianxing Mountain,” the Wolf King said solemnly.

However, at the boundary of Tianxing Mountain, they were stopped again. “Leaders, please return. The Emperor does not see visitors.”

“Could it be that the Emperor is determined to fight, deliberately avoiding us because of our opposition?” The Moon Mountain leader was uncertain, and after several attempts, he was beginning to have second thoughts.

The Wolf King pondered and then said to the guarding soldiers, “Since the Emperor does not see guests, have the Prince meet us instead. Isn’t he in charge of the blood pool matters? Since the main army is about to launch a full-scale assault, does the blood pool plan still need to proceed?”

The guards went to report and returned to say, “The Prince is currently overseeing the blood pool matters at the mountaintop and is temporarily unavailable to see the leaders. However, he said that the blood pool plan will not cease until the last moment of the war.”

The leaders exchanged glances.

At that moment, the Wolf King’s heart sank to the bottom.