The Demonic Tiger’s pupils narrowed into vertical slits. With each breath, it spewed white mist, fixing its deadly stare on Lin Huanhuan.
Though the beast could not understand human speech, it seemed to sense her intent. In an instant, it leaped, sweeping up a whirlwind of sand and wind as it pounced at Lin Huanhuan.
Lin Huanhuan let out a faint chuckle and raised her hand to cast a Lightness Technique on herself.
Immediately, she felt as though wind had sprouted beneath her feet; her body grew as light as a swallow. She leaped backward, her steps landing one after another to dodge the Demonic Tiger’s lunge—her speed now surpassing that of the fearsome beast.
The Demonic Tiger missed its target. Its massive body landed on the ground, leaving several small craters, and its sharp claws gouged deep marks into the earth, yet all to no avail.
A mocking smile appeared on Lin Huanhuan’s face. “Just a brute with strength and nothing else.”
“Roar!”
The Demonic Tiger let out a furious roar, its eyes gleaming with menace. Its enormous form crouched slightly, forelimbs bending as if gathering power.
“What is it doing now? Does it think it can finish me with one blow?”
Confusion flickered across Lin Huanhuan’s face.
There were at least ten meters between her and the Demonic Tiger. With her reaction speed and the beast’s sheer size, there was no way it could take her down in an instant.
‘Pointless rage—’
‘No, wait!’
Lin Huanhuan’s pupils shrank sharply as she remembered an old saying: “The dragon rides the clouds, the tiger follows the wind.”
A chill ran through her heart. Her breath quickened, and her body instinctively slid backward, desperate to evade the coming attack.
This spot was at the village entrance, an open space with plenty of room for her to kite the beast. That was precisely why she’d chosen to block its path here.
‘I should be able to dodge it. Just one more instant and I’ll be out of range.’
Her thoughts flashed faster than reality. Although Lin Huanhuan seemed to ponder all this for a while, in truth, less than a second had passed.
Ye Jinxiu was also anxious, but she knew all too well that if she rushed in, she’d be throwing her life away. She could only watch from the side, waiting for the right moment to act.
In the very next moment, the Demonic Tiger let out a deafening roar, like thunder splitting a clear sky, making their eardrums buzz and sending the birds and beasts scattering.
The saying “the tiger follows the wind” meant that tigers could harness the wind’s power to achieve a qualitative leap in speed. In Lin Huanhuan’s past life, this was just a legend, but here in the world of cultivation, it was reality!
Suddenly, a strange wind arose and wrapped around the Demonic Tiger, lifting it off the ground with tremendous speed. The Demonic Tiger actually took flight!
It lunged forward, even faster and more powerful than before. In the blink of an eye, it caught up with Lin Huanhuan, and she could see the ferocity in its eyes.
At this critical moment, Lin Huanhuan did not lose her composure. She sprang upward. Fortunately, she had cast Lightness Technique earlier, making her movements nimble. She vaulted atop the Demonic Tiger’s head. While the beast was still in shock, her toe came down hard, unleashing explosive force.
With a loud “bang,” the airborne Demonic Tiger, having no leverage to counter, was stomped straight down, crashing into the earth and kicking up a cloud of dust.
The blow did little damage, but the humiliation was immense.
The Demonic Tiger shook its head and staggered to its feet, giving its soiled body a rough shake. Yet Lin Huanhuan was already standing far away, still looking at it with scorn.
She held up her middle finger at the beast. “Useless tiger. How can a piece of trash like you even exist? You can’t even handle a weak girl like me. You’re a disgrace to all tigers, not even as good as Gong Baiwan!”
“Trash, absolute trash.”
Although it didn’t know what “Gong Baiwan” was, seeing Lin Huanhuan hopping about and shouting, the Demonic Tiger sensed she was insulting it. Its anger only burned hotter.
The Demonic Tiger roared again, ready to repeat its previous tactic. But Lin Huanhuan’s eyes were no longer panicked. Instead, she smiled faintly and said, “Yun’er, that’s enough, isn’t it?”
“All done, it’s ready!”
This Demonic Tiger had cultivated some intelligence after all. Following Lin Huanhuan’s gaze, it looked over—
It saw the little bug it had always ignored, now holding a slender sword with both hands, gathering strength. Her eyes were fixed on the tiger, and the sword’s blade shimmered with a cold light, a brilliant blue radiance coursing up its groove.
An indescribable pressure descended upon the Demonic Tiger, making it uneasy and restless. Its sharp claws tore at the earth, tiger fur bristling in all directions.
The blue radiance soon enveloped the entire sword. The Demonic Tiger twisted and writhed, but the pressure refused to lift.
The tension reached its breaking point, as if a drawn bowstring would snap the very next instant.
Sensing mortal danger, the Demonic Tiger wrapped itself in the strange wind once more and leapt away, bounding straight toward the mountain forest behind.
This Demonic Tiger, a peak Qi Refining beast who had been relentlessly attacking them just moments ago, was now fleeing—before it could even launch its final attack.
But now, it seemed, escape was too late.
Just as the Demonic Tiger launched its assault at Ye Jinxiu, Lin Huanhuan and Dong Yun’er had exchanged glances and quickly communicated their plan—formulated on the spot.
Lin Huanhuan would hold off the powerful Demonic Tiger, while Dong Yun’er quietly prepared her ultimate move from the side. When she was ready, she’d unleash a devastating strike and end it in one blow.
This was the best plan they could come up with.
That was why Lin Huanhuan kept dodging and never counterattacked. She constantly provoked the beast to enrage it, keeping its attention on her and away from Dong Yun’er.
They had waited so long for this, just for this one attack—and finally, the moment arrived.
“Whoosh!”
Dong Yun’er swung her sword downward in slow motion, as if time itself had slowed. A jade-green blade of sword energy shot from the tip, streaking through the air at impossible speed, chasing after the Demonic Tiger and slicing into the dense forest.
“Roar!”
A deafening tiger’s roar echoed, startling flocks of birds into flight.
“Hah.”
Dong Yun’er let out a long breath and slowly sheathed her sword, a faint smile tugging at her lips.
Ye Jinxiu exclaimed in awe, “That must be the first strike of the Earth-grade high-tier sword technique, Azure Wave Sword, right? Swordsmanship of this level is usually only mastered by Foundation Establishment senior brothers and sisters.”
“I never imagined Senior Sister Dong could master it at the peak of Qi Refining. Truly extraordinary talent. If not for her, we would have been in real danger today.”
Dong Yun’er offered a modest reply, “I was just lucky to learn it. After all, as the young miss’s personal maid, how could I not have some strength to rely on?”
Lin Huanhuan put her hands on her hips and declared proudly, “As my personal maid, you barely make the cut. See that? Only with this kind of strength can you even barely qualify to be my maid. You’d better behave from now on and stop trying anything sneaky!”
Ye Jinxiu shook her head and smiled. “That strike was so powerful. The Demonic Tiger must be dead, right?”