With the resonance of his inner breath, Shi Jingtian’s voice spread far and wide. On the city wall, a great many Martial Artists heard that their side actually had a Martial King present, and their fear of Cerberus vanished without a trace!
Delight flashed across Lin Yin’s face; even she was unaware that Shi Jingtian had already broken through to Martial King. However, as she looked towards Taiyuan and Lu Feng, seeing not a hint of surprise on their faces, she instantly understood that these two Grandmasters must have known.
"Grandmasters, you both hid this news quite well," Lin Yin said with a wry smile.
"It can’t be helped; some things can’t be known to everyone," Taiyuan said, waving his hand dismissively.
Lu Feng spoke with a serious demeanor, "Having dealt with beasts for so many years, if we humans didn’t hold some trump cards, we couldn’t even defend the Base Cities we have now! Lin Yin, humanity is not a monolith. If all our information was made public, that’s when real chaos would ensue."
Lin Yin paused slightly. "Are you saying... there might be a mole relaying information to the beasts?"
"Not might, but certainly!" Lu Feng nodded. "Your experience is still too limited. After a few more years on actual battlefields, you will understand many things."
Although Lin Yin was a general of the Chang’an City Defense Army, in the presence of a Grandmaster, she was merely a junior, like a child. After all, she was still too young. As merely a level 6 Martial Master, not even a Martial General, she was far from being a true powerhouse.
Upon hearing Lu Feng’s words, Lin Yin said no more, instead turning her gaze to the battlefield below.
Since all the Human Martial Artists had retreated into the city, the beasts, after a few charges, regained their discipline and began preparing for another assault on the city wall. Although everyone knew that the final outcome of this Beast Tide would still depend on the battle in the sky, the beasts’ attack on the city could not be ignored.
"The Martial Artists can take action again. Grandmaster Lu Feng and I will also join the fray," Taiyuan said. "For a Beast Tide to have one leader-level and one King-level beast is already the limit."
Because Taiyuan was a high-ranking figure in the military, only he could say such things to Lin Yin.
Lin Yin nodded firmly and quickly issued the order to sally out and engage the enemy.
The Martial Artists’ blood was already boiling. Upon receiving the command, they surged out of the city once more, standing at the very forefront of the Beast Tide’s assault. The two Grandmasters, Taiyuan and Lu Feng, also took action, beginning to slaughter the General-level beasts with overwhelming power.
Previously, on the battlefield filled with soldier-level and General-level beasts, the human side had been in continuous retreat. However, after the two Grandmasters joined in, almost no beast was their match for a single exchange.
The situation was instantly reversed.
After several hours of hard fighting, with the death of the leader-level three-headed dog and Shi Jingtian’s intervention, the tide had finally turned in favor of the human side.
This is the significance of the existence of powerhouses!
In the sky, the battle gradually entered a white-hot state.
Cerberus was a King-level beast, on par with Shi Jingtian, a Martial King. So, after its initial carelessness, it finally stabilized the situation and became locked in a fierce battle with Shi Jingtian.
After another head-on collision, Shi Jingtian remained motionless in mid-air, while Cerberus retreated several dozen meters.
"Leave with the beasts now, and I’ll spare your life!" Shi Jingtian said emotionlessly. Because Cerberus had been seriously injured at the beginning, Shi Jingtian was now confident of victory.
"You despicable cur!"
"I will tear you to shreds!"
The three heads spoke with three voices, all conveying to Shi Jingtian that today’s confrontation would inevitably be a fight to the death.
Shi Jingtian shook his head slightly. Killing a King-level beast wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t impossible either. What concerned him was the true beast powerhouse behind the Three-headed Dog Clan. Just as he had said countless times before, no matter how strong the Three-headed Dog Clan was, they were merely watchdogs for others. If it were any other member of the Three-headed Dog Clan, killing them would be of no concern; in fact, it would be greatly satisfying. But this Cerberus before him made Shi Jingtian somewhat hesitant; after all, one must consider the master before striking the dog. Content originally comes from ⓝovelFire.net
"Cerberus, it’s not that I can’t kill you. This is your last chance. Take the beasts and get lost, and I’ll spare your life!" Shi Jingtian’s tone was filled with undisguised killing intent. "If not, don’t blame me for being ruthless."
A Martial Artist who could reach Shi Jingtian’s level had undoubtedly emerged from a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood! He could be rational and considerate of certain matters, but he could also become recklessly defiant. Cerberus was a thorn in Shi Jingtian’s side. If it remained obstinate, Shi Jingtian would not hesitate to eliminate it permanently.
Anyway, if the sky falls, the tall ones will support it. If they can’t, then everyone perishes together! Which Martial Artist who reached the Martial King Realm didn’t have moments of hot-bloodedness and recklessness?
As Shi Jingtian’s words faded, Cerberus responded with another blast of its breath attack. Its breath attack was still powerful, but far, far weaker than at the start. It was evident that Cerberus was in a very poor state. Yet, it still refused to retreat.
Shi Jingtian casually blocked the breath attack and let out a long sigh.
"So be it. Then leave your life behind."
"Try it, if you think you can!"
"Once I slaughter you, I’ll have no rivals left in Chang’an City!"
"You inferior human race, all of you must die!"
Shi Jingtian didn’t speak; he just silently assumed the opening stance of the Ancient Martial Arts - Eight Extremes Fist.
His aura changed, becoming as tranquil as a still well. "The Eight Extremes Fist," he began, his voice calm, "is merely a Profound-level martial art in the human martial arts repertoire, hardly worth mentioning. But when this ancient boxing art is cultivated to its depths, not even Heavenly-Level Martial Arts can necessarily withstand it!"
"Eight Extremes, Diamond Eight Postures!"
As Shi Jingtian’s calm voice resonated, his body, suspended in mid-air, took a step forward.
Though he clearly stepped on air, an earth-shattering sound inexplicably erupted!
"Descending Dragon, Crouching Tiger!"
Shi Jingtian threw a punch. His speed wasn’t exceptionally fast, but he had already locked onto Cerberus’s position, leaving it no room to dodge. The instant his form shifted and he threw the punch, the faint roars of tigers and chants of dragons seemed to echo through the heavens. Even stranger, phantom images of a dragon and a tiger flickered behind him—indistinct, yet palpably real.
In the blink of an eye, Shi Jingtian was before Cerberus.
"No, impossible!" Cerberus finally regretted its decision. It had thought it could still resist, but it turned out to be mere desperate, futile struggling. Only when it saw the dragon-tiger phantom image behind Shi Jingtian did it realize that this was a phenomenon that only Heavenly-Level Martial Arts, among Human Martial Artists, could manifest.
Heavenly-Level Martial Arts—irresistible! In a battle between opponents of the same level, once a Heavenly-Level Martial Art was unleashed, it almost certainly declared the end of the battle.
"I’ll leave, I’ll leave right now!" Cerberus turned to flee.
But its pleas for mercy were abruptly cut off! The head that was begging had been blown to pieces by a punch!
A shrill, sharp scream pierced the air. Although the middle head had exploded, the two heads on its sides experienced the same excruciating pain and terror.
"It’s too late to beg for mercy now." Shi Jingtian’s face was frosty as he struck again.
"Diamond Eight Postures, Splitting Mountain Palm!"
His fist transformed into a hand-edge, sharper than any true divine weapon. As the hand-edge fell, another of Cerberus’s heads was cleanly severed, tumbling from mid-air to the ground below.
Having lost two heads in quick succession, Cerberus realized its chances of escape were practically nil. It finally faced reality, its one remaining head glared at Shi Jingtian, baring its fangs.
"My Lord will avenge m—"
Before it could finish its words, its voice was cut short.
Shi Jingtian sneered, casually shaking the blood from his hand. "I told you to get lost, but you wouldn’t. I don’t have time for your nonsense."
Watching Cerberus’s body fall from the sky and crash heavily to the ground, Shi Jingtian’s figure visibly shrank at a rapid pace, quickly reverting to the appearance of the withered old man. He hovered in mid-air, quietly observing the battlefield below.
The general situation is decided.
「Meanwhile, at the very moment Cerberus fell.」
In a bizarre space, adorned only by faint starlights amidst absolute darkness, a deep, heavy voice resonated.
As the voice echoed, a tiny red dot suddenly appeared in the darkness. The dot continuously expanded, in the blink of an eye dyeing the entire space blood-red.
Muffled footsteps echoed.
However, after only a few thumps, a streak of light suddenly flashed in the distance—it was sword light! The sword light tore through the darkness, shattered the blood-red space, and came to a halt in the depths of the blackness.
With a crisp sound, sparks scattered.
"Just a stray mutt. So what if it died? You can just find another!" a frivolous voice teased. "That’s the consequence of stirring up trouble."
A moment later, the dark space once again returned to silence, as if nothing had ever happened.
「In the deep of night, Chang’an City was ablaze with lights.」
After Shi Jingtian slew Cerberus, the Beast Tide had effectively drawn to a close. What remained was a one-sided slaughter by the humans. Without their most powerful leader, the beasts reverted to their wild nature. They not only fought humans but also turned on each other, a completely disorganized rabble. For a full three hours, the Human Martial Artists finally slaughtered every last one of the tens of thousands of beasts in the Beast Tide.
「At this moment, within the city.」
Everyone’s face was filled with joyous smiles. The soldiers and the Martial Artists who had come to help fight were carousing with songs and wine. No one would dampen the mood at such a time.
「Over in the dormitory area.」
Wang Zhan and Song Dongming had also set up a small table. They invited Xin Xiaoyan over, arranged a few small dishes and several bottles of beer. Their faces already carried a hint of intoxication.
Just then, an unexpected visitor arrived.
"Do you mind if I join?" Lin Yin asked with a smile.
Before Wang Zhan could recover from his surprise, Lin Yin delivered another piece of news.
"Wang Zhan, tidy yourself up a bit tomorrow morning. Principal Shi wants to see you."