The thousands of disciples who entered the Heavenly Dragon Sect were peerless prodigies, and among them, some certainly mastered the art of beast taming.
That was why the first thing Liu Wuxie did upon stepping into the mountain range was cultivate the Beast-Taming Art, a technique with a lineage tracing back to the Celestial Realm.
He never gambled with his life—every move he made carried careful planning, leaving no room for his enemies to exploit.
"So, they're finally coming..."?" Liu Wuxie licked his lips, a mad smile curling across his face.
He Yingwu shared his anticipation. After days of witnessing the impossible, he grew numb to shock. Every astral beast they encountered bowed to Liu Wuxie, submitting without putting up any resistance at all. No matter how many appeared, they posed no threat.
The Heavenly Dragon Sect's elders, however, were restless. They saw Liu Wuxie's methods, and they knew that if battle erupted, the War Dragon Institute and the Dharma Institute would suffer tremendous losses.
However, things had already reached this point, and they could only watch, hoping Liu Wuxie could at most control one or two beasts. Against hundreds, ordinary people would surely flee in terror at the mere sight of them.
"Liu Wuxie is up ahead!" someone shouted. They finally spotted Liu Wuxie and He Yingwu beyond a mountain ridge. Read full story at novelFirｅ.net
To their surprise, the two didn't run. They stood waiting.
At the front of the horde, Mu Heng rode atop a giant astral beast, exuding dominance. Zhao Zhen and Zhao Hai flanked him like commanders, and the sight was terrifying.
Anyone witnessing the mass of beasts charging forward would feel their knees buckle beneath them.
When Mu Heng's gaze locked onto Liu Wuxie, a sinister smirk crept onto his lips. This time, he was determined to see Liu Wuxie die.
Another fifty or sixty disciples mingled among the astral beasts, while further back, over a thousand had gathered to watch. They dared not get too close, fearing the chaos would catch them.
Under the brothers' command, hundreds of astral beasts surged into position, encircling Liu Wuxie and He Yingwu so tightly that even wings could not grant them escape.
The horde crushed countless trees, flattening the forest to bare earth. Only a few remained standing around Liu Wuxie, as if the horde had deliberately spared them.
"Liu Wuxie, you're going to die today!" Zhao Hai bellowed, raising his whistle before blowing a piercing note.
The beasts stepped forward in unison, their demonic aura crashing outward like a tidal wave, an oppressive force that even cultivators at the high levels of the Origin Conversion Realm would struggle to endure.
However, He Yingwu remained calm behind Liu Wuxie. He had seen enough of the Beast-Taming Art these past few days to understand what was going to happen.
"Mu Heng, do you think you can kill me with their help?" Liu Wuxie asked coldly, ignoring Zhao Zhen and Zhao Hai. If he wished, he could swat them dead with a single palm.
The fifty-odd cultivators behind Mu Heng rushed forward, taking their places at his side. The rest of the spectators stayed over a hundred meters away, perched on high ground to watch safely.
"Liu Wuxie, you are strong," Mu Heng admitted, taking a deep breath, "but today you will not escape death."
They commanded more than a hundred astral beasts, twenty of them at the Origin Conversion Realm. Each was a powerhouse in its own right. Mu Heng paid dearly for this army, his figure riddled with wounds from days of bloody battles against the beasts.
His voice thundered with force, and his aura was fiercer than before. After endless combat, his strength had grown by leaps and bounds.
"Liu Wuxie won't survive this," whispered several spectators. "The horde will crush even him. Not even someone at the high levels of the Origin Conversion Realm can withstand this horde."
Only cultivators at the Primal Origin Realm could fly, while Liu Wuxie remained at the Transcendent Realm. Even gliding in the air had a time limit for him.
"Something feels wrong," a more cautious disciple observed. "He's far too calm."
"He's bluffing," sneered a War Dragon disciple. "Unless he can control the beasts himself, he's already dead."
"The brothers are impressive," marveled a Dharma Institute disciple. "No wonder Mu Heng allied with them. To place so many beasts under control—their Beast-Taming Art truly is terrifying."
Everyone whispered their judgements into the air, but few believed Liu Wuxie could escape. No one could master the Beast-Taming Art in mere days. Even if he tried to escape, it was already too late at this point.
Outside the mountain range, the twelve elders revealed grim, tense, or furious expressions.
Shen Yue, regaining consciousness, forced her fear into calm, though the black mark in her primordial spirit still threatened relapse. Through the Memory Stone, she saw the battlefield, and a vicious smile twisted her lips.
"Big Brother Mu Heng, kill him! Avenge me!" she spat through clenched teeth.
Her venomous words only deepened the frowns of the Heavenly Martial Institute elders. They were disappointed in the narrow character of a planet lord's daughter.
"Liu Wuxie, you killed my third brother!" Zhao Zhen roared, murderous intent surging from his eyes. "Today, I'll grind your bones to dust!"
Zhao Hai raised his whistle again and blew a strange, haunting series of notes.
The horde of beasts responded instantly. Each creature weighed thousands of kilograms; the largest towered over ninety meters, like a mountain. Even the smallest loomed several meters tall as they charged forward.
The ground trembled like an earthquake, cracks splitting open beneath their thunderous steps.
Spectators held their breath, unwilling to blink, waiting to see the horde trample Liu Wuxie into dust.
Within ten meters, the beasts thundered closer. Dust spiraled upward in a choking cloud. But instead of fear, a faint smile spread across Liu Wuxie's lips. He neither drew his blade nor called upon the Nine Heavenly Dragon Forms.
Mu Heng frowned, unease prickling at his instincts. He leapt from his beast and landed atop a tree, ready to advance or retreat as needed. Zhao Zhen and Zhao Hai, however, remained proudly astride their towering mounts.
"Kill him!" Zhao Zhen roared.
The horde bellowed as one, charging forward. The earth quaked violently, a deafening rumble shaking the heavens.
Many female disciples turned away, covering their eyes, unable to bear the sight.
Sighs rose from the crowd. They mourned the death of a prodigy.
Just three meters away from Liu Wuxie, the beasts suddenly came to a halt.
Dust whirled into the air, spinning into a whirlwind above Liu Wuxie and the horde. Time itself seemed to freeze. The sudden cease-fire left everyone baffled, unable to grasp what had just happened.
"Why did you stop them?!" Zhao Zhen shouted, glaring at Zhao Hai. He thought his brother had held the beasts back to scare Liu Wuxie.
However, Zhao Hai shook his head, panic rising. He blew again, harder, sharper, more urgent. The beasts only grew restless.
"Retreat!" The disciples in the distance shouted as they turned to flee.
And then, the impossible happened.
Hundreds of astral beasts turned at once—not toward Liu Wuxie, but toward the fifty disciples who had come to kill him. They surrounded them like predators encircling prey.
The disciples' faces went pale. Despair twisted their expressions. The onlookers rejoiced silently, thankful they had kept their distance.
Mu Heng's eyelids twitched. In a flash, he retreated a hundred meters, his strength at the third-level Origin Conversion Realm allowing him to escape instantly. He had grown too wary to clash head-on and wasted no time withdrawing once the plan failed.
However, Zhao Zhen and Zhao Hai were not so lucky. Their mounts flung them to the ground as the horde's eyes blazed with murderous clarity.
"Big Brother, why aren't they listening?!" Zhao Hai cried, panic twisting his features. Their whistle had failed, for these astral beasts had regained their clarity, judging from their eyes.
"It's Liu Wuxie! It has to be him!" Zhao Zhen growled, biting his lip until blood ran. He hadn't imagined their combined efforts would collapse so completely.
Outside the mountain range, the twelve elders fell into silence. They already knew the outcome.
Shen Yue sensed it, too. Her hands clutched her head as she shrieked, "That's impossible! Why aren't the beasts killing him?!"
Her madness returned with greater force. Terror consumed her, and she lost control of her bowels. A rancid stench spread through the air as a War Dragon elder restrained her forcefully.