"If we could use Amethyst to build villas and walls, ordinary beasts wouldn't be able to break in at all. But you need 300 Strength to split the Amethyst."
Gold Mountain can only be seen, not mined. Yi Tian wants it, but there's nothing he can do.
300 Strength can split it, but that doesn't mean you can mine it for long. According to Yi Tian's estimates, at least 500 Strength, 300 Constitution, plus a Mining Divine Weapon, are needed to mine Amethyst ore for any length of time.
Yi Tian originally planned to assign a job to the Little Kiddo, but now that's on hold for the moment.
"Attention, Lord. Zone 10086 will experience a beast tide in one hour. Beasts will charge out of the mist to attack the Trial Takers' camp. Please prepare defenses, Lord."
Yi Tian is still on the mountain, when the Celestial Dao Stone issues a warning.
Without hesitation, Yi Tian runs down the mountain towards camp. The Celestial Dao's challenge for the Lord isn't just the end-of-month exam. Every day and night could bring any kind of crisis. The Celestial Dao Stone did mention this.
Yi Tian was well prepared, just didn't expect the first assault to happen at night.
For survivors without decent weapons, this makes things even harder.
Yi Tian also noticed the Celestial Dao Stone says "Zone 10086." This means maybe only this region is endangered, or maybe other regions have different challenges.
Take the Monster Region for example—an average beast tide for them is just free Dao Coins. Yi Tian figures the Celestial Dao Rules wouldn't let them have it so easy.
Yi Tian first looks out over the grasslands—no sign of Big Child, so she must've gone back.
Sure enough, back at camp, Big Child is hugging a big fat rabbit.
Judging by its weight, it's got to be at least ten pounds.
"Dad, I caught it!"
Big Child raises the rabbit, all excited.
"Haha, tonight Dad'll roast rabbit for you!"
Yi Tian pats Little Kiddo's hair, thinking tomorrow he'll braid Big Child's hair into horns.
Little Kiddo isn't like the Calabash Sisters on TV—there's no calabash growing on her head. If the hair isn't put up, it makes him look like a lazy parent.
Yi Tian had planned to work on the large water purifier when he got back, but the beast tide throws his plans off.
Yi Tian does have a tech core for large purifiers, so he can produce them infinitely.
The Advanced Water Pipeline Design Map includes a high-level water tower, filters, and a ton of top-grade piping. Using this blueprint on his current cabin would be a huge waste, so Yi Tian's holding off for now.
Yi Tian also has an Ice Storage Design Map. Problem is, no ice cubes—so even if he builds it, it's useless. That's on hold too.
Regional Channel:
"Waaah, the three threats aren't even gone, and now the beast tide comes! Celestial Dao is such a jerk!"
"I'm starving! Someone give me something to eat. Let me be a well-fed ghost!"
"Upstairs, didn't you loot any boxes? Or are you just tricking for food? Even if you can't catch rabbits on the grassland, wild berries are enough for ten days, right?"
"Grassland wild berries are so sour and bitter, hard to swallow. Luckily my trap caught a rabbit."
"So jealous of Wing Race people. When beasts come, they can just fly into the sky."
"Hah, surely you're not naive enough to think there are no flying beasts in the Celestial Dao World?"
"Guys, is it possible these beast tides are just a bunch of goats, deer, or piglets?"
Deer Race: "Shame on anyone who eats deer!"
Sheepman Race: "Shame on anyone who eats sheep!"
Pigman Race Pig Boar: "Anyone without a pig's head is downright ugly. Pig Race—add me as a friend."
"Hey, Pig Boar upstairs, did any Wild Boars attack you?"
Yi Tian watches everyone chat; he doesn't even get a chance to speak. He gets where the deer and sheep folks are coming from. It's like humans being naturally turned off by eating monkeys or primate meat.
Celestial Horse Star Race: "Whoa, I hear wolves here, anyone got a strong crossbow? Lend it to me. Spear's not gonna cut it!"
Forest Elf Race Mumu Qingqing: "Don't be afraid, everyone. Wolves are fierce, but with guts, you can take one down even barehanded. Our three-dimensional stats are way higher than wolves; being scared will only lower your combat power."
Celestial Gift Race Skage: "First time facing wolves—is there any alcohol to steel my nerves?"
Soon after, the chat floods with people saying they hear wolves. Usually, just a single wolf breaks in.
Yi Tian muses to himself: Celestial Dao is just doing a minor test, not trying to kill people.
Just like Mumu Qingqing said, as long as you have courage, even an adult woman could take down a wolf—especially since everyone has stone axes and hoes.
The Celestial Dao gave an hour's warning; everyone's ready.
"ROAR!"
A dominating roar echoes through Yi Tian's territory.
"Roaaar..."
After that roar, four more shouts rise in response, back and forth.
"That's not a wolf... that's... a tiger—and it's not just one."
Yi Tian steps outside, and instantly knows. It's got to be his Level 4 Territory—he gets fancier monsters than everyone else.
Yi Tian had wanted to catch a wolf barehanded, didn't even bring his weapon.
Seeing it's tigers, he quietly goes back to the yard and grabs his Purple Steel Mountain-Cracking Blade.
Not chickening out—giving tigers their respect...
The tigers are roaring up on the Amethyst mountain—they sprint out of the mist behind the mountain, then cross over.
Yi Tian knows—even if he doesn't go looking for tigers, tigers are coming for him.
The wooden fence won't keep tigers out, and these tigers probably outclass Earth's Siberian tigers.
When Yi Tian gets close to the foot of the mountain, the tigers are already descending.
In the darkness, five pairs of eerie blue eyes are shining.
"Tiger, E-level beast. Strength: 60, Constitution: 60, Speed: 60."
The Celestial Dao Stone shows all five tigers have identical attributes. They're weaker than the three previous threats.
Yi Tian and Big Child both have stats way above these five tigers.
"Daddy, I want to ride!"
Big Child looks at Yi Tian, all eager-eyed.
"Okay, you take one, I'll handle the other four." Big Child's stats are triple the tiger's, Yi Tian's not worried at all.
The five tigers barely lock eyes with Yi Tian before lunging at him and Big Child.
Yi Tian wants to try out Beast Taming Skills, so he doesn't plan to kill.
As one tiger pounces at Yi Tian, he sidesteps and whacks its head with the back of his blade.
The crushing strength is far beyond what the tiger can stand—it lands on the grass and rolls over, instantly still.
No sooner said than done—another two tigers leap at him.
Yi Tian kicks one, not holding back—sends it flying three meters, yowling.
At the same time, Yi Tian backhands another blow to the head of a tiger, leaving it dizzy.
The stat gap is more than double. Without innate talent, that's just impossible to cross. Especially since they're slower and less tough, too.
Unless ten more tigers bum rush him at once, Yi Tian won't even get hurt.
Yi Tian glances at Big Child, feeling guilty—he promised to give her one tiger, but she's facing two.
Right then, Big Child jumps on the back of one tiger. However much it bucks and goes wild, it can't shake her off.
Another tiger tries to ambush, and Big Child's little foot kicks the ambusher's head.
The ambusher is sent flying several meters, tries to get up, but its bones feel like jelly, looking all confused.
Just as Yi Tian thinks it's over, he suddenly gets the creeps.
He sees a white shadow shoot out from the darkness—so fast, it's almost invisible under cover of night.
Yi Tian dodges instinctively, but not quite fast enough.
"Rip!"
His shirt is shredded, a shallow claw mark on his chest.
"Hiss..."
The first time getting hurt—Yi Tian bares his teeth at the pain.
Checks the wound—only surface level.
Ten meters away: a white tiger appears.
Not too far—despite the thick darkness, Yi Tian can still see clearly.
This tiger has no stripes, just pure white fur—no mixed hairs, looking like a big house cat. It's only about 1.2 or 1.3 meters long, just a third of the size of the five big tigers.
"Wind and Cloud White Tiger, juvenile, D-level. Strength: 100, Constitution: 100, Agility: 150. S-level bloodline talent King of a Hundred Beasts: Roar reduces beast combat power by 20%. S-level combat talent Chasing Wind: Temporarily boosts Agility by 50%, lasts 100 seconds, after using Chasing Wind can't use again for an hour."
The Celestial Dao Stone shows these stats and Yi Tian is floored.
150 × (1 + 50%) = 225!
There's actually a boss!
Just then, Big Child sees Yi Tian in danger—she prepares to jump down from above and grab onto the white tiger's neck. Her previous mount is already flipped belly-up, not moving.
The white tiger senses danger and dodges nimbly before Big Child can jump on its back—easily evading her clutch.
Neither Big Child nor Yi Tian specialize in speed—they're all about strength. Both have 110 Speed, but the white tiger blows them away.
Because of their talents, Yi Tian always favors brute force, but now he realizes how vital speed can be.
"Big Child, step back!"
Yi Tian knows Big Child can't hurt Wind and Cloud White Tiger, and might even get killed. He rushes to her side, gets her to stand back.
Wind and Cloud White Tiger can only be outsmarted—not overpowered. Best to take it down before it activates its talent.
Use Mountain Lifting and Cauldron Carrying's overwhelming strength to tame it.
Yep—tame it!
Yi Tian wants to keep this juvenile Wind and Cloud White Tiger—it can make up for the lack of speed in his territory.
"Go Dad!"
Big Child is obedient, backing off far away.
Yi Tian sharpens his gaze, locking onto the white tiger.
Wind and Cloud White Tiger looks at Yi Tian provocatively, already showing some intelligence—like a five-year-old human.
"Ow... that hurts..."
Yi Tian suddenly grabs his chest and painfully sits on the ground, panting as if he might drop dead any moment.
Of course, he's just faking it.
Yi Tian can't let the White Tiger feel threatened. If it activates its bloodline talent, there's no way for him to dodge its attacks.
Seeing the white tiger isn't buying it, Yi Tian simply throws his Purple Steel Mountain-Cracking Blade far away, showing he's giving up.
Wind and Cloud White Tiger has been glued to Yi Tian all along, ignoring Big Child. It gets a strong urge: must kill this human carrying a certain scent.
Seeing Yi Tian sitting on the ground, Wind and Cloud White Tiger finally can't resist—it becomes a flash of white and leaps for Yi Tian.
It's aiming for Yi Tian's throat.
Yi Tian, being a skilled hunter, knows exactly what the tiger's after. He can barely see its shadow, but the moment it leaps, he turns his head to the side.
Mountain Lifting and Cauldron Carrying!
At the same instant, talent activates.
As Yi Tian turns his head, the white tiger misses—it plants back legs on Yi Tian, front legs on the ground, body parallel to him.
In that moment, Yi Tian finds his chance. While Wind and Cloud White Tiger hasn't activated its talent, 110 vs 150 isn't an impossible gap.
Yi Tian does a roll, and with 268 Strength grabs the tiger's neck. He uses its momentum to roll seven or eight times on the ground, taming its wildness.
After all, Wind and Cloud White Tiger is still a juvenile, just about 1.3 meters long.
After a few rolls, Yi Tian flips up, pinning the white tiger to the grass.
"Wuu wuu..."
Wind and Cloud White Tiger struggles wildly. One claw tries to smack Yi Tian, but he frees one hand and grabs the paw—locking it in place.
At this point, even activating its combat talent wouldn't help.