Chapter 246: Have you heard of the God of Beast?

The air inside the underwater cavern grew unnaturally heavy, the temperature plummeting until frost began to crystallize along the damp rock walls.

The greenish luminescence embedded within the ancient murals flickered wildly, casting jagged, twisted shadows across the carved faces of the kneeling beastmen.

Then came the voice.

It was not a sound that traveled through the air, but a cold, reverberating whisper that resonated directly inside the skulls of the four disciples.

It sounded like thousands of overlapping, raspy voices chanting in unison, laced with a primordial hunger that clawed at their minds.

“…Pray to the God of Beast…”

The four youths froze, their eyes widening in sheer, unadulterated horror.

Their skin turned deathly pale, and their breath hitched in their throats as a suffocating, ancient pressure slammed down upon their chests.

The sheer malice radiating from the glowing runes felt like a heavy hand squeezing their hearts, threatening to crush them where they stood.

“N-No…” one of them whimpered, his teeth chattering violently as his knees gave way, dropping him onto the cold stone floor.

“Run! Get out! Get out now!” another shrieked, his voice cracking with pure terror.

Panic seized them completely.

Forgetting their cultivation, their pride, and their dignity as Emerald Purity Sect disciples, they scrambled backward, splashing frantically into the frigid pool.

They dived into the narrow underwater tunnel without second thoughts, kicking desperately against the current as if an unseen beast were snapping at their heels.

When they finally surfaced in the open natural spring outside, they broke through the water gasp-ing for air, their faces completely drained of color.

They practically dragged themselves onto the grassy bank, shivering uncontrollably as they threw on their clothes with trembling hands.

As they scrambled back up the winding forest path toward the peaks of Mount Laobao, their boots slipped on the loose gravel in their frantic rush.

“Did… did you all hear that?!” one of them stammered, clutching his chest as he looked back over his shoulder in paranoia.

“Tell me I’m not going insane! You heard it too, right?!”

“I heard it!” another gasped, his eyes darting frantically toward the rustling trees. “A voice… inside my head… it sounded like an ancient demon!”

“All four of us heard the same thing,” the third whispered, his voice trembling with dread.

“That place… it’s cursed. We came across something that belongs to an evil spirit… or a forbidden ancient cult.”

The fourth disciple grabbed his companions by their shoulders, his face grim and deathly serious.

“Listen to me! We speak of this to no one! If the Grand Elders find out we stumbled upon a forbidden site, we’ll be executed for heresy or locked in the punishment caves for life! Swear it! We take this secret to our graves!”

“We swear!” the other three nodded frantically, fear cementing their vow.

By the time the four shaken disciples finally rushed back into the main courtyard of the Emerald Purity Sect, the afternoon sun had begun its slow descent behind the misty peaks of Mount Laobao.

The grand discipleship evaluation examination had officially drawn to a close. The massive marble plaza was packed with thousands of young applicants, their faces reflecting a mixture of exhaustion, relief, and anxiety.

Out of the tens of thousands of hopefuls who had flocked to the mountain from across the Eastern Hashian Mountains, only a select few hundred had managed to achieve high enough scores across all three trials to earn the coveted rank of Inner Disciples.

The thousands of remaining applicants who barely passed were assigned as lower-tier Outer Disciples, while the untalented rest were turned away from the mountain gates.

Later in the evening, the Sect Elders would take turns evaluating the elite inner recruits, selecting personal disciples to guide directly and expanding their respective political factions within the sect’s hierarchy.

Standing prominently among the top-ranking tier of newly chosen inner disciples were the four disguised commanders of the God of Beast.

Having hidden their true power while effortlessly acing the trials, their flawless performances had earned them high praise from the supervising proctors.

However, their approaches to blending in were completely different.

Duchess Eurenia, currently maintaining the appearance of a slender, sharp-eyed teenage girl in a simple crimson tunic, had immediately isolated herself from the celebrating crowds.

She had zero interest in socializing with mortals, let alone arrogant young human cultivators.

Folding her arms across her chest, she rested her back against the cool outer wall of a courtyard pavilion, her gaze cold and detached.

Duchess Alisa, on the other hand, understood the necessity of intelligence gathering.

Taking the form of a strikingly beautiful young maiden, Alisa was currently surrounded by a massive crowd of eager male disciples.

Her divine charisma translated flawlessly into her mortal illusion—she possessed stunning, porcelain-like facial features, captivating violet eyes, and a voluptuous, devastatingly hot figure that had half the young men on the plaza practically drooling.

Disciples were tripping over themselves just to introduce themselves to her.

“Lady Alisa! My name is Brother Chen of the iron line! If anyone dares bother you on Mount Laobao, just call my name!”

“Ignore him, Sister Alisa! I am the son of the City Master of Eastern Jade! I assure you, I will protect you even if it’s the very last thing I do on this earth!”

Alisa offered them a soft, dazzling smile that made several young men clutch their chests in awe. “Thank you all so much,” she replied smoothly, her voice sweet as honey. “I truly appreciate your warm support.”

Farther down the courtyard, Eurenia watched Alisa’s performance with subtle disdain, remaining leaned against the pavilion wall.

She was close enough to observe the entire courtyard, yet positioned in the shadows away from the noise.

STEP. STEP.

Four shadows fell over her.

Eurenia opened her eyes slightly, observing four young men approaching her.

They were wearing the crimson-emerald robes of established outer disciples—it was Mayr, Peatyr, Hugan, and Naen, the four disciples who had just fled from the cave.

They were still visibly pale, their nervous energy lingering as they sought a distraction from the terror they had experienced.

“Hey there,” Mayr spoke up, offering a friendly, albeit somewhat anxious smile. “You look unfamiliar. Are you one of the new inner disciples?”

Eurenia did not move an inch. She kept her arms folded, her cold gaze passing right through them as if they were made of air.

She completely ignored his existence.

Peatyr chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. “Ah, playing the quiet type, huh? Look, we’re just trying to be friendly. I’m Peatyr, and these are my martial brothers Hugan, Naen, and Mayr.”

Eurenia remained completely silent, her expression unreadable and icy.

Despite her blatant rejections, the four youths proved stubbornly persistent.

Wanting to project confidence and recover their shattered pride after their terrifying ordeal in the cave, they continued smiling and chatter-ing around her, trying to give her unwanted advice.

“You shouldn’t be so aloof in a sect like this,” Hugan advised, waving a hand. “The Emerald Purity Sect values unity under the emerald light. As new disciples, you need to know how to act, who to respect, and how to navigate the elder factions—”

Suddenly, Naen—who was still deeply shaken, his mind completely overwhelmed and hyper-fixated on the horrifying voice that was still echoing inside his head—blurted out a question without thinking.

“Have you heard of the God of Beast?”