High up in the air, invisible to the prying eyes, a giant ship floated. On the deck of the ship, a group of youths was huddled together watching the two opposite scenarios.

In the air, the cultivators had managed to gain the upper hand. The number of scavengers had dwindled by a lot. But as their numbers dwindled, they seemed to be more and more cautious, no longer attacking the cultivators blindly. This made it difficult for the cultivators to kill them in waves. But the scavengers were also not able to inflict any significant damage to cultivators.

While the cultivators were leading the airborne battlefield, on the ground, it was a different story. Two of the gates had been broken through, whereas the pile of dead bodies of monster beasts just outside the wall rendered the obstacle that was the wall almost non-existent. The beasts spilled into the city like termites. Without the formation protecting the city, it had now turned into a crucible. The beasts flooded the streets, destroying the structures as they tried to cram into the narrow pathways hunting for prey. The poor and the destitute populated the outer perimeter of the city. Their rudimentary and already susceptible dwellings couldn't withstand the havoc unleashed by the beasts and crumbled at the first charge. Any individual unfortunate enough to be caught had only one fate awaiting him.

"Ugh!" Xia Ping couldn't watch anymore and handed over the spyglass Gao Ren had confiscated, to Li Kun.

"How are the things below?" Gao Ren moved towards Mu Chen and others who were peering down the deck.

"Not good." Li Kun said, handing over the spyglass to Mu Chen. Mu Chen didn't need the spyglass, so he just handed it to Liu Fengying.

"Once this tide is over, I am afraid the city would no longer be the same…" Li Kun said, his voice filled with emotion. Xia Ping was also in low spirits. Among the group, they had the most affection for the city. They were born and in the city and spent their childhood there before they were picked by their sects. For them, the city was their first home. Watching it being destroyed like this was no different than someone destroying their precious memories. But they were helpless. Unless you were a supreme powerhouse, there was nothing you could do against the tide as an individual.

"If we could at least help evacuate the people…" Li Kun muttered, looking at Gao Ren.

"Brother Li, please don't embarrass me. But the ship is the property of the Ming Dynasty, I can't risk it getting damaged." Gao Ren said, his tone stiff.

"Doesn't the ship have a formation?" Xia Ping asked.

"This ship is designed for travel, not battles. It only has a basic defense formation and a cloaking formation. It will hide us from detection―it won't protect us against the beasts's attack. Once the formation is damaged, we would be exposed." Gao Ren said.

"But I feel bad for the people…" Li Kun sighed.

"They will face whatever fate has in store for them." Gao Ren also sighed, but didn't change his decision.

"You guys don't have to feel guilty." Mu Chen grabbed Xia Ping and Li Kun's shoulders. "You have done what you could." Since Gao Ren refused, there wasn't anything else they could do other than pray for those unfortunate souls.

"Mother! It's all that City Lord's fault." Xia Ping grumbled. "If not for him messing with the formation, this wouldn't have happened. If I catch him, I will be sure to throw him into the pen."

"Don't worry, Brother Ping. I will personally report this to higher-ups." Gao Ren said, his voice raised. "No matter where he is hiding, he will not escape. The Ming Dynasty will make him atone for his crime."

Mu Chen, Li Kun, and Xia Ping could only sigh at Gao Ren's commitment. Even if the city lord was apprehended and put to trial, it would not change anything. The damage had already been done.

"I still don't get why Sir Chen would leave the ship's controlling token to you." Su Rong piqued. "If he wanted to leave it with someone, it should be Qin Huang?"

"That…" Gao Ren was taken aback by Su Rong's abrupt inquiry.

"Isn't it because...Brother Ren is more reliable?" Ye Lanlan spoke in Gao Ren's defense.

"I see…" Su Rong asked, "But why did he have to leave behind the token in the first place?"

"You know how Sir Chen is." Gao Ren said. "You think he would bother to fly the ship himself?"

"You were the one directing the ship from the capital to here?" Su Rong asked, somewhat amazed.

"I-I was just following Sir Chen's instructions." Gao Ren shrugged.

"Can I see the token?" Su Rong asked.

"Yes! I want to see it too!" Yi Hanying also jumped.

"What's there to see? It's just a token, nothing special." Gao Ren said.

"Just let us see."

"I am telling you, it's nothing special."

"Hey! If it's nothing special, why don't you just show it to us?!"

"What are you? Kids?"

"I―"

"Mu Chen! Look!" Liu Fengying pulled at Mu Chen's robes. "There seems to be a fight going on there."

"Where?" Mu Chen asked. Liu Fengying pointed in a certain direction. Everyone looked in the direction where Liu Fengying was pointing. Gao Ren, Su Rong, and Yi Hanying also stopped haggling and looked over curiously. Every now and then flashes of light streaked across the horizon.

"This direction," Li Kun said, "isn't it the same where we were headed?"

Once Li Kun pointed it out, everyone thought of the same thing: the treasure!

"Brother Ren, how about we move closer? I can't stand the sight here." Xia Ping suggested.

"Move closer?" Gao Ren looked in the direction of the forest, lost in thought. He clenched his fist. "Just a bit then, but we can't get too close."

Gao Ren slipped his hand within his robes. Without any warning, the ship began to rotate till its bow faced the intended direction. Once the ship was oriented, it moved swiftly and silently, leaving the Falling Stones City behind in a blur. Everyone could only marvel at the speed.

"This is the limit." Gao Ren said, and the ship stopped moving. "If we go further, we might get involved in the fight." At this distance, they were able to vaguely see the figures in the sky with the naked eye, but the shockwaves from the battle could be felt. Several human figures were floating in the sky, facing what seemed like a monster beast.

"It's still too far! I can barely see anything!" Xia Ping was the first to complain, as he strained his eyes. Li Kun and Gao Ren also tried but they too couldn't see anything clearly. They looked at Liu Fengying who had her eye pressed against the spyglass.

"Miss Liu, could you―"

"It's our turn next!" Su Rong snapped. Liu Ru, Yi Hanying, and Ye Lanlan, immediately lined up next to Su Rong. Li Kun could only eat his own words and look at Gao Ren.

"Don't bother looking at me. There is only one spyglass." Gao Ren said.

"If I had known, I would've practiced some eye techniques." Li Kun said.

"Indeed." Gao Ren sighed. Some techniques could enhance one's vision, but they took the same time to master like any other technique. Since its use was limited, most cultivators prioritized learning attack or escape techniques.

"Ah! Brother Chen, you can see?" Xia Ping said, noticing Mu Chen who was staring intensely since they had arrived.

"Brother Chen, you can see?" Li Kun asked.

"Uh-huh."

"What do you see? Who's fighting?"

"Are they fighting for the treasure? Where is it, did the monster beast get it?"

"It's Old Ancestor…" Mu Chen said. "There's Sir Chen as well...I don't know the third person–I think he is the Fang Family's Old Ancestor. They are fighting a monster wolf...maybe a fox."

"What?" Xia Ping was shocked. " Brother Chen, is it a fox or a wolf? Are you sure?"

"I can't tell if it's some fox or wolf..."

"No...no." Xia Ping shook his head. "I wanted to know if it was a monster beast with inborn flight capability…" Xia Ping gulped, "If it can fly without wings…it must mean...it...it..."

"What?" Everyone looked at Xia Ping, surprised at his exaggerated reaction.

"It must be..." Xia Ping said, clenching the ship's taffrail with both his hands and almost leaning over, "a beast lord!"

"A beast lord?" Xia Ping's answer instead raised more questions, since they hadn't heard of a beast lord before.

"A beast lord?" Gao Ren said, "It sounds strong."

"Brother Ren, you think Heaven Opening is strong?" Xia Ping pointed out. Sir Chen, the Mu Family, and Fang Family Old Ancestors were all at Heaven Opening realm, but they were confronting the monster beast together.

"I meant a beast lord is equivalent to cultivators in Heaven Opening realm." Xia Ping repeated, thinking Gao Ren didn't understand.

"I see." Gao Ren nodded, but his expression was still calm. Even Su Rong, Ye Lanlan, and Yi Hanying's reactions were just that of a mild shock.

"Cough! Brother Ping, you forgot Brother Ren and his companions are from the Ming Dynasty." Li Kun sighed. "They must have seen a lot of Heaven Opening realm cultivators."

"Ah?" Xia Ping realized why Gao Ren's reaction was lacking.

"Although what Brother Li said is true," Gao Ren said, "it's still surprising to see a monster beast that's so strong. Anyways, what so special about a beast lord?"

"A beast lord isn't just strong, it can―" Xia Ping had just opened his mouth, a terrifying growl almost shattered their eardrums.

"HUMAN...SCUM!" In the distance, the monster beast roared, its eyes red and furious. Within its bestial growl, there were words from human speech. "You dare...block my path?"

"It can speak?" Mu Chen and others on the ship were dumbstruck.

Inside Mu Chen's robes, a little ball of fur was startled awake and poked its head out, but on seeing the beast in front of them, it immediately shrank back into his robes.

"Huh?" Mu Chen noticed the little fox's movements. Thinking the little fox was just scared of the monster beast, Mu Chen ignored it.

"Not just that." Xia Ping was saying, "I remember Master's saying…the beast lord can also command weaker beasts."

"Brother Ping, you mean..." Li Kun looked at Xia Ping.

"The beast tide might have been initiated by the beast lord." Xia Ping said, his voice low. "But according to the Master, beast lords should be staying much deeper within the forest..." Xia Ping trailed off, uncertain.

While everyone was surprised by the revelation, the battle continued.

#

"Beast! Hand over the treasure and you can leave." Chen Ning stood directly in front of the monster beast. The Mu Clan and Fang Clan ancestors stood side by side, acting as support.

"Lies!" The monster beast roared. "You took my….yet refuse to admit. You humans...not only greedy...also liars!"

"What nonsense!" Mu Family ancestor, Mu Hao, scoffed.

"Haha! Brother Ning, you hit it too hard during your last attack." Fang Clan ancestor, Fang Xieren said. "Its brain must have been affected."

"Hmph!" Chen Ning snorted. "A beast is still just a beast. Although it can speak, it is stupid. Since it's unwilling to cooperate, we just have to put it down."

"But we haven't found the treasure." Fang Xieren said.

"We can't delay it anymore." Chen Ning said. "The city formation has disappeared. If the beast tide continues, I won't be able to explain the damage." He had come on official supervision from the Ming Dynasty. If the city suffered irreparable damage while he was present, it would leave a black mark on his record. "As for the treasure, we will see if we can recover it from its dead body."

Mu Hao and Fang Xieren looked at each other. "Brother Ning, we are old." Mu Hao said. "We can only support from the sidelines." Fang Xieren added.

"Just keep it preoccupied." Chen Ning gave a curt nod. "I need time to prepare my attack."