They are an independent sect from the Chaos World called the Heavenshatter Sect, and this artifact was originally one of their powerful treasures. As for the White Tiger Divine Beast, it was once a mutated white tiger taken in by a sect expert from outside. Later, however, the mutated white tiger stole the artifact and left the sect. In the end, the sect was forced to send five people after it, but the White Tiger Divine Beast was far from simple—it trapped all five inside the artifact, intending to slowly torment them to death.
"That mutated White Tiger Divine Beast must be pretty strong now—at least at the God realm, right?" Yang Han asked curiously.
"More or less," Shane Xiao sighed.
Yang Han realized the White Tiger Divine Beast was likely no weaker than the King—that meant it was at least God realm.
Yang Han then asked about the White Tiger Divine Beast's weaknesses, and sure enough, it had one: it feared intense light. He was puzzled, since the beast itself wielded light-like powers—why would it fear white light? When he asked, he learned that it had once been subdued by someone using overwhelming light against it. So although it possessed light powers, whenever it encountered someone else's strong light, it would freeze for a moment.
Hearing this, Yang Han knew he had a way to deal with the White Tiger Divine Beast. He continued searching for an exit with the two companions.
On the road, Yang Han asked about the stone steles. When Shane Xiao heard Yang Han had entered those steles and come out alive, he looked shocked. Especially when he asked, "Do you know what those steles are?"
"I don't, so I'm curious," Yang Han replied.
"Those are all divine beast illusion steles. I've heard our sect's top experts forcibly copied the abilities of true divine beasts to create them," Shane Xiao explained.
Yang Han was stunned. To copy divine beast abilities would require immense power—probably even Gods couldn't do it. Seeing Yang Han only knew about Gods, Shane Xiao laughed, "There are beings stronger than Gods, so stay calm."
This shocked Yang Han even more. Could there really be beings stronger than Gods? What was going on here? But it fired him up—he wanted to see what powers those stronger than Gods might possess.
Just then, the other companion pointed ahead and said, "Look, there's a tunnel."
Yang Han and Shane Xiao looked over—sure enough, there was a tunnel. The three were overjoyed and walked to the entrance. Shane Xiao said, "Once we're out, there'll definitely be a fierce battle. Back then, even five of us couldn't subdue the White Tiger Divine Beast; now it'll be even harder. If we can escape, we should."
Seeing Shane Xiao already giving up on fighting, Yang Han smiled, "I'll help you."
"It's no use. Back then, our team had someone who could wield the Light Attribute, but he's gone now. Even if you help, it won't make much difference," Shane Xiao said helplessly, shaking his head.
Yang Han laughed, "That's easy. Watch this." He condensed a beam of light in his hand.
Seeing Yang Han also had the Light Attribute, the two companions were overjoyed.
"That's perfect. You'll take the main attack, we'll support you. But you must stop him before he activates his power," Shane Xiao said.
Yang Han nodded, "No problem. We'll subdue him as fast as possible."
"Alright, let's go out together," Shane Xiao said.
Yang Han and the other companion got ready, then all three walked out together. When they appeared again, they saw the White Tiger Divine Beast sleeping soundly. But the beast quickly sensed their presence; as it opened its eyes, it stared at the three in disbelief.
Yang Han seized the opportunity, instantly releasing his Light Attribute. The light enveloped the White Tiger Divine Beast, making it seem blind for a moment, but it quickly recovered. By then, Shane Xiao had already used a rope artifact to bind the beast tightly.
"Beast, let's see where you run now," Shane Xiao snorted coldly.
The White Tiger Divine Beast saw the rope and grew furious. It remembered being taken back by this artifact before, and now it was trapped again. Unwilling, it growled, "You hateful humans—if only I'd killed you all back then."
"You brought this on yourself. You tried to torment us to death, and now it's payback. Today we'll take you back to the Heavenshatter Sect and let the sect deal with you," Shane Xiao said.
Hearing this, the White Tiger Divine Beast panicked. It had caused plenty of trouble in the sect back then, and returning meant disaster. It began begging for mercy, instantly acting like a tame tiger—but it was too late. Shane Xiao had already sealed it in a spatial container.
Then Shane Xiao thanked Yang Han, "Thank you. Without you, we'd have died long ago, let alone captured the White Tiger Divine Beast."
"Without you, I wouldn't have known how to deal with this mutated White Tiger Divine Beast, so it's nothing," Yang Han replied with a smile.
"Either way, we owe you. Now it's time for us to return—the sect must be worried after so long. If you ever need help, come to the Heavenshatter Sect; I'll give you the address, and we'll help you with our lives if needed," Shane Xiao said with a smile.
"Alright, head back," Yang Han said with a smile.
Shane Xiao nodded, then he and his junior vanished in a flash. Yang Han stood alone in the empty cavern, thinking it was time to leave. With a single flash, he appeared in the palace.
The angry roars from underground had already alerted the King, so he planned to investigate. He arrived just as two people vanished from below and Yang Han appeared.
Seeing the King looking at him in shock, Yang Han smiled, "Long time no see."
"White Tiger—where's Lord White Tiger?" The King noticed the beast's aura was gone and cried out in alarm.
"Oh, its real master took it away. What, worried? Your White Tiger Dynasty needs to understand: from now on, it'll just be you as king," Yang Han said with a smile.
"What? Impossible! You're lying," the King protested.
"Don't believe me? See for yourself," Yang Han chuckled.
The King had no time to check below—his priority was to trap Yang Han and prevent him from escaping again. He tried to borrow the White Tiger Barrier's power, but the formation wouldn't respond.
Yang Han laughed, "I told you, it's useless. The beast is gone. What, still hoping to use its tricks to trap me?"
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The King refused to believe it, but after trying many times and failing, he was left stunned. Yang Han laughed, "I'll spare your life for now. When I can kill Gods in an instant, I'll come for you."
Yang Han laughed loudly and left, leaving the King furious, feeling he'd been bullied all along. The reason Yang Han didn't attack the King was simple: first, he wasn't sure he could kill him; second, there was no deep grudge. Yang Han didn't want to risk his future by being careless here, so he gave up the idea and left the White Tiger Dynasty.
Soaring through the sky, Yang Han was accompanied by Lynn Lin and the others.
"Feels great—after all that fighting, we can finally relax and enjoy the scenery," Yang Huo said with a smile.
"Not bad. You all performed well this time. Now, where can we go to keep tempering ourselves?" Yang Han asked curiously, since he wasn't familiar with the area.
"Bloodfiend Ground," Melody Wood replied.
"Bloodfiend Ground?" Yang Han asked skeptically. Lynn Lin exclaimed, "Ah, that place is so bloody!"
"What kind of place is that?" Yang Huo asked curiously.
"It's a place where killing is everything. I've heard the Bloodfiend Ground was created by a powerful expert called Bloodfiend, whose strength is definitely above Gods. There, as long as you reach certain requirements, you can get Blood-Marks—the same kind of Blood-Mark you saw on Heavenrend last time," Melody Wood explained.
Hearing about the Blood-Mark, Yang Han remembered it vividly and asked, "Yeah, that Blood-Mark is pretty mysterious. I wonder what kind of place the Bloodfiend Ground really is."
"Killing Challenge!" Melody Wood said.
"Killing Challenge?" Yang Han asked skeptically.
"That's right. In a Killing Challenge, every time you kill someone of equal or higher rank, you get their Blood-Mark. If they don't have one, a Blood-Mark is automatically added. The more people you kill, the more Blood-Marks you get, and the stronger you become. I've heard of people who killed tens of thousands, collecting tens of thousands of Blood-Marks—enough to withstand a third of an enemy's attack power," Melody Wood explained.
Yang Han was shocked, "Is it really that amazing?"
"Of course. But it's extremely dangerous—either you die, or someone else does. That's how it works. So if you go in, be ready to risk your life: challenge others, or be challenged yourself," Melody Wood said.
"Sounds perfect for me. Do you all have the guts?" Yang Han felt this kind of life-and-death tempering was just right for them.
"I like it. I'm going," Yang Huo said. Melody Wood agreed, and Lynn Lin grumbled, "If you all go, I guess I'll go too."
"Are you all decided? Once we're there, I won't help you—live or die, it's up to you." Yang Han intended for them to face the challenge independently, so they could truly grow.
"If we don't go, we don't go. Besides, higher ranks can't challenge lower ranks. I don't believe we could lose," Lynn Lin said.
"Good. If you're confident, I'm at ease. Let's go—where exactly is the Bloodfiend Ground?" Yang Han asked curiously.
"I've heard that Bloodfiend Realm is another world—you have to pass through a special tunnel to get there. From here, it'll take a few days," Melody Wood explained.
"No time to waste. Let's set out," Yang Han said.
Melody Wood and the others nodded and headed for the so-called tunnel. Neither Melody Wood nor Lynn Lin had ever been to Bloodfiend Realm, so they weren't sure of the exact location. After a few days, they found a city and asked around, learning that the tunnel only appeared once a year, for half an hour each time. If you missed it, you'd have to wait until next year.
Luckily, there was still a month until the next opening, so everyone could prepare in the small city.
"Strange—why is it hotter here than elsewhere?" Yang Han asked curiously.