The white-haired elder turned his gaze toward Ethan and immediately caught the flicker of pure, unfiltered awkwardness on the young man's face. Then his eyes shifted to the kilometer-tall Qilin looming beside him, and the words that beast had just spat out echoed unpleasantly in his ears.
The Patriarch's expression darkened.
What made it worse was the pressure.
The oppressive aura radiating from the black beast wasn't subtle. It pressed down on the world like a tangible weight, heavy enough to make even seasoned warriors instinctively tense.
This elder was none other than the current Patriarch of the Moonfrost Direwolf clan.
The first avalanche had already thrown the clan's hidden territory into high alert. Uncle Jed, Leo, the others, and a large number of the clan's warriors had gathered at the concealed entrance almost immediately. Yet no one could leave. Not even Uncle Jed's group.
Only the Patriarch possessed the authority to open the passage freely.
