The Infernal Leopard's claws hit Snowflake.

However, something did not go as the flaming creature expected.

An illusory image of Snowflake was cut in four by the slash. There was not even a shadow of the enormous white cat's real body.

Carelessly, a soft and white paw stamped on the monster's tail, grinning: "Asshole, behind you. What, can't you see? "

ROAAAAAAAAAAAAR

Feeling his pride being literally trampled, the Infernal Leopard gave a terrifying roar, which made all the walls of the Dungeon tremble.

Snowflake's expression became troubled. If that damned creature continued to make all that noise, it wouldn't take long before other Infernal Leopards noticed him.

In such a fight, even a moment of distraction could have been fatal.

***

Meanwhile, Iblis continued to observe that scene from within the Soul of Helial through his own Divine Sense. Although he no longer possessed a body, Iblis was able to use the Divine Sense because it was attached to his own Soul; in this way he could use it even though he was an incorporeal entity.

Moreover, the characteristics of the Devil's Divine Sense were much more mysterious than those of the other Immortals at Orma, so much so that not even the Divine Sense of one hundred Cesars and one hundred Aures would have been enough to identify the presence of Iblis in the Soul of Helial.

"Who do you think will be the strongest, after training?" Iblis asked Helial, yawning open-mouthed, not bothering to cover with his hand.

Helial began to ponder. It was by no means a simple question to answer.

There were so many little monsters in their group. But if he had to choose the strongest, he would certainly have excluded Frankenstein and Lulu, who were lagging far behind everyone else.

Snowflake, Vlad and Lumia were undoubtedly the strongest in Helial's eyes. However, the boy had a sort of prejudice against his sister: having spent his lifetime protecting her, he could not see Lumia as the strongest warrior in the group.

"I think that, after me, the strongest should be Snowflake. Vlad is just as terrifying, with an equal or greater potential than mine. But the cat has a bloodline as old as the universe and, even if rarely, sometimes I see a strange light in his eyes. That beast should never be underestimated, "said Helial.

Snowflake was, after Lumia, the member of their group that Helial had known the longest; he had seen his changes and his growth day by day and had noticed all his improvements. Moreover, Snowflake's mysterious origins seemed promising.

Helial knew that the cat belonged to the lineage of the Heavenly Star Tigers, but Iblis had never told him what the degree of purity his blood had.

At the moment, in fact, the very body of Helial could be considered a chest full of gold. Considering the Qilin inheritance, the Devil's one and the two Mana of Life and Destruction, he contained within himself an incredible amount of power. His blood could be considered even rarer than that of a normal creature descended from the Heavenly Star Tigers.

But if Snowflake was a member of the Clan aristocracy, the son of some Elders or a big shot, then the matter would have been completely different.

Within the Clans, unlike the Sects, much of one's potential future was based on the purity of one's blood.

Inside a Sect external talents were recruited, and then raised as pupils. On the contrary, inside a Clan, what held everything together was the blood bond between the various students. There could be several families, but generally there was only one ancestral lineage.

And so it was also for the Heavenly Star Tigers. A common member of the Clan and the son of the main family would have two completely different innate talents. If Snowflake was the son of an Elder, then his potential could have been ten, a hundred, a thousand times greater than that of a normal Clan member.

This rule was true not only for the Clans of animal-shaped creatures, but also for the human ones.

The purer a blood inheritance was, the higher the closeness of a member of the Clan to their future Mana Road would be.

Within these institutions, if a member of the central family didn't show enough talent, then he would have been dismissed.

Helial had thought several times that this might be the case with Snowflake, but he wasn't sure. Moreover, he did not have the means to make comparisons with other great Clans, Sects or Guilds of the universe.

Iblis hadn't told him much about Snowflake's talent. However, his sixth sense told him that he was not a common member of the Heavenly Star Tigers Clan.

But if he had not been expelled from his Clan, what could have been the reason for his presence there?

***

Snowflake avoided yet another slash by the Infernal Leopard for a hair width, and his expression became much more serious than before. His body began to vibrate imperceptibly again, showing all the knowledge he had accumulated on the Skill Iblis had taught him.

"Faggot, can't you catch me?" Snowflake laughed. "Useless as you are you should eat your own dick." Snowflake's taunts were somewhere in between a psychological guerrilla and simple foul language.

The Infernal Leopard flaming coat began burning even more violently and its legs, covered with scales similar to lava stone, trembled with rage.

"I've never seen a creature as vile as you and with a mouth capable of spitting so much venom. You are not worthy to be facing me. I will give you a slow and painful death, so that in your next life you may find redemption.” The Infernal Leopard spoke solemnly for the first time. The animal had developed a considerable intelligence and was able to speak.

After uttering those words, the Infernal Leopard intended to use his secret weapon to tear Snowflake into bits. But something went wrong.

He suddenly found himself stuck by a terrifying murderous Aura. It was wrapped in a tsunami of negative emotions, as if it were facing the most terrifying tyrant of the universe.

He looked terrified at Snowflake, whose eyes had begun to glow golden. The cat's hair was bristling and its claws were clearly visible among the white fur; each claw cutting the ground under his feet as if it were tofu.

"Do you have any problem regarding my way of talking?" Snowflake began to foam.

The Infernal Leopard perceived three other Auras approaching. More Infernal Leopard were about to arrive! He had to buy time: once his fellows arrived, they would tear him to pieces together.

Although the Infernal Leopard had perceived a strange presence inside Snowflake, which seemed to cause a normal suppression on his Soul, the cat was still too low in level.

Probably Snowflake's origins were even more terrifying than its own, but with all that difference in levels, suppression of the soul would not have been enough to defeat it.

"A creature of noble blood should behave as its lineage dictates. Only waste scraps can have a mouth like yours. Your bloodline seems to be purer than mine, but I understand why your Clan rejected you: for them you were only useless trash. And now you seem to have fallen and you started talking like the most ignoble of humans!” The monster roared, grinning.

Not even the flaming creature would have imagined that his words could have had such an effect on the cat.

Snowflake's Aura exploded and began to thicken all the Mana around the cat, as if the air had suddenly solidified.

Snowflake's gaze lost focus, as if he could still hear those voices.

***

"A Heavenly Star Tiger should not behave like this! You are not a common beast, you cannot act as if you were! "

"We have pride! Did you really devour the whole banquet in front of the princess!? Do you think your father won't punish just because you're his only son?! "

"You pissed on an Elder because he told you that you're rotten inside and tried to teach you Clan etiquette! You are a lawless beast! "

Another voice, much deeper and more majestic than the others, so much that it seemed to be able to change the fate of the universe with a syllable, flooded his conscience:

"My son, if all the Heavenly Star Tigers behaved like you, we would have not even a hint of reputation in the whole universe. I cannot let your behaviour affect the fate of the entire Clan. You said that they are just words and that a person's soul cannot be judged by an extra portion of lasagna, a curse or by your vulgar humour, but it is not true. The words and deeds of the Heavenly Star Tigers are what declare to everyone how noble our race is. We cannot behave like the last of the last.

Therefore, I exile you and condemn you to live like a beast, as you wanted. From now on you no longer have the right to call yourself a Heavenly Star Tiger and you will no longer be considered my son in front of the great powers of the universe and, in general, in front of every living being. From today will be just a beast, like the one you imitated in your behaviour since the day you were born. If you were to still call yourself a Heavenly Star Tiger, you will be treated like a stranger to the Clan."

***

I don't need to be a Heavenly Star Tiger, nor be your son, if I can't even open my mouth freely. Heavenly Star Tiger? Bah, I'll be the greatest cat in the whole universe and one day I'll make you kneel in front of me, one after the other, and I will throw a wave of piss in your mouth, while you will have to remain silent, if you want to survive.

While Snowflake was in that sort of trance, three other Infernal Leopards had approached and placed themselves next to the first.

All four had a strange grin on their faces, and were ready to taste Snowflake's flesh. Between all of them, they could eliminate him.

If a beast ate the flesh of a creature with a purer bloodline than its own, it would have the chance to evolve and overcome the bottleneck of its own bloodline.

Snowflake remained still. His Aura was no less tyrannical than the sovereign of the universe himself.

He inhaled slowly with his eyes closed, before showing signs of contempt and scorn on his face.

The four Infernal Leopards suddenly dematerialized in mid-air.

Snowflake pupils narrowed to two slits.

Fwoosh.

You created a new Skill:

???