All that ran through Duncan's mind was to kill everything that stood in his way. And a Yellow-Stripped tiger was currently in his way. So, he smashed into it with his sword like a crazy man.
Bang!
The impact threw both Duncan and the tiger a few steps back. The tiger's paw had already scored a hit on Duncan's shoulder. The sword in Duncan's hand however didn't make much of an impact on the tiger's body.
It barely left a nick on the tiger's body. The tiger's body was so thick and enfolded in rippling muscles that the sword with which Duncan chopped a wolf mere hours ago was unable to damage it. The tiger noticed this and became more emboldened.
When Duncan swung, he put his entire weight behind the swing, holding nothing back. It was this weight and power that actually sent the tiger back a few steps.
Seeing that his attack didn't have much impact on the tiger, Duncan became even crazier. He relentlessly attacked the tiger with his sword. Swing after swing was batted away by the tiger with its powerful paws.
Unbeknownst to Duncan, his crazy act increased the black aura that was emanating from his body. It was the desire to kill everything that stood in front of him that fueled the black aura. The more Duncan refused to back down, the more the black aura emerged.
The black aura slowly started flowing out of Duncan's body and started covering the sword as well. The sword which was already covered in nicks due to continuous usage began to emit a visible red aura.
When the red aura filled sword hit the tiger, the tiger howled in pain and retreated a few steps. There was a cut that opened in the tiger's paw at this moment. The tiger was also feeling fear for the first time since it saw Duncan.
The tiger warily looked at Duncan wondering what was different now compared to earlier. When it saw the red aura emanating from the sword in Duncan's hand, a primal fear took hold of it.
On the other side, Duncan didn't even realize his sword was emitting a red aura. All he focused on was killing the beast in front of him. Seeing a wound finally appear on the tiger's body, Duncan redoubled his efforts.
He roared loudly and started swinging his sword in a crazy manner. The tiger didn't want anything to do with the sword in Duncan's hand. It dodged wildly trying to stay away from the creepy sword that was giving it a very bad feeling.
Just when it looked like the tiger would retreat, the howls of the wolves started echoing from all around. Duncan and tiger both paused in their actions to look at the new intruders in their fight.
When Duncan saw the wolves, the resentment he had towards them for chasing him for the past hour boiled over. The tiger roared unhappily at the wolves for intruding upon its hunt.
Emboldened by their numbers, the wolves howled in return at the duo. They began circling both the tiger and Duncan. They tried to rush a bit as a test and when the tiger roared angrily at them, they ran a few paces back and started circling them again.
This pissed off both the tiger and Duncan.
"Come you mangy mutts, I will kill you all. I will kill this tiger, I will kill all you mutts, and I will kill everyone who stops me," Duncan roared crazily toward the wolves brandishing his sword.
The tiger merely roared expressing its outrage.
Thus, a three-way dance began at the bottom of the hill
*****
Liu Kong was escaping from the Grasslands with a proud smile on his face. He had at last obtained what he came for. The Seven Colored Soul Lotus was finally his after a hard-fought victory over others.
That bitch Bai Qingling had left midway not even bothering to inform them. It had increased the pressure others faced with the demonic beasts. Yang Dangli who had been having a relatively easy time with his Wind Dao, suddenly found himself facing twice the number of beasts he faced before.
So, he decided to be smart enough and booked it out of there as well. Peng Xiaoli was the sole exception. That mad idiot relished the opportunity to have a crazy fight and fought to his heart's content.
Luckily, none of the demonic beasts even tried to butt into his fight with the Level 7 beast. The devastation their fight left in its wake was too scary for them to even think about interfering.
The only bug in the ointment was that Hui Wanren.
However, without him, Liu Kong wouldn't have been able to face the Level 7 beast on his own. With his help, they were both giving as hard as they were receiving from the Level 7 beast.
But, Hui Wanren had been too engrossed in the fight to even protect himself from being backstabbed. Liu Kong had planned this for a long time. How could he overlook the possibility of facing the Level 7 beast?
So, he had prepared some trump cards for this exact situation earlier. With a single trump card, he had managed to wound both Hui Wanren and the Level 7 beast. He had waited until it was the most ideal moment and unleashed his trump card.
The effect was as he had hoped.
While he couldn't take out the Level 7 beast by himself, his trump card could at least deal it a severe blow and give him some time to escape. It was, after all, given to him by one of the Nascent Soul elders of his family.
The attack had paralyzed both Hui Wanren and the Level 7 beast for a few precious moments. Liu Kong had used that moment to collect the Seven Colored Soul Lotus and flee.
But, what he didn't expect was the Level 7 beast to initiate a beast tide in its rage.
It didn't matter much. Apart from the Level 7 beast, no other demonic beast could actually be a challenge to him in this Grasslands. As for the others who got implicated in it, Liu Kong didn't care about them one bit.
After all, he got what he wanted to obtain. As for the collateral damage he caused, Liu Kong didn't even bother to think about it. At most, a bunch of idiots would pay for it with their lives.
Why does it even matter?
Which cultivator hasn't had blood on his hands? Which high-level cultivator hasn't walked out of a sea of blood? Which treasure's birth has not shed some bled? So, it didn't really matter.
The only thing Liu Kong would say to them was that they were too weak to even be alive. And it is their own fault for being too weak. This was a world where the strong ate the weak. And being weak, they could only serve as cannon fodder.
Now, all he had to do was to escape the Level 7 beast's pursuit. And he had a plan for this as well. One doesn't decide to steal food from the mouth of a beast without a proper plan.
Luckily that nuisance from the Heavenly Demon Sect was nowhere to be seen. If he too was hounding him, things would become a little problematic.
*****
In a spacious hall deep within the Heavenly Demon Sect, five people were discussing the dao in an amicable manner. These were the three Nascent Soul experts from the Seven Clouds Sect and the Sect Master and the Vice-Sect Master of the Heavenly Demon Sect.
The atmosphere looked very harmonious despite their differences. They all acted as if the three experts from the Seven Clouds Sect weren't here uninvited. They spoke to each other warmly, engrossing themselves in discussing the wonder of dao.
Just then, a knock was heard disturbing the harmonious atmosphere. The Vice-Sect Master of the Heavenly Demon Sect frowned at the interruption. But, the others didn't seem that bothered.
"Enter," the Vice-Sect Master ordered in a displeased tone.
The Head Elder of the Blood Hall entered with a disturbed expression on his face. This caused the two leaders of the Heavenly Demon Sect to sit up and pay attention.
They knew that the Head Elder of the Blood Hall wouldn't interrupt the gathering of Nascent Soul realm cultivators for ordinary affairs. With the current situation of the Grasslands, they were truly worried that he would have some dire news.
It was indeed the case.
"Forgive me, Sect Master. We have an urgent situation that would require your oversight," the Head Elder said respectfully and bowed.
"What is this urgent situation you speak of?" the Sect Master asked in return.
"There are signs of a beast tide forming up in the Grasslands, Sect Master."
"What!!!?" both the Sect Master and Vice-Sect Master stood up in shock hearing it.
"A beast tide doesn't form out of nowhere. There were no indications for it," one of the experts from Seven Clouds Sect said a little suspiciously.
"It is indeed so. However, we don't know what occurred this time to cause a beast tide to begin without any indication. We need the Sect Master to confirm the situation so that we can prepare for it."
The Sect Master didn't speak. His mind raced as he considered the numerous possibilities that could be the cause of the event. Finally, his mind settled on the treasure that was currently being contested.
"Lead the way, I will take a look myself," the Sect Master said decisively.
"Fellow daoist wouldn't mind if we tag along, do you?" one of the experts from the Seven Clouds Sect asked getting up.
"Be my guest," the Sect Master said brusquely and walked out of the hall.
However, no one minded the tone of the Sect Master. Everyone present knew what a beast tide was. And if it indeed was occurring, the Heavenly Demon Sect would be in dire straits now.
The group appeared at the gates of the Heavenly Demon Sect soon. They could hear a cacophony of beastly noises coming from the distance. Their faces turned grave.
The Nascent Soul experts present spread out their senses trying to assess what was going on in the distance.
*****
A/N: Hey folks!
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