Arc 1.10
895 4 28
X
Reading Options
Font Size
A- 15px A+
Width
Reset
X
Table of Contents
Loading... please wait.

No one spoke a single word, fearing that they may become the unlucky person who'd be chosen as the first to take this insane test.

"Aww, come on! No one?"

Once again, total silence reigned over.

"Fine! Then that just means I'll get to choose first!"

Everyone gulped and prayed that their luck would not let them down at this crucial moment.

"Let's see... Aha! How about the fox over there?", she said as she pointed at Chu Qiu.

...

Fox?

The ones that weren't in the know were all confused as to why their Senior Brother Chu would be called a fox. I mean, Senior Brother can be very sly at times, but that's not a good enough reason to be tagged as a fox.

"Hmm? Judging from your expressions, none of you know that this young lad here is actually a Nine Tailed Fox?"

Ahh, so that's it! He's a Nine Tailed Fox...

Wait..

Nine Tailed Fox..?

Realization struck them as they all looked towards Chu Qiu, wide eyed with surprise and perhaps a bit of horror.

Chu Qiu, the person in question just shrugged it off as if the one she was talking about isn't him.

It wasn't something that needed to be hidden in the first place, so why should he be bothered about it? The only reason he never told anyone about it is because it'd inconvenience his lord. 

If there were going to be hunters going after him for his valuable body-- wait, that sounds wrong... If there were going to be hunters going after him for the rare materials that his body can be made into, then so be it. Laozi isn't scared of anyone!

He even tried to show off the fact that he was from such a noble bloodline by revealing his ears and tails, which confirmed everyone's suspicions.

Meanwhile, Zero, who was at the side, just facepalmed. What are you even proud of? The fact that you just got your ass exposed? Why does he even know this lunatic...

The eyes which everyone made when they looked towards Chu Qiu was like they were gazing at a whole other person than the one they've known for all these years. It contained wariness and distrust as everyone was on guard against this "creature".

Once again, everyone who already knew the truth beforehand just sighed when they saw how cruel a human's heart can be. Yes, it's not a hundred percent their fault, as anyone would be quite wary of someone whom they were they close to, but had lied to them all this time. However, they should know that if he wanted to, Chu Qiu definitely had a sufficient amount of power to completely destroy them within seconds. But he didn't. He had so many years to do so, but he never even tried to hurt them.

Sadly, many people judge based on their knowledge and impression of certain things. Nine Tailed Foxes, while quite rare, are also a very crafty and dangerous species that not only have nine lives, but also wields one of the strongest fires in this world, immortal fox fire, only second to the sacred phoenix fire. But phoenixes went "extinct" ages ago, so Nine Tailed Foxes can be considered to hold the strongest fire in the current era.

By the time they got over their shock, Chu Qiu was already done creating his defense talisman and had beads of sweat dripping down his face due to both fear and fatigue.

"Oho? Little foxy, are you ready?"

He took a deep breath and determination flashed in his eyes as he confirmed, "Yes"

"Alright, I'm not going to be going easy on you just 'cause you're kinda cute, okay?"

"That's what I hoped for."

"I like your spirit! Get ready, because this is probably something that many of you may not get to ever experience again. Depending on how you utilize this, it can be made into a disaster, or a chance to build up and reinforce your strength."

The lady lifted her hand up and a small sphere appeared in it. At first glance, it may not seem like much, but when one looked closer, immeasurable power could be felt from it.

Everyone's "genius" title wasn't just for show as they felt the need to submit before such power. It was as if every cell in their bodies were telling them to run, run as far away as they could, yet, no one could move an inch.

Shi LanHua looked surprised when she saw that and muttered in a voice so tiny, no one could hear, "I knew it, it is her... but, why is she here?"

Zero was fairing much better than the others under this ginormous pressure, but his current cultivation was still insufficient, so he still had some trouble resisting his physical instinct. However, it's much better than having to do so for both the soul and body at the same time as Zero's soul remained unaffected due to the fact that it's strength even managed to cause a system error.

When she released the powerful attack, everyone got the illusion of the world coming to an end, but it only lasted for a second before everything became quiet again.

The area surrounding Chu Qiu and the woman was completely destroyed and some had already lost all strength in their legs as they weakly lay there on the ground.

S-Strong...

They had clearly underestimated the amount of power held in this seemingly fragile beauty as the power she had displayed before barely amounted to anything compared to this.

Everyone got a clear view of the fox who had just been attacked, and to no one's surprise, his body was packed with injuries. An arm got ripped off, his left ear was half torn and his right eye was blow up. Despite all that, this brave soul still had all his tails, indicating that all nine of his lives were still intact. Well, seeing the state he's in, I'd say it's technically about eight and a half...

"Wow~ As expected of a species as noble and rare as yourself! You sure got some skill to be able to block that attack! Without that shield, it would've been able to insta-kill even 100 copies of you, which shows the strength of your defense talisman. Since all this is done, here's a healing pill. It's able to cure all of your injuries, so get some rest, okay?"

Chu Qiu's eyes lit up when he heard that his injuries could still be treated and repeatedly thanked the woman for this huge favor. If he were to be left in his current state, he'd be no better off than a cripple. He even considered committing suicide just so he could be healed back to his peak state,"Thank you for your benevolence miss..."

"Oh, I don't think I've told any of your my name yet? Just call me Lady Liu."

"Thank you so much Lady Liu", Chu Qiu said as he thought, 'Where have I heard that name before?'

"No problem, child. Now go to the side so I can call up the next contestant."

When Zero heard her name, he found it a bit ironic and unlucky that they happened to have the same surname, but quickly dismissed all his thoughts as the surname 'Liu' is very popular, so it's no surprise. It's just he would have never thought that this mysteriously powerful lady was also surnamed Liu.

'Hey, 005. Is it possible to give me a status analysis on this lady?'

[As long as my superiors approve. Wait for a bit.]

'Sure.'

"So, which one of you here are proficient in pill concocting?", Lady Liu questioned after she sent the half-dead Chu Qiu off.

Three people raised their hands: Zhou Fu, Zhang Jing, and Shi LanHua. 

The master of the Celestial Sect once asked Zero if he wanted to try this profession as well since both he and Shi LanHua were born with an innate fire constitution and were extremely suitable for this path.

Unfortunately, Zero turned him down with the excuse of wanting to try something more 'fierce' and 'showy', which is how he ended up with a supporting occupation of beast taming. Can't really blame him since the original host also chose beast taming as his supporting profession, therefore it left Zero with no choice but to do the same.

Plus, he already mastered Pill Concocting in the system's learning space so there was no need to do so again.

"Perfect~ Okay, for this round, only one of you is allowed to pass, and I will be the one to choose the contestant who created the best pill. If all of you produce crappy ones, then no one is to pass this round, understood?"

"We understand, Lady Liu." the three nodded.

As the three started to make their pills, 005's voice sounded in Zero's head once again.

[Host, there's good and bad news. Good news is I got the information. Bad news is that some of it is unavailable to host because it is either a crucial portion for one of your missions, or knowing this information will affect the storyline.]

'It's fine. You did your best, plus, it's better than nothing, right? Good Job 005!'

[(>///<) T-thank you host! Here's the information:

Name: Liu <???>
Role: Worldspirit
Age: 6.4963201 billion
Soul Strength: 250 
Luck: 110
Intelligence: 150
Charm: 100 
Physical Strength: 110

(The average soul strength, charm, luck and physical strengths for worldspirits are 100) ]

Zero was quite surprised at the amount of information that 005 was able to gather. When the other said that they only got a bit of information, he had thought that it would only be a little bit, but this is certainly much more than he had expected. 

'This amount is more than enough. I guess I'll just have to find out the rest by myself, but 005, what's a Worldspirit?'

[Oh, this isn't classified information? I wonder why... Normal hosts aren't even allowed to know the term, let alone access this stuff. Oh well~ I guess it's okay to tell you. A Worldspirit is the spirit that is created at the beginning of each world and it's fate is linked to their respective worlds/realms/planes. It's kind of like the core of every realm and the one who guides the Realmkeeper. Weird... I just noticed this, but why doesn't this plane have a keeper... aah, nevermind! By the way, please don't ask me what a realm is...]

Realmkeeper?

Zero silently committed this term to his memory. Judging from the way that 005 wanted to avoid talking about topics related to 'Realmkeepers', Zero didn't urge it to go any further with it's explanation. 

He was a patient person and knew that he'll find out eventually, therefore there's no need to rush.

'From what I deducted, Earth, the place I resided before death, is probably a realm on it's own. And this place... is also another realm, right? I mean, where else would I find so many worlds to do a heck ton of tasks in the future? First things first, I highly doubt that we're the only host and system pair out there, which is why one would need to have many realms prepared for the hosts to do their job. Gosh, it's called transmigrating for a reason, of course they would need an abundance of places to go for that! Don't tell me you're just gonna stay in one place the entire time... heck, that's not even possible!'

[Wow, host! Congratulations! For once, I feel like your 300 points of IQ is actually not nonexistent...]

'Shut up! I'm always very smart, okay?'

[Riggghht...]

'(/TДT)/ Scram, scram, SCRAM!'

[My, my~ Look who's embarrassed~]

'Seems like you're starting to get more and more gutsy, huh! My dear system~ I heard that if we fail this world, we're basically done for, so how about I take you on a double suicide with me~ Now isn't that fun~'

!!! [I was wrong, I was wrong! I'm the one with a low IQ!]

'Damn right you are. Aiyo, where did my cute little system from before go... If I find the person who had turned it into this abomination, I'll hack them into a million pieces!'

[...] #systembeingbulliedbyhosteverydaywhattodo

"Look! They're almost finished! I bet my adorable LanHua would be the one to win!", came Yang Zhelan's loud voice from Zero's left. When he heard that, he stopped bickering with his idiotic system as he turned to argue with the other individual who was completely head over heels for his lovely sister.

"Yours?! Since when did my LanHua belong to you?", he yelled.

"LanHua never admitted to becoming yours either!", the other retorted.

"Right back at you! Plus, who gave you the right to call her LanHua? Only I'm allowed to call her that!", Zero screamed.

"Guys, stop fighting. Look, the three of them are already done. Do you want your Senior Sister Shi to see you in such a pathetic state?", Nan XiSheng, who was beside Zero, said calmly. 

It was kind of embarrassing to see the youngest one in the group lecture them about their childish behavior, so they stopped bickering and Yang Zhelan wanted to lower his head in shame.

"Haaah? What right do you have to butt into our conversation?!", Zero, who was still in a frenzied state, harrumphed. 

Nan XiSheng pursed his lips and stopped speaking.

'Ah.. shoot. My habits kicked in! I was acting as a villain for so long that it just naturally came out!', Zero cried when finally he realized what he just said. 

He really didn't mean to say those things, but he was so pissed of at that idiot trying to court his sister that he got mad at the wrong person! It was all Yang Zhelan's fault! Yes, it's his fault that he flew into a rage! Now everything he was preparing for had been messed up!

But deep down, Zero knew had he had no one but himself to blame for this as it was his fault for being too overprotective of his sister. He just... didn't want her to experience pain. Although Yang Zhelan looked like he was head over heels for her right now, who knew what the future would hold? If he turned out to be a scum that would throw away women once he lost interest in them, then Zero would blame himself to no end for his sister's broken heart. 

At least... at the very least, he wanted to test how long the other side would last for before giving in. A truly dedicated person would continue to pursue the one they love, even if it means giving up everything they had. So not yet, he won't let Yang Zhelan marry her yet. Not until he's sure that he won't regret the decision he makes. He couldn't afford any more regrets.

"You didn't have to be so harsh to him", Yang Zhelan told Zero as he went over to Nan XiSheng and comforted him, "Hey, I'm Yang Zhelan. You're that bastard's junior brother, Nan XiSheng, right? Nice to meet you! Don't mind what he said, we were just fighting over some personal stuff, so don't take it to heart, okay?"

"Don't call him a bastard, you f*cker", Nan XiSheng cursed under his breath. (Author: PROFANITY, ML, PROFANITY!)

"Hmm? Did you say something?"

"Ah, no! Hello Senior Brother Yang! It's a pleasure to be acquainted with such an amazing figure like yourself!", Nan XiSheng replied as he put up his innocent facade once again which made Zero, who knew his real personality because of the plot, shiver.

Damn, this protagonist's acting skills are even better than his!

"Hehe, no need for the formalities, just call me Brother Yang from now on! If you ever need help, just contact me!", Zhelan blushed at the compliment, grinning like an idiot.

"Got it, Brother Yang!"

'Those two sure hit it off real fast, just like in the original novel...', Zero thought, relieved that nothing had gone off track yet.

"Shi LanHua is the sole winner of this bout!", Lady Liu suddenly announced, which derived the three's attention back to the trial.

"Damn it! I missed the entire thing!", cried Zero and Yang Zhelan at the same time.

They were too busy fussing over their own problems that they completely abandoned their goddess!

"Congratulations LanHua!", Zhelan smiled as he quickly went up to greet her.

"Good Job Hua-er", Zero said in a very intimate tone at the same time.

"Thanks FengFeng!", Shi LanHua returned with a big, bright smile.

Almost instantly, Nan XiSheng and Yang Zhelan's faces turned dark as they felt an extremely stifling sensation welling up in their hearts.

'Darn it! When did that bastard start referring to my LanHua as Hua-er! And why is she fine with it! FengFeng?! What's with that intimate name! She never called me anything like that... Do I still have a chance..? No! They haven't made it official, so you have to hang on, Zhelan! Show her how much she means to you! Make her see that you'd give op everything for her sake!', Yang Zhelan thought. 

Determination and will had always been one of his strong points. In the first place, he had a very outgoing, honest and straightforward personality, so he isn't an easy one to persuade once he had made a decision. He may have said a number of rude things to Zero, but it was somewhat explainable as Zero couldn't go OOC. Because of that, he was the one to initiate most of their fights.

Meanwhile, Nan XiSheng held killing intent as he gazed at Shi Lanhua. But he knew that she was a nice girl who had always treated him with care back then, so he didn't want to do anything to her. He wasn't one to slap away the hand that had fed him, after all. Plus, it would make Zero sad if he does anything to her. But at the same time, he felt so... bitter seeing those two act all lovey-dovey! Zero clearly belonged to him! Nan XiSheng wasn't an idiot and after a period of time, he could tell that he had unexpectedly fallen for Zero. He fell way too deep to get out. He wanted to see the cute expressions he made when the latter accidentally messed up and was nice to him when he should've been mean. He wanted to see the adorableness of how Zero secretly tends to his wounds when he(Zero) thinks that he's(NXS) asleep. Every part of Zero is so cute and he just wants to monopolize him so badly.

While the two were mulling over their own controversies, Zero secretly pulled his sister over to the side and grabbed both of her shoulders. He then looked her in the eye with extreme seriousness. Shi Lanhua knew that this was no time to joke around as she listened to his next words.

"Hua-er. Do you love that basta-- *cough cough* I mean, that man named Yang Zhelan?"

After hearing what he had to say, Shi Lanhua, who thought that her brother was going to ask about the trials, nearly fell down despite the fact that she was standing still. She was quite puzzled at the sudden question as her adorable little brother was never really into romantic things. Nevertheless, she still answered his question truthfully, "Zhelan... had always been very nice to me and always gave me the best things. I can really feel the sincerity in his love and I was hoping to give him a chance. However, I know that part of me is scared that we'll end up like mother and father."

Zero closed his eyes. 

When he reopened them, the look he had expresses that he had come to an irreversible decision. "I see... Although I'm not very fond of him, he is undoubtedly a good man and if you think that he'll make you happy, that's all that matters for me. Nonetheless, if that bastard ever hurts you, I just want to say that I'll always be here for you."

"FengFeng... Ahhh, I love you so much!", Shi Lanhua said as she wrapped her arms around her dear little brother whom she watched grow up. The one who had always been there for her and the one she will always protect. Despite all their hardships, she felt as if she is truly the most fortunate sister in the world.

And so, this is the exact scene that Yang Zhelan and Nan XiSheng walked in on when they decided to look for them to report that the next trial is about to start: Shi Lanhua yelling that she loved Zero while jumping over to embrace him.

In that very instant, both Yang Zhelan and Nan XiSheng felt something inside them explode.

Bonjour~ Author-sama here!
I just wanna tell those who haven't read my [Conversations] page that I'll be on hiatus for the rest of January and perhaps a bit of February due to the fact that my midterm tests and piano exams are coming up very soon. I am hoping to put in 120% of my effort onto these tests as I have been preparing for a very long time. 
I'm really sorry for this inconvenience, so thank you all for understanding my predicament! I hope to make it up to ya'll with this chapter I barely managed to produce because of the high demand of more chapters.
Honestly, when I first started writing this little novel of mine, I hadn't thought that it'd reach such a high amount of popularity, so I'd really like to take my time to thank every one of my fans for supporting this story!
I love all of you! <3 Muwah~

28