The Bloodfang Tiger did not immediately attack, believing that its enemies had regrouped because they possessed some hidden trump card capable of countering its rampaging strength. It could not be surprised considering the amount of strength they have shown already. In truth, however, the group remained on high alert, prepared for any sudden strike.
After saying their final goodbyes, Chi Jung and Hua Ya turned to face the beast with unwavering determination. The traces of tears and sorrow from moments ago vanished as though they had never existed. Hua Ya took a single step, and the skies darkened—black clouds roiled and gathered, a storm manifesting in an instant.
Hua Zhenlan was stunned for a brief moment before sorrow settled over her heart. Such a feat—summoning a rainstorm—was possible only for Sovereigns or higher. Her daughter was clearly not of that realm, which left only one explanation: she was burning her life force. Worse still, Hua Zhenlan realized that Chi Jung was doing the same. His fire blazed with unnatural intensity, yet it was not extinguished by Hua Ya's storm. They were both sacrificing their vitality.
"Why are you burning your life force?!" Hua Zhenlan cried out in panic. "You still have a chance to survive. But if you deplete too much, there will be no saving you."
Chi Jung only smiled wearily. "It's already in full rampage. If we don't go all out, we'll be torn apart in seconds. Right now, it's still slightly intimidated by our display, but if it senses that we're bluffing, everything we've done will be for nothing."
Inwardly, he thought: There is no one coming to save us. We strayed from the main path—no one will stumble upon this place. All I can do is pray that Chi Xianyan lives on.
"Still, this method burns far more than it gives. Why do you think people avoid using it?" Hua Zhenlan pressed.
Chi Jung did not answer.
He and Hua Ya lunged forward together, the ground caving beneath their feet as they shot ahead. Hua Ya's sword elongated with jagged ice as she thrust toward the beast's eye, forcing it a step back. Every swing of her sword seemed to be aimed at a vital point, she was going for the kill or at least to injure it as much as possible.
The Bloodfang Tiger could feel their sudden surge in strength and could not comprehend it. If the third human joined in, they might truly be able to slay it—but at a devastating cost. They might die or at the very least be heavily injured. Injured cultivators in the middle of a forest were little more than sitting prey.
Chi Jung closed in bare-handed, flames cloaking his fist as he struck at the beast's snout. Once again, the monarch was pressured. Hua Ya's sword whistled through the air, aiming for an exposed part of its face. At the last moment, an earth pillar erupted beneath her, flinging her skyward.
More pillars burst from the ground, forcing Chi Jung to twist and weave to avoid them. An earthen block hurtled toward him; he shattered it with a punch, only to meet a sweeping tail.
"Nice try," he growled, sliding under the attack. His flaming fist slammed into the beast's underbelly, one of its few unscaled weaknesses.
A Monarch's hide was nearly impervious to Kings, no matter how gifted, yet this blow drew an actual pained cry from the beast. Not even the earlier gash in its shoulder had evoked such a reaction. Furious, it tried to stomp him, forcing Chi Jung to roll repeatedly to avoid being crushed.
When he rose, his body had aged drastically. Wrinkles marked his once youthful face, and streaks of gray threaded his hair. Looking at his trembling, wrinkled hands, he knew their time was almost up. Still, he charged again, breaking through the earth walls that rose before him. The downpour had softened the ground, weakening the tiger's control over it.
Before he could strike, a voice rang out: "I'm ready!"
It was Hua Zhenlan. She had swallowed the pill Chi Jung entrusted to her. Her entire body shone with radiant light.
The Bloodfang Tiger's instincts screamed, it knew what ever was about to happen it won't like it. Ignoring Chi Jung completely, it barreled toward her. Chi Jung leapt, seizing its tail. Though he slowed it slightly, he lacked the strength to stop its charge. It dragged him mercilessly as it rushed forward.
Suddenly, Hua Ya appeared out of nowhere, jumping upon the beast's back. Her hair had turned entirely silver-gray, whipping in the wind, and faint blemishes marred her once flawless skin, though they could not dim her beauty. Driving her blade deep into its flesh, she released every ounce of icy qi within her. The more Qi she released, the more she aged visibly. Frost spread through the monster's bones, needles of cold agony piercing it from within.
The Bloodfang Tiger shrieked, thrashing violently until it flung her against a massive tree. A thick branch impaled her shoulder. Blood soaked her robes, yet the injury was not instantly fatal for a King, even one prematurely aged.
Through the pain, Hua Ya looked toward Hua Zhenlan and smiled faintly. Her body glowed brighter and brighter, her form becoming an ethereal sphere of light—the activation of the movement technique [Law Of Void: First Form – Soul Ablaze].
Even as pure energy, Hua Zhenlan saw everything clearly. For a final moment, she hesitated, but the reality struck her: even weakened, the beast was too dangerous. She didn't have full confidence of being able to defeat without suffering injuries. Its rampage would claim them all. Clutching Chi Xianyan tightly, she glanced back one last time with tears in her eyes before streaking through the forest like a shooting star. Remaining stationary would drain too much; [Law Of Void] was a movement technique, not a stationary one.
As she sped through the trees, she glimpsed a familiar silhouette a few kilometers away. A figure she had seen before—Chi Jung's cousin, Chi Feng. At first, she was wondering what he was doing here, the entire ordeal has made her thinking process slow until it clicked. In that instant, realization dawned: the so-called "expert" who slew the beast's mate had probably been hired by Chi Feng or his father. She had always disliked Chi Feng's father, whose scheming eyes betrayed hidden malice. Chi Feng lacked the wit for such plots; clearly, it was his father's doing.
She now understood—returning to the Chi Family meant certain death.
At the forest's edge, she collapsed, gasping for air. Even with the pill's protection, she still had to consume a small portion of her life force to safely arrive. She felt her cultivation plummet. Her meridians were shattered, her foundation destroyed. Forcing down recovery pills, she stabilized her body. She had fallen back to the late Heavenly Origin stage, and progress would now be many times harder. After a little rest, she rose with Chi Xianyan in her arms. Leaving quickly in case Chi Feng came to check whatever the light was.
Meanwhile, Chi Feng observed the glowing light from afar, mistaking it for a stray attack. He had not dared to approach the battlefield, fearing detection. Listening only to shockwaves and the beast's roars, he assumed the battle was ending.
He expected them to fall quickly, but their resilience surprised him. 'So the upper realm truly produce monsters like this,' he thought. He thought the only one who could stand against the Bloodfang Tiger was Hua Zhenlan—the others would be nothing more than cannon fodder. At their level, even battling a foe a single stage higher was already considered an extraordinary feat. Even so, he believed the Bloodfang Tiger would prevail. He could never have imagine Chi Jung and Hua Ya battling a Monarch Beast. After all, an initial-stage King facing a peak-stage King was still easier than a peak-stage King crossing an entire realm to challenge even the weakest Monarch.
After the battlefield quieted, he waited until its aura faded before creeping closer. From afar, he saw the carnage. Organs, blood, and scattered flesh littered the clearing. Beasts feasted on remains, tearing and fighting among themselves. Chi Jung's wrinkled, broken face was unmistakable among the corpses. He even saw a beast drag Hua Ya's severed head into the brush. Of Hua Zhenlan and Chi Xianyan, he saw nothing, but assumed their corpses had also been devoured.
Returning home, Chi Feng reported their deaths to his father, omitting any mention of the mysterious sphere of light.