The lion turned his head at the foolish mortal, then looked around at the destruction caused, "How can a foolish human like you overwhelm my subjects?" He questioned. "I'm the King of Beasts. Why would I not be able to speak?"

Xue Yueliang recalled her master's words, intelligent beasts existed, but it was still surprising for her to meet one so soon.

"I'm a bit inexperienced, but looking at the damage I caused, I don't think I'm doing that bad."

"As a just ruler, I would have given you a chance to explain yourself, but judging by your character, there's no need for that." The lion said, issuing a final verdict as it jumped into the stream, using its powerful forelegs to blast itself forward.

"I would not want to be judged by a beast," Xue Yueliang snickered, using her head start to her advantage.

The lion laughed at her attempts as, by its current speed, he knew it would not be much longer until he overtook her. He could already feel her head flying off her neck and her warm flesh rolled down his throat. Though he did not consider himself bloodthirsty, the stench of blood awakened his usually calm instincts, and he was in no mood to suppress it.

Xue Yueliang did not mind as she had only been stalling for time, and by the time he caught up to her, she would have restored her spiritual Qi; she only needed to distract him for another second.

Their short-lived chase was about to end as his outstretched claws began to grab onto her legs, but before he could reach, a small creature jumped onto his face, biting his nose. He instinctively tried to slap off the being, but his already exposed claws scratched his nose off, turning two of his orifices into one larger orifice. Hei Yu relied on his much smaller size to quickly disappear and let out a happy squeak.

"You really look down on your subjects," Xue Yueliang laughed, "If I was so weak, how did I manage to kill all of them?"

Without waiting for the lion to reply, Xue Yueliang shouted, "Invincible Sword Swirl!" The blood in the stream formed a whirlwind, attacking the beast and throwing him out of the stream. The lion forcefully landed on his back, quite a distance away, injuring him further.

"I thought cats always land on their paws?" The lion was enraged as the flames around his mane burnt brighter as he flipped forward.

"You will soon regret your arrogance." He said between his teeth, rushing at her.

"Isn't pride the sin of lions?" Xue Yueliang asked, not waiting for him to reach her first.

She slashed her sword multiple in quick succession, employing the Blood Moon Waves. Under the full moon, her Blood Moon Cultivation Sutra was enhanced. The only regret here was that she only learnt one attacking technique. So, although her cultivation and recovery speed increased in the eternal night here, she did not witness any other benefits.

The waves of Sword Qi attacked the lion, but he did not seem to care, daring to swallow a few of her attacks, clearly showcasing his lack of regard. However, Xue Yueliang did not believe he was unaffected. She felt this was a ploy to disturb her, but she did not know how he did it.

"It has been so long since this king had such a tasty meal," he laughed.

"Aw, it seems like our king has been starved for so long. Don't worry, there are more attacks I'd like to dish out."

If this was a battle over who could be more insulting, Xue Yueliang did not feel like letting up.

"You think you can harm me? This king has been protecting this land for many years, yet no one could hurt me. In fact, for the past few hundred years, no one dared step foot onto this land."

Hearing his words, Xue Yueliang rejected the urge to mention his missing nose and opted to drag more information from him. She only knew that she could find something helpful for her master in this trial. "If you have been here for so long, how are you still in the fourth level of the Foundation Establishment Realm? Isn't it embarrassing?"

"What do you know?" The lion shouted, its mane flaring up in anger.

"If it was not for that witch enslaving my clan, do you think I would be so weak?! Don't think, just because you didn't suffer hardship, you are at the top of the world!"

Though Xue Yueliang did not like him, she agreed with his advice, but something else had caught her attention: "Who's that witch? Why would she enslave you?" She asked curiously, dodging the scalding claw that came at her head as she questioned.

"It's the person who set up this trial; who else would it be?" He questioned. "My lion tribe is of a pure bloodline; otherwise, we would not have attracted her attention."

"A pure bloodline?' She mused aloud, thinking this might be the reason it was able to speak.

Feeling that the talking was becoming too much, he harrumphed, "Enough talking. Why don't I show you the true reason she captured me?"

As soon as his words fell, the lion's already giant body swelled, and his veins became clearly visible, glowing in the dark. He released a thick smell of blood, overpowering the blood that already soaked her clothes as it growled. With its growl, Xue Yueliang felt the blood in her body slow down, causing her to feel numb and sluggish.

The lion, happy by the result, swung its giant claw at her, and she was helpless to do anything about it, watching it as it enlarged in front of her eyes. The lion easily swatted her, causing her to helplessly tumble away, opening injuries in her body that mixed the blood that covered her body with some of her own. Now, far away from where the lion stood, her blood circulation returned to normal, allowing her to stand up and work on stopping her bleeding.

"See? Didn't I tell you that you were foolish?" The lion spoke, its voice much deeper and awe-inspiring than before, his missing nose only adding to this image.

Rather than feeling fear, Xue Yueliang laughed, placing her thumb between two of her fingers; she said: "I got your nose. Play nice if you want it back."

"Truly, some people don't repent until they see hell." The lion angrily laughed, rushing at her, and within a few moments, he struck her again.

This time, Xue Yueliang vomited a mouthful of blood but still seemed easygoing. Seeing this, Hei Yu wanted to rush in, but with a glance from her, he stood down, whimpering. It was not easy for him to sit and watch her getting injured, but she had warned him that he must listen to her words. He at least trusted her.

"It seems like you care for that thing a lot. How about I destroy it first?"

He had not forgotten how she killed most of his subjects and seeing how she was concerned for him, he felt it would be just. Xue Yueliang blinked at this development, it was the first time someone was using her care for someone against her, so it took her a moment to adjust.

"You think you can defeat him?" Xue Yueliang laughed, "I want to fight you one-to-one. If he joined, it would not be much fun."

"He? Love really makes people blind. It's nothing more than an object."

"You can tell?" She said, surprised.

"Of course, I'm the King of Beasts." He said smugly, then added, "Besides, you're not in a state to think about fun."

He glanced at her disdainfully and turned to attack Hei Yu, overjoying him. Anything was better for him than seeing her hurt. Feeling the disdain, Xue Yueliang smiled bitterly and sped toward his back, controlling her body to turn berserk but not allowing it to burn, at least not yet. Like she had expected, this weakened the effect of the blood suppression, allowing her to make a full-force attack.

"Invincible Sword Cuts All!"

An invisible sword light rushed at the lion as if cutting through the very air itself, and just as he was about to pounce on the ready Hei Yu, it struck. The sword light struck his hind legs, leaving behind a bloody gash, and blood began freely pouring from it. The lion roared in agony as it plugged the gash on his leg, slowing down the blood loss.

At this very moment, a few more wounds opened on its body, and it vomited a mouthful of blood. These were from the Blood Moon Waves it had suppressed earlier, proving her suspicion to be true. The lion turned to her, his blood already beginning to clot, successfully stopping its wounds from bleeding out, and his eyes were bloodthirstier than ever.

"Enough games. I'll just kill you now."

The blood flames that were lit near his mane spread through his body, increasing his bloodline suppression and the few beasts that survived her earlier howled in pain before exploding into a blood-coloured firework. He slowly walked toward her, like a king passing his judgement on a prisoner, not believing she could retaliate or that she dared to.

Xue Yueliang clenched her teeth and was ready to burn her already berserk blood, but before she could do so, she noticed changes. Although it was not clearly visible underneath the coat of blood, her veins popped out from her skin, and the blood flowing threw them began to shine, protecting her from the suppression of the beast.

"Wow, finally," she sighed. She had been waiting for this to happen, and though it was late, the blood of the Qin Clan did not disappoint.

"Let's fight now," she declared bravely, her hair billowing without any wind as she raised her sword, but before she could attack, she felt herself sucked into a different realm.

She looked around in surprise and found that this was a place she recognised - her courtyard in the Qin Clan. The courtyard was as dilapidated and run-over as she had remembered. It shamefully showed her attempts at rejuvenation and patchwork. Nothing about the place made it seem like a part of the Qin Clan.

Seeing this scene, she felt conflicting emotions of both nostalgia and bitterness.

"So this is the place you consider home?" A voice said from behind her.

Without turning back, she could guess who the voice belonged to. It was the voice of the man she hated the most, the one she feared the most, and the one whose approval she wished for most of her life. It was none other than her father.

Xue Yueliang pushed down the conflicted feelings in her heart and knelt on the ground, politely saying: "Greetings to the Qin Clan's Patriarch."

She felt the gaze staring at her, but she did not flinch nor move, staying silent and waiting until he spoke.

"There's no need to be so stiff; I'm your father." He said gently.

Although these words appeared to be comforting, they did not carry an ounce of emotion, furthering to increase the chill she felt.

"Address me properly."

"Father." Xue Yueliang spat out, unwilling but not having a choice. Noticing her discomfort, he only laughed, summoning a chair for himself as he sat down.

"You did not answer me? Is this where you consider home?" "Anywhere under the heavens is my home." She said plainly.

"Then why are we here?"

"I spent most of my life here."

The patriarch seemed to sigh at her words, and a reminiscing look appeared in his eyes, "More than four years ago, I was told that my youngest daughter - a mortal - spent ten days kneeling outside my cultivation room, eating only dry bread and water, begging to learn how to cultivate."

He began, stopping to look at her reaction but not noticing anything different.

"After some thought, I allowed her to go along with the side branches' children, and if she proved worthy, she could train in the Qin Clan's cultivation methods. After my high hopes, how do you think she repaid me?" His gaze firmly locked onto her, waiting for a response, but she bit on her tongue, not allowing herself to speak. It was too early for her to break into curses now. She still liked her head.

Observing her silence, he continued, "She betrayed me! Faked her death and now intends to kill me!" As his voice rose, the surrounding sight around them twisted and turned, finally shattering into a million pieces scattering around, turning their surrounding into pitch darkness.

"What sort of punishment do you think she deserves?" He asked.

He appeared calmer now, but his anger had not dissipated.

"Answer me." He added, not allowing her to remain silent.