Chapter 97: The Kunpeng Tribe!

"Kill them all, brothers!"
"Zhang Qiang... I’ll slaughter you all—give me back my brother’s life!"
"Damn it, I survived the ruins, only to die here at the hands of these beasts. I hate it..."
Yang Fan grappled with the giant beast before him, all the while hearing the desperate, blood-soaked cries of his comrades at his side.
With a forceful slash, he split a third-rank peak beast in two. Scanning the surroundings, he saw that of the original group of twenty or so, only eight or nine still stood.
Among them, Hu Dao had lost an arm, but wielded his blade single-handedly, his body drenched in blood.
As he hacked away, he cursed, "To hell with it! Killing ten of these beasts wouldn’t make up for this! I am a warrior—an Earth warrior! I should die in the ruins, not at the hands of these animals!"
Li Xian brandished his longsword, fending off five fourth-rank beasts alone, clearly at his limit. Yet his iron sword never retreated a single step!
The famed Sword of the Magic City lived up to its name—unyielding in death, every strike merciless.
As another beast lunged at him, Yang Fan’s bloodshot eyes narrowed, then widened. His blade came down in a furious arc.
Jade-like bones, unmoving as a mountain, a body hard as diamond, strength shaking the world—like a giant ape, he cleaved through the heavens!
With one strike, he split the third-rank peak beast from head to toe!
But as soon as it fell, two more beasts surged forward.
Seeing at least eighty beasts surrounding them, despair flooded Yang Fan—there was no hope, no reinforcements.
From the moment they entered the Kunlun Ruins, their group was scattered. Now, with fewer than ten left, how could they possibly withstand these seventy or eighty beasts of second rank or higher?
As yet another Earth warrior fell, an arrow whistled through the air.
Then came a rain of arrows, darkening the sky.
Yang Fan, Hu Dao, Li Xian, and the remaining warriors instantly abandoned their duels with the beasts, brandishing their weapons to ward off the barrage.
The surrounding beasts, too, lost all interest in attacking these faltering morsels, turning instead to swat and roar at the arrows raining from above!
The arrow storm seemed endless, ceaseless.
After a while, more than a dozen beasts lay dead. Suddenly, a fourth-rank peak beast among them roared, and the surviving beasts began dragging themselves away, fleeing in the direction they had come.

As the beasts retreated, the arrow rain ceased.
Yang Fan looked around—only blood and corpses remained.
There were few human bodies; most had been devoured by the beasts in the moment of death. The ground was now littered mostly with the hulking carcasses of the monsters.
The six survivors gripped their weapons tightly, eyes vigilant, watching all directions. The arrow rain was suspicious—its source unknown, its intent unclear. Friend or foe, they could not say.
From a distant mountain valley, a team of about a hundred emerged, clad in iron armor and carrying longbows.
At their head was a young maiden, dressed in wild beast pelts.
When these people reached Yang Fan, they halted.
The girl eyed the battered, blood-soaked Earth warriors before her, frowning slightly.
Then she spoke: "Which tribe are you from?"
Yang Fan and Li Xian exchanged glances, momentarily at a loss for words.
Seeing their silence, the girl continued, "We are from the Kunpeng Tribe. Which tribe are you from?"
Still, Yang Fan and the others stared blankly, unsure how to respond. They knew almost nothing about the Kunlun Secret Realm; upon entering, no one had told them what this place was, whether humans existed here, or what dangers might lurk.
None of these things had been explained to them by Zhang Daoyi or anyone else.
...
Far outside the mist, Zhang Daoyi was helpless. From within the shrouded haze, a long staff would occasionally poke out to provoke him.
He had just sat down to wait, when the staff came out and struck at him. Before he could react, it slipped back into the mist. If he tried to chase it, the mist itself erupted with pressure equal to that of an eleventh-rank being. He truly was caught in a dilemma: he wanted to leave, but his orders were to guard the entrance and wait for the first batch of returning warriors.
Now, Zhang Daoyi could only feel helpless and worried.
Helpless, because of the staff’s endless harassment; worried, for the safety of the Earth warriors inside.
He had never entered the Kunlun Secret Realm himself—what dangers, opportunities, or crises lay within, none of them knew. They could only send these unseasoned youths ahead to scout the way.
But Zhang Daoyi understood one thing: opportunity always comes with risk; nothing is gained without effort.

The Kunlun Secret Realm was said to be a blessing for the world, but Zhang Daoyi scoffed at that notion. A blessing for the world? In what way? Would entering make one an eleventh-rank instantly? Would they find some ultimate weapon inside?
Even without entering, he could guess the place was anything but peaceful.
He had specifically instructed several of the first warriors to enter, observe, and return with reports. How long had it been now? Not a single one had come back!
If there were even one eleventh-rank powerhouse left on Earth, Zhang Daoyi would have stormed in by now!
Even without entering, he would not let that staff run rampant here.
But thinking about that staff, Zhang Daoyi grew bewildered—could this thing really be called a staff?
What kind of staff had such a spirit, such mischief?
Zhang Daoyi shook his head, thrust his spear into the air, and a golden staff burst out of the void.
...
Back inside the Kunlun Secret Realm, Yang Fan and the others were marched forward at blade-point.
Everyone wore a grim expression, humiliation eating at their hearts.
Unable to bear it any longer, Yang Fan whispered to Li Xian, "Let’s fight. I can’t stand this shame any more!"
Li Xian glanced at him and replied indifferently, "Calm down. Why die when we’re still alive? Let’s go to their tribe and see what’s going on. We’re the first warriors to enter. If we don’t learn about this place and bring intelligence back, the next group will suffer the same heavy losses. Weren’t you always the one who wanted most to survive? If you want to live, endure it. This is nothing—just a blade at your throat, not in your throat. There’s still a way out. Let’s see what happens first."
Hu Dao, his arm severed, nodded at Yang Fan, signaling him to stay calm.
Yang Fan glared hatefully at the maiden riding atop a beast at the head of the group.
As if sensing his gaze, the girl turned and looked back at him.
Seeing Yang Fan’s wolfish glare, she smirked contemptuously and said, "When we reach the tribe, if you still don’t tell me where you come from, I’ll make that look in your eyes last forever."
With that, she spurred her mount, quickening their pace across the vast plain.