Chapter 20: Beast Tide

That young man was only around seventeen or eighteen years old. He wore a white robe that made him stand out. He stood there proudly with his back straight.

“That should be Xu Tianlang, the son of my uncle!”

Xu Ziyan murmured to herself. She lifted her head and looked toward the High Platform again. She saw nineteen people standing behind the Clan Leader Xu Haoran.

“The person standing closest to the Clan Leader, right behind him, should be the Foundation Building Stage Elder of the clan, Ninth Uncle Xu Haoliang.”

Xu Ziyan’s gaze then swept over her own side. She saw that besides the New Disciples like herself who were gathered around her, the remaining more than one thousand six hundred Outer Hall Disciples were divided into four squares. In front of each square stood a person with a steady presence.

“These four should be the Gang Leaders. I wonder which one is Xu Gan, which is Xu Wen, and which is Xu Tianxiao? Hmm, that woman should be Xu Dongxue.”

Xu Ziyan’s eyes swept over them and indeed saw the few people she had fought with three months ago, each standing within one of those four squares. The Senior Disciples in those squares were also looking at the New Disciples around Xu Ziyan, their eyes filled with mockery. Xu Ziyan knew what they meant. Because of her, these New Disciples had not joined the Senior Disciples’ gangs, but had chosen to gather around her instead.

Although Xu Ziyan had not formed a gang, and had not met with these New Disciples many times, being wholly absorbed in her Cultivation every day, because of Xu Ziyan’s presence, those Senior Disciples had not excessively bullied these New Disciples. But now the Beast Tide had come. Without the protection of these Senior Disciples, these New Disciples with low combat power were naturally seen as Cannon Fodder by the Senior Disciples. One by one, they looked at them with mocking expressions.

Even if the clan forced them to include the New Disciples in their teams, they would have even more ways to deal with these New Disciples. So in their hearts, the New Disciples’ fate as Cannon Fodder was already sealed.

The New Disciples also knew they were in a very dangerous situation. They looked at Xu Ziyan with fearful eyes. Seeing that Xu Ziyan’s gaze was calm, they turned their eyes toward the Clan Leader on the High Platform, hoping his orders would show some consideration for them, the New Disciples. They did not want to die in the Beast Tide just three months after joining the Outer Hall of the clan.

But to everyone’s surprise, Clan Leader Xu Haoran did not say much. Instead, he directly waved his hand and said:

“Follow me to the city wall!”

After speaking, he directly jumped up from the High Platform. While in the air, a Flying Sword flew out from the Storage Pouch at his waist. Xu Haoran stepped onto the Flying Sword and soared away through the air using Sword Flight. The Elders behind him also flew away using Sword Flight one after another. The disciples who were at the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining or above also took out their Flying Swords, rose into the air, and flew closely behind using Sword Flight.

Xu Ziyan watched from below, stunned. Magnificent! Since coming to this world, this was the first time Xu Ziyan had seen such a spectacular scene. Disciples below the Sixth Layer of the Qi Refining Stage could not use Sword Flight. They all started running with big strides in the direction the Clan Leader had left. Xu Ziyan saw the surrounding Senior Disciples also dashing out of the Plaza, so she too dashed out. The New Disciples, seeing Xu Ziyan run out, hurriedly followed behind her.

As soon as Xu Ziyan ran out of the clan’s main gate and arrived on the main street of Zhongdu City, she saw countless figures Flying on Swords coming from all directions of Zhongdu City. And they had clear divisions. The group carrying the banner of the City Lord’s Manor headed toward East City. The group carrying the banner of the Xiao Family headed toward West City. The group carrying the banner of the Wu Family headed toward South City. And the group carrying the banner of the Xu Clan headed toward North City.

By now, the snow in the sky was falling more densely. Large snowflakes fluttered down thick and fast. Everything between heaven and earth was a vast whiteness.

Xu Ziyan followed the crowd, closely tailing the direction of the Xu Clan’s banner as she rushed toward North City. The streets were full of panicked residents running around like ants on a hot pan. Xu Ziyan had no time to pay attention to them and hurriedly rushed up onto the city wall of North City.

On the city wall of North City, nearly two thousand members of the Xu Clan were now standing atop the wall. Everyone watched the area below the city wall with tense expressions.

“Big Brother, how serious do you think this Beast Tide is?” Xu Haobo, standing next to Xu Haoran, asked quietly.

Xu Haoran looked up at the sky, then looked down below the city, and slightly shook his head. He said:

“It’s too dark to see very clearly. But it looks like, on this North City side, there are at least a thousand Monster Beasts or more. This is just the beginning. I’m afraid this Beast Tide won’t be small. At the very least, it’s a medium-scale Beast Tide.”

At this moment, Xu Haoran’s ninth brother, Xu Haoliang, who was standing nearby, smiled and said:

“Big Brother, rest assured. It’s just a mere thousand or so Monster Beasts. With your ninth brother here, they won’t be able to breach the city wall.”

Xu Ziyan looked down toward the city. Under the black curtain of night, she saw a mass of shimmering red light. That was the light released from the eyes of the Monster Beasts. She then turned her gaze toward that Xu Haoliang. Although this Xu Haoliang looked nearly fifty years old, he was extremely handsome, with a robust build and a fierce expression.

Xu Ziyan couldn’t help but nod silently to herself. It seemed he truly was an exceptional person, able to contend with the Clan Leader and still secure a place for himself.

Xu Haoran laughed heartily and said: “Good! Well said, Ninth Brother! How could we possibly regard these Monster Beasts as significant?”

At that moment, a series of beast roars came from below the city wall, their sound shaking the skies. Xu Haoran gave a cold laugh and said:

“A mere thousand Monster Beasts dare to attack Zhongdu City? These Monster Beasts truly have no brains. They deserve to be Monster Beasts for life.”

Just then, Xu Haobo’s face suddenly turned serious. He pointed into the far distance and said: “Big Brother, look.”

Everyone strained their eyes to look. In the far distance, a thick column of smoke rose into the sky.

“Signal fire!” The words immediately flashed through Xu Ziyan’s mind.

“It seems the Monster Beasts are also attacking Fang Tian City!” Xu Haoran said in a low voice.

“It seems this Beast Tide is truly not small! And Fang Tian City lit the signal fire, which proves they are under fierce attack. They probably cannot hold the city and have already begun asking for help.”

“Hmm.” Xu Haoran nodded gently.

“Big Brother, what should we do?”

Xu Haoran gently shook his head and said: “I don’t know. Whether to aid Fang Tian City depends on the City Lord’s decision.”

He placed his hands on the city wall and looked down. Curling his lip slightly, he said: “However, we certainly cannot let these Monster Beasts in front of us go. Old Ninth, you and I will each lead disciples down. Let’s see who kills more Monster Beasts.”

“I dare not disobey your command,” Xu Haoyang immediately replied.

“Hahaha… Excellent!” Xu Haoran laughed heartily, raising his head to the sky. “Let’s go out and slay Monster Beasts!”

After saying this, he leaped into the air, stepped onto his Flying Sword, and used Sword Flight to rush out beyond the city wall, charging toward the Monster Beasts. Xu Haoyang was not to be outdone either. He flew out using Sword Flight and descended, charging toward the Monster Beasts outside the city. The disciples at the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining and above all flew out using Sword Flight, rushing beyond the city wall.

Xu Ziyan watched in amazement as countless Flying Swords filled the sky, gleaming with trails of light…