58: Conquer the mount and everything is under control

War Emperor's Mausoleum, Ruined Stone Forest.

Lin Tian's suggestion, filled with domineering playfulness, to 'take him as a pet,' was like a thunderclap, striking hard at the spiritual cores of everyone present!

Subdue... an S-rank Talent, possessing the Bloodline of the Ancient Nine-Headed Lion King, the number one heir of the African Beast King Hall... as a pet?!

This... this was no longer a simple humiliation!

This was trampling the dignity of a top power, pressing it into the ground, and repeatedly, mercilessly, crushing it in the most brutal way!

"Roar—!!!"

Golden Lion Simba, whose head was firmly stomped by Lin Tian's Chaos giant foot, was so enraged by these words that his nine heads simultaneously roared to the sky, a cry filled with endless fury and defiance!

"Despicable human! You wish! I, Simba, am the future King of the great Beast King Hall! Even if I die! I will never lower my noble head to a vile fellow like you!"

He would rather die than yield!

"Oh? Is that so?"

Upon hearing this, a mischievous glint flashed in Lin Tian's eyes, which were as vast as stars.

"Quite the hard bone."

"I like it."

The moment his words fell, a comedic, one-sided 'physical persuasion' officially... began, under the stunned and bewildered gazes of billions of viewers worldwide!

Bang!

Lin Tian lifted his Chaos giant foot and then stomped it heavily onto Simba's leftmost lion head, directly embedding his massive head completely into the hard ground!

"Do you submit?"

"Roar! (No!)"

Bang!

Lin Tian lifted his foot and stomped it heavily onto the second lion head next to it!

"Do you submit?"

"Roar! (In your dreams!)"

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Next, the entire War Emperor's Mausoleum echoed with rhythmic, dull thuds, like playing whack-a-mole, and the Golden Lion Simba's shrill screams, evolving from initial 'angry roars' to 'painful wails' in the Middle Stage, and finally to 'whimpering pleas for mercy.'

Lin Tian had truly, one by one, taken his nine noble heads, symbolizing his supreme Bloodline, and alternately pressed them to the ground, repeatedly... rubbing them!

This mischievous and extremely humiliating act of violence made all the Prodigies watching, including Adam, Bai Feng, and others, twitch their eyes wildly. In their hearts, an unprecedented fear, stemming from the depths of their Souls, arose for this seemingly divine but actually more terrifying than a demon youth.

Finally, after the ninth head was also firmly stomped into the ground, resulting in a 'headstand'—

Simba, this future King of the Beast King Hall who would rather die than yield, completely... broke down.

"Wuwuwu... Stop... stop hitting me..."

His nine heads were now swollen like pig heads, and his voice was filled with endless grievance and fear.

"I... I submit! Can't I just submit?!"

"Big Brother! No! Ancestor! I was wrong! Please, stop hitting me! If you hit me anymore... you'll really kill me!"

He had truly succumbed.

"Oh? Now you're willing to submit?" Lin Tian stopped his foot and asked in a 'kind' tone.

"I submit! Completely!" Simba nodded his head like a pestle pounding garlic.

"Very good." Lin Tian nodded in satisfaction. Then, with a flick of his finger, a golden master-servant contract brand, formed from his essence Bloodline and Divine Soul power, filled with domineering aura, instantly merged into the center of Simba's main, most core head's glabella.

From this moment on, this future king of the African continent completely became Lin Tian's... exclusive mount.

After all this was done, Lin Tian's Pangu True Body, several hundred meters tall, slowly dissipated, returning to his original appearance as a youth in white, as handsome as a god.

He lightly leaped and landed steadily on Simba's broad, golden-forged back, magnificent as a monarch surveying his territory.

He surveyed his surroundings, looking at his competitors like Adam and Bai Feng, who were already scared into silence, each subconsciously taking a step back, their eyes filled with apprehension and fear. A satisfied smile curved on his lips.

He knew that through this 'beast-taming performance,' filled with violent aesthetics and comedic elements, he had completely established his own unshakeable... absolute dominance within this perilous War Emperor's Mausoleum!

...After a brief respite, the surviving Prodigies, daring no more infighting or provocations, followed the massive lion king, who resembled a moving golden mountain range, with extremely complex emotions, cautiously stepping into the core area of the War Emperor's Mausoleum.

Before them, the view suddenly opened up.

A colossal underground metal city, indescribably huge, entirely cast from unknown black divine metal, and imbued with two starkly different styles—cyberpunk and ancient primordial Chaos—appeared before everyone!

Inside the city, the structure was extremely complex, with countless labyrinthine passages crisscrossing, leading to unknown depths. The air was permeated with the 'meme' energy that could corrupt the mind, becoming even denser. The walls were covered with various deadly energy Restrictions, flashing dangerous red light, capable of instantly pulverizing even Martial Emperor Rank powerhouses.

Facing this underground city, which resembled a prehistoric giant beast and was full of unknowns and dangers, even top Prodigies like Bai Feng and Adam furrowed their brows, at a loss.

However, the moment Lin Tian entered this place, he revealed a knowing smile, as if a chess player looking at a chessboard, confident in his grasp of the situation.

Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately began his... strategic deployment.

He first cast his gaze into the distance, towards the 'Son of Destiny'—Ye Fan—who was cautiously disguised as an ordinary Loose Cultivator, preparing to leave the main group and seek Opportunity alone.

"Long Qingtian."

"Your subordinate is here!" Long Qingtian, the number one heir, who had already wholeheartedly submitted to Lin Tian, immediately stepped forward and respectfully accepted the order.

Lin Tian pointed in Ye Fan's direction and instructed with a playful tone: "Do you see that little fellow 'playing the pig to eat the tiger'?

"This person carries great Luck and is a natural 'treasure-seeking mouse.' It would be too wasteful to let him explore alone."

"You, now, take a few people and quietly follow him."

"Remember, do not alarm him, and do not kill him. You only need to... 'help' him when he finds something good and is about to 'collect' it."

"Your subordinate... understands!" Long Qingtian was startled at first, then immediately understood the profound meaning of Lin Tian's 'raising leeks for harvest,' and a glint of admiration and... a trace of pity flashed in his eyes.

Immediately after, Lin Tian turned his gaze to the chief of 'War God Academy'—Bai Feng—who was holding an ancient beast skin map, seemingly searching for a specific route.

"Dragon Snow Phoenix, Long Ao."

"Here!"

"You two, lead the rest of the people and follow Bai Feng's team from a distance."

"If I'm not mistaken, he should have a piece of 'exclusive intelligence' that we don't know about. Let him... step on all those hidden passages and dangerous traps for us, one by one."

"We just need to be the oriole behind."

"Yes!"

After completing this series of perfect 'making enemies work for me' strategic deployments, Lin Tian finally nodded in satisfaction.

He looked at the virtual map in his hand, which the Long family had painstakingly created at great cost, but now seemed somewhat superfluous. He saw the two moving light dots on the map representing Ye Fan and Bai Feng, and a smile of absolute control and strategic planning curved on his lips.

In his heart, he issued the final and easiest action guideline for his trip to the 'War Emperor's Mausoleum.'

"Treasure hunting, pathfinding, stepping on landmines... all these dirty and tiring tasks will be done by others."

"All I need to do is ride my newly acquired 'big cat,' leisurely follow behind, and then, at the most opportune moment, appear and 'collect'... the final fruits of victory."

"Everything is... under control."