I ran through the forest at maximum speed, using the Light as a Feather technique. As I ran, I thought about the Giant Eared Mice's plan. It was quite simple: we can't help with the raid on the Blue Flamed Leopard's nest. But we could do something about those pesky Foundation Establishment cultivators who were coming for us. Since they wanted to single us out, all we had to do was regroup and fight back.

Since there was no way to send a message to the other two beasts, we split up and each of us went to a different beast. The Giant Eared Mice went to the Golden Crocodile, while I went to the Icy Sparrow.

I was to find him perched on a tree in the mountains to the north-east of here. The Sparrow lived 200 km from the Giant Eared Mice's territory, and it took me an hour to get there at my top speed.

The sparrow’s mountain was quite steep but, by applying a qi cover on my feet and using the Light as a Feather technique, I managed just fine.

The tree was halfway up the mountain and completely frozen. There was the Ice Sparrow's nest, but no Ice Sparrow. I looked around, searching left and right, using my Spirit Sense to the full.

After a while, I noticed a red dome in the distance. I ran towards it and when I got close, I understood what it was: an activated formation. I saw nine people outside attacking a 1-meter-tall blue sparrow.

The attacks of the nine disciples all went past the barrier, while the sparrow's ice feathers melted before shattering against the red dome. Things looked bleak for the sparrow, and it was only a matter of time before it was killed.

But that's not going to happen because I'm here!

I charged. I was on them at top speed before they had a chance to react. At the last moment, I switched technique from the Light as a Feather to the Heavy as a Mountain. He exploded like a watermelon hit by a truck, splashing blood everywhere. The other disciples were so shocked that they could only react after I had finished off another with a Tiger Claw.

Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

By this time, the other disciples had been able to react and surrounded me, cursing me.

At this point, I realized that the dome wasn't going down as I'd hoped, which meant I could forget about the help of the Icy Sparrow.

One disciple, probably the leader, shouted: "It's only a low Rank 3 demon beast, let's attack it together and finish it off. We can't give the Icy Sparrow a moment's rest, or when the barrier is depleted, it will run away.

At his call, three of them charged me, intending to fight me in melee, while the other four charged their spells. I waited calmly, then dodged at the last moment, tanking their weakest spell. At the same time, I used my sharp claws to strike down two of the disciples who had foolishly decided it was a good idea to get close to a bear. They died instantly.

At this point, the only close-combat fighter, who had only survived my earlier attack because of the longer range of his spear, began to run away. I left him alone and instead started to attack one of the other four, only to be blocked by some tick vines coming out of the ground and grabbing at my legs.

One of the disciples said: "I've got him, attack with your strongest attacks."

I tried to get out of the vines as quickly as I could, but by the time I did, the spells were already upon me. They were a giant flaming bird, a flying sword, and a talisman. I coated myself in Yang Qi and mentally prepared for the impact.

BOOM

First came the bird of flames, which managed to burn me all over despite my Yang coating. Then came the flying sword, which stuck halfway into my side, causing a not-too-serious wound considering my size.

Finally, I was hit by the talisman, which penetrated deep into my foreleg. The wound itself wasn't serious, but the lingering qi that began to petrify me was.

However, after a moment of panic and pain, I used the lingering dust cloud caused by the flame bird to clear the qi on my leg using the method shown in the Qi Poisoning Technique and activate my regeneration. By the time the disciples could see me again, I was as good as new.

"How is that possible?"

"No, the precious talisman was given to me by the Elder. How could it not work?"

What followed was a one-sided battle: these disciples, now tired and desperate, were no match for me. After finishing them off, while waiting for the dome to exhaust itself, I plundered the corpses. I got some qi and health-restoring pills, a hundred low-grade spirit stones, and 5 magical treasures: 3 swords, a saber, and a spear. Just as I had finished looting and put everything in my inventory, the dome shattered.