[Happy New Year Guys]
*****
Huang Yin stood by the lake, feeding the fish slowly, her expression calm. Behind her, her niece entered the courtyard with a mischievous smile on her face.
"Big sister, I want to join the battle with the beasts," she said, hugging Huang Yin's left arm.
"Why? You know it is very dangerous out there," Huang Yin said, turning to look at her with a doting smile.
"I know... but I must go," she insisted, putting on her best weapon: her puppy face.
"Don't make that face... Tell me why you want to go, and I may consider it."
"Many of my friends have gone... There is a rumor that those selected to go to the mainland must be very talented and must have contributed a lot to the barren land."
"Ah! I see," a chuckle escaped from her lips. "It is true, but I don't think you're ready yet."
"Big sis...I'm ready. I've worked hard and broken through to the Qi Refinement realm, and I know how to use my bloodline power efficiently."
"Really?" Huang Yin looked at her with a skeptical gaze.
Seeing that Huang Yin didn't believe her, she pouted and said, "You don't believe me. I will show you."
She released her arm and retreated a couple of feet before taking a battle stance. "Big sis, don't use your bloodline and reduce your cultivation to my realm, and let's fight."
Huang Yin only had a light smile on her face and nodded. "You are free to attack."
Whoosh!
Huang Rou didn't dilly-dally and attacked with a powerful palm strike, infusing her bloodline power into the attack. When the strike was a couple of inches from Huang Yin, a suppressing force descended on her.
If she were an ordinary fighter, the force would have kept her in place for the attack to hit her. However, she was in a different league.
She only took a step and dodged the attack with ease. Huang Rou didn't seem to be bothered and followed up with a more powerful palm attack.
To her dismay, her attacks missed their target by an inch. As the fight continued, she got more frustrated and increased the ferocity of her attacks.
Her attacks became deadlier, aiming for vital spots. Her face was full of determination and unwillingness.
Huang Yin looked at her niece and sighed. She knew how desperately her niece was trying her best to gain approval. But she had already approved of her talent and accepted her as her little sister in her heart.
Unfortunately, Huang Rou was hard on proving herself to her. Thus, not to disappoint her, Huang Yin lowered her guard and slowed down her reaction.
Bang!
Huang Rou's palm hit her waist, and she froze. "Big Sis!" she cried in shock.
Huang Yin took a step back and regained her tranquil expression. She raised her head and saw the shock and fear on her niece's face and chuckled.
"I didn't see that coming."
"Are you okay?" Huang Rou asked with her voice dripping with guilt. She rushed to her side and looked at her waist without knowing what to do.
Pa!
Ouch!
Huang Rou held her head and grimaced in pain.
What!
The three beasts looked at each other, not understanding what the hell was happening. Still, they recovered quickly and went to the small tent to the side.
Inside the tent, they saw a group of soldiers with some kind of artifact on the table. The more they watched everything, the more they got confused.
This was not what they expected. They expected the humans to demand them to pay for a gate fee but not this. They even seemed not to care about gate fees or whatnot.
"Put your hand inside," a soldier sitting behind the table commanded.
The bull took the lead and put his right arm inside the circular artifact on the table. Instantly, the dormant artifact came to life.
Beep! Beep!
The artifact turned red, and an alarm rang out from it. Instantly, the quiet tent became chaotic as all the soldiers stood to their feet and withdrew their weapons.
"You're not one of us," the captain shouted, pointing his spear at them.
"What do you mean we're not one of you?" the python said with confusion and fear on her face.
"If you're one of us, you would have known the answer," the captain shouted and looked at his men.
"Intruder alert. Close the gate," he commanded.
Instantly, a tense atmosphere filled the air as the guards held their weapons tightly, ready for battle.
Realizing their plan had failed, the three beasts looked at each other and sighed. It seemed they needed to start the massacre right from the outside.
"I don't know how you detected us, but that didn't change a thing," the python woman said with an evil grin. Her tongue turned into a sharp fang, and she licked her lips.
Slowly, she began to change into her original form. A massive brown python appeared with a length of 50 meters. Its big yellow eyes looked at the soldiers as if it was looking at delicious food.
The bull and wolf took their original forms. The three powerful beasts looked down at the humans, expecting to see fear and panic.
Unfortunately, they found none.
All the guards looked at the three massive beasts without any change in their expressions. The captain looked at his men and said with a teasing tone.
"See, they are from the beast race. Who among you loves python meat?"
"Can we get a portion of python meat?" a young guard asked with a bright smile.
"No. Every Grade-3 beast must be sent to the sect," he chuckled. "But don't worry, the sect would reward us greatly."
Looking at the guards chatting among themselves, ignoring their existence, the three beasts were stupefied.
Why were they not scared?!
All the guards were just some weak Qi Refinement warriors. Where did they get their confidence to act nonchalantly in their presence?
The wolf was furious and howled loudly. All the fur on its body stood, and its claws grew sharper. Just as he was about to pounce on the human, the captain's expression became solemn.
"Formation!" he shouted.
Instantly, the guards formed a neat formation, their faces beaming with confidence and pride.
"Bloodline suppression," he commanded.
What happened next shattered everything the beasts knew about the humans, and they regretted attacking the human race.