An Actor's Self-Cultivation!

"What are you standing there in a daze for?!"

"Get behind me, now!"

At that perilous moment, a black shadow shot into the sky!

Shi Jian's body swelled to ten feet tall, muscles knotting all over him and Yao Qi surging to the heavens. Facing the ball of wind, he swiped at it with a claw.

Bang!

The ball of wind burst apart, and a violent gale swept through the area.

Shi Jian landed steadily, blocking the space directly in front of the Sun Clan's position. He stared at the giant wolf Demon Beast opposite him and swiftly weighed things up.

This wolf Demon Beast is too weak.

Although they were both level 3 Demon Beasts, its soul wasn't as strong as his, its body was far inferior, and its realm was rather unstable.

If I really went all out, I could probably knock its brains out in a few slaps!

But if I put on too fierce a showing, it would seem a little out of place...

I have to act!

Without a word, Shi Jian let out an earth-shaking roar. His eyes reddened, and, putting on the appearance of one fighting for his life, he hurled himself at the giant wolf Demon Beast.

Bear and wolf were tearing at each other in an instant.

Shi Jian deliberately held back half his strength, using only the other half to fight the giant wolf.

Roaring all the while, he raked his claws across the giant wolf Demon Beast, leaving bloody gashes that were neither too deep nor too shallow. They looked terrifying, but hadn't actually hurt it at its core.

Stung by the pain, the giant wolf flew into a ferocious rage.

Its sharp claws and fangs kept striking sparks from Shi Jian's hide.

Fortunately, Shi Jian's hide was thick and tough. Those attacks weren't even enough to tickle him, but he played along, letting out a few "howls" of extreme pain.

Like something out of an alphabet game, his cries sounded utterly heartbroken!

Thoroughly satisfying!

"Watch out, Ancestor!"

Watching from behind, Sun Bo'an was on tenterhooks. The sight of Shi Jian coming to the rescue just now had truly moved him.

For the first time, he acknowledged this Bear Ancestor from the bottom of his heart...

At least Shi Jian was a bear who treated people fairly, unlike that old thing Sun Hangchun, whose favoritism had gone straight into a dog's belly!

As Shi Jian "struggled" against the giant wolf, he shifted his feet without drawing notice.

Whenever another Demon Beast tried to approach the Sun Clan's defensive line, he would "inadvertently" stomp on it or use his massive body to block its line of attack.

For a full hour.

The other Lineages on the left flank had lost more than half their people, dead or wounded, and their positions were on the verge of collapse.

Only on the Sun Clan's side, under the protection of the "hard-fighting" Foundation Establishment Demon Beast Shi Jian, had they lost scarcely a hair on the heads of Sun Bo'an and the other two core clan members. Aside from that, only a few immortal slaves had suffered minor injuries.

The longer the giant wolf fought, the more alarmed it became.

The black bear before it looked clumsy, and none of his attacks were lethal, yet he couldn't be killed or worn down. It was downright uncanny!

It had a trace of a special bloodline, at least, yet it couldn't defeat this stupid wild bear.

It was truly unbelievable.

Just then, a stern shout rang out from the White Cloud Temple's defensive line:

"Beast, enough of your insolence!"

Three dazzling beams of sword light coalesced in the distance. The White Cloud Temple's three late-stage Foundation Establishment elders had finally freed themselves to set up a great formation.

Each of the three took a corner and cast out a massive formation diagram.

"Heavenly Gang Demon-Slaying Formation, rise!"

Tens of thousands of razor-sharp Sword Qi strands formed in midair and poured down like a torrential rain. Wherever the Sword Qi passed...

Level 1 Demon Beasts were shredded into mincemeat, while even level 2 Demon Beasts were gravely wounded and sent fleeing.

The situation on the battlefield reversed in an instant.

From the darkness in the distance came a sudden, muffled beastly roar. It wasn't loud, yet it carried across the entire battlefield, bearing an irresistible pressure.

Hearing the roar, the horde of Demon Beasts that had been attacking so frenziedly abruptly stopped in its tracks.

"You're one of our own kind, yet you're willing to be a dog for the Human Race, you traitor!"

The giant wolf Demon Beast glared fiercely at Shi Jian, then used the force of his incoming paw strike to leap backward. It turned and fled.

The other Demon Beasts also retreated swiftly like a receding tide, showing no desire to keep fighting.

In the short span of half an incense stick, the Demon Beasts outside the valley entrance had retreated completely, leaving only corpses scattered across the ground and a devastated camp.

Shi Jian stood where he was, panting heavily, looking as though he'd exhausted himself.

But his slit pupils remained fixed on the direction in which the Demon Beasts had retreated...

Too orderly.

This isn't a rout. It's an organized withdrawal.

The Demon Beasts of the Great Maple Mountain Range had always fought on their own, yet so many Demon Beasts of different races had been made to act in unison, obeying every order.

Deep in the Great Maple Mountain Range, an extraordinary Demon Beast had definitely appeared.

At the very least, it was a Demon General capable of commanding ten thousand beasts!

Demon Generals were level 5 to 7 Demon Beasts, equivalent to Golden Core True Persons of the Human Race. Above them were level 8 to 10 Shapeshifting Demon Kings, equivalent to Nascent Soul True Lords of the Human Race.

Shi Jian licked the wolf's blood from his claws and sneered inwardly.

Those bull-nosed Daoists of the White Cloud Temple are in deep trouble. This beast tide has probably only just begun. If a powerful Demon General really has appeared...

This isn't something a mere White Cloud Commandery can resolve.

When the time comes...

It's possible that several surrounding commanderies, or even the great Nascent Soul sect above them, will have to be alerted. And with the White Cloud Temple Master suspected of having been injured and losing some of his lifespan...

This commandery really might change hands because of it!

Such is the inevitable course of events.