Chapter 213: 213- Tortoise

The ground trembled as the colossal mountain-beast shifted, its sheer bulk blotting out the horizon.

With one ponderous step, it came to a halt, directly in the Saberfangs’ path.

The pack snarled in unison, their roars echoing through the forest like thunderclaps. Even the peak Saberfang, the one whose body rivaled the size of a hill, seemed suddenly diminished, reduced to little more than a cub before this towering monstrosity.

Dust swirled, trees cracked and toppled under the oppressive weight of its presence.

Fang Yuan, balanced atop his mount, narrowed his eyes.

A sound like grinding stone rumbled from the creature’s vast shell as its head slowly emerged, ancient and weathered, its eyes glowing like lanterns sunk deep in the earth.

The ridged plates across its back gleamed like jagged cliffs after rain, and moss clung to its carapace as though entire forests had made their home there.

"Human," the voice rolled out, deep and resonant, shaking the marrow in Fang Yuan’s bones. "What brings you into my territory?"

For a heartbeat, Fang Yuan froze. It can talk? The thought flickered across his mind, brief, sharp, gone in an instant.

By the time the echo of the beast’s words faded, his composure had already returned.

He inclined his head, his voice steady, almost casual.

"I came here," he said, "to watch my friends depart."

The colossal tortoise’s eyes, ageless and fathomless, shifted toward the Saberfangs.

"Your friends?" the beast rumbled, its colossal head dipping ever so slightly.

"Very well. I’ll take good care of them."

Its ancient gaze settled squarely on Fang Yuan. "Though I fail to see the need. That Saberfang is already a mini-king. Why would a Beast emperor level such as yourself bother to escort them here?"

The words carried an odd weight, layered with meaning Fang Yuan couldn’t grasp.

To the beast, his actions spoke like ceremony, like a parent parading his children to their first day in school, driving his finest car simply to make it clear for the others as if expecting them to hear. ’This is my bloodline, this is my standing, remember it well.’

Dropping the Saberfangs off personally was, in the tortoise’s eyes, no different.

It was Fang Yuan’s way of declaring, These beasts carry the mark of my protection.

Of course, Fang Yuan had no inkling of these beastly traditions.

Instead he blinked, genuinely at a loss. Whatever the tortoise meant by mini-king, or all that veiled ritual about protection, he hadn’t the faintest clue.

But one thing was clear, this mountain-sized beast was not hostile.

It spoke to him face to face, its words were free of malice, and in that he found a strange kind of reassurance.

He inclined his head, voice calm. "Then I must thank you, senior."

The tortoise’s ancient eyes gleamed, and it gave the barest nod, as if acknowledging an equal.

That alone was enough to unsettle Fang Yuan.

He could feel it, one true rampage from this creature and the entire Tharz Kingdom might be nothing more than dust in history’s wind.

Yet here it was, speaking with courtesy.... Respectfully, even.

Behind them, the Saberfangs stood silent as stone, their fangs bared but their bodies taut, as though they were prisoners at an execution ground.

Not one of them dared to move, not even the hill-sized leader.

All they could do was watch the exchange between man and mountain, caught in a silence where even their breaths seemed too loud.

The tortoise’s massive head lowered, its shadow swallowing Fang Yuan whole. Its voice rumbled like stone grinding against stone.

"Im curious," it mused. "Man and beast were never meant to share a bond, what made you so special?"

Fang Yuan’s brow arched. His reply came without hesitation. "Why? Are we not having a conversation right now?"

The mountain-beast let out a deep, thunderous sound, not quite laughter, not quite disdain.

"That is because I am an emperor beast. In your human terms... it’s the Hollow Spirit Realm. I have watched kingdoms rise and crumble into dust. I’ve picked up the habits of mortals across the ages. But they—" Its eyes, vast and gleaming like twin moons, shifted toward the Saberfangs.

"They are still young. They should not have the capacity to understand you or have an inkling on what humans truly are capable of."

Fang Yuan followed its gaze, then looked back up, curious.

"And may I ask," he said carefully, "what that human capabilities is?"

The tortoise studied him for a long while. Then, with the patience of eternity, it nodded once. "Reproduction. Humans reproduce... far too well."

Fang Yuan froze. His mind went blank for a heartbeat before sputtering back to life.

Of all the answers he expected, this was the one the ancient beast chose?

He almost laughed, but caught himself. When he thought about it from a beast’s perspective... it wasn’t really wrong.

Why do you think humans were the majority despite being on the weaker side?

Fang Yuan coughed lightly, smoothing over his surprise with practiced calm. "...I suppose I can’t deny that human reproduction is... excessive. But how does that explain what humans are really capable of?"

The tortoise’s eyes narrowed, as if amused by his persistence.

"More humans," the beast rumbled, its voice rolling like distant thunder. "When they gather, even the mightiest beast may fall. One creature brought down, its flesh carved apart, its essence consumed... and humans grow stronger. Then more of them rise, more of them hunt, more of them feed. Piece by piece, they take the land for themselves."

Its vast eyes narrowed, an ancient weight behind their glow. "Look at you. You are proof. A human who has stepped into the Hollow Spirit Realm, a realm no mortal man has touched for millennia."

Fang Yuan then recalled as a name pop up in his memory.

His lips parted before he could stop himself. "Wait... wasn’t Pill King Shan Yifeng one?"

The tortoise’s gaze lingered on him for a long, ponderous moment. Then, it replied:

"He wasn’t a human."