Chapter 52: The True Face of the Giant Tiger

Le Kai regretted his leap the moment he jumped. The slope had seemed gentle, but with his bold dive, he found himself plunging vertically into a fiery red abyss whose depth was impossible to judge. If he were to fall straight into a chasm and perish, would that not be the greatest of injustices?

At this critical moment, his extraordinary vision worked to its fullest, operating like a high-precision detection device, continuously analyzing his surroundings and searching for the best possible course of action. Fortunately, the inside of the colossal volcanic crater was the opposite of its exterior—the deeper one went, the narrower it became. Descending less than a hundred meters, he would likely land on solid ground.

For an ordinary martial artist, such a fall would have been perilously dangerous. But for Le Kai, who had mastered the “Return Step Technique,” it was not insurmountable. Gathering his inner force, Le Kai tapped the air, twisting his body mid-fall to shift sideways by seven or eight meters, then drove his curved blade forward like a spike.

Though the blade was primarily designed for slashing, its tip was still razor-sharp. Infused with his energy, it pierced the red rock with ease—nothing like the unyielding staff in King Kong’s hands—sinking in several inches. Momentum carried him, sparking a trail of fire as he slid down more than ten meters before finally coming to a stop.

His eyes lit up. Shaking from the shock, his body swung like a pendulum, and with a deft motion, he bounced into a nearby cavern.

This was precisely the place that had long unsettled his spirit. Even in such perilous circumstances, Le Kai had not forgotten to plan his next move; the way he estimated the force of his descent, the arc of his blade’s slash, and the precise amount of energy required—everything was executed with near perfection. His landing was almost exactly as he had intended, as if a seasoned expert was returning to familiar ground.

The cave before him was vast beyond his imagination. At a glance, the ceiling soared dozens of meters overhead, winding downward to unknown depths.

Le Kai did not pause for an instant, racing deeper into the cave. Behind him, King Kong’s panicked roar reverberated off the stone, making the walls hum. The beast, evidently more familiar with this place than Le Kai, landed directly on the sloping ground outside the cave and followed just a step behind.

Hearing King Kong’s anxious roars, Le Kai couldn’t help but feel a surge of delight. Apparently, something within this place was of utmost importance to King Kong—perhaps its master.

A trace of excitement flickered in Le Kai’s heart, but caution quickly overshadowed it. Anyone capable of taming a beast as fearsome as King Kong would not be a simple foe. With his current strength, escaping unscathed was uncertain. Yet, seeing King Kong’s distress, perhaps its master was less formidable than appearances suggested. Besides, his own abilities had detected nothing unusual—if there were danger, he would have been warned.

But after rounding several bends and descending a hundred meters or more, Le Kai changed his mind.

The terrain opened up even wider. Jagged red rocks formed a bizarre tableau of underground lava formations. From the cavern walls hung iron-like pillars, glowing red-hot, each one as sharp as a sword, poised to fall and impale the earth below.

Ahead, a platform as vast as a soccer field stretched out.

And on that immense platform stood a creature so monstrous it sent chills racing down Le Kai’s spine—a beast whose very presence made his scalp prickle.

Before him was a creature shaped exactly like a tiger, but its size defied all reason—hundreds of times larger than an ordinary tiger. Towering atop the platform, it resembled a god holding up the sky: claws gleaming, gaze intimidating, making it impossible to look directly at.

The sheer force of its presence was enough to shatter the bravest spirit, sending any intruder fleeing in terror, utterly lacking the courage to oppose it.

As Le Kai and King Kong appeared, the giant tiger seemed furious. Its enormous, blood-red eyes blazed like searchlights, sweeping over them with a terrifying brilliance.

With a whimper of grievance, King Kong crouched low.

So this was King Kong’s master?

Le Kai was stunned.

The giant tiger, clearly enraged, gave a soft snort. At once, King Kong dropped its staff, clutching its massive head in its paws and howling in agony.

Witnessing this, Le Kai’s heart pounded wildly. Could the tiger truly be reciting some magic spell of control? King Kong’s suffering seemed genuine; its usually fierce eyes were now filled with terror, as if enduring the most excruciating torture.

This mighty beast, so formidable in battle, was as powerless before the giant tiger as a child. Anyone witnessing this would lose their will to fight and flee in panic, but Le Kai appeared transfixed, motionless, only his deep, starry eyes flickering faintly.

The giant tiger seemed to dismiss Le Kai, focusing solely on punishing King Kong. The poor creature writhed on the ground in torment, its pitiful state evoking even Le Kai’s reluctant sympathy. This tiger was unspeakably cruel!

A surge of anger rose in Le Kai; his eyes grew increasingly strange, until at last he let out a furious roar: “Enough! King Kong has done his best. There’s no need to torment him further. If you have a problem, come at me!”

King Kong seemed to understand, casting a grateful glance at Le Kai, but the pain only intensified.

Clutching his curved blade, Le Kai charged forward.

Such reckless action startled even King Kong, who, despite its torment, stared at Le Kai in confusion. It sensed that this human was enraged on its behalf, but to challenge an invincible deity was sheer madness!

Yet a mysterious smile played at the corners of Le Kai’s mouth as he gathered speed.

The giant tiger, now truly infuriated, let out a thunderous roar, its crimson eyes locking on Le Kai, as if firing beams of deadly light.

Le Kai’s stride faltered, as if wrestling with himself, but in the next instant, he chuckled lightly and vanished from sight, his mocking voice echoing in the air: “Bluff and bluster, all show and no substance—die!”

In the next moment, a bloodcurdling scream rang out.

King Kong leapt to its feet, its red eyes wide with an almost human shock.

The enormous being that had ruled this place had vanished, and the tiny human now stood atop the platform… Wait, the platform wasn’t as large as it had seemed. What had happened?

Le Kai stood at ease, his curved blade pointing to the ground, a relaxed smile on his face.

On the ground lay the severed body of a wildcat, its ruby-red eyes still wide with human-like disbelief, as if unable to comprehend what had occurred.

From the moment he first saw the giant tiger, Le Kai had been filled with doubt. Faced with such a terrifying monster, his abilities should have screamed the gravest warning, but that had never happened. Initially, he too had been cowed by the creature’s imposing size, but as he focused all his mental energy, something strange happened: the giant beast before him began to shrink, eventually dwindling to barely two feet in length. If he recalled correctly from his reading, this was no tiger at all, but a wildcat!

The surroundings had shifted, too. The once-mighty platform was now scarcely a third of its original size.

Clearly, it had all been an illusion—this wildcat’s special ability.

It was through this power that the wildcat could masquerade as the most terrifying of beasts, subduing creatures like King Kong and using them as its guardians.

Such was the might of spiritual power.