The last day of the ranking challenge this month ended without any suspense.

On the Pet List, Yan Zhi took first place, while Chen Guan secured second place on the Human List.

As soon as the ranking challenge concluded, a tiger's roar echoed through the sky, followed by the descent of a majestic tiger onto the arena.

This magnificent tiger was enormous, comparable to a primordial beast, even slightly larger than an elephant. Its black and yellow fur gleamed with an oily sheen.

Its tiger eyes scanned with such overwhelming presence that most people dared not look it in the eye.

Yet, no one panicked because this tiger always appeared after the rankings were set to deliver rewards to the top three.

The tiger's gaze first fixed on Jiang Qiemo, its mouth opened wide, emitting a radiance that shot towards him.

Jiang Qiemo caught the glowing light in his hand, revealing a pearl-sized orb resembling a golden pearl, radiating a mysterious golden sheen.

Next, the tiger's gaze turned to Chen Guan, and it spewed two beams of light towards him.

Chen Guan caught them with his hand, revealing two pearl-sized golden orbs, estimating that one was the reward for Yan Zhi's achievement.

The tiger then emitted a golden orb for Zhang Chunman, and after a proud roar, it leapt towards the center of Pingshan, swiftly disappearing into the distance.

Chen Guan toyed with the two orbs in his hand, contemplating whether to explore their contents when suddenly he felt dizzy, his vision wavering.

He could see nothing but swirling mists all around him.

Almost instinctively, Chen Guan summoned his Divine Armor for protection, activated the Azure Heaven Dominating Body, and adopted a defensive stance, ready for any surprise attack.

The crowded arena from moments ago had vanished; not another soul was in sight, only the billowing mist surrounding him like a flowing river.

"What's happening?" Chen Guan had never heard of such events occurring after securing a rank on the Tiger List.

He called out a few times but received no response, only the sound of the whistling wind and swirling clouds.

He stood still, opting to let things unfold.

Amidst the rolling river-like fog, he seemed to hear the roar of a mighty tiger, a sound that reverberated through his soul, terrifying even without seeing its source.

When the surrounding mist began to thin, and the last wisp flowed past him, Chen Guan found himself no longer in the arena.

In front of him lay a gigantic, strangely-shaped mountain, resembling a massive tiger lying upon the earth.

Just lying there, it reached the clouds, its peak towering like a tiger's head, overseeing the land like a guardian beast.

Chen Guan stood at the mountain's base, marveling at its sheer height as it vanished into the clouds.

If this mountain were a living creature, the Ghost-Eyed Python would seem insignificant as an ant before it.

Even more astonishing was the sight above the tiger-shaped mountain and the clouds: a massive, dragon-like floating mountain hovering amidst the Cloud Sea.

It's hard to imagine how such a colossal formation like the Giant Dragon Mountain Range could float in midair.

The Giant Dragon Mountain Range perched above, with the Fierce Tiger Mountain Range grounded below, forming a scenario of heaven versus earth, like dragons and tigers poised for an earth-shattering battle.

"Could this be the central area of Pingshan that no one has reached before?" As Chen Guan pondered, he saw a familiar figure approaching on a water buffalo.

"Miss Zhang... how did you come here too..." Chen Guan recognized the approaching figure as Zhang Chunxiang.

Zhang Chunxiang greeted Chen Guan joyfully. Upon reaching close, she dismounted from the buffalo, smiling, "I'm glad you're alright. Just now I feared you might have been eaten."

Zhang Chunxiang had also once claimed the top rank, thus she entered here too.

"Do you know what this place is?" Chen Guan asked, sensing from Zhang Chunxiang's tone that she might know something.

"If my guess is correct, this should be the core area of Pingshan, which some have called the Dragon's Pool and Tiger's Cave. Previously, I thought it was just speculation, some mountains at most. But now, it really does seem like a heavenly tiger and earth dragon standoff." Zhang Chunxiang observed the two mountain ranges.

"If the rumors are true, then we must be careful here. I've heard this Tiger Mountain devours people, literally." Zhang Chunxiang added.

"Eat people? How does a mountain eat people?" Chen Guan couldn't quite picture such an occurrence.

He'd heard of people starving after getting lost on a mountain or falling to their death off a cliff but had never seen anything like a mountain actually eating someone.

"I don't know, just heard some tales." Zhang Chunxiang shook her head slightly, "Although the Dragon Tiger Mountain Secret Realm is owned by our Zhang Family, much of its mysteries remain unexplored, including the central area of Pingshan."

"Back when the elders first developed Pingshan, they discovered stone tablets inscribed with legends about the Heaven Dragon and Earth Tiger mountains, which turned out to be true."

As they spoke, two more figures approached.

Their acquaintance was the gambler Kuang Liu.

The other person, with a long face, eagle nose, and narrow eyes, was not unattractive but gave off a harsh, cruel aura.

Neither Chen Guan nor Zhang Chunxiang recognized this person, pondering how many people had entered this Dragon's Pool and Tiger's Cave.

Kuang Liu saw Chen Guan and Zhang Chunxiang and casually greeted them, "Miss Zhang, Daoist friend, did you come here too? Have you found anything or know how to get out?"

"We're equally clueless, no idea what this situation is," Chen Guan shook his head.

"This is crazy; we were just fine at the Pet Ranking Arena, then suddenly ended up in this strange place." Kuang Liu gestured to the man beside him, introducing him, "This is my friend Yang Sanlang, this is Miss Zhang of the Zhang Family, and this fellow needs no introduction—he's recently caught everyone's eye at Pingshan."

After exchanging a few pleasantries, a mysterious voice echoed through the void.

"Within thirty seconds... summon an animal-type Secret Spirit Pet by your side... or face death..."

The voice seemed to emanate from all directions, making it impossible to identify its source, yet it carried a deep, hoarse, and inexplicably commanding tone.

"Who is this playing tricks?" Kuang Liu called out loudly, but no response came.

Only the countdown voice resounded from all directions: "Thirty... twenty-nine... twenty-eight..."

"Kuang Liu, we're in someone's territory now, best to follow local customs." Yang Sanlang said, summoning a wolf-shaped pet.

"Do you have an animal-type pet, Daoist friend? If not, I can transfer one to you," Zhang Chunxiang suggested.

"I do." Chen Guan extended his hand and summoned the Warring States.

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