Under One Person: Rebuilding the Glory of the Beast Master

The entrance to the village is an open space with low stone walls about half a person's height on both sides. Behind the walls are traps and roadblocks dug by the Zeng family.

A dozen or so rifles were mounted on the low wall, their dark muzzles pointed at the snow-covered mountain path outside the village.

On the mountain path, a dark mass of figures was slowly approaching.

A rough count revealed at least 150 or 160 people scattered sparsely across the snow. Some carried rifles, some carried Mauser pistols, and many others held broadswords.

The man at the front rode a tall, chestnut-colored horse, wearing a black mink cloak and a dog-skin hat. His dark face was marked with two scars, making him look like a man who had lived a life of violence.

This is Ma Wangye, the bandit leader of Daqingshan.

Riding on Big Black's back, Zeng Qing'an peeked out from behind the low wall and surveyed the group on the mountain path, getting a rough idea of ​​their numbers. It was roughly as he'd estimated: about 150 or 160 bandits, less than half of whom had firearms; the rest were just there to make up the numbers.

He was calm, but not overconfident either.

"Lord Ma!" Zeng Qing'an shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice carrying far across the open snow-covered field. "What's the meaning of bringing so many people to Zeng Family Village on such a snowy day?"

On the mountain path, Master Ma reined in his horse, and the skinny horse snorted, its breath dissipating in the cold wind.

"Alas, Master Zeng." Master Ma's voice was rough, like a piece of sandpaper stuck in his throat. "Brothers have no choice. The heavy snow has blocked the mountains, and the village has run out of food. The brothers are almost starving to death. That's why we came here to borrow some grain to get through the winter, since Zeng Family Village is the richest place for miles around!"

Lord Ma spoke politely, but his tone was anything but polite.

"Borrow?" Zeng Qing'an sneered. "I've never heard of bandits borrowing things in this world."

Upon hearing this, Lord Ma burst into laughter, causing the surrounding bandits to howl and wail in response.

"Master Zeng, you're a sensible man, so I won't beat around the bush with you." Master Ma's smile vanished, the scar on his face appearing particularly menacing in the snowy light. "Thirty pigs, three thousand catties of grain, and five thousand silver dollars. Give me these things, and I, Master Ma, will leave immediately, and from now on, we'll have nothing to do with the Zeng family village. No—"

He paused, pulled a Mauser pistol from his waist, and fired a shot into the air, the sound echoing through the snow.

"Then don't blame me, Lord Horse, for being impolite!"

Behind the low wall, Zeng Qingde gripped his pistol tightly and glanced at Zeng Qing'an.

Zeng Qingan didn't rush to reply; he quickly considered things in his mind.

Thirty pigs, three thousand catties of grain, and five thousand silver dollars—to be honest, Zengjiazhuang could afford that.

The key is that this door must not be opened.

If we give it to Lord Ma today, tomorrow it will be Lord Zhang or Lord Li. The day after tomorrow, the bandits from Beigou and the outlaws from the western mountains will all come knocking on our door. Zengjiazhuang cannot be this sucker.

Giving in to bandits is pointless; weakness will only lead to repeated bullying.

Besides—Zeng Qing'an glanced down at the big black guy beneath him, "Does Zengjiazhuang have anything to fear from your hundred or so bandits?"

"Lord Ma," Zeng Qing'an said unhurriedly, "everything in Zeng Family Village, not even a needle or thread, was obtained through sheer hard work. If you want to rob it, you can, but you'll have to pay with your life."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zeng Qing'an turned around from behind the low wall and nodded to the beast masters of Zengjiazhuang. Immediately, everyone activated the "Beast Sensing Technique" at the same time, and a powerful Qi burst out from their bodies, instantly covering the entire perimeter of the village.

Thirty-eight large, fat pigs formed a large army and, drawn by the Qi, rushed out from the fences on both sides of the village.

This is an extremely stunning scene.

More than thirty fat pigs, weighing three or four hundred pounds each, were no longer livestock in the pen, but rather enraged beasts, driven by the animal handler. They lowered their heads, raised their manes, and scrambled their hooves, carving deep furrows in the snow.

Their speed far exceeded that of normal pigs, and instead of a clumsy sprint, they ran with a certain rhythm, each step striking the snow with a dull "thump-thump" sound, like the beating of war drums.

This is the power of the Beast Master of Extraordinary Beings.

The expression on Lord Ma's face froze.

He knew that Zengjiazhuang was strange, and he had heard stories of his own family being chased all over the mountains by pigs, but he had always just listened to them as stories.

Seeing over thirty large, fat pigs charging towards him was a shock, followed by fear.

"Fire! Fire!" he hissed, pulling out his Mauser pistol and firing three shots at the large black pig charging at the front.

The bullet hit a pig, splattering a cloud of blood mist, but the pig only grunted and did not slow down at all. Instead, it became even more enraged and charged even more fiercely, with a thin layer of qi emanating from its body.

This is the Beast Master's ability – [Vajra Arhat], which is simply a skill that increases the attack and defense of a group.

The bandits' guns can cause some damage, but not much.

Behind the low wall, gunfire erupted from Zengjiazhuang.

At Zeng Qingde's command, more than a dozen rifles fired simultaneously at the rear of the bandit cavalry, not to kill them, but to block their retreat.

The bandits' cavalry did not panic because of the gunfire. The horses were already used to the sound, but the riders on horseback did not have that much courage and would try to spur their horses to hide as soon as they heard gunfire.

And just at this critical moment, the pig army arrived.

The large black pig at the very front charged headlong into the bandits' ranks. Weighing three or four hundred pounds, and with its charging speed, the impact was no less than that of an artillery shell. Two bandits were sent flying, tumbling three or four meters away, coughing up blood and unable to get up.

The rest of the pigs followed closely behind, like sharp knives cutting into the bandits' ranks. With tusks plucked, heads rammed, and hooves trampled, each pig was a fighting machine, rampaging through the bandits, causing chaos and defeat wherever it went.

The scene was extremely chaotic and bloody.

A bandit was struck in the thigh by a fang, and he fell to the ground in the snow with a scream, his blood staining the white snow dark red.

Another bandit was knocked to the ground by a pig. Before he could get up, he was trampled by the pigs that surged up from behind. He let out a muffled groan and then fell silent.

Among the bandits, there were also some bold and ferocious individuals who dared to confront these pigs directly. However, while knives and guns could inflict some damage on the pigs, failing to kill them only fueled their ferocity.

This is not a battle, this is a massacre.

Zeng Qingan rode on Big Black's back, watching all this, but felt little joy.

He's worried about something.

Master Ma has been in the underworld for so many years and has managed to establish himself at the northern foot of Daqingshan Mountain. It's impossible for him to be defeated so easily.

He dared to come to Zengjiazhuang, so he couldn't have come without doing his homework, and he couldn't have been unaware that Zengjiazhuang had extraordinary abilities.

What makes him dare to come?

Unless—he has a backup plan.

The thought had just flashed through Zeng Qing'an's mind when a strange noise suddenly came from the end of the mountain path.

It wasn't the sound of horses' hooves or gunshots, but a low, buzzing sound, as if something was flying rapidly through the air.

Zeng Qingan looked up and his pupils suddenly contracted.

A figure emerged from the snow and mist at the end of the mountain path.

He was a short man, wearing a drab gray cotton robe and a felt hat, looking completely unremarkable. But around him, a dense swarm of bees danced.

Those were no ordinary bees; each one was the size of an adult's thumb, entirely black, with its stinger gleaming blue in the snow.

This thing looks poisonous.

"A Gu Master from Miao territory or an Insect Master from Xiling?" Zeng Qing'an uttered these words. Without much guessing, the newcomer was definitely an extraordinary person. Although they hadn't fought, judging from the other party's aura, he was certainly no small character.

The short man stopped in the middle of the mountain path, raised his head, and revealed an unremarkable face. He glanced at the bandit group, which had been routed by the pig army, and a slight, disdainful smile appeared on his lips.

"Xiao Ma, the men under you are utterly useless."

Lord Horse scrambled to his feet, his face covered in blood and mud, a disheveled mess. He had been at the very front of the column and had taken the brunt of the impact. His magnificent horse had been bulldozed into a corpse by the pig army, but thankfully he himself was unharmed.

Upon seeing the short man, Master Ma felt as if he had seen a savior. He rushed over, bowing and scraping, and said, "Master Gao, you've finally arrived! If you hadn't come, all the brothers would have perished here!"

The short man surnamed Gao ignored Lord Ma and looked over the low wall, fixing his gaze directly on Zeng Qing'an, who was riding on Big Black.

"Beastmaster." He spoke, his voice shrill and chillingly cold. "I've long heard that the Zeng Family Village has a lineage of beastmasters. Seeing them today, I can see they're quite skilled. However—"

He raised his hand, and the swarm of bees around him scattered with a buzz, like a cloud of black smoke. After circling in the air a few times, it swooped down towards the Zeng family members behind the low wall.

"The methods of the Beast Master are only good for bullying ordinary people."

Zeng Qing'an's expression changed, and almost instinctively he activated the "Beast Sensing Technique" in an attempt to establish a connection with the bees.

But nothing happened.

Those bees have no Qi in their bodies, or rather, their Qi is sealed off by some means, making it impossible to probe in.

This is no ordinary beast taming, this is—a Gu.

"Everyone, pay attention!" Zeng Qing'an shouted hoarsely, slapping Big Black on the back with his palm. Big Black understood and his massive body lunged forward, blocking the low wall.

The swarm of bees collided with Big Black, engulfing its body like a black flame.

Big Black let out a painful hiss and struggled desperately, but the bees seemed to be stuck to it and it couldn't shake them off no matter how hard it tried.

The thumb-sized venomous wasp pierced Big Black's rough skin with its stinger, injecting streams of green venom into him, causing Big Black's body to tremble violently.

Zeng Qingan's eyes reddened.

Big Black had been with him for almost thirty years, ever since he was a young lad. He had accompanied him through his adventures in the martial world, shielded him from harm, and saved his life.

Over the years, Big Black has become more than just a tamed beast; he is now a member of the Zeng family.

"You bastard!" Zeng Qing'an roared, his Qi surging wildly within his body, and the martial arts aura that had been dormant for many years burst forth from him once more.

He earned the reputation of "Pig Slayer Knife" in the martial arts world, which was not something easily obtained. Anyone with a reputation in the martial arts world must have some kind of formidable strength.

"When the mind is calm, the Qi follows, and the will circulates throughout the body."

It draws upon the nature of birds and borrows the power of beasts.

Form is not confined to the body, and Qi is not trapped by form.

A single thought can connect all spirits; even beasts will submit to its will.

Zeng Qing'an formed hand seals and chanted incantations, causing his Qi to erupt violently.

"Tong Beast—"

Zeng Qing'an gave a low shout, and with his hands pressed down, an invisible energy field spread outwards from him. In the [Beast Taming] state, his senses, reaction, and explosive power would be greatly enhanced, and the intensity of the enhancement would be related to his beast taming.

This is the legacy of the Zeng family's animal husbandry masters.

Behind the low wall, the extraordinary people of Zengjiazhuang moved simultaneously, all activating their beast-communicating states.

Zeng Qingde was the first to rush out, followed by two plump and strong white pigs. These two pigs were his tamed beasts. Although they were not as fierce as Big Black, they still exuded a strong aura under the blessing of "Vajra Arhat".

"Third brother, to the left! Fourth brother, follow me!" Zeng Qingde commanded while activating the Beast Sensing Technique. The three pigs split into two groups and flanked the short man surnamed Gao from the flanks.

Zeng Runzu followed closely behind, carrying a pig-slaughtering knife in his hand, the blade gleaming with a faint blue light.

This is a magical artifact passed down from the Zeng family. It has been used to kill over a thousand pigs, and the blade is covered in enough malevolent energy to have a certain restraining effect on the Qi of extraordinary people.

The other members of the Zeng family also charged out, each commanding their own beasts. In an instant, more than thirty pigs, along with seven or eight other individuals, surged towards the bandit group from all directions of Zeng Family Village.

The bandits under Lord Ma were already scattered by the pig army, and now that they saw even more pigs rushing out, as well as those strange people whose bodies were glowing, the timid ones turned and ran away.

"Come back, all of you, come back here!" Lord Ma roared, shooting two fleeing men to death before he could barely regain his footing, but he still couldn't stop those pigs.

The short man watched as the strange people from Zengjiazhuang rushed out, and his smile only deepened. He raised his hands, his fingers flying across the page as if playing a musical instrument.

"Insect Gu - Bee Cloud Formation!"

With a low shout, the swarm of Gu bees hovering in the air suddenly split into three groups, each with hundreds of black bees, drawing three black arcs in the air as they rushed toward Zeng Qingde, Zeng Runzu, and the other two Zeng family members.

"Watch out!" Zeng Qing'an shouted. He had already arrived beside Big Black and used his Qi to blast away the bees surrounding him.

"Hang in there, old buddy!"

Immediately, Zeng Qing'an transferred his own Qi into Big Black's body.

"Hmph—"

Big Black let out a low groan, and powerful Qi erupted from its body, forcing out some of the venom from the Gu Bees. However, the venom injected into its body had already begun to take effect, and its limbs began to weaken, and its spirits became less vigorous.

Even so, Big Black wasn't afraid at all; it looked at its owner.

Despite their different bodies, they were of the same mind. Zeng Qing'an understood what his old partner wanted to do, and immediately turned over and carried him on his back.