Chapter 116: The Blood of Madness
Although the roar of the Platinum Winged God Tiger remained earth-shaking and its frenzied momentum showed no sign of waning, Li Ren had already detected the subtle flaws hidden within its frame. The eyes that should have been silver were now a deep, blood-red. An unnaturally manic aura enveloped the beast. The more Li Ren observed, the more puzzled he became; the creature’s current behavior was bizarre, masking a sense of primal cruelty beneath its nameless madness, as if it had completely lost its sense of self. Watching the tiger rampage aimlessly through the stone forest below, attacking everything in sight, Li Ren decided to keep watching. His intuition told him that if he stayed, a remarkable reward might be waiting for him.
The Platinum Winged God Tiger, a level 200 lord-tier boss, typically roamed the central region of the Mystic Mountains. Due to its formidable strength, no other lord would dare provoke it, and they usually lived in peace. While legend had it that the beast was short-tempered, Li Ren was certain that this was beyond mere irritability—it was outright insanity. He followed silently as the tiger moved, attacking any living thing that crossed its path. After slaughtering countless monsters and clashing with numerous other lords, the beast’s aura began to fade. It was inevitable; while the local lords might be weaker in one-on-one combat, they were persistent in numbers. Seeing the danger, the other lords had retreated rather than fight to the death.
Li Ren assessed the tiger’s waning momentum and the flat terrain ahead. If the beast continued like this, it might eventually die at the hands of some other lord. Having followed it for so long, he would not let such a profit slip through his fingers. This creature was bound to provide a massive amount of experience and stats. Li Ren, a man who believed in seizing every opportunity, patted Mao Mao and signaled for them to descend.
The crazed tiger immediately sensed their presence. As they descended, it roared incessantly, snapping at the sky with a complete lack of the dignity expected of a lord. With the help of the evolved Mao Mao, Li Ren felt victory was within reach. The tiger was at the end of its rope, its effective strength likely reduced to that of a level 130 lord. Though still tricky, it was far from unbeatable, especially since the mindless beast had lost its reason.
As soon as Mao Mao landed, the tiger lunged with a ferocious roar. The sound wave carried a strange vibration that left Li Ren briefly disoriented. He sighed inwardly; true super-lords were never easy to handle. He considered using common player tactics like terrain manipulation, but such methods were useless against a winged beast that could attack from afar. If he could have utilized the advantage of flight, he would have, but under the circumstances, he had no choice. Mao Mao, naturally proud, matched the tiger’s roar with one of its own. A visible ripple of sound surged toward the target. Leaving Li Ren on the ground, Mao Mao took to the air, where it felt most comfortable. Black energy orbs rained down from its mouth, striking the tiger repeatedly. Li Ren moved to join the fray but stopped abruptly. He watched the tiger, which was spinning in circles on the ground. Despite the barrage from above, it never once attempted to take flight to strike back. Li Ren found it amusing; it seemed the beast’s wings were merely for show.
Suppressing a laugh, Li Ren hid himself. It was unwise to engage the beast head-on when a safer method existed. He channeled his connection with Mao Mao, transferring all of his own attribute points to his companion. Mao Mao’s stats instantly doubled, and both the frequency and power of its attacks increased significantly. The tiger’s health plummeted. Before long, a chime signaled the end; the beast collapsed under Mao Mao’s relentless assault, and the companion descended to devour the remains.
Li Ren emerged from hiding and reclaimed his half of the stats, only to find that his attributes had increased by over ten thousand points in a single stroke. This was a significant gain—one that would normally take at least three days of grinding to achieve. In addition to the massive stat boost and a five-level increase for both himself and Mao Mao, the tiger left behind a pile of glittering loot. Two items caught Li Ren’s eye: a small, spherical blood orb and a set of purple-gold skeletal remains. The skeletal structure resembled a pair of wings, and Li Ren chuckled at the irony, suspecting these were the very wings the tiger had failed to use.
After storing the bones in his inventory, he picked up the blood orb. The moment it touched his hand, a surge of madness flooded into his bones, igniting an intense, uncontrollable desire to attack everything around him. Just as he was about to lose control, a raging fire ignited within his body, burning the manic aura away until it dissipated as a wisp of blue smoke. When he regained his clarity, the orb in his hand had shrunk slightly. He checked its description, which contained only the name "Blood of Madness" and nothing more.