The tent collapsed and the patriarchs all drew their weapons.
Zhang Guowei drew his saber and with a flash of yellow qi the silverback tiger was cut into two equal pieces.
They all looked at the youth in red robes with his long white hair tied behind his head.
Liu Changfeng angrily yelled,
"What the hell are you doing here! don't you know that we're deciding the fate of Heimu Village?!"
Wu Tianmo, who was clutching something within his arms sat up,
"Holy.... how did I end up here..."
He looked up and saw the three clan leaders looking at him with both interest and disdain.
Wu Tianmo smiled and stood with a striped tiger cub in his arms,
"Seniors....Wait wait wait... Don't kill me... I have some information that could help you. We're heading to the Heimu Forest right?"
This was no secret, they had been traveling together a part of a caravan for a few months now. There was only one geographical area that they could be going within Tieling County.
Chen Baoliang eyed the tiger cub with great interest,
"Yes... what of it?"
Wu Tianmo took a precautionary step back and cleared his throat,
"This young one appreciates you Elders allowing him to speak. A year ago, when I first went on my journey I went to the Heimu Forest seeking herbs for my cultivation."
Liu Changfeng looked at Wu Tianmo disapprovingly,
"What the hell were you doing there alone? A level one body reforging kid has no business meddling in that forest."
Wu Tianmo quickly responded,
"Senior is correct, however, as a cultivator without a backing.... What else am I supposed to do! Wait... That's besides the point, I recently went there to scout out the forest. I had a feeling this is where we were going."
This caused the clan leaders to be filled with interest,
"Well boy, this is a significant contribution! I will overlook you destroying our tent, tell us, what did you find?"
Wu Tianmo took a second precautionary step back as they had all gotten closer,
"Senior is magnanimous... Well.. I have found out which beast's territory it is."
Wu Tianmo pointed to the cub he was holding in his arms.
The three patriarchs smiled,
"Is that so?"
It's known that the Silverback Tigers are fiercely protective of their kin, that they could smell them over a 20 miles away. If they were killed, they would hunt down those responsible. Yet these beasts has a low tier bloodline and in their peak, could only match Meridian Opening Realm cultivators.
The three patriarchs were all such cultivators.
--
A week later at the future villages location in Heimu Forest.
--
The three patriarchs along with Wu Tianmo, and their respective clan members all waited along a high ridge. Nearby was the long flowing river and a large open field, at the center of it all, was a cave.
Below them was the cave where the tier 2 Silverback Tiger, and their mates were resting. Around the area were nearly 20 other Silverback tigers, all tier one. They were chasing wild prey or cultivating within shaded areas.
Not only humans cultivate, beasts do as well. If they're lucky enough to become a tier four beast they even gain consciousness equal to a human. These beasts are to be feared, as they retain the strong physique of a beast, and gain the cleverness of a human.
The Liu Clan Patriarch, Liu Changfeng grabbed a set of herbs from his pouch and added a vial of something to them. As soon as he did the eyes of the silverback tigers turned their directions as if something was drawing them this way. The Liu Patriarch threw the bag towards an open field and waited.
The tigers cautiously approached until they were nearly upon the bait. Suddenly, the ground below them gave way and large bamboo spikes pierced their bodies.
The wailing of the tigers could be heard from miles away. Screeches of death echoed and caused all the surrounding birds to flee from their nests.
The few tigers that remained, 10 or so, all stood vigilant looking for who had plotted against them.
Zhang Guowei couldn't wait any longer and drew his saber,
"Come men! Let us pave the way to our new village with Silverback Tiger blood!"
All the cultivators including Wu Tianmo charged into battle, Tianmo wielded a long double edged sword and carried a captive tiger cub within a sack on his back.
The sword was not nearly as effective as sabers, who relied on brute strength. Yet swords are elegant and Tianmo's moves reflected a polished accuracy.
He was able to accurately pinpoint the weak spots of the silverback tigers and pierce them with his sword.
He did this while simultaneously dodging all of their attacks along the way as if he was playing a song and the tigers were just dancing to his tune.
The Wu family was known for their skill with the sword. As soon as they were able to hold it, around 5 years old, they wielded it and began their training.
For the next ten years all Wu clansmen were forced into a Wu Martial Academy, after they would have to venture into the world to prove themselves a warrior.
Wu Tianmo, was the top of his class in the Wu Academy, a peerless genius of the sword.
The dance of death concluded and Wu Tianmo had killed more tigers than anyone else. Even the Patriarchs were surprised by his prowess.
Some were happy to have a powerful ally, some were cautious of this potential threat. All of them had come from near annihilation and cautiousness was in their blood. This is the only reason their clans survived this long.
After the last of the tigers were killed the earth started to tremble as a Silverback Tiger, twice the size of the others charged towards the battle. Three of the Liu Clan, One of the Zhang were instantly killed by its might. Devoured before they even knew what happened.
The remaining cultivators dwindled and the clan leaders all nodded at one another, it was time for the main event.
Meridian Opening cultivators were different than body reforging, they opened the meridians within the body to allow qi to flow freely. This allowed them to empower their attacks with qi to cause powerful attacks.
All three of the leaders grouped together for a final showdown with the Silverback Tiger.
Zhang Guowei led they way and took the Silverback Tiger head on, his saber collided with the tiger's claws causing small cracks to emerge within the blade.
Chen Baoliang was a craftsman and pulled out three puppets made of bamboo that moved on their own. Each of them had the cultivation equivalent of a peak body reforging cultivator and were powered by spirit stones.
Zhang was no longer alone, this caused the pressure upon him to decrease as the tiger now had four targets to worry about.
Liu Changfeng took a pill from his bag and sighed,
"It must be done... For the Liu Clan!"
He popped the glowing red pill within his mouth and an oppressive aura surrounded him, his muscles bulged and he clenched his teeth in pain.
Liu Changfeng charged the beast and attacked with his fists. The Liu clan was known for their alchemy, however this didn't mean they couldn't hold their own. They had survived with a strong martial technique known as Red Flame Fist.
Red flames covered Liu Changfeng's fists as he charged in, his fist colliding with the beast chin sending it flying into the distance.
Zhang Guowei took this opportunity to deal a decisive blow, slashing the stomach of the beast open causing it's blood and entrails to leak out.
Moment's later, the beast had died and the cultivators celebrated.
*Roar!*
A loud roar could be heard in the distance, yet this roar was full of pain and anger which caused the cultivators fear.
Another Silverback Tiger had arrived, this one was stronger than the rest, a tier two peak beast who had nearly broken through to tier 3.
This was unheard of, the Silverback Tiger shouldn't have ability to breakthrough. There was only one possible reason, it's bloodline had mutated allowing for it's potential advancement.
All three patriarchs retreated and grouped together, they had two options. Run and lose this village forever, or fight and possibly die for the future of their clans.