Chapter 187: Return to Flying Sea Pavilion — I Want to Watch Her Fight

Flying Sea Street was packed to the brim, a sea of people bustling with excitement.

The shops lining the street were decked out in festive decorations, and the sidewalks were so crowded with vendors hawking pills, spirit herbs, and demonic beast eggs that there was barely enough space for one or two people to squeeze through the center.

Among the two pavilions and one hall, Flying Sea Pavilion was most famous for its Beast Fighting Art. As the final rounds of the advancement tournament approached, all the major spirit pet shops began aggressively promoting their pets. Some high-tier demonic beast eggs were even being sold at sky-high prices.

Lian Mu and Ji Mingyue had just stepped onto Flying Sea Street when they were bombarded with recommendations from over a dozen shopkeepers. Lian Mu was used to it, but it was Ji Mingyue’s first time here, and she was momentarily stunned.

“I’ve heard Flying Sea Pavilion’s spirit pet business was booming, but this is beyond anything I imagined,” Ji Mingyue said as they walked. “Too bad I already raise too many Gu Worms. If I added spirit pets to the mix, they’d be tearing the roof off my house every night.”

Lian Mu glanced at the silver jewelry on her — all refined from Gu Worms — and had to agree she had quite a collection. “There’s a small-scale spirit pet competition at the free-for-all arena. Want to bring your Gu Worms and give it a shot?”

Ji Mingyue asked, “Gu Worms are allowed?”

“They’re not.”

A voice cut in from behind them.

Lian Mu turned to see Bai Lingque, wearing his signature silver mask — an old acquaintance.

“Fancy seeing you again,” Lian Mu said.

Bai Lingque’s expression was unreadable. “Flying Sea Pavilion has rules. The Beast Fighting Arena forbids any spirit pets that have been modified with Gu. Gu-modified creatures lack consciousness — they’re puppets, not living beings.”

“She’s the one competing today,” Ji Mingyue said. “I’m not planning to go.”

Bai Lingque’s cold gaze shifted to Lian Mu. When he saw the silver scorpion bracelet on her wrist, his lips curled slightly. “You liar. I didn’t think you’d actually come back. I thought you’d run off with the money and that thing, abandoning your agreement with the Pavilion Master.”

Lian Mu grinned and patted his shoulder. “That’s no way to talk. Next time, tell your Pavilion Master to send someone more pleasant to greet me.”

Clearly, Bai Su had tampered with her transfer token. The moment she stepped into Flying Sea Pavilion, she was detected — and Bai Lingque had rushed over immediately.

Bai Lingque turned his face away, neither confirming nor denying. The tiny bird perched on his shoulder chirped and hopped excitedly. Unlike its master’s icy demeanor, the little bird was full of life and leapt onto Lian Mu’s finger on its own.

Bai Lingque frowned. “Come back.”

Lian Mu stroked the little bird and teased him, “Next time, just let it come out on its own. You can stay hidden.”

Ji Mingyue couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. “Why do animals love you so much?”

Lian Mu: “?”

Ji Mingyue immediately realized how odd that sounded, but with outsiders present, she couldn’t bring up anything from the Illusion Realm. She gestured vaguely with her hands. “I mean… you know what I mean.”

Lian Mu thought it over seriously. Ji Mingyue had a point — she really did attract a lot of beasts.

Maybe it was because she’d consumed too many demonic beast inner cores, and her body had undergone a postnatal spirit-blood fusion.

“It’s because I radiate righteousness,” Lian Mu joked as she returned the little bird. “I outshine their original masters — naturally, they like me better.”

Bai Lingque: “…”

Bai Lingque said coldly, “When exactly do you plan to hand it over to the Pavilion Master?”

His gaze flicked meaningfully to her wrist.

Lian Mu replied, “No rush. The advancement tournament isn’t over yet. I still have a contract with General Bean. Once I finish my matches, you bring the money, and we’ll make the trade — cash for goods.”

“You’d better keep your word,” Bai Lingque said icily. “The ten million spirit stones are ready. The Pavilion Master is waiting.”

With that much money on the line, Lian Mu had no intention of skipping out. Since she was already here, she might as well milk it for all it was worth. The free stone-opening opportunity at the advancement arena and the ten million — she wanted both.

As for Green Bean…

Lian Mu unconsciously rubbed the silver scorpion bracelet on her wrist.

Their meeting had been fated, but she’d fed it so many demonic beast materials and paid for countless broken pieces of furniture. It was about time it paid her back. Besides, following someone rich like Bai Su wouldn’t be a bad life. Certainly better than sticking with a broke cultivator like her.

“You want to keep competing in the tournament — that’s your business,” Bai Lingque said. “Just make sure General Bean doesn’t die. But the Pavilion Master asked me to remind you: your reputation in the Beast Fighting Arena is already in the gutter. The moment you return to the advancement matches, you’ll be swarmed with challengers. If you withdraw now, you can still keep your current ranking.”

A flicker of confusion crossed Lian Mu’s eyes. “What did I do?”

She hadn’t done anything. How had her reputation gone bad?

Bai Lingque’s gaze darkened. “It’s not what you did. Someone’s been spreading rumors — claiming General Bean is a newly modified demonic beast, an abomination. Because it’s eaten many demonic beasts, they say that’s not normal behavior.”

Demonic beasts didn’t eat their own kind. At most, they’d maul each other. Since they all carried the same corrupt energy, eating another demonic beast would only bring backlash.

The folks at Flying Sea Pavilion still didn’t know that Green Bean was actually a spirit beast.

Lian Mu’s expression didn’t change. “So what if it’s a modified demonic beast? Your Silver Crane is one too, isn’t it?”

“That’s different,” Bai Lingque said quietly. “You know full well how it differs from other spirit pets. The one spreading the rumors is your old rival — Linghu Meng.”

Lian Mu and Ji Mingyue spoke in unison. “Who?”

Ji Mingyue didn’t recognize the guy, and as for Lian Mu, she simply forgot—she never bothered to remember the names of those she’d defeated, unless she saw them often. If she’d only fought someone once or twice, they barely registered in her memory, like a dragonfly skimming the surface of water.

Bai Lingque said, “He was your first opponent, and also your last opponent in the Advancement Arena. He’s a friend of Gong Yu. You killed his Thorn-Tailed Wolf, so he sent people after you to get revenge. After you left, he still couldn’t let it go and spent money to spread rumors about you everywhere.”

At the mention of Gong Yu, Lian Mu vaguely recalled something. The flame beast under his command was powerful, and for some reason, someone that strong was actually friends with Linghu Meng.

In Lian Mu’s eyes, Linghu Meng was like a budget version of Changsun Li—couldn’t win a fight but still refused to admit defeat, always coming back to provoke others, and an absolute pain to deal with afterward.

“You all knew he was spreading lies and just let him?” Ji Mingyue asked.

Bai Lingque replied, “Personal disputes between Beast Masters aren’t under the jurisdiction of Flying Sea Pavilion. Besides, it’s not exactly a lie—General Bean did eat a demonic beast. Everyone in the audience saw it clearly during your advancement match.”

Lian Mu asked, “So General Bean can’t compete anymore?”

Bai Lingque said, “It’s not that he can’t, but it’s risky. Flying Sea Pavilion does sell modified demonic beasts, but only a small number of people accept them. Most don’t approve of modified beasts. Now that General Bean’s been labeled as one, he’s bound to attract attacks from those who oppose them.”

“Like Gong Yu,” Bai Lingque explained. “He’s a traditionalist when it comes to beast mastery. You know about his feud with Silver Crane. You offended his friend, and now you’ve touched on a subject he despises—of course he’s not going to let it slide.”

“Gong Yu has already issued a formal challenge to General Bean through the Beast Fighting Arena. He’s the top-ranked fighter in the Advancement Arena. Usually, others challenge him—it’s the first time he’s challenged someone ranked lower. You’d better be careful. It’s not you I’m worried about, it’s General Bean.”

Lian Mu said, “Oh.”

So that was it—just Gong Yu issuing her a challenge. Perfect. If she beat him, she’d go straight to the top of the rankings.

Seeing her utterly unconcerned expression again, Bai Lingque couldn’t hold back anymore. “Don’t be overconfident in General Bean. Gong Yu isn’t easy to deal with. He’s been at the top of the Beast Fighting Arena for five years—every single season.”

“Got it,” Lian Mu said. “If there’s nothing else, I’m heading out.”

Bai Lingque: “……”

He pressed his lips together but said nothing in the end, quietly following behind the two of them as they made their way to the Beast Fighting Arena. Perhaps he really had taken Lian Mu’s words to heart—he didn’t say another word the entire way.

As soon as they arrived at the Beast Fighting Arena, the three of them were immediately surrounded by countless stares.

“General Bean’s back again?”

“Strange, why’s she brought a new face this time? What happened to that young master from before?”

“She’s finally met her match—Gong Yu challenged her. He’s never lost. Wonder how he’ll fare against General Bean.”

“Modified demonic beasts will never match up to complete ones. Silver Crane already proved that. General Bean’s just going to be the next Silver Crane.”

“Can’t say for sure. General Bean’s way weirder than Silver Crane. I’ve never seen a demonic beast like him.”

Sure enough, the rumors Linghu Meng spread had reached every corner of the Beast Fighting Arena. Now everyone believed General Bean was a modified demonic beast.

Lian Mu walked straight to the challenge platform under the weight of all those stares. The Silver-masked Person saw her and Bai Lingque behind her and jumped in surprise, immediately offering a respectful salute. “Second Boss.”

Bai Lingque gave a slight nod. “Show her the stack of challenge notices that’s piled up these past few days.”

Lian Mu: “?”

Piled up?

“Yes.”

The Silver-masked Person searched for General Bean’s name, then pulled up a long list on the projection screen. “These are all the Beast Masters who’ve issued challenges to General Bean. You haven’t been here these past few days, so they’ve all piled up. Let me count… about fifty or so.”

“These things can stack up?” Lian Mu couldn’t help but laugh.

“Of course,” the Silver-masked Person said. “You know, this season’s Beast Fighting Arena rankings are tied to free spirit stone gambling opportunities at the Spirit Ore Shop. In the past, only the top five got rewards. Now that everyone has a shot, they’re all scrambling to climb the ranks. Your original rank happened to be blocking the way for a bunch of them.”

“You came back just in time. The earliest challenge notices haven’t expired yet. If you don’t accept them before they expire, your rank will drop,” the Silver-masked Person explained. “So, now that you’re back, are you planning to take care of these?”

Lian Mu said, “I’ll take them. All of them.”

She looked up—the earliest challenge notice was issued the day after she beat Linghu Meng and left Flying Sea Pavilion. It had less than an hour left before it expired. The list was ordered by rank in the Advancement Arena, so she’d have to fight her way up from the bottom. And at the very top of the list… was Gong Yu.

Just as Lian Mu accepted the lowest-ranked challenge, she suddenly felt the path beside her being blocked. She turned her head—and was greeted by a wall of fierce flame-patterned armor.

“You’re finally back.”

Gong Yu loomed over her, speaking in his usual halting way.

Lian Mu was in a hurry to deal with the current challenge notice and didn’t have time for him. She turned to walk the other way—only to almost bump into someone else.

“We meet again, General Bean,” Silver Crane said with a smile.

The two of them had boxed Lian Mu in. The atmosphere instantly turned awkward.

Lian Mu: “……”

Where the hell did these two pop out from?

Compared to Gong Yu, Silver Crane came off as much more refined. With a smile, he stepped aside to make way. “I was just wondering when you’d come looking for me. Didn’t expect to run into you today. Care to have a chat?”

He glanced at the Green Bean wrapped around Lian Mu’s wrist.

“I don’t have time right now,” Lian Mu said, heading straight toward the dueling grounds.

“You’re going to compete? I can come cheer you on.”

Silver Crane wasn’t in any rush and casually followed behind her.

Gong Yu, completely ignored, was left standing where he was. Watching the group walk away, his expression turned cold.

The silver-masked person awkwardly said, “Gong Yu, you still have a few matches today. Don’t fall behind.”

Gong Yu pulled out a pouch of Spirit Stones from his sleeve. “Forget the matches. I’ll pay the penalty. Also, help me—buy out her spectator section, all the tickets. I want to watch her match.”

Silver-masked Person: “…Alright.”