Beware Of Chicken

Chapter Volume 4 63: Celestial Body

Yushang woke slowly.

The first thing she noticed was that she was comfortable. There was a slight pain somewhere in her guts to be sure, but the bed was soft and the room was warm.

She had been hurt quite badly at the academy before. Her sternum had been cracked in two, and most of her ribs were broken. All she remembered from those days after the injury was the haze of pain, and the cold, dark room. She had spent most of the time huddled against the wall, her sword resting on her shoulder just in case anybody got any ideas.

She had been alone, with nobody but herself to rely on.

Two warm fingers brushed against her neck. Yushang froze. Young Master Zang Sheng had wanted her—!

Her eyes snapped open, only to meet a pair of eyes that were dark and familiar. They were in a Medical Pavilion room.

“You are all right, Yushang. You are in no danger here,” Ri Zu whispered.Finnd new chapters on

Yushang instantly calmed down at Ri Zu’s voice and touch, the surge of adrenaline from thinking she might have to fight fading. She looked around the room curiously.

“Man, you got way too much energy if yer up already,” Biren snarked from where he was watching over her.

Yushang chuckled. “You know me! It's my charm!” she declared with a crooked smile.

Fat Han snorted from his place beside Biren. Shao Heng, standing with his arms crossed, chuckled.

“It's good to see you awake, brat,” the older man said.

Yushang smiled, her chest all warm and fuzzy... before the reality of the situation once more reasserted itself.

“It's good to see you all, but what’s happening with—”

Ri Zu’s fingers touched Yushang’s lips. “Worry not. Bi De is taking care of it,” Ri Zu’s voice was full of not conviction, but pure, doubtless faith. “We can watch tomorrow—you’ll be well enough to move then. For now... rest. Your friends will take care of you.”

Yushang blinked away the wetness that gathered in the corner of her eyes. She bit her lip.

She knew it was absurd, that her friends couldn’t stand against the Young Master, but despite that... she couldn’t help but feel things were going to be alright.

Bi De sat with his arms crossed as the cheers rumbled from the crowd like thunder from a storm. He was the last competitor on the Inner Disciple Box.

The first bout of the semi-finals was well underway. Zang Sheng was displaying consummate skill—as was his servant. Chengang was a dervish with her glaive, deflecting lightning bolts and tearing after her Young Master.

The crowd was loving every moment of it, howling as they displayed themselves... but Bi De could see that neither of them particularly liked it. Bi De could glean nothing useful from them trading pointers, so much were they holding back.

Sheng’s eyes bled frustration—as did Chengang’s.

And then, after more lightning rang out, the woman was defeated. “I shall trade pointers with you properly later,” Sheng grunted to the woman. She nodded, and then he turned his eyes again to Bi De.

They were oddly hungry.

And then, the only other bout for the day was called, his own. Later on in the day there would be a pill refining competition and an artifact battle; things that might have piqued Bi De’s interest before, but now... he paid them no attention.

The announcer was background noise as he boomed out Bi De’s name. He glanced up at the crowd, to where his friends were sitting. Yushang waved at him and mouthed something that looked like “twist his dick” as she made a rather vulgar arm movement.

Bi De felt a small smile form on his face before it faded and he gazed upon his opponent.

Bi De faced off against a man in the Fourth sSage of the Profound Realm. The man who had driven a sword through Yushang’s chest.

While he could see she was fine... that did nothing to reduce the fact that the man had done it on purpose, under the orders of Zang Sheng.

It was something that would be answered.

The man standing across from Bi De smirked at him.

“Hmm. With resolve and intent like that, no wonder you have drawn my Master’s eyes. Are you going to take revenge for your woman?” Shaoqing asked. He seemed oddly eager.

“I would err more on the word justice—though I doubt a man such as yourself gives much thought to its meaning,” Bi De replied pleasantly.

Shaoqing huffed. “You may be higher in cultivation, but your soft heart shall be your undoing. A man must be steel and value only strength. Something you shall learn. For even if your cultivation is higher, a strong foundation and will can bridge that gap.”

Bi De put his arms behind his back. “We shall see.”

The gong resounded.

Both Bi De and his opponent exploded into motion. A moonlight-shrouded leg met Shaoqing’s blade... and Shaoqing’s eyes widened as the blade stopped cold, cracks radiating out from its edge as Bi De’s superior cultivation and control made the blade tremble.

“Though you are correct on one account. A good foundation and a strong will can bridge a gap.”

Shaoqing made to retreat.

[Wheel of the Crescent Moon]

Bi De’s other leg lifted, silver following in its wake to smash into the other side of Shaoqing’s blade.

The sword shattered. Fragments of metal shot into the air and then descended like falling leaves.

Bi De expected nervousness. He expected his opponent to be cowed; most seemed to be, when an opponent beyond them was revealed.

Yet Shaoqing just grinned and raised his fists.

Bi De’s eyes narrowed. And then he advanced.

Shaoqing was strong. Shaoqing was skilled, and was clearly used to fighting opponents that were more powerful than even Bi De. But Bi De would not be denied. He had sparred with his Great Master and trained under Master Shen Yu. Even if this form was not his preferred one, he was still Shaoqing’s superior.

A leg slammed into Shaoqing’s arm and the man barely winced, even as Bi De felt the bones break. The man’s retaliation hit nothing but air, and then he wheezed out a breath as Bi De’s knee cracked into his sternum.

Even though he managed to strike back for one or two blows. Even though he hadn’t really been injured yet.

He was losing.

And yet... Ri Zu’s heart was oddly calm.

“Impossible! Impossible! In all my years, I have not seen a bout such as this! Our Young Master’s strength is overwhelming! But Bi De hangs on by the skin of his teeth! Truly, the disciples of the Shrouded Mountain Sect are beyond compare!” The announcer roared.

The crowd was on their feet. The world was a wall of sound.

Zang Fengfeng watched it all, her hand on her chest. Bi De’s hair was a red banner as he shot around the arena, weaving through Sheng’s strikes. Fengfeng herself had barely lasted seconds the only time she had ever sparred with her cousin—and here Bi De was, merely in the Profound Realm, and surviving.

Heavens, he was a man. Even if he lost to her cousin, he was performing a feat worthy of a legend. Maybe she could even convince Sheng to let her... borrow what was surely to be his new servant.

But eventually, even the most heroic of feats could not last forever.

Bi De made a mistake. He took a hit and threw himself backwards slightly too far... and Fengfeng knew what was coming.

[Heavenly Deluge]

Bi De’s eyes widened as a wall of lightning descended from the heavens.

[Aegis of the Full Moon]

The moon appeared in the arena in all its glory. Lightning met the face of the moon. One bolt. Ten bolts. A hundred bolts. The ground around the moon slagged and shattered. The air screamed in protest. Smoke and debris filled the air. She could hear Bi De roaring from under his shield, holding it up and straining like he was holding up the very sky itself.

Yet even under this onslaught, the moon held. Its face was pockmarked and scarred—but it was there. The silver light dissipated, and Bi De collapsed to his knees.

He was utterly spent. He was defeated. Sheng approached, and for the first time since she had seen him, her cousin actually looked happy as he raised his fist to end the fight.

Yun Ren’s mind worked a mile a minute. Should he activate it now? Would the shock stop Bi De from getting hurt too badly? Sheng was smiling like a right bastard

Yun Ren was just about to pull the trigger when a voice cut through the roars of the crowd.

“Really? Is that it, boy?” the voice asked, sounding both amused and disappointed.

Everything and everyone froze. Sheng’s eyes widened comically as he paused his advance, instantly searching for whoever had spoken.

Yun Ren’s head whipped around, looking for who had spoken—when he glimpsed something that stuck out hilariously, but he just hadn’t been able to notice.

There was an old man lounging on the roof of the Elder’s box. He was laying on his side, his head propped up by his arm on a blanket. There was a bowl full of stew sitting off to the side, and in his hand he held a gourd of alcohol.

Slowly, a smile began to spread across Yun Ren’s face.

“Really? Is that it, boy?”

Shen Yu’s question pierced Bi De’s exhaustion. It pierced the pain that was lancing through his arms.

Bi De was on his knees. He was defeated.

Yet he still had one more card to play. He was loath to use it without great need... but if Shen Yu was here now it meant his time at the Mountain was at an end.

“No, I am not done yet,” he replied.

He had needed to hide. He had needed to infiltrate. He had limited himself, stuck in an unnatural body. Slinking around and hiding his true self.

The moon did not hide. The sun did not hide.

All who gazed up at the heavens knew their glory.

Bi De took a breath, reached deep, and broke the seal.

Light enveloped his body.

Zang Sheng took a step back as his opponent activated a technique.

This was why Sheng hated holding back; if he did not destroy an adversary completely... then they would have a chance. A chance like this.

He threw his senses forward anticipating an attack... but this was no attack.

It was a breakthrough.

A mid-battle breakthrough. Zang swallowed as he felt Bi De’s Qi rise up into the Spiritual Realm.

And then, to the Second Stage.

He felt his heart thunder in his chest, preparing for whatever would come out of that light.

He glared as the technique faded, staring at the aftermath. And then he paused. His mouth opened. A bit of snot dripped from his nose. He felt blood start to crawl up his throat as he saw the impossible.

He was not alone.

The entire crowd stared at what had appeared in the arena. Zang Fengfeng had spilled wine down the front of her dress. Zang Zhong had puked blood all over the man in front of him. Liao Yushang’s eyes had gone completely blank. Che Han had dropped the dumpling he was stress-eating, while Shao Heng had just looked completely befuddled.

For where the handsome man Bi De had once stood, now there was something else entirely.

What was in the arena was not a man, but a proud, erect cock. He wore a fox-fur vest, and a silver chain around his neck. His plumage was the colour of fire. His tail was the most beautiful of jade.

An existence that matched Zang Sheng; the man who would be the next Patriarch of the Shrouded Mountain Sect.

It was...

“A Chicken?!” the Shrouded Mountain Sect roared as one.