Talent Bloodline Skill

"Poor Brother Chai. The spot where that Dark Gold Red Tiger fell off the cliff happens to be right next to the Origin Mulberry Field he was guarding. I saw with my own eyes as the Dark Gold Red Tiger caught up to him and bit straight through his chest and abdomen..."

"No one wants to encounter such a thing, but if you do, it's just fate."

"Is it Chai Yao? I was drinking with him just last month. I never expected..."

"This Dark Gold Red Tiger is a First-Rank demonic beast. Even at night, it possesses keen vision. How could it have fallen into Emerald Cloud Valley?"

"..."

At this moment, the two Market Masters guarding Emerald Cloud Valley had already engaged the Dark Gold Red Tiger. Even those standing at the valley entrance could clearly hear the sounds of the struggle.

The crowd gazed toward the direction of the noise. Although they could not see the specific battle, they could reconstruct the scene from the violent commotion. Everyone felt their scalps tingle as they whispered among themselves.

Shen Mu frowned, his heart filled with doubt.

The Dark Gold Red Tiger is a feline, isn't it? It should have excellent night vision. How could it have fallen into Emerald Cloud Valley?

"Rumble~"

A violent roar echoed from the distance once more. By the faint moonlight, Shen Mu saw two figures moving with extreme speed, each wielding a long saber as they became entangled in a fierce struggle with the Dark Gold Red Tiger.

"Roar~"

The Dark Gold Red Tiger let out an angry bellow, as if it had gone mad, forcing the two Market Masters to retreat repeatedly to avoid its sharp edge.

Then, the scene shifted. The two Market Masters, without even looking back, broke away from the skirmish and dashed toward the valley entrance.

"Run!"

The crowd, who had been standing at the entrance to watch the spectacle, was struck with terror at the sight and scattered like birds and beasts.

Before anyone had even shouted a warning, Shen Mu had already sensed that the situation was dire and bolted from the valley entrance, with Luo Tao following closely behind him.

"Are even two martial artists who have entered the ranks no match for the Dark Gold Red Tiger?"

Seeing everyone else fleeing frantically, Shen Mu's heart hammered against his ribs.

In truth, when the deacons had decided to request reinforcements from headquarters earlier, he had already realized that the two Market Masters were no match for the Dark Gold Red Tiger.

He just hadn't expected that the two Market Masters wouldn't even last the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. It was clear that although the Dark Gold Red Tiger was only a First-Rank demonic beast, its strength was likely comparable to a martial artist at the level of a Firewood Gang incense master.

In an instant, the entire valley entrance descended into chaos. The guards, who were gang members with at least the strength of the Boiling Blood Stage, were the first to run.

The peripheral gang members who were stationed there long-term were still ordinary people, and they were inevitably left trailing behind.

Only now did Shen Mu understand that the primary purpose of the two Market Masters guarding Emerald Cloud Valley was likely to stall the Dark Gold Red Tiger to buy time for everyone else to escape.

It was just that they hadn't thought in that direction, still lingering at the valley entrance to watch the show...

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

After all, the meager salary they earned wasn't worth fighting the Dark Gold Red Tiger to the death. As for how many of the people below died?

They had been given a chance to flee, yet they had crowded at the valley entrance to watch the fun—if they died, it was their own fault!

"Roar~"

The Dark Gold Red Tiger chased the two Market Masters all the way to the valley entrance. The dozen or so peripheral gang members running at the very back were swiped away by its sharp tiger claws, their fates unknown.

"Brother Ren, how about you and I slaughter this beast and use its tiger penis for my wine, Yao?"

"On what grounds? I want the tiger penis; you can pick anything else."

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

"Fine, it shall be as you say!"

Just as the crowd was scattering in flight, two figures came sprinting from the direction of Cloud Dragon County, kicking up clouds of dust that reached the sky.

"Is that Incense Master Ren Yunzhao and Incense Master Yao Jiheng?"

Someone exclaimed, seemingly shocked that two incense masters had actually arrived.

"Beast, this place will not tolerate your wild behavior. Die!"

Ren Yunzhao leaped into the air, long saber in hand, then descended rapidly. His blade technique was like a startling rainbow, seemingly wrapped in a full moon, as he slashed heavily toward the Dark Gold Red Tiger's face.

The Dark Gold Red Tiger, which had been charging forward, stopped abruptly. A sense of intense danger forced it to try and dodge the strike.

However, the speed of the blade was simply too fast, and the Dark Gold Red Tiger's body was too massive to evade in time. The blade bit deep into its left shoulder, instantly tearing skin and flesh as blood sprayed like a torrential downpour.

"Roar~"

In agony, the Dark Gold Red Tiger let out a roar and raised its claw to strike fiercely at Ren Yunzhao.

Yet, having landed his blow, Ren Yunzhao retreated without a moment's hesitation, successfully dodging the beast's counterattack.

"Take this punch!"

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

"Bang~"

Accompanied by a muffled thud, the Dark Gold Red Tiger's massive body was sent flying several yards back by the force of the heavy blow.

With the two incense masters working in tandem, the Dark Gold Red Tiger had suffered heavy injuries in just a single exchange.

"Ren Yunzhao, the hide of this Dark Gold Red Tiger is worth over a thousand taels of silver. That slash of yours just devalued the pelt by at least twenty percent."

Yao Jiheng looked toward Ren Yunzhao, his tone filled with dissatisfaction.

"Heh, what I wanted was the tiger's whip; what does it matter if its hide is worth a fortune?"

Ren Yunzhao, standing to the side with his blade in hand, let out a wicked chuckle.

"ROAR~"

The Dark Gold Red Tiger scrambled up from the ground, its tiger eyes glaring with rage as it unleashed a deafening roar.

At that moment, the roar transformed into an invisible ripple, sweeping outward in every direction.

Ren Yunzhao and Yao Jiheng bore the brunt of the attack; by the time they realized something was wrong, it was already too late. They were sent flying backward by the force of the roar, both spitting out a mouthful of blood as their vitality instantly withered.

Even Shen Mu, standing several miles away, felt as if a thunderclap had exploded in his mind after being struck by the ripples of that roar.

"AAHH!!"

As for Luo Zhen, who was nearby, he was clutching his head and letting out a shrill, miserable scream.

Many of the peripheral gang members fared even worse, fainting on the spot from the sheer force of the sound.

A single tiger roar, and its power had affected everyone present!

Watching everyone suffer injuries to varying degrees, Shen Mu was filled with shock. Was a First-Rank Dark Gold Red Tiger truly this terrifying?

If he had been standing any closer, would he have died on the spot?

Yao Jiheng and Ren Yunzhao exchanged a glance, both wearing expressions of disbelief and horror.

"This beast is only First-Rank; how has it already 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 awakened a bloodline skill? This beast must die here today!"

Yao Jiheng let out a cold snort, his expression growing increasingly ferocious.

After unleashing the roar, the Dark Gold Red Tiger glared at the two men with icy eyes, then broke into a full sprint to attack them.

Seeing the Dark Gold Red Tiger preparing to fight to the death, Yao Jiheng and Ren Yunzhao chose not to meet it head-on, instead pausing their steps and retreating in opposite directions.

The Dark Gold Red Tiger had already suffered heavy injuries; as long as they slowly wore it down, it would eventually bleed to death. There was simply no need to let it drag them down with it.

However, upon seeing this, the Dark Gold Red Tiger bolted out of the valley, sprinting toward the distant forest.

"Not good, the beast is trying to run!"

Ren Yunzhao's expression turned ugly, as if he hadn't expected the creature to be so clever.

"Lin Xiao, Kong Mingyuan, stop it!"

Yao Jiheng roared, ordering the two Market Masters guarding Emerald Cloud Valley to intervene.

In an instant, two more figures swept in from the distance—it was Lin Xiao and Kong Mingyuan, who now blocked the path ahead, desperately stalling the Dark Gold Red Tiger.