Chapter 35: Coronation

Inside the Mountain Tiger's lair,

Hysilens wove a spell with her fingers, countless bubbles surging from her fingertips and coalescing into a blue phantom in mid-air.

It was some kind of clone skill. Ke Lu watched Hysilens's movements with keen interest, musing, This looks like the Phantom Technique.

With Hysilens's power level, she could easily crush this Secret Realm. Sending a phantom would be more than sufficient.

Meanwhile, Ke Lu remained in place.

After hearing the Ruby's explanation, Ke Lu finally understood the string of abnormal events she had encountered.

Why had the Secret Realm's rules suddenly gone awry? Why had they fallen to this place? And what about those swarms of Secret Realm creatures blocking the exit above? All these mysteries now had a rational explanation.

She gently stroked the Ruby set in the Crown with her fingertip, a glimmer of understanding flashing in her eyes.

Lifting her gaze, she could still see the dark mass of Secret Realm creatures crowding the breach at the top of the cave, despite the vast distance.

She said, "Many of those above must be the original betrayers, right?"

"If the Secret Realm is a reflection of memories, then this scene must have actually happened. The Mountain Tiger didn't die in that catastrophe; it survived and remained trapped in the cave."

She bent down, now able to ignore the nauseating stench, and picked up a skull that had blackened with decay. She examined it closely.

This skull was clearly not from an animal, Ke Lu was certain.

Her mind raced through the contents of the Encyclopedia of Paleontology, comparing the bone structure against its entries.

"This is... an Ancient Demon Clan?" Due to the skull's extreme age, Ke Lu couldn't be entirely certain of her conclusion.

"If I'm right, after realizing they couldn't kill him, these betrayers set a trap to lure other passing creatures into this place, hoping they would eliminate the Mountain Tiger for them."

"Correct," the Mountain Tiger Mother's voice rumbled, like a dormant volcano about to erupt. "My child possessed extraordinary talent. His innate power already rivaled that of his father and me."

"Driven by extreme rage, he achieved a spontaneous breakthrough in the heat of battle, paying a terrible price, and severely wounded all the invaders."

"Those opportunistic sycophants, with their eyes only for power and status, none of them dared risk their lives to fight it. So they just kept stalling."

"And it's been cultivating here ever since?" Ke Lu interjected.

"Yes," the Mountain Tiger Mother replied, her voice tinged with both heartache and helplessness. "It knew it was outnumbered and forcefully suppressed its near-madness, enduring relentless, solitary cultivation in this lightless cave."

"Those cowards, too afraid to confront it themselves, set traps and let innocent travelers die in their stead."

Her tone shifted from disdain to profound sorrow. "I taught it never to harm the innocent, but alas..."

What could remain in the heart of a young tiger who had witnessed the deaths of both parents and been betrayed by humans, other than a burning desire for destruction?

In the end, it failed to uphold its mother's teachings, becoming a bloodstained executioner.

After becoming the Secret Realm Core, the Mountain Tiger Mother witnessed all that unfolded in death.

When she saw the mountains of innocent corpses and how her child had become so savagely cruel, her heart felt as if it were being torn apart by razor-sharp claws.

This pain surpassed even the agony of death itself.

This script feels familiar, Ke Lu thought. According to the novel's plot, a genius whose clan was annihilated should, with the help of his wise old mentor, personally slay his enemies and ascend to the pinnacle of power.

Alas, reality is rarely so satisfying.

Time slipped by unnoticed during their conversation.

As the light filtering through the cave ceiling shifted slightly, Hysilens's Phantom Technique Clone had already returned, followed by dozens of Secret Realm creatures imprisoned within special water bubbles—the very betrayers the Mountain Tiger Mother had named.

The creatures struggled frantically within their watery prisons, but they were utterly unable to break free from the powerful restraints.

"Are they all here?" Ke Lu slowly approached the bubbles, her cold gaze sweeping across the terrified faces, one by one. Her expression betrayed little emotion, as if she were inspecting a pile of lifeless objects.

"All accounted for," a hoarse voice rasped, as if squeezed from her throat—like a volcano finally releasing a wisp of molten rock before its full eruption.

"Gray Mane, Shadow Claw, Iron Tail... did you ever imagine this day would come when you betrayed me?"

The unforgettable voice struck the hearts of the traitors trapped in the water bubbles like a heavy hammer.

"You... you're..." The one called Shadow Claw, another boss in this Secret Realm, was the Monkey King.

He was likely the greatest beneficiary of this upheaval.

Ke Lu recalled fragments of suppressed memories mentioning how the monkey clan would eventually dominate the mountains and forests.

Could the proverb "When the tiger is away, the monkeys will play" have originated from this very place?

Beside them, the traitors trapped in the water bubbles immediately transformed into beggars.

Their cries for mercy and pleas for forgiveness echoed endlessly.

One claimed to be a victim, portraying himself as utterly innocent, like a pure white flower.

Then they began to accuse each other, shifting blame and responsibility.

Their ugly behavior was on full display as they futilely attempted to buy themselves a slim chance of survival through lies and excuses.

Ke Lu lost interest in listening. These words were just the same few phrases repeated endlessly, and she had heard them all before.

"Merge with me and obliterate them completely with divine power," the Mountain Tiger Mother declared without hesitation, showing no trace of sympathy for their pleas.

"I thought you'd at least give them a beating to vent your anger," Ke Lu remarked, catching the Crown with her left hand and passing it to the "Queen" beside her.

"Hmph, there's no need," the Mountain Tiger Mother scoffed. "I've done that countless times over countless cycles, but I've never been able to truly destroy them."

Regret and self-reproach tinged her voice. "If only I had been stronger, perhaps I could have ascended to godhood myself. Alas..."

The Mountain Tiger Mother's incessant babbling faded away.

Ke Lu turned to face the throne, steeped in the weight of ages and stained with blood, and strode forward with unwavering resolve.

Hysilens stood silently beside her, observing the scene with graceful solemnity and offering an elegant bow.

Ke Lu grasped the throne's icy armrests and slowly lowered herself into the seat.

Behind her, the "Queen" chess piece solemnly lifted the Ruby-encrusted Crown and gently placed it upon her head.

The instant the Crown settled, the entire Secret Realm seemed to shudder, and countless laws bowed in submission to their new master.

"Obliterate... them," the Mountain Tiger Mother pleaded, clinging to the last shred of her will. She wanted to witness with her own eyes the final, wretched fate of these betrayers who had brought ruin to her family and her kind.

"Obliterate... them."

The Mountain Tiger Mother's fading will issued its final request. It wished to witness firsthand the betrayers who had brought ruin upon its family meet their deserved end.

Ke Lu lazily propped her chin on one hand, leaning against the throne's armrest. With her other hand, she casually raised her fingertips and lightly tapped the ruby on her Crown.

Silently and without a trace, the betrayers trapped within the water bubbles vanished, along with their watery prisons, as if they had never existed in this world.

Swift, decisive, without the slightest hesitation.

"Naturally," she murmured.

Then, she pointed a finger at the unconscious Mountain Tiger, and a crimson beam shot from her fingertip.

The Mountain Tiger Mother's final words echoed through the cavern: "My child, forget the past, for those wounds are unworthy of remembrance. My child, may you live carefree from this day forward."

As the last syllable faded, the remnant of her will vanished quietly, like a candle snuffed out by the wind.

Hysilens bowed slightly. "Imperator, your knight Hysilens has witnessed you take another step toward your grand ambition. I offer you my heartfelt congratulations. May the entire world find stability and order under your Law."