One Mountain Cannot Hold Two Tigers

Did Little Nora manage to eat her way right into a war zone? The dragon carcasses in the distance and the coppery stench of blood hanging in the air left Yu Xian genuinely dumbfounded. Taking a deep breath, he allowed countless scent molecules to rapidly assemble into scenes replaying in his mind, flashing from the restaurant all the way to this residential area in an instant. When he saw the dragon clan attempting to indiscriminately slaughter Little Nora, his expression grew stern. Seeing Niman step forward to protect Little Nora filled him with heartfelt gratitude. Yet the moment the mysterious black-robed figure appeared, matters grew complicated. Though most people present carried items designed to conceal their identity, the black-robed person wore scent-masking equipment so peculiar it seemed tailored specifically to counter his abilities. Under his sense of smell, other people were at most a blank slate, but the black-robed person simply did not exist at all. Had the mental model constructed in his brain not contained so many jarring inconsistencies, and had the deductions from the reactions of Niman and the others not confirmed that a mysterious figure had indeed appeared, he would not even have sensed the individual's presence. Interesting. The person might not have been targeting Niman—it was entirely possible they were targeting him. What was more, the black-robed figure had definitely seen his movies, or was perhaps the very person who had uploaded them to the network. In an instant, Yu Xian analyzed a multitude of possibilities, filtering through everyone he suspected. Then, opening his eyes to look at Niman, he said gratefully, "Lady Niman, thank you for protecting Little Nora." "It was merely a matter of circumstance," Niman replied indifferently. "Had the dragon clan been targeting an adult, I assure you I would have turned on my heel and walked away without a second word." Just then, a large detachment of peacekeepers rushed onto the scene. Among them, a minotaur clad in a superior officer's uniform began shouting orders. When he caught sight of the dragon carcasses sprawled across the ground, his expression hardened, and he turned a severe gaze toward Niman and Yu Xian. Marching forward in a fury, he barked, "Sir, Madam, you are both under suspicion of murdering prominent members of the dragon clan on this star floor—" Before he could finish, a faint red glow gleamed in Yu Xian's eyes. A terrifying wave of killing intent flooded the area in an instant. The peacekeepers, who had been bustling about, froze dead in their tracks. Beads of sweat broke out across their brows as raw terror seized their faces. Star Rank! They had just kicked an iron board. Facing Yu Xian directly, the minotaur officer was frightened to the verge of losing control of his bladder. Crescent Bay had never been a place of charity or mercy. Star-rank powerhouses were free to dispose of the weak on a whim. In this moment, he felt his death star shining bright above him. Only one thought echoed in his mind: he was finished. "When the dragon clan tried to kill Little Nora, none of you showed up. You have no business being here now, either. Scram!" Yu Xian said coldly. For a split second, the minotaur officer was convinced that if he dared utter even a single syllable of protest, his head would be wrenched clean off his shoulders. Nodding frantically, he spun around and bolted, yelling for everyone to fall back as he ran. In the blink of an eye, the entire squad fled just as quickly as they had arrived. "I think I'm starting to understand Crescent Bay," Yu Xian remarked to Niman with a wry smile after they had cleared out. Niman chuckled. "That is entirely normal. A Star-rank powerhouse vastly outmatches those at Heaven Rank—so powerful that mere numbers cannot bridge the gap. Absolute power naturally gives birth to absolute authority unless an even greater might intervenes. But Crescent Bay is so barren; why would anyone at Li Rank ever deign to notice such a backwater hole?" "Then, well-traveled Lady Niman, how do you see what happened today?" Yu Xian asked, his expression growing serious after his laugh. Niman looked at the surrounding dragon carcasses and furrowed her brow slightly. "I do not know whether the dragon clan's targeting of Little Nora was orchestrated by someone, but the black-robed person's appearance makes one thing certain: someone wants to provoke a conflict between the dragon clan and the Sea Clan. You and I have now been dragged into it as well." "What could they stand to gain from doing that?" Yu Xian asked. He had not seen the black-robed figure fight firsthand, so he could not gauge the person's true background. Yet because the person had taken such thorough precautions specifically against him, his intuition told him their real target was himself. Still, that seemed somewhat contradictory. Anyone who understood him would know how formidable his spatial abilities were; if he chose to run, nobody could hope to detain him. Plots and schemes... At the very least, they had to ensure that the target would fall into the trap. But he could leave whenever he wished, impossible to pin down. Wait. A light suddenly flashed in Yu Xian's eyes. What if their goal was never to trap him, but to drive him away? One mountain cannot hold two tigers—unless... Bah, nonsense. There was a joke in the Meilong Empire that a predominantly white clique could only ever have one Black person. The moment a second Black person entered the group, the two would immediately clash, each vying to be the group's sole Black representative. Supposing there were two Transcendents from Earth in Crescent Bay, the first to arrive would undoubtedly feel deeply unsettled. Especially when he was secretly siphoning Earth's cultural resources to rake in money in Crescent Bay, the presence of another Transcendent would feel like a bone stuck in his throat—something he would want gone by any means necessary. If he could not eliminate him, the next best option was to chase him out. Yu Xian looked toward the dragon carcasses and thought to himself, *Has this person had contact with me?* He sifted through memories of everyone he had encountered since arriving in Crescent Bay. The culprit knew full well he would protect Little Nora. Regardless of whether the Sea Clan and the dragon clan truly came to blows over this, Little Nora would be reviled as the spark that ignited the powder keg. As long as he chose to shield Little Nora, he would have to endure the combined pressure of both the Sea Clan and the dragon clan, making it virtually impossible for him to remain in Crescent Bay. Yet the mastermind had miscalculated his strength. Had he still been at early Star Rank, the pressure might have posed a genuine problem. But he had already advanced to mid Star Rank, possessing over five hundred points of combat strength, which placed him above more than half of the Star-rank powerhouses in Crescent Bay. Facing joint pressure from the Sea Clan and the dragon clan would be stressful, yes, but not to the point of forcing him to flee. Initially, he had harbored no real malice toward a compatriot profiting off his privacy; catching the fellow would have meant nothing more than forcing him to spit out the ill-gotten gains. Now, however, the situation had changed. "So delicious!" While Yu Xian was lost in thought, Little Nora suddenly let out a loud roar. Then, beneath the astonished gazes of Yu Xian and Niman, Little Nora's body rapidly expanded back to its original size. Fortunately, the surrounding buildings had already been leveled, or they would never have survived the transformation. Once Little Nora returned to full size, every single feather across her body began to radiate a golden light. Her originally chubby frame stretched outward, her curves gradually smoothing into a sleek, streamlined form as her appearance underwent a dramatic shift. "What on earth did Little Nora eat? She's undergoing atavism!" Niman exclaimed in surprise at the sight. Yu Xian turned to Niman and asked, "Atavism?" "Even the Garuda Ancestor did not appear out of thin air. Throughout the Myriad Realms, there has long been a school of thought known as the Root Theory. No matter the world, even the very first progenitor to be born is not truly the ultimate origin; there is always an influence from a deeper, root-level force. "Take the dragon clan, for instance. Why are all dragons across the Myriad Realms so similar? Likely because, in the unseen depths of existence, a true source exerts its influence over them. "And naturally, the Garuda race possesses such a source as well," Niman explained to Yu Xian as she watched Little Nora. Yu Xian looked at Little Nora as well and asked, "Then what will Little Nora revert into?" "I have no idea," Niman replied, shaking her head. It was easy enough to make conjectures based on her own experience, but how could she know the exact answer? Still, this sort of atavism generally made a creature stronger, never weaker.