Chapter 1284: Petition

"Esteemed Leader, please pause your consumption of the power essence. There is something our fellow White Tiger brethren have kept hidden in their hearts for too long. Today, I represent everyone in making a request to you."

The Third Leader seemed to realize what was about to happen. He slowly paused his pace of power absorption, reopened his eyes, stood up, and gazed imperiously at the group of White Tiger warriors.

"I am truly curious to hear what you wish to say to me."

"It's simple. Lately, the warriors of the Spotted Tiger clan, under the Second Leader, have seen a significant increase in their strength. Currently, our White Tiger clan's overall strength can no longer compete with that of the other two tiger clans. We are often oppressed by warriors from the other two factions. Upon reflection, our brethren haven't received any replenishment from the power essence for quite some time now. Therefore, today I dare to petition you, Leader, on behalf of our other kinsmen, hoping to receive a portion of the power to enhance our strength. This would also help us White Tigers gain more influence within the clan."

As soon as the general finished speaking, the Third Leader burst into exaggerated laughter, almost to an absurd degree. However, the moment that laughter ceased, an incredibly chilling aura of slaughter instantly enveloped the White Tiger general. Immediately afterwards, his entire body disintegrated into nothingness, leaving behind only a grotesque mist of blood for the White Tiger warriors.

All the White Tiger warriors were completely dumbfounded. Even Xu Yang and the others, who had blended into the very back, could barely believe what they were witnessing, and thus gained a completely new understanding of this Third Leader of the White Tiger clan. This was a truly heinous character, selfish and ruthless to the extreme. He would stop at nothing to satisfy his desires and was utterly unworthy of being a racial leader. His cultivation and character were vastly inferior to those of Queen Thalia, by countless levels.

"Such a fellow is completely unfit to continue leading the White Tiger clan!"

"Heh heh, who said that just now? Step forward!" The Third Leader's cold gaze immediately locked onto Queen Thalia, who was at the very back of the group.

This time, the Queen showed no hint of fear. Even without the White Tiger disguise, she still would have dared to step forward and confront this fellow.

"Was I wrong in what I said? Every White Tiger kinsman present here, I believe, shares this thought. They simply dare not speak out against your authority, despite their anger. The White Tiger general just now always took great care of us, his subordinate kinsmen. But you? A self-righteous superior who only issues commands, you ruthlessly obliterated him without hesitation, simply because he touched upon your interests. How can such a person continue to be the leader of our White Tiger clan? Today, even if it costs me my life, I must demand an explanation from you; otherwise, I would not be worthy of the White Tiger general who just met his demise!"

Queen Thalia hadn't anticipated that her words would resonate so strongly with the genuine White Tiger warriors standing beside her.

However, in response, the Third Leader merely let out an earth-shattering tiger roar, which caused the entire secret realm to tremble violently. An incredibly powerful aura instantly erupted, leaving no room for resistance for the White Tiger warriors before him. All the weaker White Tiger warriors were sent flying backward.

Only Xu Yang and a few others remained motionless, making them stand out conspicuously. However, Xu Yang and his companions were already prepared for battle. There was no point in continuing their disguise in this situation.

"Oh, I'm rather curious now. When did such powerful individuals like yourselves suddenly appear within my White Tiger clan?”

"Heh heh, there's plenty you don't know. If we didn't have some power, how would we dare to petition for these hardworking White Tiger warriors? Today, your time as leader ends. Whether you like it or not, you will face this outcome. This is the fate you deserve. We few will personally slay you and distribute your power to these White Tiger warriors!”

Xu Yang spoke coldly, slowly walking to the front of their small group. He stared coldly at the Third Leader before him. It was at this moment that two golden streaks of sword energy materialized in his pupils, and he no longer suppressed his aura.

A potent force, channeled through his pupils, entered the Third Leader's soul world, exerting immense pressure on him. "Who exactly are you? You are not a White Tiger warrior at all! Your strength even surpasses mine!”

This time, it was Xu Yang's turn to laugh heartily. "Unfortunately, you will never get your answer." As his words fell, an incredibly colossal limitless sword beam materialized behind Xu Yang. The mighty sky-cleaving sword ascended into the cosmos.

In front of all the White Tiger warriors, it heavily cleaved down upon the head of the Third White Tiger Leader. This was a sword strike that Xu Yang had barely managed to execute, having desperately suppressed his own power output. Yet its power had already surpassed the limits that the Third White Tiger Leader could withstand. The terrifying force directly pierced the Third White Tiger Leader's power essence. His life essence was rapidly draining away.

Because he was currently in the central area of the formation, which naturally possessed extremely powerful absorption properties, any damage to his physical strength would cause the breach to be infinitely magnified, thereby becoming integrated into the formation's original operational trajectory. The Third Leader lost all his reliance. None of his fellow clansmen chose to help him, and naturally, there was no additional power to help him stem the loss of his life force. He could only watch helplessly as the power essence he had painstakingly accumulated over so many years vanished completely within a single strike.

"You damn bastard, I'll kill you!”

The Third Leader was completely enraged. Ignoring his rapidly expanding wounds, he unleashed an incredibly potent killing force. "Fire King Vajra Seal!"

With a furious roar, the Third Leader unleashed the White Tiger clan's most powerful ultimate technique. The individual offensive power of this move even surpassed Queen Thalia's current peak combat strength, despite her having already undergone two bloodline transformations thanks to Xu Yang's power. Yet, even this ultimate move was still far from being able to contend with the extreme outburst of a Ten Kings-level expert.

Unfortunately, this time his opponent was Xu Yang. The mere weight of those two words was something an existence of his level could never contend with. With a casual wave of his hand, Xu Yang effortlessly dissolved the opponent's ultimate power. The Third Leader fell into complete despair. He had never dreamed that he would so inexplicably die at the hands of his own clansmen.

"Today you face this end, and I only wish to prove one principle: Greedy individuals will eventually pay the price. In an era and region where collective strength is paramount, ignoring the feelings of your own clansmen and solely pursuing greater personal power is the most foolish act. Consider, if you had a hundred White Tiger warriors under your command, each possessing half of your own strength, what would your team have to fear? A lion leading a flock of sheep can never defeat a sheep leading a pride of lions!”

Xu Yang uttered this profound maxim, and with the final downward slash of the sword beam, the Third White Tiger Leader of the Tiger King clan officially perished. He became the first Ten Kings-level leader Xu Yang's team had slain since entering the Extreme North Barren Domain.

Although his strength could not be compared to that of Tiger King Zun, who possessed the Beast Emperor's legacy, nevertheless, a lean camel is still bigger than a horse; being able to lead the Tiger King clan, one of the Ten King tribes, was sufficient proof of his power. However, all of this ultimately turned to nothingness due to his greed.