Chapter 992: Alternate Timeline: The Zheng (3)

In a barren wasteland soaked beneath crimson sunset skies, a heavily injured young man carried a leopard cub within his arms while battling assassins from the Church of Thanatos.

Blood covered his body from head to toe.

Wounds tore across his flesh.

Yet even then... He never abandoned the cub. The assassins demanded the cub be surrendered.

But the young man refused and fought.

Eventually, every assassin died.

Exhausted and bleeding, the young man collapsed onto one knee before gently stroking the cub’s back with trembling fingers.

"Juren..."

He smiled weakly.

"Do not fear. As long as I live... I will never allow anyone to hurt you."

The cub released a small roar filled with emotion.

That was the moment the Zheng formed the contract with Lysender on its own volition.

Back in the present, Juren slowly emerged from the memory trance.

His gaze toward Kiara completely changed.

"I believe you are speaking the truth," he finally admitted.

"But..."

His voice turned heavy once more.

"I still cannot entrust the Frost Clan’s inheritance to a weakling. Prove you are worthy."

These were precisely the words Kiara wanted to hear.

Her eyes gleamed.

Then, without hesitation, she issued the challenge. "If I remain undefeated for five minutes... Will you accept a Spirit Beast Contract and watch over me like a guardian?"

If this challenge had been proposed merely a minute earlier, Juren would never have accepted it so easily.

At that time, he could neither gauge Kiara’s true cultivation nor understand the terrifying black energy surrounding Noah’s daggers, and because of that uncertainty, the Zheng naturally remained cautious toward every condition spoken by the young woman.

But now...

Everything had changed.

After personally tasting Kiara’s blood and confirming the familiar essence belonging to Lysander Frost’s lineage, the beast emperor no longer doubted her identity.

And if this descendant truly possessed the ability to survive against him for five minutes, then perhaps she genuinely carried the qualifications needed to raise the Frost Clan from its graveyard of ashes and forgotten bones.

Still...

Another worry quietly formed inside his heart.

What if this girl truly stood only within the six-star rank?

What if he accidentally killed Lysander Frost’s only remaining successor?

That was something Juren could never forgive himself for.

After remaining silent briefly, he finally spoke.

"Do not overestimate yourself, young one. You know nothing about my true strength."

The mountain wind brushed against his tattered robes while his sharp golden eyes narrowed calmly.

"Because you are my master’s descendant, I will modify the conditions. I shall give you ten minutes. If you can land three successful attacks upon me during that time, then I will consider it your victory. And during those ten minutes..."

"I will not attack you."

His gaze shifted toward Noah.

"The puppet shall not interfere either."

"Are you prepared?"

Kiara genuinely froze for a second.

This was far better than she expected.

From the very beginning, she already knew Noah’s assistance would invalidate any acknowledgment from the beast emperor.

Originally, her entire plan relied upon consuming the Peak Potion and forcing a confrontation through raw power, working alongside the clone.

But now...

It felt as though fortune itself had tilted slightly toward her side.

Maybe it truly was the effect of her luck points.

Whatever the reason, this outcome opened an entirely new path.

And most importantly...

She might not even need to waste the Peak Potion anymore.

Fearing the Zheng might rethink his decision if given enough time, Kiara immediately agreed.

"I accept."

Then she added her own condition while staring directly into his eyes.

"But during the battle, you cannot leave this mountain peak. No running away."

"Hmph."

Juren snorted, crossing his arms.

"You insult me, child."

Kiara honestly had no idea whether the beast emperor would keep his word or not.

But she already spotted an opening.

And Kiara never hesitated when opportunities appeared before her.

Without wasting another breath, she instantly raised her arm toward the sky.

"Thunderblast, activate."

The attack came without warning as soon as the dark clouds gathered above.

Without buildup.

Without mercy.

A blinding pillar of lightning descended from the sky, followed by the rumbling of the thunder.

Even Juren Frost failed to evade it completely.

The lightning struck directly atop his head.

Only after impact did thunder roar across the mountain.

*BOOOOM*

The air trembled violently.

And dust rose in the air.

But when the dust settled, Kiara saw that only several strands of the Zheng’s silver hair were burned away.

Nothing more.

Yet surprise clearly appeared within his eyes.

"That attack..."

For the first time since their meeting, genuine astonishment surfaced upon the beast emperor’s face.

"That possesses enough force to kill an ordinary eight-star Beast King."

Meanwhile, Kiara inwardly cursed. "Damn it..."

Her strongest offensive skill barely singed the opponent’s hair.

The gap between realms truly resembled heaven and earth.

Still...

She quickly pushed away the negative thoughts and focused on the result itself.

Smiling faintly, Kiara lifted one finger.

"That counts as one hit. Only two remaining."

Juren stared at her before suddenly laughing lightly.

"For a woman born in the lineage of the Great Frost House, you are too cunning."

Despite the complaint, amusement lingered within his tone.

Kiara merely shrugged.

"Well... You are an intermediate-stage demigod-rank beast. I have no choice but to be shameless."

The Zheng’s eyes narrowed again.

"You can see my true cultivation?"

That revelation genuinely surprised him more than the lightning strike itself.

Until today, aside from the leader of the Church of Thanatos, no one had realized he had already surpassed the Supreme Realm and stepped into the Demigod Realm.

Yet this young woman recognized it instantly.

"And despite knowing that... You still wished for me to attack you earlier?"

Kiara calmly walked toward another weapon while replying, "I have my own methods to survive."

Soon, she dragged out an unfamiliar heavy weapon with six rotating barrels and mounted it upon a stand nearly sixty meters away from the target. A chain of ammunition connected beside it.

Juren observed the strange object carefully.

The Zheng’s sharp senses immediately began analyzing the weapon.

Something would obviously emerge from those barrels.

Projectiles.

Fast ones.

Within merely several seconds, the beast emperor already understood the basic mechanism, despite the fact that Juren had never seen even a basic firearm before.

Meanwhile, Kiara had no idea her plan was practically exposed.

But she did not care as she had already prepared another backup.

Setting the M134 minigun properly, she looked up.

"Ready?"

Juren lazily gestured with one hand.

"Proceed."

Suddenly, Kiara began counting.

"Ten..."

"Nine..."

"Eight..."

The Zheng calmly listened.

"Seven..."

"Six..."

"Five..."

"Four..."

"Three..."

Before reaching two and one—

Kiara instantly pulled the trigger.

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRT—

The minigun roared like an enraged metal beast.

Flames burst from the rotating barrels while more than a thousand rounds erupted outward within mere seconds.

The recoil shook Kiara’s arms violently despite the mounted stand absorbing most of the force.

Smoke spread rapidly.

Shell casings clattered loudly against frozen ground like endless metallic rain.

Meanwhile, Noah silently tracked every movement made by the target.

As the smoke dispersed gradually, Kiara’s eyes narrowed.

The humanoid figure disappeared.

Instead... a gigantic scarlet leopard stood proudly atop the frozen battlefield with its five tails swaying behind it like crimson flames.

"You truly continue to surprise me, young one."

The beast emperor’s deep voice echoed across the ruins.

"Though your countdown trick earlier was rather childish."

His golden eyes glanced toward the weapon curiously.

"What is that thing called?"

"M134 Minigun."

"Weird name."

Kiara immediately looked toward Noah.

The android silently shook his head. "No collisions detected, Big Sis."

Kiara inwardly winced.

"A thousand gold coins wasted... This one reacts in just a mini second."

Still, she calmly loaded another ammunition chain without hesitation.

Juren watched quietly before speaking again. "Those projectiles are fast. But now that I understand the direction and pattern of attack, repeating the same method is pointless."

Kiara merely smirked.

"We shall see."

This time, instead of instantly firing the ammunition, she pressed the blue activation button beneath the grip.

[Ding! You only have 306,224 ether points left (46.9%). Not sufficient to invoke the maximum power of the skill.]

[Ding! The skill attack power has been revised. Superbeam will have a maximum attack power of 120%.]

[Proceed?]

"Yes."

The moment she said it, electric sparks surged violently into Kiara’s body, and her remaining ether reserves drained almost instantly.

At the same time, the entire minigun began glowing with terrifying energy accumulation.

Naturally, Juren sensed it immediately.

But Kiara gave him no opportunity to fully analyze the danger.

She pulled the normal trigger again.