Chapter 80 - 79: Yellow-skinned Youth

A Two-star Demon Beast is equivalent to a human Martial Artist at the Spirit Sea Realm and is also known as a "Spirit Level Demon Beast"!

Once a Spirit Level Demon Beast appears in human territory, it can easily slaughter an entire village or small town.

Moreover, the Spirit Level Demon Beast that had just appeared was a massive, highly mobile flying beast, leading a huge flock of Demon Birds in for the kill.

"Fall back and defend!"

"Archers, get ready!"

The village had simple defensive structures. Under the command of several leaders, the Martial Artists and students fought as they retreated back into the village.

WHOOSH! SWOOSH!

Hundreds, even thousands, of Demon Birds flew into the village. Some of the slower Martial Artists were decapitated by sharp beaks or had their chests pierced by sharp talons.

No one noticed a charred, smoking crow taking advantage of the chaos to sneak into the village.

"Quick, retreat!"

Luo Tian’s five-person squad quickly retreated into the village.

PFFT! PFFT!

The sharp sword in Luo Tian’s hand unleashed several bursts of Breaking Sky Sword Qi that bloomed like Starlight, slaying a few Mid-Low Tier Demon Birds and forcing back one High Tier Demon Bird.

Before long, Luo Tian Squad took cover inside a low stone house.

Miraculously, Luo Tian Squad had managed the entire retreat without a single casualty.

This was all thanks to Luo Tian’s methodical command, incredibly fast reflexes, and his Spiritual Sense, which could perceive details within a radius of several dozen meters, allowing him to always find the most advantageous course of action.

CRACK! THUD!

The stone house’s door and windows were smashed by a few Demon Beasts.

However, Luo Tian’s group easily dispatched the few Demon Beasts that launched sporadic attacks.

Luo Tian only needed to guard against a High Tier Demon Beast attacking and dealing a devastating blow to the stone house.

"We’re safe for now."

Stationed inside the stone house, Chen Haofei and the others let out a long sigh of relief, still shaken by the experience.

There were too many flying beasts outside.

If they were swarmed by dozens or even a hundred One-star Demon Beasts at once, even someone at the Ninth Layer of Meridian Opening would die a bitter death on the spot.

And that Spirit Level Flying Bird was completely unstoppable!

The defense of the village lasted for a short while, but the casualties kept mounting.

"Vile beast!"

Suddenly, a loud, resounding voice boomed in the sky above the village.

Immediately after, a heart-pounding collision echoed from mid-air, followed by the roar of exploding air and the screech of the giant Spirit Level bird.

"It’s a Spirit Sea Realm expert!"

Inside the village, the many Martial Artists felt their spirits lift as the pressure on them greatly diminished.

"Huh?"

Luo Tian felt that the Spirit Sea Realm expert’s voice sounded a little familiar.

Looking outside, he saw a portly, middle-aged man launching clusters of crimson-black fist-lights—each the size of a water vat—at the Cyan-Feathered Giant Bird in the sky.

The formless ripples casually emanating from his body caused the nearby houses and buildings to shatter and collapse.

The aftershocks alone could instantly kill a Martial Artist at the Seventh or Eighth Layer of Meridian Opening.

In mid-air, the Cyan-Feathered Giant Bird let out a sharp screech. Blood splattered from its wings as it finally turned and fled frantically into the sky.

As it fled toward the horizon, the giant Spirit Level bird shot a hateful, unwilling glance toward the stone house where Luo Tian and his team were.

Chen Haofei and the others shivered, a chill running through their bodies as if they had been plunged into an ice cellar.

"Thank goodness Master Luo arrived."

The students of the Sun Chasing Holy Mansion felt both relieved and a little proud.

That portly, middle-aged man was none other than Master Luo of the Holy Mansion.

Luo Tian remembered that when he was choosing from the three Mentors, he had rejected this Fatty Luo.

After the giant Spirit Level bird retreated, most of the attacking flying beasts followed suit, greatly reducing the pressure on the village’s defenses.

"Everyone, to your positions! And pull yourselves together!"

Fatty Luo’s booming voice rang out.

Within the village, morale soared!

The Martial Artists and students from the various mansions all came out to proactively join the fight.

"Lord Luo, this matter is strange."

"Spirit Level Demon Beasts usually attack the frontline Battle Castles. We’ve never seen a giant Spirit Level bird leading a large number of flying beasts to attack a village."

"Also, there’s an unusually large number of flying beasts in this year’s Beast Tide."

Inside the village, several leaders at the Meridian Opening Eighth and Ninth Layers spoke with worried expressions.

"This year’s Beast Tide is indeed strange."

Fatty Luo’s brow furrowed slightly.

The Celestial Extreme Mountain Range is enormous, stretching across more than half the continent.

The Beast Tide in this region started more than a month earlier than in other areas, and it has a particularly high number of flying beasts.

「Inside the stone house.」

Luo Tian was leading his team members, preparing to go outside and fight Demon Beasts.

"Ugly Bird, come out."

Luo Tian paused and said unexpectedly.

Chen Haofei and the others were a bit confused. Who was Luo Tian talking to?

FLAP FLAP!

A crow, charred black and smoking, darted out from under the corpse of a Demon Bird on top of the stone house.

"Aiyo, you scared this god to death..."

The Crow let out a strange cry and flew in front of them, looking terrified.

Chen Haofei and the others jumped in fright.

Luo Tian waved his hand, stopping them from attacking.

"Brother Luo, is this your Battle Beast?"

Chen Haofei and the others clicked their tongues in amazement.

Generally, only special Demon Beasts at the Spirit Level or higher could speak human language.

Among Low Tier Demon Beasts, some trained Demon Birds like parrots could hold simple conversations with humans.

But Luo Tian’s Battle Beast had rich expressions and language, far surpassing those birds that were merely tamed to speak.

"Mhm."

Luo Tian didn’t deny it. He was planning to find a private place to put the Crow into the Celestial Book.

"Young man... I beg you, let this god stay and fight alongside you."

The Crow’s expression changed as it pleaded pitifully.

Hearing this, an idea sparked in Luo Tian’s mind.

’I wonder what kind of combat abilities this Crow has.’

「An hour later.」

Luo Tian was starting to regret his decision, and Chen Haofei’s group was suffering as well.

"CAW CAW! Kill them faster! Hey, you’re too slow..."

"CAW CAW CAW! Kill it... Let this god handle it..."

During the hunt for Demon Beasts, the Crow zipped back and forth, hopping and flitting about.

Throughout the entire process, the Crow didn’t join the fight at all, just squawked incessantly from the sidelines and got on everyone’s nerves.

Whenever they killed a Demon Beast, the Crow would swoop in and eat a mouthful of the heart-flesh from the Demon Beast’s chest.

While this happened, Luo Tian could feel the aura on the Crow’s body faintly strengthening.

Furthermore, Luo Tian noticed something else that was strange.

Ever since the Crow had arrived, the number of Demon Beasts and flying beasts in their immediate area was clearly higher than elsewhere.

If one were to look down from the sky, they would see a considerable portion of the Beast Tide’s forces heading directly for the area where the Crow was.

This scene was far from normal!

Luo Tian couldn’t help but recall the unwilling glance the giant Spirit Level bird had cast toward the stone house before it left.

At that time, the Crow had been hiding on the roof of the stone house, playing dead.

"Ugly Bird! Tell me the truth, what trouble did you cause?"

Luo Tian grabbed the Crow and dragged it to a corner to interrogate it.

"Ah! Hey... I didn’t do anything, I just went to the Celestial Extreme Mountain Range..."

The Crow’s eyes darted around as it stammered.

"What did you do in the Celestial Extreme Mountain Range?"

Luo Tian felt he was onto something. He had heard people discussing how the Beast Tide in this area had arrived a month early.

Not only was the Beast Tide massive, but the number of flying beasts was also immense.

"I... I just found a few beautiful female birds, slept with them, and that’s it. I didn’t do anything else."

The Crow said evasively.

"Slept with female birds?"

Luo Tian was taken aback. This was inexplicably strange.

Logically, the Crow was male. After being cooped up in the Celestial Book for so long, it was only natural for a bird to seek out a few females for some fun.

But why would that cause such a huge commotion and even make the Beast Tide arrive early?

That huge flock of flying beasts from before, including the giant Spirit Level bird, seemed to have been chasing the Crow.

’This Ugly Bird is definitely hiding something else.’

Luo Tian snorted coldly and was about to press for more answers.

"Seniors from the Sun Chasing Holy Mansion, can anyone let me join their team?"

A slightly weak voice called out.

Just then, a yellow-skinned youth covered in wounds walked into their area.

There were several squads from the Holy Mansion nearby, including Luo Tian’s and Li Hai’s teams, defending their respective areas against the Beast Tide.

"Why are you alone? Where’s your team?"

Li Hai questioned him coldly.

Normally, students of the Holy Mansion, unless they were extremely strong Golden Students, always operated in teams.

This yellow-skinned youth was only at the Fifth Layer of Meridian Opening. He was probably a new student from this year’s class.

"I came from a village up ahead. A huge flock of flying beasts appeared out of nowhere and wiped out several teams. I was just lucky to escape with my life and make it here."

The yellow-skinned youth said with a dejected look on his face.

"I know him, he’s one of the new students."

A few Bronze Students confirmed his identity after looking him over.

"Fine! You can join my team."

Li Hai said impatiently.

If his team hadn’t suffered such heavy losses, he wouldn’t have bothered taking in an injured student at the Fifth Layer of Meridian Opening.

Hm?

Seeing this yellow-skinned youth, a thought stirred in Luo Tian’s mind.

He remembered that the Bronze Student who had tried to assassinate him back then was a youth with yellowish skin.

Thinking of this, Luo Tian subconsciously used his Qi Observation Skill to observe the yellow-skinned youth.