f.

As soon as the white crane consumed its pellet, it let out a long cry before transforming into a white shadow and looked towards the wolf king with determination. The wolf king let out its own long howl when it heard the crane’s cry, and it changed its focus towards Xu Linyun instead.

After the call of the crane and wolf, however, another loud cry unexpectedly came from an eagle in the distance. The sound was so sharp it was as though it would slice open the heavens, and a black shadow darted towards them as swift as lightning. Before anyone could even clearly see what was happening, a giant steel eagle had arrived above the valley with a youth in his twenties atop its back. The youth’s physique was tall and slim, his eyes s.h.i.+ned with a stern light, and his lips were as thin as a blade. "Animal! How dare you put your claws on our Qing-Yun disciples?" the youth atop the steel eagle’s back loudly questioned, and from his hands appeared an iron sword that cleaved downwards from above.

A black sword light flew down from the skies like a sudden streak of black lightning—abrupt and violent. The eighth-tier wolf king was alerted by this and its iron-like fur stood up on its back like millions of sharp needles. The wolf king released a deep, demonic howl, the sound waves turning into a distorted tidal wave that destroyed numerous trees and stones as it headed towards the black sword light.

"Heh, you want to block my iron sword? In your dreams!" the youth atop the steel eagle softly laughed. As he s.h.i.+fted his wrist, the black sword light began to twist and turn freely as though it was filled with life. It split into hundreds of thousands of segments before colliding with the demonic howl—dissipating the wave of sound—before reforming back into one and returning to the youth’s hands with a flash.

Whine….

The proud and vicious wolf king let out a sob that only a scared puppy could make. Its body was twisting as though it wanted to escape, but it had been pinned to the ground and was unable to move even an inch. Finally, its entire body exploded into a muddled pile of flesh and blood; the youth’s single strike had minced the wolf king’s entire body.

"It’s… it’s s.h.i.+xiong Xiao Jianming…."

"We have hope now! s.h.i.+xiong Xiao Jianming is here!"

"It is a pleasure to meet you again, s.h.i.+xiong Xiao Jianming…."

The sight of the steel eagle had excited the Qing-Yun disciples and they let out loud cheers. Those who were more excited could even be seen on their knees, displaying the same respect a youth would show towards an elder.

"No need for all the pleasantries, my brothers and sisters. I shall avenge you all by killing the entire pack of these wolves!" The youth atop the steel eagle let out a clear laugh before his gaze turned cold and he moved his attention towards the wolves scattering across the area.

The wolf king’s death had already destroyed the courage of the remaining Ash Wolves and they tucked their tails between their legs. They either ran back into the forest directly or used the stones and trees as cover, doing everything they could to flee for their lives.

The youth atop the steel eagle gave a faint smile. He threw the iron sword into the air to free his hands to form a hand seal, and the iron sword suddenly shook and turned into hundreds and thousands of illusions. Then, all of these illusions solidified, each becoming a true sword which formed into a giant circle. At Xiao Jianming’s signal, all of the swords immediately flew off into different directions.

Swish swish swish….

A series of concentrated and abrupt sounds covered sixty-five square feet. It was like a rain made of swords, and the blades pierced through every single Ash Wolf as the beasts tried to escape. The wolves were pinned against the ground, their blood splas.h.i.+ng out as they struggled with their final breaths.

The pack of wolves that had nearly forced the Qing-Yun disciples into desperation were now being annihilated by a single sword strike from Xiao Jianming.

Whine….

After all of the swords had landed, a larger wolf with slightly shorter front legs had somehow managed to survive. A closer look revealed that its appearance was actually closer to a mythical animal called "Bei", an animal that liked to mix itself amidst wolf packs and were known for their treachery. As it so happened, this Bei had managed to save its own life by hiding beneath a large stone, and it had also been one of the first to flee. Although its front legs were shorter and its dash was more akin to a hop, its speed was still quite impressive as it hopped and fled into a waterfall.

Its dark shadow was only faintly visible from behind the waterfall; it had nearly managed to escape with its life.

"s.h.i.+xiong Xiao, there’s still one more. Quick, kill it!" someone anxiously yelled towards Xiao Jianming above.

The sword strike Xiao Jianming had used had been breathtaking to the extreme; if this cunning beast were to escape, it was no doubt a blemish on his perfectly clean sword. However, Xiao Jianming simply smiled when he heard the disciple, as if the escaped Bei was within expectations. He leapt off the steel eagle’s back and replied, "Go now. I’ve intentionally left you some livestock."

The eagle cried in excitement and spread its giant wings before darting towards the waterfall. Its iron claws clenched onto the last remaining wolf and disappeared with it into the forest to devour its fresh meal. Xiao Jianming, on the other hand, activated [Levitation] and slowly lowered himself from the ground to the air, his face full of smiles.

"s.h.i.+xiong Xiao, you’re finally here!"

"We’re saved!"

The Qing-Yun disciples were overwhelmed with joy. Some even had tears of happiness and relief as they all huddled around him with greetings.

Xiao Jianming greeted each of these disciples kindly in return, appearing extremely well-mannered without a single trace of arrogance. As he greeted, his gaze moved towards Xu Linyun in the distance. Unlike the rest of the disciples, she hadn’t come up to greet him and instead had merely sat on a stone by herself while slowly circulating the Revitalization Pellet. Three female Danxia disciples remained by her side, while the others had all come up to Xiao Jianming.

As Xiao Jianming left the crowd, he walked towards Xu Linyun and warmly greeted her in a gentle voice, "s.h.i.+mei Linyun, it must have been four years!"