“I guess you were right leaving it to the spirit beasts. They really did a good job protecting the food.” Bing munched down on a cooked fish.

“Yep. They’re really reliable. It might take additional resources to raise them properly along with giving them the love and care they need as living creatures but it is rewarding.” Lei Zhi said as he bit into his own fish.

“I couldn’t handle a spirit beast of my own. I already need so many resources as a cultivator that trying to share some of that with a pet would actually hurt my own cultivation speed.” Bing responded back.

“That’s a normal issue for those thinking about becoming beast masters. You aren’t alone in thinking that kind of way Bing. Taking care of a pet that will become your lifelong partner isn’t an easy task.” Lei Zhi rubbed Xiurong’s shell as he said this.

“Blirp?” Quon asked for attention as well. Lei Zhi rubbed his squishy large head too, causing him to make a strange sound that reminded Bing of a vibrating squid.

  How? He wouldn’t be able to explain either. It’s just one of those sounds that seems like it would make sense if described in this exact way. Could you explain that weird sound he just heard from a creature that’s not even supposed to be able to breathe on land?

“What made you pick up Ni Xong, Qing?” Bing asked curiously.

“His future potential.” She answered bluntly.

“What do you mean?” Lei Zhi wanted to know more.

“His mother was a strong spirit beast that needed several talented cultivators to kill. His specific race as a Golden Panda seems to be inherently blessed with powerful vitality. It takes a lot to seriously wound them.” She explained while looking at her specific golden panda. He was peacefully eating a fish with his paws and sitting next to Bing.

“A normal cultivator would raise him just to use his body as material to aid their cultivation. I’m surprised you would decide to raise him as a pet. I heard Golden Pandas are very valuable on the market.” Lei Zhi shared.

“I’m surprised as well.” She muttered.

  Wan Qing initially did plan to use the cub’s body to further her own growth at first. He was very valuable to Alchemists and they would pay money out of their savings to get a hold on any single one of his body parts. It would be enough to pay for a spirit ring and give her enough resources to safely cultivate for a while. So, when did she start to actually care for the little annoyance?

  Wan Qing didn’t know. It's easier to say that the bear grew on her like a parasite but that would be a lie. Wan Qing never had a pet to take care of before. When she was young, it was only her and her many sisters. She was the youngest out of all of them and was basically raised by them. She guessed that since it was her first time ever taking care of someone else, she grew attached. Even if they were a snotty, weak, and annoying little cub. Well, that’s what made sense to her anyway.

“Ror!” Ni Xong suddenly realized something as he was almost finished eating his fish. He looked at everyone else eating but noticed something about his owner.

  He got up from the ground and ran over to Wan Qing. He said something to her in bear language before handing her his half-eaten fish. She was the only person not eating! He didn’t mind sharing his fish with her as there were a lot more fishes to eat.

“Disgusting...” She muttered under her breath looking at the slobbery, ripped, and teared fish. “Get that thing out of my face.” Wan told him.

  Seeing her refuse his fish must mean that she wasn’t hungry. He smiled and went back over to where he was sitting to delightfully finish his food.

“Do you want any food Wan Qing? You’re free to take some not already eaten.” Bing asked her.

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“They are quite delicious. Much better than anything at the sect, I can tell you that for sure.” He expressed happily.

  This aroused Wan Qing’s appetite and curiosity just a bit. The aroma coming from the delicacies were indeed tempting along with watching everyone eating them with such relish made her wonder if it was really as good as they were making it out to be. But she refused to ask for any. She really wasn’t that hungry in the first place.

“I’m fine.” She coldly replied.

“Heh... you kids can never just be honest with yourselves sometimes.” Lei Zhi muttered to himself. Qing reminded him of Ying in a way. Sometimes she just couldn’t be honest either because of her pride or whatever. Pride was such a useless thing in Lei Zhi’s opinion when you couldn’t be who you wanted to be because of it.

  He walked over and placed down a bowl with several medium-sized fishes next to her.

“Take it as a gift. For saving us so many times during the Great Tower.” Lei Zhi said in a way that hopefully would get her to accept it.

“What part of-” Her defensive reply was interrupted as Bing came over as well with some food.

  He placed down a large metal bowl with several large sized fishes cooked to perfection inside it. The combined smell of the fishes went directly into Wan Qing’s nose, awakening her hunger and her stomach. A great growl escaped from her stomach, reddening her face and absolutely ruining the situation for her.

“I like to thank you as well. Without you, Lei and I definitely wouldn’t have made it this far in the Great Tower.” Bing thanked.

“Tch. I guess at this point, I don’t really have a choice but to accept it.” She dragged both bowls towards herself before an irritated look appeared on her face.

  Ni Xong came over for a second time after seeing what Lei Zhi and Bing did. This time he brought a bowl with all half-eaten fishes inside. He thanked her for taking care of him all this time in panda dialect and placed the bowl down in front of her.

“How much do you people think I eat!?” She yelled, quite embarrassed but also a bit happy.

----------------------------------------

“Hoo boy. You all set up quite the surprise party for me.” Hu Tao whistled in surprise.

  Around him were several cultivators from the many factions in the Inner Court. A good majority of them were above his current cultivation stage. They all glared at him with gazes that filled him with excitement. This was going to be a hell of a fight.

“You’ve stepped out of line, Hu Tao.” Hop, the leader of the Heavenly Collectors, said.

“Gotten a bit too big for your own britches, haven’t ya?” Lok, the leader of the Mountain Crushers, chuckled.

“A filthy mutt like yourself should be proud that we took the time to plan something like this for you.” Fan, the leader of the Righteous Demons, arrogantly told him.

“It is an honor that someone like you don’t deserve.” Zong Ying, the leader of the Great Heavens, spoke.

“To think that a bunch of pussies got scared of my godly talent. I guess I killed too many of ya, haven’t I?” Hu Tao was drenched with magical treasures all over his body.

  His new strength thanks to Jing plus his own talent and efforts, allowed him to thrive in the Great Tower. He was like an unrestrained beast in paradise as he did whatever he wanted during the floors and was rewarded for his efforts by the Tower. This led to many fearing him, envying him, and mimicking him. Eventually it got to the point where his strength was rising too quickly and it frightened certain people.

  He was already naturally talented in martial arts and fighting itself. If his power was improved even further, there was no telling what he could possibly do if given enough time. This was why they all decided to deal with this threat now before he could threaten them in the future. Especially since he refused to join any of their factions for certain reasons. His offer to be the slave of whoever defeated him has passed. It could no longer be claimed which meant he was useless to them alive. If he couldn’t be reasoned with, he had to be put down.

“Kill him.” Zong ordered.

  All of Lok's men charged towards Hu Tao. Their bodies were strong and mighty, only consisting of muscle, more muscle, and hair. Hop’s men followed behind Lok’s with their tamed spirit beasts and Fan’s demons disappeared their way through the crowd like trained assassins. Zong’s followers encircled around Hu Tao and the other factions. They effectively cut off all means of escape and made sure that Hu Tao died the dog death he was meant to die.

“Hahaha! Come on! This Daddy won’t hold back with such a fantastic surprise! If you die, don’t curse me in your next life! I need my record spotless when I go back in the reincarnation cycle!” Hu Tao’s unleashed his full power.

  His entire being became one with lightning and thunder. The chains wrapped around his figure transitioned into lightning, lightning crackled and jumped with electricity behind his eyes, and the large mane he called hair glowed with a bright red glow that spiked up like a hedgehog’s quills. He laughed manically as red lightning danced all over his figure before soon, completely vanishing from his previous spot. And this certain death battle for Hu Tao began with the sound of dozens of men and women screaming from Hu Tao’s initial attack.