Beast Tooth Peak, as its name suggests, looks like a giant beast's tooth from afar, breaking out of the ground and biting straight into the clouds, exuding a fierce bestial aura.
Even a hundred zhang away from the Beast Tooth Peak training ground, Qian Duoduo could already hear the clamor of drums and bells.
“Could it be that the Cultivators on this Immortal Mountain enjoy fighting and singing opera at the same time?”
When he got closer, he understood: the sound of the drums and bells came from the cheerleaders below the stage, cheering on the Cultivators they supported!
On one side were ten war drums, and on the other were ten massive bells.
On stage, they competed in Spiritual Qi; off stage, they competed in popularity.
Ruthless, truly ruthless!
“Peak, as in mad.” The Senior Brother’s riddle, like a beast’s tooth, pierced Qian Duoduo’s Spiritual Awareness.
His heart trembled, and he decided to avoid becoming an enemy of Beast Tooth Peak Cultivators in the future.
After finishing the act of borrowing money with the Senior Brother, Qian Duoduo flew away from Beast Tooth Peak, thinking that Jianjian Peak ahead shouldn't have such a strong bestial nature.
However, when he arrived at the Jianjian Peak training ground, he was even more stunned.
There were no war drums or massive bells here, but a row of suonas and a row of conch horns were set up. Moreover, on both sides of the high platform, ten large flags stood, one side black, the other white.
At the end of the match, the losing side’s flag would not only be pulled down but also publicly broken and thrown off the stage, to be trampled underfoot by the crowd!
After finishing the act, Qian Duoduo fled Jianjian Peak even faster.
On the way, he asked the Senior Brother, “Do the Palace Lord at the top of Jianjian Peak know that the Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters here are doing this? Don't they come down to manage it? How strong is the penetrating power of these suonas and conch horns? Can people still rest well and Cultivate properly?”
The Senior Brother laughed heartily, “These rules were created by the Jianjian Peak Palace Lord. The louder the sound, the happier the Palace Lord is. This is called ‘Dao striving for precedence, grand declarations, courage without fear, and growing stronger with every fight’!”
Well, these ruthless moves were invented by the Palace Lord.
Qian Duoduo secretly disapproved, but then he thought again, he was the Inner Sect Xiong Jun Jin Buhuan, a man who had seen much of the world, so it was better to appear calm about these things.
So, Qian Duoduo forced himself to nod, “The Palace Lord is indeed the Palace Lord, thinking deeply and seeing far.
It should be so; the more fiercely they fight, the more money they will need. One flag must cost one or two gold coins, right? Fight, fight hard.”
A deafening suona blast sounded from behind, and another contest determined a winner.
It was just unknown whether the flag trampled underfoot was the black or the white one.
On the way to Wen'an Peak, they passed the “Ling Beast Research Institute.” In front of the Institute were five great Auspicious Beasts: Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise, and Qilin.
Although these Auspicious Beasts were not living creatures, they were lifelike and possessed a naturally intimidating aura. From the large courtyard within the institute and the dense forest behind it, roars echoed.
The Senior Brother and Qian Duoduo opened their mouths several times, but in the end, said nothing.
If Huang Guiren or some Elder secretly slapped them from inside, turning them into rolling gourds, it was not something they wanted to see.
Having run for most of the day, Qian Duoduo and Wang Dahei were also tired.
They tacitly bypassed the Ling Beast Research Institute and headed straight for the last Immortal Mountain—Wen'an Peak, which was also the final stop of their tour.
Upon seeing the Wen'an Peak training ground, Qian Duoduo was completely bewildered.
There were no bells or drums on the field, no suonas, no conch horns.
Yet, on the silent spectator stands, tens of thousands of Cultivators were densely seated, far more than on the other Immortal Mountains.
These tens of thousands of Cultivators sat upright, either in groups of three, teams of five, or gangs of seven.
From a distance, they looked like clusters of gray and blue petals.
And on the high platform, two gray-robed five-person teams were competing.
They were completely different from the other four mountains; they were actually competing in combined attack techniques!
Qian Duoduo watched for a while, noticed something strange, and quietly asked, “Senior Brother, the team members on stage only have Qi Condensation Stage Two cultivation, but their power seems to be similar to that of Outer Sect Senior Brothers.”
Wang Dahei nodded, “The Wen'an Peak Palace Lord emphasizes teamwork the most. He firmly believes that only with differences in heaven and earth can life be endless, and only with differences among people can generations succeed each other. The prosperity of a peak and a sect relies not only on individual cultivation but also on the combined strength of the multitude.”
Qian Duoduo scratched his head, “Senior Brother, it’s as quiet as a graveyard down here, how are we supposed to speak?”
“Scared? Watch your Senior Brother. After we finish the act, run quickly. When we get back, we’ll stew two more Spirit Chickens, and I’ll give you a whole chicken leg tonight.”
The Senior Brother lifted the treasure chest, walking with a sway, and resolutely pushed into the crowd.
Qian Duoduo, carried on the shoulder pole, followed him into the arena.
As soon as he entered the arena, Qian Duoduo felt powerful waves of Qi.
Because he and the Senior Brother had disrupted the spectating atmosphere, these Qi waves pressed down on them in a very unfriendly manner.
Qian Duoduo’s right hand rested on the chest, his index finger intentionally or unintentionally pointing to the three characters “Elder Bi” on the seal.
One could be disrespectful to “Jin Buhuan,” but surely not to the “respectful” Elder Bi, right?
Like a small boat navigating big waves, Qian Duoduo and the Senior Brother carried the treasure chest and finally reached the foot of the stage.
They didn't dare to stand, fearing they would block others' views.
But they were still quite bold; even sitting on the ground, every ten or so breaths, they would turn the treasure chest around, so that the slogans “Deposits earn interest, collateral can borrow money” were fully visible.
Good! Finally, someone on stage was injured. Qian Duoduo and the Senior Brother brightened up, preparing to enter a state of sorrow.
More and more people were getting injured, and the five-person teams on stage were competing even more fiercely.
Besides offense and defense, there were also tactics to protect injured teammates.
It was thrilling, almost making Qian Duoduo forget what he was there for.
Finally, the five-person team with white cloth wrapped around their left arms, all injured, could no longer hold their defense. After a feigned counterattack, they collectively jumped off the high platform.
They surrendered!
But these few people weren't unconscious, so how was the act supposed to proceed?
While Qian Duoduo was pondering, the Senior Brother had already walked up to the five people who had surrendered below the stage and bowed deeply.
“I salute you, true warriors. Do you want to know how to defeat your opponents and win tomorrow’s match? Come to the Gold Vault, and I will give you the answer.”
Qian Duoduo was still wondering what the Senior Brother meant when the shoulder pole tugged—this was the Senior Brother telling him it was time to go.
Jumping into the vortex once more, facing wave after wave of piercing gazes and Spiritual Awareness surges, they finally struggled out of the training ground.
After running very, very far, to a place where no one was around, Qian Duoduo and the Senior Brother, by unspoken agreement, put down the treasure chest and burst into laughter, only then realizing that their gray robes were drenched with sweat.
Qian Duoduo didn't know what the Senior Brother was laughing about.
He knew he was laughing because, even though the Senior Brother’s cultivation was higher than Qian Duoduo’s and his performance was excellent, he, like Qian Duoduo, wasn’t that brave and would also be afraid when facing over ten thousand Cultivators.
Being afraid isn't shameful; failing to overcome fear is shameful.
“Senior Brother is mighty! Don’t forget what you just said.” Having laughed enough, Qian Duoduo picked up the shoulder pole.
“What did I just say?” The Senior Brother lifted the treasure chest and slowly walked towards the Gold Vault.
“Spirit Chicken, we’re eating chicken tonight, drinking soup, and you’re giving me a whole chicken leg…” As Qian Duoduo spoke, his mouth watered again.
This Senior Brother was sometimes muddled; he wouldn’t remember what he promised unless reminded.
“You’ll get your chicken leg, and I can even add one…”
Qian Duoduo was pricking up his ears to hear what dish the Senior Brother was going to add when a figure leaped out from the shadows, spread his arms, and blocked their way.