Accidentally Obtained Clue from the Bead

Fifty thousand years ago, the Old Dean was still a demon beast—an eighth-tier demon beast.

At that time, the Beast God Mountain Range was far from peaceful. Fierce battles frequently erupted among demon beasts, fought savagely for survival and territory.

Within the Beast God Mountain Range also lived some indigenous people, whose lives were even harsher than those of the demon beasts.

During one of these battles, the Old Dean suffered severe injuries.

He thought he was going to die, but unexpectedly, an indigenous person saved him.

Not only did this person rescue him, but they also brought him to a place that, until then, only demon beasts could enter.

This was the deepest part of the Beast God Mountain Range, a place no demon beast dared approach, as if an innate oppressive force lingered there, instilling deep fear in them.

The Old Dean never understood how his savior discovered this place or walked through it unharmed.

But thanks to this benefactor, not only was the Old Dean saved, but his strength also advanced by leaps and bounds here.

What followed was a rather cliché and melodramatic tale.

The Old Dean wanted to repay the kindness, only to find that his savior had already passed away.

Their death was caused by the harsh living conditions of the indigenous people.

This pained the Old Dean deeply, and he resolved to change the lives of the indigenous people and put an end to the conflicts among demon beasts.

His intentions were noble, but as a demon beast, people reacted to him with terror and fear, never truly listening to his words.

Though a handful were moved by his sincerity or intimidated into following his instructions, their numbers were too few to make a difference.

It wasn’t until the Old Dean finally broke through to the tenth-tier demon beast that things began to change.

"How did you break through?"

"Did you just train and suddenly break through?" Da Huang asked curiously.

"Well..."

"Truthfully, the breakthrough was quite unexpected. See this lake?"

"About forty thousand years ago, for some unknown reason, a crystal-like object emerged from the water and flew straight to me."

"I mustered the courage to swallow it, and then... I broke through to the tenth tier."

"After reaching the tenth tier, I faced a choice."

"First, ascend to the upper realm."

"Second, forcibly remain in the lower realm, but my strength would regress to the peak of the ninth-tier demon beast, with no possibility of breaking through to the tenth tier again."

"Third, fully transform into a human, shedding my identity as a demon beast."

Clearly, the Old Dean chose the third option. After transforming into a human, he began to develop and reshape the Beast God Continent in the name of the Beast God.

When he first took human form, his strength was at the peak of the Emperor realm—the very highest tier—and he possessed the ability to alter his appearance at will.

Through relentless effort, the Old Dean eventually turned the Beast God Continent into the utopia he envisioned, where humans and demon beasts could coexist peacefully.

This endeavor took him ten thousand years, but he also discovered a problem: his strength was gradually diminishing over time.

The restrictions he had placed on the Beast God Mountain Range were also slowly fading.

The marks on Chen Chang'an and the others' foreheads weren’t removed by him—they simply couldn’t be sustained for long and would vanish on their own after a while.

This was why, in later years, the Beast God Academy began admitting outsiders.

With more and more outsiders arriving, the issue of the marks would eventually be exposed. It was better to attract them to become Beast Tamers instead.

This way, Beast Tamers wouldn’t bear the marks, and no one would investigate them further.

Moreover, rumors about the Beast God Continent had spread far and wide, deterring many from daring to trespass into the Beast God Mountain Range.

"So, breaking through to the tenth tier means ascending to the upper realm?"

"Then... I think I’ll hold off for now."

Hearing that reaching the tenth tier would force him to ascend, Da Huang instantly lost interest in breaking through.

Who would he know in the upper realm? It sounded dreadfully dull.

"What’s the deal with the Ten Thousand Beasts Alliance?"

"Why do they harbor such hostility toward the Beast God Mountain Range and the Beast God?" Chen Chang'an asked curiously.

"Because..."

"Ah, the leader of the Ten Thousand Beasts Alliance is Mu Ye. He was once a Chosen Beast Tamer."

"In fact, he was the very first—the most devout believer in the Beast God."

"In a way, he was also my first disciple."

"He was incredibly talented, surpassing others in both beast taming and cultivation."

"At one point, he even seemed poised to surpass me."

"His lifelong wish was to meet the Beast God. Originally, he was the most likely candidate to become the second dean of the Beast God Academy."

"But I didn’t appoint him. Instead, I chose to transform again and continue as dean."

"This decision infuriated Mu Ye, as he believed I had robbed him of the chance to meet the Beast God."

"In the end, he left the Beast God Continent in anger. I once sent people to inquire about his whereabouts and learned he had established the Ten Thousand Beasts Alliance outside."

"Then, around eight thousand years ago, he returned to the Beast God Continent and sought me out."

"He claimed to have obtained a mysterious pearl and wanted to offer it to the Beast God."

"I knew his real goal was to meet the Beast God."

"But the Beast God... doesn’t exist. How could I arrange such a meeting?"

"Mu Ye began to suspect that the Beast God was nothing but a fabricated lie. Enraged, he left again."

"He vowed to return one day and slaughter his way through the Beast God Mountain Range to see if the Beast God would appear."

"And now... he’s actually done it."

The Old Dean was heartbroken. Mu Ye had been his most cherished disciple, the one he had been most proud of.

Yet their relationship had deteriorated to this point.

Meanwhile, Chen Chang'an and Da Huang exchanged glances, fixated on just one word: pearl?

Damn it!

How ridiculously lucky was this?

Could it be that one of the pearls was now in the hands of Mu Ye, leader of the Ten Thousand Beasts Alliance?

If so, Chen Chang'an had no choice but to pay the Ten Thousand Beasts Alliance a visit.

"There’s one thing I’m curious about."

"Even among the superpowers of the Central Heaven Domain—like the three great families—the number of Emperor-level experts is limited."

"How is it that the Ten Thousand Beasts Alliance can deploy so many Emperor-level experts at once?"

"Is their strength truly that formidable?"

"And what about Mu Ye’s own power?" Chen Chang'an pressed.

"I don’t know much about that. I only knew he founded the Ten Thousand Beasts Alliance—nothing else."

"But it is suspicious. Though Mu Ye’s strength had reached the peak of the Emperor realm..."

The Old Dean trailed off, unable to explain the sheer number of powerful experts in the Ten Thousand Beasts Alliance—something he had never anticipated.

"Listening to this, it almost feels like..."

"Could this be related to Long Wuqi?" Da Huang asked Chen Chang'an.