Queen And King
Bluecloud City, City Lord's Mansion.
The green-robed city lord scratched the head and sighed. The City Lord's Mansion, the three big clans, and the Sunflower Pavilion were the biggest powers of Bluecloud. Chosen by the overlord and royal family, in normal situations, no one dared to go against the city lord. However, since the Bright Clan fell, the other powers became stronger and harder to control. The Silver Clan allied with the Sunflower Pavilion, causing many headaches. Everything looked peaceful on the surface but behind the scenes, they wanted nothing more than to tear each other apart and incorporate territories and industries. Tension increased because no one felt safe. If the Bright Clan disappeared overnight, any of them could.
The Cloud Clan became nigh untouchable because of their little princess. The talent from the White Clan put it into a similar situation. The city lord who walked unopposed before now had to be careful not to step into any powerful toes. Annoy the royal family? Death. The overlord? Death. The Sunflower Pavilion? Death. How could he not be on edge? Other cities were easy to govern, his city was hell itself.
An assistant hurried in and bowed, "My lord, there's trouble at the Vagrant Woods!"
The Vagrant Woods contributed a lot to the resources and income of the neighboring clans and the City Lord's Mansion itself. Hunters sold pelts, cores, skins, monster blood, and parts inside the city. The forest itself worked well for the training of young cultivators.
The city lord had a bad premonition, "What is it?"
"That's... almost everyone inside the forest is dead or being hunted right now…"
"What?" The city lord jumped from his seat, "Give me the report!"
"Yes!" He waved and a bloodstained hunter came in.
"My lord, someone killed a newborn from a queen. She was too powerful, the entire forest became agitated, and the beasts attacked together. I was near the edge, but the others…"
The city lord frowned, "How strong?"
The city lord dared not belittle the opponent. Most hunters rarely had exceptional cultivation, they made up for it with experience and instinct, only a powerful and cunning enemy could wipe many teams out at once. In the past, a spirit beast at the peak of the ninth layer of the Spirit Sea Realm caused the city great losses, even the Spirit Gate cultivators of the four main clans fought together to kill it.
"A two-headed lioness at the bottom of the middle stage in the Spirit Sea..."
A queen at least at the fourth layer of the Spirit Sea Realm. Only advanced or middle-late stage cultivators could fight it properly. No wonder the hunter groups couldn't survive, any group capable of surviving such beast would choose more profitable spots than the Vagrant Woods.
"Any strong groups in the area?" The city lord asked.
The assistant shook the head, "We heard nothing, the news should have reached the other clans by now."
"Dispatch the flame commander to the forest. Coordinate with the other clans and take the beast out quickly, don't leave it alive. Once the cultivators are dead, it will go to the nearby villages and towns and wreak havoc," the city lord commanded.
He often dispatched the flame commander to deal with similar situations. While not the top expert of the City Lord's Mansion, his strength was at the advanced stage of the Spirit Sea Realm. The assistant and surviving hunter clasped their hands and went out.
*
The other big clans of Bluecloud City also received the news, but only the White Clan mobilized forces to help. The other powers sent a lot of manpower out to look for Ming Ren's whereabouts…
**
Forest Clan, Redwater Town.
"What? Lin Dong and the others?" One elder cried in surprise.
The Forest Clan's patriarch had a serious expression, "Second elder, assemble a team, we will head out immediately!"
He already lost his wife, how could he bear to lose Little Fu? This time he had to protect him no matter what.
***
Back at the Vagrant Woods, Ming Ren caught up with the others.
'No good, this speed is absolutely no good!' Their speed wasn't enough to shake off the beasts and reach the formation in time.
"Brother Ming Ren!" The group didn't stop running, occasionally fending off a spirit beast. Ming Ren pondered about what to do. He needed to activate the formation while fighting the beasts, and there was still some ground to cover before reaching the vulnerable spot. The proud queen didn't run at full speed and sent its goons first, but she was still too fast. With limited options, Ming Ren could only gamble to avoid this crisis.
"RUN HARDER! When you reach a clearing with an oak tree, stand ground and fight back!" Ming Ren shouted to the group before flickering away with [Flash Step] and disappearing from their sight.
"So fast!" Lin Qiang couldn't help but praise. The rustling of leaves became louder, broken trees fell, and ground stomping came closer. Many spirit beasts roared, appearing from behind Lin Qiang and the others. Lin Shu leaped forward and shot several arrows, always keeping up with the group. Her hand rested on an almost empty quiver.
"DAMN, THEY'RE COMING!" Little Fu princess carried the elder but outran everyone, "How long do we have to run for!!!!"
"There, that place! Everyone, get ready!" Lin Qiang spotted the clearing with a huge oak tree nearby, hard to miss. They stopped, turning back to face their foes. The first spirit beast came running and Lin Shu shot her [Vanishing Arrow] technique. The arrow seemed to disappear, only to pierce the beast's head.
Lin Yin raised the greatsword and struck furiously with his [Forest Slash] art, a powerful descending strike. Most cultivators favored short or long swords, but greatswords had greater destructive power without other techniques in the mix. Lin Qiang pierced at their foe's weak points, her thin sword suitable for piercing, and she made the best use of it. Her [Forest Needle] art was primarily based on thrusting. Beast after beast came, and the group fended them off.
From the right, one second layer Spirit Sea Realm beast appeared. From the left came another. Flood mantis and wild ape. Lin Qiang and the others thought they were done for when a huge roar almost eliminated their souls out of fear. With a leap, the two-headed lioness stood a few meters from them, its eyes full of hatred and killing intent. The other spirit beasts retreated, never standing in front of it.
How could Lin Qiang and the others move? How could they have any hope of resisting such a powerful creature at their level? Before despair descended completely, a figure hit the enemy's flank with blinding speed and a powerful kick.
[Ming Ren Style Arts - Flash Step + Flash Kick]
The kick landed in a peak of the Body Tempering Realm bird-type beast. Ming Ren flickered, appearing in front of Lin Qiang. He didn't dare get too close to the queen. On his chest, a huge diagonal cut stood out, from near the ribcage to the shoulder, as if he couldn't completely dodge a sharp blade. Blood dripped down, the rest of his training robe dyed red.
"You're wounded!" Lin Qiang shouted with concern but Ming Ren couldn't bother with it, not right now. He looked further away, waiting for something, and clenched his teeth. Still not there. The queen could bear his defiance no longer and stepped forward to attack...
… Ming Ren had no chance in direct combat, even with the first rank sword and his heaven-grade arts and cultivation law. The gap was too big. His concentration reached the maximum, and his spiritual sense dove into each of the present spirit beasts, fiercely releasing his aura!
The beasts retreated in fear, almost dropping to the ground immediately after. Only the queen stood still, frozen for a few breaths. It was also terrified but not enough to retreat. Aside from buying a few breaths, Ming Ren only wounded its pride. The roar appeared again, the queen ready to rip them apart. But, this time, while Lin Qiang and the others trembled, Ming Ren looked confident, "Too late!"
From the direction he came before another powerful aura came gushing forth and the entire ground trembled. A high-pitched scream shook even the queen. A powerful figured struck their flank like a high-speed truck, killing several spirit beasts as if they were nothing. A heavily armored rhino-like spirit beast with sharp longhorns. The king of another part of the Vagrant Woods, cultivation base at the fifth layer of the Spirit Sea Realm. Its battle efficiency was very high even though it only had one monster core. Ming Ren couldn't even scratch it.
The lioness queen stared at the rhino king for a second, then its tail struck forward, and the longhorns deflected it. Ming Ren didn't hesitate, looking for a spot to open the formation immediately. Their chance had arrived, but soon they would also be crushed by the fight!
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
SmilingBlueWolf
SmilingBlueWolf Revised chapter.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone