83: reinforcement

"Is it really a case of 'beat the small one and the old one comes'? Is the plot really this cliché?" Su Ze looked at the white-haired old man and complained weakly.

Yu Shenghuo, who had been full of confidence, saw his expression turn grim upon seeing the old man.

"Jiang Liu... I truly didn't expect that you, the fourth-in-command of the Jiang Family, would actually show up. Has the Jiang Family run out of capable people?"

Jiang Liu sneered, "Whether the Jiang Family has capable people is not something you need to worry about!"

"My favorite grandson died here for no apparent reason. If I hadn't acted just now, perhaps even my youngest son would have met his end here."

"Do you think I can still sit idly by? Should I not intervene?!"

Along with Jiang Liu's roar, a pure white tiger stepped out of a summoning array and appeared behind him.

The tiger was as tall as a three or four-story building, with sharp fangs that were likely half a person's length, and it even had a pair of wings on its back.

It was like a tiger with wings added—truly majestic and awe-inspiring.

Accompanied by a world-shaking roar, the terrifying pressure made everyone feel as though they couldn't breathe.

"So strong..." This time, even Su Ze was no exception, his head forced down by the pressure.

He looked at Yu Shenghuo beside him and asked, "President Yu, how is it? Can you handle this?"

Yu Shenghuo shook his head and said, "This old man is very strong. Both his beast taming level and bloodline surpass mine. It's impossible to win."

"In a moment, I'll do my best to hold him back. You take the chance to turn around and run—as far as you can!"

Su Ze gritted his teeth.

Run? How far could he run?

Without Feng Qingyi, he could only rely on his own two legs, while Jiang Liu could clearly fly.

He would likely be caught and taken out in a single move before he could even get a few steps away.

Yu Shenghuo was so afraid of Jiang Liu, which meant his level must be over seventy. He just didn't know if it was higher than seventy-five, and whether the nightmare clone left by Lin Xi would still be effective.

He could only take a gamble!

Su Ze lowered his voice and whispered into Yu Shenghuo's ear, "President Yu, I'm afraid I won't be able to escape. I might as well stay and help you. Let's fight him together!"

"Fight? How? Could it be that your Golden Feather Phoenix Bird really isn't dead? Then you definitely have to run! We can't let it fall into the hands of the Jiang Family!" Yu Shenghuo replied in a low voice.

Su Ze shook his head. "The Golden Feather Phoenix Bird... I really don't have it. Right now, I only have a platinum-level beast in its forties."

"Then how are you going to help me? Staying like this will only hold me back. Don't be so indecisive—go, quickly! If you can escape fast enough, I can also withdraw sooner, and the probability of survival will be higher!" Yu Shenghuo grew anxious and scolded Su Ze.

Su Ze continued to explain, "President Yu, although I can't help directly, my shadow can! An... expert, yes, an expert left a life-saving measure in my shadow. As long as we can stall for a while, we can put the enemy to sleep."

Since that accident, Lin Xi had been a regular staff member at Beast Taming University and likely didn't want too many people to know his identity, so Su Ze didn't state it explicitly.

"Once he's asleep, we can easily deal with him!" Su Ze quietly made a gesture.

To him, it was just as well that Jiang Liu had come; this way, he could resolve everything at once and eliminate any future troubles.

Yu Shenghuo glanced at Su Ze, then nodded. "If this expert you're talking about is the one I'm thinking of... then there's indeed no problem. I'll trust you this once!"

Jiang Liu watched the two of them whispering with a calm and composed manner, making no move to stop them.

He didn't seem worried at all that they could come up with any means to deal with him.

"Are you finished with your last words? If so, I'm going to make my move!"

Jiang Liu didn't use any beast taming techniques himself; he simply pointed forward, and the Winged White-browed Tiger behind him pounced toward them.

Yu Shenghuo went all out, having his Raging Flame Lion transform into beast taming armor to wear as he met the attack.

The aftershocks of their battle were not something others could withstand, and the crowd quickly retreated.

They watched the situation between the two after the thick dust and smoke cleared.

Yu Shenghuo had forcibly blocked the white tiger's assault, his hands firmly braced against the two massive tiger claws.

It seemed like a stalemate after that move, but in reality, Su Ze, who was closer, could see at a glance that the hand sections of Yu Shenghuo's beast taming armor were completely shattered.

Both of his hands were a bloody mess, with white bone even piercing through the flesh and skin, exposed to the air.

Meanwhile, a very human-like, playful expression—like a cat toying with a mouse—appeared on the white tiger's face.

With every step Jiang Liu took forward from behind, Yu Shenghuo's expression grew more pained, and his body sank a bit further down.

At the moment the two began to fight, Su Ze also pleaded with his shadow under Xu Yao's strange gaze.

"Great Nightmare, please help out! We can't just defend passively this time; we have to take the initiative!"

And his shadow indeed responded, as black tentacles reached out and swayed gently, appearing somewhat hesitant.

"Great Nightmare, if you don't help, I'm a dead man!"

As a clone, it didn't possess full intelligence and could only remember simple commands.

For example, protecting Su Ze's life.

Once it encountered a situation that threatened Su Ze's life, it would immediately strike to protect him.

So, when Su Ze said he would be a dead man, it was instantly activated.

Overjoyed, Su Ze began to direct the nightmare clone to sneak from his shadow all the way into Jiang Liu's shadow to launch an attack.

Everything went smoothly—so smoothly that Su Ze almost couldn't believe it.

The nightmare was already hidden in Jiang Liu's shadow, beginning to use its tentacles to gently touch him in an attempt to hypnotize him.

This time, the tentacles, which had always been successful, didn't instantly plunge the person into a dream where reality and illusion were indistinguishable as before.

But Su Ze knew this was because Jiang Liu's level was too high and it needed more time.

"President Yu, thank you for your hard work. Please, just hold on for a little longer..." Su Ze muttered to himself.

The white tiger was also very cooperative; it clearly could have easily defeated Yu Shenghuo, yet it chose to torture him instead.

Bit by bit, it pressed half of Yu Shenghuo's body into the ground, and his hands had already lost all shape.

"Why hasn't it succeeded yet..." Su Ze grew frantic.

At this moment, Jiang Liu spoke: "Alright, White Tiger, that's enough playing. Finish them off!"

Then he looked at the extremely anxious Su Ze and said with a smile, "By the way, kid, you seemed to be trying to use this to sneak attack me, weren't you?"

Jiang Liu casually grabbed a tentacle that the nightmare clone hadn't had time to retract, and with a pull, he dragged a black humanoid figure out of his own shadow.

"Kid, you wanted to rely on this to deal with me? Unfortunately, if its original body had come in person, I would indeed have fallen for it and been at your mercy. But just a clone... aren't you looking down on me a bit too much?"

He then grabbed both ends of the black humanoid figure and pulled hard, tearing the nightmare to shreds.

At this moment, Su Ze truly felt despair.

This Jiang Liu's beast taming level was likely at least eighty. Even if Feng Qingyi finished her Nirvana in time, she probably wouldn't be able to save him.

"Unless... Teacher can come..."

...And the moment the nightmare clone was destroyed, Lin Xi suddenly stood up from his lounge chair.

"Hmm? This kid has really run into an expert this time!"

He then looked at the entrance to the underground space and hesitated.

He had guarded this place for so many years, not to guard against foreign units like the Fusang Dark Guards—they were nothing and not worth such vigilance.

What he feared was the thing on the other side of where the Dragon Corpse was located.

"If I only leave for a moment... it should be fine, right?" Lin Xi finally decided to step out of here for the first time in many years for the sake of his student, leaving Beast Taming University.

In just a flash, he was already halfway there and could see the signs of the battle not far ahead.

But in the end, he stopped in his tracks.

"You brat... since you're back, I'll give you a chance to save your Junior Brother."

He then turned around and flew straight back.

"Yes, Teacher..." A relaxed and ethereal voice drifted from the air.