91: Chapter 91 The Bitter Battle of a Martial Arts Prodigy

"To think it arranged for the beast horde to surround us in advance..."

Zhong Haoran gathered his True Qi and raised his sword. A cold light flashed, and with one strike, he pierced through a beast that was baring its fangs and brandishing its claws as it lunged at him.

Then, he turned around swiftly, his gaze like a torch fixed on the other group of beasts waiting for an opportunity, while his water-blue True Qi surged forth.

The beast he had pierced was like a cannonball driven by immense power, shooting out wrapped in a fierce wind and scattering the group of beasts.

Zhong Haoran's expression was grave, and he said in a deep voice: "I fear this tiger-shaped beast has calculated our escape route."

To be able to calculate to such a degree, it is highly likely that this tiger-shaped beast has already developed intelligence.

However, in the outside world, for a beast to possess intelligence comparable to an adult human, it must at least reach the fourth-order Advanced stage.

The fact that this tiger-shaped beast can display such behavior is most likely due to the special environment of this Spirit Gathering Secret Realm, allowing it to awaken its intelligence early.

Behind Zhong Haoran, Xiang Tian was facing simultaneous attacks from several beasts.

He exerted force suddenly, swinging the long halberd in his hand with the weight of ten thousand jun, its momentum like a thunderbolt, carving an incredibly dazzling crimson crescent in the air.

The surrounding beasts that were lunging at him with bared fangs and claws were instantly struck as if by a heavy hammer, turning into splashes of blood that flew everywhere.

After the strike landed, Xiang Tian felt no relief at all; he hurriedly braced his long halberd against the ground to steady himself.

Seeing this, the surrounding beasts' eyes flashed with ferocity, preparing to lunge at him again.

Xiang Tian raised his eyes, his Killing Intent erupting.

The previously aggressive beasts shuddered, their lunging footsteps coming to a sudden halt, and they hissed in low voices.

After executing that strike, he hurriedly braced his long halberd against the ground and began to pant heavily.

Unlike Zhong Haoran's combat style, Xiang Tian's fighting method was always broad and open, striving to crush his opponents with absolute power.

Moreover, due to his urgent desire to reclaim first place, he had killed the most beasts along the way, resulting in the greatest consumption of his stamina and True Qi.

Xiang Tian's body was permeated with the heavy stench of beast blood; in ordinary times, this pungent odor alone would be enough to make these beasts keep their distance.

But at this moment, the situation was completely different...

Xiang Tian's gaze was like two cold rays of light, firmly locked onto the rugged mountain rock in the distance.

A tiger-shaped beast was looking down from a high position, staring at them covetously with the air of one overlooking all living things.

The so-called "Lord-level" refers specifically to an existence within a group of beasts in a certain area that possesses absolute ruling status and can command the entire beast horde.

Under the strong supervision of this Lord-level tiger-shaped beast, the group of beasts beside it had no choice but to follow its orders, even if they were filled with reluctance.

"It seems we must deal with it."

Xiang Tian gritted his teeth, a flicker of determination flashing in his eyes.

At this moment, they were completely surrounded by the beast tide; relying solely on him and Zhong Haoran, it was nearly impossible to break out of the encirclement.

The only chance of survival right now was to give their all and take out the leader of this group of beasts.

Once the command was gone, this mob-like beast tide would lose its backbone and fall into chaos, giving them a glimmer of hope.

"Can you still use that Move you used before?" Zhong Haoran understood this point as well and said with a grave expression.

The two of them had previously charged up Poyun Peak from different directions, one after the other.

Along the way, they had slaughtered beasts and gained points, eventually meeting at the summit and encountering that tiger-shaped beast.

At that time, Xiang Tian had gone crazy and unleashed a killing Move that he had been charging for a long time, actually breaking the defenses of this third-order Lord-level beast and injuring its vital point.

Unfortunately, it ultimately failed to kill it in one blow.

This action, however, enraged the tiger-shaped beast, which incited the beast tide to pursue them relentlessly, hunting them down to this day.

The Martial Skill that Zhong Haoran practiced followed a path of endurance and agility; although he had Moves with explosive power, they were not enough to kill a third-order Lord-level beast in one blow.

If there were plenty of time, allowing him to engage in a battle of attrition with the tiger-shaped beast, he would have absolute certainty of defeating it.

But right now, that condition clearly did not exist.

"I can," Xiang Tian replied decisively.

In reality, after the intense battle along the way, his True Qi was like a candle in the wind, his stamina was near its limit, and every breath was accompanied by unbearable soreness.

To release that killing Move capable of severely injuring the tiger-shaped beast again was, by all logic, nearly impossible.

But the pride in Xiang Tian's bones did not allow him to say he couldn't do it in front of his competitor.

"Fine, I'll let you show off this once," Zhong Haoran laughed.

Killing a third-order Lord-level beast could directly earn them fifty thousand points.

But now was not the time to worry about gains or losses in the rankings.

The two of them could be considered the leading figures of their generation, and they also symbolized the reputation of their respective noble families and Martial Arts Universities.

If they were eliminated within the first few days of this Spirit Gathering Secret Realm, they would undoubtedly become the laughingstock of everyone.

If Xiang Tian could kill that tiger-shaped beast in one blow and break this situation.

What harm would there be in conceding this victory to him?

Xiang Tian gripped his long halberd with both hands, fire-red True Qi surging around his body, his Aura becoming increasingly majestic.

The surrounding air seemed to be frozen by an invisible force, and the temperature rose sharply, filled with a scorching Aura.

When he had used this Move earlier, he had aimed for surprise.

This time, in order to significantly increase the lethality and simultaneously allow his remaining True Qi to exert maximum efficiency, he had to charge his Qi to release this killing Move.

The tiger-shaped beast naturally would not sit idly by; it roared at the sky, the sound waves rolling.

In an instant, the surrounding group of beasts that had originally been waiting for an opportunity, even if filled with fear, had no choice but to charge desperately at Xiang Tian.

And Zhong Haoran no longer held back, attacking with all his might.

He brandished his long sword, his movements flowing like clouds and water; with Xiang Tian as the center, he danced a wind-tight web of sword light around him, just like an agile water Dragon, weaving wantonly through the beast horde.

For a time, wherever the cold light flashed, countless beast limbs flew, blood splattered, and a bloody storm permeated the scene.

In the distance, the beasts used their secret patterns to unleash ranged attacks one after another.

In an instant, beams of strange light flew towards Xiang Tian, who was standing in place, focusing on charging his power.

Zhong Haoran's footwork flashed rapidly; he lowered his sword and his figure turned into a blue stream of light, constantly circling around Xiang Tian.

A vortex of True Qi condensed from water-blue True Qi appeared out of thin air, spinning rapidly, swallowing and absorbing all the incoming attacks.

His internal True Qi was being consumed rapidly, yet a feeling of exhilaration surged in Zhong Haoran's heart, and he laughed loudly:

"Regardless of the outcome, we can count ourselves as the first batch of the younger generation to face a third-order beast tide head-on."

"Looking across this Secret Realm, I fear we are the only two with a chance to resolve this beast tide crisis!"

In the outside world, a beast tide led by a third-order Lord-level beast is a truly terrifying disaster.

Once it erupts, if there is no Martial Arts Grandmaster of at least the Spirit Ascension Realm to hold the line, it will inevitably cause extremely heavy casualties.

And the fact that they were able to fight their way through this beast tide to this day makes them worthy of being the Martial Arts Prodigies of the first tier of their generation.

Xiang Tian had no time to respond to Zhong Haoran's words, but these words caused his Battle Intent to rise sharply.

At this moment, what was supporting him was entirely a force of willpower.

He frantically circulated the True Qi within him; every circulation was like squeezing his body to its limit, attempting to stimulate every last shred of True Qi in his body without reservation.

"At this moment, transcend the limits!" Xiang Tian suddenly let out a furious roar that shattered the heavens, his voice sounding like a great bell.

He raised his long halberd with both hands, used all his strength to leap forcefully, and instantly shot out from the water-blue True Qi vortex.

One could see that the long halberd in his hand was already completely wrapped in a domineering, fire-red True Qi that was so dense it was almost tangible.

Looking from afar, it was just like a mass of wantonly leaping flames, dyeing the surroundings fire-red.

Earth-grade Intermediate Martial Skill, Overlord Break.

Xiang Tian suddenly threw the long halberd towards the tiger-shaped beast.

A terrifying shockwave, visible to the naked eye, instantly erupted with him as the center, sending the surrounding beasts flying like straw.

In an instant, the long halberd, wrapped in rolling red light, was like a red lightning bolt tearing through the heavens, carrying the momentum of destroying the world as it pierced rapidly towards the tiger-shaped beast.

But after throwing the long halberd with all his might, Xiang Tian, who was slowly falling through the air, suddenly saw his pupils shrink.

In his eyes, the tiger-shaped beast seemed to pull at the corners of its mouth, revealing a mocking, eerie smile.