Chapter 1167: Man-Made Beast Tide

The city gate guards looked at Lu Yang as if they had seen a ghost, hearing the students' descriptions, Lu Yang clearly faced a situation of certain death with no chance of survival—could this be explained by sufficient life-preserving measures?

Lu Yang returned to Muxue City under the escort of the students, which clashed sharply with the tense atmosphere of Muxue City.

The beast tide surged, and all of Muxue City prepared for battle, with every cultivator conscripted.

Upon returning to the martial hall, Lu Yang told his classmates to go home, saying today's extracurricular activity had concluded quite satisfactorily.

When Lu Yang arrived at the martial hall, he found it empty; after asking nearby people, he learned that the city lord had summoned all cultivators in the city to resist the beast tide, and Murong Daya and the others, as cultivators, had been summoned as well.

"Speaking of which, who exactly triggered this beast tide?"

Lu Yang lay on his bed, recalling that he had discovered remnants of a divine ability similar to beast-taming technique inside the bodies of the four demon kings, and murmured softly to himself.

This meant that this beast tide was not a natural disaster as outsiders assumed, but a genuine man-made calamity.

"Are they trying to use the beast tide to overwhelm Muxue City?"

To control the four demon kings with beast-taming technique, the practitioner must certainly be a Tribulation Transcendence stage cultivator; using such power to destroy Muxue City would be effortless.

"Is he unwilling to act personally, or does he have another motive?" Suddenly, a commotion came from the martial hall.

"Did you see Deputy City Lord Ma's expression? It was hilarious—I thought he would just keep a stern face, but turns out he has other expressions too."

"Alright, alright, keep it down—if Deputy City Lord Ma's people hear us, we're done for."

Lu Yang stepped outside and saw that it was actually Sect Leader Murong Daya and his disciples returning.

"Little Lu, you're alright? I heard people say you took the children outside the city to hunt demons—I was terrified." Murong Daya said with concern.

"Not bad luck—I didn't encounter any formidable demon beasts."

"Hey, who would've thought your luck isn't just bragging—it's real. You went out just as the beast tide hit; if you'd run into it, you'd be done for."

"Exactly, exactly—that was a city-destroying beast tide; even the city lord was helpless." The inner disciples chattered excitedly, having lived so long, this was their first encounter with the legendary beast tide.

Lu Yang smiled without speaking.

"I heard from the neighbors that you were all summoned by the city lord to deal with the beast tide?"

"Indeed, I even thought I might die this time." Murong Daya patted his thigh, still shaken.

"Don't rush, don't rush—sit down and let's talk slowly." Lu Yang said with a smile, organizing things, "Coincidentally, I caught a few wild rabbits outside the city—perfect for us to roast and eat together."

"Oh, that sounds wonderful." Murong Daya beamed with joy, and his several disciples were overjoyed too; in the barren far north, grilled food is one of the few entertainments available.

Lu Yang skillfully set up the grill, roasting while listening to Murong Daya tell stories.

"At first, when Deputy City Lord Ma summoned us, we were terrified—this is a beast tide, after all; what use are we, mere Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, and Jin Dan cultivators? It's purely a suicide mission."

"Surname Ma even hypocritically claimed this was all for the continuation of Muxue City, urging us to hand over cultivation resources for centralized allocation—if he had the ability, he'd be the first to rush forward when the beast tide comes; all nonsense. I see him as just wanting to embezzle; when the city falls, he'll be the first to grab his things and flee!"

"After mobilizing for half a day, Deputy City Lord Ma saw we weren't willing to hand over cultivation resources and began to lose his temper. At that moment, Deputy City Lord Yao arrived, saying there was no need to worry about the beast tide." "A peerless expert slashed the four great demon kings with one sword, killing tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of the demon race, directly eliminating the beast tide at its source."

"Surname Ma initially said Deputy City Lord Yao shouldn't spread false military rumors to unsettle the troops, but ever since he led people out of the city for a circuit and returned, he was listless and dejected, saying this was impossible, and moreover, he had suffered heavy injuries, claiming he was wounded by residual sword energy."

The little disciple interjected, longing: "I also heard the city lord himself inspected the situation, saying it was a supreme figure who had reached the pinnacle of the Sword Dao who made the move."

"The Sword Dao Supreme—if I had the chance to meet this figure, it would not be a wasted life."

Lu Yang served up four grilled rabbit legs, teasing: "What's so great about the Sword Dao Supreme?"

The little disciple laughed: "Lu Daoist, you don't know this—if this Sword Dao Supreme takes a liking to me and passes on one or two sword techniques, I'll be able to strut around Muxue City."

Murong Daya took a bite of grilled rabbit leg, his eyes lighting up: "Hey, little Lu, your cooking skills are impressive—you could open a shop. I've eaten grilled food in Muxue City for over a hundred years, and none compare to yours!"

"Exaggerated, exaggerated." Ma Family Manor.

Since Deputy City Lord Ma returned home, he has closed his doors and refused guests; even his family members are nowhere to be seen.

Deputy City Lord Ma sat cross-legged on a grass mat, gritted his teeth, arms clasped in a rounded posture, beads of sweat trickling from his forehead, tracing down his chin and cheeks, falling to the ground.

The sword energy of the Sword Dao Supreme lingered within him; he tried various methods but could not expel it quickly, only able to dissipate it bit by bit.

But this is not what he cares about; he suddenly opened his eyes, muttering: "This is impossible, this is impossible..."

"Impossible what?" A weathered voice echoed in Deputy City Lord Ma's ear. "Who are you!"

Deputy City Lord Ma grew tense—this is his cultivation sanctum, absolutely secure; even the city lord could not possibly barge in directly.

"How so? You still have a strand of my sword energy within you, yet you do not recognize me?" Deputy City Lord Ma's pupils contracted sharply, his tone agitated: "It's you—no, it's you!" That peerless Sword Venerable who slew four great demon kings with one sword!

"Deputy City Lord Ma feels something is impossible—is he thinking that the beast tide, which should have assaulted the city, was stopped by this venerable one?"

Deputy City Lord Ma felt the Sword Venerable's pressure and fell to his knees with a thud, large sweat beads like soybeans appearing on his forehead.

"No, I don't mean it that way." Deputy City Lord Ma stammered.

The Sword Venerable withdrew his pressure; he could see Deputy City Lord Ma was also a sword cultivator, and facing a sword cultivator far superior to him, Deputy City Lord Ma could not possibly lie.

"I—I never imagined a sword cultivator could reach such a level." Deputy City Lord Ma said bitterly; as a sword cultivator, he knew better than anyone the gap between himself and this peerless Sword Venerable.

Yet he was unwilling to admit it—this is why he recklessly touched the residual sword energy left inside the great demon king's body, suffering heavy injuries.

He realized there was an unbridgeable chasm between himself and true sword cultivators; in this lifetime, he could never reach the other side, and despair welled in his heart.

The Sword Venerable let out a cold laugh: "As a sword cultivator, yet your thoughts are impure—facing the beast tide, you only thought of abandoning the city, lacking even a trace of martial spirit, yet still gazing toward the peak of the Sword Dao—laughable to the extreme."

"In your life, have you ever swung your sword at someone stronger than you?"

Deputy City Lord Ma was struck as if by lightning.

The Sword Venerable withdrew the sword energy left within Deputy City Lord Ma's body and vanished without a trace.

Lu Yang appeared outside the Ma Family Manor, shaking his head as he murmured: "It seems the beast tide has nothing to do with him."