anwhile, on the ground, Jing Shen raised his hand and roared:
"Attack—now! Take them alive if possible!"
With a chorus of shouts, six n charged forward, their swords gleaming and techniques lighting up the night.
But—
Cloudia’s eyes narrowed.
Mist coiled around her like a cloak.
A mont later, everything erupted.
"Ughhhh!"
"Ahhhh!"
"Ahrghh!
Jing Shen and his five n lay sprawled across the ground, groaning, broken, and bloodied.
Their faces were pale, their bodies trembling. Blood trickled from noses, mouths, and gashes across their skin.
Bones were clearly fractured.
"A-Ahhh... It hurts... so bad..." Jing Shen gasped, barely able to lift his head. "How... how could a Noble-Lineage Beast be this powerful?"
Beside him, Jin Ren clutched his waist, face twisted in agony.
"M-My spine... is shattered... Brother Jing, they’re not just Noble-Lineage beasts. I think... I think we ssed with sothing far worse..."
"The five of us are all at the Mid-Stage Foundation Realm, and you’re at the High-Stage... How could we be defeated by just a Low-Rank and a Mid-Rank... Demonic Soldier Beast?"
"Y-You’re right, Brother Jin... Ahh, all my limbs are broken... For now, let’s just pretend we’re dead," another disciple groaned from the ground.
"Yeah... no one make a sound," Jing Shen wheezed.
Cloudia and the white tiger stood silently nearby. They didn’t even bother finishing them off.
With a flick of her tail and a nod to little tiger, Cloudia turned to leave, mist swirling in her wake.
"Useless idiots... they couldn’t even last five minutes against them," Min Shing muttered, perched on a nearby tree branch.
"That fox didn’t even use her Legendary-Lineage bloodline... and still beat them half to death."
He gritted his teeth, then turned sharply to the group behind him.
"Gao Jin, take your team. Go down and fight them. Hold them off for a while—just stall them!"
Gao Jin paled.
"B-But Brother Shing... we’re no match for them."
"I said go!" Min Shing barked, his tone brooking no refusal.
"Y-Yes, Brother Shing..." Gao Jin said, though his voice shook.
Reluctantly, Gao Jin and his five n stepped out of hiding and descended to the forest floor.
Trying to sound brave, Gao Jin shouted:
"H-Hey! You monsters! Where are you going?! I’ll fight you!"
Jing Shen, still lying on the ground, looked up weakly.
’W-Who are they? Niu Ling’s people? Did they also hear about the Noble-Lineage beasts?’
Cloudia stopped.
Her eyes narrowed as she recognized Gao Jin, Yin Shan, and the others.
"You again?" she said coldly. "Didn’t I already beat so sense into you last ti?"
She frowned inwardly.
’Why do people keep showing up? I just want to finish this quickly and return to Master... and yet...’
Yin Shan waved his hands nervously.
"W-We’ve never t before! This is our first ti seeing you!"
Cloudia sighed.
"Then I’ll beat you again. Maybe you’ll rember next ti."
Gao Jin tried to puff up his chest and act tough.
"Hmph! You can’t scare ! I’m not afraid anymore!"
Cloudia stepped forward, her eyes gleaming with confidence.
"You were nothing when I was just a Low-Rank Demonic Soldier."
"Now I’ve absorbed the Primal Cores of the Ironclaw Direwolf and others. I’ve advanced to Mid-Rank."
She gave a small, cold smile.
"You’re insects to now."
Without a word, Cloudia lunged forward.
"Ahhh!"
"Ughhh!"
"Please... forgive... , I know you... know you..."
All six of them were sprawled across the forest floor, bloodied and barely breathing.
They didn’t even have the strength to groan.
Suddenly, Cloudia’s ears twitched—she sensed sothing.
With a sharp signal to the little tiger, she turned and dashed toward Reon’s tent in the southern part of the forest.
The tiger followed close behind, its paws swift and silent.
"Shit!" a whisper ca from the treetops.
"Those bastards didn’t even last a minute. When’s the backup getting here?" Min Shing muttered, still hidden among the branches, watching the fleeing figures vanish into the trees.
Then—
A voice, loud and dripping with fury, echoed through the forest.
"Min Jin, you bastard! Where are those beasts? We’ve been searching them for a whole day!" shouted a handso man with flowing black hair.
He was Miu Jiang—a Stage-2 Golden Core Formation cultivator, ranked among the Top 100 Inner Disciples, and one of the heirs to the Elite Hunter Miu Family.
Five n followed behind him on flying swords, their expressions grim.
"B-Brother Miu! I promise, they’re just... just ahead!" Min Jin stamred, trembling as he floated beside the tree.
"You said that yesterday too, you useless fucker," Miu Jiang snarled.
Min Shing sighed with relief and dropped down from the tree. Disabling his Stealth Technique, he bowed slightly.
"Greetings, Brother Miu."
Miu Jiang’s eyes narrowed as he spotted Min Shing.
"Hmm." He gave a slight nod.
"Speak. What’s the situation? And Where are those beasts?"
Min Shing quickly explained everything that had occurred.
"Brilliant, brilliant!" Miu Jiang laughed, clapping him on the back.
"You’re sharp, Min Shing. When we return to the sect with those beasts, I’ll ask Brother Niu Ling to reward you."
"Hehe... Brother Miu just asked Young Master Niu Ling to let spend a night with that fox girl... I’ve grown quite infatuated with her," Min Shing said, his eyes gleaming with lust.
"Hahaha... Of course, of course. But after , alright?"
"Understood, Brother Miu."
’So... this was all Min Shing’s plan?’ Jing Shen thought bitterly, still lying stiff on the ground, faking death. ’And Legendary-Lineage Beasts... no wonder we got thrashed.’
But just as relief was about to settle in—
Miu Jiang’s tone shifted.
"But you know..." he said, his voice dropping low, almost casual.
"So pests overheard everything. You should be more aware of your surroundings."
His steps were slow, deliberate, as he walked to his right.
He stopped right next to Jing Shen.
’He can’t an us... right? No way. Our Dead-Pretending Technique is flawless. No one should see through it,’ Jing Shen thought desperately.
But—
The next mont, he saw sothing he couldn’t comprehend.
His own body.
Lying there.
Headless.
His eyes widened in shock and terror.
"M-M-My... b-body...?"
Then—
"AGHHHHHHHH!"
His scream ripped through the forest as his soul finally realized what had happened.
His fellow disciples jolted, realizing the jig was up.
"RUNNNNNN!!"
One of them shrieked as they all scrambled to their feet, panic filling their veins. They leapt onto their flying swords, fleeing for their lives.
But—
"Miu Family’s Secret Sword Arts...
First Form — Shadow-Flicker Slash!"
With a single flick, Miu Jiang unsheathed his blade and swung it lazily upward.
For a breathless mont, nothing happened.
"We’re alive! We’re safe!" one of the n shouted, almost laughing.
"Now go—RUN!"
He leaned forward to speed up, but—
"Huh? Why... why am I going down instead of up?"
A few warm droplets splashed against his face.
"Rain? Now? But... why does it feel so hot?"
His legs—still attached to the flying sword—floating in the air.
His upper body?
Plumting.
"W-Why... why is my body stuck up there...?"
Then he knew.
And he scread.
"ARGHHHHH!!"
So did the others.
"UGHHHH!!"
"AHHHHHH!"
Four more screams echoed through the forest, all at once.
Their lower halves still hovered in the air, cleanly sliced. Their torsos fell like broken puppets.
’That’s Brother Miu’s family technique,’ Min Shing thought, his own face pale.
’They enjoy killing. They enjoy watching hope flicker in their prey—just to snuff it out.’
Miu Jiang turned, sheathing his sword in one smooth motion.
"The pests are dealt with. Now show the path those beasts took."
Reviews
All reviews (0)