"ROAR!"
The Nebula Tiger let out a furious roar, sending shockwaves rippling outward. The smoke and dust kicked up by the explosion were blasted away, and the roar echoed across all of Stream Town.
Everyone felt a chill run down their spines.
This was the might of a high-tier Lord phantom beast—a single roar alone was enough to shake one's very soul.
However, the Nebula Tiger's roar wasn't just meant to intimidate the enemy; it was primarily for its own master.
Sure enough, a layer of crimson mist now swirled around Juetian.
This was a skill unique to phantom beasts—Life Barrier. It formed a protective shield around the master, preventing them from being easily eliminated.
After all, summoned beasts were just that—summoned beasts. If the summoner died, the summoned beast would vanish. That was why all summoned beasts possessed skills to protect their master.
Juetian glanced at the effect of the Life Barrier and a wide grin spread across his face.
The Life Barrier could absorb twenty thousand points of damage. Even if an enemy got close, breaking through a shield of that magnitude would take considerable effort. And given his own formidable combat power, before they could even chip away all twenty thousand points, the opponent would already be dead.
Juetian had originally worried about what to do if Shi Feng targeted him directly. But now his only concern had vanished.
"Black Flame, your time is up!" Juetian began commanding the Nebula Tiger to attack Shi Feng.
The biggest difference between a summoned beast and a wild monster was the player's control. With a player directing it, a wild monster that was already powerful in base stats became even more dangerous—let alone a high-tier Lord with multiple skills. Against a player, it was practically a one-shot kill.
Over three meters tall, the Nebula Tiger lightly pushed off the ground, covering the ten-plus yards in the blink of an eye.
"Fast!" Shi Feng's eyes widened.
The Nebula Tiger's razor-sharp claws slashed toward Shi Feng's body. Shi Feng tried to dodge, but his reaction was a fraction too slow. The blow connected.
However, the Nebula Tiger's strike dealt no damage to Shi Feng whatsoever—it was entirely blocked by Sword Control Return to Heaven.
But the Nebula Tiger wasn't done. Its claws came down again immediately.
After several consecutive swipes, Shi Feng's Sword Control Return to Heaven was shattered in an instant.
As the Nebula Tiger launched its killing strike, Shi Feng finally managed to block it with a parry.
With a thunderous bang and no surprise whatsoever, a level 30 high-tier Lord was devastatingly powerful. Against Shi Feng, who wasn't even a first-tier class, there was simply no way he could hold his ground. His entire body was sent flying backward like a cannonball.
"As expected of the famous expert, Guild Master Black Flame—you actually blocked that." Juetian watched from the side like a spectator at a show, clapping his hands in admiration.
He wasn't mocking Shi Feng; it was a genuine compliment.
He knew that if he were facing the Nebula Tiger's attack, he would never have reacted in time. He probably wouldn't even have gotten a parry off before being killed in one hit. But Shi Feng had blocked it.
The price, however, was steep. After being sent flying, he landed unsteady on his feet, with no energy left to dodge or withstand the Nebula Tiger's next attack.
The massive stat gap couldn't be compensated by combat technique alone.
Earlier, Shi Feng had overwhelmed his opponents with sheer force, crushing them head-on, which left Juetian exasperated. Now Shi Feng faced the exact same problem—surviving until now was already remarkable.
Just as the Nebula Tiger lunged forward, about to finish off Shi Feng, a figure suddenly shot in from the distance, intercepting the Nebula Tiger's claw strike and saving Shi Feng.
Juetian was stunned for a long while. That figure's speed was simply too fast—even he hadn't caught a clear glimpse of it before it appeared in front of Shi Feng and blocked the Nebula Tiger's full-power blow. It was almost unbelievable.
Shi Feng rose to his feet, looked at the tall figure standing proud before him, and smiled faintly. "Just made it in time."
The one who blocked the Nebula Tiger was none other than Shi Feng's personal guard, Cate.
As a dark-gold-tier personal guard and a first-tier Swordsman at level 30, Cate naturally far surpassed any player.
Originally, Shi Feng hadn't wanted to use Cate, but since Juetian had brought out his summoned beast, if he didn't deploy Cate as well, he'd be signing his own death warrant.
"Oh, an NPC guard—no wonder he was strong enough to block the Nebula Tiger's attack." Juetian sneered. "But do you really think a level 30 first-tier Swordsman can take down the high-tier Lord Nebula Tiger?"
He had summoned his beast first, so he couldn't say anything about Shi Feng using an NPC guard. But he was fully confident in his Nebula Tiger. At the same level of 30, the Nebula Tiger was far more powerful than any first-tier class. Shi Feng was merely delaying the inevitable.
"I'll admit Cate can't defeat the Nebula Tiger," Shi Feng said with a faint smile, "but he can hold it off for a while. So let's see—who dies first? Do I kill you, or does the Nebula Tiger finish off Cate?" He dashed straight toward Juetian.
Cate was a first-tier NPC after all. Though he couldn't beat the high-tier Lord Nebula Tiger, holding it at bay for a period of time was no problem at all—otherwise he wouldn't deserve the title of dark-gold-tier personal guard.