The Blood Flame Tiger moved with a casual, almost predatory grace, each step sending ripples of terror through the hearts of the stunned youths.
Their bodies trembled, their pores leaking sweat as fear gripped them like a vice.
The young man at the forefront felt a weight he had never known before, a crushing burden that made his chest tighten and his breath shallow.
He stood frozen, his mind racing through the options before him.
Should he run, abandoning his companions to save himself, or stay and face the beast, knowing full well that his cultivation was far from sufficient to challenge such a monstrous creature?
If he ran, he would be branded a coward for the rest of his life, but at least he might survive.
The two girls with him would likely be sacrificed, their lives extinguished in the jaws of the Blood Flame Tiger.
Yet, staying meant certain death.