After twenty years of cultivation, he had merely managed to raise the Tiger Roar Golden Bell Shield to Minor Achievement.
If calculated from the initial Golden Bell Shield, he had already devoted forty years of effort to this martial art.
Suddenly, Wei Fan felt the carriage come to a halt.
"Master Hu, I've brought the Wei Fan who dared to kill Master Hu Jiu..."
Wang Meng's flattering voice sounded, a far cry from his assertive tone at the government office.
"Wei Fan, hurry up and get out. Your end has come."
As Wang Meng spoke again, the sound of a tiger's roar began to echo in Wei Fan's ears.
Those Tiger Demons have arrived!
Wei Fan jumped down from the carriage with his sword and saw a group of large tigers standing on the open ground in front of Five Miles Village.
The village in the distance had already turned into ruins, with not a single complete house standing.
"These beasts!"
Wei Fan's face was icy. Five Miles Village had obviously fallen victim to revenge, and he didn't know if the people there had listened to him and left yesterday.
Wei Fan carefully counted, and there were a total of six Tiger Demons, each one larger than yesterday's Master Hu Jiu.
The largest one stood over two meters tall, making yesterday's Master Hu Jiu look like a cub in comparison.
A mix of demonic qi and stench assaulted his senses all at once.
The largest Tiger Demon's gaze fell on Wei Fan: "So he's the Wei Fan who dared to kill Xiaojiao?"
Wang Meng hurriedly nodded: "It's him. I personally escorted him from the city to here."
The largest Tiger Demon slightly wrinkled its nose and nodded: "He carries Xiaojiao's scent; it is indeed him. Wang Meng, you did well. Later, I will reward you with a Human Pill!"
It nodded in satisfaction, as they didn't really want to invade Yun City. Making small moves outside the city and secretly consuming humans was tolerable because they had an understanding with the government office.
If they were to charge into the city in broad daylight, even if the Cloud City Lord feared the demons, he would have to handle the situation.
Also, doing such a thing might attract the Demon Suppression Bureau.
The Bureau was a sword hanging over all demons within Great Chu's domain, and demons generally considered the consequences of drawing its attention before acting.
Wang Meng's face lit up: "Thank you, Master Hu!"
"Human Pill? So that's why you colluded with the Tiger Demons with Li Shen?"
Wei Fan spoke up.
He had heard of such an evil item, made from live humans and some herbs into a pill. A martial artist consuming it could increase blood qi and enhance True Qi.
Eating such a thing was no different from demons eating humans.
He had always thought that even though Li Shen and Wang Meng as officers feared the Tiger Demons behind the Fierce Tiger Gang, it was unnecessary to act despicably and help those Tiger Demons find people to eat. Turns out it was for the Human Pill.
"If not for oneself, heaven and earth will punish. You better surrender now, maybe then you'll suffer less."
At this point, Wang Meng found no need to hide his collusion with the Tiger Demons, as to him, Wei Fan was as good as dead.
Wei Fan softly replied, "Surrender? Do you really think I came here to surrender? You know 'if not for oneself, heaven and earth will punish,' yet believe there's someone so selfless they'll give up their life for others?"
Wang Meng shook his head: "Naturally, there are no such people. You must be relying on some powerful figure backing you, but Master Hu isn't someone like Li Shen Jiangchuan..."
Before he finished, Wang Meng's pupils contracted violently, watching in shock as a glint of a blade sliced across his neck.
At that moment, he realized Wei Fan had no powerful figure behind him; the formidable one was Wei Fan himself.
Unfortunately, realizing it was too late. Had he understood sooner, he would have distanced himself from Wei Fan at the first opportunity.
[Slain Wang Meng, gained twelve years of cultivation]
"You have some wits, but not much. Your mission is over, now become cultivation strength."
Wei Fan flicked the blood off the blade and looked at the few Tiger Demons in the distance. His action of killing Wang Meng didn't cause much reaction among them.
To them, Wang Meng's death meant saving a Human Pill.
"You have some skills. No wonder you had the nerve to kill that waste, Lao Jiu. I came to avenge Xiaojiao's wasteful death, not expecting to meet a martial genius like you. What a pleasant surprise.
I've never eaten a human prodigy like you before?"
The largest Tiger Demon licked its lips with a long tongue, looking at Wei Fan with great interest.
To kill Wang Meng, a True Qi Fifth Layer, in an instant, Wei Fan's cultivation must be above the True Qi Seventh Layer. Such a young human expert was a first for it.
"I've never killed a demon as powerful as you before. Yesterday's was too weak, killed in one stroke, far from satisfying. I hope you can endure a few more strikes."
Meanwhile, the information about the Tiger Demon began to appear on the interface.
[Tiger Demon: Ninth Grade of the Initial Realm, devoured human souls, transformed into human form]
[Slaying it rewards thirty years of cultivation]
The Ninth Grade of the Initial Realm is equivalent to the Ninth Layer of True Qi in humans, but due to the demon's massive size, generally a True Qi Ninth Layer martial artist would be outmatched by a Ninth Grade Initial Realm Demon.
"Thirty years is a bit less, but it's not bad."
Wei Fan lifted his sword and began to approach the Tiger Demon: "Where's that old bastard Tiger King? I killed his son and he won't show? Beasts are truly beastly, lacking kinship."
"Roar!"
The Tiger Demons all roared in unison. Since gaining intelligence, they despised being called beasts.
"I'll consume you and then draw your soul into an oil lamp, so you'll burn each day in agony!"
The giant Tiger Demon stomped hard on the ground, causing it to collapse, then leaped up, pouncing on Wei Fan like a small mountain.
Wei Fan's vision went dark; all he could see was the enormous body of the Tiger Demon.
"Taking the initiative, it seems you wish to return my cultivation quickly."
"Tiger Roar Golden Bell Shield!"
Wei Fan softly commanded, and a giant golden bell began to rise around him, quickly expanding to almost match the Tiger Demon's massive form.
The bell appeared solid, inverting over Wei Fan's head and spinning wildly.
Instantly, a terrifying gust arose, sand and stones flying everywhere.
"This is the Golden Bell Shield? How can it be so enormous!"
In midair, the pouncing Tiger Demon's voice changed, tinged with horror.
It had seen Ninth Layer Golden Bell Shields, but even their Ninth Layer versions only covered part of the body, clearly constructs of True Qi.
The bell around Wei Fan, however, seemed as if it were truly cast from gold. Were it not for the bell oscillating between virtual and real, the demon would've thought it wasn't a martial technique at all.
"Ignorant!"
With that, Wei Fan, bearing the golden bell atop his head, charged directly at the pouncing Tiger Demon.
A resounding crash echoed, akin to the collision of two small mountains.
The Tiger Demon felt pain all over, its massive body being repelled, with broken fangs scattered who knows how many.
The front two legs used for pouncing were shattered into pieces by the retaliatory force, gruesomely mangled.
In that moment, it felt as if it had collided with a terrifyingly vibrating object, its entire demonic power dissipated in an instant.
Was this truly the Golden Bell Shield?
Can the Golden Bell Shield withstand impacts of thirty thousand pounds?
Could it be I'm the ignorant one, or is it you?
"Roar..."
Demonic power surged, suppressing its injuries, the massive Tiger Demon stood up, demonic qi surging all over, and let out a roar at Wei Fan.
Bang, bang, bang...
Amidst the terrifying roar, the Tiger Demon seemed to shoot a beam of light from its mouth, charging at the Golden Bell.
Instantly, the air rippled, stones shattered on the ground, and within a radius of ten meters suffered a terrifying onslaught, even the other Tiger Demons grimaced in pain.
Under the Golden Bell, Wei Fan's demeanor remained unchanged, the Tiger Demon's roar failed to penetrate the bell's protection and reach him.
"Tiger Roar Sonic Attack? I have one as well, care to try it..."