Chapter 1772: Yan Xue's Shock

"A few trees think they can block our path? Dream on!"

The lead Saint Beast, which had spoken, raised its hoof and brought it down.

Its claws were incredibly sharp, comparable to a Grand Sage's divine weapon. As it struck, the air trembled, and several dark fissures appeared in space.

The hooves, claws, and teeth of a Saint Beast are excellent materials for crafting Grand Sage artifacts. Moreover, this particular beast was no weaker than the five great kings. With such a fierce attack, even some renowned teachers at the peak of the Immortal Realm would likely struggle to resist.

Normally, such sharp claws would effortlessly sever any branch they touched. However, before it even reached the trees, a loud "smack!" was heard.

A blue welp appeared on the Saint Beast's face, caused by a branch that seemed to appear out of nowhere and whip it.

"Roar!" The intense pain made the Saint Beast lash out again. Its speed was great, but the branches were even faster. Each strike landed on an undefendable spot, and after several successive blows, the massive beast's skin was torn open, bleeding profusely.

Seeing their leader being whipped, the remaining Saint Beasts rushed over to help. Branches flew wildly around them, and within moments, they too were knocked to the ground, utterly unable to resist.

"This..." Everyone who witnessed the scene had their eyebrows twitching in disbelief.

Due to their innate abilities, Saint Beasts are naturally stronger and have better defenses than ordinary cultivators. Yet, so many of them charging together were beaten by a single tree...

"Heh heh!" Seeing this, the fair-skinned young man, Yan Xue, seemed to have anticipated it. He smiled faintly and closed his eyes.

"Should we intervene?" a young man stepped forward, lowering his voice. "If we save them now, we might earn their gratitude and be able to tame them easily!"

These Saint Beasts were being brutally beaten. Intervening to save them would easily gain their favor, allowing them to be taken as beast pets.

"No need," Yan Xue shook his head, his voice filled with wisdom. "Putting aside whether we can save them, even if we could, by not intervening earlier, we've already made enemies. Besides, these apricot trees are only here to block the path; they won't kill anyone. Don't worry."

"Alright!" The young man nodded.

They hadn't stopped the Saint Beasts when they charged earlier. Now that they were being whipped so badly, it was inevitable the beasts would harbor some resentment. Stepping in now would indeed be ineffective and might even provoke their anger, leading to a counterproductive outcome.

"These Saint Beasts can't escape. Once we succeed, they'll surely follow us obediently, unable to be driven away..."

Yan Xue smiled, about to continue speaking, when he saw a young man emerge from the back of the crowd. He moved with lightning speed.

In a blink of an eye, he appeared above the Saint Beasts. With an aerial grab, he conjured several thin lines, binding all of them. He then gently pulled them beyond the apricot trees' attack range.

"Thank you for saving our lives..." Now out of the attack range, the Saint Beasts, realizing they had been saved, looked at the young man with gratitude. However, before they could finish speaking, the young man suddenly rushed forward.

*Wham! Bang!* A flurry of punches and kicks ensued.

The Saint Beasts were speechless. The Hundred Schools of Thought and the Spirit Tribe members were all utterly bewildered.

They had thought saving the Saint Beasts was a gesture of goodwill, an opportunity to recruit them. Instead, he just went up and started beating them... What was going on?

The apricot trees also looked at each other, confused. Their branches, which had been poised to teach Zhang Xuan a lesson, instinctively retracted.

They had thought he was saving them, but it turned out he was also beating them. Did he think their beating wasn't satisfying enough? Did he want to try it himself?

"Now's our chance..." After the initial shock, Yan Xue smiled faintly, a confident expression on his face. "These Saint Beasts were beaten for no reason and must be filled with resentment. If we step forward to intervene, they will surely be extremely grateful, and we'll be able to tame them easily!"

"Yes!" Hearing him, everyone nodded in unison.

The Saint Beasts here were all around the peak of the Immortal Realm. Taming even one of them would greatly increase their combat power, thereby elevating their status upon returning to the Hundred Schools of Thought.

"Let's go!" Unable to hold back any longer, several young men flew forward, their long swords dancing as they thrust directly at the person who was beating the beasts.

"Stop right there!" "Meeting here is fate! Saint Beast friends, we absolutely cannot stand by and watch you be bullied without doing anything!" "Saint Beast friends, I'm here to save you!"

The young men shouted loudly, their words righteous and imposing, creating an irrefutable deterrence.

"They're truly clever. With a shout like that, these Saint Beasts will surely feel grateful. Once they have a good first impression, taming them later will be easy..."

With a smirk, Yan Xue was about to continue speaking when his eyes suddenly widened. An expression of utter disbelief appeared on his face, and he blurted out an expletive: "What the hell is going on?!"

Just then, before his companions' sword energy could even reach the person beating the beasts, the Saint Beasts who were being beaten suddenly erupted in fury. Hooves flew and tails swept. In a blink, several geniuses from the Hundred Schools of Thought were bruised and swollen, beaten to the ground.

Not only that, but the lead Saint Beast from earlier roared furiously, "If you dare to interrupt our beating again, believe it or not, I'll eat you right now!" "You fools, can't you see we're enjoying this beating?" "Shameless! Get lost..."

All the Saint Beasts were enraged. After sending the others flying, they eagerly approached the young man again, "Please continue beating us! The harder, the better, please! Harder! Harder!"

Yan Xue and the others grabbed their heads in bewilderment.

The Spirit Tribe members' eyes were wide as saucers, and they stopped swallowing their saliva.

The apricot trees twisted their trunks, their branches dropping to the ground, utterly confused by what was happening.

Saint Beasts were always unruly and exceptionally proud. Why were they now so happy to be beaten?

When the apricot trees had beaten them just moments ago, they were clearly screaming in agony!

"Surrender to me, and I'll beat you up whenever I have free time!"

"Yes, Master!" "Long live Master!"

*Whoosh!* As he finished speaking, the Saint Beasts all knelt down in unison, each one brimming with pride.

*Snap!* Yan Xue pulled out a clump of his own hair but felt no pain...

What the hell was there to be proud of?! You're someone else's beast pet now, no matter how high your status, you're still a pet... What's so happy about that?

They surrendered after one beating... Are Saint Beasts really that easy to tame?

"Alright, I'll avenge you!" After taming the Saint Beasts, the young man waved his hand and, with a confident air, walked toward the apricot trees before him.

"He's asking for death!" Seeing how arrogant he became after taming the beasts, Yan Xue sneered.

He might have used some trick to tame the Saint Beasts, but the apricot trees...

These trees had listened to Master Kong's teachings. Going to provoke them was simply suicidal!

With a cold snort, the young man had already reached the apricot trees.

*Whoosh!* The apricot trees swayed in unison, surrounding him.