The Wind Blades created havoc across the radius around them. The Stormcrest Hawk screeched, its gaze locked onto Chen Ming. Lin Yuan discovered the intent in the beast’s eyes.

"FUCK!!! This beast was ridiculously powerful!" Lin Yuan grunted, sluggishly trying to stand up.

A few paces to the right side of Lin Yuan, Chen Ming was still struggling to stand up.

Whoosh!

The Stormcrest Hawk lunged forward, its wings violently radiating crackling lightning. Trees, rocks and bushes shattered as the beast tore through them, sprinting directly toward Chen Ming. Chen Ming was still in bad condition; he couldn’t dodge the attack at that speed now. The Rank 4 beast approached violently, its beak inches from Chen Ming’s face—

SLAM!!

A missile-speed compressed force slammed into the beast’s body. It was Lin Yuan. Moments before, Lin Yuan had reacted instantly, summoning the Shell Guard and funneling the agility he gained after killing the Rank 2 beast. The boost was slight, but it was just enough to save Chen Ming in the nick of time. Due to the beast’s momentum altered by Lin Yuan’s force, the hawk whipped sideways vehemently.

The Stormcrest hawk broke two pine trees and slammed into a giant rock, leaving spiderweb cracks on it. Lin Yuan groaned in sheer pain, helping Chen Ming to stand still. Lin Yuan turned his consciousness inward to inspect his aperture. The beast essence inside was nearly depleted. Reaching into his storage bag, he snatched three Rank 1 beast cores and shoved them into the mouth of his summoned turtle spirit beast. It was an emergency technique to forcefully replenish beast essence. There is a severe disadvantage: Using this method more than twice would exhaust the aperture, causing it to violently detonate. Forcing such a recovery defies the heavenly Dao.

The Stormcrest Hawk deliberately stood up again, a malicious, twisted grin filled on its face. It let out an angry screech rumbled across the forest. Along with the screech, a lightning ball materialised above its beak. The lightning sphere swelled to the size of a boulder, crackling with chaotic arcs of thunder. With a snap of its neck, the hawk launched the lightning boulder straight at Lin Yuan.

Lin Yuan snorted coldly, thrusting his hand forward to manifest his Shell Guard technique. Deep down, he knew it was futile. Both Lin Yuan and Chen Ming realized their path to death was set. They lacked the speed to dodge, and even if they somehow evaded the blast, the hawk was already lunging forward right behind the projectile.

Lin Yuan closed his eyes and accepted his fate!

’So this is my end! Failed again... before my true cultivation journey even begins!’ Lin Yuan screamed in his mind. ’I want to live! Just give me a chance... I will become stronger no matter what it takes... I will become strong even it makes me a dem—’

Slash!

The lightning boulder was cleanly severed into three pieces mid-air. The sudden slice caused detonation, blasting the lunging Stormcrest Hawk a dozen paces backward.

Lin Yuan’s eyes snapped open, his mind swirling in utter shock. Thick smoke swirled in front of Lin Yuan due to the impact of the blast. Inside the smoke, Lin Yuan saw a silhouette of a four-legged beast and a man sitting on it. Lin Yuan and Chen Ming frowned, squinting their eyes to look who saved them.

The Stormcrest Hawk at a dozen paces away flapped its wings vehemently. The sheer force from its wings whipped the smoke away. It was Xiao Lingtian. He was on the way to kill Lin Yuan, but after listening to the beast’s screech, his instincts drove him to get here. But Xiao Lingtian doesn’t know that Lin Yuan was standing in front of him.

"Don’t worry brats! I am here to save you... But in return I need an answer to one question..." Xiao Lingtian grinned, darting his eyes toward Lin Yuan, Chen Ming and then the beast.

Lin Yuan and Chen Ming were also unaware that the man in front of them was Xiao Lingtian — who can be a major threat after the beast.

Xiao Lingtian commanded his panther to lunge forward. The Stormcrest Beast instantly dashed toward Xiao Lingtian, blasting mini thunder spheres onto him. But Xiao Lingtian was a Core Beast Realm cultivator, a Rank 4 beast is a mere pawn to him. The panther beast effortlessly slashed the thunder balls.

"Is this your full power, rascal?" Xiao Lingtian yelled, letting out a mockery smile. "These attacks can’t even touch my panther’s fur, you bastard hawk!"

The panther leapt, its paw slashing on the Stormcrest hawk’s neck. The giant bird screeched in agony, its feathers flying like sharp daggers as it flipped mid-air. Sitting firmly on the panther’s muscular back, Xiao Lingtian clenched the beast’s thick mane, his eyes gleaming with battle lust.

The hawk retaliated instantly, unleashing a gale of razor-sharp wind blades from its massive wings. The panther dodged nimbly, leaping from boulder to boulder, while Xiao Lingtian channeled his beast essence to boost its speed. The panther leapt again, its paws slamming the Stormcrest beast down to the ground.

"Does that taste good, you bitch ass hawk?" Xiao Lingtian laughed coldly.

The Stormcrest Hawk groaned, standing up on its claws again. It jolted backward unhurriedly like a coiled spring. Xiao Lingtian expression changed seeing the posture of the beast.

BOOM!

The Stormcrest Hawk thrust forward at missile speed, transforming into a crackling, white-hot thunder cannonball. Raising its massive paws, the panther beast charged to meet the incoming strike. As they closed the distance, the beast slammed its paws firmly into the ground and met the blast head-on. Lightning cracked and rattled violently at the point of collision. However, the sheer power difference between the two was insurmountable. The panther utterly overpowered the Stormcrest Hawk, violently plummeting it backward. The hawk slammed onto the hard rock, spitting a mouthful of green blood.

Before the hawk could recover, the panther rumbled with a terrifying roar and lunged. It snatched a mouthful of flesh from the hawk’s neck, sending a geyser of thick, green blood splashing across the stone. Instantly, the beast struck the wounded neck with brutal force, severing the head, which thudded on the ground and tumbled a few paces away.

The headless torso of the hawk fell down frantically, its massive wings spreading wide as geysers of thick green blood poured from the neck stump. Xiao Lingtian climbed down the panther, stepping away from it to enjoy the feast. The panther shook its head once, walking towards the torso. It pinned the left wing down with a paw, rendering the body still. Leaning in, the panther bit into the tender chest muscle, tearing away a chunk of flesh and chewing it with a sluggish, satisfied look on its face.

Once the chest was stripped off, the panther darted its head down to the thighs. It gripped the shimmering, smooth feathers on the upper legs, ripping away the skin to reveal the delicate meat beneath. With synchronised snaps of its jaws, the panther chomped the thighs clean, savoring the essence of the lightning-infused beast.

Eventually, the feast neared its end. The panther left behind the white bones cast aside amidst a pool of fading green blood and scattered feathers. Xiao Lingtian along with Lin Yuan and Chen Ming watched from a distance. Chen Ming took a heavy gulp witnessing the feast of the panther.

Lin Yuan watched the feast with a cold expression in his pitch-black eyes.

"Okay then... I have a simple question, brats..." Xiao Lingtian gasped, darting his head toward Chen Ming, folding his hands. "Do you know which path the student named Lin Yuan took?"

Chen Ming and Lin Yuan shocked listening the question, especially the name: Lin Yuan

’Why he was asking about my na—’

"Haha.. You are lucky, He is Lin Yuan..." Chen Ming smirked, pointing his hands toward Lin Yuan. "By the way... Why do you want Lin Yuan?"

Xiao Lingtian’s facial expression changed to a frenzy grin. "Pathetic!! I helped the bastard who killed my dearest brother!"

Xiao Lingtian yelled, thrusting his fist into Lin Yuan’s stomach without giving Lin Yuan any chance to dodge.

Lin Yuan clutched his stomach, folding both arms around it. His breath gasped by the brutal blow which felt like a burning needle piercing his body. The sheer impact forced him to plummeting on the ground, his vision blurred, leaving him in a physical shock.

"Who the fuck are you?" Chen Ming frowned, his frantic eyes darting onto Xiao Lingtian.

Chen Ming tried to hit Xiao Lingtian, but Xiao Lingtian instantly slapped Chen Ming hard. Chen Ming’s cheek turned red forthwith.

"I am Xiao Lingtian, the elder brother of Xiao Chen, you fucking scoundrels!" Xiao Lingtian announced, taking a heavy step forward. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

’I fucked up! No.. no.. no.. It can’t be true... I heard the elder brother of Xiao Chen is Core Beast Realm Lower Stage Cultivator, same as Master Mo Qinghe.’ Chen Ming mourned, his eyes filled with sheer panic. ’Because of my stupidity, Lin Yuan is now in danger.’

Lin Yuan groaned, trying to stand back again...