Level 1 to Infinity: My Bloodline Is the Ultimate Cheat!

Among the gathered forces, a large portion were energy users who had fled from the ruined Forgotten City. Their strength levels averaged below Transcendent rank, numbering around six hundred thousand. The rest came from Clearspring City, the only city with the resources and strength to march such a distance into the Northern Frontier. Water was life in the desert, and Clearspring had more of it than anyone.

According to Blackie's report, their numbers had swelled to nearly 3.8 million. Of those, two million were ordinary soldiers. The remainder were people of varying strength, with only a handful reaching the Transcendent rank . Those who had surpassed it were already here. The old man in charge had shoved all the burdens onto Regis, leaving him to drag along the stragglers. He himself had partnered with the survivors of the Forgotten City and even secured the allegiance of two beast spirits, forming a vanguard under Shaw Zilo's command. Their plan was to seize the first glory of battle. None of them expected to run headlong into Ethan.

The moment Ethan learned of this, he understood the old man was planning for a decisive clash. But Baelor Wane, after encountering Shaw Zilo and the ragged remnants of the Forgotten City, had already decided to retreat. Fortune, however, had other plans. Just as he was preparing to withdraw, the armies of Beastfall City arrived. To escort such massive numbers, Dragon Child and Bongo had revealed their true beast forms and led the way north.

It was immediately obvious that Bongo had awakened. The Illusionary Qilin and the Central Dominion Guard, once under her control, had regained their senses. Even the Blood Clan corruption festering in their bodies had been purged. Ethan glanced at her more than once. He couldn't forget the blood-forged sword she carried, a weapon he had to take. When his eyes lingered too long, Bongo raised a brow and gave him a challenging look.

"Damn it," Ethan muttered inwardly. Was this really the same Bongo? The old her had been mischievous, playful, even disguising herself as a man to sneak into military camps. Now she radiated something else entirely. Ethan rubbed his nose and glanced toward Julian. "Poor guy… his wife might have just slipped away from him."

"What do we do now? Stand around gawking?" Shaw Zilo finally rasped, his duck-like voice cutting through the tense silence. "Baelor, say something!"

Baelor Wane merely cracked an eyelid at him. What the hell was he supposed to say? He had come here to intimidate the Forgotten City survivors and, more importantly, to prove his resolve to the Windspirit Faction while reclaiming the Seal of Clearspring. It had taken him more than half a year to march his armies across the sands, only to find the Forgotten City annihilated.

And then there were the beast spirits. The moment he saw the Blue Dragon, he knew it hailed from the Eastern lineage, sworn enemies of the Southern Dragon-Phoenix. His plans shifted instantly—if he could drag these beast souls back to Clearspring, his position as City Lord would be unshakable, even without the Seal. Yet before he could even make his move, Ethan appeared. Now, seeing the pieces on the board, Baelor knew the truth: he didn't stand a chance. His only concern was how to withdraw without losing the elites and soldiers he had dragged this far north.

And still, Shaw Zilo clung to him like a leech. The fool hadn't even realized who the true monster on this battlefield was. Baelor cursed inwardly: 'That kid over there… he's the real power here.'

While Baelor calculated his retreat, Ethan was doing his own. This march into the Extreme North Ice Fields reeked of finality. The Blood Clan had a Voidbreaker-ranked powerhouse. Ethan's side had two legendary beast souls. With these armies, they might actually have a chance at crushing the Blood Clan. And if he could awaken the ancient turtle beast spirit slumbering beneath the ice, they would gain another mighty ally.

His thoughts were cut short by a disturbance from the Blood Clan's encampment. The bloody pillar of light trembled violently, and Ethan's expression sharpened.

"Micah! Defensive array—full power!"

Micah blinked, startled, but quickly slapped his hands against the spatial pouches at his waist. Dozens of jade talismans shot into the air, glowing. "Boss! I'll need beast cores—lots of them!"

"Take them!" Ethan swept his arm, and a mountain of second and third-tier beast cores cascaded to the ground, glittering like a flood of gemstones. They had been gathered from the beast tide.

The crowd gasped. The sheer scale of it was staggering. Individually, the cores were not of high grade, but there were so many that the sight left them breathless.

"Tsk, all that fuss," someone muttered.

"Cowards, that's what they are."

"Shut it, you'll get us all killed if they hear you."

"So what if they hear? I said it!"

"They're just a bunch of freaks, ghosts in the flesh. I say we put them down!"

"I'm with you! Last time, I was ordered to retreat, and it was humiliating!"

The voices belonged to survivors of the Forgotten City. Many of them turned accusing eyes toward Shaw Zilo. His face darkened.

"What are you looking at me for? If I hadn't ordered you to run, you'd all be corpses like the rest!" he barked.

His words were met with quiet laughter. Then, one by one, more of the survivors stepped forward, eager for battle. Shaw Zilo spat on the ground. "Idiots, all of you."

Ethan heard every word, but he didn't interfere. Their numbers were large, and some had decent strength, even a few War God-ranked fighters among them. But to Ethan, they were still nothing more than a disorganized mob. In wars like this, unless you had a Saint-ranked powerhouse or higher, individual strength was just a drop in the ocean.

Only Micah seemed nervous. He alone understood what the Blood Clan's stirrings meant.

Among the volunteers, more than a dozen were early-stage War God. The rest were Transcendents of varying levels, perhaps seven or eight hundred in total. Ethan studied them with a calm, unreadable face. Truthfully, part of him wanted to see just how terrifying the Blood Clan really was.

The bloody pillar suddenly fell silent. Then, the world erupted.

Roars thundered across the ice, each one loud enough to shake the frozen plains. The snow itself trembled as if it feared what was coming.

"A bunch of animals—what's there to roar about?" one of the War Gods snarled. He stepped forward, drew back his fist, and hurled a strike at the pillar. The air split with a deafening crack, and a massive shadow-fist shot out, blazing like a cannonball as it smashed into the bloody light.

The man's strength was undeniable. He had already reached the mid-stage of the War God realm, and the watching crowd erupted in cheers at his bold attack.