Defeating the Tiger Lord, none could compare to Xu Taiping

"Boom!"

With an explosive burst of air, a stream of bone-chilling white breath poured from the boy's mouth, enveloping the Demon Tiger's enormous body.

In an instant, the once-warm maple grove turned into the depths of winter.

A vast swath of space, including the Tiger Demon within it, froze solid. The Tiger Demon stood there like a statue.

"To think it can even freeze a demonic beast's body. What an incredible spell!"

Liu Zijin stood a short distance away, dumbstruck.

But the boy did not stop. He leaped onto the Tiger Demon's back again, drew the long saber at his waist, and poured all his true qi into it as he slashed down at the Tiger Demon's head.

"Bang!"

The slash opened a wound nearly half a foot deep in the back of the Tiger Demon's neck, and blood rapidly seeped out.

Although the Tiger Demon's eyes were filled with agony, his body remained immobile. He could only let the boy hack away with his saber.

The Tiger Demon's body truly was as hard as refined iron. Even after several consecutive slashes, the boy still could not sever his head completely.

"Boom!"

Just as the boy was about to cut through the Demon Tiger's spine, a jet of blood suddenly shot from the beast's mouth. Waves of heat then erupted from his body together with a bloody mist.

The boy, who had already sensed something amiss, sprang up and jumped off the tiger's back.

"Roar!"

The instant he jumped down, the previously frozen Demon Tiger violently shook his body and spat out a gale wrapped in bloody mist.

"Damn you! Damn you all! You actually forced this lord to burn through his vital blood essence!"

The Tiger Demon let out a furious roar.

But he did not continue attacking the boy. Instead, still cursing furiously, he broke into a mad dash with his nearly severed head.

"Boy, I know who you are now! Just you wait! This lord will come for revenge and leave you unable to live or die!"

Amid his roars, the Tiger Demon vanished into the mountain forest.

He had not even had time to take the Northwind Pearl.

"Young hero, could you tell me your name?"

After picking up the Northwind Pearl from the ground, the boy was about to pursue the fleeing Tiger Demon when Liu Zijin's voice suddenly sounded behind him.

At her voice, the boy seemed to remember something. He stopped and turned toward Liu Zijin.

"Who I am doesn't matter. This thing, you..."

"Junior Sister Zi Jin, I've brought people to rescue you!"

The boy was just about to take something from his sleeve when Lu Chen's voice suddenly rang out from the forest a short distance behind Liu Zijin, interrupting him.

"Watch out for your senior brother Lu Chen. He's no good!"

The boy glanced at the forest behind Liu Zijin, then at the direction in which the Tiger Demon had fled. In the end, after leaving her with those words, he turned and raced after the Tiger Demon.

"Watch out for... Senior Brother Lu?"

Liu Zijin stood there blankly, unable to understand why the boy had suddenly said that to her. At the same time, she kept feeling that she had heard his voice somewhere before.

Meanwhile, after clearly hearing the boy's voice and seeing the beautiful eyes above the cloth covering half his face, Lin Buyu suddenly pictured a face in her mind-Xu Taiping.

Although half a year had passed, she had not forgotten the boy who had climbed the mountain with her, whose gaze had remained steadfast even after his spirit bone was tested.

"It seems he's found a fortuitous opportunity of his own."

As she watched the boy's figure gradually disappear, a faint smile suddenly touched the corners of Lin Buyu's usually chilly face.

"Junior Sister Buyu, can you tell where that boy came from?"

Like a desperate patient seeking any doctor she could find, Liu Zijin turned to Lin Buyu beside her and asked.

"No idea."

Lin Buyu softly uttered those words, her indifferent expression returning.

"Junior Sister Zi Jin, Junior Sister Buyu, are you both unharmed?"

Just then, Lu Chen arrived before Liu Zijin and Lin Buyu in a great hurry, leading a group from the Raging Wind Hall.

"We're... fine. An unfamiliar young hero suddenly appeared and saved us."

Liu Zijin stepped back a few paces and looked at Lu Chen with a trace of wariness in her eyes.

Clearly, Xu Taiping's parting words had taken effect.

Of course, the main reason was still that Lu Chen had abandoned her and fled alone, leaving her disgusted with him.

"And you, Junior Sister Buyu?"

Seeing Liu Zijin distancing herself from him, Lu Chen turned to Lin Buyu with a smile.

"You fled in the face of danger and abandoned your fellow disciples. I will report everything truthfully to my senior brother and master."

Lin Buyu cast Lu Chen a cold glance, sparing him no consideration.

At her words, murderous intent immediately flared in Lu Chen's eyes. But when he remembered how highly the sect regarded the girl before him, he had no choice but to suppress it.

"Buyu!"

At that very moment, two figures streaked into the maple grove like flashes of lightning.

Looking closely, they saw that the newcomers were Fairy Ziyan and Eldest Senior Brother Mo Jun, who had earlier been trapped by the Demon Tiger's Northwind Pearl.

"Eldest Senior Brother!"

"Senior Sister Ziyan."

Liu Zijin and Lin Buyu both went to meet them.

"Buyu, you aren't hurt, are you?"

Ziyan hurried anxiously to Lin Buyu.

Lin Buyu possessed a thunder spirit bone, something seen only once in a century. If anything happened to her, it would be a loss not merely for the Sixth Peak, but for the entire Azure Profound Sect.

"No."

Lin Buyu shook her head.

Ziyan immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"Where is the Demon Tiger? That treasure of his that summons demonic winds is very likely the legendary Northwind Pearl. Otherwise, it could never have trapped Senior Sister Ziyan and me!"

Mo Jun's face was filled with anger.

At his words, Liu Zijin hurriedly recounted to Mo Jun and Ziyan how Xu Taiping had descended from the sky, driven back the Demon Tiger, and saved them.

"We truly owe that young hero our thanks."

Ziyan held Lin Buyu's hand, still shaken by what might have happened.

"I just wish we knew where that young hero came from."

Although Liu Zijin did not tell the others about Xu Taiping's final warning to her, it kept sitting like a knot in her heart.

"Perhaps he was a disciple from the Seven Peaks who came down the mountain to gain experience. Let's set that aside for now. Our most urgent task is to find a way to slay that Demon Tiger."

Mo Jun shook his head, then turned his gaze toward Ziyan.

"Senior Sister Ziyan, why don't you come track down that Tiger Demon with me?"

"Not now. I have to take my junior sister back."

Ziyan shook her head.

Her foremost priority now was to ensure Lin Buyu's safety.

"Senior Brother, as the saying goes, never pursue a cornered foe. Without complete confidence, if that Demon Tiger suddenly goes berserk and launches a desperate counterattack, we would only be throwing our lives away."

Lu Chen also voiced his opposition tactfully.

He had no desire to take such an enormous risk pursuing a demonic beast on the verge of going berserk. Besides, this area was the territory of the outer sect disciples, a place they inner sect disciples rarely entered.

"Very well. Let's report this to the sect first."

In the end, Mo Jun chose to abandon the pursuit.

Lin Buyu, who had watched coldly from the sidelines all along, swept an expressionless glance over Mo Jun and Lu Chen. Then she recalled Xu Taiping's figure as he had charged after the Tiger Demon without the slightest hesitation, and murmured quietly in her heart:

Neither of them can compare to Xu Taiping.