Innate Bloodline Skill

"Poor Brother Chai. The place where that Dark Gold Red Tiger fell off the cliff happened to be near the Origin Mulberry Field he was guarding. I saw it catch up to him with my own eyes, then bite straight through his chest and belly..."

"No one wants something like that to happen, but once it does, it's fate."

"Was it Chai Yao? I was drinking with him just last month. I can't believe..."

"This Dark Gold Red Tiger is a first-rank demon beast. It has excellent night vision, too. How could it have fallen into Emerald Cloud Valley?"

"..."

At that moment, the two Market Masters guarding Emerald Cloud Valley had already engaged the Dark Gold Red Tiger. The sounds of their fight carried clearly even to the people standing at the valley entrance.

Everyone stared toward the direction the sounds came from. Though they couldn't see the battle itself, the violent commotion let them picture it vividly. Their scalps tingled, and they began discussing it in hushed, frantic voices.

Shen Mu furrowed his brow, feeling puzzled as well.

The Dark Gold Red Tiger was a feline, too. It had excellent vision at night, so how had it fallen into Emerald Cloud Valley?

"Rumble—"

Another violent boom came from the distance. By the faint moonlight, Shen Mu saw two figures moving at incredible speed, each wielding a long saber as they tangled with the Dark Gold Red Tiger.

"Roar—"

The Dark Gold Red Tiger let out a furious roar, as if it had gone berserk. The two Market Masters were forced to retreat again and again, avoiding its ferocious attacks.

Then the scene shifted. The two Market Masters turned and raced toward the valley entrance without looking back, breaking away from the fight.

"Run!"

The people had been standing at the valley entrance to watch. At the sight of this, they panicked and scattered like startled birds and beasts.

Before anyone could warn him, Shen Mu had already sensed trouble and run out of the valley entrance. Luo Tao followed close behind.

"Even two martial artists who've reached the ranks are no match for the Dark Gold Red Tiger?"

Seeing everyone else fleeing in a panic, Shen Mu's heart pounded nonstop.

In fact, when the Deacons had decided earlier to seek help from headquarters, he'd already understood that the two Market Masters were no match for the Dark Gold Red Tiger.

He just hadn't expected them to last less than the time it took an incense stick to burn. Though the Dark Gold Red Tiger was only a first-rank demon beast, its strength was probably on par with a martial artist of the Firewood Gang's Incense Master level.

The entire valley entrance descended into chaos. The Guardians, being members of the gang, had at least reached the Boiling Blood Stage and ran at the front.

The outer gang members who lived here permanently were ordinary people, and they could only fall behind.

Only then did Shen Mu understand that the two Market Masters guarding Emerald Cloud Valley had probably been trying to hold back the Dark Gold Red Tiger and buy them time to escape.

But none of them had thought of that. They'd stayed at the valley entrance to watch the show...

Now, the two Market Masters couldn't withstand the Dark Gold Red Tiger's attacks and had no choice but to turn and run.

After all, the little salary they earned wasn't worth fighting the Dark Gold Red Tiger to the death. And what did it matter if a few more subordinates died?

They'd given you a chance to escape, yet you'd crowded around the entrance to watch. If you died, you had only yourself to blame!

"Roar—"

The Dark Gold Red Tiger chased the two Market Masters all the way to the valley entrance. It sent more than a dozen outer gang members who'd fallen behind flying with a swipe of its sharp claws. Their fates were unknown.

"Brother Ren, let's kill this beast. How about you let me have its tiger penis to soak in liquor?"

"Why should I? I want the tiger penis. You can take your pick of the rest."

"In that case, whoever kills it gets the tiger penis!"

"Fine, it's a deal!"

As everyone fled in all directions, two figures came sprinting from Cloud Dragon County, kicking up a towering cloud of dust.

"Are those Incense Masters Ren Yunzhao and Yao Jiheng?"

Someone cried out in surprise, apparently not expecting two Incense Masters to show up.

"Beast, you'll not be allowed to run wild here. Die!"

Ren Yunzhao leapt into the air with his long saber in hand, then plunged down at high speed. His saber stroke flashed like a rainbow, as if carrying a full moon, and came crashing down toward the Dark Gold Red Tiger's face.

The Dark Gold Red Tiger's charging body abruptly halted. Sensing the danger, it tried to dodge the strike.

But the saber came too fast, and the tiger was too large to get out of the way. The blow landed heavily on its left shoulder, tearing open its flesh and sending blood gushing out like rain.

"Roar—"

The Dark Gold Red Tiger howled in pain and raised a paw to strike Ren Yunzhao.

But after landing his blow, Ren Yunzhao immediately retreated, narrowly dodging the tiger's attack.

"Take this punch!"

At the same time, Yao Jiheng seized the opportunity to close in from the other side and slammed a heavy punch into the Dark Gold Red Tiger's forehead.

"Thud—"

With a muffled boom, the huge tiger was sent flying several yards by the punch.

Working together, the two Incense Masters had inflicted heavy injuries on the Dark Gold Red Tiger in a single exchange.

"Ren Yunzhao, the hide of this Dark Gold Red Tiger is worth over a thousand taels of silver. Your strike must've knocked at least twenty percent off its value."

Yao Jiheng looked at Ren Yunzhao, his voice displeased.

"Heh. I want its tiger penis. What do I care how much the hide is worth?"

Ren Yunzhao stood nearby with his saber in hand and gave a sly chuckle.

"Roar—"

The Dark Gold Red Tiger rose from the ground, glaring with its eyes wide and letting out a deafening roar.

The roar turned into an invisible ripple that swept in every direction.

Ren Yunzhao and Yao Jiheng were hit first. By the time they realized something was wrong, it was too late. The roar sent them flying backward, and both coughed up blood. They looked noticeably weaker in an instant.

Even Shen Mu, several miles away, felt a thunderclap explode in his mind when the ripple kicked up by the roar struck him.

"Ah!"

As for Luo Zhen beside him, the impact made him clutch his head and scream in agony.

Many of the outer gang members fared even worse, knocked unconscious on the spot by the roar.

A single tiger's roar had struck everyone present!

Seeing that everyone had suffered injuries, some worse than others, Shen Mu stared in shock. Was a first-rank Dark Gold Red Tiger really this terrifying?

If he'd been any closer, wouldn't he have dropped dead on the spot?

Yao Jiheng and Ren Yunzhao exchanged glances, both looking utterly incredulous.

"This beast is only first-rank, yet it's awakened an innate bloodline skill?"

Ren Yunzhao wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his face deathly pale.

"Hmph. So what if it's awakened a bloodline skill? This beast is dying here today!"

Yao Jiheng snorted, his expression growing more vicious.

After unleashing its roar, the Dark Gold Red Tiger fixed Ren Yunzhao and Yao Jiheng with a cold, murderous stare. Then it sprang into a full-speed charge at them.

Seeing that the Dark Gold Red Tiger was ready to fight to the death, Yao Jiheng and Ren Yunzhao refused to meet it head-on. They halted and leapt apart, retreating in opposite directions.

The Dark Gold Red Tiger was already badly wounded. They only needed to wear it down. Sooner or later, it would bleed out and die. There was no need to let it drag them down with it.

But at the sight of this, the Dark Gold Red Tiger dashed out of the valley and raced toward the distant woods.

"Damn it, the beast's trying to escape!"

Ren Yunzhao's expression darkened. He hadn't expected the beast to be so clever!

"Lin Xiao, Kong Mingyuan, stop it!"

Yao Jiheng shouted, ordering the two Market Masters guarding Emerald Cloud Valley to attack.

Another two figures raced over from the distance. They were Lin Xiao and Kong Mingyuan, and they now blocked the way, desperately holding the Dark Gold Red Tiger back.