Gradually, as the aura became increasingly powerful and fearsome, it began to spread outside the cave and started to affect an area that only grew wider and wider.

The first ones to be affected were Wang Shan and Su Ling.

The immense pressure became heavier and heavier day by day.

If not for the fact that they knew that it was because of their eldest brother (the demon lord), they would have turned tail and fled long ago.

While it was not known whether it was because they knew the pressure came from their father or because of their own White Tiger bloodlines, Big Treasure and Little Treasure were surprisingly alright. They continued to play with each other every day, worry-free and carefree.

It was just that the lack of the cell phone made them throw little tantrums for quite a while. In the end, Di Baijun successfully suppressed them, of course.

As for Di Baijun, she naturally wouldn't be affected by the aura.

She stood guard at a spot near the cave every day, even when she was resting.

A sense of seriousness and gravity that both seemed like anticipation and nervousness surfaced in her eyes.

The first day went by. When the aura in the cave suddenly became significantly stronger, Di Baijun knew that the first metamorphosis had ended.

She didn't relax; her worry became even worse instead.

The second day went by, and the aura suddenly became significantly stronger again.

The third day went by, and the same thing happened.

Then, the fifth day went by, and the aura gained sudden and significant strength for the fourth time.

The seventh day went by, and it happened for the fifth time…

The ninth day went by, and it happened for the sixth time…

By this point, the look of seriousness and gravity in Di Baijun's eyes had become extremely strong and intense.

The sixth metamorphosis… this was already a number that was beyond the reach of ordinary beings. With her experience, however, she naturally knew that, in some sense, this was actually the real start instead.

It was only if that jerk could successfully complete the seventh metamorphosis that he could… could…

Not even in the mood to cultivate anymore, she subconsciously clenched her paw and kept a close watch.

At the same time, just as Wang Hu—who had completed the sixth metamorphosis in his breakthrough—was feeling rather weak to continue, his two special abilities seemed to activate.

A formless power seemed to surge into him, helping him to carry out the seventh metamorphosis.

In the blink of an eye, five days had passed. The aura strengthened for the seventh time. Apart from Di Baijun, Su Ling, Wang Shan, Big Treasure, and Little Treasure; there was no other being within 50 kilometers of the area. All of them had run away in fear.

Joy appeared on Di Baijun's countenance, and she finally heaved a long sigh of relief.

This was the seventh metamorphosis.

The jerk was surprisingly not bad. One could consider him as having barely met the standards now.

She held her head high, and a unique look of pride surfaced on her face.

In the blink of an eye, another six days went by, and the aura became stronger for the eighth time.

Mixed among Di Baijun's relaxed and lively emotions was also astonishment.

That jerk… how impressive!

This was the eighth time now!

Could he really complete the ninth time, too?

She shook her head at once at the thought. It was impossible.

While that jerk indeed had a great aptitude and even two extraordinary special abilities, how could the ninth metamorphosis be that easy to achieve?

It was impossible.

However, as time went by one day after another and that jerk's aura continued to strengthen little by little without showing any sign of stopping, Di Baijun gradually became rather stupefied.

Surely not?!

…

Inside the cave, to be honest, Wang Hu actually couldn't go on anymore after he completed the eighth metamorphosis with the help of his two special abilities.

However, a formless tremendous mysterious power gushed out of the Map of the Universe at this point and helped him to carry out the ninth metamorphosis.

With that, he came to understand something: the Map of the Universe indeed wasn't that simple. It didn't just let him experience what the breakthrough would be like, but it also provided him with a mysterious power to break through.

After all, the ninth and perfected metamorphosis wasn't something that one could complete just by knowing how to do it.

It needed immensely great potential and power as support.

By relying on his own strength and potential, he was likely only able to complete six rounds of metamorphosis. With the help of his two special abilities, he could complete eight. This was his limit if he were to do it himself.

The next and last one needed the help of the Map of the Universe.

He was nevertheless somewhat satisfied by such an outcome. After all, one absolutely mustn't underestimate the effort needed for six rounds of metamorphosis or eight.

In the information that Silly Girl had given him, as well as what she had mentioned in the past, those that completed six rounds of metamorphosis could already be considered real geniuses, and they were already strong enough to become pillars of support for their clans.

Those that completed eight rounds were absolute prodigies favored by the heavens and were extremely rare.

The fact that he, a tiger that hadn't awakened any sort of bloodline, could complete seven rounds of metamorphosis by his own strength was enough to astound anyone in the know.

Completing the ninth metamorphosis now would still be a more impressive feat, though.

He concentrated all his attention on absorbing even more spiritual energy from every direction and strengthened the all-new power as well as his own body. With the help of the mysterious power, he underwent the ninth metamorphosis.

The animals in the surroundings fled further and further. The spiritual energy in the atmosphere also started to experience agitated and unusual turbulence.

China also sensed it at this point.

In the capital…

Li Tong called Li Aimin's office and said seriously, "Elder Li, a few days ago, you sent me some information stating that the surveillance center had discovered unusual activity in the north, where it seemed like a large number of animals were fleeing from somewhere. However, the exact details of what was going on were unknown.

"We sent some men to investigate and discovered that this unusual situation was getting worse and worse. People that went near the area felt intense fear.

"On top of that, we also discovered traces of that tiger that was with the Tiger King, as well as traces of Su Ling, nearby the area. Thus, we're guessing that this situation may have something to do with the Tiger King."

"The Tiger King?" Li Aimin's expression turned a few notches even more serious. He mused for a moment before he asked steadily, "What are you calling me for?"

"How astute, Elder Li. After deducing that it may be related to the Tiger King, I didn't let anyone go further in. I'd like to apply for permission to use satellite imagery and investigate what exactly is going on," replied Li Tong seriously.

Since they had discovered that the situation had something to do with the Tiger King, then they would need to raise the matter's level of severity.

Many means would also become unusable, such as using satellites to do an accurate probe of the area. He didn't have the authority to use it to investigate the Tiger King yet.

Li Aimin mused over the issue. According to their agreement with the Tiger King, they weren't allowed to investigate the Tiger King's affairs as they pleased—though the Tiger King wouldn't know even if he were to break the agreement anyway.

However, an agreement was an agreement. Unless absolutely necessary, he would never break it.

It was just like rules and standards; without rules and standards, nothing could be accomplished.

Those that casually broke the rules definitely wouldn't meet with a decent end.

A few seconds later, he said seriously, "We'll hand this matter over to the higher-ups first. You can call them directly to ask about the situation."

"Understood," replied Li Tong.

A day later…

When Li Aimin received the conclusion that the secretariat had deduced after collecting information and data from various sources, he dialed Dong Pingtao's number.

The moment the phone call connected, he said sternly, "Leader, I have something important to report."

"Go ahead," said a calm and steady-looking Dong Pingtao.

"I'll send the documents to you first. Take a look at them," said Li Aimin as he got down to it.

A few minutes later, Dong Pingtao's expression became solemn. He had a light frown on his face, and one couldn't quite tell what kind of emotion his voice carried.

"So, the current conjecture is that the Tiger King is very likely in the midst of breaking through to the Third Realm?"

"Yes." Li Aimin nodded. There was a somewhat complex emotion in his voice as he said, "Through various information sources, we have already ascertained that the Tiger King and his family, including his third younger brother and Su Ling, have left their original home. The likelihood that he's currently breaking through is as high as approximately 90%."

Silence filled the phone call.

The Third Realm!

Had it been ordinary people that had gotten wind of the news, they would only—at best—exclaim in astonishment about how impressive the Tiger King was and things like that.

However, they—people who occupied high-ranking positions in this world—naturally knew very well just what kind of might those two simple words contained, as well as what kind of impact it represented.

After several seconds of silence, Dong Pingtao chuckled and remarked, "We've ultimately still underestimated that Northern Tiger King!"

A somewhat wry smile appeared on Li Aimin's face. He nodded with a sigh and said, "Who would have thought that he would actually break through so quickly? I really don't know whether this is good or bad."

"Now that things have reached this point, since we've already made a decision, then we should persist till the end.

"As for whether it's good or bad, we'll just let time prove it." Dong Pingtao let out a soft sigh, though there was also an inexplicable sense of determination to his voice.

Having understood what he just said, Li Aimin nodded soundlessly and uttered just as resolutely, "Alright."

"Keep a close watch over the situation and prevent anyone from doing anything stupid." Dong Pingtao's voice resumed its calm steadiness and power.

"Yes, I understand."

…

In the blink of an eye, a whole thirty days had passed since Wang Hu went into seclusion.

With Wang Hu's seclusion grounds as the center, the whole area within 100 kilometers was filled with immensely strong pressure. No animal dared to remain in the area, and even the birds kept a wide berth.

It was as though the place had become a ghost town.

This caused Wang Shan and Su Ling to have to spend half a day going to and fro during their hunts.

On this morning, the skies were clear and blue for miles, and it seemed like another calm and peaceful day.

All of a sudden, as though a volcano that had been accumulating strength for millions of years, the pressure finally reached its vertex and suddenly unleashed into the surroundings.

Boom!

It was as though an explosion had broken out in the fair skies. It reverberated intensely in the sky, the mountains, and the forests. Animals even further away fled in all directions in fear and panic.

The next moment…

Roar~!

A tiger roar that sounded as though it had come from primordial times went from low to high ground, soaring into the heavens at high speed in the blink of an eye.

Awe-inspiring and mighty, the tiger roar was as though the only thing left in this expanse of land.

As the tiger roar erupted into the surroundings, a gigantic tiger hologram as tall as 100 meters also towered in the sky and roared into the heavens. Its peerless and domineering might proudly looked down on the world and swept through the sky, scattering all the clouds within several hundred kilometers of where it was with a single roar.

It trampled the endless forests in the mountains and all the fearful and panic-stricken animals underneath its feet.

It also alarmed all the major countries in the world in this instant.