After bidding farewell to Yue Meng and the other Spiritual Beasts, Chen Jiuge left a sum of Spirit Stones as payment for his room at the inn and quietly left that night.
Chen Jiuge came after all. Qian Wanwan was right. Cultivators ought to focus on the path to becoming immortals. If chance knocks on their door and they hesitantly refuse to accept, then what’s the point in cultivating at all?
Aunt Liu spotted Chen Jiuge immediately and, ignoring the other Spiritual Beasts, swayed over to him.
Unlike yesterday, today Aunt Liu’s gaze carried a hint of scrutiny.
The Fateful Spirit Fox has some ability to sense people’s hearts. Generally speaking, cultivators chosen by the Fateful Spirit Fox have good temperaments, but of course, that’s not absolute.
"Sir, you’ve come again. Miao Miao is already waiting in the room. Do you want to go by yourself, or should I lead the way?" This time, instead of warmly grabbing Chen Jiuge’s arm, she kept a distance.
"Aunt Liu, did your little fox choose a Human Clan cultivator again?" a bearded burly man teased.
"Isn’t that Jin Cheng? How did your leg grow back?" Aunt Liu sneered.
"Even if I were missing a leg, I could still hop to your Fox Fate Pavilion. But indeed, I am curious to gauge the strength of this new Human Clan cultivator," Jin Cheng said teasingly.
Aunt Liu gave a cold laugh and didn’t reply. That was a good thing anyway. Although Miao Miao wanted to cultivate a fate with this human, it would be a problem if the cultivator wasn’t strong enough. It was perfect for Jin Cheng, this old lion, to measure him up.
"Brother Chen, you’re here," Miao Miao said, approaching slowly.
Compared to the red dress she wore yesterday, Miao Miao in white seemed even more pristine today. However, that was not Chen Jiuge’s main concern.
"Fateful Spirit Fox? What benefits does fate bring?" Chen Jiuge sat down and spoke bluntly.
Miao Miao was startled for a moment before smiling. "When fate is perfect, both parties receive one blessing from Heavenly Dao each, but what the blessing entails varies from person to person."
"So the benefits still depend on luck?"
"That is indeed the case."
"There are many Spiritual Beasts in the city who would trouble you—not the minor ones from the outskirts, but the real powerhouses. Of course, the highest level is Mahayana, and in Beast City, no one above True Immortal interferes unless the rules are broken," Miao Miao said with a smile.
Silence fell between them.
Chen Jiuge had learned what he wanted to know, yet felt that leaving abruptly would be improper.
Miao Miao, feeling somewhat shy, thought, This cultivator is so straightforward. If I hadn’t sensed he was truly human, I might think he was a Spiritual Beast in disguise.
After a piano piece performed by Miao Miao, Chen Jiuge left, leaving behind a Communication Stone.
"Miao Miao, how was it?" Aunt Liu asked, walking in.
"Let it be him," Miao Miao said, watching the departing figure of Chen Jiuge on the street.
"Eh, is that Jin Cheng? What does he intend to do?" Miao Miao said in surprise, watching the large man approaching Chen Jiuge.
"He’s looking for trouble with that cultivator, since the Golden Lion clan is one of the species most against us Spiritual Foxes forming bonds with the Human Clan," Aunt Liu stated coolly.
Both Spiritual Foxes showed no intent to intervene. After all, to seize an opportunity, one must possess sufficient strength to handle it, especially since Jin Cheng’s strength was only mediocre in the Mahayana Realm.
"Hey, boy, it’s you." Jin Cheng, holding a large cleaver and wearing a fierce smile, approached Chen Jiuge.
"Who might you be?" Chen Jiuge frowned.
"Who else? Here to thrash you," Jin Cheng said, as his cleaver came down in a vertical split, creating a huge crack in the ground.
"Dodged it? Body Refining Practitioner, interesting."
Chen Jiuge grabbed the cleaver’s blade and said with displeasure, "Spiritual Beasts really are rude."
With a pull and a release, Jin Cheng stumbled back several paces. Just as he regained his footing, Chen Jiuge was already in front of him. THUD! THUD! Two punches connected.
His head ringing from the blows, Jin Cheng swayed slightly and remarked, "You’re quite strong."
"That’s much better," Chen Jiuge remarked, looking at Jin Cheng’s blackened eyes. He suddenly seemed less fierce.
The onlooking Spiritual Beasts laughed softly. As Jin Cheng, catching the light on his cleaver, saw his blackened eye sockets, he erupted, "Boy, die!"
Chen Jiuge easily dodged, delivered a side kick, dodged again, and slapped. He continued dodging, and then flicked Jin Cheng on the forehead.
After a quarter hour, Jin Cheng’s face was marked with several handprints, and his forehead sported a few bumps.
"Human, you are doomed!" ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ Nov3lFɪre.ɴet
Humiliated, Jin Cheng instantly transformed into his original majestic lion form, but his eye sockets looked a bit bruised.
Watching the lion charge head-on, Chen Jiuge stopped playing around, gathered his strength into a straight punch, and sent it flying dozens of meters.
Seeing Jin Cheng lying unconscious and twitching on the ground, Chen Jiuge shook his head speechlessly. "With such little strength, seeking a challenge is simply suicidal."
After Chen Jiuge left, the watching Spiritual Beasts finally started discussing, "This human is strong indeed. The Golden Lion couldn’t even make it through one round?"
"How strong can the Golden Lion be? But this human really does have considerable strength. I wonder when he will participate in the arena?"
"Heh, this guy is definitely going to form a bond with a Fateful Spirit Fox. He’ll have to go eventually. I’m just not sure which Fateful Spirit Fox he’ll choose—if it’s one of the more popular ones, he’s in for it."
"Miao Miao, seems like you’ve got a good eye. His strength isn’t bad either. At least he’ll survive in the arena," Aunt Liu remarked, somewhat surprised.
To think that the scholarly-looking Chen Jiuge could defeat the Golden Lion with a single move.