The surface of the lake was churning!
Could the poison beast be about to appear?
How could that be?
The duet hadn’t been able to draw it out, yet a solo performance had summoned it in an instant!
Sheng Zimo was nothing short of a legend!
At this moment, no one cared to figure out what had actually happened—every eye was fixed on the churning lake surface, waiting for that rumbling sound to burst forth from the water.
Up on the platform, Ziqing and the others had also composed themselves. Though they no longer particularly cared about the poison beast, the sight before them made the whole group rise to their feet.
At this very moment, Sheng Zimo’s playing reached its peak.
“Hiss…”
“BOOM!”
The two sounds erupted almost simultaneously, deafening and awe-inspiring, and at the same instant a massive wave burst forth from the lake, surging skyward.
The wave was so enormous that for a moment no one could tell whether it was simply a wave, or whether something was hidden within it.
But those who knew better cried out at once, “It’s the poison beast! The poison beast has been summoned!”
At these words, an uproar broke out instantly.
“Sheng Zimo summoned the poison beast! He did it all on his own!”
“Sheng Zimo is a genius!”
Ability proved everything, and results overrode all else—public opinion turned toward Sheng Zimo at once.
Sheng Zimo took every word in, storing it away in his heart.
This was exactly the effect he wanted. He wanted the Beast Clan to remember him as someone truly extraordinary.
He didn’t care what had gone wrong with the duet—he only knew for certain the fault hadn’t been his.
He alone could summon the poison beast.
He would prove it to everyone.
At this moment, only one massive wave had burst forth—clearly, one more poison beast had yet to appear.
Sheng Zimo, brimming with confidence, kept playing, coaxing the phoenix-tail sheng into a performance of breathtaking skill.
If he could summon one poison beast alone, he could certainly summon the second as well.
His ambitions ran deep—he had even begun to think that summoning them wasn’t enough; he wanted to tame them too.
Sure enough, amid the crowd’s shock, another tremendous rumble rose from the lake’s depths.
This time it was completely different from before. Before anyone could even process it, another massive wave burst skyward, like a water dragon leaping into flight, soaring into the ninth heaven in a display of breathtaking magnificence.
Everyone was stunned speechless.
Someone cried out, no one quite sure who, “Both poison beasts have appeared!”
At that, the stunned crowd erupted into cheers.
The head of the Xiao family stared at the scene before him in utter disbelief—or rather, he stared at Sheng Zimo.
How was this possible!
How had Sheng Zimo done it!
Without the duet of the sheng and xiao, how could the poison beast possibly be summoned?
“No… I don’t believe it! I don’t believe it!”
That a single phoenix-tail sheng alone could summon the poison beast completely negated any need for the Xiao family’s white jade flute to exist at all.
Up on the platform, Ziqing and Jun Beiyue had both risen, standing at the railing, gazing at the two massive waves surging endlessly upward in the distance.
Even now, they still couldn’t make out what kind of beasts lay hidden within.
“Xiong Bao, can you see clearly?” Ziqing asked quietly.
She turned to look at Xiong Xiaobao as she spoke, only to find her son’s face had gone completely pale.
Ziqing was about to ask what was wrong when Xiong Xiaobao slowly raised his head and murmured, “Mommy, the killing intent is incredibly heavy… these two poison beasts are very dangerous.”
The moment the words left his mouth, the two towering waves suddenly, violently curved and changed direction.
Like two enormous water-arrows standing suspended in the air, they paused for only an instant before charging with reckless fury straight toward the viewing platform.
The change came so suddenly that everyone froze in shock.
How could this be happening!
The poison beasts were filled with open hostility!
What on earth was going on?
At this point, no one had the presence of mind to investigate the cause—simply accepting the reality unfolding before them was already beyond everyone’s ability.
Nearly everyone stood frozen in shock.
There were three platforms here. Jun Beiyue’s group occupied the highest, central platform, with the head of the Xiao family and Sheng Zimo positioned on the platforms to either side.
The two waves surged straight toward this direction, and no one could tell which platform they were actually targeting.
Amid the crowd’s shock, Jun Beiyue barked out sharply, “Run!”
As he spoke, he held down Xiong Xiaobao, who was itching to reach for his poison beasts, grabbed hold of Jue Mingzi with his other hand, and leaped down through the air. Ziqing scooped up Baili Xiaosheng and followed close behind.
Only once they had gone did Prince Nanzhao and the others finally snap out of their shock and scramble away in a panic.
But unexpectedly, Sheng Zimo did not flee. Not only did he not jump down—he soared even higher into the air, playing his sheng as he charged straight toward the two oncoming waves.
Was this boy trying to get himself killed?
“Mommy, he wants to tame the poison beasts!” Xiong Xiaobao exclaimed. Taming poison beasts was nothing remarkable to him ordinarily—but these two were different, and even hidden within the waves as they were, he could sense it clearly.
These two poison beasts were fierce, arrogant, savage creatures—not to be trifled with.
His father, worried he might act rashly and reach for his Qiankun Poison Pouch, had kept a firm grip on his hand. But even without that restraint, he wouldn’t have acted rashly himself.
His Qiankun Poison Pouch certainly still had room for these two beasts, but taking them in would inevitably threaten the safety of every other creature already inside.
Even he didn’t dare act carelessly—and yet here was Sheng Zimo, so arrogantly confident he charged straight at them.
But to everyone’s astonishment, the moment Sheng Zimo charged forward to meet them, the two waves came to an abrupt halt.
And it was in that very instant that everyone on the platform managed to make their escape to safety.
At this moment, Sheng Zimo hung suspended in midair, locked in a standoff with the two waves, while everyone below craned their necks to watch, hearts pounding with both awe and terror.
Yet everyone also couldn’t help but feel a flicker of anticipation—no one in the Beast Clan, since the age of their ancestors, had ever managed to tame these two poison beasts.
Could it be that today the Beast Clan would witness a miracle once more?
Could Sheng Zimo be the one who, after hundreds of years, would create a new legend for the Beast Clan?
This was a moment to witness a miracle, a moment to witness history.
Everyone held their breath. Even Ziqing and Jun Beiyue grew tense—they had never thought much of Sheng Zimo before.
Could it be that this time, they too had misjudged him?
Not just the crowd—even Sheng Zimo himself grew tense, though not from fear. It was the waves’ sudden halt that had set his nerves on edge.
Had the waves truly stopped because of him? Had the poison beasts recognized his playing?
The thought made Sheng Zimo feel increasingly pleased with himself, and he threw himself into the performance with even greater fervor and devotion.
The whole crowd hoped, wished, that the sound of the sheng could make the poison beasts submit.
Yet Baili Xiaosheng was not among the hopeful.
“Auntie Qing, there’s killing intent in that sheng music. It won’t make the poison beasts submit,” Baili Xiaosheng murmured to herself. She understood nothing of music theory, nor of beast-taming arts, and yet, for reasons she couldn’t explain even to herself, she simply felt it to be true.
“Hm?” Ziqing hadn’t quite caught what she said.
“Auntie Qing, I feel like I’ve heard the sound of the phoenix-tail sheng somewhere before. It feels like it was a very, very long time ago. I can’t remember.”
Baili Xiaosheng murmured on, and then, suddenly—a thunderous “BOOM”—both waves shattered at once, and the two poison beasts finally revealed themselves.