The clash between humans and Demonic Beasts finally drew to an end, at least for today.
With the retreat of the remaining Demonic beasts, the battlefield grew eerily quiet-aside from the distant echoes of Bai Zihan butchering fleeing monsters. For the first ti in a full day of slaughter, the human cultivators were able to breathe.
So collapsed to their knees.
So sat on broken stones, gasping for air.
So simply stared blankly at the carnage, unable to believe they were still alive.
"We survived!"
"We actually pushed them back."
Bodies of fallen comrades and Demonic Beasts were scattered everywhere, yet the living felt a surge of pride.
They had won.
Not without losses, but victory was unmistakable.
Excitent ran through the ranks.
Relief and tears of joy.
The exhilaration of having survived a battle that should have killed them all.
Yet one person did not share the sentint.
Far above, as the battlefield settled and relief swept through the cultivators, a lone figure landed lightly on a boulder.
Bai Zihan looked over the battlefield with a deep frown, clearly dissatisfied.
Bai Zihan sheathed his sword with a click and muttered under his breath, irritation thick in his voice.
"Tsk! They escaped."
He stared toward the depths of the Wildlands as if gazing at prey that slipped from his grasp.
"Should've slaughtered more Grade-9s."
He clenched his jaw, visibly displeased.
To the others, the day had been a desperate struggle for survival...
To him, it was an unfinished hunt.
A missed opportunity.
A loss of potential points.
A shadow descended beside him.
Bai Tianheng landed calmly, his boots crunching against shattered stone.
His gaze swept over the ruined valley-then fell on his son, who was still glaring into the Wilderness as if personally offended by the existence of retreating beasts.
He saw Bai Zihan's lips moving.
"What are you dissatisfied about this ti?"
Bai Zihan clicked his tongue again, expression full of irritation.
"These Demonic Beasts... Tch! They have no conviction at all."
He crossed his arms, still frowning deeply.
"How can they run away the mont things get tough? Demonic Beasts are supposed to be fierce. Yet they sprint faster than rabbits."
He sounded genuinely aggrieved.
"As soon as I get into the rhythm, they scatter. Shaless creatures. If they were going to retreat anyway, why didn't they let kill them first?"
Bai Zihan replied as he glanced at the System Points he earned. Including the points from killing Voidstep Razorhorn, it was 8000 points.
Bai Tianheng slowly turned his head toward his son with an expression that hovered between disbelief and exasperation.
"...Son," he said, blinking. "What nonsense are you even saying?"
He stared harder. He also wondered if there was anything these Demonic Beasts had done to him but knew that they hadn't.
So, he didn't understand how Bai Zihan beca so obsessed with killing.
Well, compared to his habit of tornting other people because of his anger, this was much better.
Moreover, his son had killed a Grade-10 Demonic Beast, a being that even he would have a hard ti killing.
And there was that Heaven Shaking Sword Technique that Bai Tianheng felt he, too, would die from if it hit him.
He wanted to ask just what that technique was.
However, he felt that it was too invasive into his privacy and that Zihan had already contributed a lot.
Not to ntion, whatever it was, it was his son who had it-which was all good
for the Bai Clan.
Bai Tianheng had a lot of questions in mind but knew that this wasn't a good
place to ask them.
He just ruffled Bai Zihan's hair.
"You have done a great job!"
He simply complinted Bai Zihan.
Then he looked at the Great Wilderness with a serious expression.
That retreat wasn't a retreat of permanent defeat. It looked like they were scheming sothing, and he knew they would be back soon.
As Bai Tianheng and Bai Zihan returned, the battered battlefield slowly shifted its attention toward them.
Then whispers spread.
Then silence fell-heavy, reverent, almost awed-as the father and son
descended onto solid ground.
All eyes turned to Bai Zihan.
Those who had witnessed even a fraction of his slaughter trembled.
"Did you see? He alone cut down dozens of Grade-9 beasts!"
"Not dozens-over fifty! So swear it was closer to sixty!"
"No, think about it-he also killed a Grade-10 Demonic Beast! Even one of those would've made soone the top contributor in the entire war!"
"That's right. A single kill of that level is enough to earn lifeti glory... and he
killed both a Grade-10 and more Grade-9s than the rest of us combined."
"Monstrous... absolutely monstrous."
They didn't speak with envy.
They spoke with fearful admiration.
A kind of reverence only reserved for beings who existed on the boundary
between human and myth.
So disciples lowered their heads when his gaze swept past them, unable to
et his eyes.
So straightened up, hoping to hide their trembling.
So looked as though they wanted to approach and thank him-but didn't
dare.
Bai Clan Elders watched him with relief, pride, and a little disbelief.
Who would have thought that within two years Bai Zihan could change from being an embarrassnt to the absolute pride of the Bai Clan?
He wasn't the troubleso brat anymore but soone who wielded power
equal to that of the Clan Leader already.
Only those from the Li and Zhao Clans reacted differently.
Their faces twisted.
Jaws clenched.
Teeth gritted. They glared at him with a mix of anger, humiliation, and sothing they tried
hard to hide-fear.
The Li-Zhao Clan, who had treated Bai Zihan like a troubleso youth, now
looked at him like a High Elder who could already change the battlefield on
such a scale.
If they wanted to deal with Bai Zihan, they knew that underhanded tactics and sending a few assassins wouldn't be enough.
They needed to treat Bai Zihan like how they treated Bai Tianheng-with
extre caution.
Their glares grew colder by the second-but their hands subtly trembled
beneath their sleeves.
Li Jianhong and Zhao Wutian felt imnse regret for not having taken care of
Bai Zihan previously when he was still a powerless person.
Bai Zihan ignored them all.
Their hatred wasn't even worth acknowledging.
He simply walked forward, yawning lightly, looking bored rather than
triumphant.
Bai Zihan stretched his shoulders as he walked back toward the temporary
camp, a faint sigh slipping out.
The battle was over.
The beasts had retreated.
There was nothing left to kill.
Which ant...
"...Guess I can rest now," he muttered.
Not because he was tired-his Qi reserves were practically untouched.
Though it was at 20%, that was more than enough to kill more, and it was recovering at an insane speed.
But there wasn't anything to do other than rest.
A nap suddenly felt like a reasonable option.
He turned toward the Bai Clan's camp, fully intending to vanish inside a tent
and lie down for a few hours-
But fate, as always, refused him peace.
A streak of blinding white light descended from the sky.
Bai Zihan halted mid-step.
The flash of white light dimd, and dozens of figures stepped out of the air.
The Bai Clan Grand Elders had arrived.
And they arrived loudly.
Very loudly.
The first to land-the oldest, loudest, and most shaless of them-Bai Chu.
He threw his head back and let out a booming laugh that shook dust from the mountainsides. "Hahahahaha! Wonderful! Wonderful! This old man's blood is boiling!"
He jabbed a finger at Bai Zihan as if pointing at a celestial treasure.
"Look at him! Look carefully! That monster down there is my grandson!" The other Grand Elders landed beside him.
"Hahahaha! Zihan'er, my boy! You slaughtered those beasts beautifully! What a
fine show! Co, co-stand straight! Let them all see what true talent looks
like!"
Bai Zihan stared at him blankly, his expression sowhere between confused,
resigned, and mildly annoyed.
"Old man, can you not?"
But the Grand Elder only laughed louder.
"Not? How can I NOT?! Do you know how long I've waited for this day?! For the
Bai Clan to have soone who can slap the faces of all those self-important old
fossils?" He turned dramatically toward the other clans' Immortal experts.
"You see?! This is the Bai Clan's younger generation! The future Immortal
Emperor my grandson!"
The entire battlefield went silent.
The Li and Zhao Immortals froze. Even Bai Tianheng raised a brow from afar.
Another Bai Grand Elder coughed lightly.
"Elder, perhaps don't make such grand declarations so casually-"
The Grand Elder slapped his back so hard the man stumbled forward.
"What casual? Look at him! A Grade-10 Demonic Beast fell under his sword! I'm being humble!"
The other clans collectively:
"..."
The Grand Elder kept going, voice filled with shaless pride.
"You old relics better keep your juniors polite from now on! If anyone from
your clans provokes him again, don't bla us when he slaps them into the ground! He's stronger than your elders already!"
The Zhao Grand Elder nearly coughed up blood from anger.
The Li Grand Elder's eyelid twitched violently.
anwhile, Bai Zihan felt his headache worsening. He had intended to rest, but it looked like that was a distant dream now.
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