A burning rage ignited within Ashura's heart, causing his usually proud countenance to flush and pale. Even his breathing became noticeably erratic. He glared fixedly at Wu Tian, his sharp gaze seemingly intent on piercing through him, a mixture of surprise and fury evident within it. After a considerable moment of anger, he gritted his teeth and spoke, "I truly underestimated you."
"With your abilities, it should have been impossible to withstand even a fraction of my strength, yet you managed it. I must admit, you are indeed no ordinary person."
Wu Tian offered a strained smile and replied, "I am the Son of the Sacred Dragon, how could I abandon the Sacred Dragon's dignity?"
"Otherwise, what face would I have to accept this inheritance?"
Upon hearing Wu Tian dare to mention the Sacred Dragon again, Ashura's expression darkened further, as if he wished to grind Wu Tian into dust. Behind him stood several elders of the Spirit Beast clan, all of them Immortal Kings. Since the end of the ancient great war, they had never seen Ashura lose his composure to such an extent.
Ashura roared, "Stop your pretense. Do you think this is enough?"
"You only managed to block three-tenths of my power. Do you really believe that is enough to contend with me?"
Hearing this, Wu Tian's brow furrowed slightly. "Sir, what do you mean by that?"
"As we agreed, I only needed to withstand three-tenths of your strength, and the matter would be settled. But looking at you now, do you intend to go back on your word?"
Ashura paused for a moment, his gaze flickering. However, in his overwhelming rage, such hesitation quickly vanished. He snorted coldly, "Even if I intend to renege, so what?"
"This is the Spirit Beast Realm, and I am the patriarch of the Spirit Beast clan. Everything must be done according to my will!"
"My word is law here. If I want to kill you today, no one can stop me!"
Observing Ashura's furious state, Wu Tian's heart sank. He had initially believed Ashura's animosity towards him stemmed solely from past grievances with the Sacred Dragon. However, he hadn't expected that Ashura, as the patriarch of the Spirit Beast Realm and an established Immortal King, would be so petty. Whereas ordinary people might find excuses to cover their reneging, Ashura displayed no such pretense, revealing his utterly vile nature.
His gaze turned grim, his eyes gathering dark clouds. He spoke indignantly, "Sir, this is not appropriate, is it?"
"Regardless, you are a clan leader. How can you go back on your word?"
"Moreover, with so many clan leaders watching, openly reneging, are you not afraid of their dissent?"
Ashura laughed ferociously, "Dissent? What dissent could there be?"
"You are completely unaware of what the Sacred Dragon did to our clan in the past, so you cannot comprehend the extent of our hatred for the Sacred Dragon."
"Every member of our clan wishes to see the Sacred Dragon eliminated. In a matter like this, no one would find it inappropriate."
"If you don't believe me, look below. Does anyone show any signs of displeasure?"
Wu Tian instinctively looked down and was startled to find the world suddenly fall silent. An eerie atmosphere enveloped the entire realm, causing Wu Tian's expression to become rather stiff. Ashura was correct; despite the egregious breach of agreement, the entire Spirit Beast clan tacitly accepted such behavior. What had the Sacred Dragon done to the Spirit Beast clan in the past to incite such deep-seated hatred?
However, Wu Tian had no time to ponder this. If the Spirit Beast clan harbored such intense hatred for him, the current situation would be exceedingly difficult to resolve. His gaze grew increasingly somber. Though his body was covered in wounds, his hands were tightly clenched into fists.
Sensing his defiance, Ashura sneered, "What, still not convinced?"
"It seems you will never be convinced unless I utterly destroy you."
"If that is the case, then you shall remain here forever."
"Once you are dead, you will no longer be unconvinced."
Ashura's tone was not overtly menacing, but the palpable chill emanating from it caused one's body to involuntarily tense. Blue immortal energy gathered in his hand. Wu Tian was now completely devoid of combat power, and Ashura could obliterate him with minimal effort. Sensing Ashura's killing intent, Wu Tian's heart pounded, and he felt a surge of anger. He had only come to find the location of the Sacred Dragon's treasure, never expecting to encounter such immense trouble. If he were to die here today, wouldn't it become a laughingstock?
With his chances of survival slim, Wu Tian, with his stubborn nature, absolutely refused to give up. His gaze was filled with unyielding resolve as he addressed Ashura, "I don't care about whatever conflict you have with the Sacred Dragon."
"But your breach of agreement today has crossed my bottom line."
"If you wish to kill me, I will not let you succeed easily."
"Is it not just a fight to the death? Do you truly believe I am afraid?"
As he spoke, Wu Tian straightened his body, displaying an unyielding spirit. Seeing this, the Spirit Beasts below were stunned. Wu Tian had no chance of turning the tide, yet he remained so tenacious. Such a spirit was truly possessed by few.
However, for Ashura, Wu Tian's resistance only fueled his anger. He declared, "Fine, you're still talking tough, are you?"
"Then let me see if you can still talk tough when you are dead!"
As he uttered the last word, Ashura's killing intent reached its peak, and immortal energy formed an energy sphere before him. This sphere possessed the power to kill a Great Luo Golden Immortal! Clearly, while Ashura could have easily annihilated Wu Tian with a mere breath, he had gathered such a formidable technique to ensure absolute certainty. After all, he had already lost to Wu Tian in their previous wager, and thus knew Wu Tian could not be underestimated. Carelessness might lead to further complications.
Looking at the energy sphere, Wu Tian understood Ashura's intentions. Yet, he remained unfazed, instead puffing out his chest even further, exuding an aura of facing death with equanimity. Ashura detested Wu Tian's fearlessness the most. He no longer wished to exchange words with Wu Tian and was about to hurl the energy sphere. But at that very moment, a figure suddenly appeared in front of Wu Tian.