There were countless tribes in the plains, and the Steel Lion Kingdom dominated over them. The leader of the Steel Lion Kingdom called himself the Heavenly Lion King—a descendant of the ancient Heavenly Lion—and was revered by the people in the plains.
Therefore, the Steel Lion Kingdom was actually the merger of countless tribes. Other than the Heavenly Lion King who was the leader of the Steel Lion Kingdom, Prince Zuoxian and Prince Youxian were the leaders of the Goshawk Tribe and Heavenly Wolf Tribe respectively. They had always been the most powerful people aside from the Heavenly Lion King.
The man who was called Prince Youxian was three meters tall and covered in thick body hair all over. He was so hairy that one could not see his actual appearance clearly. Prince Youxian was the leader of the Heavenly Wolf Tribe. When he heard what the other man said, Prince Youxian replied coldly, "The Krieg royal family has obstructed us from attacking south on multiple occasions, killing our tribe's warriors. It's really detestable that I'm unable to kill him personally."
The man with a Divine Hawk on his shoulder was the leader of the Goshawk Tribe—the Steel Lion Kingdom's Prince Zuoxian. His height did not reach 1.7 meters, and when he stood before Prince Youxian, he appeared even shorter.
However, a gleam shone in his eyes, and the light around him became distorted, revealing a great level of cultivation.
Additionally, the Divine Hawk that rested on his shoulder seemed very handsome. As it looked around, all of the Kingdom's generals felt as if they were sitting on needles.
Prince Zuoxian said, "Although the Krieg royal family has already been wiped out, Sinkodati still has several Divine level experts. Their Imperial Preceptor, Fang Xingjian, has the name of Sword Overlord. His sword arts dominate over the southwest, and he isn't to be underestimated."
Prince Youxian revealed a look of disdain. "They are but a useless bunch. As long as the King gives his permission, I'll be able to annihilate them single-handedly."
Prince Zuoxian smiled and did not refute this. He merely said, "Everyone knows how valiant Prince Youxian is."
However, Prince Zuoxian knew that although Prince Youxian seemed impulsive and reckless, it was just a facade that he put up. Prince Youxian would definitely not take the people in the south as lightly as he said.
After all, he was just saying this so that he could bring up the morale of the people in the palace in preparation for the attack to the south.
At the thought of this, Prince Zuoxian's eyes narrowed slightly. He sighed inwardly and said, "It seems that the King has made up his mind. Otherwise, this blockhead wouldn't have brought this up so early."
Just as everyone in the palace was having discussions, a loud bellow rang out. The Heavenly Lion King had arrived.
Everyone felt an invisible pressure coming down. The sunlight distorted, and the space trembled. Faintly, there seemed to be a lion with golden fur and hide that seemed to be made of gold bellowing furiously in void space.
Then an immense golden light shone down from the skies. When everyone regained their senses, a blurry human figure was already seated on the throne.
At the appearance of the human figure, everyone was stunned. Ever since the world's metamorphosis began, the Heavenly Lion King's cultivation had improved in leaps and bounds, becoming increasingly deeper and unfathomable by the day.
Two months ago, he was surrounded by distorted light rays and space, appearing even more blurry than before. It was said that this was because his martial will had grown too quickly and violently. It was to an extent that they scattered out around his body, causing the space to become unstable.
However, he now appeared slightly clearer than before. This did not mean that his martial will had deteriorated but that his control over his martial will had become greater. Thus, he was on the verge of attaining a breakthrough.
Prince Youxian bowed and said, "Congratulations to Your Majesty. It won't be long before you break through the sixth Heavenly Barrier."
A light laugh rang out from that blurry human figure. "Thank you, Prince Youxian, for your kind words." Then, with a cough, a solemn atmosphere immediately spread throughout the palace hall.
The Heavenly Lion King said coldly, "I intend to head down to the south to conquer Sinkodati. What does everyone think about this?"
His gaze was cold, eerie, and seemingly material. When his gaze swept past the others present, it felt as if a strong gale from the heavens had brushed past them. For a moment, it made them feel as if their blood and thoughts were all frozen.
In the entire palace hall, only the six people who stood at the very front appeared fine. They were Prince Zuoxian, Prince Youxian, and the other Divine level experts. In addition to the five Divine level experts who guarded the four directions of the plains, these six people made up the 11 Divine level experts in the Steel Lion Kingdom, excluding the Heavenly Lion King. They were known as the 11 Sacred Generals who had overwhelming powers and were unobstructed in the plains.
Hearing the Heavenly Lion King's words, Prince Youxian stepped forth and said, "The south is poor and has suffered from internal strife. Now, they are just a bunch of people who appear impressive but are actually worthless. I'm willing to head down to conquer the nine regions in the south for Your Majesty."
"Prince Youxian is underestimating the enemies," a white-bearded old man said at that moment. This person had many braids in his hair and slightly tanned skinned. He also wore a colorful feather before his forehead. "Although the Krieg royal family has been wiped out, based on our tribe's investigations, the person in power—Fang Xingjian—is not someone who is easy to deal with either.
"It has been less than three years since he appeared, and he has already transitioned from an ordinary first transition Knight to the Divine level. He has even managed to face Alexander alone without losing. He's probably already an expert at tier four or even tier five of the Divine level.
"Moreover, he managed to survive the evil god ritual and is now the leader of the south country. He's definitely not to be underestimated."
This old man was the oldest amongst the 11 Sacred Generals. He was known as the Sun-Shooting Sacred General and was said to be the best sharpshooter in the plains.
"The Sun-Shooting Sacred General is right," Prince Youxian said. "Your Majesty, based on what I know, Fang Xingjian has at least six Divine level experts under him, and he is said to have fought a bitter fight against someone in the skies above the Great Western Region. During that fight, he was suspected to have used microscopic means.
"He also seems to have fought an intense battle against the Sacred Fire Order's Patriarch from the Sand Country, and he is said to have slashed the foundations of Sand Country's one million citizens. If we're to head south, choosing who to undertake this task will be very crucial. We mustn't underestimate Fang Xingjian."
Prince Zuoxian let out a cold snort and said, "The two of you think too highly of those lowly people in the south. You're just bringing down our morale."
The Sun-Shooting Sacred General said solemnly, "When people of our level fight, a single thought can sink an entire country. Once the battle commences, there will be danger of the world being wiped out. We need to be cautious." After saying that, the white-haired elder looked at the Heavenly Lion King and said, "Your Majesty, if we're to send people to attack the south, we'll need to ascertain Fang Xingjian's strength.
"This person is now the strongest in the south country, and the country depends on him. If he is wiped out, the others won't be a concern."
A cold voice rang out from that blurry figure, "Sun-Shooting Sacred General is right."
Prince Zuoxian said, "Since that Fang Xingjian has offended the Sacred Fire Order's Patriarch from the Sand Country, why not send an envoy to join forces with the Sand Country, Your Majesty? We can attack the south country together from the north and the east respectively."
"That can be done," the Heavenly Lion King said as he slowly nodded.
There was another young man, who had a thin and frail figure and a ghastly skin tone that made him seemed as if he had just recovered from a serious ailment. This person was the Mourning Abyss Sacred General from the 11 Sacred Generals. Out of all of them, he was one who instilled the most fear into people.
He said eerily, "I beseech Your Majesty to bestow me with foreign drugs for me to refine the Myriad Poison and Souls. This drug can isolate the body internally and externally, causing ether particles to choke up. Even if it were a tier five Divine level, the drug would cause a 30% reduction of their battle prowess."
The Myriad Poison and Souls was a secret drug passed down in the legacy that the Mourning Abyss Sacred General had inherited. However, the means of refining it was too vicious and required countless adolescent beasts and slaves to complete it. Usually, there was no way that approval would be granted for this.
However, the Heavenly Lion King said calmly, "Approved."