Legendary Beast Cultivator

ROARRR!!

The deafening, thunderous roar of the Rank Four White Tiger reverberated frenziedly throughout the silent cave, shaking many fragments of stone and crystal from the vast roof. Its violet blue essence rippled around its massive body in shimmering waves, carrying an overwhelming pressure.

The tiger’s golden eyes remained locked upon the three young disciples. The gaze of the tiger is filled with strong determination.

"Spread out! Don’t let it dominate us!" Lin Yuan commanded, his voice echoing through the reverberating chaos.

The three disciples immediately moved apart, their legs sliding against the mossy stone floor.

The White Tiger lunged forward rapidly with a loud sound. Its enormous, silver-furred paw crashed into the rock there, and a massive spiderweb of trenched cracks burst outward, sending fist-sized debris flying across the area.

Chen Ming sluggishly tumbled under a flying boulder, his face turning pale. "What kind of insane strength is that?!"

"No talking! Watch its movements!" Lin Yuan yelled, his turtle beast essence swirling around his arms in a shimmering shield.

Despite its massive, muscular body, the white tiger turned with an immense agility. It struck again in a vicious, sweeping strike.

The tiger’s razor-sharp claws slashed three lethal, jagged trenches straight through the stone boulders where Lian Nichang had been standing only a fraction of a second before.

"Too fast!" Lian Nichang grunted, sweat dripping on his eyes as he summoned his wolf beast beside him.

The silver-gray wolf appeared beside him with a low, menacing growl, immediately swirling toward the tiger’s blind spot to draw its focus.

At the same time, Chen Ming’s wind falcon descended downward from the shadowy roof, its wavering wings slicing through the essence filled air with a screechy, whistling sound.

One above, one behind, and Lin Yuan in the front... The three disciples attacked in perfect precision to knock down the tiger.

The wind falcon crouched low, unleashing a thrust of sharp, slicing wind blades across the tiger’s face, distracting the terrifying beast for an instant.

Lian Nichang’s wolf beast stared at the small opening, lunging forward with sharp fangs toward the tiger’s leg.

The White Tiger pivoted its massive torso violently. Its thick, muscular tail whipped against the air like a devastating whip!

The tail struck the wolf beast lethally in the flank with a loud bang, forcing it backward and sending it trenching a few meters across the ground, forming a cloud of dust and crystal sparkles.

"Nichang!" Lin Yuan yelled, snapping at him.

"I’m alright! Keep the pressure!" Lian Nichang shouted back, forcing his wolf to its feet.

The moment the White Tiger’s attention changed towards the other side, Lin Yuan moved. His turtle beast appeared beside him in a flash of shiny light, its greenish shell shimmering faintly with a few runes.

Instead of retreating back, Lin Yuan stepped forward into the tiger beast’s striking range. Just as the tiger’s massive, slicing claw descended toward his head, instantly a voice guided him.

"Dodge left." The Turtle Beast’s calm, spiritual voice echoed inside Lin Yuan’s mind.

Lin Yuan obeyed instantly, pivoting his body before his conscious mind could even grasp the command.

The enormous claw slammed into the ground barely grazing inches away from his left shoulder, blasting the stone ground into fine dust and spraying sharp debris around him.

Without a single moment of hesitation, Lin Yuan leaned into the strike, thrusting his shoulder straight into the tiger’s unguarded foreleg with all the power he could exhibit.

The impact wasn’t nearly powerful enough to injure a Rank Four beast of that scale... but it disturbed its balance just enough to throw it off aside.

"Chen Ming!" Lin Yuan called out, waving his hand.

"I know!" Chen Ming snapped, the wind falcon instantly changed direction in mid-air, diving like a spear falling from the sky. Its sharp beak struck the tiger’s shoulder before flying safely back toward up above again.

A faint, shallow bruise appeared under the thick, snow-white fur of the white tiger. The white tiger growled under sheer irritation of the battle.

Lian Nichang rejoined the battle from the opposite side, his wolf beast lunging once more, forcing the white tiger to change its body stance to protect its side.

That single, agonizing movement created another split-second opening. Lin Yuan stepped inside the tiger’s guard once more. His right fist, enhanced by thick, swirling beast essence, struck cleanly into the tiger’s ribs.

The massive White Tiger staggered half a step sideways with a loud thud. A faint, purple bruise slowly formed under its snow-white fur.

Chen Ming, watching from high on a rock, couldn’t believe his eyes. "We actually hit it. We injured the Rank Four beast even though it was small!"

"Again!" Lian Nichang grinned, wiping blood from his lip.

The three disciples continued their coordinated assault toward the beast.

Chen Ming distracted from the air, Lian Nichang pushed forward from the rear blind spot, and Lin Yuan observed every minor twitch of the tiger’s muscles before taking a decision to strike.

Within a few grueling minutes... three faint bruises had appeared across the tiger’s powerful body.

But, the white tiger remained as terrifying as ever. Its breathing hadn’t even become uneven. It moved with great efficiency.

Lin Yuan’s eyes frowned, moving back and his chest heaving vehemently. "Something’s wrong."

Inside his ring, the turtle beast suddenly spoke again. Its usually cheerful, unbothered voice had vanished, replaced by solemn focus.

"Lin Yuan..." the turtle beast called out, the ring shimmering once.

"Hmm?" Lin Yuan responded, his eyes never leaving the tiger’s golden eyes.

"I’ve been watching its intent since the moment this battle began..." the turtle beast continued.

"Okay, what did you analyze?" Lin Yuan muttered slowly.

"It has never once attacked because it wanted to kill you."

Lin Yuan’s eyes widened sharply in sheer shock. "What do you mean?"

The Turtle Beast remained silent for a few long moments before answering softly. "...I sense zero killing hostility from its essence."

Lin Yuan froze for a moment, his walking halting on the floor. "No hostility?"

"Yeah! It isn’t hunting. It was like he was protecting something," the turtle beast elucidated. "Notice its movements, it only lashes out whenever one of you moves closer to that smaller, faintly shining stone cave behind it."

Lin Yuan nodded frantically in approval. He immediately darted his gaze past the white tiger’s massive shoulders.

Behind the mighty beast... the narrow stone cave remained untouched by the destruction. The tiger had never moved farther than five steps away from that cave.

Everything that had occurred over the past three days suddenly flashed together in Lin Yuan’s mind with a precise clarity. It wasn’t guarding territory out of greed. It was guarding... something precious to it.

"So that’s it..." Lin Yuan muttered, his eyes widening ever so slightly.

"What?!" Chen Ming yelled from above, barely dodging under another terrifying tail swipe that shattered a stone boulder. "What did you figure out?!"

Lin Yuan ignored Chen Ming’s question, his mind rapidly analysing every anomaly they had encountered since stepping into Azure Mist Peak.

The fleeing beast herds, the abandoned hunting grounds, and the terrified, running rabbit groups. The White Tiger hadn’t been brainlessly hunting across the mountain. Everything nearby had fled because they feared being near its overwhelming presence.

But... the tiger itself had never pursued any of them. It had remained right here, inside the cave, protecting something precious to it.

"Nichang!" Lin Yuan grinned, nodding his head once.

"What?!"

"Become the primary attacker!" Lin Yuan commanded, waving his hand slightly.

Lian Nichang blinked, and froze in confusion for a second. "What?!"

"Keep provoking it with your wolf beast! Draw every bit of its attention to the left flank!" Lin Yuan explained, taking a step aside.

Chen Ming, hearing the command, immediately understood Lin Yuan’s intent. "And then?"

"While it’s occupied with Nichang... I’ll enter the smaller stone cave behind it," Lin Yuan murmured, a sharp gaze locked onto the cave.

Lian Nichang smiled with fierce confidence, stepping forward. "Leave it to me!"

Without another word, Lian Nichang and his wolf beast rushed toward the White Tiger’s left side, launching a wild barrage of strikes to divert the tiger’s focus.

The white tiger roared furiously, turning its massive head toward the sudden attacks exactly as Lin Yuan expected... its full attention shifted toward Lian Nichang.

"Now..." Lin Yuan quietly walked toward the cave, under the thick clouds of dust and crystal particles.

The White Tiger continued fighting and dodging against Lian Nichang’s silver wolf.

He slowly got near to the small cave, then... the white tiger suddenly stopped mid-attack. Its shiny golden eyes flickered once, and for the first time during the chaotic battle... it stopped looking at the attackers in front of it.

It turned its massive head and looked at Lin Yuan.

Sigh~

’What the fuck?’ Lin Yuan’s heart skipped a beat instantly. ’It figured it out.’

The rank four beast hadn’t fallen for the simple bait. It possessed a sharp instinct to see right through his strategy.

Instead of attacking Lian Nichang, the white tiger abandoned him, and with a loud roar, the white tiger lunged forward like a lightning bolt, the sheer pressure of its speed tearing the air apart.

"Lin Yuan! Get out of there!" Chen Ming screamed, sprinting forward.

The lethal paw slammed into Lin Yuan’s chest. The devastating impact echoed throughout the cave.

Lin Yuan’s body shot backward, crashing through three small stone boulders before disappearing into a towering cloud of thick dust and shattered rock.

Chen Ming and Lian Nichang stood frozen, staring in disdain toward the dust.

"L-Lin... Lin Yuan..." Chen Ming stuttered, his voice trembling vehemently.

The white tiger slowly lowered its shoulders once more, stepping back to take its position between the two remaining disciples.