"What a lunkhead," the Beast Emperor Daron's voice was strangely eerie and somber, as if he were struggling to suppress a torrent of excitement and rage: "I am Daron, the current Beast Emperor of the dignified Beastman race."

"The—Beast Emperor!—Daron!" I was practically stunned. What in the—what was going on here? This brute had actually become the Beast Emperor!

I had to admit, this world truly was small, incredibly small! Even now, I vividly recalled the time in the Woma Forest when this lunkhead nearly killed me! That must surely rank as the most thrilling and humiliating desperate escape of my entire life!

See Chapter 21 of 'Crimson Moon's Vertical Ascent' for details.

Even recalling it now sends a shiver of cold sweat down my spine!

Who could have imagined that after thirty years, I’d run into this fellow again, thousands of miles away on the Sacred Domain of the Azure Heaven on the Snow Territory Continent!

How should I put it! Talk about enemies destined to meet—it’s a narrow road indeed!

Except, this lunkhead before me seems a bit off today!

After all, he was the one who almost finished me off back then! Yet, looking at his current posture, it’s as if I owe him millions, radiating a look that suggests he wants to flay the skin from my bones! And when did I almost cause his death? It makes no sense whatsoever. Perhaps all Beastmen are this arrogant, overbearing, and unreasonable!

The thought sparks my own anger, which immediately flares up: "Fine, very good. It’s time to settle this old score once and for all." I ground out through clenched teeth.

"Hahahaha." Daron suddenly burst into a long, echoing laugh, the sound saturated with endless killing intent. I couldn't fathom why this fellow harbored such deep-seated hatred for me!

I could even sense the boundless desolation and bitter grief embedded in his laughter, as if we shared an irreconcilable, deep-seated feud! Even more astonishing was the terrifying penetrating power of this wild laughter; it made my eardrums throb, feeling like steel needles stabbing into my very skull!

A sonic attack!

I gasped in shock and quickly channeled my energy to shield myself!

I had once practiced the Lion’s Roar; defending against sonic attacks was second nature to me! The Furious Lion Battle Qi instantly circulated, protecting my vital core, and only then did the pressure ease!

However, this arrogant laughter made the Beast Emperor Daron’s true strength undeniably clear! Compared to Tuman just moments ago, the difference was like heaven and earth—certainly no less than my own!

It seems a vicious battle is unavoidable today!

Daron abruptly cut off his laughter, his gaze piercing like an arrow tearing through the void, seeming intent on drilling straight through my entire being!

His expression was complex, a mixture of appreciation, contemplation, and perhaps a touch of surprise: "Thirty years have passed, and your cultivation is worlds apart from what it was!"

"The feeling is mutual," I remained unmoved. "You’re not bad either; there are few on this continent who could be my opponent. But what’s more surprising is that you seem to have grown significantly smarter."

"Is that so?" Daron seemed slightly taken aback, a flicker of complicated emotion crossing his face—triumph! nostalgia, and perhaps a hint of longing. "To be honest, whatever success I have today is entirely thanks to you. If I hadn't encountered you thirty years ago, I, Daron, would not be here today, and my Beastman race would never have achieved this current glory."

"Thanks to me?" For a moment, I was stunned. "What in the world is going on? When did I gain such great abilities!"

"..." It wasn't just me who was stunned; the other Beastmen beside Daron also looked utterly shocked, clearly unable to understand a word their Emperor was saying.

"Can't you remember?" Daron seemed deeply dissatisfied with my reaction, yet his current mood was clearly excellent, radiating the confidence and leisure of someone who had everything under control. I could even sense that he had been waiting for this day for a long time, so he wasn't in a hurry to strike. The scene was like a cat that had finally caught a mouse, wanting to savor every moment before devouring it, playing with it to the fullest! Unluckily, that's exactly how I felt, like the unfortunate mouse that had been caught!

"Do you remember when you mentioned the Eastern Continent, and the story you told about the Fox Spirit Daji?" Daron prompted.

"The Eastern Continent, the Fox Spirit Daji." It finally dawned on me; indeed, back then, I had gone to great lengths, spinning an elaborate tale to fool Daron at the time just to escape! But over thirty years had passed, and I had almost forgotten it, yet Daron suddenly brought it up now!

"I did mention it," I admitted, still completely bewildered. "But that was just a story."

"The Fox Spirit Daji." The other Beastmen gasped in unison, staring intently at me, then instinctively glancing toward the petite Fox-person beside Daron.

I, too, stared at the Fox-person beside Daron with surprise. Looking closely sent a jolt through me—this Fox-person was actually a female, and quite attractive too! Long, charming eyes radiating soft allure! Coupled with her petite, exquisite figure, and the noticeable fox ears and tail, she was the spitting image of the legendary Fox Spirit!

"No way, you actually found the Fox Spirit?" I nearly fainted! But this was clearly a Fox-person girl from the Beast Race!

However, thinking carefully, who could guarantee that the legendary Fox Spirit was merely a phantom? If she truly existed, perhaps she was a Fox-person girl from that era! After all, the unbelievable feat of crossing time and space had happened to me; what was truly impossible in this world? Absence of sight doesn't mean non-existence! In that case, substituting the Fox-person girl for the Fox Spirit made a strange kind of sense; maybe the legendary Fox Spirit was simply a Beastman Fox-woman!

My head suddenly felt massive; this was the first time I truly felt my brain cells were insufficient!

"Hahahaha." Daron let out a laugh that was somewhat bitter, mixed with helplessness. "The embodiment of wisdom and beauty! The synonym for victory and luck! The Fox Spirit was merely a beautiful dream of my youth, and the one who gave me such a dream was you."

"A beautiful dream." I vaguely sensed something was amiss.

"Do you know how much my younger self sacrificed chasing this beautiful dream?" Daron murmured.

"The embodiment of wisdom and beauty, the synonym for victory and luck," the Fox-person girl beside Daron exclaimed with excitement. "So, Father Emperor named me Daji for this reason."

"Precisely," Daron confirmed, his face filled with emotion.

"So that’s where my name came from," the Fox-woman Daji stared intensely at me. I couldn't begin to describe the look in her eyes—a complex mix of contemplation, astonishment, excitement, and even a faint hint of gratitude. This feeling was... complicated!

"In the three years that followed, I scoured every corner of the Mafa Continent, but I couldn't find the legendary Fox Spirit. Then, I suddenly realized that perhaps the Fox Spirit you spoke of was one of my own Beastman Fox-people." Daron continued, a touch of smugness in his voice. "When I returned to the tribe, I arrived just as my Father Emperor passed away, and I succeeded him as the new Beast Emperor. I then mobilized the entire Beast race to search everywhere for the Fox-person clan, who had been driven out of the Woma Forest thousands of years ago. Finally, we found the surviving Fox-people in the Great Alliance Desert."

"And you brought them back," I said involuntarily.

"Yes," Daron affirmed. "You probably cannot imagine the profound impact the return of these Fox-people had on our Beastman race. In less than fifteen years, with their assistance, our race underwent earth-shattering changes, becoming increasingly powerful, even gaining the ability to construct massive naval warships comparable to those your humans are most proud of."

Massive naval warships. My God! What was happening? When did Beastman civilization become so advanced?

"Surprised, aren't you?" Daron was quite pleased with my shocked expression. "This is the power of wisdom, and you were the guide who opened the door to that wisdom. Frankly, I should be thanking you properly."

"But your demeanor now suggests you want to tear me limb from limb," I retorted, annoyed.

"Of course," Daron snarled through gritted teeth. "The changes in fifteen years were unbelievable even to me, so I firmly believed every word you said. If even the Fox-people were this capable, then the legendary fabled spirits must be even more formidable. Thus, I began brewing the long-planned maritime expedition."

"..." I didn't know what to feel now, only staring blankly at Daron. I could easily imagine that given this fellow's nature, even the most outrageous and unbelievable acts were within his capabilities.

"After fifteen years of meticulous preparation, our Beastman race finally constructed gigantic naval warships capable of weathering any storm and commenced our seafaring adventure to find the Eastern Continent."

"You are fierce, truly fierce—so fierce." His obsession had gone beyond mere admiration; it was something more. "Only someone as crazed as you could pull off something so reckless."

"Ten years, a full decade," Daron’s previous contemplative tone vanished, replaced by intense agitation. "Following the story you told, I led my people steadily eastward across the sea! The numerous crises we encountered, you couldn't even begin to imagine—the furious Flood Dragon of the Black Sea, the whirlpools of the Dead Sea, the Shark Pirates of the Red Sea, and beyond that, world-splitting storms and vortices. Several times, I thought we were doomed. After ten years, we finally found a foreign continent, but there was neither the Fox Spirit nor the fox den you spoke of." Daron gnashed his teeth. "You scoundrel, you lied to me."

"Hey, Lunkhead," I couldn't help but laugh ruefully. "Didn't I tell you long ago that I was lying? You just wouldn't believe it."

"Yes, you did say that," Daron admitted, seemingly reflective. "But I was unwilling to believe it was just a lie because it was too beautiful, too real. It was only then that I painfully accepted the truth."

"You brought this upon yourself; you can't blame me," I admitted, feeling a touch guilty.

"You must have been very pleased," Daron glared at me. "One lie duped me for over twenty years."

"To be honest, I had completely forgotten about it," I mumbled awkwardly.

"Hah! You forgot?" Daron was nearly driven mad with fury. "I fought tooth and nail for over twenty years, and you just forgot!"

Sweat broke out. I truly didn't know what to say anymore! A single lie deceiving someone for over two decades—I doubt there’s another example in this world.

"But don't celebrate too soon," Daron revealed a strange, peculiar smile. "I didn't find the Fox Spirit or the fox den, but you absolutely won't believe what I did find on that continent."

"What did you find?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"The true God of my invincible Beastman race," Daron enunciated every word: "It is the Great Demon Dragon Patriarch."

"The Demon Dragon Patriarch?" I was utterly dumbfounded. "How is that possible..."

"Hahahahahaha." Daron laughed—a wild, triumphant laugh, the kind of catharsis and release that had been bottled up for too long. "Do you know how much I wanted to tell you how grateful I am, and how much I also resent you? Tell me, what should I do with you now?"

"My heavens," I felt like crying now. Why was it that every lie I told seemed to breed such problems? "Did you find the Demon Dragon Patriarch because of my boundless story? You actually found the Demon Dragon Patriarch based on a vague fabrication?"

"Hahahaha, this is what they call destiny’s eye," Daron seemed to unleash all the grievances, or perhaps joy and excitement, accumulated in his chest. "Perhaps you never imagined that a casually woven lie, a beautiful dream, would be realized by me through sheer luck. Daron continued, "It was only then that I truly awoke, perhaps all of this was divine will. If I hadn't listened to your lie, how could I have found the Demon Dragon Patriarch? What I never expected was that my daughter, Daji, possesses wisdom and charm equal to those legendary Fox Spirits, allowing her to successfully command the immense power of the Demon Dragon Patriarch. Tell me, shouldn't I be thanking you profusely?"

"You—you truly are formidable," I was utterly numb. The moment I realized that the terrifying Demon Dragon Patriarch existed here because of a vague lie I spun thirty years ago, I wanted to smash my head against a steel plate and end it all! Was there anything in this world more ironic than this?

"Even so," I snapped back, "you didn't have to reveal all these secrets in front of so many people. Aren't you afraid of tarnishing the image of the wise and mighty Beast Emperor?"

"I held this story close to my heart precisely so that one day, I could lay it all out clearly before you," Daron replied. "As for the image of wisdom and might, you need not worry. They are all my most loyal subjects; they will never betray me. Furthermore, even if they knew, it wouldn't be a negative; they would only see it as destiny fulfilled—the unstoppable rise of the Beastmen, the Yellow Springs Golden Age is destined to reappear! And the catalyst for all of this was you, with that beautiful lie. Tell me, isn't that a marvelous thing? The omnipotent God is using its limitless power, guided by a human lie, to forge another myth of the Beastman race’s grand resurgence. What could be more exhilarating, more exciting than that?"

"Beast Emperor is wise, our race shall prosper. The Yellow Springs Golden Age, shall reappear!" The Beastman generals surrounding them couldn't help but shout excitedly.

"Hahaha, you see?" Daron laughed loudly. "Their morale will only soar higher, and their confidence will only become firmer. Having said that," Daron added meaningfully, "I needed to reveal this secret publicly in front of you to truly feel liberated. Now, I am liberated." Daron continued, "Also, I want to say one more thing to you: Thank you."

"You are vicious," I was so angry I nearly spat blood. "You are liberated, but my trouble has only just begun."