Chapter 433: Who Exactly Is It?

"What?"

Luo Tang and Fang Jin's eyes reddened.

Spirit beasts are equivalent to human experts who have transcended the mortal realm. Their blood not only enhances the bloodline of barbarian beasts but also tempers the human body, significantly increasing one's strength. This substance was even more precious than spirit stones. They hadn't expected the final reward for challenging the Ten Beast Cage to be this!

However… even if they had known about such a reward, they would never have participated. No matter how potent a treasure, you needed to be alive to claim it! Otherwise, if you were dead, what good would the reward do?

"At the same level, it's hard enough to defeat one barbarian beast, let alone challenge ten. Let's go quickly and see who it is. Are they… tired of living?" Luo Tang said, gritting his teeth.

He had always been confident, even believing the champion of this grand competition would be him. Yet, even he would never dare face ten barbarian beasts alone. Who could it be? To just barge in like that, even causing the entire Beast Hall's bells to clang loudly… were they suicidal, or what?

"Let's go take a look!"

Hall Master Feng nodded. Beast Master Wang and Fang Jin were also curious about who possessed such daring.

The group hurried towards the Beast Hall. Before long, they arrived at a vast, enormous arena, seven to eight hundred meters wide, like a gigantic pit dug into the ground, with the arena itself set into the bottom. The entire arena was enclosed by a massive iron cage. Ten barbarian beasts were individually separated, roaming around and emitting deafening roars.

By now, the area outside the arena was packed with people, many of whom had come after hearing the bells. They all stared down at the cage, their eyebrows twitching and mouths contorting. Among those present were many beast tamers and even numerous prodigies, yet facing so many ferocious barbarian beasts still made their scalps tingle with dread.

"The last one is actually a Sovereign-realm barbarian beast in its initial stage…"

"Even a Sovereign-realm expert in the middle stage would find it extremely difficult to defeat a barbarian beast of that level. How… how can this be challenged?"

"Looking at the distribution of the beasts' strength, the weakest is at the late Master realm, increasing progressively from there. This means… whoever challenges this Ten Beast Cage must have reached the peak of the Master realm in cultivation! Is it Wei Youdao, Jiang Nanping, Ji Wuxin, or Luo Tang, Fang Jin? To my knowledge, their strength is roughly in this range, and they also possess sufficient beast-taming ability!"

"You're ill-informed, aren't you? Wei Youdao and Jiang Nanping have both already broken through. The former has even reached the initial Sovereign realm, so it shouldn't be them!"

"Not them? Then who else would dare directly face ten barbarian beasts?"

Upon seeing the barbarian beasts' strength, everyone burst into an uproar. The last beast presiding was actually a Sovereign-realm barbarian beast… To actually challenge this, one must truly be tired of living. Who on earth had such immense courage? Were they fearless of death, or just weary of life?

"To give up their life for a drop of spirit beast blood, that person must be insane, right?" Luo Tang couldn't help but say. No matter how precious spirit beast blood was, it couldn't be more valuable than life itself. To abandon one's life for this, to challenge such a thing… were they crazy?

"Within the Xuanyuan Kingdom, I know almost all the renowned peak Master-realm beast tamers. Who could it be? I can't think of anyone who would be so reckless." Fang Jin also frowned, racking his brains. From the strength of the barbarian beasts, it was clear it wasn't Wei Youdao or the others. But besides those few, who else could be so insane and possess such courage? Moreover, even those individuals likely wouldn't dare attempt such a formidable Ten Beast Cage!

"Challenging the Ten Beast Cage? What immense guts! They're probably tired of living and just want to gain some fame before they die!" Among the crowd, a young man stood with his arms crossed, looking down at the cage below with an air of amusement. It was Wei Youdao, the super prodigy whom Luo Tang and the others greatly feared!

"Indeed, I've seen plenty of people like this. I just want to see if he can even pass the first stage!" Another young man scoffed. This was Jiang Nanping, another renowned prodigy of the Xuanyuan Kingdom's Beast Hall. These two great prodigies, shining like morning stars, were also close friends in private. This time, hearing that someone actually intended to challenge the Ten Beast Cage, they came to watch. They wanted to see who possessed such audacity. As for whether this person could actually succeed, they considered it utterly preposterous.

Putting aside the final Sovereign-realm beast, which surpassed one's strength by two levels, just the first stage—four beasts that were one level weaker than themselves—would offer no chance of success.

"The first stage consists of four Swiftwind Wolves at the late Master realm! These barbarian beasts are fast and excel at coordination. Fighting one alone is difficult for even a peak Master-realm cultivator, and with four working together… even a half-step Sovereign wouldn't gain any advantage. A peak Master-realm cultivator? Heh, utterly overestimating himself!" Wei Youdao shook his head.

"Indeed, he'll probably be torn to shreds in this stage!" Jiang Nanping also shook his head.

"Even if he dies, he'll only have himself to blame. Challenging the Ten Beast Cage requires signing a life-and-death waiver beforehand, meaning no one else can be held responsible for the outcome!" Wei Youdao scoffed, about to continue speaking, when his eyes narrowed. "Someone's coming out!"

As he spoke, everyone indeed saw a young man slowly emerge into the arena below and walk towards the first stage of the Ten Beast Cage.

"That guy looks really young, he can't even be twenty yet, can he…"

"He is very young. To reach the peak of the Master realm at such an age indicates extremely high talent. Why would he be in such a hurry to die?"

When they clearly saw the figure below, everyone was first stunned, then burst into an uproar.

"Brother Wei, do you recognize him?" Jiang Nanping was also taken aback. They knew almost all the prodigies in the Xuanyuan Kingdom, but this person was completely unfamiliar.

"Never seen him!" Wei Youdao shook his head.

"Never heard of him, and so young, yet he dares to challenge the Ten Beast Cage. What exactly is he relying on?" Jiang Nanping's brow furrowed.

"Reliance? The Ten Beast Cage has stood here for a thousand years, and no one has ever succeeded. Who dares to claim they have something to rely on? He's probably just a nobody trying to draw attention!" Wei Youdao waved his hand dismissively.

"Indeed, in the thousand years since the Xuanyuan Kingdom's Beast Hall was established, countless prodigies have emerged, yet no one has succeeded. This is just some unknown fellow who's popped up, probably looking for cheap fame." Jiang Nanping agreed with his words, echoing, "Let's just see if he'll make it out alive…"

"It's… it's… him?"

"How could it be him? Is he mad?"

Unlike the bewilderment of the crowd, Hall Master Feng and Beast Master Wang's expressions changed drastically when they saw the figure. They were so shocked they almost bit off their tongues.

"You know him?" Luo Tang was startled and quickly looked over.

"He… he's the… Beast Master Zhang I often speak of!" Hall Master Feng bit his tongue, confirmed he wasn't dreaming, and his eyes filled with a dazed expression. He had expected the one challenging the Ten Beast Cage to be some extraordinary figure, but he never imagined it would be someone he knew… Zhang Xuan! Wasn't this guy supposed to be in Tianwu Kingdom, uncontactable? How did he end up here? And… why was he challenging the Ten Beast Cage? Didn't he know the danger? Most importantly… wasn't he only at the peak of the Tongxuan realm? When did he become a peak Master-realm cultivator? A string of questions left his mind reeling, almost driving him frantic. What in the world was going on?

"He's Zhang Xuan?" Luo Tang was taken aback, then gave a cold laugh. "You spoke of him so highly, I thought he was some formidable individual. I never imagined he'd be such a reckless greenhorn!" Hall Master Feng and Beast Master Wang had constantly talked about how amazing Zhang Xuan was, which had already annoyed him for a while. He had thought he was truly some extraordinary figure, but he never expected him to be a naive youth who knew nothing and and simply charged into the Ten Beast Cage. A prodigy? Bah! He doesn't know the immensity of heaven and earth. Just wait and see how he dies in a moment… Thinking this, he instantly showed an expression of disdain.

"A prodigy? Are there prodigies who court death like this?" Hearing the conversation, Fang Jin also understood and was full of sneers. Even if a prodigy had pride, they at least had a sense of measure. Challenging the Ten Beast Cage just to obtain a drop of spirit beast blood was an utterly idiotic move.

"Zhang Xuan, be careful…" Elsewhere above, Mo Yu, Zhao Ya, and others watched downwards, all filled with tension. They had always wondered how coming to the Beast Hall would help them improve their strength. Only now, hearing about the Ten Beast Cage challenge, did they realize… it was for the spirit beast blood! But… even if spirit beast blood could boost strength, was it truly worth paying such a price for it? These were ten barbarian beasts, each capable of killing at any moment. Even if his beast-taming skill was extremely high and he could pass the first two stages easily, what about the later ones? A half-step Sovereign beast and an initial Sovereign-realm beast… these were creatures that even middle-stage Sovereign-realm experts were unwilling to confront directly.

"Teacher, he'll definitely… be fine!" Zhao Ya said. She had unwavering faith in her teacher, but the scene before them was so perilous that she couldn't help but feel secretly nervous.

"He should be fine…" Mo Yu also nodded, secretly trying to reassure herself.

Unlike the disdain and nervousness of the others, Zhang Xuan below was surprisingly relaxed. Before seeking revenge, he needed to increase his strength. Even if he found a Sovereign-level cultivation technique, his current spirit stone reserves wouldn't allow him to quickly reach the peak. There was only one best way… to find enough spirit beast blood! With enough of it, and relying on the second layer of the Heaven's Path Golden Body, he could fully bring his physical body to the peak of the Sovereign realm in a short amount of time. Spirit beast blood was incredibly precious. The Beast Hall certainly wouldn't sell it externally, and even if they did, he couldn't afford it. With his current strength, forcibly seizing it was impossible. The only method was to challenge the Ten Beast Cage. According to the records, if he succeeded, he would receive a drop for free.

He exhaled a breath, looked at the four Swiftwind Wolves in the first stage, and smiled faintly. "Come on!" He took a step forward and walked towards them.

"He just charged straight in?"

"Is this guy planning to resist them head-on?"

"He must be out of his mind! Challenging the Ten Beast Cage is a combination of beast taming and strength. One should throw out items to gain the beasts' favor, and then strategize. Plunging in headfirst like that, isn't that just provoking their rage?"

"Oh no, the Swiftwind Wolves have been enraged…"

Challenging the Ten Beast Cage wasn't merely a battle; otherwise, one couldn't possibly defeat so many barbarian beasts, even if they fought to exhaustion! Typically, one would combine beast taming with it, building good relations with the barbarian beasts to prevent them from attacking, and then finding a way to pass. Yet this guy, like a greenhorn, said nothing, brought nothing, and just charged straight in. Isn't that… just waiting for the Swiftwind Wolves to kill him?