A Will Eternal

As Beihan Lie and his Master left, the disciples of both the south and north bank looked on with wide eyes, their minds spinning, completely speechless. The only thing they could think about was what had just occurred with Beihan Lie and his huge dog....

They weren’t the only flabbergasted ones; the sect leader, peak lords, and other elders were all struck mute. All they could do was stare down into the arena at the innocent-looking Bai Xiaochun.

Elder Zhou sat there trembling, his eyes bulging, mixed emotions written on his face.... As for the phoenix soaring in the air above, it let out a few piercing cries, as if to point out to everyone that it hadn’t falsely accused Bai Xiaochun in the past.

Eventually, the sound of breathing could be heard, and the south bank Outer Sect disciples began to turn and look at Bai Xiaochun with strange expressions on their faces.

The female disciples were all blushing, and some even spat in contempt at him.

However, the male disciples were even more profoundly affected. Without exception, they all edged away from Bai Xiaochun, sweat popping out on their foreheads as sympathy for Beihan Lie rose up in their hearts.

Eventually, the crowd devolved into a hubbub.

“Sect... Sect Uncle Bai... is a god!! That Beihan Lie... will probably never recover from this injury....”

“Never, EVER provoke Sect Uncle Bai. He’s... he’s a complete menace!”

“Isn’t that the same medicinal pill he fed to Elder Zhou’s phoenix? It’s basically an aphrodisiac for beasts.... I can’t think of any possible reason why Sect Uncle Bai... would concoct something like that!”

Regardless of the methods used, Bai Xiaochun had won a victory for the south bank, only the second one so far. Although the south bank disciples weren’t really sure how to feel at the moment, they began to cheer for Bai Xiaochun.

Shangguan Tianyou wiped the sweat off his brow. He might have looked down on Bai Xiaochun with contempt before, but now he couldn’t help but gasp. When he thought back to Beihan Lie’s cruel fate, he couldn’t help but imagine what it would have been like if he had been in the same position.... After a moment, he cast such thoughts aside.

Zhou Xinqi was tongue-tied, her mind spinning.

Moments later, though, an even greater commotion could be heard, something like the rumble of thunder. The north bank disciples erupted in unprecedented fashion; it didn’t matter that they had won so many battles in the competition so far, and in such amazing fashion. Now, everything had changed.

All of the north bank disciples, even the Inner Sect disciples who had come to observe the battles, were all incensed. Eyes bloodshot, they shouted out at the tops of their lungs.

“Demented!! What medicinal pill is that? Dammit! How can a pill like that even exist in the world? I’m gonna exterminate Bai Xiaochun and destroy that pill!!”

“Heavens! Elder Brother Beihan’s own beast pounced on him! This... this....”

“Take Bai Xiaochun down! Nobody has insulted the north bank like this in countless years!! That medicinal pill should be banned! Any of them that exist should be completely destroyed!!”

It was impossible for them not to be enraged. Even the male disciples from the south bank sympathized with Beihan Lie, much less those from the north bank, who felt his pain even more.... After all, every north bank disciple had a battle beast of some sort. Even as they shouted out in range, they subconsciously glanced down at their various respective battle beasts, and thought of Beihan Lie. They couldn’t help but feel uneasy as a result.

Soon, their maddened shouts grew even more extreme.

“Bai Xiaochun is the archenemy of the north bank!!”

“Down with Bai Xiaochun! The north bank will endure eternal humiliation as long as he lives!!”

“Dammit! I’m gonna kill him! I’m gonna exterminate him! He’s stained the north bank for all eternity!!” It was easy to imagine how in the future, every time the north bank disciples looked at their own battle beasts, they would think about the tragedy of Beihan Lie.

The Gongsun siblings’ breath came in ragged pants as they looked at Bai Xiaochun, their eyes shining with unprecedented fear, as well as rage. Although Beihan Lie had been the one to receive the injury, the entire north bank was hurt.

As for Xu Song, all the fat on his body trembled, and his expression was one of fury. Although he never got along with Beihan Lie, he couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. Deep inside, he felt sympathy, and even more so, terror.

“Beihan Lie could only control one battle beast.... I... I have five....” When he thought about that, Xu Song almost cried. Gnashing his teeth, he glared at Bai Xiaochun with furious, bloodshot eyes.

Even the black-robed Ghostfang trembled, a look of intense seriousness in his eyes as he stared at Bai Xiaochun.

Bai Xiaochun looked around innocently at the hornet’s nest he had stirred up. When he saw how mad the north bank disciples were getting, he quickly tried to offer an explanation.

“Hey, don’t blame me. Before the fighting even started, I told Beihan Lie to concede. He didn’t listen. I made it clear... that even I’m afraid of my own attacks!” Bai Xiaochun really felt that he was being given the short end of the stick. However, his explanations did nothing except pour fuel onto the fire.

“Bai Xiaochun!? I can’t believe you have a name like that! Dammit! You’re not pure at all!!” [1]

“Completely shameless! Despicable! How dare you continue to humiliate us!!”

“Take Bai Xiaochun down!!”

The enraged north bank disciples began to edge forward, eyes bloodshot. From the look of it, tens of thousands of disciples were all about to charge onto the arena floor to take Bai Xiaochun out.

Bai Xiaochun’s heart began to thump, and he quickly retreated a few steps closer to the south bank audience. Sighing, he stuck his chin up, waved his sleeve, and stood there like a lonely hero.

“I am pure and good, no matter how anybody tries to smear me,” he said. Sighing, he finally left the arena floor. Behind him, countless north bank disciples were shouting in fury and staring daggers. If looks could kill, Bai Xiaochun would be dead many, many times over already.

He coughed dryly as he returned to the south bank side. Strange expressions could be seen on the faces of the disciples there; by this point, they could sense the intense anger the north bank felt toward him, and it was terrifying.

As of this moment, the true enemy of the north bank wasn’t the south bank, it was a single person. Bai Xiaochun!

It was easy to imagine how, even if the north bank won the competition, because of Beihan Lie, they would consider it a loss....

The sect leader sat awkwardly up on the balcony, glaring down at Bai Xiaochun, his heart pounding with helplessness. He couldn’t help but muse that whenever Bai Xiaochun showed up, it didn’t matter how solemn the occasion was, the atmosphere would quickly devolve.... As for the three peak lords from the south bank, none of them were quite sure what expression was appropriate. They had never encountered a situation like this in their entire lives....

Li Qinghou’s complexion flickered between green and red, and his eyes were blank. He had been completely shaken by what just occurred. Even the four prime elders on the peak of Mount Daoseed felt their divine sense shaking, and they weren’t sure exactly what to think or feel.

Seeing that the anger of the north bank disciples was almost beyond control, Ouyang Jie suddenly spoke out in a voice which swept out and physically pushed the north bank disciples back.

“Let the seventh battle begin!” Instantly, a burly man flew out from among the north bank forces. His eyes were bright red as he landed on the arena floor, where he let out a roar of rage.

“Bai Xiaochun, I challenge you to fight!”

“Let’s wait and see if you can get into the top ten,” Bai Xiaochun replied, sticking his chin out like a lonely hero. “Then maybe you’ll qualify to fight me.” The burly man howled in fury, his eyes completely bloodshot. At the same time, the disciple standing next to Shangguan Tianyou braced himself and walked out onto the arena floor.

Booms echoed out. The north bank disciples had gone mad... and this burly man, the first to fight after Bai Xiaochun’s performance, was clearly venting his anger by fighting. The south bank disciple was pushed backward over and over again until he finally conceded.

Next were the eighth and ninth battles.... The north bank disciples might as well have been slaughtering chickens. They fought with enraged madness, their hearts bursting with anger. All of them wanted to get into the top ten to have a chance to fight Bai Xiaochun and cleanse the stain of humiliation!

“I have to win! Once I’m in the top ten, I’ll take Bai Xiaochun down. Then we’ll see how he likes to get pounced on by a wild beast!”

“Fudge! Even if I have to break the damn sect rules, I’m going to cripple him!”

“Even if I kill him, my Master won’t punish me too badly. Anybody that kills Bai Xiaochun will be a hero to the north bank!” The north bank disciples used every means at their disposal in the fighting.

Because the north bank had two more people on their team than the south bank, the tenth battle was fought between two north bank disciples. However, they didn’t go easy on each other.

Soon, the final battle of the first round had arrived. Zhou Xinqi took a deep breath and walked out onto the arena floor, violet light flickering around her feet. Moments later, she began to fight the final north bank disciple.

The battle was not shocking or amazing. Zhou Xinqi was a Chosen, and although the north bank disciple she fought was extraordinary, he couldn’t compare to her at all. After only ten breaths of time passed, the north bank disciple coughed up a mouthful of blood and begrudgingly conceded.

As Zhou Xinqi walked back to the team, the south bank disciples erupted into cheering. When Bai Xiaochun heard it, he felt a bit sour inwardly. The cheering for Zhou Xinqi was clearly much louder than the cheering had been for him.

As of this moment, the first round of the Chosen battles was over. Eleven disciples remained; eight from the north bank, and three from the south bank!

1. As a quick reminder, one of the characters in Bai Xiaochun’s name means "pure"

62d67767f92eb560e77c9100