Lanke Chess Edge

Chapter 369: You Call This a Tiger?

Niu Batian was certainly not an unreasonable person, but over the years he had heard about the events that had transpired on Niu Kui Mountain more than once from Yan Fei.Old Niu was the kind of person who was rough around the edges but meticulous at heart. He had repeatedly analyzed the personality of the tiger spirit of Niu Kui Mountain. Although that was almost twenty years ago, twenty years was not a long time for a powerful spirit, and it certainly wouldn’t have changed much.

From Yan Fei’s words, if the Old Bull were to consider the perspective of a wild demon who had little contact with the orthodox cultivation world, he could come to several conclusions about Lu Shan Jun.

First: Lu Shan Jun was superior to the Nine Young Warriors in both strength and mentality. It was almost impossible for the Nine Young Warriors to resist a monster of this level, and it would be even more impossible after he had transformed into human form. Moreover, he did not care much about the lives of the Nine.

Second, while the tiger spirit could be described as meticulous, he was also somewhat of a bully who preyed on the weak and feared the strong. After all, it was only due to Mr. Ji’s presence in the temple that the tiger demon changed his mind. If Mr. Ji had not been there, the nine warriors would have died hundreds of times over. All that wisdom and spirituality would have been a secondary consideration. To put it bluntly, it was Mr. Ji who had the bigger fist. Otherwise, why would the tiger demon have given in?

Third: he valued promises extremely highly, perhaps due to his fear or respect for Mr. Ji, or more likely a combination of the two. In addition, many monsters had simple personalities, and Lu Shan Jun was essentially the type who kept his word. If he said he wouldn’t eat someone, he meant it. Similarly, if someone broke their promise, he would definitely kill them.

These three points were the result of Lao Niu’s repeated deliberations. He had also considered how to deal with him when they first encountered him. If Ji Yuan knew what the Old Bull was thinking, he would praise him, saying his reasoning was sound, well-founded, and convincing.

Upon seeing Lu Shan Jun, Old Niu’s first reaction was: ‘I must first overwhelm this tiger with my imposing aura and teach him how a monster who has only recently taken human form should respect his senior!’

The divine path of the country of Zuyue was currently severely corrupt. Even in a place like Luoqing, the power of the City God of the Underworld, though not weak, only maintained a mediocre balance.

The City God of Luoqing had long known that there was a monster named Niu Batian outside the city, but since the other party remained low-profile, his cultivation was obviously quite profound, and he had not caused any trouble for Luoqing, they maintained a tacit understanding not to interfere with each other. Therefore, Niu Batian had no qualms about releasing his monstrous energy here.

Even so, Niu Batian’s monstrous aura was still relatively restrained at the moment, but only in terms of form, not in terms of raw power.

Monstrous energy permeated a two-zhang radius around Niu Batian, rising three zhang high above the ground. Its power was condensed and a murderous aura surged, with a faint image of a strong bull with red eyes faintly appearing to roar.

Lu Shan Jun shifted his gaze from Yan Fei to Niu Batian. The Old Bull slightly raised his chin, staring at Lu Shan Jun with his eyelids drooping, a ghostly light and demonic flame rising deep within his eyes.

Lu Shan Jun was indeed somewhat surprised that Yan Fei had such a powerful monster by his side. He cupped his hands and bowed to Niu Batian again, asking in a gentle voice.

“May I ask who you are? And what is your relationship with Yan Fei?”

Niu Batian chuckled inwardly. His attitude was not bad; it was good that he was willing to back down. His expression softened slightly, and he snorted in response.

“My name is Niu Batian, Niu as in ‘plowing ox’ and Batian as in ‘heavenly tyrant.’1 Yan Fei is my sworn brother. Though he is just an ordinary martial artist, he suits my taste perfectly. Well, I mean, our personalities are compatible, not that he’s good or bad. We share both hardships and successes. If anything happens to him, I, Niu Batian, will naturally not stand idly by!”

Niu Batian thoughtfully added a disclaimer halfway through his speech, fearing that Lu Shan Jun, a newly transformed mountain spirit, might not understand the context. At the same time, he made it clear that Yan Fei’s matters were his own.

“Oh, my apologies, Yan Fei seems to have a good brother!”

Lu Shan Jun responded with a smile, then looked at the wall fence and then at the inside of the courtyard.

“May I have the honor of coming in and having a word with you?”

“Please proceed, Lord Lu.”

Yan Fei said calmly. He had to admit that with Niu Batian by his side, Yan Fei felt much more confident, and his fear, at least, was now gone.

Just as Lu Shan Jun was about to take a step, the Old Bull spoke again.

“Wait, did I let you in?”2

Seeing the sneer on Niu Batian’s face, Lu Shan Jun frowned and withdrew his foot. He was just about to say something when the Old Bull spoke up again with a smile.

“You can come in now.”

Lu Shan Jun’s lips twitched involuntarily, and his neck moved slightly, producing a faint cracking sound.

“Brother Niu, haven’t you gone too far…”

At close range, Yan Fei was able to compress his voice with his internal energy and transmit it to Niu Batian’s ears. The latter chuckled softly.

“Brother Yan, it’s alright. This kind of wild demon who’s never seen the world should be suppressed. This is our territory. Look at him, isn’t he quite well-behaved?”

As the two whispered, Lu Shan Jun had already suppressed his momentary anger and walked into the courtyard.

Yan Fei was not Niu Batian after all, so he didn’t dare to go too far. He casually picked up a teacup from the table and poured himself a cup of tea.

It’s the end of summer, but the tea was still scalding hot.

“Please sit, Lord Lu, and have some tea.”

With Niu Batian by his side, and with Yan Fei’s training over the years, he spoke neither humbly nor arrogantly.

Lu Shan Jun grunted in agreement and sat down at the table. Yan Fei followed suit, while Lao Niu stood imposingly to the side, watching Lu Shan Jun.

“Aren’t you tired, sir?”

Seeing the bull demon maintaining this oppressive aura that even Lu Shan Jun found somewhat suffocating, he couldn’t help but make a sarcastic remark. However, the old bull ignored him completely and simply stared at him.

“Yan Fei, you should know why I have come. Opinions on the Flying Swordsman are divided in the land of Zuyue. In my opinion, you carry a lot of hostility and resentment. So, what kind of chivalry do you practice?”

Before Yan Fei could answer, Lu Shan Jun continued.

“I heard that nine years ago you challenged a great swordsman from the Central Plains to a duel under the guise of a martial arts competition. You won, but that swordsman died by your blade. Is that true?”

Yan Fei closed his eyes and recalled for a moment, then sighed.

“That is indeed true. Swords have no eyes, and even in the heat of a duel, one cannot stop. It was not only him, but also several other renowned figures in the martial arts world of Zuyue that I challenged to duels to hone my sword. Several of them were seriously injured, and some even died.”

“Hmph, a duel is something that both martial artists agree to. How can you, stranger surnamed Lu, use this to judge?”

Niu Batian grunted again, and then continued.

“Do you even understand what a death agreement is? If you don’t want to compete, then don’t cherish your reputation. Who can blame the opponent if you die? It just comes down to a lack of skill! We monsters don’t care if we eat a few people, but mortals accidentally kill people in duels all the time, what’s the big fuss about…”

Old Niu suddenly felt a strong chill come over him, and the words he was about to say were abruptly cut off.

A terrifying sneer appeared on Lu Shan Jun’s face, and his gaze began to turn icy. All these changes did not begin when Yan Fei admitted to killing someone in the duel, but rather after Niu Batian said the words, “We monsters don’t care if we eat a few people.”

Niu Batian’s heart skipped a beat. For some reason, he felt that something was not right.

“Yan Fei, I have now visited all nine of you from back then, but I never expected that you would be on friendly terms with a demon. Hahahaha… Very good, very good! Judging from the way this bull demon acts, he doesn’t seem like a good person either.”

Lu Shan Jun didn’t drink a drop of tea. He slowly rose from his seat, his eyes flashing with amber light as his gaze swept over Yan Fei and Niu Batian with a fierce glint.

Lu Shan Jun was already somewhat displeased with this bull demon, but there would always be crude people in this world, and it wasn’t rare for monsters to be rude. With Lu Shan Jun’s cultivation, he had the magnanimity to tolerate it.

But things were different now. This bull demon, radiating a murderous aura, was an indiscriminate man-eater. Coupled with Yan Fei, the so-called Flying Swordsman, who was also shrouded in malevolent energy, the negative rumors quickly took precedence.

“What, you want to fight? You, Lu, a mere ‘weak newbie monster’ who has just taken human form? Do you think you can match the strength of one of my arms?”

Niu Batian had already sensed the change in atmosphere, but he couldn’t afford to back down now. Just like when he went to the brothel, he had to be tough when necessary.

‘What difference does it make that he is a tiger monster, or that he has had a a couple hundred more years of cultivation? He can’t possibly cause any trouble, can he?’

“Fight? Heh…no, no, no…”

Lu Shanjun shook his head with a forced smile, but his expression didn’t reassure the Old Bull; instead, it made the bull tense. This wasn’t the way he would be acting if he were backing down.

Sure enough, Lu Shan Jun’s next words made Yan Fei and Niu Batian’s hearts skip a beat at the same time.

“I don’t want to fight. I just want to kill you all!”

With that, Lu Shan Jun’s killing intent flared, and streams black light, like wisps of smoke, rose up fiercely into the air. As the color of his clothes changed, the black light began to spread, and a terrifying, ferocious aura grew. The tiger spirit’s gaze was fixed on Yan Fei and Niu Batian, making the Old Bull feel a strong sense of oppression.

“Brother Yan, get behind me! Something’s strange about this tiger monster!”

The Old Bull only had time to utter those words before Lu Shan Jun’s figure blurred before his eyes.

“Roar—”

A fierce roar exploded in Niu Batian and Yan Fei’s ears. Amidst the brief “buzzing” sound of deafness, Niu Batian instinctively raised his arms to block.

The stone table in the small mansion courtyard shattered. Wooden stools were sent flying off the ground, teapots and teacups shattered to pieces and scattered everywhere, and a gust of wind carrying smoke and dust swept through the courtyard.

Despite the pain from the heavy blow, Niu Batian, in the instant his body was sent flying, still managed to instantly grab Yan Fei’s clothes and pull him away with him; otherwise, Yan Fei would have surely died if he had stayed where he was.

The Old Bull directly smashed through the building behind him, sliding back over ten zhang before coming to a stop. He looked at his thickest and strongest limb, his left arm, with its cracked and gruesome flesh. He breathed hard, slightly out of breath and shaken.

If he had reacted even a fraction slower, that claw would have been aimed at his chest; it was clearly meant for his heart.

The Old Bull didn’t know if the blow could have broken through the defenses of his tough skin and demonic power; he only knew he absolutely didn’t want to put it to the test.

“Brother Yan, when the fighting starts, run as far away as you can. This Old Bull isn’t joking this time!”

Inside the manor courtyard, Lu Shan Jun licked his right hand, revealing sharp claws, then shook off the drops of blood. The slight taste and intense burning sensation on his tongue told him that this bull demon’s cultivation was higher than he had anticipated.

“Roooar…”

“Moo…”

With roars, the two monsters vanished from their spots in the same instant. A series of echoing explosions immediately followed, accompanied by whirlwind gales ripping up the ground.

Yan Fei swung his sword, cutting through the flying rocks and fragments of wood. The strong wind buffeted his body, making it difficult to keep his footing. He couldn’t even use his movement techniques. He could only grit his teeth and obey Niu Batian’s orders to run far away.

The ground seemed to be experiencing an earthquake; the fruit trees surrounding the mansion had already been destroyed, either toppled or torn in half.

As Yan Fei ran, he looked back, only to see Niu Batian uprooting a thick persimmon tree, swinging it like a club at Lu Shan Jun.

The ground shook violently.

“Bull’s rending hoof-strike—“3

“Rending hoof-strike, rending hoof-strike, rending hoof-strike, rending hoof-strike… Let’s see if you die!”

“

Smoke and dust filled the air. Supernatural light shone brightly as the attacks alternated between spiritual-power-enhanced hoof-stomps and tree-sweeping attacks.

As the final blow landed, Lu Shan Jun flew backward, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth, crashing through several trees with a loud rumble before smashing an old waterwheel by the canal, and finally landing on the ground.

“Hahahaha… Little tiger, you’re no match for me. I haven’t even used my monstrous body yet. You can only put up a fight if you reveal your true form. You should go back and cultivate for a few hundred more years, hahahahahaha…”

Niu Batian’s body filled with demonic and murderous energy, surrounded by a yellow halo of light that rose dozens of zhang high. He grabbed the tree trunk that had been split long ago, and laughed wildly.

But the next moment, the old bull’s laughter weakened.

A little ways away, Lu Shan Jun’s monstrous, baleful aura had transformed into ethereal flames, painting half the sky in fire. With a series of creaking sounds, a terrifying behemoth, the likes of which Niu Batian had never seen before, gradually revealed its true form…

The Old Bull’s eyes widened, becoming like two round copper bells. He stiffly turned to look at Yan Fei in the distance, who was equally stunned.

“No…brother, my buddy, in your Dazhen region…do they really call this a tiger!?”

T/n: Niu Batian really be like, “if you wish to defeat me, train for another 1000 years!” (Technoblade did it better. Go curb-stomp that bull, LSJ!)

Niu: Hahaha I’m gonna show him who’s boss

LSJ: *smiles widely, showing every single one of his teeth*

Niu: *instant regret*

LSJ: ‘may I come in?’ said the tiger to the pork chop~

牛 (niú): ox/cow/bull (also slang for “awesome”), 霸 (bà): tyrant/lord/conqueror, 天(tiān): heaven/sky. Truly a humble name, LOL. At least it fits his arrogant character T/n: … oh buddy you were doing so well up until now. I almost had hope that he wasn’t a complete idiot Niu Batian is shouting this like an anime move finisher