The city was alive with its usual hustle and bustle, the marketplace thriving with the exchange of goods, and the streets teeming with the endless flow of people. Zui Tian, still wandering aimlessly through the winding paths of the city, sought refuge in the mundane, allowing the sensory overload to keep his thoughts anchored in the present. But the peace he clung to was about to be shattered.
It began as a low rumble, barely noticeable at first. The ground beneath Zui Tian’s feet trembled ever so slightly, like the first warning signs of a distant storm. He paused, tilting his head slightly as he listened, his senses already on high alert. The noise grew louder, the vibrations intensifying, until the very stones of the city seemed to shake. The noise wasn’t the familiar sounds of city life—no, this was something far more ominous.
Suddenly, the piercing wail of an alarm filled the air, cutting through the city’s usual cacophony like a knife. It was a sound that struck fear into the hearts of every citizen—a warning that something terrible was approaching. Zui Tian didn’t need to be told what it was; he could sense it, even without the alarm.
A Beast Tide.
In the forest surrounding the city, hundreds of thousands of beasts—wild, ravenous, and driven by an insatiable hunger—were surging toward the city walls. The Beast Tide was a rare but devastating phenomenon, a natural disaster that occurred when the balance of the wild was disrupted, causing the beasts to swarm in overwhelming numbers. These creatures, usually content to roam the forests, had become a mindless, unified force of destruction, tearing through everything in their path.
The city erupted into chaos. People screamed and ran for shelter, merchants hurriedly packed up their wares, and the city guards scrambled to prepare the defenses. The walls, tall and sturdy, were manned by archers and soldiers, their faces set with grim determination. They had faced Beast Tides before, but this one… it felt different. The sheer number of beasts approaching was staggering, and there was a sense of desperation in the air.
Zui Tian, standing in the midst of the panicked crowd, sighed deeply. He could feel the approaching horde, a vast wave of wild energy that seemed to resonate with the primal chaos he had known so well in his past. The beasts were mindless, driven by instinct, but their collective power was enough to reduce the city to rubble if left unchecked.
He didn’t want to deal with this.
The thought was simple, almost dismissive. He had no desire to engage in a battle, no interest in saving the city or its people. Not out of malice, but simply because it all seemed so trivial to him. The struggles of mortals, their wars, their disasters—it was all so small compared to the vastness of his experience. But still, there was the issue of peace and quiet, something he valued far more than anything else.
The rumbling grew louder, the sound of thousands of beasts trampling the earth, growing closer by the second. The city guards shouted orders, their voices barely audible over the din. The archers prepared to loose their arrows, while the warriors braced themselves for the onslaught. The gates were reinforced, the barricades set, and yet, there was an undercurrent of fear that no amount of preparation could dispel.
Zui Tian’s brow furrowed slightly, an expression of mild annoyance crossing his features. He closed his eyes for a moment, letting his mind reach out to the approaching tide. The chaos, the primal energy, was like a whisper at the edge of his consciousness—wild, untamed, and so easily controlled.
His thoughts, usually a maelstrom of cosmic memories and dangerous power, focused on a single word.
“Return.”
The effect was immediate. In an instant, the unstoppable tide of beasts froze in their tracks, as if suddenly caught in a web of invisible threads. The guards on the walls, bracing for the impact, blinked in confusion as the terrifying sound of the beast horde suddenly stopped.
The beasts, once driven by an uncontrollable hunger, now hesitated. Their frenzied eyes dulled, and their wild energy dissipated as if snuffed out by an unseen force. Then, as one, they turned around and began to retreat, their massive bodies crashing through the underbrush as they fled back into the depths of the forest. The once-unified tide scattered, each creature returning to its natural state, no longer a part of the mindless swarm.
The city fell into an eerie silence. The alarms, still blaring, seemed out of place in the sudden stillness. The guards on the walls exchanged bewildered glances, their weapons still raised, but there was nothing to fight. The citizens, who had been running for cover, slowly emerged from their hiding places, confusion and disbelief written on their faces.
Zui Tian opened his eyes and resumed his walk as if nothing had happened, blending back into the crowd as the city tried to make sense of what they had just witnessed. To them, it was a miracle—an inexplicable reprieve from certain doom. Whispers spread like wildfire through the streets: the gods had intervened, the city had been blessed by a divine force, or perhaps a powerful cultivator had saved them.
Zui Tian paid no attention to the speculation. He continued his walk through the city, his mind already drifting to other thoughts. The Beast Tide, which had been such a terrifying prospect for the mortals, had been nothing more than a minor inconvenience to him. A mere thought had turned it away, restoring the peace he so cherished.
As he walked, he could feel the faint presence from earlier—whoever or whatever had been watching him in the courtyard. It was still there, lurking at the edges of his awareness, but it seemed hesitant now, as if uncertain whether to approach. Zui Tian’s lips curled into a faint, knowing smile. It didn’t matter. Whoever it was, whatever it wanted, would have to wait. He had more important things to think about—like where to find his next drink, and perhaps a quiet place to enjoy it.
And so, as the city slowly returned to its normal rhythm, Zui Tian walked on, unbothered by the chaos he had so easily quelled. The Beast Tide had come and gone, leaving only the lingering echoes of fear and awe in its wake. But for Zui Tian, it was just another day in a world that had long ceased to surprise him.
For now, at least, he could enjoy the quiet.