The green-robed City Lord of Bluecloud City scratched his head and sighed. Aside from the former four big clans, now three, and the Sunflower Pavilion, the City Lord's Mansion was the strongest power. Not only that but, in normal situations, no one would dare go against them because they were chosen directly by the Overlord and Royal Family.

However, ever since the fall of the Bright Clan the other powers became stronger and harder to control. The Silver Clan and Sunflower Pavilion walked near each other, causing all sorts of headaches. In the surface, everything was going smoothly, but behind the scenes, they wanted nothing more than to tear each other apart and incorporate territories and industries.

The Cloud Clan was untouchable because of its little princess, and the talent from the White Clan turned it into a similar situation. The City Lord had to be careful not to step into any powerful toes. p.i.s.s off the Royal Family? Death. The Overlord? Death. The Sunflower Pavilion? Death.

How could he not be on edge? Other cities were easy to govern, but his City was h.e.l.l itself!

An a.s.sistant hurried in and bowed, "My Lord, there's trouble at The Wandering Wood!"

The Wandering Wood was not the only forest near BlueCloud City, but it was important because it contributed with a huge amount of resources and income to neighboring clans and the City Lord's Mansion itself. Hunters sold pelts, cores, monster blood, etc. inside the city. The forest itself worked well for training young cultivators.

The City Lord didn't have a good premonition, "What is it?"

"That is… almost everyone inside the forest is either dead or being hunted right now…" The a.s.sistant said.

"What?" The City Lord jumped from his seat, "Give me the report!"

"Yes!" He waved and a bloodstained hunter came in.

"My lord… someone hunted a newborn from a Queen. She was too strong… out of nowhere, the entire forest became agitated, and beasts banded together to attack… I only escaped because I was near the edge, but the rest…" The hunter explained while the City Lord frowned.

"How strong is the Queen?" The City Lord dared not belittle the opponent. Although hunters usually didn't have exceptional cultivation, they were also extremely experienced and carried means of survival. For many teams to be wiped out at once proved the enemy was extremely fearful and cunning.

In the past, a Spirit Beast of the Peak of the Ninth layer of the Spirit Realm caused the city great losses. In the end, even the Spirit Gate Cultivators of the four main clans had to be summoned to kill it.

"Should be around the bottom... of the middle realm… the type is a two-headed lioness..."

A Queen at least at the Fourth Layer Of the Spirit Realm. That means for cultivators to fight it with ease needed to be at least advanced realm or middle-late stage. No wonder the hunter groups couldn't survive. Any group capable of surviving that would not be hunting at the outer perimeter and would choose better spots than The Wandering Wood.

"Are there no strong groups in the area we can request help from?" The City Lord asked.

The a.s.sistant shook his head, "We haven't heard anything. The news should have reached the other clans by now."

"Good. Ask the Flame Commander to take command and head to the forest. Coordinate with the other clans and try to take the beast out fast. Don't leave it alive, once the cultivators are dead it will go to the nearby villages and towns and wreck havoc," the City Lord commanded. This Flame Commander was usually responsible for situations like these. While not the top expert of the City Lord's Mansion, his strength was at the advanced stage of the Spirit Sea Realm.

The a.s.sistant and surviving hunter clasped their hands and went out.

**

Aside from the City Lord's Mansion the other big clans of BlueCloud City also received the news, but only the White Clan mobilized its forces to help. The other powers sent a lot of cultivators out to look for Ming Ren's whereabouts and were short of manpower…

**

Forest Clan, Redwater Town.

"What? Lin Dong and the others?" One of the elders cried in surprised.

The Forest Clan's Patriarch expression was serious, "Second Elder, quickly a.s.semble a team, we will head out immediately!"

He already lost his wife, how could he bear to lose Little Fu? No matter what, this time he had to protect him.

**

Back at The Wandering Wood, Ming Ren quickly caught up with the rest.

'No good, this speed is absolutely no good!' Although they were fast, it still wasn't enough to shake off the beasts or to reach the Formation before the pursuing Spirit Beasts caught up.

"Brother Ming Ren!" The group didn't stop running and occasionally fended off a Spirit Beast.

Ming Ren thought hard about what to do. He had to activate the formation while fighting the beasts, and there was still some ground to cover before reaching the vulnerable spot.

While the Queen was too proud to run at full speed and sent its goons first, she was still too fast. If he was at the Spirit Realm there would be a lot of things he could do, such as a simple formation, but right now his means were extremely limited.

To avoid this crisis, he could only gamble. Again.

"RUN HARDER! Once you see a clearing with an oak tree, stand your ground and fight back!" Ming Ren shouted to the group while effortlessly flickering away with [Flash Step] again. He disappeared from the group's sight.

"So fast!" Lin Qiang couldn't help but praise.

The rustling of leaves became louder and louder, trees cracking and ground stomping nearer and nearer.

Many Spirit Beasts roared and appeared from behind Lin Qiang and the rest. Lin Shu leaped forward and shot several arrows at them, always making sure to keep up with the group. She was also almost out of arrows.

"d.a.m.n, THEY'RE COMING!" Little Fu was still princess carrying the Elder but managed to outrun everyone, "How long do we have to run for!!!!"

"There! That place! Everyone, get ready!" Lin Qiang spotted the place Ming Ren mentioned. A huge oak tree, very hard to miss. They stopped running and turned back to face their foes.

The first Spirit Beast came running and Lin Shu shot at it with her [Vanis.h.i.+ng Arrow] Technique. The arrow seemed to disappear, only to pierce at the beast's head. Lin Yin raised his greatsword and struck furiously with his [Forest Slash] Art, a powerful descending strike. Although most cultivators favored short and long swords, greatswords allowed for much greater destructive power. At least without other techniques in the mix.

Lin Qiang also stepped forward and pierced at their foe's weak points. Her thin sword was well suited for piercing, and she made the best use of it. Her [Forest Needle] Art was primarily based off thrusting. Beast after beast came, and the group fended them off. They were lucky no stronger beast came sooner.

From the right, one second layer spirit Sea Realm beast appeared. From the left, another. Another Flood Mantis and Wild Ape, respectively. Lin Qiang and the rest thought they were done for when a huge roar almost completely 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 rest move? How could they have any hopes 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 and Flash Kick]

The kick landed in a peak of the Body Tempering Realm bird-type beast, and Ming Ren instantly flickered and appeared in front of Lin Qiang and the rest. He didn't dare get too close to the Queen.

On Ming Ren's chest, a huge cut could be seen diagonally. It went from near the ribcage to the shoulder, as if he dodged a sharp sword, albeit not completely. Blood dripped from it, dying what was left of his training robe red.

"You're wounded!" Lin Qiang and the rest gasped.

But Ming Ren couldn't bother with it, not right now. He looked a bit further away, waiting for something. He clenched his teeth. It was still a bit further away.

The Queen could bear his defiance no longer and stepped forward to attack...

… Ming Ren knew he had no chance in direct combat, even with the first rank sword and his heaven-grade arts and cultivation. The gap was simply too big. At that moment, his concentration reached the maximum, and his Spirit Sense dove into each of the present Spirit Beasts, fiercely releasing his aura!

The beasts unconsciously 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, and the Queen was ready to rip them apart once its senses came back.

But, this time, while Lin Qiang and the rest trembled, Ming Ren looked confident, "Too late!"

From the direction he came before another powerful aura came gus.h.i.+ng forth, and the entire ground trembled. A high pitched scream shook even the Queen, and 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 Wandering Wood. Its cultivation base was at the Fifth Layer of the Spirit Sea Realm. Although it only had one Monster Core, its battle efficiency was extremely high. Ming Ren couldn't even put a scratch on it, although he was a bit faster.

The Lioness Queen stared at the Rhino King for a second, and then its tail struck forward, being deflected by the long horns.

Ming Ren didn't hesitate, looking for a spot to open the formation immediately. Their chance had arrived, but a bit later and they would also be crushed by the fight!