It was time! The time was here! All the disciples in the Golden Serpent Sect was here waiting in front of the giant sealed gates of the Treasured Plains. Most, if not all of the elders were here as well. Many were finally looking forward to seeing the Sect Master"s face but their excitement over the many treasures inside the Plains was even higher. The towering gates were over forty meters tall and forty meters wide. It was gold in color and s.h.i.+ned brightly from the sun"s ray on it. "h.e.l.lo everyone. I am Wan Qing. Nice to meet you all. This is Ni Xong." Wan did a respectful bow with her cub towards her new allies. Wan was actually quite nervous for a change. She hasn"t felt like this since she"s joined the sect way back then. Would they accept her or would she be shunned and rejected like usual?
"h.e.l.lo." Bing greeted back while thinking about how Jing knew how to pick the strangest of folks. A guy that wants to be a girl? But also, a super talented cultivator!? Bing hoped that his good luck would finally surface when the gates opened.
"Hey." Ying roughly replied with her arms crossed. She didn"t care about Wan"s circ.u.mstances. It was unusual sure but whatever. If he wanted to be a girl then who"s to stop him? It"s his choice. Ying would dare someone to try and stop her from making a decision about herself.
"Nice to meet you." Lei Zhi peacefully smiled. Wan Qing looked like a nice enough person. It"s going to take some time getting used to referring to him as a girl rather than boy but he can get used to it. Those too stubborn to change their ways won"t be able to grow in a meaningful way. An individual should always be seeking to broaden their minds or they"ll be as ignorant as beasts.
"Are you even strong?" Hu Tao sniffed Wan Qing while circling around him. He certainly smelled like a girl.
"What?"
"I said! Are you even worth caring about?! These little s.h.i.+ts behind me all have potential to give me a good fight in the future, but do you? I don"t know s.h.i.+t about you except that you wanna be treated like a girl."
"Hmph. Do you think a 2nd stage Qi Consolidator like yourself is strong enough to talk to me like that? Know your place fool! Do you think cultivation stages are just meaningless numbers?" Qing blasted her qi aura unrestrained right towards Hu Tao.
Hu Tao smiled, maybe this f.u.c.ker wasn"t as worthless as he thought. But this wasn"t enough, this a.s.shole barely reached up to the Princess.
"When we get into the Plains, you"re mine."
"Hahaha! Hu Tao is feeling threatened now that he is no longer the one with the highest cultivation stage." Ying laughed with joy.
"Shut the h.e.l.l up Fire Bush. You think I"d be threatened by this sissy?!"
"That"s what it looks like to me." Ying mocked as she put her arm around Wan"s shoulder. "When we get in the Plains, kick his a.s.s for us. The a.s.shole deserves it!" Ying laughed.
"Oi Ying, you f.u.c.king b.i.t.c.h, whose side are you on?!" Hu Tao shouted as Ying suddenly punched towards his face.
"Who are you calling a b.i.t.c.h!?" Hu Tao dodged her punch and laughed as she chased after him with even more strikes.
"This is why I like you Ying. You aren"t afraid even though you"re outmatched!" Hu Tao cheerfully said.
"I"ll show you outmatched b.a.s.t.a.r.d!" Just as Ying was about to barely miss Hu Tao"s body once again, she ignited herself and increased her speed. This surprise attack allowed her to finally dig her fist into Hu Tao"s stomach and shut that annoying mouth of his up.
Hu Tao was almost sent flying straight into the crowd of disciples surrounding them but thankfully Bing caught Hu Tao before he could crash into anyone and brought him back to their group. The wild fighter had a nasty burn on his flawless abs but the grin on his face made it seem like it wasn"t anything at all.
"You keep that s.h.i.+t up and I might fall in love with you too, Princess." Hu Tao coughed blood.
"Disgusting." She smirked, satisfied about getting a good hit on the evasive b.a.s.t.a.r.d.
"You guys really know how to bring a crowd..." Bing muttered as everyone"s eyes were focusing in on their little group.
"Is it usually like this?" Wan asked Bing.
"With those two, yes. We"re more like a band of mercenaries that are all working for our own goals but with no pay and barely any cooperation." Bing relayed to Qing.
"I"m pretty sure the Wolfeng Gang is more organized than this and we don"t even have half as many people as them." Wan Qing noted.
"Ah well, I heard that might be changing soon actually." Lei Zhi said.
"What are you talking about Lei?" Ying asked.
"Jing said she"ll be sending us out on special tasks and when we complete them, we"ll be rewarded."
"Rewarded with what?" Hu Tao asked.
"Well, whatever we ask for. She said after the job is done, we can request for spirit stones, pills, herbs, weapons, and even martial arts."
"Haha nice! If its Jing, she could probably give me a mystic flame!" Ying excitedly said.
"That"s true... The Empress could also give me a good cultivation technique as well. She was able to find this amazing s.h.i.+eld martial art for me, so a cultivation technique can"t be too out of range for her." Bing murmured.
"s.h.i.+eld martial art? Does that even exist?" Wan questioned.
"Apparently." Bing shared her disbelief.
"Oh yeah, that f.u.c.king reminds me. Jing said you all have missions of your own in the Plains." Hu Tao scratched his hair.
"What!? Why didn"t she tell us!?" Ying asked.
"She told me to tell you. I just forgot about it until today." Hu Tao said without a care in the world.
"You s.h.i.+tty b.a.s.t.a.r.d! Is fighting all you can think about!? I bet you"re still thinking about fighting Qing aren"t you?!" Ying stomped her foot.
"Hah... you could tell? d.a.m.n that"s embarra.s.sing." Hu Tao laughed.
"SERIOUSLY! JUST DIE ALREADY!" Ying lifted her giant sword and held it above Hu Tao.
"Ah, wait a second Ying. Let him tell us about our tasks before you do something you might regret." Bing spoke up.
"Regret!? I never regret anything!"
"But this is a mission from the Empress. If we don"t accomplish it, what kind of punishment do you think she will issue out for us?"
"Empress?" Wan Qing was confused by why Bing called Jing, Empress.
A s.h.i.+ver ran through Ying"s body as she remembered the terrifying presence of Jing"s qi. She huffed angrily and put her sword back down. Ying motioned for Hu Tao to hurry up and tell them their missions.
"That"s more like it, Princess. You should be glad I remembered her telling me at all." Hu Tao acted smug.
"Quit running your lips and just tell us already!"
"Nah, I don"t think so." Hu Tao teased.
"What is your problem?! Are you so messed up in the head that you can"t act like a normal person!?"
"I"ll tell you guys after I get my fight with the sissy."
"I"ll give you a fight that"ll make you wish to never fight again!!!"
"Wouldn"t that be the dream..." Hu Tao chuckled.
"Ying. I think its best if we just give up. No amount of words is going to change his mind and you know it. Even if you did fight him in place of Qing, he"ll still want to fight Qing himself. I mean herself, sorry." Bing reasoned.
"It"s fine." Wan said.
"d.a.m.n s.h.i.+tty b.a.s.t.a.r.d... n.o.body bother me until the gate is open." Ying took a squat on the ground and started cultivating her anger off. A flame-like aura surrounded her body as she sat on the ground, warming anyone near her.
Wan Qing was starting to have slight doubts about joining Jing"s group...
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Tang Wuying and Gong Jun stood side by side. Tang"s giant boomerang was now one of the easiest ways of identifying him out of a crowd. His yellow arrow tattoos being the second easiest way of picking him out. Tang Wuying stood with an arrogant look on his face while Gong had an innocent smile on his. The two of them have started to get along with each other after their battle.
They no longer look down on each other and now treat each other as equals. Although secretly, they still believe themselves to be superior to the other. Openly, they don"t mind being compared. Spending months training with one another and their Third Senior has gotten them closer. Tang and Gong even planned to travel together during the Treasured Plains.
"Are you excited Tang?" Gong asked.
"Don"t ask stupid questions." Tang responded.
"Ah, are you looking for him? I heard quite a few juicy rumors surrounding him and Xiao Hong." Gong teased.
"Shut up! Don"t remind me of those overblown rumors. I"ll kill that b.a.s.t.a.r.d myself and show Xiao that her only choice is me and me alone. Cheating will never be allowed."
"Cheat? But Junior Brother, you haven"t even asked her out. How can you say she cheated when you aren"t her boyfriend?"
"She knows I"ve been courting her ever since we met each other in my city and now she"ll just get involved with any random trash? I"ll have to remind her just who is trying to court her."
"Hmm... I see. Are you sure that he"s trash though? If someone of Xiao Hong"s standard is interested in someone, then surely, they wouldn"t be lacking in any capacity, right?"
"Unless she"s interested in someone on par with First Senior in talent, then no matter who it is, they won"t stand a chance against me." Tang boasted confidently.
"Let"s hope so Tang, life tends to throw surprises at you every now and then." Gong advised. He himself had learned this lesson after his defeat to Tang.
"Hmph. What about that Kang idiot? I heard he"s been getting quite close to Liu Lan." Tang mentioned.
"You don"t need to worry about my problems Junior Brother. I already plan to deal with Fu Kang." Gong smiled with killing intent flaring from his body.
"Who said I was worried?! Don"t a.s.sume such preposterous a.s.sumptions! Idiot."
"Haha no need to get embarra.s.sed Junior Brother. I"m glad you"re thinking about others."
"I"ll think about hitting you upside the head if you don"t shut up!" This response only made Gong laugh even harder.
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"Hu Tao... Just wait. I"ll be sure to kill you in revenge for Shen..." Meili promised as she stood by herself.
Meili was given plenty of life-saving talismans and treasures by her aunt before being allowed to go into the Treasured Plains alone. Her aunt wanted to get multiple guards around her but she refused. How could she grow stronger if she"s being coddled? Her father said that the strong can"t fear hards.h.i.+p and neither will she! She plans to deal with Hu Tao during the Treasured Plains and if anyone gets in her way, she"ll knock them down as well!
Meili was confident in dealing with the fatty, the old man, and the sword girl but the panda girl was out of her power. She"d have to wait to find Hu Tao alone before trying to strike him. It looks like he has allies somehow. They must be as terrible as he is if they"re willing to be friends with him.
"Maybe I should take them out as well..." Meili pondered.
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The Huan clan, Fearsome Garden, and Wolfeng Gang all stood near one another. The leaders of the clans met and glared into the others" eyes. Leng Huan smirked arrogantly, Meihu smiled sweetly with daggers hidden behind her eyes, and Jianyu grinned in amus.e.m.e.nt.
Leng Huan was a handsomely talented disciple. Leng had long flowing flawless black hair that fell all the way to the middle of his back. His physique was average but his aura was majestic. If he was to show off his face and talent more, he would surely have a fan club like some of the other disciples. But Leng rarely showed himself in public. He preferred to stay hidden in the shadows and command his clan from the dark.
Meihu looked like the exact opposite of what you"d expect from being the leader of the Fearsome Garden. The faction with the most beautiful women in any group. She was secretly known as the Pig Mistress of the Outer Court and it wasn"t for no reason. Meihu had the face, body, and strength of a terrifying boar! She was among the top disciples within the Outer Court whose physical strength was nearly unmatchable. But it wasn"t just her strength that allowed her to become the leader of such a well-running group. It was her cleverness and resourceful mind! She may have resembled a pig outwardly but on the inside, she was as intelligent as a shrew.
Jianyu had two beautiful young women around his arms. His large wild jet-black colored hair complemented his strong physique. His body was much larger than the typical cultivator with layers of muscle all over his body. His s.h.i.+rt was ripped open like a vest, revealing his chiseled and bronze abs for anyone to lay their eyes on.
"I hope you don"t think that your clan is going to come out of this with more treasures than anyone else." Meihu said.
"I do think that Meihu. I don"t see how you"re going to be able to stop us either."
"Strength isn"t everything in the Treasured Plains! Luck is a big factor as well. The deeper you head into the Plains, the more dangerous it gets. So, it doesn"t matter if you"re a Qi Consolidator, luck is the only thing you can count on!"
"Don"t underestimate my clan so much. Even though I won"t be in the Outer Plains, that doesn"t mean my clan won"t be able to handle your factions."
"Gahahahaha! You two f.u.c.kers are just hilarious!" Jianyu laughed loudly.
"What"s so funny Bandit?" Meihu asked.
"The way the Treasured Plains is set up is perfect for my gang"s style! And if you can"t see that now, then just wait till the Plains is over." Jianyu left laughing loudly with the two women in his arms giggling along.
"Want to focus the Wolfeng Gang first?" Meihu asked.
"Sounds good to me." Leng agreed.
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Jing"s head was violently a.s.saulted by numerous dings from her system. She somewhat expected this sudden influx of missions based on the last time she went through something like this. It was like when she was taking the recruitment test for the sect. She could complete a large amount of missions for rewards.
[Mission available for host!]
[Don"t get killed and survive till the end!]
[Rewards: 5 Epic Tickets]
[Mission available for host!]
[Use SCP-109 to kill 100 beings! Additional rewards will be given every 100+ beings killed with SCP-109]
[Rewards: 5 Rare Ticket, 1 High-ranked Spirit Stone, Purifying Qi Pill]
[Mission available for host!]
[Let 100 cultivators witness SCP-109"s anomalous properties!]
[Rewards: 5 rare tickets, Body Strengthening Pill]
[Mission available for host!]
[Find a way to strengthen the Wolfeng Gang till they can match the Huan Clan in strength!]
[Rewards: 10 Rare Tickets, Berserker"s Rage (Earth-ranked Cultivation manual)]
[Mission available for host!]
[Take over the Wolfeng Gang and destroy the Fearsome Garden and Huan Clan by the end of the Grand Tournament.]
[Requirements: Bing must be the one who deals the final blow to Leng Huan, Bing must be gifted an SCP before taking Leng Huan on, you nor Li Li are allowed to personally fight or kill any of the top bra.s.s members of any groups or a severe penalty will be placed upon the host.]
[Rewards: 5 Epic Tickets, Refining the Heavens (Sky-ranked Pill refining manual), Green-Eyed Angel"s Bloodline (Pills)]
[Mission available for host!]
[Increase the loyalty of one other ally to 100% before the end of the Treasured Plains.]
[Reward: SCP-1331]