“Meow?”

“Huh?”

At the old man’s last words, the White Tiger stopped absorbing the Star God Iron, and Xiaobai lowered the sword. Human and beast exchanged puzzled looks, then turned toward the front. A scruffy old man in shabby clothes came huffing and puffing toward them.

“Y-You... you two... Give me back my Star God Iron! It’s mine!”

“Kitty, what do you think?”

Xiaobai didn’t need the Star God Iron, so Xiaobai turned to ask Kitty what Kitty thought.

“Not giving it to you, meow~”

“I’m going to absorb it myself, meow~”

The White Tiger flat-out refused, clutching the Star God Iron as it ran...

As if! Once it absorbed this piece of Star God Iron, it would become a Nine-Star Sacred Beast. No way it was giving it up to anyone.

Meanwhile, the scruffy old man kept his eyes fixed on the Star God Iron. When he saw it getting away, he hurried after it.

However.

“Smack~”

Xiaobai laid the black sword across the old man’s path, making it clear he wasn’t getting through.

“Boy, don’t block the way. Can’t you see your pet stole my things?”

As he spoke, the old man reached out to move Xiaobai’s black sword. But it didn’t budge an inch.

“Heh. Who can prove that hunk of scrap is yours? Just because you say it is, doesn’t make it so,” Xiaobai said.

“The Star God Iron was here before you arrived, and I’ve been here for over a hundred thousand years. If it isn’t mine, then whose is it?” the old man explained, sounding utterly confident.

“Why not say the world was here before you, too? You’ve lived for over a hundred thousand years, and our ancestors probably hadn’t even been born yet when you got here. So I guess the whole world belongs to you, then?” Xiaobai shot back.

“Y-You brat, you’re not being reasonable!”

The old man was so furious at Xiaobai’s words that he nearly smoked.

“You’re the one who’s not making any sense...” Xiaobai retorted.

“How about this, boy? Give me back the Star God Iron, and I’ll prove it’s mine,” the old man said after a moment’s thought.

“Are you insane? If I give it to you, do you think I’ll ever get it back? You think I’m stupid or something?” Xiaobai rolled his eyes and gave the old man a look of contempt.

“You...”

Just as the two were about to continue arguing—

“Rumble~”

“Huh? What’s that...?”

A tremendous aura surged from behind Xiaobai, making him freeze in surprise.

“Whoosh~”

Taking advantage of the moment, the scruffy old man swiftly slipped around Xiaobai and raced toward the source of the aura.

In an open area of the underground space.

A vast aura swirled across the ground. Sand whipped through the air, and rocks tumbled about.

At the center of the aura was a white creature.

Its eyes were tightly shut as it lay quietly on the ground, both paws wrapped around a silver-glowing stone.

As time passed, the stone’s glow grew dimmer and dimmer.

Meanwhile, an increasingly dazzling white light radiated from the creature’s body.

Suddenly—

A shadow appeared beside the white creature. It reached out and grabbed for the silver-glowing stone.

“Shing~”

Another black sword, gleaming with the light of night, appeared between them in an instant and slashed straight at the shadow.

The shadow had no choice but to pull its hand back. A flicker of panic showed in its movements as it hastily retreated out of the aura’s reach before coming to a stop.

“Old man, can’t you see my Kitty is evolving? Quit getting in the way and get lost...”

Xiaobai stood facing the shadow, blocking its path in front of the white creature without the slightest courtesy.

“Kid, my patience is running out. I’m done wasting my breath on you. Give me back my Star God Iron, now. Don’t make me use force.”

The shadow was the scruffy old man. His face now looked nothing like the kindly one he’d worn when they first met.

He no longer called Xiaobai “boy,” either. A vicious aura swirled around him.

“You’ve already used force, and you’re still saying I’m making you? You’ve got some nerve.”

Xiaobai didn’t care in the slightest about the scruffy old man’s threat. He just smiled and answered.

“Then allow me to teach you what it means that there’s always someone stronger, and a higher sky beyond the sky.”

“I may not have fought in tens of thousands of years, but I’m still more than most people can handle.”

“A few tens of thousands of years ago, a Little Black Dragon barged in here, too.”

“I still remember exactly what it looked like. It held its nose so high in the air, thinking it could take my things.”

“And what happened? I’d barely released my pressure when it got so scared it pissed itself and ran.”

“I hope you’re a little stronger than it was, kid. Last a bit longer, and give this old man a reason to get excited.”

As he spoke, the aura around the scruffy old man changed dramatically. An overwhelming pressure burst forth, crushing and shattering the immense aura the White Tiger had created... The White Tiger itself promptly passed out.

A huge dragon-shaped shadow gradually appeared behind the old man. It looked savage and violent, and its blood-red eyes—brimming with cruelty—locked onto Xiaobai.

“This presence...”

Xiaobai hadn’t expected the aura to be so powerful. He staggered backward, unable to believe it.

“Hahahaha! Not bad, kid. You actually held up under my pressure. You’re a lot better than that Little Black Dragon. You deserve some praise!”

“But, kid, judging by that miserable look on your face, you can’t move, can you?”

“Th-That’s impossible!” Xiaobai blurted out.

“What’s impossible about it?”

The old man continued.

“You just haven’t seen enough of the world, kid.”

“You’re terrified right now, aren’t you? Don’t worry. I’ll teach you a lesson so you learn not to stubbornly take things that aren’t yours. Then I’ll let you go.”

“Heh. J-Joking... I... I’m... scared... of you?”

Xiaobai’s face looked awful, and the hand gripping the black sword wouldn’t stop trembling.

“Hahaha! You’re a terrible liar, kid.”

“Look at your hand—it’s shaking. Even your voice is trembling, and you still say you’re not afraid?”

“You’ve got guts. I like that.”

The scruffy old man wasn’t in any hurry to attack. The white creature over there had already been crushed by his pressure, and the kid in front of him could barely withstand it. The Star God Iron was already as good as his. No—truth be told, it had been his all along.

“But being stubborn won’t get you anywhere. You need strength to do whatever you want. You have to be as powerful as me before you can act so arrogant. Got it?”

“Now then, kid. Do me a favor and act as cocky as you did before, would you?”

The scruffy old man narrowed his eyes as he approached Xiaobai, taunting him.

“Why not take a step? Give this old man a little surprise.”