「Two days later.」
The Nine-headed Serpent, carrying news of a human expert, left the area. About an hour after the Serpent's departure, Ta Qing, the hyena who had been ordered to stay put and await its return, finally reached its own territory deep beneath the wilderness.
Ta Qing sat in his spacious Great Hall, watching his subjects prostrate before him. They presented the strange objects and treasures they had gathered, but his mind, troubled by an uncertain future, remained unsettled. He showed no interest.
He ordered curtly, "Everyone out, leave me in peace!"
"Yes, my king!..."
Twenty-three leader-level beasts responded. Even the weakest among them was comparable to a human Grandmaster, demonstrating the Hyena Clan's profound strength.
"King, what's wrong?"
