If you suck, train harder

Zhou Yan felt as though his heart was about to leap out of his chest.

An A-rank Demonic Beast!

This was fucking A-rank!

Their group of Awakening Stage fighters, plus one at the Divine Knowledge Initial Stage, wouldn't even be enough to get stuck between its teeth!

"Run!"

Chen Feng roared, turned, and ran.

The four reacted extremely quickly, scattering in an instant and sprinting back the way they had come.

The Saber-toothed Thunder Tiger let out a low growl and set off after them.

But he wasn't going all out.

One of these humans still carried his master's scent. He couldn't actually attack them, but teaching them a lesson should be fine, right?

He opened his mouth and spat out a thin bolt of lightning, landing it precisely beside the feet of Sun Hao, who was bringing up the rear.

Sun Hao screamed as the shock numbed his entire body. Luckily, it was only a superficial injury, and he gritted his teeth and kept running.

Another bolt landed beside Li Tong, blasting a crater in the ground.

"That's a king among beasts, a Saber-toothed Thunder Tiger!" Li Tong shouted. "Run!"

Zhou Yan frantically scrolled through his phone as he ran.

At last, he found Lin Jin's number and pressed the call button with a trembling hand.

"Little Lin! Help!!!"

There was a second of silence on the other end.

"Location."

"Azure Glow Mountain! We're on Azure Glow Mountain! There's a huge tiger! A-rank!"

The call ended.

Zhou Yan stuffed his phone back into his pocket and kept sprinting.

Azure Glow Mountain? A huge A-rank tiger?

Don't tell me...

Lin Jin closed his eyes and sensed the Flying Thunder God Mark he had left on Zhou Yan. The next second, he vanished.

Behind them, the Saber-toothed Thunder Tiger followed at a leisurely pace, occasionally spitting out a bolt of lightning that landed precisely beside them, scaring them out of their wits.

"Why isn't he just killing us?" Liu Yang shouted as he ran.

"I don't know! He has no killing intent. Maybe he wants to drive us away and make us suffer a little in the process!" Chen Feng roared. "Don't stop! Run down the mountain!"

The five sprinted desperately.

The Saber-toothed Thunder Tiger chased behind them, having the time of his life.

Just as they were about to reach the foot of the mountain, a figure suddenly appeared out of thin air between them and the Saber-toothed Thunder Tiger.

Lin Jin.

Seeing that familiar figure, Zhou Yan nearly burst into tears.

"Little Lin!!!"

Lin Jin didn't turn around. He simply watched the Saber-toothed Thunder Tiger in silence.

The moment the Saber-toothed Thunder Tiger saw Lin Jin, he skidded to a halt, his fur shuddering.

I'm done for.

I took it too far.

He meekly lowered his head, walked up to Lin Jin, and rubbed his head against his arm.

"Master."

Zhou Yan: "???"

Master?!

Chen Feng, Liu Yang, Li Tong, and Sun Hao all froze.

The A-rank Demonic Beast that had chased them all over the mountain was now lying before Lin Jin like an obedient big cat, his head lowered and his tail giving a fawning wag.

Lin Jin looked at the Saber-toothed Thunder Tiger and said flatly, "They're my friends."

The Saber-toothed Thunder Tiger gave him an aggrieved look. "Master, I only wanted to play with them. I didn't mean to actually hurt them."

Play?

Zhou Yan's face darkened as he remembered the arcs of lightning that had grazed past him.

You call that playing?

Lin Jin said nothing more and waved a hand. "Go back and stay there. I'll summon you if I need anything."

The Saber-toothed Thunder Tiger nodded and stood up, giving Zhou Yan another look as though trying to remember his scent.

Then he turned and vanished into the depths of the forest in a few bounds.

The mountain forest fell quiet.

The five stood there, staring at Lin Jin, dumbfounded.

Only after a long while did Zhou Yan find his voice.

"Little Lin... was that... your pet?"

Lin Jin thought for a moment. "My Summoning Beast."

"Summoning Beast?" Chen Feng repeated under his breath. They had never heard the term before.

Lin Jin didn't explain. He simply glanced at them.

"What are you doing on Azure Glow Mountain?"

Chen Feng came to his senses and hurriedly said, "The bureau sent us to investigate abnormal energy fluctuations. They were... they were coming from that tiger."

Lin Jin nodded.

"He's called the Saber-toothed Thunder Tiger. He's my Summoning Beast, and he won't hurt anyone. When you go back to report, just say the abnormal energy has been dealt with. There's no need to investigate further."

Chen Feng paused, then nodded. "Understood."

Zhou Yan sidled up, his eyes shining. "Little Lin, that big tiger really is yours? He's so cool! How did you tame him? Can you teach me?"

Lin Jin glanced at him. "I can't. You're too weak."

Zhou Yan: "..."

Li Tong snickered beside them.

Lin Jin looked at the sky. It had already grown dark.

"It's over. Go back." He paused and looked at Zhou Yan. "If you suck, train harder!"

"I'm leaving."

Kamui!

Then his body began to twist, as though an invisible force were drawing him into an unseen vortex. A few seconds later, he vanished completely.

The five watched with wide eyes.

"Wh-what ability was that?" Liu Yang stammered.

Chen Feng drew a deep breath and shook his head.

"I don't know. But I do know one thing."

"What?"

"This Mr. Lin is far more mysterious than we imagined."

Zhou Yan scratched his head, then suddenly grinned.

"Who cares? He's my brother, anyway."

On their way down the mountain, Liu Yang suddenly asked, "Zhou Yan, since you and Lin Jin are brothers, just how strong is he?"

Zhou Yan thought for a moment, then answered in an imitation of their captain's tone, "I don't know either. But I do know one thing."

"What?"

"Every time he makes a move, he's stronger than the last time." He paused. "Every time, he changes my understanding of him."

Everyone fell silent.

Yes.

Was someone like that really within their ability to comprehend?

The night deepened, and the five figures disappeared at the foot of Azure Glow Mountain.

Three days later, on the night of the full moon.

Jiangcheng was shrouded in an eerie silence.

Sitting cross-legged in his rented room, Lin Jin suddenly opened his eyes.

Just now, through the Mind's Eye of the Kagura, he had sensed an unsettling presence permeating the sky over all of Jiangcheng.

It was the chilling energy unique to weird entities, but more than ten times stronger than usual.

He stood and walked to the window.

A bright moon hung high in the night sky, but its light was an eerie dark red.

"The night of the full moon..." Lin Jin murmured.

Just then, the system notification suddenly sounded.

[Ding! Large-scale weird fluctuations detected!]

[The Dark Moon Organization has begun a sacrificial ritual in Jiangcheng. Fluctuations indicating the descent of weird entities have appeared at twelve locations simultaneously!]

[Mission issued: Stop Dark Moon's sacrificial ritual and protect Jiangcheng.]

[Mission reward: 500 base World Power points, with additional corresponding points awarded for each weird entity killed.]

[Note: Once the ritual is complete, Jiangcheng will become an S-Rank Weird Domain. If left unchecked, Jiangcheng's one million residents will become sacrifices!]

A cold glint flashed in Lin Jin's eyes.

The Dark Moon Organization really was courting death.

He closed his eyes and fully activated the Mind's Eye of the Kagura. His perception spread like invisible ripples, instantly covering all of Jiangcheng.

One, two, three...

Twelve locations, scattered throughout Jiangcheng.

Abandoned factories, unfinished buildings, schools, hospitals, residential neighborhoods... every location seethed with the presence of weird entities.

Of these, eight had B-rank weird entity strength, and four had A-rank strength.

More terrifying still, the presences of these weird entities were resonating with one another, as though constructing some enormous formation.

Once the formation was complete, all of Jiangcheng would be dragged into a Weird Domain.