Chapter 100: Awkwardness

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Besides a certain wolf father, there were others who witnessed the earlier scene. They were drinking while discussing with those beside them, “Your Qi Dongxuan has been taken away. Are you really not going to rescue him?”

“That Eastern Phoenix clan’s grand princess wouldn’t be so anxious. Dongxuan is fine,” said a young Taoist, dressed in a finely crafted robe, handsome, wearing a purple Taoist crown, his tone calm and low.

“Sigh, I thought the Lord of Eternal Life took a liking to that qilin child, Shen Qingjin, from the Shen family. But unexpectedly, what truly caught their eye was that little girl from the Shen family.”

“The soil elemental energy constantly emanating from her has already begun to show traces of some rules.”

“I don't think she’s affected in her mind by the overly pure soil elemental spiritual energy. She’s not of the divine lineage; maybe the Divine Demon prepared a vessel for herself?”

“Don’t speculate lightly on the thoughts of gods and demons. You’ve crossed the line,” laughed a middle-aged man in a blue robe who was drinking.

The purple-crowned Taoist looked at him speechlessly.

Speaking of which, the purple-crowned Taoist was not only good-looking but also carried an air of aristocracy, the kind only years of privileged living could confer.

“I’m not like you. As long as I arrange my cultivation well, I’m good. I worry about the affairs of the human race all day until my brain is about to explode.”

“Why suffer for it?” the blue-robed man said with a hint of exasperation. “Even if you toil every day until you drop dead, outsiders won’t spare a kind word. Have you heard how the scattered cultivators, small clan disciples, and common folk nowadays describe your Taoist Court?”

“More evil than demons, more shameless than scoundrels!”

Upon hearing this, the purple-crowned Taoist’s expression changed. “Are you intentionally mocking me here?”

“I’m just trying to tell you the Taoist Court’s personnel have become too mixed. Maybe that reckless, morality-disregarding recruitment policy back then was a mistake,” said the man in blue.

“At that time, the human race was on the brink of extinction. Without uniting every force willing to sacrifice for humanity, we would never have lasted until today,” the purple-crowned Taoist sighed.

“The problem is, after the war, you didn’t properly discipline those ill-behaved fellows and even secretly indulged their actions,” the blue-robed man argued.

“What exactly are you trying to say?” the purple crown asked impatiently. “Can’t you just be direct?”

“Haven’t you sensed it recently?” the other man replied wordlessly.

“Zhuzhi!” the purple-crowned Taoist called out directly.

“No wonder the human race is rated by other races as a weak, low-level species,” the blue-robed man said mysteriously. “Fine, I’ll tell you straight, believe it or not — the gods and demons are about to awaken.”

“What? What gods and demons are awakening?” the purple-crowned Taoist asked, half understanding.

“Back when primordial gods and demons roamed this realm, there were countless condensed spirit stones and spirit crystals everywhere. A breath in the air could transform the contained spiritual energy into sweet dew in the mouth. Back then, just a casual kick might hit some ten-thousand-year spirit treasure.”

“Those countless spirit treasures grew like weeds in the lairs and slumbering places of gods and demons.”

“But after the great war of gods and demons ended, aside from the fallen ones, many severely wounded gods and demons fell into deep slumber. Without their continuous help to absorb the surrounding void’s spiritual energy, the world’s spiritual energy density steadily declined.”

“Nowadays, it’s rare for new-generation ferocious beasts to ascend beyond the third rank. This is largely because the world’s spiritual energy concentration simply can’t support their breakthroughs,” the blue-robed man continued while sipping his wine.

“I was lucky to sense the danger early and ascended to the third rank in time. Otherwise, the others of my clan who insisted on waiting due to unstable foundations have now completely lost their chance to ascend. They regret it immensely. Now that the gods and demons are awakening, their opportunity is probably coming,” he said.

“Wait, don’t gods and demons awaken every so often? Haven’t we seen plenty over the years?” the purple crown asked in confusion. Whether among humans, other races, or ferocious beasts’ territories, gods and demons occasionally emerged to cause chaos.

“Those annoying wild gods and demons aren’t what I mean. When I say the gods and demons are awakening, I mean those primordial gods and demons,” the blue-robed man clarified.

“Why would those gods and demons want to awaken?” the purple crown frowned.

“You ask me, who else?” the man replied helplessly.

“What a troublesome time. The human race is already chaotic enough, and now we have to face such a major event,” the purple crown muttered.

“Whether humans are good or bad doesn’t affect our Wuding City much, but the awakening of gods and demons may well impact Wuding City,” the man said.

The purple-crowned Taoist was even more at a loss for words.

…

Qingjin and the others barely reached the outskirts of the fish market before the filth, stench, and chaos drove them away.

They had never encountered such disgusting conditions at the fish market in Yinzheng City. The discarded fish and shrimp scraps littering the place were enough to suffocate anyone.

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“Ah, finally escaped,” Qingzhen said with a look of utter exasperation. “I always thought Yinzheng City’s fish market was the worst for filth and disorder, but now I see how shallow my understanding was. This fish market here should have several ‘more’s added before Yinzheng’s.”

“Much, much, much filthier and more chaotic!!”

“This Wuding City is so large, with so many living beings inhabiting it. How can they not manage the fish market properly?” Xiaobai chimed in.

“Probably they’ve tried. After all, this isn’t a human city that cares about cleanliness. The various other races here don’t all keep their cities neat and tidy like humans do.”

“Big brother, please don’t use the words ‘neat and tidy’ to describe humans,” Qinghu said as he took deep breaths of the fresh air.

Though Yinzheng City’s fish market was tidier than this one, it was hardly impressive.

Qingjin smiled at their complaints.

“In short, things here are complicated. For the various races to live peacefully, they must compromise with one another. The fish market’s current state is the result of such compromise. So don’t complain too much; if you don’t like it, we just won’t go there.”

Qingzhen rolled his eyes immediately. “Even if they set dogs on me, I wouldn’t go.”

“Fourth brother, there are no dogs at home, you’re safe,” Qinghu teased.

“Why do you always like to argue with me?” Qingzhen said irritably.

“Can’t help it, I just like you,” Qinghu made a face to tease him.

Qingzhen’s irritation rose again. “You brat, asking for a beating.”

Before he could pounce, their eldest brother grabbed him by the collar. “Let’s go, let’s go, hurry to Beast Master Street.”

Well, a gentleman’s revenge can wait ten years. He’d follow big brother to Beast Master Street first and deal with Qinghu later.

Beast Master Street was much cleaner.

No dirt roads, just blue-gray paving stones underfoot. The surrounding shops were tall and spacious. Most importantly, neatly groomed beast cubs and eggs were each placed in display cases for customers to freely browse and select.

“There sure are a lot of beast cubs here,” Qingzhen marveled, staring at the rows of shops lining both sides of the street, nearly dropping his jaw. “Qing Xiaohu, which store are we visiting?”

“Of course, we go from one end to the other,” Qinghu said, pulling their big brother toward a large shop at the start.

As the three siblings walked and browsed, Qinghu actively asked questions whenever she saw unfamiliar cubs or eggs. Her knowledge of beasts came from underwater cultivation halls and various storybooks their father had given them.

Her knowledge was limited, so once inside the shops run by professional beast masters, they quickly realized they didn’t know nearly enough.

If she struggled, then Qingjin and Qingzhen even more so.

Thus, the trio listened to the explanations of various beast knowledge as if hearing an ancient scripture for the first time.

How to identify similar cubs, daily habits, how to feed them for faster growth, common diseases and their prevention.

After finishing at one shop, they shamelessly went to another to listen again.

The young clerks, exhausted from explaining these teachings without selling a single beast, visibly turned green with frustration.

After visiting five shops in succession, new shops began to block their entry.

“You can’t just listen to all these explanations for free without spending a dime. These shops all have some communication with each other. If you want free beast knowledge, don’t expect us to keep giving it away. What about our business?” a young man, looking like a noble, suddenly appeared behind them.

“What do you mean ‘get free beast knowledge’? We came to buy beasts and are just comparing which ones suit us best,” Qingzhen quickly responded. “What’s wrong with asking for detailed information? Who can just randomly switch beasts after choosing one?”

The young man was taken aback.

“To excuse freeloading with such elegance and innocence is a first for me. Well played, kid.”

“Hmph, you’re just cynical, thinking everyone’s as bad as you. We clearly came to purchase beasts, yet you accuse us of freeloading!” Qingzhen retorted.

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“Fine, you say you want to buy beasts. These six shops up ahead cover about eighty percent of the cub varieties on this street. How come you can’t find a single suitable one to buy? If you don’t buy anything, what else are you doing here listening to all this beast knowledge?” the young man pressed.

Their dispute at the shop entrance immediately drew the attention of passersby, many of whom gathered to watch.

“Eighty percent isn’t everything. If we can’t find a suitable beast, then why should we pay?” Qingzhen said.

“Then what kind of beast are you looking for? At least give a level or grade. Honestly, I own several shops here. Our beasts are the most numerous and diverse in Wuding City.”

“Just name one kind, and I can find it for you,” the young man challenged.

“Really?” Qingzhen asked lazily.

“Of course,” he replied.

Qingzhen sneered. “Do you have a White Radiant Tiger? A Radiant Phoenix? A Dawnlight Turtle? A Blazing Flame Dragon?”

The young man immediately sneered, “That’s just sophistry. If I really had such top-tier beasts, would I be running a shop on this street?”

Laughter erupted among the crowd, many agreeing with the young man.

“Brother, show him our little kitty,” Qingzhen said to their eldest.

Qingjin smiled and released their mutated white mountain cat from the beast bag.

“An advanced-tier White Radiant Tiger cub, a mutated white mountain cat. Meow meow,” Qingzhen took the little white cat from Qingjin and showed it to the crowd and the young man opposite. “See? Don’t say I’m lying. Isn’t this a White Radiant Tiger cub?”

The young man froze, his gaze filled with disbelief.

Damn, they really hit a hard rock today.

Not satisfied with the stunned reaction, Qingzhen returned the cat to her brother, then pulled out a freshly feathered bird from her beast bag. “A fifth-rank Radiant Glow Sparrow. Ever seen one? This is a cub. Do you think it could possibly evolve into a Radiant Phoenix?”

Chirp chirp chirp…

Of course it can, no, why say possibly? It absolutely will evolve into a Radiant Phoenix. The little bird puffed its chest and strutted a few steps, waddling with perfect professional flair.

The young man’s face instantly went pale.

He hadn’t expected these seemingly ordinary siblings to produce two beast cubs with terrifying potential.

“Xiaohu, release the Light Saber Fish and show him,” Qingzhen said, delighted at the other’s sudden change of expression. “Let’s see if he still says we’re freeloaders.”

Qinghu cheerfully released a Light Saber Fish.

As soon as the little fish saw Qinghu, it wagged its tail happily. Its scales shimmered golden under the sun, betraying its identity.

The young man’s vision darkened. If not for someone behind supporting him, he might have collapsed.

“All our contracted beasts must have fairly balanced strength and potential. If some are high and some are low, with some superb and others terrible, how can we form a powerful beast squad? How can we build strong combat power?”

“Even with our main beasts, you dare recommend all kinds, red and white, to us?”

“So we definitely didn’t come here to freeload. We came to buy beasts, but unfortunately, yours don’t meet our standards,” Qingzhen concluded. After listening to the six clerks’ explanations, Qingzhen even knew that a beast master could form an entire beast squad alone.

The crowd around began to understand the situation.

Under all eyes, Qingzhen thought, “I’m not embarrassed, but I wonder if you, stranger, are?”

Le Wen