After the boy left the cave, silence returned.
Only the sound of wind moving outside could be heard.
The Nine-Tailed Fox woman slowly closed her eyes, then opened them again. The weakness was still there, but her mind was now clear.
She spoke softly to herself.
"I must recover fast…"
Her fingers slowly clenched.
"If I need to escape… I must be ready."
Her fox senses spread outward. Very faint. Very weak. But enough to feel danger.
"They will not stop searching," she thought.
"Cultivators… demon cultivators… none of them will let me go."
A cold smile slowly appeared on her pale lips.
Not gentle.
Not kind.
It was a devil's smile.
"Heh…"
"Let them come."
Her eyes turned sharp and cruel.
"I will take revenge."
"I will kill them one by one…"
Her voice was low, filled with hatred.
"Just like I have done in the past."
Memories surfaced in her mind.
Blood.
Fire.
Screams.
She remembered standing alone on a broken mountain, her nine tails dancing in the air. Countless bodies lay at her feet—cultivators and demons alike.
She was once feared.
Once respected.
Once hunted… and once the hunter.
Her expression darkened.
"If not for that old man…" she whispered.
Her nails dug into the ground.
"The Great Elder of the Righteous Sect…"
Then another face appeared in her mind.
A figure wrapped in endless black mist.
"And the Great Elder of the Demon Race…"
Her aura trembled slightly.
"If not for those two joining hands…"
"I would never have fallen to this state."
She remembered it clearly.
The righteous elder sealed her movement with heavenly chains.
The demon elder poisoned her blood with ancient demon curse.
Two enemies.
Two paths.
Yet they worked together… just to kill her.
"Hypocrites…"
"Monsters…"
Her breathing became heavier.
"They turned the world against me."
"And now even small cultivators dare to hunt me like prey."
She slowly calmed herself.
Her smile returned.
Cold.
Dangerous.
"Recover first," she told herself.
"Once I regain even a little strength…"
"I will make them regret being born."
She slowly gathered what little spiritual energy she had left, guiding it carefully through her injured body.
Pain spread like fire.
But she endured it.
"Wait for me…"
"All of you."
Outside the cave, the forest remained quiet.
Unaware.
That a wounded Nine-Tailed Fox was sharpening her fangs again.
The boy moved quietly through the forest.
After some time, he felt a strong aura ahead.
"Hmm?"
"A beast."
From behind the trees, a large monster appeared. It looked like a wild tiger, but its body was covered with black scales. Its eyes were red, and thick killing intent filled the air.
The monster roared.
"ROAAAR—!"
It jumped toward the boy.
The boy did not panic.
He calmly stepped forward.
"Good. Food."
He raised his hand.
No fancy move.
No loud shout.
Just one simple strike.
Slash—!
A flash of light passed.
The monster froze in mid-air.
Then—
Boom!
Its huge body fell to the ground, split cleanly in two.
Blood sprayed everywhere.
The forest became silent again.
The boy looked at the corpse and nodded.
"This should be enough."
But he did not notice—
From a distance, **several cultivators** had seen everything.
Their eyes were wide with shock.
"Did you see that?"
"One strike…!"
"That monster was at least Spirit Realm!"
They exchanged looks and quickly moved closer.
The leader of the group stepped forward. He was a middle-aged man with sharp eyes.
He cupped his fists politely.
"Little brother," he said,
"May I ask you something?"
The boy turned around.
"What?"
The leader spoke carefully.
"Have you seen an injured woman pass through this area?"
"White hair… very beautiful… seriously wounded."
The boy shook his head calmly.
"No."
The cultivators stared at him closely.
Something felt wrong.
Too calm.
Too young.
Too strong.
One of the younger cultivators frowned and whispered.
"Leader… maybe he's hiding her."
The atmosphere changed.
Slowly, several swords were raised.
Spiritual energy locked onto the boy.
"Kid," the leader said in a low voice,
"Think carefully before answering again."
The boy looked at the swords pointing at him.
He did not look angry.
He did not look scared.
He sighed.
"Troublesome…"
He reached into his robe.
The cultivators tightened their grip.
But instead of a weapon—
He took out a token.
The token was golden.
A dragon was carved on it.
The moment the leader saw it, his face turned pale.
His body trembled.
"Th-this is…!"
Before anyone could react—
Thud!
The leader dropped to one knee.
Then he lowered his head deeply.
"This one was blind!"
"Please forgive us, Young Lord!"
The other cultivators were stunned.
"Leader?!"
"What are you doing?!"
The leader shouted.
"Kneel! All of you!"
Seeing his reaction, the others panicked and quickly knelt as well.
The boy looked at them and put the token back calmly.
"I told you," he said,
"I didn't see anyone."
"Don't follow me."
Then he turned around.
He picked up the monster corpse and walked away.
No one dared to stop him.
No one dared to look up.
After the boy disappeared, one cultivator finally whispered.
"Leader… why were you so scared?"
The leader wiped cold sweat from his forehead.
"That token…"
He swallowed hard.
"That is the Dragon Emperor's Token."
Everyone gasped.
"Dragon Emperor?!"
The leader nodded seriously.
"That means the boy is closely related to the Dragon Emperor."
"Maybe his blood… maybe his direct kin."
"No one follows him," the leader said firmly.
"We don't want to create such a big problem."
This world was vast.
Too vast for one empire.
Too vast for one race.
There were many realms, layered one above another.
Lower realms, middle realms, higher realms… and realms that no one dared to speak about.
There were many sects—righteous sects, demon sects, neutral sects.
There were many clans—ancient bloodline clans that existed for tens of thousands of years.
There were many empires—human empires, demon empires, beast empires, each ruling their own lands.
War never stopped.
Power decided everything.
But above all of this…
There existed forbidden beings.
Existences that no ordinary cultivator should even think about.
One of them.
The Dragon Emperor.
The Dragon Race was the strongest Divine race among all Divine races.
Their bodies were indestructible.
Their blood carried ancient power.
Their souls were born with dominance.
And the one who ruled them all was the Dragon Emperor.
His name was taboo.
His existence was legend.
No one knew his true age.
Only few people knew his full strength like Phoenix Emperor, Flame Emperor and other Emperors.
People only knew one thing—
If the Dragon Emperor moved…
The world would break.
Long ago, a great war nearly destroyed all realms.
Humans fought demons.
Demons fought beasts.
The heavens trembled.
In that war, the Dragon Emperor once appeared.
With just his presence, countless experts fell to their knees.
With one roar, mountains shattered.
With one step, seas split apart.
That was when fear truly spread.
After that war, a great agreement was formed.
An agreement that even Emperors dared not break.
The Human Emperor.
The Demon Emperor.
And the Dragon Emperor.
They met in a place outside time and space.
The result was a rule carved into the fate of the world.
The Dragon Emperor will not interfere in any war or conflict between humans and demons.
As long as the balance was not destroyed,
As long as the world itself was not threatened,
The Dragon Race would remain neutral.
In return—
No human or demon force would provoke the Dragon Race.
No one would touch Dragon blood.
No one would hunt dragons.
Because breaking this rule meant only one thing.
Annihilation.
Sects would be erased overnight.
Clans would vanish without a trace.
Empires would fall like dust.
Even Great Elders would not survive.
That was why—
A single Dragon Emperor Token was enough to make powerful cultivators kneel.
It was not just a token.
It was a warning.
It meant—
Do not cross this line.
And now…
In this vast world of realms, sects, clans, and empires—
A young boy carrying that token was walking quietly through the forest.
And far away, hidden in a dark cave—
A wounded Nine-Tailed Fox was slowly recovering.
The balance that the Dragon Emperor once protected…
Was beginning to shake again.