Global Awakening: I'm the Only One Ready

Rays of moonlight and the stars dotting the sky illuminated the Jade Emperor Peak, the highest peak of Mount Tai.

The mere shadows of the ten great beast kings elicited terror at a mere glance, but Lu Yuan remained utterly tranquil as he stood before them. His words were straightforward and domineering, leaving no room for both speculation and negotiation.

Elder Ji and Elder Yun stiffened upon hearing him. They turned to each other and saw the shock and helplessness in each other’s eyes.

It had to be known that they had come here to negotiate? A negotiation was a discussion to reach an agreement with someone. In other words, they had to be humble and make concessions when necessary to ensure the other party’s satisfaction.

Otherwise, there would be no point to this negotiation.

However, Lu Yuan had transformed the negotiations into a mere notification. It was clear that he had no actual intention of talking to them.

The ten great beast kings stood at the Golden Body Realm, and each one possessed incomparable power. If they were unleashed upon human cities, any one of them could create a catastrophe.

Yet those words just spoken contained absolutely no compromise or lowering of stance.

The two elders could already foresee that these beasts would go berserk. After all, Lu Yuan had spoken too directly, too domineeringly...

Not far away, the Spirit Monkey felt like the peach in its hand had lost its flavor. It raised its head and watched with keen interest.

It had mentioned that these beast kings were all hot-tempered and violent. They would never submit, which meant a fight was inevitable.

In other words, to reach an agreement with them, they had to retreat when and compromise when needed. However, Lu Yuan’s words had pushed them way past the road of no return. How could any negotiations happen at this point?

It seemed that a battle was truly going to happen.

Indeed, all ten beast kings cast hostile gazes at Lu Yuan—no, some of them were already harboring killing intent.

The black bull snorted, dense white mist manifesting from its nostrils as the black radiance wreathing its horns grew deeper.

Standing next to the black bull, the Nine-Tailed Fox King revealed a human-like expression but made no move. It seemed to have decided to observe quietly, for now.

”How bold of you, human!” the Titanic Jiao King roared.

Though its body stretched only dozens of meters long, its silver scales gleaming under the moonlight were harder than alloy. The aura it emanated seemed boundless. It had truly become a jiao, surpassing both the White King and even the Dragon-Blooded Jiao in power.

It moved slowly toward Lu Yuan while glaring fiercely at the latter. ”We object.”

”During the old era, humanity has leveraged their wisdom to slaughter our kind, showing neither restraint nor kindness toward us,” said the Titanic Jiao King. ”Now that the heavens and the earth have bestowed upon us enough strength to turn the dies, you’ve actually come here to demand that we cease the beast tides? How could there be such a convenient arrangement?”

The Titanic Jiao King continued forward, and a magnificent aura rolled from it. It stared intently at Lu Yuan, continuing, ”I object. The blood debt spanning many years between our species... I will resolve it.”

Upon hearing that, Elder Ji and Elder Yun’s faces changed.

The negotiations had failed.

However, Lu Yuan remained calm as he said, ”Hmm, what you’ve said sounds familiar. The White King seemed to have said something similar.”

”That’s right!” the Titanic Jiao King roared, ”The White King of Qinling was my distant relative, and I know you killed it.”

”Today, I’ve come not to negotiate, but for revenge. After killing you, I’ll return and launch a beast tide, commanding countless beasts to slaughter people in your cities. I’m going to make all of humanity pay!”

The Titanic Jiao King grew extremely furious upon hearing Lu Yuan mention the White King. Wasting no words, it revealed its true goal for coming here. Then, a killing intent so thick it seemed tangible emanated from it.

BOOM!

Lu Yuan moved immediately upon hearing the Titanic Jiao King’s reply. He took a single step forward, and a wave of golden energy erupted from him. Lightning shrouded him as he transformed into a streak of light that appeared before the Titanic Jiao King in an instant.

With a cold face, he decisively raised his right hand. The boundless power of lighting converged on his right arm as he smashed it into the Titanic Jiao King’s massive skull.

Crackle!

Thunder bellowed, and a blinding flash of light briefly illuminated the area.

The powerful lightning energy rippled outward, enveloping the Titanic Jiao King. Its scales cracked open, and vast quantities of blood gushed out. Lightning represented the peak of violence and slaughter; it was the attribute with the strongest offensive power.

Lu Yuan had also decided to go all-in, holding nothing back.

The Titanic Jiao King was strong, but it had just entered the Golden Body Realm. Its bloodline couldn’t compare to the Spirit Monkey’s as well, so how could it possibly resist?

Within a single breath, it ceased to breathe and crashed heavily to the ground without being able to display its power. Its silver frame had turned charred black, emanating the aroma of cooked meat.

”I didn’t come here to talk. You either agree or disagree. No need to waste words,” said Lu Yuan, dusting off his palms before returning to his original position. Then, he turned toward the nine beast kings. ”Let’s continue where we left off.”

The Titanic Jiao King’s threat to launch a beast tide had already crossed his bottom line, and he never appreciated being threatened.

A deathly silence descended upon Jade Emperor Peak.

Elder Ji and Elder Yun looked at the Titanic Jiao King’s corpse before them, swallowing hard. Lu Yuan was too domineering; he attacked at the slightest hint of disagreement, slaughtering a beast king right before the other beast kings.

King Lu was indeed King Lu—unrestrained, domineering, and straightforward.

However, wouldn’t his actions complicate matters?

The nine beast kings, led by the Peacock King, were in shock.

Everything had happened too quickly. Before they realized it, the Titanic Jiao King was already dead. He was killed in the blink of an eye and had not been able to resist at all.

The reason they ascended Mount Tai was out of respect for the Spirit Monkey, but now, they finally acknowledged Lu Yuan’s strength. He was merely at the Unfettered Realm, but he could slay a being at the Golden Body Realm.

In addition, it seemed that he had yet to use his full power.

However, Lu Yuan had made a move right before their faces. When the beast kings recovered from their shock, they felt like Lu Yuan had just blatantly provoked them.

The Black Bull King and three other beast kings stepped forward.

”King of Humanity,” the Peacock King said, stopping the Black Bull King and the others by stepping forward. ”What you’ve said can indeed be discussed. But if humans are actively hunting us, what then? You don’t expect us to sit and wait for our deaths, do you?”

Its voice resembled that of a middle-aged man. As the strongest among the beast kings here, the other beast kings immediately gave way to the Peacock King.

The Peacock King’s words showed that it had acknowledged Lu Yuan’s strength and was ready to negotiate.

As for the Titanic Jiao King beside them, it wasn’t really close to them. What was dead was dead. These beast kings truly upheld the so-called survival of the fittest.

The Peacock King had acknowledged that Lu Yuan was extraordinarily strong and difficult to handle. If a battle were to erupt, the consequences would probably not be in their favor. With that in mind, it decided to placate the other beast kings.

”Of course, not,” Lu Yuan responded with a smile. ”I just need you to agree on not invading human territories or launching beast tides on cities.”

Lu Yuan’s goal was simple—to protect the safety of the citizens. He wouldn’t be able to stop other Awakened from provoking these beast kings, and imposing that kind of restriction would be too harsh.

In the end, it was all about the survival of the fittest.

As long as it wasn’t too absurd, it could be overlooked.

”Is that so?” The Peacock King fell into contemplation.

Light emanated from its feathers, making it appear truly extraordinary. Its body harbored a formidable power; even among all the mutated beasts in today’s world, it was among the strongest.

Finally, it glanced at the Spirit Monkey in the distance before turning to Lu Yuan, saying, ”Very well, we can agree to that.”

The beast kings nearby instantly became agitated upon hearing that. In response, the Peacock King’s aura rippled outward, and the agitated beast kings calmed themselves down.

There were beasts considered supreme among beasts, and the Peacock King was one of such beasts.

”Thank you.” Lu Yuan nodded, lowering his head slightly. He knew the other party had made considerable concessions. Under such circumstances, he naturally couldn’t demand more.

With that, he turned and exchanged a farewell glance with the Spirit Monkey. Then, he turned to the two elders and said, ”Elder Ji, Elder Yun, let’s go.”

He walked straight down the mountain.

That’s it? It’s over just like that? Elder Ji and Elder Yun froze, their minds filled with questions, but they said nothing and simply chose to follow him down the mountain.

”Peacock King, why did you agree to his request?” the Black Bull King asked, clearly dissatisfied.

”The world is still changing. A truce between beasts and humans is not necessarily a bad thing. There’s no need for us to fight to the death,” said the Nine-Tailed Fox King. Its snow-white fur emanated a soft light. Its voice was gentle, like that of a young maiden.

”Indeed, greater crises await us. In the end, we’re all beings from the same world,” the Spirit Monkey said with an iron cudgel on its shoulder, but it no longer appeared as casual as earlier. It looked solemn as if it knew many things.

In fact, beasts with powerful bloodlines were privy to certain secrets through their inherited memories.

”But I still feel unconvinced,” the Black Bull King said in a rumbling voice.

”Of course, this isn’t the end of it. At the very least, we should see exactly how strong that so-called King of Humanity truly is,” the Peacock King finally said. Its eyes were fixed on Lu Yuan’s departing figure, raring to fight Lu Yuan.

The beast kings looked at each other with surprise, feeling confused. However, the Peacock King offered no explanation and simply told the beast kings to stay at the Jade Emperor Peak for several more days.

On the other side, Lu Yuan led the two elders down Mount Tai.

Elder Ji and Elder Yun felt like the negotiations were done hastily. They had said nothing and merely killed the Titanic Jiao King to complete the negotiations. At the very least, weren’t they supposed to sign some sort of agreement or contract?

However, Lu Yuan merely smiled without speaking, leaving the two elders puzzled and worried. This was a major affair concerning the safety of the nation’s citizens, so they couldn’t handle it carelessly.

Several days later, the instruments at the Mount Tai Trials Academy detected powerful energy fluctuations at the Jade Emperor Peak. The energy fluctuations seemed to be screaming at them, saying that a fierce battle was underway.