‘Asgela referred to that figure as his master earlier.’

‘His master is a Stage 5 powerhouse!?’

Upon this thought, the sliver of hope that had manifested in Locke’s heart was immediately extinguished.

He was already no match against a Stage 4 Beastmaster. Had Asgela not messed up, Locked doubted that he had a chance of winning in the first place.

However, with the appearance of the Stage 5 Beastmaster, Locke was certain that his fate was sealed.

“Sigh…”

Locke sighed heavily.

Since he could not escape death, he might as well face it calmly.

“Master, I am in so much pain.. Please save me…”

At this moment, Asgela, who was far away, pleaded to the figure.

The figure above was extremely illusory, it was more accurate to call it a phantom.

Its aura fluctuated, and its figure was only faintly discernible. It felt as if it resided in a different dimension.

“Kekeke!”

That person let out a few cold laughs and said, “My loyal disciple, you really don’t disappoint. You really did kill tens of thousands of Beastmasters in Mountain City and sacrificed their blood to help you become a Stage 4 Beastmaster.”

After receiving his master’s praise, Asgela smiled bitterly and said, “Of course I won’t let you down. Master went to great lengths to help me advance to a Stage 4 Beastmaster. I won’t hesitate even if I have to slaughter everyone in Mountain City!”

“Hahaha! Good, very good!” That person laughed heartily.

When Locke, who was a distance away, heard these words, he was extremely shocked.

He had never thought that the events that transpired in Mountain City was actually planned out by that person.

If such a ruthless person were to come after him, Locke was certain that his life would become a living hell.

Upon thinking of the torture that he would have to endure in the future, Locke immediately felt goosebumps all over his body.

“With your filial piety, I will definitely help you reach the peak.”

On the other side, after being praised by the figure, the figure waved its hand at Asgela.

A scarlet flame appeared out of thin air and instantly enveloped Asgela’s body.

“Ah!”

Asgela, who was already in unbearable pain, let out an even more miserable cry this time.

At this moment, not only were there tens of millions of insects gnawing on his body, there was also a raging fire burning on his skin.

The two sources of pain caused his face to twist in agony.

“Master… Why?”

Asgela looked at the figure with lifeless eyes and asked weakly.

“I’m helping you reach the peak!” The figure laughed loudly.

“But, master… I’m in so much pain now… Ah… can you help me get rid of the pain first…” Asgela had used a lot of strength to speak those few words.

“Hahaha! You’ll be able to reach the peak soon. This little pain is nothing.”

As time passed, Asgela’s screams became even more miserable.

He was in so much pain that he became delirious and started to talk nonsense.

‘What on Earth is he trying to do?’

In Locke’s eyes, the figure’s actions did not seem to be beneficial for Asgela. To him, it felt more like the figure was trying to harm Asgela.

“I’m in so much pain…” Asgela shouted hoarsely, his hands still scratching his body.

“I’ll relieve you of this pain now!” The figure said darkly.

At the same time, he injected the condensed mana on his palm into Asgela’s body.

“AH — !”

Asgela let out a scream, and his body started to melt.

His flesh melted into pools of blood and began to slide off him.

“This…”

Even though Locke had killed countless people before this, he could not help but feel a chill when he saw this scene. It was truly a cruel way of killing someone.

“Master, what are you doing? Why am I in even more pain!” Asgela asked hoarsely.

The figure smiled eerily and said, “Do you really think that I am sincerely helping you? You are merely a test subject, so that I can learn how to utilize blood-based abilities.”

“You…” Asgela’s eyes widened as he stared at the figure in shock.

“Had you not absorbed the blood of tens of thousands of people, you wouldn’t even be qualified to become my test subject in the first place. You should be proud of this! Hahaha!” The shadow laughed loudly and told him the whole story.

Locke was shocked by what he heard. ‘All the schemes in Mountain City were planned by him. He is the true mastermind behind the scenes.’

While Locke was busy dissolving the revelation, Asgela had already completely turned into a pool of blood. His appearance was truly terrifying.

The world echoed with Asgela’s final indignant curse.

“If the afterlife truly exists, I’ll return as a ghost and hunt you down!”:

The figure sneered. “And how do you suppose that you’ll harm me after death?”

After saying that, he took out a container and filled it with Asgela’s flesh and blood.

After everything was done, he then turned his gaze to Locke in the distance.

“A contractor of a Divine Dragon. Other than that, you also possess several divine Battle Beasts. Not bad.”

Locke was shocked. The fact that the figure had identified all the beasts he possessed at a single glance had shown how powerful the figure was.

However, he replied in a neither servile nor overbearing manner, “I don’t need you to judge my talent.”

The figure’s lips curled up, “It would be a shame to kill you. Well, no matter, I have only come to pick up Asgela today.”

Following this, Hathaway appeared beside the shadowy figure.

“Hathaway!”

Locke’s expression changed, and he cried out in surprise.

The figure smiled cunningly, “Both of you seem to share deep feelings for one other. I’m guessing that the both of you are lovers.”

“What are you trying to do?”

Locke shouted angrily.

At this moment, he was extremely angry.

Had the figure targeted him, and only him alone, Locke would not be particularly bothered.

After all, his cultivation was inferior, and in this world where might makes right, it was normal for him to be bullied.

However, the fact that the figure had attacked his lover had stoked the flames of hatred within Locke’s heart.

He regretted that he was not strong enough to protect Hathaway.

The Phantom ignored Locke’s feelings and left a scar on Hathaway’s slender arm.

Then he sneered, “I’ll spare your life today to serve as motivation for my disciple who’s currently in isolated cultivation. However, I’ve poisoned her with my dragon tooth, and if you wish to save her life, meet me in Dragon Beard Mountain in three years time. I will have you compete with my disciple. If you’re lucky enough to win, I’ll give you the antidote. If you lose… Well, you should know what the consequences are.”

Once the figure had finished speaking, he disappeared into thin air.

With his departure, the space within a radius of ten thousand miles relaxed. Locke, his Divine Dragon, and his Cries of Wind and Flame could finally move.

Locke hurriedly ordered his Divine Dragon to retrieve Hathaway in the distance.

“Hathaway!”

He called out worriedly.

Upon landing onto the ground, Locke hurriedly walked in front of his lover and pulled her into his arms.

“Are you okay?” Locke looked at Hathaway’s pale but breathtakingly beautiful face and asked with great concern.