Chapter 79: Chen Yihan

Their speed was incredibly fast. Just as these people hid themselves, the Black Water Kui Bull reached a spot barely a hundred meters from the lakeshore. It roared, and the whole lake suddenly seemed to boil. Then, countless jets of water surged upwards, shooting toward the sky. The fourteen Heaven Rank Martial Artists who were royal attendants chasing from behind attacked the Black Water Kui Bull.

Streaks of dazzling light shot toward the Black Water Kui Bull.

Roar!

Another angry bellow erupted. The water jets that had just surged into the air instantly froze, then exploded in a single moment with terrifying force. Suddenly, the sky for hundreds of meters around felt as if thousands of arrows were being fired at once!

Even though these experts had all reached the Heavenly Rank level, they were momentarily flustered. They roared in frustration. Seventeen supreme experts! Forced into such a state by a single monster, with three injured. Only fourteen remained now… Even though no one witnessed this scene, they still felt utterly ashamed.

Seizing this chance, the Black Water Kui Bull instantly sank its body lower into the water. It was already seriously wounded. Escaping was its only path to survival.

But how could these Heavenly Rank experts allow it to flee calmly? Chen Yihan bellowed fiercely, a strand of Sword Qi shooting savagely into the water. Immediately, a colossal wave blasted upwards, spraying water everywhere like a monstrous flood crest. It surged violently toward the shore, drenching several people who dared not emit the slightest trace of their presence like soaked chickens.

Chen Yihan’s sword strike instantly forced the Black Water Kui Bull to emerge. Waiting for it were the strongest attacks from twelve Heaven Rank Martial Artists!

Boom!

Another earth-shaking surge of water rose, crashing toward the shore again. A few people simply closed their eyes, thinking since they were already soaking wet, getting splashed again didn’t matter.

If this Black Water Kui Bull had possessed the strength after Transformation, even if it couldn’t match this group of Heaven Rank experts, escaping wouldn’t have been a problem. Sadly, it only possessed Heavenly Rank strength.

Yet its final counterattack before death was still horribly terrifying. Dozens of lightning bolts split the sky instantly. Five of them struck accurately onto five Heavenly Rank Martial Artists. Their Protective True Qi was pierced instantly. Smoke immediately billowed from their bodies as they cried out in agony and plunged toward the lake’s surface.

The might of Heaven and Earth was not something to underestimate!

Spirit Beasts were nature’s favored children, born nurtured by Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy. Creatures like the White Fox and the Black Water Kui Bull were primordial Spirit Beasts. This meant not only were they born as Spirit Beasts, but their parents, siblings, and entire clan were also Spirit Beasts! Though the White Fox clan’s grade was much lower than that of the Black Water Kui Bull clan.

A Black Water Kui Bull was born possessing Earth Rank strength. In contrast, the White Fox started its life as an unranked Spirit Beast and had to cultivate from there. The difference between them was as vast as heaven and earth! If a Black Water Kui Bull had cultivated for a thousand years like the white fox maiden, these seventeen Heavenly Rank experts here would have been completely insignificant! It would have just taken one bolt of lightning to annihilate them completely, leaving not even ashes.

Creatures like the Iron Arm Ape were acquired Spirit Beasts. Ape parents or siblings weren’t necessarily Spirit Beasts. Its cultivation path was far more arduous!

The damage caused by the Black Water Kui Bull’s death throes instantly enraged Chen Yihan and the others. Several immediately dove downward, rescuing the five struck Heaven Rank experts before they could hit the water.

“Brothers!”

“How are you?”

“Ah, Third Brother… he’s… he’s gone! How? Damn it, how did this happen? We were dominating the fight just moments ago!” One Martial Artist cradled his companion, shedding old tears while cursing. A formidable Heavenly Rank master, who likely hadn’t sworn like this in years, couldn’t restrain himself now, sounding no different from any common villager in that moment.

Even these lonely masters were susceptible to human emotions too!

Chen Yihan grabbed the Black Water Kui Bull’s corpse just before it was swallowed by the giant wave. Lifting it, he flung it forcefully onto the shore. His face was grim, his heart filled with intense fury.

The Black Water Kui Bull — it was his first time seeing such a thing in his life. His knowledge of it was only superficial. He knew it was a primordial Spirit Beast, that any Black Water Kui Bull over a hundred years old wasn’t to be provoked lightly. Born capable of communing with the heavens and earth, adept at borrowing celestial power!

When this Black Water Kui Bull appeared today, Chen Yihan had been thrilled. He discovered its strength was only around Heavenly Rank. He had seventeen Heaven Rank experts on his side! Even though this was the Black Water Kui Bull’s domain, subduing it should have been easy.

He never imagined, for this thing, he’d have three brothers injured before even entering the ruins, and now one more dead, with four severely wounded!

This loss… was truly too bitter!

Chen Yihan’s heart, calm for so many years, churned violently now. Rage surged like a fire within him, craving an outlet.

“You return to the ruins first. Treat their wounds. I will gather the Black Water Kui Bull’s Mystic Elixir and Essence Blood. It was my oversight this time. Third Brother will not die in vain. From now on, his family becomes the responsibility of the Qinglong Imperial Family!” Chen Yihan’s voice was low. Though the others grieved, they could only agree.

After all, who could have anticipated a Heavenly Rank Spirit Beast would possess such terrifying counterattack power?

Chen Yihan floated to the shore, coldly scanning the area where Qin Li and the others were hiding. “Stop hiding,” he said flatly. “Did you think concealing your energy would hide you from me? Heh. You severely underestimated the ability of a Heavenly Rank expert. Even a few ants couldn’t escape my eyes, let alone several living people!”

‘Dammit! You could have said so earlier! I got soaked all for nothing!’ Qin Li cursed inwardly but was the first to stand up. The others followed, channeling energy to dry their clothes as they stepped out of their hiding spot. This gave them a more direct impression of a Heavenly Rank expert’s power.

Chen Yihan, seething with anger moments earlier and fully intending to vent his wrath on these clueless intruders, froze utterly upon seeing them.

What… what kind of strength did these people have? Two unremarkable looking girls: one barely Mysterious Rank strength, the other just breaking through to Mysterious Rank. The big guy was, well… passable, around mid-Mysterious Rank. This bloke in his twenties… actually unranked? Damn… Damn it!

Chen Yihan nearly choked on disbelief, the shock almost causing him internal injury. Even the feeling when a Black Water Kui Bull’s death strike killed his companion hadn’t been this intense.

Unbelievable. Truly unbelievable!

Killing such people wouldn’t even be worth dirtying his hands!

“How… how did you even get here?” Chen Yihan instantly found this incredible. With trash-level skills like theirs, how could they have penetrated this deeply into the mountains?

Glancing at the steep stone cliffs above, Chen Yihan shook his head vigorously. Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Each of the eight main peaks of Phoenix Mountain is guarded by Heavenly Rank Spirit Beasts! This wasn’t a theory but the hard truth, proven over many years by countless adventurers paying the price with blood and tears.

Then, he considered another possibility: could these people have come in from the entrance? Chen Yihan entertained this thought because his group hadn’t been the very first to arrive here, and the subsequent clearing of the area hadn’t been overly thorough. Missing a small number was understandable.

Chen Yihan immediately decided his second guess was correct. His interest in questioning any of them vanished entirely. Usually, he wouldn’t spare this sort of rabble a single glance. He almost shooed them away immediately. But then, he glanced at the Black Water Kui Bull corpse on the ground and hesitated. Having a few followers might be useful. At a dangerous moment, he could always toss them as beast bait!

“So,” he commanded, “from this day on, you follow me. Be obedient, and I guarantee you future wealth and luxury! You probably don’t know who I am? I am the Royal Family’s Chief Grand Retainer, Chen Yihan!”