The forest had never felt so tense.
Their march back to Bai Village was hurried, cold breath misting in the winter air as boots crunched through packed snow. No one spoke. Even Zhao had gone quiet. The instructors—usually calm and steady—now bore grim expressions.
Lin Kuan walked ahead, face carved from stone, flanked closely by Instructor Lin and two others Adam hadn't seen much before. But from the way they moved, sharp and balanced, Adam could tell they were more than they seemed. Their quiet presence spoke of long experience and hidden strength.
Adam couldn't shake the feeling in his gut. The stillness wasn't natural. It wasn't fear of the forest. It was fear of what lay ahead.
Then it happened.
A sound like the sky splitting open. A deep explosion echoed across the mountains, rolling over the trees with a thunderous boom. The ground trembled beneath their feet. Birds burst from the canopy in a panicked flurry. Even the snow shook loose from the pines and fell in sheets around them.
Everyone stopped.
Adam turned his head sharply toward the direction of the village, eyes wide.
Another explosion followed. Then another.
This wasn't thunder. This was battle.
But Lin Kuan wasn't looking toward Bai Village.
He turned his gaze behind them—back the way they came. The others followed, confused, but the tension in Lin Kuan's stance left no room for questions. He raised one hand.
"Formation!"
His voice cracked through the cold like a blade.
The instructors snapped to position immediately. Instructor Lin moved behind him, along with the two unfamiliar veterans. They took the forward line. Behind them came the Tier One trainees and their instructors, then the Tier Twos. Adam and the other Tier Three martial artists were pushed to the back.
"Stay together," Lin Kuan ordered. "Do not break formation. From this moment forward, fight as if your lives depend on it."
Adam's breath caught. This wasn't a drill. It wasn't a hunt.
Zhao leaned close, voice low. "Why are we in the back? Shouldn't we be closer to the front?"
Adam shook his head slowly. "No. We're the least experienced. They're protecting us."
Moments passed. The silence deepened.
Then came the sound.
Not one voice. Not two. But hundreds.
The thundering of paws. Snarls. Screeches. Trees cracking.
The ground began to tremble again, but not from explosions. This was different. Heavier. Rhythmic.
Adam's eyes widened as he saw it.
Through the trees, a tide of bodies broke into view. Beasts of all kinds—clawed, fanged, furred, scaled—rushed forward in a wave of chaos. Dozens. Hundreds. Maybe thousands. It was a beast tide!
At the front, leading the mass, were elite monsters. Adam could make out at least a dozen Tier One beasts, their auras pulsing like waves of heat. Behind them were dozens more Tier Two monsters, and further still, even more Tier Threes.
But worst of all were the ones leading the charge.
Four massive shapes at the front. Their presence alone made the air feel heavier. These were no ordinary beasts.
"Beast Generals," Instructor Lin muttered. "Equivalent to master martial artists."
And then Adam saw them.
Two larger figures, even more terrifying.
A massive gray wolf with six eyes and obsidian fur that shimmered like oil, and beside it, a boar the size of a house, covered in metal-like hide, its tusks crackling with raw dark matter.
"Beast Kings," Lin whispered. "Two of them."
Adam felt his mouth go dry.
"That's not possible," Instructor Lin said. "There should only ever be one. Beast kings are very territoria, they fight as soon as they see each other let alone take charge of a beast tide together. Thos is unnatural... someone is behind this."
Another explosion echoed in the distance—closer to the village now.
Lin Kuan didn't waver. His voice was low, but calm. "It doesn't matter. We fight and try to end the fight as soon as possible. We must return to the village to provide aid and uncover the truth."
Then, as the tide surged forward, one of the Beast Kings let out a terrible, thundering roar. The very sound of it crushed into the hearts of those in the formation. Adam felt his knees weaken. Tier Three trainees around him staggered or fell to the ground, clutching their heads. Some screamed. Even the Tier Twos faltered, breath catching in their throats.
But Lin Kuan moved was unfazed, his gace locking on the two beast king as he started moving.
He took a single step forward, then another—and in a blur of motion, vanished.
When he reappeared, he was already in the air, sailing toward the wolf Beast King with his weapon drawn.
A steel guandao, long and broad, carved through the air with a piercing whistle. Lin Kuan's body glowed faintly, not with light, but with something heavier—a dense pressure that felt like it bent the space around him.
The wolf lunged to meet him.
Adam braced for impact.
But Lin Kuan with a roar struck first.
His foot collided with the side of the Beast King's head with a crack like a thunderclap, sending the massive wolf flying ten meters into the trees. Before it could hit the ground, Lin Kuan twisted mid-air and turned to face the charging boar. Its tusks were raised, dark energy humming along the bone.
The two clashed.
Steel met bone. The guandao sparked as it struck the beast's tusk, redirecting the charge just enough to send the boar crashing sideways. Snow exploded around them.
The wolf was already back, leaping from behind, its jaws wide.
But Lin Kuan turned smoothly, catching the attack with the flat of his blade and spinning with it, redirecting the wolf's weight and slamming it into the ground.
He landed lightly between them.
Two Beast Kings. Alone.
And he was holding them both at bay.
Adam's heart thundered in his chest.
"He... he's a Grandmaster!" Zhao whispered in shock. "A real one."
But not just any Grandmaster.
Lin Kuan's movements were too efficient, too devastating. His every strike carried the weight of his cultivation. As a Grandmaster, his dark matter had long since saturated his body. But more than that, he had begun to master his internal flows—He has already reached the peak of the grandmaster stage, a top existence in this whole world.
When he moved, the world seemed to bend.
Adam felt it clearly now. The stillness he once feared, the pressure that crushed, the force that defied reason—it was all in Lin Kuan. He was the storm.
The beast tide swerved.
None of the monsters wanted to get close to Lin Kuan now. The two Beast Kings continued their assault, roaring and attacking in tandem. But the rest of the tide bent around the clash and surged toward the formation.
The battle had begun.
Instructor Lin raised his sword. "Hold your ground! Don't break formation! Let them come to us!"
The Tier Ones formed ranks, blades trembling in their hands. Behind them, the Tier Twos gritted their teeth, eyes burning. Adam stood with the other Tier Threes at the rear, heart pounding, sword drawn.
The roar of beasts closed in.
And then, the wave struck.