Deep into the night.
No moon, no stars.
The world was shrouded in darkness, so thick you couldn't see your own hand in front of your face.
Torches blazed around the camp, their flames flickering wildly in the mountain wind, casting long, overlapping shadows that danced eerily.
"Stay vigilant tonight," Chen Shaojie Hall Elder instructed the group. "We'll leave at dawn and return to the Clan Hall."
"Hall Elder, has something happened?" one of the disciples asked.
"I'm not sure," Chen Shaojie replied, shaking his head. "But if anything goes wrong, you must work together and protect yourselves as best you can."
After giving these instructions, he ordered the group to remain in the camp while he patrolled the perimeter. After all, with his cultivation base at the ninth layer of the Qi Blood Realm, he possessed formidable strength.
Time crept by, the wind rustling through the trees in a constant whisper.
Awooo...
The long, drawn-out howl of a wolf-like demon beast echoed through the night—a sound they heard every night, nothing unusual.
But then, another howl rose, followed by more, a rising and falling chorus as if a pack of wolves were on the move.
Roar...
A ferocious roar, like that of a Ferocious Tiger, erupted from another direction.
The cacophony of roars and howls, rising and falling in waves, drained the color from the disciples' faces.
Something was terribly wrong.
A dangerous aura quietly permeated the air.
The camp's firelight, like a beacon in the darkness, might be serving as more than just illumination.
From all directions, shadowy figures flickered, rapidly closing in, their approach heralded by a thick, bloody stench mixed with an icy, savage chill.
"Alert! Demon beasts are approaching!"
"It's a demon beast horde!"
The moment the warning rang out, the faces of the assembled warriors paled.
Encountering a demon beast was commonplace, a nightly occurrence. But a demon beast horde was an entirely different matter.
The Iron Guard had repeatedly cleared the ore vein's surroundings of demon beasts, leaving only scattered groups of two or three. Finding a pack of four or more was practically unheard of. Yet now, a multitude of demon beasts were converging simultaneously.
"This is bad," the elder murmured, his face darkening with realization.
He suddenly recalled the black shadow that had infiltrated the camp, circling without causing any damage. It must have left something to attract the beasts—perhaps the Beast-Attracting Powder he had once heard of.
Only demon beasts could detect the scent of this powder; human martial artists, unless exceptionally gifted, would be unable to smell it. The gray powder, scattered on the ground under the cover of night, would be virtually invisible.
The Beast-Attracting Powder was rumored to be extremely difficult to produce, and even the elder couldn't be certain of its effectiveness.
"All Iron Guards, return to defensive positions immediately!" Without hesitation, the elder issued the order.
The thirty Iron Guards immediately retreated, taking up defensive positions around the perimeter of the camp.
The elder himself and Hall Elder Chen Shaojie stood at the camp's edge, scanning the surroundings. By the flickering firelight, they could barely make out shadowy figures approaching.
Chen Zong and the other ten Clan Hall disciples remained within the camp.
"Let's go help," Chen Kaiyue said, drawing his sword and striding toward the approaching figures.
"Fall back! Fall back! All ten of you, stay here!" The Iron Guards immediately blocked their path.
This was a demon beast horde, not just a few isolated beasts. The danger was entirely different. Even the lowest-grade demon beasts became terrifying when they gathered in large numbers.
At the end of the day, these ten Clan Hall disciples were only at the fifth layer of the Qi Blood Realm. They might have personally killed a few demon beasts recently, but to the Iron Guards, they were still green. Facing a demon beast horde would be a death sentence.
Clan Hall disciples represented the future strength of the clan. Proper training could help them grow, but excessive exposure to danger would be reckless.
After being ordered to retreat, the group stopped advancing and stared ahead as a wave of wolves emerged.
"Red-Crested Wolf Pack!"
A gasp swept through the crowd as they spotted at least thirty Red-Crested Wolves rapidly closing in.
In a one-on-one fight, a martial artist at the fifth level of the Qi Blood Realm could easily kill a Red-Crested Wolf, and even handle two or three at once. But against thirty, even a martial artist at the sixth level of the Qi Blood Realm would struggle to survive.
The savage killing intent radiating from the thirty Red-Crested Wolves, though not directly targeting them, sent a chill down everyone's spines.
Meanwhile, a dozen Iron Claw Wolves appeared on another flank—Mid-Grade Level One Demon Beasts.
Three Ironback Azure Wolves followed—High-Grade Level One Demon Beasts.
Suddenly, a thunderous roar shook the air, announcing the arrival of a king and making everyone's ears ring.
A colossal figure leaped from the tall grass, filling their vision.
Standing over two meters tall, its entire body was blood-red, with markings that seemed to glow crimson under the firelight, like fresh blood.
Over four meters long, its thick tail swept back and forth, creating gusts of wind that howled through the air.
Roar...
The massive jaws opened, unleashing a roar that shook the earth like a mountain collapsing, sending shivers down everyone's spines.
Its massive, icy eyes radiated overwhelming dominance, a sense of absolute power over life and death. Those with insufficient cultivation bases would find their bodies weakening, their Qi Blood Power seemingly freezing, leaving them numb and paralyzed.
"Fierce Blood Tiger!"
"Even the Fierce Blood Tiger has appeared!"
"Leave the Fierce Blood Tiger to me," the elder immediately declared.
The Fierce Blood Tiger, entirely crimson with scarlet stripes, was a High-Grade Level Two Demon Beast—one of the most formidable among its kind. Most ninth-layer Qi Blood Realm martial artists stood no chance against it; only Elite martial artists could even hope to fight it, and even then, they would likely be defeated.
Against such a terrifying creature, no single ninth-layer Qi Blood Realm martial artist present could stand a chance in a one-on-one fight.
The elder's cultivation base surpassed the Qi Blood Realm, making him fearless against the Fierce Blood Tiger. But just as he prepared to engage the beast, another terrifying roar echoed from a different direction. Unlike the Ferocious Tiger's domineering roar, this one carried an unparalleled ferocity.
Boom! Boom! Boom! The ground trembled as a massive, black figure emerged, even larger than the Fierce Blood Tiger.
As the massive black figure emerged, it stood upright like a human, towering to an astonishing five meters in height.
"Black Scale Bear!"
The elder's expression darkened.
The Black Scale Bear was another High-Grade Level Two Demon Beast, possessing immense physical strength. Unlike most beasts, its body was covered in scales rather than fur, granting it formidable defensive capabilities.
In terms of danger, the Black Scale Bear surpassed even the Fierce Blood Tiger. Even the elder would struggle to defeat it in a few moves.
Hiss... hiss... hiss...
A chilling sound, sending shivers down spines, echoed from another direction. A massive python, as thick as an adult's waist, slithered rapidly into view. In the flickering firelight, its black and crimson patterned scales shimmered faintly, its movements accompanied by a rustling sound.
"Such a massive python!"
"Dark Scale Python!"
Upon recognizing the colossal serpent, the crowd's faces paled further. Another terrifying demon beast, no less formidable than the Fierce Blood Tiger, had joined the fray.
In addition to the formidable creatures already present, ordinary Low-Grade Level Two Demon Beasts, Mid-Grade Level Two Demon Beasts, and High-Grade Level Two Demon Beasts were also closing in.
"This is dangerous," someone muttered.
Every face, including the elder's, was grave.
Against a horde of Level One Demon Beasts, the elder—a formidable expert—and the thirty-one elite martial artists, all at least at the seventh layer of the Qi Blood Realm, could have repelled the beasts with minimal losses. However, the appearance of Level Two Demon Beasts, and more than just one, had drastically complicated matters.
"Elder, please allow us to join the battle," Chen Zong pleaded. "We may lack strength, but we are martial artists, disciples of the Chen Clan, and we embody the spirit of the Ferocious Tiger."
"Elder, please allow us to join the battle," even Chen Waixiu, the man Chen Zong and Chen Zhong both despised, urged earnestly.
In that moment, they forgot their differences, their hearts burning with the spirit of the Ferocious Tiger.
"Very well," the elder said, his gaze sweeping over the ten disciples. "You ten, go there. Remember, protect yourselves. Only the living have hope." He pointed to the side, issuing his final warning.
That direction led to the Red-Crested Wolf Pack, a horde of Low-Grade Level One Demon Beasts.
"Chen Zong, give me your sword. It will be more effective in my hands," Chen Kaiyue said to Chen Zong.
"Chen Kaiyue, your sword technique might not even be as good as Clan Brother Chen Zong's," Chen Zhong retorted.
"Is that so? Chen Zong, do you dare compete with me? Let's see who can kill more and stronger demon beasts. If you lose, hand over your sword," Chen Kaiyue said, shooting Chen Zhong a cold glance before directly challenging Chen Zong.
"And what will you give me if you lose?" Chen Zong countered.
"If I lose, I'll owe you a favor," Chen Kaiyue replied, always relying on his supposed favors.
"Chen Kaiyue, you place too much importance on your favors," Chen Zhong couldn't help but laugh, and the others exchanged amused glances.
Favors were difficult to quantify, but no one believed Chen Kaiyue's favor could possibly be worth Chen Zong's Precious Iron Sword.
Chen Kaiyue grew visibly annoyed. "Chen Zong, do you dare wager against me?"
"I don't want to," Chen Zong replied bluntly.
It wasn't that he lacked the courage, but rather that he saw no point in wagering.
Just then, over thirty Red-Crested Wolves accelerated their charge, leaping toward the group.
"Ferocious Tiger Leaps from Its Cage!"
"Splitting Water, Severing Currents!"
"Dividing Light Shadowing!"
The group unleashed their Low-Grade Human-Rank Martial Arts, nearly all having reached Minor Accomplishment. Chen Kaiyue's Dividing Light Shadowing manifested as eight sword lights, though somewhat indistinct, proving his Dividing Light Sword Technique's first layer had preliminarily reached the Great Mastery Realm.
No wonder he was so confident. Compared to ordinary martial artists of the same level, he was indeed several degrees more skilled.
Chen Zong didn't use the Dividing Light Sword Technique. His True Sword Eight Forms, honed to the Subtlety Realm, were no less powerful than Dividing Light Shadowing and, crucially, required no time to activate Qi Blood Power, making them faster.
The others only glimpsed a dazzling, blinding sword light, like a shooting star streaking across the night sky. In an instant, it pierced the air, followed by a spray of blood droplets that refracted a sinister crimson under the firelight.
One strike followed another, each swift and lethal. In the blink of an eye, three Red-Crested Wolves fell to Chen Zong's blade.
With a flash of movement and footwork as swift as the wind, he nimbly evaded the wolves' claws and fangs. Sword raised, sword fell, the blinding light of his blade struck down another Red-Crested Wolf.
The True Sword Eight Forms, honed to the Subtlety Realm, integrated sword technique, footwork, and body movement. This wasn't merely a refinement of sword technique; it had also elevated his body movement and footwork to a new level of precision.