Promise!

Chapter 210, Stealing the Home

The moment Zhuang Jin saw the Wind Wing Thunder Tiger, he rushed to join it. However, the Wind Wing Thunder Tiger and Shen Xianhong had the same attribute, and were superior in the same attribute, which was too restraining. In just a few breaths, Shen Xianhong was at the critical moment of life and death, and had to support him with sword energy from the air.

"Roar!"

Unexpectedly, the Windwing Thunder Tiger did not dodge or evade Zhuang Jin's sword energy, but instead endured it head-on and still pounced towards Shen Xianhong.

However, it withstood the sword energy, its movements slowed for a moment, and its body even veered off course during the sword energy explosion.

It was during this brief moment of respite that Shen Xianhong gathered some innate true energy and infused it into the beast-hide armor. At the same time, relying on his rich combat experience, he deflected at an incredible angle, minimizing the cost by only letting a tiger's claw graz the Heaven-grade beast-hide armor.

Even so, he was sent flying backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing several feet into the mountainside with a loud bang. In an instant, his face turned as pale as paper, and he coughed up another mouthful of blood.

"Is the patriarch alright? You can leave first, I'll cover your retreat."

Zhuang Jin had already flown over, called out, and stopped the Windwing Thunder Tiger. He looked at it and saw that the tiger had withstood his sword energy, its body only slightly charred – a minor injury. His expression was extremely grave: 'I can sense that this Windwing Thunder Tiger is only at the level of tempering its two internal organs, roughly the same realm as me, yet its physique is so powerful, it's simply unreasonable!'

'No wonder that after a beast breaks through to the Five Organs Realm, it's said that one beast can be as powerful as three against a martial artist in the Innate True Qi Realm.'

In fact, it is true that beasts are stronger than martial artists when they are of the same level, but it is not as exaggerated as this. The reason why the Windwing Thunder Tiger's combat power is so extraordinary is because this big guy is ranked among the top two hundred beasts on the list of exotic beasts in the world. It is no ordinary beast.

"Zhuang Sheng, be careful!"

With just one move, Shen Xianhong already knew Zhuang Jin's true strength. Now that he was also seriously injured, he understood that staying to intervene would only be a burden. He decisively abandoned the shackles he had created at great cost, as well as Qingyuan Liquid, Monkey Wine, and other such items, and leaped upwards.

—This is how normal teammates should behave. If they were to put on some brainless show like "You go, I won't go, you go ahead, I'm staying," that would really make Zhuang Jin's blood pressure skyrocket.

As the Windwing Thunder Tiger watched its prey escape, it flapped its wings, ready to take flight and give chase.

Zhuang Jin did not stop him, but simply flashed towards the Vermilion Fruit Tree.

"Roar!"

The Windwing Thunder Tiger abruptly stopped, abandoning Shen Xianhong, and turned around to pounce on Zhuang Jin. Before the beast even arrived, it crossed its wings and unleashed a cross-shaped wind blade.

Zhuang Jin twirled the Azure Lotus Sword in his hand, splitting its light into four, shattering the wind blades. Then, the Azure Lotus Sword, gleaming with a cold blue light, thrust out, meeting head-on with the Wind Wing Thunder Tiger's claws, which flashed with arcs of electricity and swirled with wind.

when!
In a sound like metal clashing.

A white mark appeared on the claws of the Windwing Thunder Tiger, and with a flap of its wings, it hovered in mid-air.

Zhuang Jin's Azure Lotus Sword trembled, and he spun in mid-air, retreating several feet, but he still felt his blood and qi surge and his arms go numb.

At this moment, he experienced firsthand what Shen Xianhong had felt, and it was truly unbearable: 'Facing a beast head-on in a one-on-one battle within the same realm is definitely not fun. I'm much better suited to challenging opponents of higher realms!'

'However, while this Windwing Thunder Tiger is troublesome, I've also discovered its weakness!'

Zhuang Jin dodged and weaved, creating countless afterimages in an instant. Sword energy crisscrossed and whistled as it flew towards the vermilion fruit tree in the center.

"Roar!"

Seeing Zhuang Jin's shameless fighting style, Feng Yi Lei Hu roared in anger, but could only swing his wind blades again and again to block the sword energy. He was at a loss and was being played around.

It cared about the Vermilion Fruit, considering it its own possession, but Zhuang Jin didn't care. He wouldn't even regret destroying the Vermilion Fruit tree, let alone the Vermilion Fruit.

One side is timid and hesitant, while the other is unrestrained and reckless; naturally, the former is constrained in every way.

"Roar!"

The Windwing Thunder Tiger blocked another wave of sword energy. Seeing Zhuang Jin seemingly creating countless afterimages, it stomped its two front paws, and wind and thunder gathered above its head, turning into a swirling nebula that sent out a series of spherical lightning bolts.

'I learned about the tracking principle of ball lightning in my past life; it's based on airflow. This technique is useless against me!'

Zhuang Jin learned the Swift Wind Step from the Qi Condensation Realm, and even cultivated it to the third level of perfection. Now, he has inherited the "Free and Easy Wind Control" technique. His control over the wind is at least as good as the Wind Wing Thunder Tiger, if not the ancestor of it.

Wow!
With a mere flick of his sleeve, he subtly disrupted the airflow, causing the spherical lightning bolts to scatter like missiles without guidance, scorching each and every vermilion fruit plant.

Seeing this, the Windwing Thunder Tiger grew even angrier and wanted to unleash its ultimate move, the alien force leaving its body, to transform into a tiger form. However, Zhuang Jin continuously unleashed sword energy while occasionally striking out with a palm, precisely interrupting its power-gathering.

"Hoohoo!"

Knowing that this couldn't go on, the Windwing Thunder Tiger finally used its body to withstand the sword energy and pounced towards Zhuang Jin.

Swish!
At this moment, Zhuang Jin's already extremely fast speed increased even further, and he swept towards the Vermilion Fruit Tree in the chase.

At this moment, only two Vermilion Fruits remained on the Vermilion Fruit Tree, each radiating a crimson glow. The one at the very top was crystal clear, and in just twenty more breaths, it would absorb the medicinal power of the other fruit and fully ripen.

Swish!
Zhuang Jin, without hesitation, scooped it up.

He knew perfectly well that a slight error could lead to a huge difference, and even if it was only slightly off, it would still be half-ripe. Picking it now would be a complete waste. But he also knew that what he held in his hand was his own, and if he didn't pick it now, he would never have another chance. The Windwing Thunder Tiger would never be lured away from the mountain again.

"Roar!"

Seeing Zhuang Jin's actions, the Windwing Thunder Tiger was enraged to the extreme. It used its claw to unleash a sonic boom, and if Zhuang Jin insisted on picking the fruit, he would inevitably be disemboweled by this claw.

But Zhuang Jin turned around and snatched the two Vermilion Fruits. At the same time, he turned at an angle that defied physics to avoid the tiger's claws. Even though the Wind Wing Thunder Tiger hurriedly changed its move, it was only grazed by the claws.

Even with this rub, the outer robe was instantly torn apart. If it had touched flesh, a layer would have been scraped off, but the dragon-patterned golden armor was immediately revealed, and the tiger claws only left faint white marks on it.

Swish!
Instead, Zhuang Jin used this force to drift away, lightly touching the cliff face with her feet and moving upwards.

"Shout!"

Despite being a strange beast, the Windwing Thunder Tiger deeply felt human emotions at this moment: humiliation and anger.

—The two-legged beast initially acted as if it didn't care about the Vermilion Fruit, and attacked the Vermilion Fruit Tree, making it run around in circles. But now it has picked the Vermilion Fruit ahead of time, this treasure that it has long regarded as its own!
If anger could be quantified, then the Windwing Thunder Tiger was already off the charts. It roared to the sky, flapped its wings, and with a do-or-die spirit, took off and chased after Zhuang Jin.

……

Zhuang Jin would occasionally tap on a protruding spot on the cliff face, and then ascend upwards at an extremely fast speed.

However, the Windwing Thunder Tiger has wings and can fly, so it is ultimately faster. Even though it needs to dodge Zhuang Jin's sword energy from time to time, which slows it down, the man and the beast are closing the gap rapidly.

"Roar!"

The Windwing Thunder Tiger did not passively take the hits. While dodging the sword energy, it finally completed its power-gathering. The strange power left its body and transformed into a tiger shadow, pouncing towards Zhuang Jin.

'Did you think you were the only one who could fly?'

Zhuang Jin had already entered that special area filled with wind blades, lightning, and affecting true energy. With a flicker of his body, he flew through the air and dodged away.

This is precisely the power of the Great Perfection level "Free and Easy Wind Riding"! The innate martial art "Free and Easy Wind Riding" believes that the world is filled with omnipresent and flowing Qi. The essence of Free and Easy Wind Riding lies in viewing this Qi as water and oneself as a swimming fish, thus freely and unrestrainedly roaming between heaven and earth.

Under normal circumstances, one can control one's own true energy, and the movement of the energy can be transformed into wind, allowing one to leap several feet at a time, reaching the realm of "Liezi riding the wind, so graceful and skillful." However, in this special environment of strong winds, one does not need to consume one's own true energy and can directly achieve pseudo-flight.

Zhuang Jin, using the "Free and Easy Wind Riding" technique, temporarily gained the ability to fly in this special area. The Wind Wing Thunder Tiger is also a flying beast, and both are equivalent to the second level of the Innate True Qi Realm - Qi Movement Thunder Sound.

Thus, this scene unfolded: a man and a beast flew through the air and darted underground, constantly clashing and fighting, stirring up lightning and thunder, just like a scene from a myth.

"My 'Free and Unfettered Wind Riding' technique, while allowing me to temporarily fly in this unique environment and even making me slightly faster than this Wind-Winged Thunder Tiger, is insufficient against its formidable physique. My sword energy is like a mere scratch, unable to kill it... This protracted struggle is not a solution!"

As Zhuang Jin sensed the magnetic field of this place and looked at the area where endless lightning flashed, an idea suddenly came to mind.

Swish!
At this moment, he trembled his Azure Lotus Sword and unleashed the Great Void Sword Technique, splitting into eight sword lights. With such a full-force output, a large amount of sword energy swept and exploded like raindrops.

Such a dense offensive was something even the Windwing Thunder Tiger was unwilling to take head-on, and was forced to dodge and constantly change positions, eventually reaching an area where magnetic fields converged.

'This is it, let's go!'

Zhuang Jin pointed at a finger and used the Black Fiend Palm technique, creating a dragon shadow that stretched out for seven or eight zhang, almost condensing into a thin line.

"Roar?!"

Seeing this, the Windwing Thunder Tiger was also puzzled by the two-legged beast's confusing behavior. What harm could such a finger strike cause it?
It roared and slapped with its paw.

But at the very moment the claws made contact, the innate true energy of coldness manifested, condensing into a line of water vapor. The endless lightning factors accumulated in the air here instantly found an outlet, pouring down along the water line and making it incredibly bright.

It was the electric current ignited at the tip of the device, which, through the water line, was conducted downwards and triggered the explosion.

boom!
Amidst the deafening roar, the thunderstorm concentrated its force at a single point, and raging blue-purple flames surged forth.

'This move is powerful, but the Windwing Thunder Tiger is physically strong and possesses wind and thunder attributes, giving it resistance. I might not be able to kill it… If we don't leave now, when will we?!'

After pointing, Zhuang Jin didn't even look at it and immediately flew upwards.

……

On the cliff, Shen Xianhong was sitting cross-legged, adjusting his breathing, waiting for Zhuang Jin.

Swish!
At one moment, Zhuang Jin turned around and landed gracefully.

Shen Xianhong nodded slightly, then immediately stood up and went to a section of the mountain wall several feet in diameter. He had already cut it with his sword, almost severing it, to use as an obstacle. Now, he struck it with his sword.

The cliff collapsed instantly, and large swathes of rocks fell down with a deafening roar, disturbing the airflow below and creating a storm.

"That Windwing Thunder Tiger was tricked by me and took a hit by a thunderstorm. It's probably not feeling well right now."

As Zhuang Jin spoke, seeing this scene, he also had an idea. He spun around, rose into the air, and used "Free and Easy Wind Control" once again.

Under his influence, the wind on the mountaintop formed a tornado several meters high, which was rapidly expanding.

—This is the summit of 'Shangbaiyun', at an extremely high altitude, where winds and clouds often converge. At this moment, due to Zhuang Jin's sudden inspiration and a stroke of luck, the natural forces have been drawn here.

In an instant, the tornado rapidly expanded to over ten feet, causing Zhuang Jin to gradually feel some strain.

"go with!"

He barely managed to control it, pulling it down into the valley. Once the tornado entered the valley, it was as if a breach had appeared in a dam. The power of heaven and earth poured in continuously, causing the entire canyon to hum and tremble incessantly.

In the special area below, under the resonance, vortex-like wind swirls appeared, so densely packed that they seemed to trigger trypophobia. Furthermore, the magnetic ore veins were activated, and twisted lightning bolts connected to form purple electric grids.

Seeing this, Zhuang Jin understood why Shen Xianhong had entered ahead of time. When summer came and thunderstorms raged, this place would probably be just like this.

"Roar!"

A furious roar came from below.

It turned out that the windwing thunder tiger had been knocked down by the thunderstorm earlier and was seriously injured. It was in great pain, but its hatred for Zhuang Jin made it still drag its injured body to chase after him. At this moment, it ran into the wind vortex thunder net, which aggravated its injuries.

Such a powerful natural barrier is difficult to overcome even in its prime, let alone when it is severely injured.

"Although the Windwing Thunder Tiger is blocking our way below, there's no guarantee that nothing unexpected might happen. We shouldn't stay here any longer, Patriarch. Shall we leave first?"

"it is good!"

Shen Xianhong nodded slightly, gathered his true energy, and was about to move when he aggravated his injuries, causing a trace of blood to spill from the corner of his mouth.

"Is the head of the family in any trouble? Should we find a place to rest and recuperate first?"

Swish!Swish!Swish!Swish!
Shen Xianhong pressed his fingers on several acupoints on his body, using a secret technique to seal the acupoints and suppress the injury: "No need, there will be resources back home, and it will be easier to heal."

There's another reason he didn't mention: Mu Yuantu is not an easy person to deal with, and if he leaves for too long, things might change.

……

Zhuang Jin and Shen Xianhong returned. Shen Xianhong needed to heal his injuries, and Zhuang Jin didn't say much, so they parted ways for the time being.

Inside the Shen family's inner courtyard, Mu Mingxi and others from the General Affairs Department were already anxiously waiting. Upon seeing Shen Xianhong, they immediately rushed forward: "Patriarch, something terrible has happened! Yesterday, the Mu family suddenly made a move and forcibly occupied half of the northern part of the city!"

It turns out that at the beginning of this year, Zhuang Jin's family did not leave. Zhuang Jin cultivated "Free and Easy Wind Control" to prepare for this operation.

Such an anomaly was not something Mu Yuantu could fail to notice.

Mu Qing wouldn't betray him, but Mu Yuantu, with his own intentions, managed to obtain some information, such as that Zhuang Jin was cultivating innate movement techniques, which wasn't difficult for him.

Upon learning this, Mu Yuantu was furious: "Well, I, an honest man, was still following the rules and even brushed off my daughter's suggestion, and you, Shen Xianhong, actually broke the agreement behind my back and made a secret deal with our son-in-law?! Is this something a human being would do?"
However, although he was furious, he held back his anger. Once he realized that Shen Xianhong and Zhuang Jin had left, he immediately took action and personally led his men to occupy half of the north of the city.

"I see!"

Shen Xianhong's face was expressionless. He told these people to leave first, and after they left, he slammed his hand on the table and smashed it.

He rushed back as fast as he could, but he was still too late. The Mu family had raided half of the north of the city. Mu Yuantu, with his thick eyebrows and big eyes, was truly going too far!

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Enraged, Shen Xianhong's injuries, which he had been suppressing by sealing his acupoints, were aggravated, causing him to cough up large amounts of blood.

……

(End of this chapter)