The atmosphere suddenly froze. Qin Yanzhi and Wei Zhentu were both calm and made faces full of surprise. Only Ruan Jiu was restless as he fidgeted and sweated on his palms.
But he also knew that he must not be reckless at this time and could only force himself to endure. But he couldn’t help but wonder if Zhao Zhu saw through them.
“My lord, I’m loyal to you, the fox emperor, and the fox tribe. Heaven and earth can be my witnesses, so I really don’t know what you mean.”
Jing Yue’s expression of eagerness was tinged with sadness and fear. He was quite certain that it was impossible for Zhao Zhu to see through his disguise. Even if there was a problem, it was caused by Qian Su. But if that was the case, Qin Yanzhi would definitely inform him in advance. Since Qin Yanzhi didn’t mention it, the biggest possibility was that Zhao Zhu was testing his loyalty.
As for why he wanted to test, it might have something to do with Qian Su’s entry into the fox tribe.
He looked at Zhao Zhu calmly, and after a long time, Zhao Zhu chuckled lightly and said, “It’s okay if there’s none. Just look at you.” After saying that, he looked at Jing Yue with a half-smile on his face.
Zhao Zhu stood up and walked over to him. “You have done well over the years.” He then looked at the rest. “So did all of you.”
Several people also stood up hurriedly and bowed slightly, “You’re too kind.”
Zhao Zhu, “This time, I summoned you back because I pity you for your suffering in the human world for 100 years, and have begged an opportunity for you.”
Jing Yue’s eyes widened slightly with an urgent desire in his eyes and a trace of anxiety that could not be concealed.
Seeing him like this, Zhao Zhu smiled with satisfaction. “If you can seize the opportunity, you can join my fox tribe and serve the Fox Emperor.”
“Thank you, my lord!” Jing Yue replied loudly.
Zhao Zhu laughed lowly, raised his hand, and lifted Jing Yue’s chin. “But first, you have to pass the fox tribe’s test. The Fox Emperor doesn’t accept useless people. If you don’t perform well and dare to embarrass me…”
Before he finished speaking, he suddenly frowned. At that moment, he seemed to sense a fierce pressure.
Zhao Zhu retracted his hand and spread out his divine consciousness to inspect every inch, but found nothing out of the ordinary. Was he hallucinating?
His eyes fell on the few people. Seeing them looking at him in bewilderment, he lost interest to say more, and merely said, “Although there are only two recommended spots, the other two can also join the fox tribe as your attendants. Whether you can succeed depends entirely on you.”
Jing Yue and the others thanked him again. After a few words of advice, Zhao Zhu waved his hand as an indication for them to leave.
After they left the tower, Ruan Jiu breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Jing Yue say, “Qin Yanzhi, what did you just do?”
Qin Yanzhi, “I’m sorry.”
Jing Yue, “We’re in the Yao world now. Nothing will be easy. We have to watch our every step.”
Qin Yanzhi paused briefly and said lowly, “I know.”
Ruan Jiu felt a little uncomfortable seeing Qin-zhenjun being reprimanded by Jing-laozu, and tried to mediate, “Zhao Zhu is just a Yao Marshal. He wouldn’t be able to detect it…”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Qfl Itfcae abbx atf bqqbgaeclas ab raglxf. “Qtja lo tf’r j Tjb Blcu? Yg j Tjb Swqfgbg? Pa’r cba ubbv obg Hlc-htfcpec ab yf rb bea bo mbcagbi.”
Vfflcu Hlc Tjchtl rlifcais yflcu wbmxfv ys atfw, Alcu Tef ofia lcfzqilmjyis ecmbwobgajyif, rb tf rjlv, “Yxjs, atlr lr atf fcv bo atlr wjaafg. Aera yf mjgfoei lc atf oeaegf.”
They walked in silence for a while. Faced with the strange atmosphere, Ruan Jiu said cautiously, “Are we going to Amandu?”
Amandu was a large city of the fox tribe with a tower in the city, which was the trial tower of the fox tribe. If one wanted to serve the Fox King, one must pass the tower test, unless one was already at the level of Yao King. Because some Yao had pure bloodlines, they were born as Yao General or even Yao Marshal and didn’t need to start cultivating from the Body Forging stage like humans, but the actual combat ability of such Yao was very weak.
The trial tower had a total of 99 floors with a different test on each floor. The fox tribe had to pass at least 50 floors of the tower to pass, while others had to pass 60.
Jing Yue, “Of course.”
Ruan Jiu, “I’m quite interested in that trial tower. According to Zhao Zhu, only the most talented Yao can pass the 99th floor.”
Wei Zhentu, “There are only two places. I’m afraid you won’t get the chance.”
Ruan Jiu snapped to his senses. The rabbit he transformed into was the weakest among all Yao, so his identity could only be an attendant. In that case, of course he couldn’t go through the test.
Qin Yanzhi, “Wei-daoyou, when we arrive at Amandu, you’ll take the other trial slot.”
“Why?” Wei Zhentu was puzzled. He thought that the two quotas were meant for A-jing and Qin Yanzhi.
Before Qin Yanzhi could explain, Jing Yue said, “Alright then. Wei-daoyou, you and I will take the spots, because I don’t intend to lose.”
“What do you mean?” Wei Zhentu said blankly, not understanding the connection.
Qin Yanzhi, “My cultivation base is high.”
After thinking for a moment, Wei Zhentu finally realized that Qin Yanzhi thought that the trial tower would not be a challenge to him. If both he and A-jing passed through 99 floors, they would probably attract a lot of attention, which would be detrimental to their actions.
Obviously, A-jing thought so too.
What frustrated him even more was that the reason why Qin Yanzhi proposed this was due to his confidence in his own strength, and because he knew A-jing well enough. No matter which reason, Wei Zhentu was unhappy, so he said, “Can’t you lose on purpose?”
Qin Yanzhi, “I never lose on purpose.”
Wei Zhentu, “…”
Jing Yue, “Only by quickly entering the core of the power within the Yao race can we discover their secrets as soon as possible, so we must be conspicuous, but not too much.”
Wei Zhentu, “I understand.”
Ruan Jiu said softly, “I’ll be Wei-daoyou’s attendant then.”
Wei Zhentu wanted to refuse, but if it wasn’t Ruan Jiu, it would have to be Qin Yanzhi instead. Comparing the two, Ruan Jiu would be better.
At this time, he suddenly wondered if there was a conspiracy for Qin Yanzhi to give him the spot. For example, to prevent him from becoming A-jing’s attendant?
Unfortunately, this question could only be buried deep in his heart.
Their figures faded away, while in the Mayor’s residence in Modu, Zhao Zhu was talking with his advisor about the few people just now.
“I’ve observed Qian Su for five hundred years. He is cautious and has considerable strength. I believe he won’t waste this opportunity.” Zhao Zhu lifted one hand over a row of bone bells hanging on the wall. “As for the others, it’s the best if they can succeed, but there’s no loss if they can’t.”
Advisor, “My lord, will Kang Ji’s entry into the fox tribe lead to trouble?”
Zhao Zhu smiled. “He has no way out and can only rely on the fox tribe. As for trouble… the Snake Emperor was seriously injured when he returned from the human world back then and has remained hidden over the years. I don’t know what he has exchanged for the tiger tribe to watch from the sidelines. If our emperor wasn’t stopped by the giant turtle tribe, we’d have struck out against him long ago. If the snake tribe really turned up to settle the score with Kang Ji, it’d also give us a reason to make a move against them.”
The advisor sighed. “I’m afraid that our tribe is also powerless now. We have lost too much in the Yao Detention Mountain battle.”
Zhao Zhu’s eyes darkened and he said hoarsely, “Damn the human race! One day, I’ll drown the Three Realm Temple in blood!”
Advisor, “As long as that thing is done, our Yao race is bound to flourish, so what do we have to fear the humans then?”
Zhao Zhu smiled. “You’re right, as long as that deed is done.”
They looked at each other and laughed. Zhao Zhu slowly walked up the stone steps and returned to his jade seat.
The moment he put his right hand on the armchair, suddenly, a sword light shot out and pierced his palm!
“Ah!”
Zhao Zhu cried out in misery, gritted his teeth, and covered his wound. Under the advisor’s flustered gaze, he roared, “Who the hell tried to harm me?!”
…
Amandu, the trial tower.
Alba, the great Yao of the fox tribe, looked at the ten towering bone pillars standing beside the tower, and couldn’t help but sigh.
The trial tower could accommodate ten people at a time, and the ten bone pillars represented the current progress of each contender. There were 99 sections on each bone pillar in total. Every time a contender passed through one level, one section of the bone pillar would light up, but these days, the 50th section of the bone pillar had never been lit.
Within the fox tribe, there were fewer and fewer Yao that could go into battle.
Now that the turtle tribe was biting close while the tiger tribe was keeping a close eye, if this continued, the Fox Emperor might end up like the Snake Emperor, completely losing the qualification to compete for the Yao Saint.
At this time, a bone pillar completely extinguished, which indicated that another contender had reached their limit.
49th floor.
Alba looked at a dejected young man walking out of the tower, shook his head, and said, “It’s a pity.”
Once the teenager left, several people rushed forward, trying to get the bone token from him and enter the tower.
Alba took a cursory glance and saw that they were all foxes, but their cultivation level was really not high, so he didn’t have any expectations.
He was about to give the bone token to the next contender when he heard someone say, “Hey, I was here first! Why are you snatching?”
“We are recommended by Lord Zhao Zhu of Modu to take part in the trial.”
Alba finally raised his head and saw that the person who spoke was a cat Yao whose cultivation had reached the level of a Yao Marshal. He recalled that the higher-ups had indeed mentioned this matter.
Alba’s interest was immediately piqued. It should be noted that the foreign races recommended by the city lords were usually not weak.
“So it’s you guys? I remember that Lord Zhao Zhu recommended two people.” Alba looked at the people beside the cat Yao.
Jing Yue, “That’s right. I’m Qian Su of the cat tribe, and the other one is Kang Ji of the snake tribe.”
Alba handed out two bone tokens. “Only one can enter for the time being. Who will go first?”
As soon as he said that, another bone pillar went out, and Alba laughed bitterly. “Now both of you can go in.”
Jing Yue and Wei Zhentu looked at each other, took the bone tokens, and walked toward the trial tower.
Author’s Notes:
Jing-jing: When did you guess I was Jing Yuan?
Rouge: I had my suspicions a long time ago, but it was only confirmed in Jing Yuan’s cave.
Jing-jing: Before I admitted it?
Rouge: Yes.
Jing-jing: Did you guess that I was resurrected from the dead?
Rouge: No, I always thought that Jing Yuan had taken possession of Jing Yue’s body.
Jing-jing: …
