Brian Carter and Blake Carter had long since grown accustomed to this level of confrontation. They approached without the slightest hesitation. What Brian Carter saw was a middle-aged man with a flowing beard, dressed in Daoist robes and holding a golden sword. The man was half-suspended in midair, his fingers moving back and forth in the void, commanding a golden net that chased after Ruby Carter in all directions.

At this moment, Ruby Carter was still in a sorry state, dodging the net’s pursuit everywhere in midair, possessing great strength but unable to resist. Judging by appearances, that man should also be at the Golden Core stage, not much different from Ruby Carter. The reason he held such an advantage over Ruby Carter was likely due to the weapon in his hand. Every time Ruby Carter tried to escape, the flying sword in the man’s hand would force it back, making it struggle bitterly with the net again. Trying to get close and fight the man hand-to-hand was no easy task either, as the flying sword would mercilessly keep Ruby Carter dozens of meters away.

Judging by the situation, in just a quarter of an hour, Ruby Carter would be exhausted and caught by the golden net. Only then did Brian Carter realize why Ruby Carter had been sparring with him and Blake Carter all this time without killing them. Clearly, it had been waiting for this day, hoping they would remember its mercy and lend a hand. This Ruby Carter truly lived up to being a creature that had set foot on the Golden Core path—quite clever indeed.

This man’s magical treasure was extremely formidable; if they confronted him head-on, even with one man, one tiger, and one bird combined, they might not gain the upper hand. To save Ruby Carter, they would have to risk a sneak attack. Right now, the man’s full attention was on Ruby Carter, completely unaware that Brian Carter and Blake Carter had slipped onto the battlefield.

However, this was the first human Brian Carter had ever encountered, and he couldn’t help but feel a bit reluctant. Yet, in this moment of hesitation, Ruby Carter’s situation worsened, nearly getting caught by the net several times.

After years of interacting with Ruby Carter, although every meeting ended in a fight, their bond had grown deeper. Despite its strength, the bird was kind-hearted and had never been seen killing any living creature. Forget it, he thought, this could be considered repaying a favor to Ruby Carter. Brian Carter shook his head, thinking that since he could meet one human, there was always a chance to meet another.

Having made up his mind, Brian Carter made a gesture. He and Blake Carter circled around from behind, lying in wait beneath the man in midair, one on the left and one on the right.

Ruby Carter was in danger again, and the man chuckled, “Good Ruby Carter, resistance is useless.” His eyes flashed, and as Ruby Carter was about to collapse from exhaustion, he sped up his actions.

At Brian Carter’s signal, Blake Carter let out a thunderous roar, spat out a ball of light, and soared through the air, pouncing at the man.

The man was shocked, but reacted swiftly, narrowly dodging both the light ball and the tiger’s claws. Over the years, Blake Carter’s cultivation had steadily improved. The light balls it spat out now often gave Ruby Carter a hard time as well. Startled and forced to dodge, the man’s golden net lost its command. Ruby Carter immediately let out a crisp cry and, taking advantage of the moment before the flying sword could strike, flew over to join the battle.

The man was indeed formidable, turning to fight with sword in hand against both the bird and the tiger. Once the battle stabilized, he laughed loudly, “Good Ruby Carter, no wonder you refused to come with me. So you arranged for help here. What a fine flying tiger at the peak of innate cultivation, just one step away from the Golden Core path. It seems my luck as an immortal master is truly at its peak today—encountering two rare spirit beasts at once.”

Flying tiger? Although Brian Carter found it a bit odd, he was too angry to care. Damn it, this guy is shameless, even wanting to capture Brother Tiger. In the three-way melee, the man was indeed very strong, able to hold his own even under the combined close-range attacks of Ruby Carter and Blake Carter. He truly had reason to be arrogant; Blake Carter was only at the peak of innate cultivation, and fighting in midair like this was entirely supported by a pure innate energy. If the man could hold out until Blake Carter was exhausted, it would be his chance to turn defeat into victory.

Blake Carter was also very experienced in battle and knew that the longer the fight dragged on, the worse it would be for their side. It began to subtly lure the man toward Brian Carter. When the distance was only a dozen or so meters, Brian Carter silently leapt into the air, his Xuan Yue transforming into a flawless blade that slashed down from above.

The man, confident in his victory, had grown arrogant. By the time he sensed the fierce attack from behind and cried out in alarm, it was too late. With a boom, Brian Carter’s Xuan Yue struck him squarely on the back.

The man’s powerful protective energy sent Brian Carter flying backward, but Brian Carter’s full-force strike was no joke. The man immediately felt a sweetness in his throat and spat out a mouthful of blood. Sensing the opportunity, Blake Carter and Ruby Carter unleashed their fiercest attacks, striking the wounded man from both sides.

A scream rang out. The man was truly formidable; even after suffering heavy blows, he managed to hold on, his eyes fierce as he fought with Ruby Carter and Blake Carter. Brian Carter immediately dove back in, wielding his blade with one hand and unleashing true fire with the other. Waves of intensely hot blue flames forced the man into a perilous situation. Using true fire in battle was a skill Ruby Carter had forced him to develop over the years. In the past, he had relied solely on his own strength and never thought to use spells, but after fighting Ruby Carter for so long, he gradually began to use the true fire technique he had learned while refining tools. Unexpectedly, it worked extremely well, causing Ruby Carter to suffer several times.