My Love Life With The Sect Masters in Xianxia (Patreon)

Chapter 125: The Hunt Begins, Humanity Strikes Back!

In an instant, the entire battlefield fell silent.

All eyes were fixed in shock on the scene before them.

Li Ran stood tall, his figure towering like an iron fortress, exuding a palpable aura of blood energy.

Beneath his feet lay the once-mighty Thunder Lion, its massive body twitching uncontrollably. Blood gushed from the gaping hole in its chest.

Even with its terrifying vitality as a Nascent Soul Realm beast, the Thunder Lion could not die immediately, even with its heart shattered.

The icy blue eyes that once radiated ferocity and brutality now only reflected pain and desperation.

It was afraid. It wanted to live!

Li Ran's dark red eyes were cold and merciless. He raised his right foot and pressed it against the lion's head.

Under its terrified gaze, he stomped down fiercely.

Red and white fluid splattered in all directions.

The Nascent Soul Realm Thunder Lion was dead!

This blood-soaked battle between man and beast had lasted no more than a stick of incense's time.

Yet it had decided who would live, who would die, who would stand, and who would fall!

The Thunder Lion’s massive body began to fade, and its icy blue eyes dimmed.

Without the ability to separate its primordial spirit from its physical body, its death was complete and absolute.

Li Ran raised his head, his indifferent gaze sweeping across the horde of beasts.

The beasts trembled, their courage shattered, their instincts screaming in terror!

In that moment, they finally realized that the human before them was not prey.

He was the hunter!

Li Ran took a step forward, and the beasts collectively retreated, letting out whimpering cries of fear.

He stepped forward again, and the beasts retreated further!

He had single handedly driven back the entire beast tide!

Li Ran’s cold, commanding voice echoed across the battlefield.

“Disciples of the Hidden Gauze Sect, heed my command!”

“We are here!”

A group of disciples flew to his side.

Following Li Ran’s instructions, they formed a defensive formation. While combating the beasts, they prioritized ensuring their own safety.

At this moment, though Li Ran’s face was slightly pale, not a single one of his followers had fallen!

Li Ran gazed at the beast horde before him, a menacing grin curling at the corners of his mouth.

“Let the hunt begin!” he growled.

“Kill!”

The disciples, their eyes ablaze with fervor, sprang into action, charging into the beast tide.

Yue Jianli watched his figure from behind, her cheeks flushed, her heart pounding.

This is Li Ran!

She stepped onto her flying sword, rising into the air. Her voice rang clear:

“Disciples of the Ten Thousand Swords Pavilion, heed my call! Counterattack! Let these beasts learn who is the true ruler of the vast lands!”

“Kill!”

“Drive them back to the Ten Thousand Mountains!”

“For the glory of humanity!”

The cultivators' blood boiled as they pushed their remaining spiritual energy to the limit, recklessly throwing themselves into battle.

The tide of the counterattack surged forward, reversing the push that had brought the beasts to the gates of the city.

The monsters, terrified by Li Ran’s overwhelming display of power, had already lost their fighting spirit.

Initially driven by instinct to kill, they now howled in panic, turning to flee.

“Awwoooo!”

In their chaos, countless of their own kin were trampled to death underfoot.

The cultivators, having endured the suffocating despair of battle, finally released their pent-up rage.

Radiant divine lights illuminated the skies, and the booming of powerful techniques echoed, bathing the battlefield in dazzling brilliance.

Li Ran did not join the fray.

Standing with his hands behind his back, his tattered robes flapped in the wind, and his presence shone even more brightly.

Lin Langyue stole a glance at his profile, an indescribable emotion stirring in her heart.

This was a man unrestrained and unruly.

He disdained the righteous sect, loathed the demonic sects, and dismissed the so-called geniuses of top sects as beneath him.

Yet this very man had leapt into the beast tide alone to protect the mortals of Nanfeng City, battling the Nascent Soul Realm beast with his life on the line.

If not for his primal, bloody methods of killing the Thunder Lion and frightening the horde into retreat, this tide might never have stopped!

“Li Ran…”

Lin Langyue’s gaze grew complicated. “What kind of person are you, really?”

<+>

As the first rays of sunlight pierced the horizon, the dark veil of night was torn apart.

The beast tide had completely dissipated.

Outside Nanfeng City lay a desolate wasteland.

The air was thick with the stench of blood. The yellow earth had been dyed a deep, dark red.

The mangled corpses of beasts littered the plain, their grotesque remains stretching as far as the eye could see.

Blades and swords jutted from the ground, smoke lingered in the air, and the battlefield resembled a scene from the apocalypse.

Yet amidst this destruction lay the seeds of hope and a new dawn.

The cultivators were battered and bloodied, their robes in tatters, their ethereal image completely shattered.

But their faces glowed with triumphant smiles.

The beast tide had failed to breach the human defenses.

Not a single citizen of Nanfeng City had died!

This was a colossal victory for humanity!

<+>

The gates of Nanfeng City creaked open slowly.

A flood of citizens poured out, a tidal wave of gratitude and relief.

Though they had stayed within the city, the deafening roars of the beasts and the reverberating blasts of Dao Techniques made it clear how harrowing the battle outside had been.

These lofty cultivators had fought desperately to protect them.

The city lord of Nanfeng City pushed through the crowd and knelt before the cultivators, bowing his head to the ground with a resounding thud.

His voice trembled as he choked back tears:

“Thank you, exalted cultivators, for saving the people of Nanfeng City from the jaws of death!”

Behind him, the citizens also fell to their knees.

“Thank you, noble cultivators, for your mercy and salvation!”

“Thank you for saving our lives!”

Among them were elderly men with silver hair, young children, and mothers clutching infants. Without exception, their eyes were filled with gratitude and reverence.

The cultivators, looking at the faces of these people, felt a newfound sense of relief.

Relief that they hadn’t fled the battle. Relief that they had chosen to fight for the mortals. Relief that they had managed to protect the city.

Perhaps this is one of the purposes of cultivation?

<+>

The citizens carried stretchers and helped the wounded cultivators back into the city.

Meanwhile, silence fell upon the city walls.

The so-called “reinforcements” from various sects wore bitter expressions as they watched the scene unfold.

They hadn’t expected the beast tide to truly be stopped.

Steward Liu of the Divine Dao Sect, his face ashen, muttered under his breath.

If word of this spread, it wouldn’t just tarnish the reputation of their sect; he himself would face severe punishment.

Steward Liu quickly said, “Let’s go! We should descend as well!”

“Yes, reinforcements count as contributing too!”

“That’s right, I threw down a few medicinal pills earlier!”

The group shamelessly clamored.

Just as they were about to descend the walls, a pale-faced young man stepped forward to block their path.

“You have ten seconds to disappear,” Bai Jiangye said calmly. “Or else…”

He smirked coldly, “I’ll kill you all.”

The disciples of the Slaughter Prison stepped forward, their murderous intent surging.

Steward Liu swallowed hard. “Bai Jiangye, you stood idly by as well. What right do you have to threaten us now?”

Bai Jiangye flashed a bright, toothy grin. “That’s true. I did stand idly by. After all, the lives of mortals mean as much to me as pigs and dogs.”

“But you? I simply find you unpleasant. Got a problem with that?”

“You!”

“Five seconds,” Bai Jiangye interrupted.

“Bai Jiangye!”

“Four.”

Gritting his teeth, Steward Liu stomped in frustration and led the Divine Dao Sect disciples away.

The other sects and rogue cultivators didn’t dare linger and fled in disarray.

The Slaughter Prison’s infamy was no joke, if they said they want to kill someone, they will stop at nothing to kill that person, even if it means the destruction of their sect.

Bai Jiangye turned back to look at Li Ran’s upright figure, a smile fading into seriousness.

“He’s grown this strong, huh…”