Chapter 1296: The Great Divine Beast
"So you're a rebel..."
Xiao Ran grinned, revealing a face full of manic delight. "I was just thinking that I owe you for helping me get promoted to 'Divine Beast' this time. What a shame... Maybe putting 'righteousness above family loyalty' right as I take office will show Qinglong just how much I value my new position."
Black Sheep pushed Earth Monkey aside and said, "I originally thought there was a slim chance we could become 'allies'... But it seems I was being naive..."
"'Allies'?" Xiao Ran sneered. "No. Because you've committed a fundamental error, we are now mortal enemies."
"Mortal enemies..." Black Sheep laughed bitterly. "Looks like I have quite a few opponents to challenge today... Bring them all on... Two 'Heaven Grade' and one 'Divine Beast'... Sounds like I'll be recorded in history..."
Xiao Ran never expected Black Sheep to be this insane. The moment he finished speaking, he lunged at her with a dagger.
But he truly looked extremely weak. The strike had almost no killing power, merely slicing across Xiao Ran's chest.
"Ah!!" Xiao Ran screamed, startling everyone nearby. "Are you fucking crazy! That'll leave a scar!"
She loosened her clothes slightly to check, and noticed there were already characters carved there. Black Sheep's slash had cut right through the words "My Princess," leaving them looking grotesque and mismatched.
"This is bad..." Xiao Ran paused. "How am I supposed to explain this to Qinglong... I was going to say I had those four words carved for him..."
Feeling she had no time to dwell on this, she quickly tied her clothes back up, turned around, and roared at the crowd of "Human Grades": "Are you all blind? Can't you see he's attacking a 'Divine Beast'? Get him!"
This statement left the "Human Grades" stunned.
"You're a 'Divine Beast'... and you want us to go?" one "Human Grade" asked timidly. "Can't you just kill him yourself? He's already badly injured..."
"Do you dare to disobey me?!" Xiao Ran was instantly furious. "Do you believe I'll go find Qinglong right now and explain the situation?"
Xiao Ran's threat did intimidate the crowd for a moment, but facing Qinglong meant death, and confronting an "Earth Grade" also meant death. Everyone felt that this newly appointed "Divine Beast" was giving them an utterly unreasonable choice.
"You might truly be new to this role, completely unaware of how things work here..." Black Sheep paused. "'Human Grades' don't take orders from 'Divine Beasts.' At most, they obey their own teachers."
Earth Monkey grinned upon hearing this. He found Black Sheep's words quite interesting—as if spoken both to the "Divine Beast" and to those wavering "Human Grades."
After all, no one had ever explicitly ruled whether a "Divine Beast" could command "Human Grades." But now Black Sheep had drawn a clear line of responsibility, effectively making the choice for the "Human Grades."
"That's right, that's right... We have to listen to our own teachers," the "Human Grades" chimed in. "And if you're really a 'Divine Beast,' why don't you just kill this Earth Sheep right now and prove it to us?"
"That's right! You should be able to kill him with a flick of your wrist, right?"
Hearing the "Human Grades" speak so brazenly, Xiao Ran burned with rage.
"Fine... Fine... How dare you talk to me like that..." She gritted her teeth but had no idea how to deal with these people.
She had no real power herself. She didn't even fully understand how those eyeball abilities worked.
How could she possibly punish them right now?
"Just you wait..."
Xiao Ran spat out a threat, slowly backing away. Under the bewildered gazes of Black Sheep and Earth Monkey, she actually assumed a posture of preparing to flee.
Everything this "Divine Beast" had done since appearing had defied their expectations. If she actually ran now... wouldn't she lose all face in front of the "Human Grades" on her very first day in office?
Xiao Ran glared fiercely at the "Human Grades" before her, then looked back at Black Sheep and Earth Monkey. "And as for you two... Don't think you're safe just because I'm leaving. You're the first mortal enemies I've encountered since taking office... If you have the guts, wait right here. Let's see what you'll do when Qinglong arrives."
"Both of 'us'?" Earth Monkey could only shake his head and laugh bitterly at the absurdity of it all. "Great 'Divine Beast,' can't you see that I'm a hostage being coerced? My injuries are all on my back, and there are bloodstains on my neck."
"Ha... Do you think I'm stupid?" Xiao Ran laughed in fury. "You two were laughing and chatting together, standing on the same side... Now that a 'Divine Beast' has arrived, is about to report to Qinglong, and the situation has turned—you suddenly remember you're a hostage? Isn't that a little late?"
"Hahahaha..." Earth Monkey's face was full of helplessness. "Oh dear... What do we do now... The new 'Divine Beast's' strength is terrifyingly formidable, her deductive powers border on divine... Let me think what I can say to salvage this situation..."
"Stop dreaming!" Xiao Ran roared. "Qinglong entrusted me with such great authority precisely to purge people like you. Feeling regret now?"
Earth Monkey nodded. "Great 'Divine Beast,' if that's the case... is there any way for me to survive if I don't rebel now?"
"There's no way left for you." Xiao Ran cast one last look at the crowd, then turned and retreated into the distance. "All of you just wait."
As her words fell, she turned and ran, completely indifferent to the stares of those behind her.
Seeing her pathetic retreat, even the perpetually cold Black Sheep couldn't help but smile.
He vaguely sensed Bai Yang's purpose in arranging this person to board the vehicle. In the few minutes she'd appeared, she hadn't added a single wound to his body. Instead, she had reignited his fighting spirit, distracted him from thoughts of death, and allowed his barely lingering life to hold on a little longer.
Beyond that, with just a few words, she had turned an Earth Monkey into an ally. Even he felt ashamed of his own inadequacy.
"Now it's my turn to ask you." Black Sheep looked at Earth Monkey. "Given this situation, what's your take?"
Earth Monkey's expression was one of bitter resignation. "Black Sheep, if that woman really is the newly appointed 'Divine Beast,' then I've lost all hope in Qinglong... Even if I survive, under her brilliant leadership... the days ahead won't be easy."
"I sympathize with you somewhat, but you can still reconsider," Black Sheep said indifferently.
"No need. Some people can hold a knife to my throat, and I can still feel they don't want to kill me. Others only need to say a few words for me to see a hopeless future." Earth Monkey stretched his limbs. "There are at most a dozen more doors between here and Tian Hu's location. I'll hold off the 'Human Grades.' You go."
Earth Monkey's aura exploded outward, and the dozen or so "Human Grades" before him all began to retreat.
"Everyone, make way," Earth Monkey said. "Starting now, I'm rebelling. You all heard it—this was decreed by the 'Divine Beast.' I'm rebelling on her orders."