"KILL THIS BEAST TOGETHER!!"
Wang Feng's straight posture radiated unshakable power. His aura surged like a tidal wave, crashing into the hearts of every disciple present. One by one, they froze in place, eyes wide, as they watched Wang Feng launch himself toward the massive Tortoise without hesitation.
The moment felt surreal.
Just minutes ago, they had all felt invincible, confident in the presence of their senior brothers and sisters. Even facing a Tier 5 Monster Beast hadn't seemed so terrifying—until their seniors were chased out by the beast's roar, leaving them exposed.
Only then did they remember what a Tier 5 Monster Beasts represented, why they were feared.
But now…
Now they watched Wang Feng, a fellow Senior, not retreat—but charge.
His fist collided with the Tortoise's towering shell, and with a thunderous boom, the monster was pushed back!
The shock ran deeper than the tremor underfoot.
He—whose cultivation level was clearly lower than the beast's—was holding his ground! No, more than that, he was matching the beast blow for blow!
It lit something within them.
Adrenaline pumped through their veins. Battle intent flared in their chests. They stared at Wang Feng's figure, hammering away at the beast with unrelenting force, and felt the embers of courage ignite.
"Senior Brother Wang is right! We are disciples of the mighty High Heaven Pavilion — we shall not yield!"
No one knew who shouted it. But the moment those words echoed through the cave, something inside the group cracked open.
Like a spark to dry grass, the disciples' bottled-up fear ignited into roaring defiance.
"Yes! Let's kill the beast!"
"How can my High Heaven Pavilion fear a mere Tier 5 monster?! Charge!"
"Together!! Slay the beast!!"
Wang Feng smirked as he looked at the Tortoise after sending it a few meters back with another punch, though he took retreated a few steps himself.
The Beast's eyes were red. It's anger increasing as the voices of killing all these ants sounded in it's mind like a whisper. It's eyes fixed on Wang Feng, who was keeping it from chasing the thief who had stolen it's treasure.
Wang Feng narrowed his eyes, readying his stance again—until a blur of movement passed behind him.
Dozens of disciples had arrived in formation, flashing like streaks of lightning across the battlefield. The foremost among them was a streak of blue, fast and lethal, followed by a wave of others. They fanned out and encircled the beast, unleashing a barrage of attacks from every direction.
The Tortoise staggered. Surprise flashed in its eyes for the first time.
Its fury flared. It slammed its massive feet down, shaking the earth, and tilted its head back to unleash a deafening roar—
But just as the cry reached its throat—
Bang!
Wang Feng's figure blurred. In a blink, he appeared under the beast's lifted head. His body twisted and his fist exploded upwards like a rising dragon.
"—HAAAAAH!"
The punch connected with the beast's throat, sending a violent tremor through its neck. The half-formed roar choked mid-way, collapsing into a guttural groan. The Tortoise jerked, instinctively retracting its head partway into its shell.
Its eyes, now gleaming with hatred, locked onto Wang Feng.
Wang Feng met the Tortoise's bloodthirsty glare with the same cold, unwavering stare.
Wang Feng had previously noticed how the Tortoise's roar had carried a trace of Spiritual Energy— which had effected the state of mind of the desciples.
He couldn't allow that to happen again—not now, not when the disciples' morale was finally burning hot.
But the beast didn't even get the chance to fix its glare on him.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Dozens of strikes rained down from all directions. Sword light slashed at its thick legs. Bursts of elemental force exploded on its shell. Fists, whips, lances—all pounded the Tortoise's body in a rapid rhythm, forcing it to reel and twist under the pressure.
Wang Feng's voice thundered above the chaos, "Yes! That's it! Attack from all sides! Aim for the same spots—again and again! Don't let it rest!!"
The disciples responded instantly, shifting their positioning and doubling down on their efforts.
Then—
A sharp, golden-yellow aura blazed around Wang Feng's body like a phantom flame. It clung to him like a battle-cloak, flickering with each breath he took.
A grin tugged at the corner of his lips.
In the next breath, his figure blurred—
BOOM!
He reappeared in front of the Tortoise, yellow aura flaring, fists ablaze. With a furious roar of his own, he lunged back into the fray, his strikes weaving through the gaps in the beast's defenses, hammering relentlessly.
In the minutes that followed, the Tortoise's terrifying vitality and resilience were put on full display. Despite the flurry of attacks, only disciples above the Qi Transformation Realm could even hope to leave a mark—and even then, they managed little more than shallow scratches. True damage only came from those wielding High Common Grade or above Weapons and possessing strength in the Separation and Reunion Realm or higher, whose strikes occasionally drew blood or chipped at the beast's thick shell.
Yet, their efforts weren't in vain.
Following Wang Feng's precise commands, each group focused relentlessly on a single section of the beast. Every strike landed on the same area again and again—grinding down the Tortoise's defenses by sheer force and persistence. Cracks began to form. The tough hide started to darken with bruises and dents.
At the frontlines, Wang Feng, Su Yan, and — a clearly unwilling — Xie Hong Chen engaged the Tortoise head-on—acting as both shield and spear.
While fighting, Wang Feng only used his Blazing Bull Charge Technique and only occasionally used a moderate Dragon Turning Strike, when the Tortoise was about to roar.
Su Yan, was using her mastery of Ice and her great strength to freeze the Beast's legs and trying to target it's vitals.
Meanwhile, Xie Hong Chen fought with increasing desperation. The Tortoise, clearly fixated on him, pressed forward with relentless fury. Strangely, every time the beast charged at him, neither Wang Feng nor Su Yan stepped in to block or divert the attack. Xie Hong Chen felt the chill of regret tighten in his chest, mixed with growing anger at being abandoned.
But others had begun to notice as well.
The Tortoise's unyielding focus, its bloodshot gaze always drawn toward Xie Hong Chen... it didn't take long before suspicions turned to certainty.
Then, someone shouted, "He has the treasure! He's the one who took it!"
More voices followed.
"Drop it!"
"Give it back to the beast!"
Even Su Yan, her eyes narrowing after a brief exchange of glances with Wang Feng, coldly declared, "Return what you stole, Xie Hong Chen! You'll doom us all!"
This sudden accusation caused Xie Hong Chen to flare up. His face twisted in anger as he lashed out, vehemently denying having taken any treasure. "You're all mad! I have nothing! It could just as easily be Wang Feng—he was the closest to the beast at the time!"
But Wang Feng only sneered, his voice calm yet biting. "If I had such a thing, I wouldn't hide like a coward. When I approached the beast, several disciples were beside me, even Su Yan was watching me the whole time. Do you think I could've picked something up without anyone noticing?"
He then tilted his head toward Xie Hong Chen, his gaze sharp. "But you? You were standing far behind, shielded by your little entourage. Who else had a better opportunity to snatch it?"
The words struck like a hammer. Murmurs broke out among the disciples. One by one, those not loyal to Xie Hong Chen began to look at him with disdain, suspicion, even murderous intent. The atmosphere darkened further.
Even among his own followers, subtle changes appeared—furtive glances, clenched fists, hidden greed flickering in their eyes. The unity around him had cracked.
The tension only escalated as the battlefront, which had slowly drifted away from the Beast's lair due to constant attacks and evasions, now raged nearly a hundred meters from its origin. The commotion had drawn the attention of the disciples from the other two sects, who now stood on higher ground, observing with mixed expressions—some indifferent, some gloating, clearly enjoying the High Heaven Pavilion's internal strife.
Suddenly — just when Wang Feng was about to strike at the Beast again — the beast's eyes turned crimson and it's aura intensified greatly. It tackled the surprised Wang Feng, who was flung more than twenty meters away, crashing into the ground
...before it let out an earth shaking roar.
Roooooooaaaaarrrrrrr
The frequency of the roar was so high that sound waves could be felt phasing through everyone in a 30 meter radius. The impact made nearly everyone under Separation and Reunion to cough out blood while being sent flying.
Even those at and above that level were greatly shaken and coughed out blood, thought they managed to remain in place.
Unfortunately...
They were instantly hit by the Tortoise before they could recover and were sent crashing into the ground like Wang Feng.
At this moment, only Su Yan stood between the beast and the others, blood trickling from the corner of her lips as she calmly wiped it away with the back of her hand. Her icy gaze narrowed sharply, and the next instant, a violent surge of Ice Qi erupted from her slender frame.
A freezing wind burst outward—invading the beast's limbs, shell, and open wounds. In the blink of an eye, layers of translucent frost encased the giant tortoise's legs and face. The beast, stunned by the sudden entrapment, let out a muffled growl—but could no longer move forward.
This wasn't just her usual freezing attack. Su Yan had recently comprehended a new method because of her spar with Wang Feng.
In the past, she would just erupt her Ice Qi to make the opponent slow down and — if the opponent was stronger than her, gradually — freezing them.
Now, she had taken inspiration from Wang Feng's method of utilizing the moisture in the air and one's body, allowing her to control the water in the air to transmit her Ice Qi instantaneously.
It was only during this practice did she stumble upon a fact—
Wang Feng was a monster in Elemental Manipulation!
Ever for her, who had a firm control over her Qi and Ice element could partly freeze the moisture. She was able to complete this method only after she had absorbed the Ice Water Essence in this Inheritance Cave, making her more aware of the Ice and WaterElements.
But to see someone use it with such terrifying ease as Wang Feng did during the spar… was humbling.
Still, her new method worked. The tortoise was locked in place, its eyes burning with killing intent and disdain, but unable to advance. She took a moment to glance around.
Seeing that the beast was frozen, she looked at the desciples, everyone of whom was on the ground. Her brows frowned as she looked back at the beast, who despite being frozen, was looking at her with killing intent and disdain.
'I don't have much time...'
Her gaze snapped to Xie Hong Chen, who had just staggered to his feet. She barked coldly, "You still refuse to admit it? Take out what you stole—now!"
Xie Hong Chen's face twisted with an exaggerated, aggrieved expression. "Sister Su," he called out, voice trembling as though wounded by her accusation, "you think I would lie to you? I swear—I really don't have anything!"
He looked like a man heartbroken—lost and betrayed. But Su Yan's face turned red—not from shame, but from boiling rage.
Just as she was about to unleash her True Qi, a sharp cracking sound echoed in front of her.
Her head jerked toward the source—her eyes widening in alarm. The frost armor around the tortoise was shattering, fractures crawling like spiderwebs across its frozen shell.
She clenched her fists and growled lowly, "You better be telling the truth, Xie Hong Chen... or else—"
She raised her hands and began drawing from her True Qi reserves, when—suddenly—a wave of pure danger crashed down from above, making her instantly rush back.
The frozen Tortoise, even in that frozen state, it's eyes revealed a panicked look as it tried to move — feeling a chilling sensation of danger from above. But no matter how it tried, it couldn't move...