Astra continued pointing and naming them with growing astonishment, her senses picking up dozens of powerful creatures scattered throughout the forest—some massive, some deceptively small, all radiating auras far beyond ordinary beasts.
What shocked her most was their behavior: these creatures, clearly capable of tearing each other apart, were not hunting or killing.
They ignored the weaker ones completely, sparred only with equals, and stopped short of fatal blows, living in a strange harmony that defied every instinct she knew.
Most were aquatic types—leviathans, serpents, armored titans—mixed with a few land beasts, and at the center stood the snow wolf, Husa, watching over them all. They hadn't dispersed far yet.
Kamal, Neelam, and Sanya could not sense the beasts' power yet, having only just begun cultivation, but they could see the distant shapes moving through the trees—colossal forms, flashes of scale and fur, and occasional bursts of energy—and even from afar, they felt the overwhelming strength radiating from them.
All of them were far more powerful than the family themselves—except Astra and the Heart Clone.
The Heart Clone arrived beside them then, hovering calmly in the air.
Sanya turned to him, eyes wide with wonder.
"Brother, what is this place? I've read so many books online and searched everywhere—I've never heard of a forest like this. Is this still Earth?"
A daring thought crossed her mind: if her brother could already travel through space, perhaps he had already explored other planets, and this could be a piece of another world entirely.
Neelam and Kamal began to wonder the same thing, their expressions turning thoughtful.
But the Heart Clone simply shook his head gently.
"This is not another planet or anything like that. It is just a continent—named Beast Continent—that I built with my own power. These beasts are all my subordinates. They are talented, so I gathered them here, and in the future I will bring human subordinates as well. This place will become lively soon."
The family stared at him in stunned silence, the sheer scale of his words sinking in.
Then Astra suddenly spoke up, her voice carrying a mix of excitement and longing.
"Master, can I stay here for some time? Please."
The Heart Clone simply nodded with a gentle smile, fully aware that Astra's real intention was to "play" with these beasts and assert her dominance, but he saw no reason to stop her—on the contrary, her presence would push them to grow stronger faster, and that aligned perfectly with his plans.
Astra gave a happy low moo, said a quick goodbye to the family, and immediately shot forward at full speed, her form streaking through the air toward the territory where she had sensed the strongest presence—the domain of Husa, the snow wolf.
Sanya and Rudra watched her go with wide eyes, curiosity getting the better of them, so they slowly followed behind at their own pace, wanting to see exactly where Astra was headed and what she planned to do.
The Heart Clone glanced at Kamal and Neelam with a warm, knowing look.
"Mom, Dad, let's go. We can enjoy the show."
Kamal and Neelam exchanged puzzled glances, unsure what kind of "show" he meant, but they still followed him without question.
The Heart Clone led them swiftly through the air toward Husa's territory, and since Sanya and Rudra were moving too slowly, he simply reached out with a casual wave of his hand and teleported them both directly to the viewing spot where the rest of the family now hovered safely in the sky.
Sanya opened her mouth to protest the sudden shift, but when she realized Astra was already closing in on the target area below, she quickly understood and settled down obediently, sitting cross-legged in the air beside her parents, eyes bright with anticipation.
The Heart Clone made a small gesture, and their presence became completely invisible to everyone below—the beasts would never sense them watching, ensuring the unfolding events remained undisturbed.
Down in the forest clearing, Astra arrived at the place where she had sensed the strongest aura.
She saw the snow wolf—Husa—standing alert on a rocky outcrop, ears pricked, fur bristling, eyes sharp and wary as he detected her overwhelming presence.
This was not a beast that had been here before.
Husa let out a deep, warning roar, demanding to know who this powerful newcomer was and why she had come to his domain.
Astra did not answer with words.
Instead, she gathered a surge of raw energy at the tip of her tail and swung it forward in a casual arc toward the wolf.
Husa's instincts screamed danger—he sidestepped with lightning speed, barely avoiding the blow.
The tail struck the ground behind him, and the impact created a massive crater, shattering dozens of meters of earth and stone in an instant, sending shockwaves through the forest.
Husa's eyes narrowed seriously as he realized the sheer destructive power behind that seemingly light swing.
Astra did not pause—she lifted one massive paw, channeled energy into it, and slammed it down onto the ground.
The earth quaked violently.
A huge crater began forming in a straight line toward Husa, the ground splitting and rising into razor-sharp spikes as the crater walls closed inward like a deadly trap.
Husa leaped upward at the last possible moment, avoiding being crushed and impaled.
He landed lightly and immediately countered, gathering frost energy at his claws before lunging forward, slashing toward Astra's abdomen with full force.