Chương 13: First tail.
Li Yang wasn't being stealthy while he made his bet with Mei Kongxu so their interaction was seen by everyone around them. If Mei Kongxu's instant agreement wasn't enough to make them curious, then Li Tian's act of furrowing his brow upon seeing the box certainly did. If even the Third elder of the Deepsea King sect reacted upon seeing the box then it was clear that whatever was hidden within the box was more than just a bit valuable.
Li Yang glanced sideways at his father, stealthily allowing his gaze to run over the surrounding crowd that was now looking at either Mei Kongxu or the box. Li Tian's gaze narrowed faintly as his eyes met with Li Yang's, but he chose to remain silent after seeing the look in Li Yang's eyes, trusting that his son wouldn't truly be that foolish.
Li Tian's slightly narrowed gaze and furrowed brows were also seen by Mei Cuixue, who couldn't help but glance at the box that Li Yang was holding. Li Yang pulled his gaze back after seeing that his father chose to remain silent, playing with the wooden box for a bit before throwing it into his interspatial ring.
"You'll get the box if you win, as for my reward... how about you tell me a bit more about what you asked me when we first met? While accompanying me on a nice date around the sect, of course."
The first thing Mei Kongxu had asked him when they met was if he knew about the Thunder's Roar and the how of the Tyrant, two statements that didn't mean a single thing to him. But they had piqued his interest, especially with the things Mei Kongxu told him during their following betting matches.
Mei Kongxu's brows furrowed for a second, a snicker coming from one of the sect members closer to the two of them drawing their attention. The young girl that had snickered quickly looked away and acted like nothing, but her actions further aroused Li Yang's interest in Mei Kongxu's little secret. Mei Kongxu's expression returned to its usual cold and distant one after she removed her gaze from the young girl, nonchalantly nodding her head to Li Yang's offer.
"Alright, I'll pay my part if I lose, but I hope you won't go back on your word if you lose."
Mei Kongxu glanced sideways at Li Tian to further emphasize that he shouldn't use his father as an excuse when he lost. But Li Yang simply laughed in response to her worries, grinning cheekily while winking at her.
"You don't need to worry about that. Truth be told, this thing is something I would have given you if you had just asked, I'm only using it as a betting stake now to take advantage of you since I know that the thing inside the box is irresistible."
Li Yang still didn't bother to hide his words in the slightest, his loud laughter and confident words further drawing the attention of the surrounding disciples. His proud and confident visage made him look like a peacock proudly displaying his feathers to attract his mate, unaware of just how visible it made him to other predators. But no one made a move yet, Mei Cuixue speaking out in a stern voice that reached everyone's ears.
"Alright, we've lingered around enough, it's time to get the actual sparring underway. The process is a bit different this time around so I'll set some ground rules. This isn't a tournament or competition against the other sects, its a friendly sparring match. As such, there will be no killing or robbing anyone of their chastity, understood? The moment someone doesn't leave the forest alive, everyone else will be forbidden from leaving the area until we have indisputable evidence that the one who died was in fact killed by a Demonic beast. And should someone be found guilty of murder or rape, they will be immediately killed. Have I made myself clear?"
Mei Cuixue's words embedded themselves in the minds of everyone present, almost hammering against their souls. She was the Second Elder of the World-rending Behemoth sect, the fearsome Iron Tiger Lord, there was no one present that would dare to go against her words so everyone could only agree loudly.
"Yes Ma'am!"
"It will be as you say, Elder!"
Li Yang also saluted Mei Cuixue, the corners of his lips pulled up very faintly. He was actually able to discover the hidden meaning behind her words, killing and raping were forbidden, but robbery wasn't. So even if someone stole the box from him, Li Yang couldn't complain since it wasn't against the rules, it just meant that he was too weak to hold it. It could be considered a bit callous, but the disciples should actually be somewhat grateful that the sects forbade killing, an act that many of the higher-ranked sects didn't forbid during their training excursions or sparring matches.
Mei Cuixue and Li Tian took the lead in walking away, bringing the disciples of the two sects to the training area that would be used. While they were walking, Li Yang noticed that people were keeping a small bit of distance from him and Mei Kongxu, several people glancing at them more than once. He expected the glances he got, as well as the glances Mei Kongxu got from the male disciples, but he hadn't expected the glances Mei Kongxu got from the female disciples of the World-rending Behemoth sect.
They looked at her in much the same way as the young girl from earlier had, with a light snicker, seeming to be quietly mocking her. It could be that they were just jealous of her beauty, which probably was actually one of the main reasons, but there seemed to be something more as well. Li Yang glanced somewhat amusedly at the girl walking at his side, but she ignored the incoming glances and maintained her chilly expression. Li Yang couldn't hold himself back when he saw her expression, leaning in as close as he could, only stopping when it looked like she was going to punch him if he moved closer.
"This might be a bit of a bad time to tell you, but there's a tear in the back of your dress. I mean, I'm not gonna complain about the free showing of skin, and I do like the colour of your underwear, but are you sure you want to get me all hot and bothered with so many people watching?"
Mei Kongxu's pupils instantly shrank as she hurriedly turned her head and twisted her body to check out her back, covering her rear with her hands just in case. But checking her back, her silver dress was spotless, not a single sign of the tear that Li Yang had mentioned. Thinking about it for a split second she also realized that there was no way her mother would let her walk around with a torn dress, meaning that Li Yang had just been messing with her.
Her head riveted around, but Li Yang had already pranced forward and put some distance between the two so that she couldn't instantly retaliate. But he was glancing back at her with an amused smirk, her chilly mask cracking as she fumed, almost cutting into Li Yang with her glare. She hurried her steps somewhat to chase after him, but he continued to prance and practically skip away, always making sure to stay just far enough away that she couldn't get her hands on him.
And so, before she could exact her revenge on him, the two groups reached the area that Mei Cuixue had decided on for their sparring. The area was the foot of one of the mountains that encircled the sect, but it wasn't the mountain peak that Li Yang had pointed at.
The area wasn't even quite suited to be called the foot of a mountain, as there were actually five smaller mountains present in the area, only the one serving as the centre of the area stretching beyond five or so kilometres into the sky. The four other mountains stood a distance away from the centre mountain, connecting together to form a nearly perfect square that made Li Yang think that the area might be man-made. A sprawling forest meandered around between the five mountains, dense at some points while seemingly sparse at others, the verdant leaves rustling in the wind.
Mei Cuixue didn't immediately unleash the disciples upon the sprawling forest, spending a few minutes speaking with Li Tian first. The two people weren't all that far away from him, but Li Yang was unable to hear a single word that left their lips, it was as if they were standing in a completely different world. The two people ended their conversation with Li Tian swiping one of the rings on his left hand and muttering a few words into it, Mei Cuixue addressing the eagerly awaiting group of disciples.
"As this will be a bit different from our usual sparring matches, we've decided to alter the timeframe a little. Rather than spend just one day, we'll give you five days within the forest to look for Demonic beasts, we'll rank you based on the strength of the Demonic beast corpse that you deliver to us here outside the forest. You are free to keep everything you find inside the forest, even the beast corpses and herbs you find. If you find yourself unable to last any longer in the forest then you can come out here, do not worry about being shamed, there is nothing wrong with trying to stay alive. And speaking of staying alive, do not go to the central mountain! The other places don't hold Demonic beasts that are too dangerous, but the central mountain the home of the Demonic beast that rules this small training field, there will be a few beasts there that you lot can't handle."
The nearly 600 disciples hurriedly nodded their heads, some of them so eager to head out that they weren't able to stand still. You couldn't just enter one of these training areas whenever you wanted, if they let the disciples do that then the Demonic beasts and herbs would be hunted to extinction before long. So even though Mei Cuixue said that they should leave if they were unable to go on, not a single disciple even entertained that notion.
Mei Cuixue nodded her head, the disciples taking it as the signal that they were free to enter. The disciples flooded into the forest like a ravenous swarm of locusts, quickly dispersing into smaller groups that vanished beyond the trees. Compared to the other disciples' rushing, Li Yang's leisurely and carefree gait was a stark contrast, Mei Kongxu tilting her head slightly while once again maintaining her chilly mask.
"Considering the fact that you're the one who set this all up, you're surprisingly slow about it. Are you not worried that all the good things will be snatched up before you can get to them?"
Li Yang's leisure gait didn't change despite Mei Kongxu's question, his hands resting behind his head as he turned to look at her. The corners of his lips were faintly pulled up, his crimson eyes roaming over Mei Kongxu's enchanting frosty face for a second before he chuckled.
"Worried? Why should I be? We've got five whole days, and the fun has only just begun to build up. It'll grow and grow even without me doing anything, and then when they all come for us, it will fully burst open so that I can reap every last ounce of amusement from it. So it doesn't matter how slow I am about it, the end result is already determined."
Mei Kongxu's brows twitched for a second, a sliver of understanding spawning in her mind. He wasn't lying when he said he was only using the box to take advantage of her, he was using it to entice everyone else, he wanted to rile them all up for some reason. But that realization left a question in her mind, what did Li Yang stand to gain from that, putting himself in a position where everyone else would eye him hungrily. She refused to believe that he did it just for his own amusement, she didn't believe that such a person actually existed.
But Li Yang didn't answer her confusion, maintaining his faint smirk-like smile as the two ventured deeper into the forest at a leisure pace, Li Yang leaving it to Mei Kongxu to pick their direction. But as this was a place where Demonic beasts were allowed to roam freely, their leisure pace could only last for close to an hour before it was interrupted. A creature that looked like three-metre long mole broke through the earth, a few brown fins tucked away within the black fur of the beast, which didn't have any eyes.
Looking at the energy it radiated, the beast seemed to have strength equal to someone who had reached the middle stage of the Human Rune realm, probably equal to someone who had carved the 5th or 6th rune. The beast didn't have eyes but still faced Li Yang and Mei Kongxu so it clearly had a way of detecting them, its star-shaped snout sniffing at the air.
Li Yang and Mei Kongxu stopped moving as the beast faced them, inspecting the beast for a short second before glancing at each other. They were silently deciding on who would take on this beast, Li Yang smirking and stepping forward.
"Alright, I'll take on this one, there're some things I want to test out."
One of Mei Kongxu's eyebrows rose slightly at Li Yang's statement, had he actually managed to learn something new during the one month since their previous sparring? Li Yang simply smirked at her raised eyebrow and faced the beast, fondling his chin slightly while muttering to himself.
"Now, just how did it feel again?"
Li Yang rolled his eyes for a slight second while thinking back to the previous battle he had with Mei Kongxu, thinking back to the voice that sounded in his mind and spoke nonsensically about tails. He remembered the sensation he felt back then, the light of realization flashing through his pupils.
"First tail, wasn't it?"
He emulated the sensation he felt back then, his body suddenly starting to bubble with energy that rose up from the very depths of his soul. Most of the energy coursed through his body, boosting his power, but some of it seeped out through his back and formed the transparent outline of a bushy white tail waving around in the air to the right of his tailbone. Mei Kongxu's pupils shrank slightly as she looked at the transparent outline, the faint curve of Li Yang's lips growing a bit larger as he sensed the power coursing through him.
"Yup, that's the feeling alright."
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