Chapter Fifty-Nine: The Wrath of Thunder (Part One)

“Very well! I promise you, as long as I am here, I will take good care of him.” Mu Baiyun caught the storage pouch Ji Mo had thrown to him in one swift motion. His gaze fell upon the direction where Ji Mo had plummeted, a surge of unspeakable fury welling up in his heart. Though his acquaintance with Ji Mo had not been long, he already regarded her as a true friend. Upon receiving Ji Mo’s final request, he silently made this vow in his heart.

He had barely managed to utter this promise in his mind when he was startled by a torrent of surging attacks closing in on him from all sides. The very instant he landed from the cliff wall, he felt the assaults, but since the treasure had been in Ji Mo’s possession, the attacks he suffered were far less intense than hers. Now, the moment Ji Mo’s storage pouch came into his hands, everything changed—almost every attack was immediately directed at him.

Yet Mu Baiyun showed no fear. A cold, murderous glint flashed in his eyes. He lowered his eyelids slightly, and the Zhanhong Sword in his hand slowly rose, its blade gleaming with icy light. He had not even launched his counterattack, but already, above his head, thunderous roars began to gather and rumble. At that moment, however, a peculiar sound suddenly reached his ears—it was neither a cry nor a roar, but a mournful, wailing howl.

The moment this sound entered his ears, the spiritual energy he had just gathered in the Zhanhong Sword dissipated on its own, and his body became paralyzed, unable to move at all.

Mu Baiyun was shocked. He could not fathom when such a being had appeared in the trial grounds; such power was impossible for any disciple in the Qi Refining stage to possess. But soon he realized that he was not the only one immobilized—everyone present was similarly affected. The sole exception was Ji Mo’s beast companion, Little Gold.

The wailing sound had come from Little Gold. Once no larger than a fist, its body rapidly swelled in size in just a few breaths, reaching half a meter tall. Its fur was golden, its eyes round and shining like gold, and two golden whiskers sprouted from each side of its mouth. It now looked like a majestic golden kirin, with no trace left of its former thunderbeast appearance.

“All of you must die, every last one of you! For the sake of some worthless trinket, you drove my master into Blue Moon Lake—every one of you deserves death! Wuu! Roar!” Little Gold thundered, opening its mouth wide. A surge of golden flames erupted forth, sweeping toward everyone present.

“No!” At that instant, a thunderous shout echoed out. Everyone felt a ferocious wind rise around them, and then a tall, imposing figure suddenly appeared on the shores of Blue Moon Lake, placing himself between the trial disciples and the oncoming flames, blocking them from harm. This man was none other than Lei Wei, the master of Thunder Peak.

“Are you Ji Mo’s teacher?” Little Gold, its flames dispelled, did not attack again. Its golden eyes fixed coldly on Lei Wei as it spoke.

“I am. And you are?” Lei Wei replied, his face full of suspicion and wariness as he looked at Little Gold. He could not fathom why a Core Formation stage beast would suddenly appear in the southern trial grounds, and more alarming was that the aura emanating from this beast, though only at the Core Formation stage, posed an indistinct threat even to him.

“Hmph! I am Ji Mo’s companion beast. Since you are her teacher, why do you block me instead of avenging your disciple by killing these people? Don’t you know your disciple was forced into Blue Moon Lake by these greedy wretches?” Little Gold snorted arrogantly, showing not the slightest respect even in the presence of Ji Mo’s master.

“What? What happened?” Lei Wei was stunned. He turned to Mu Baiyun, who stood to his left. Lei Wei had hurried over as soon as the sudden appearance of a Core Formation beast’s aura in the trial grounds triggered the alert.

Since the southern trial grounds were designated for Qi Refining stage disciples, the sect’s leaders had set up prohibitions there. As soon as someone or something with power far beyond the Qi Refining stage appeared, an alarm would immediately sound throughout the area—this was for the safety of the sect’s disciples. If only Qi Refining disciples were present, even if conflicts arose, casualties would be limited. But if a high-level threat entered with ill intent, the disciples would be in grave danger.

The alarm had just sounded in this area, alerting the upper echelons of Moonwatch Sect. Lei Wei, concerned for Ji Mo, had rushed over at once, only to hear such news from the mouth of this Core Formation beast.

After Lei Wei’s arrival, Mu Baiyun found himself able to move again. Upon Lei Wei’s inquiry, he quickly stepped forward, addressed him as “Uncle-Master,” and succinctly recounted the events. The more Lei Wei listened, the darker his expression grew. By the time Mu Baiyun finished, Lei Wei’s face was a storm of rage; several disciples standing close to him were immediately thrown back, coughing up blood, by the force of his fury.

“Brother, please restrain your anger. We should wait until the truth is uncovered before making any decisions.” At that moment, another figure appeared at his side—it was none other than Cold Wind Yang, the sect master of Moonwatch Sect, known as the Sword Immortal of Heaven.

“You ask me to restrain my anger? My disciple has already been forced into Blue Moon Lake by the combined efforts of these greedy ones, and you ask me to hold my temper!” Lei Wei exploded, glaring fiercely at Cold Wind Yang, entirely disregarding his status as the sect master.

“Ahem, junior brother, you really cannot take action against them so hastily. You must remember, this is a trial—a test. Aside from honing their combat skills, luck is also a factor. The snatching of treasures after the Blue Moon Lake tides is left to the disciples’ own abilities. This is a practice tacitly approved by the sect,” Cold Wind Yang said with an awkward cough, attempting to persuade him.

“I have no objection to letting them compete as they see fit. If any one of them had, by their own strength alone, slain my little disciple, I would have nothing to say—she would simply have lacked skill. But why don’t you ask your prized disciple what the situation was at that moment? So many ganged up against Ji Mo alone! This is no longer fair competition but premeditated murder!

“Does our sect’s code not state: ‘Fellow disciples may compete fairly, but must never plot or harm one another’? Or does senior brother believe Moonwatch Sect has already degenerated into a demonic sect, where, for the sake of opportunity, disciples may disregard all karma and use any and all schemes to murder each other?” The more Lei Wei spoke, the more furious he became. At first, he communicated with Cold Wind Yang via soul sense, but by the final words, he was shouting outright.

All the disciples behind him trembled as the force of his anger sent their vision spinning and their ears ringing. They were gripped by terror—Ji Mo’s teacher was so fiercely protective; would he, in a fit of rage, slaughter them all?