Beware Of Chicken Chapter 298 v7c45: Welcoming the Earth

Ulagan Baatar, the Master of the Grand Ravine, panted heavily while slumping into a chair.

"You were right, grandson. His presence was…." he trailed off. Everyone who hadn't sensed Master Rou's power before shared the same condition, their eyes bulging and souls quivering.

Baatar had used every bit of his determination to avoid dropping to his knees and dishonoring his forebears when Lord Rou's eyes fell upon them.

His son and grandson had told him about Master Rou. They insisted his strength surpassed all others. They detailed how his mere aura made the ground shake.

Yet Cai Xiulan also embodied the Earth. She could force the Dueling Peaks to recognize her as a top figure. If she unleashed her full might, she could rattle the whole province. Among his folk, debates raged over who truly was the Earth's Herald between the two.

Didn't Cai Xiulan unite them? Didn't she restore their history? Hadn't she shown herself as a strong leader? Everyone accepted these facts. She was the Ravine's ally. The Earth flowed in her veins.

Still, Master Rou's arrival erased any uncertainty. Cai Xiulan resembled a spring, a gentle surge of power cradled by the Earth's force.

Master Rou embodied the Earth itself. His aura blanketed the Dueling Peaks. The ancient mountain permitted Xiulan to direct it. Before this man now standing there, it humbled itself, sprouting grass and awakening forgotten mechanisms.

The peaks themselves greeted him as returning home.

A hint of something grander, akin to the Ravine's holiest site, lingered near Cai Xiulan.

In Master Rou's company now, it permeated the entire world; it resembled countless golden spires his people revered as the Earth's blood. It overwhelmed the senses. Almost drunk-making. He sensed it pressing softly on his shoulders. Yet the weight wasn't crushing. It felt soothing instead.

"He's… even more powerful now," Tarkhan whispered. "The sensation wasn't half as strong last time. Previously, it was a faint murmur I strained to hear. Now, after viewing the memory crystal… it's crystal clear."

"And all shall call them friend. Sects. Tribes. Beasts and trees alike will lower their heads and recognize the Herald of the Earth," Temuulen, present with Tarkhan at the tournament, murmured.

His statement made several heads dip. "The Ancestors' Wisdom holds no error."

"And their heirs shall follow this guidance," Baatar responded. "A dragon serves as his herald. That alone suffices as evidence. But every Spirit Beast he encounters obeys him, turning tame and gentle. Bi De, dwelling in the Spiritual Realm. Crystal Hill's monkeys. The ox plowing with a Spirit Weapon… and the bees too."

"The bees?" Tarkhan questioned; others appeared puzzled as well. Baatar couldn't fault them fully. As a youth, he might have overlooked it himself.

"They perched atop the carriage, scanning the crowd like sentries—no, more like guardswomen, I reckon," Baatar mused, then another insight struck. "The Wreckerballs. We figured ancestral knowledge through On Gang ended their grudge. But could Master Rou's spirit be so immense that it compelled those Spirit Beasts to negotiate?"

Once more, Baatar felt humbled; so did they all. The Herald of the Earth's might lay beyond their grasp, and they had glimpsed only the base of a peak piercing the skies.

"What about the two women accompanying him? His attendants? They concealed their Qi, and I couldn't gauge their strength," a clansman inquired.

Those two women gave Baatar pause. Both masked and restrained their power so thoroughly that probing further would seem impolite, forcing his Qi against theirs.

Which implied they matched his level... or exceeded it.

Two cultivators at least at the Profound stage serving as escorts for his attendants and son.

"I think they belong to Yun Ren and Gou Ren's family," his grandson suggested. "Their eyes, their facial features… they match up. I glimpsed the profile of the one honored to carry Master Rou's son. She wore a blue hair tie bearing what seemed their tribe's emblem."

"Sharp eye, Tarkhan," Baatar commended his grandson. "Yes, the eyes resemble… though I never knew our northern kin harbored such strength. Maybe they're more of Master Rou's students?"

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Murmurs filled the room briefly.

"What's our next step, Patriarch?" one fellow eventually asked.

Baatar answered without delay.

"His identity as the Herald of the Earth stands undeniable. Let no one question it. Relay word to the Ravine at first chance. For this evening? Observe and bide time. Let others swarm him seeking favor. They'll compete to lure him to their sects. He's already promised to visit the Grand Ravine, claiming victory here. Mingle with his attendants instead. Chat amiably, leave a positive mark. Welcome our kin if confirmed, inviting them to the Ravine. Even converse with the ox and bees if possible."

Nods rippled through the group.

"Grandfather, should I go to him?" Sarnai inquired. His granddaughter showed equal nerves and thrill. She was their loveliest bloom; genuine and kind-hearted. They had prepared her for potential service… or marriage to the Herald of the Earth, proving loyalty and forging ties.

Sarnai evidently welcomed the notion. As Herald… and beyond that, she seemed drawn to the man's looks.

One obstacle remained, though.

A mighty cultivator naturally wed a mighty spouse; Lady Meiling's strength rivaled her husband's… yet she hadn't drawn much notice. She offered polite greetings, then receded as Master Rou claimed the spotlight.

Something about her, however, held Baatar's gaze even after she withdrew.

She wasn't an Imperial Jade stunner, nor the fierce hawks or wolves Ravine men prized. Handsome over beautiful, freckles dusting nose and cheeks.

But those eyes.

They locked briefly as she scanned the crowd. For an instant, Baatar beheld stars wheeling across the heavens before he looked away.

One truth he grasped: crossing her would spell ruin.

"Our Grand Marshal notes his devotion to his wife. Gather more details before acting and offending them," Baatar ordered.

More nods followed. Baatar drew a steadying breath. He'd require full poise to endure the night.

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"Is the team set?" Bai Huizhong, Azure Hills' Lord Director of Spiritual Ascension Affairs, barked, striding into the Earthly Arena. Tension knotted his stomach. He usually relished such high-stakes moments, but tonight's mishaps could bring dire fallout… he shivered at the thought.

They hosted a heavyweight. Peak authority. A Cloudy Sword Sect affiliate… and Cai Xiulan tasked mortals with this segment.

True, they managed it routinely, but not with this volume of… preparations. Only solace: the Grand Marshal wisely granted ample rehearsal for the impending spectacle.

Huizhong admired the Grand Marshal. Remarkably level-headed. Far more than Pale Moon Lake City's bosses, plus far easier to behold.

"Yes, Lord Director! All in position," Bao Wen reported diligently. The youth fiddled with his control rod distractedly. Huizhong ignored it, despite the sleeve-tugging. This newly dug mountain section brimmed with luminous runes. Huizhong barely credited the mountain's feats ahead… but it could. He'd witnessed.

Huizhong surveyed the space under the arena, where fellow keepers mimicked Bao Wen's ritualistic moves, nearly dancing. The ceiling throbbed, crystals blazing brighter than usual.

"Is that… positive?" he ventured, then chided himself for interrupting.

"Beyond good. It's cooperating splendidly today, Lord Director. I sense it. Thrilled? Anticipatory?"

…absurd, yet he'd felt the outer cultivator's Qi. Boosting the arrays?

"He's heading in, taking his seat!" a voice yelled from above.

Bao Wen nodded, addressing the figure below stage.

"Lady Xinling? Ready when you are, My Lady," Bao Wen said, grinning at White Water Sect's Master. "You'll dazzle."

"Thank you, lad," the cultivator replied warmly. "I appreciate your diligent practice." She brushed past, patting his shoulder lightly. Elders doted on the boy like kin.

Huizhong valued that. Bao Wen excelled as envoy for tough news or delayed documents from reluctant Elders.

Bao Wen invariably returned beaming, mission done.

"Cue it! Lord Director!" Huizhong assented, casting a final anxious look at the vivid crystals, then dashed upstairs to the Resounding Crystal Dais.

The Earthly Arena stands reshaped. Seats consolidated to one side into a grand platform with vast tables for cultivators. The head table for Master Rou elevated on a dais rearward, overlooking arena and platform.

Master Rou, guided by the Grand Marshal, claimed his spot amid sect leaders. His seating prompted others to follow.

One subordinate raised three fingers, then two, one, then signaled Huizhong.

The Resounding Crystal Dais ignited. Bai Huizhong inhaled deeply. Formal address, not announcer mode.

"The Azure Alliance greets Master Rou Jin at the Dueling Peaks," Huizhong declared, voice flowing flawlessly from the dais, free of past static. "We offer respects, hoping our welcome pleases. Attractions await your enjoyment. Please savor the opening performance."

He struck the crystal precisely. Lights faded across glowstones, plunging all to shadow save the arena floor.

Suddenly, the Earthly Arena transformed.

Water surged from tiles, filling silently like a bubbling fountain. Pristine and gleaming under lights. Mist swiftly veiled it entirely.

A lone guzheng note rang clear, resounding through the arena.

The arena center parted, lifting a platform. Water clung, encasing it in a liquid sphere.

Guzheng resumed, weaving a timeless melody's start.

The sphere shattered into myriad sparkling drops, suspended impossibly.

Awe and gasps swept the audience.

Lady Xinling atop the platform with her guzheng appeared a spectral water spirit. Unveiled, her gaze fixed on the head table.

"Welcome to the Dueling Peaks, My Lord," she chanted, then played.

Lady Xinling shone masterfully on guzheng.

And that merely launched the night's events.