31 Golden Wyvern

At Yun Liao's command, the cultivators readied themselves, just as the Wyvern's Horde rushed out from the cave. That wasn't the only direction they came from, however—all around the group, ferocious beasts rushed closer from the surrounding forest, and in an instant, the cultivators found themselves being attacked from all sides.

Even so, they did not panic, which was rather amusing to Xuan. They remained organized and fought side by side, combining their attacks and covering each other's backs. It was impeccable teamwork for a group of people who'd just recently come together to participate in this event. Xuan found this incredibly impressive, considering any Public Events he attended in his past life were all filled with backstabbing and betrayal.

'Is it because they know backstabbing and betrayal won't get them anywhere in a situation of life and death like this…?' Xuan mused in his head. 'Or is it simply because they know they are under surveillance and the rewards they receive are based on how many kills they get, so everyone's trying their hardest to fight honestly?'

Granted, amongst this group, there were many NPCs who were already long-established friends and comrades in battle, but the collaboration between everyone else was still remarkable nonetheless.

Naturally, Xuan wasn't about to fall behind.

As a player, he also received 10 x the Beast's Order worth of Credits for every kill he made, so of course he wasn't going to sit this one out. Using his Black Mamba and incredibly strong Sword Qi, he sliced through any Beasts that were unlucky enough to come from the direction he was facing.

Here, there was no need to hold back. Everyone was minding their own business amidst the battle, and if anyone spotted Xuan, they would just assume he was hiding his true cultivation. No big deal. If anything, he was doing this on purpose to push forward a certain plan of his, so why bother? With a smile, Xuan summoned his sword, Black Mamba, and charged it up with Qi.

Then, he dove towards the incoming Beasts.

With incredible precision, he cut through the vitals of each animal—just enough to kill, before immediately moving to the next one and repeating the same process. Every step he took, every slash he made, was calculated to the decimal, just like everything else he did. His movements were refined, smooth, and experienced, and from a bystander's perspective, Xuan wasn't fighting—he was dancing.

It didn't matter what Order the Beasts were. It didn't matter whether they were flying or on the ground. It didn't matter if they came at him together. Hell, it didn't even matter if he had no actual sword techniques. Just a blade and his past knowledge was enough.

Xuan sliced apart them all.

<Fourth-Order Beast Slain!>

———

<Fifth-Order Beast Slain!>

———

<Second-Order Beast Slain!>

Anyone who was close to him actually stopped in their tracks to watch his performance, having the luxury to do so since Xuan was taking out all the Beasts coming their way for them. In a dance of blood and steel, he cut through the incoming Horde one by one, a completely nonchalant expression on his face. His Sword Qi, born from Sword Intent, penetrated their thick hides with ease, while Black Mamba's poison finished the job within their vitals.

"Who is this guy…"

"Such powerful Sword Intent… is this guy a secret master in disguise?"

"Shut up, I'm trying to comprehend his sword techniques!"

"That's cool and all, but guys! If we keep just watching, we won't get any rewards!"

"Oh, shi- you're right! Let's go!"

As the enchanted watchers disbanded, Xuan stopped to pick up the Beast Cores of the Beasts he'd slain, then cleansed the blood off his blade using his sleeve before preparing for the next wave.

"HUMAN… YOUR HEAD IS MINE!"

Xuan's ears perked up at the outrageous bellow coming from up ahead, apparently belonging to a foe stronger and more intelligent than most. Upon sighting his target, a large baboon-like mammal with fiery red eyes and spikes on its shoulders, he narrowed his eyes—more specifically, his Divine Asura Eye.

<Name: Primal Ironspike Ape>

<Type: Magic Beast (Seventh-Order)>

Strength: 80,500

Defense: 80,500

Soul Strength: 100

Soul Defense: 100

'Oh…? A Seventh-Order Magic Beast?'

Now this was somewhat troublesome. If a Ninth-Order Magic Beast's power was on par with that of a Saint-stage powerhouse, then a Seventh-Order one was on par with an Origin Transformation realm cultivator. Not an unbeatable opponent for Xuan, but not an easy one either.

"Wait- look at that guy! Isn't a Seventh-Order Magic Beast heading towards him?! His cultivation is so low that I can't even sense an aura coming from him, though! He's dead meat for sure!"

"Yeah, his the strength of his Sword Intent may be impressive, but even if he's hiding his true cultivation…"

"Should we go help?"

"Idiot, focus on what's in front of you! Do you think you have the luxury to be helping other people?!"

"But if we don't, he's going to-"

Suddenly, an enormous crimson hand appeared in the sky and slammed towards the ground, crushing the ape in an instant.

"-die…"

Naturally, this was the work of Xuan's Sky Devil's Palm technique, which was a rare hybrid skill that scaled with both physical and Soul stats.

<Seventh-Order Beast Slain!>

As everyone in the area watched in awe and shock, Xuan chuckled nonchalantly like this was nothing, before spinning his sword around and preparing for the next wave.

'Idiot… you think you, a mere Seventh-Order Magic Beast, will be able to withstand a Soul attack of mine? Even if my power is greatly reduced due to my shamefully low physical stats and lack of powerful techniques, taking care of a small maggot like you is still a piece of cake.'

'I may just be a Body Tempering stage cultivator on the surface, but… I can fight face-to-face with any cultivators below the Origin Transformation Realm no problem—not to mention a mere beast like you, without the power of Laws by your side? Simply food.'

Rinse and repeat.

For Xuan, this really was as easy as a piece of cake. Despite being a low-grade technique, Swift Cloud Steps was more than enough to give him the agility needed to outmaneuver these low-intelligence Beasts. These things were practically like training dummies to him, posing no threat whatsoever. As such, he didn't even bother using any actual techniques unless necessary—he wanted to leave as many cards up his sleeve as possible for the inevitable encounter that was soon to come.

Of course, the Beasts weren't the only ones dying. All around Xuan, his fellow cultivators fell one by one as well. The lucky ones were killed by poison. The unluckier ones were torn apart by sharp claws and devoured by rows upon rows of fangs. Screams of agony filled Xuan's ears as a cultivator was mauled by a large bear-like creature's paws, and a shriek of pain rang out right after as another poor fighter was forcefully carved in half by a man-sized scorpion with a razor-sharp tail.

Xuan felt no pity, even as countless more lives joined those already lost.

They had known full well what the risks were when they signed up to participate in this event. If one didn't have the skill and confidence to hold their own, insisting on coming was a death wish.

"…" Xuan looked around, still holding his black sword tightly in his hand, glowing green with poison energy. "… Is that all?"

As the bodies accumulated more and more and the grass beneath his feet became red with blood, Xuan began to notice that no more Beasts were coming from the forest nor the cave. All around him lay the corpses of both cultivators and animals, some of which had been killed in unspeakably horrible ways.

Many fell. That was for certain. But the good news was, the first phase of the battle was over.

"… Good work, everyone. You've all done well," Yun Liao encouraged, narrowing his eyes towards the cave. "From here, Origin Transformation realm masters and above will take over. The rest of you, stand back—as far away as you can get."

The cultivators below the Origin Transformation realm hurriedly scurried away as fast as their legs would carry them, knowing that the Ninth-Order Magic Beast was about to come out and that this wasn't a fight they could intervene in. Xuan followed them, albeit calmly unlike everyone else, but his plans had far more than just retreat in them. Zhou Hai did the same, and the two Origin Transformation realm masters with him retreated as well despite their realm. After all, their job was to stay with Zhou Hai, not to fight.

The rumbling voice from before then came again, this time sounding closer. It growled deeply, but the sound wasn't one of displeasure. Instead, it sounded excited—and that was precisely what Yun Liao was concerned about.

"𝑮𝒐𝒐𝒅... 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅... 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍, 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒔," the voice said, shaking the earth and instilling fear in all the cultivators present. "𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒚 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒆 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒕. 𝑯𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓..."

A footstep, heavy enough to cause a minor earthquake, came from the direction of the enormous cave.

"... 𝑶𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒐, 𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓... 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕?"

With a bestial laugh that shook even the heavens, a large shadow emerged from the massive cave entrance. At first, it was just a single foot. A single, colossal foot, large enough to crush about a dozen ordinary men at once beneath it without any trouble.

Then came the rest of the body.

Majestic and terrifying at the same time, the Wyvern stepped out of the cave fully into the night light and spread its massive wings. In an instant, the entire battlefield was shrouded by the shadow of its pinions, made even darker than it already was. The only source of illumination apart from the moon were the Wyvern's scales, which were bright yellow, and its eyes that burned red with intensity and raw willpower as it pitifully and condescendingly stared down at the humans below.

"𝑵𝒐𝒘... 𝒅𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒓?"

With every word, the cultivators' eardrums seemed to explode, and many covered up their ears with their hands, to no avail. It wasn't that the voice itself was just extremely loud—it was that the Wyvern was speaking directly into their minds, an innate technique known as Dragon Voice commonly used by members of—well, the Dragon race. The stronger a Dragon or Wyvern was, the more powerful their Dragon Voice was to match—and this Wyvern in particular, was…

"A Golden Wyvern…" Yun Liao muttered, narrowing his eyes. This was unexpected—Golden Wyverns were the strongest type of Wyvern there was, much like Golden Dragons were the strongest type of Dragon there was. "Elder Qu, do you think you'll be able to…"

Elder Qu from the Stealing Heart Sect, the only other Origin Monarch present, calmly stroked his beard.

"Hm… I'm afraid this battle will be a tough one, city lord. I will do my utmost to contribute, but if things become dire… please understand that I must retreat with my disciples."

"Wha…" Yun Liao's eyes widened briefly at this in surprise, but he didn't complain. It was a cowardly move, but it made sense. "… I understand. The two of us are the only Origin Monarchs here, so if we fall, everyone else will surely perish as well. Fellow masters, follow me! We will take this beast down, or die trying! Remember, the more you contribute, the higher the chance of receiving the favor from me!"

With a roar, Yun Liao dashed forward towards the colossal Golden Wyvern, but in comparison, he was like a mere ant scurrying towards the massive beast.

The other masters present, Elder Qu included, followed behind him, weapons drawn and Qi channeled. But faced with all of this… the Wyvern only smiled.

"𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒆, 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒔! 𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒔, 𝒂𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒂!"

Laughing excitedly, the Wyvern blew a string of powerful golden fire at the ground below, scorching the grass and turning anything that came into contact with the flames into black ash instantly. The various masters evaded with their movement techniques and jumped up to go for the Wyvern's head, but it merely smirked, revealing its sharp fangs.

"Heavenly Saber Sunder!"

"Spear Dao—Seventy-Two Steel Strikes!"

"Eat this, beast! Law of Fire—Purgatory Flames!"

"𝑨𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒂! 𝑼𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔!"

Contracting its wings, the Wyvern covered itself with them like a cocoon, blocking all of the attacks with ease, before suddenly opening them again with the force of a hurricane. The masters were all instantly blown back like watermelons traveling at 100 kilometers per hour, completely unable to fight back against this raw strength.

"Ngh!"

"Agh…"

"Damn beast…"

"So this is the power of a Ninth-Order…"

Xuan, watching this spectacle unfold, let out a soft chuckle.

'Using fire against a member of the Dragon race? Elder Qu, are you here to clown?'

It was clear that the Elder Qu from Stealing Heart Sect wasn't trying hard at all, and intended on getting the hell out of here as soon as things turned for the worse. The Wyvern was still just playing with them—its food—right now. Once it got serious, these puny Origin Transformation and Monarch cultivators wouldn't stand a chance.

'… Well, not that it matters to me.'

While everyone else hiding amongst the woods was busy observing the battle against the massive Golden Wyvern, Xuan slipped by unnoticed, taking the long route all the way around to reach the Wyvern's cave through the uncleared forest.

Meanwhile…

"… Young master, that brat you told us to keep an eye on has moved. Should we follow?"

"Oh? Alone?" Zhou Hai replied, arching an eyebrow in surprise.

"Yes, young master. This is the perfect opportunity to…"

"Ahaha… the heavens are truly on my side, aren't they? Come on, let's follow! Since he is so eager to deliver himself into our hands, then why should we refuse?"

Laughing like a fool, Zhou Hai and the two Origin Transformation realm masters with him followed the path Xuan had taken, making sure to keep their distance—just far enough so that they could still see him, but was well beyond the detection abilities of anyone who had yet to develop a knowledge sea and with it, their Divine Sense.

Little did they know… Xuan had calculated and planned this all from the beginning. With his extensive Divine Sense and mutated knowledge sea, his detection radius was easily almost a kilometer around him. Even if his Soul stats were incredibly high, his cultivation stage still limited him by quite a lot due to the lack of Qi to use those stats, but it was still enough to detect these three idiots following him.

'Yes, yes… keep following me, fools,' Xuan thought as he walked, chuckling darkly in his head. 'You will regret everything you've done up until this point, soon enough… and I will be there to witness you suffer.'

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