Tiger Thrall

The fog grew thicker and thicker. Nothing could be seen within three meters; one could not see the fingers of one's outstretched hand.

The entire Black Tiger Mountain was terrifyingly silent. No insects chirped, no birds called.

Only the hurried footsteps of the three echoed on the road.

The youth led Lin Jun and Duan Yan in a jog all the way up from the mountain stronghold. It took them nearly half an hour to reach a cave.

"It's inside. My brother pierced the Tiger Demon through the abdomen. If I weren't too weak, how could I have let it escape?"

The youth's eyes were filled with unwillingness and regret.

Duan Yan stroked the youth's head and comforted him.

"It's all right, it's all right. Your brother will definitely be happy to know you avenged him. It's all right."

The youth nodded heavily, seeming to feel much better.

"This tiger den is extremely complicated. I'll lead you in. I've already explored this place once."

The youth led the way ahead, while Lin Jun and Duan Yan followed slowly behind.

"Don't move around later. Stay close to me. If you encounter danger, run immediately. Don't worry, I'll give you half the credit, understand?"

Lin Jun saw that Duan Yan seemed to have misunderstood something, but he said nothing.

"Don't let down your guard."

Duan Yan shot Lin Jun a glare.

Did she need him to tell her that?

Duan Yan saw that the hand holding Lin Jun's saber was actually trembling slightly, and she let out a long sigh.

If you're scared, then don't come. Is throwing away your life for merit really worth it?

What Duan Yan did not know was that Lin Jun had been continuously gathering his Blood-Baleful Aura along the blade. It was not Lin Jun's hand that trembled, but him suppressing the trembling of the saber itself.

This strike would be the strongest strike Lin Jun had ever delivered.

The three continued deeper into the cave. From time to time, they could still hear the Tiger Demon's mournful cries from within.

Those cries were weak and feeble, intermittent, as though it would die the very next second.

The cave entrance was stained with great amounts of blood, and shattered internal organs could even be seen amidst the blood.

Without question, they were not human organs.

This eased Duan Yan's originally tense heart considerably.

It seemed the Tiger Demon was severely injured. Dealing with it should not take much effort.

Besides, if even a two-tailed Fox-Stripe Exorcist could severely injure this Tiger Demon, its cultivation could not be that high.

It was only Lin Jun's presence that kept her from cutting loose. When they returned, she would definitely have a proper complaint with Lord Yang. It would be even better if she could wrangle some benefits out of it.

The group wound through the maze-like cave. After passing through a narrow opening, the path suddenly opened up, and they arrived in a natural cavern.

There were actually large quantities of luminous crystals inside, illuminating the dim cave.

"Where is this? Where's the Tiger Demon?"

Seeing the youth stop, Duan Yan asked.

"Where? This is where you die!"

The youth cast off his previous frailty and abruptly rose to his feet.

Duan Yan immediately swung her staff at him, yet the blow passed straight through the youth.

ROAR!!!

A howling gust surged into her ears through the cave, forcing her back again and again.

Before Duan Yan's eyes, the youth vanished into thin air.

Only the youth's clothes and identity plaque remained on the ground.

"Tiger Thrall?"

Damn it, she had fallen for it!

But by the time she realized it, everything was already too late.

A flash of blood-light erupted, and Duan Yan was sent flying, crashing to the ground.

Cough!

That completely unguarded blow made her feel as though her internal organs had shattered. She could not muster even a shred of strength throughout her body.

Damn it, she had fallen for the Tiger Thrall's trick.

The Tiger Thrall had been using the sacrifice of its companions to guide her thoughts, ensuring she never considered the possibility of a trap.

It was so practiced that this clearly was not its first time.

Yet before long, an even more fatal problem appeared before her.

"Run!"

Lin Jun had followed her in as well.

If the Tiger Demon had truly been severely injured, that would have been one thing. But this Tiger Demon clearly had not suffered the slightest injury.

Even if she had been caught without defenses, a demon that could cripple her in a single blow was not something a Mortal like Lin Jun could handle.

He was Lord Yang's cousin. How could he die before her very eyes?

She desperately tried to stand, but her shattered body made even breathing consume all her strength. She did not even have the strength to take out the medicine on her person.

Damn it, damn it!

Yet the Tiger Demon did not immediately attack. Instead, it stood before Lin Jun.

They seemed to be... confronting each other?

Duan Yan was frightened by her own absurd thought. A Transcendent Realm demon confronting a Mortal?

Was this a hallucination before death?

The Tiger Demon lowered its body, doing everything it could to protect its abdomen.

"Leave that woman behind, and you may go."

The Tiger Demon sensed an astonishing Killing Intent from Lin Jun.

Though it was not weak itself, it did not want to make an enemy of someone like Lin Jun, who was drenched in Killing Intent.

If things went badly, they would both suffer.

"Too late."

"What?"

The Tiger Demon did not understand. Then it saw Lin Jun abruptly draw the saber whose Baleful Intent had been accumulating ever since they left the stronghold.

Heavenly Star Baleful Image!

The entire cave turned crimson like a sea of blood, and vast quantities of violent Baleful Intent filled every corner.

In the air, countless streams of Baleful Intent transformed into sharp blades and surged toward the Tiger Demon at breakneck speed, like dragons plunging into the sea.

The entire cave was packed densely with blades of Baleful Intent. There was nowhere to hide.

The Tiger Demon dodged only two or three before the following blades of Baleful Intent, one after another, severed its body.

Awooo!

"Spare me! Spare me! I'm willing to serve you, my lord..."

The only response was the merciless blades of Baleful Intent and Lin Jun's cold gaze.

Amid scream after scream, all that remained was a puddle of minced flesh and a round Demon Core.

Bang!

The saber was covered in shattered cracks, as though it would break like glass the very next moment.

Lin Jun looked at the saber, which was about to become useless, and felt a thousand emotions well up within him.

The Heavenly Star Baleful Image was undoubtedly incredibly powerful, but its cost was naturally immense.

Lin Jun's blood vitality had been emptied once more, then restored after spending four hundred experience points.

But this saber could not be repaired with experience.

Putting away the saber, Lin Jun walked over to Duan Yan and crouched before her.

"Where did you put your medicine? I'll look for it. I didn't bring any."

Duan Yan stared blankly at Lin Jun, so stunned that she could not even feel the pain in her body.

"You... you... that move just now... you killed that Tiger Demon?"

That Tiger Demon—never mind that she had been ambushed—even in a direct fight, she might not have been able to defeat it.

For humans to duel demons one-on-one was inherently an exceedingly foolish thing. Demons' bodies were far stronger than humans'.

The Demon Exorcism Bureau more often adopted the method of surrounding and attacking them. Who would face a demon head-on?

The key was that he had actually won?

And it had been Lin Jun, the Lin Jun from the rumors who did not study or train, who only ate and lazed about like an utter disgrace, fighting head-on against a Tiger Demon capable of gravely injuring her—and winning without the slightest suspense?

Could it be that I'm already dead, and this is an unrealistic fantasy before my death?

Seeing Duan Yan sitting there like a dim-witted fool without reacting, Lin Jun became deeply worried that the Tiger Demon's earlier blow had struck her head and turned her stupid.

"Medicine! Did you bring any medicine with you?"

"Ah, ah... oh, in the pouch on the left."

Duan Yan finally accepted reality, though her expression remained utterly dazed.

Compared to this fact that sounded like a tale from the heavens, she would rather believe she was already dead.

Huff!

"Behind you! Watch out behind you!"

Why, why was there another Tiger Demon?!

Duan Yan felt as though her heartbeat had skipped half a beat.

The Tiger Demon was incredibly fast. In an instant, it pounced toward Lin Jun's back.

Damn it! Move! Move!

At this distance, Lin Jun had no chance of reacting.