Level 1 to Infinity: My Bloodline Is the Ultimate Cheat!-Chapter 869: Scram

Ethan caught the look on the white-haired Patriarch’s face and almost laughed. It was not anger, not caution, but pure, unfiltered mockery, the kind reserved for an old enemy you have already measured and dismissed. The Patriarch stared at the Divine Sea Temple elder as though he were something unpleasant dragged in on the tide.

A thought flickered through Ethan’s mind. ’Do they know each other?’

The elder in violet and gold robes slowly shifted his glare toward the grey-haired wolf. His voice rang out across the frozen vale, cold and sharp as a drawn blade. "Moonfrost Direwolf clan. You dare harbor fugitives from the Divine Sea Temple? Do you seek extinction?"

The Patriarch curled his lip. "Pah. Divine Sea Temple. Why are you not rotting in the ocean where you belong, skulking around our Sacred Southern Vale? This is no place for your kind. Harbor fugitives? Who do you think you are, the World Council? Crawl back to the depths. Or we will bury you right here."

"Yeah, bury you right here!"

"Bet his true form’s a fish. Haven’t had good fish in millennia."

"Stop talking nonsense. Sea Temple folk are ocean-dwellers, not actual fish."

"Who cares what he is? Strutting into our Sacred Vale like he owns it. Just end him."

Voices erupted from every direction, overlapping, jeering, bristling with open hostility. Then came a rapid succession of impacts across the ice. Figures descended from the surrounding peaks and landed beside the grey-haired Patriarch, their auras rolling outward in heavy, suffocating waves.

They were varied in build and bearing, but one thing was unmistakable. Every single one radiated the dense, primal pressure of beast-kin. One had a pair of feline ears perched openly atop his head, tail flicking behind him with barely contained agitation. He was the one who had mentioned eating fish. Others were less obvious, their animal traits subdued, but the power coiled within them felt ancient and feral.

One man stood out among them. Broad-faced, heavy-browed, with a presence that pressed against the air like a mountain leaning forward. His aura eclipsed even the Patriarch’s.

’Tiger.’

Ethan did not need sharper senses to know it. That final line, the one about ending the elder, had come from him.

The Divine Sea Temple elder’s eyes narrowed behind his mask. The amusement was gone. His expression hardened into something grim.

Ethan, on the other hand, felt a quiet surge of satisfaction. So this Sacred Southern Vale was not merely unfriendly to the Temple. It was openly hostile.

’Boss, these guys are looking at me funny,’ Blackie’s mental voice came, tinged with caution.

Ethan had already noticed. The newcomers kept glancing at Blackie, and their expressions were not hostile. If anything, they were... eager. Curious. Almost hungry in a way that had nothing to do with food. The moment Blackie had spoken earlier, the atmosphere had shifted. That Black Qilin lineage clearly carried weight here.

"You beast-kin vermin," the violet-robed elder spat, fury flashing across his face in quick, ugly waves. "When the Divine Sea Temple ascends to rule this continent, you will be the first we purge."

He let the threat linger in the frozen air. Then his gaze slid toward Ethan and lingered for two long seconds, measuring, memorizing. Without another word, he turned to leave.

"Think you can just walk away, old man? Did you ask me?"

In a single motion, Ethan’s combat mech sealed around him. Bear Form and Panther Form activated together, the dual enhancements syncing in a deep surge of strength and speed. The Twilight War Spear formed in his grip, humming with restrained power as he drove its butt into the ice.

The elder paused mid-step and looked back, a sneer creeping into his voice. "You think you can stop me? Do not tell me you actually believe these relics will lift a finger to help you."

"When have I ever relied on anyone?" Ethan shot back. "I’m asking you—"

He stopped.

A firm tug pulled at the back of his armor. He turned to find the Moonfrost Direwolf Patriarch standing close, voice lowered.

"Easy, young man. Let him go." The old wolf’s eyes flicked briefly toward the departing elder before returning to Ethan. "Regis. You know him? He asked me to pass along a message. Your three young ladies are safe. They left with Star."

Ethan blinked.

Star. Of course. She had not appeared in the surveillance footage. Lyla, Amber, and Rainie must have gone with her to the Merfolk Kingdom. For a heartbeat, unease stirred. Had something happened to Star’s father? But the thought steadied quickly. The Merfolk King’s strength was no illusion. The Divine Sea Temple might dominate the oceans, but the Merfolk had endured for ages. They would not fall so easily.

The tightness in Ethan’s chest eased.

Seeing him fall silent, the Divine Sea Temple elder cast one final look over his shoulder. "We will meet again," he said coldly. "Unless you plan to hide here forever."

"Scram."

Blackie’s single word cut through the air like a stone tossed into still water.

The elder’s shoulders trembled. For a moment, it seemed he might turn back and unleash everything. Instead, he flicked his sleeve sharply and shot across the ice in a streak of blue light. Above them, the Sky-Lock domain still loomed, stretching a hundred kilometers in every direction. For that distance, he would have to run. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Silence settled, broken only by the wind.

Then the grey-haired Patriarch turned to Ethan, his hostility melting away as if it had never been there. "Young man, why not come inside? Be our guest."

"Xakier, you have some nerve inviting him on your own scorched doorstep," the broad-faced tiger-kin rumbled, cutting off the others before they could speak. His voice carried easy authority. "Young man, how about visiting my Cloudfang Tiger clan instead?"

The moment he finished, the rest fell quiet. A few exchanged knowing looks. Whatever the hierarchy here, the Cloudfang representative stood near its peak.

Xakier was not intimidated. He lifted his chin stubbornly. "He came looking for my clan."

The tiger-kin elder slowly gestured at the shattered peaks and fractured glaciers surrounding them. "Oh? By demolishing your front gate?"

Xakier flushed, teeth baring briefly. Then he drew himself up. "His friends are guests in my halls. Let the young man decide for himself." He looked at Ethan expectantly.

Ethan surveyed the gathering of formidable beast-kin and allowed a small, crooked smile to form. "First, thank you for the enthusiastic welcome. But let us be honest. You are not really inviting me." His gaze drifted pointedly toward Blackie.

A few of them had the decency to look slightly embarrassed.

Ethan gave a soft chuckle. "How about this? I will reunite with my friends first. After that, I will visit each of your clans. You have my word."

That did it. Even the stern Cloudfang elder’s expression shifted, eagerness flashing across his features before he smoothed it away. "Very well. We shall take our leave. Send word when you are ready. We will provide an escort."

He wasted no time. With a final raised brow in Xakier’s direction, half challenge and half amusement, he vanished. The others followed suit, offering brief farewells. A few leaned in to murmur things into Xakier’s ear. The cat-eared one discreetly pressed something into the Patriarch’s palm before darting off with an almost boyish grin.

When the last of them disappeared into the distance, Ethan stood amid the ruined ice, staring after them.

The entire exchange had been so sudden, so bizarre, that for a moment he wondered if he had imagined half of it.