On the shore, Asharuiya's furious eyes fixed intently on Lu Jun, reminded of the humiliation from the ancient capital trip.
She clenched her teeth and resolved that once she found Emperor, she would scare him, let him lose face to vent past grievances, and at the same time intimidate him into yielding multiple benefits.
Opposite her, Lu Jun saw Asharuiya's delicate face gradually calm and thought: "This woman is both righteous and wicked, proud by nature. Offending her like this, she'll likely hold a grudge and wait for a chance to get back at me."
Fortunately, he foresaw the future and understood the dangers of investigating the Black Dragon Emperor. He could not rely entirely on Asharuiya's escape methods; otherwise, he would be constrained and have to set up his own spatial array.
Lu Jun's thoughts turned. He had inherited the space arts from Array Master Dean Xiao; in this regard, his expertise was no worse than Asharuiya's. Moreover, mastering the Inca temporal-spatial techniques added an extra layer of unpredictability.
With each harboring their own schemes, Asharuiya exhaled sharply and said coldly: "Very well. Come with me to explore the Tyrant Mountains. Besides the Lightning Soul Seed, how about two hundred million as a hiring fee?"
Hearing this, Lu Jun was satisfied and smiled brightly: "It's a deal!"
They agreed on the time: meet tomorrow and depart.
Lu Jun returned to the Venice meditation room, sighing. He had hoped for quiet cultivation, yet trivial matters kept arising one after another.
The expedition to the Tyrant Mountains promised substantial gains—at least one billion in funding. He had to go. If he performed well in the National Institute, he could gather enough funds post-competition to purchase a Star Sea Vein.
The super-tier domain made his heart burn. If high-tier represented a top expert in a region, respected even within Parthenon, then super-tier was boundless, freeing one from the youth-level status and able to contend with the middle-aged and elders.
He knew that while the National Institute competition was important for national and aristocratic interest allocation, those outside—ordinary society mages—often underestimated it, thinking it a mere performance of the young.
Lu Jun murmured: "Once I reach super-tier, many things will be possible."
He then closed his eyes to cultivate, absorbing the warmth of the water element to advance his Water-type Star River cultivation.
In the blink of an eye, a day passed. Lu Jun went to the agreed meeting point with Asharuiya.
In a Venice café, he saw her—bright smile, white teeth, hair elegantly pinned, revealing a fair and slender neck, almost tempting enough to bite. She wore practical hunter attire—long pants and sleeves, no skirt.
Even so, her full hips stretched her slim pants taut, radiating incredible sensuality.
Seeing Lu Jun arrive, Asharuiya calmly said: "Let's depart."
The Tyrant Mountains were also within Italy, not far from Venice.
They set off and arrived at the mountains in a few hours. Entering the deep forests, ancient trees soared high, and the roars of various beasts echoed in their ears.
Along the way, Lu Jun noticed peculiar, massive footprints, with accumulated water forming small pools or even lakes.
Boom!
Suddenly, his sixth sense flared, signaling extreme danger. Instantly, he activated Shadow Escape from the Summoning arts to leave the spot.
A dull thunderous roar came from above as a massive steel foot slammed down, shaking the ground, triggering earthquakes, and sending boulders flying.
Lu Jun narrowly avoided it. Looking back, he saw the colossal leg, resembling a heavenly pillar, vanish into the sky. The forest was untouched, pure blue and green, with no trace of the giant.
Only the footprint where he had been remained.
Cold sweat ran down Lu Jun's back. He muttered: "Is this the Titan lineage of Europe and Greece?"
Just as each nation had its own dangers, Europe, besides the nearby Sahara, had the Titans.
If his guess was correct, the gray-white steel pillar had been a mountain giant passing by, a degraded and inferior bloodline, far weaker than the Silver Moon Titans or Gold Radiance Titans.
Giant-type monsters were born with divine strength; their defense and attack power rivaled true dragons.
Unlike other colossal beasts, which were clumsy and hard to conceal, Titans were extremely flexible and masters of hiding.
Just now, even with six-tier spirit power and the enhanced mind from the Li-Fan Flower technique, Lu Jun had barely sensed this mountain giant. Its enormous body could vanish at will.
Lu Jun pondered: the hidden talents of the Titan lineage were truly strange.
When people first saw a giant in the mountains, it could vanish in the blink of an eye. By the time one regained awareness, the giant would be suddenly right in front of them, its massive, menacing face staring with an eerie intensity, sending shivers down the spine.
To this day, this innate talent remained as unfathomable as a true dragon's magic immunity, with no known solution or principle.
Hence, in the Parthenon Temple, the top practitioners of the mental system did not specialize in illusions, but in soul pursuit. Many of their subordinates from the Titan-slaying families mastered this skill, making it relatively easier to locate Titans.
Asharuiya approached and glanced at him: "Are you alright? It is the ruler of the Tyrant Mountains, possessing advanced-tier commander strength."
Hearing this, Lu Jun shook his head. With such power, if it dared provoke him, he would simply cut it down.
After a short pause, the two continued along the path, reaching the main peak of the Tyrant Mountains. The summit was shrouded in permanent dark clouds, thunder roaring across the heavens. Torrential, violent lightning streaked across the sky, as if the gods themselves were splitting heaven and earth.
The moment Lu Jun and Asharuiya stepped in, they felt the static electricity field. Every hair on their bodies stood on end, clothes clung tightly, and any movement would generate sparks, as if death by lightning could strike at any moment.
"The Tyrant Wild Thunder is at the summit," Asharuiya pointed to the main peak, pausing before continuing: "However, some demonic clans inhabit it. Such a lightning soul seed, a top-tier natural treasure, will be guarded by high-level beasts, which simultaneously helps them refine their attributes."
Lu Jun gazed along the cliff face. In the dense crevices, a flock of demonic birds thrived. Their feathers shone in red, purple, and blue, massive wings spreading to block the sky, exuding a terrifying aura.
"Wind-Flame-Thunder Griffon!" Asharuiya said solemnly. "This clan is extraordinary, growing in three stages: ten years to wind attribute, ten years to fire, then another ten to lightning, mastering the power of all three elements."
"Even with just the wind attribute, they are advanced-tier Warrior-level. Fire attribute alone makes them small commander-level demons. As for the three-headed ones with full mastery of the three elements, they reach the pinnacle of commander-level power."
"So this flock of Wind-Flame-Thunder Griffons treats the Tyrant Wild Thunder as their possession? Must we deal with them?"
Lu Jun whispered, scanning the cliff where the demonic birds perched. There were roughly twenty in total, nine of which were commander-level Wind-Flame-Thunder Griffons. Leading them was a single pinnacle commander-level beast.
"That's correct," Asharuiya nodded. "I plan to lure that mountain giant over. The two demonic factions have a long-standing feud. As the ruler, the mountain giant despises this unruly flock of Wind-Flame-Thunder Griffons."
"We only need to make slight adjustments, then let the tiger swallow the wolf, sit back and watch the battle, and reap the benefits."
For additional chapters
Versatile mage {40 chapters}
Douluo Dalu:This Soul Master is to Weird {30 Chapters}
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