Chapter 125: Infiltrate

Chapter 125: Infiltrating the Inner Circle

It had to be said, they really were demons—each individual had an exceptionally strong physique, all getting the "have a Baleful Blood Pill" treatment, and surprisingly, they all recovered quite well. So Shang Yunduo, who was still an injured guy himself, was already selling Baleful Blood Pills to earn spirit stones.

The Wasp-waist Clan's elder arranged temporary lodging for them. Seeing that he was already lying down, they simply had Fengliu, who originally lived in this room, and two other Tiger cultivators switch rooms.

As night fell and silence returned, Shang Yunduo was still dazed.

In the evening, someone brought food and casually informed him that he had become one of the three Tiger clan members selected to enter the Spirit Rhino Valley. Shang Yunduo was floored by the news.

Although they said it was temporary—if someone later proved stronger or on par with him, he would have to compete again.

In any case, they had successfully infiltrated the Tiger clan's inner circle, and their identities and backgrounds had not aroused suspicion.

Letting your strength do the talking was both useful and ridiculous!

Shang Yunduo lay beside Pei Jie, listening to the chirping insects outside, and sent a voice transmission quietly, "They didn't suspect a thing."

Pei Jie said, "Suspect what? There are few demons skilled in shapeshifting. Most demons can typically only transform at the Transformation stage. Even at that stage, not everyone can change into whatever they want. If someone had that ability, why would they hide their cultivation and pretend to be a nobody Tiger cultivator at the Nourishing Spirit stage? What would they gain by sneaking in here?"

Shang Yunduo thought about it—that made sense. With how straightforward demons think, if someone truly had that skill, they would just go straight to snatch the Spirit Rhino. Disguising yourself as a Tiger to sneak in and steal a spot—isn't that nuts? "Senior, could you change into anything you wanted back then?"

Pei Jie said, "Similar is easy, but identical is very hard. The spiritual root has to match, and you need to be familiar enough with it. Demon cultivators aren't that picky. As long as you don't use the wrong technique, you won't be suspected."

Shang Yunduo said, "Mm."

Speaking of techniques, Shang Yunduo perked up and couldn't help complaining to Pei Jie about how frustrated he felt during today's fight. "I couldn't get close at all. I had strength but couldn't use it. I didn't expect the Giant Tiger clan, with their huge bodies, to fight like that."

Pei Jie chuckled. "Do you know what the Tiger clan's greatest skill is?"

Shang Yunduo asked, "What is it?"

Pei Jie said, "The Shadow Step technique, an exceptional Qi-hiding technique, combined with deadly Body Techniques. All Tiger cultivators at the Transformation stage are masters of assassination."

Shang Yunduo couldn't help lifting his head, leaning closer to him, and lowering his voice even in the transmission, "Actual assassination!"

Pei Jie said, "Mm, but the Tiger clan is also very skilled in close combat. If your wound doesn't hurt tomorrow, you can go watch the arena. It'll help with your Body Tempering study."

Shang Yunduo obediently responded with an "Mm." Although he could substitute his Body Tempering with human martial arts and physical techniques, they ultimately originated from the demon race. Those moves clearly suited for beast forms—he had to rack his brain to modify them, but they were not as natural and seamless as the demons' own use. He couldn't miss the chance to openly steal techniques. If he had to go on stage again later and couldn't even use a single Tiger clan body technique, it would likely arouse suspicion.

Sigh.

He had to go tomorrow, even if it hurt.

Thinking about having to study and possibly compete while still injured, Shang Yunduo couldn't help leaning over to snuggle against Pei Jie again.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing... I just miss our mountain life!" Just the two of them, able to be close however they wanted. Since arriving in demon territory, they hadn't even dual cultivated once.

He hugged Pei Jie's arm, rubbed against it, and pressed closer. "I need motivation."

Pei Jie asked, "What motivation?"

Shang Yunduo said, "A kiss. A kiss will give me motivation."

Pei Jie laughed and dodged. "Stop moving. Doesn't your wound hurt?"

Shang Yunduo said, "Kiss me and it won't hurt."

Pei Jie said, "Nonsense."

He pressed Shang Yunduo back down and gave him a light kiss, but Shang Yunduo seized the opportunity to wrap his arms around Pei Jie's neck and didn't let go until their breathing became uneven. Pei Jie pushed him away. "Enough. Why are you like a greedy cat that's never full?"

Shang Yunduo licked his lips. "I'm a tiger now. Tigers are cats. Big cats. Meow."

Pei Jie said, "Nonsense."

Shang Yunduo said, "One more kiss, brother..."

Pei Jie was speechless.

If he'd known Shang Yunduo could ruin such a nice term of address like that, he would never have let him call him "brother."

"Sleep."

"Just one more! Good brother!"

Pei Jie slapped Shang Yunduo's leg, which he was lifting to wrap around him. "One more and you'll never be able to sleep."

Shang Yunduo said, "I can't sleep now either."

"Mm?" Pei Jie smugly patted him, then he leaned down and kissed him on the lips and eyes. "Hold back. Go to sleep properly."

Shang Yunduo grumbled, hugged him, and kissed him a while longer before finally holding on to Pei Jie's arm and drifting off.

As a reserve on the Tiger clan's team and staying in the friendly Wasp-waist Clan's quarters, this was the most peaceful night they'd had since entering demon territory.

Early the next morning, the brothers Fenger and Fengliu from a few rooms over came to find Shang Yunduo. Seeing that he could already get up and walk on his own, they invited him to go grab a meal and then check out the arena matches.

All the Tiger clan branches had sent people. They weren't just here to pick three young ones for the treasure hunt—since they were all here, they naturally wanted to have a good fight.

After all, the demon race had its own internal conflicts. For a large clan like the Tiger clan, each branch wanted to fight for influence. Almost every few hundred years, there would be an internal struggle of varying scale. The victors would enjoy priority access to resources, like the upcoming competition for the Spirit Rhino. The losers would either go home quietly or be exiled to the borders to defend the demon clan's frontiers.

Because the current Tiger King came from the Rock Tiger Clan, the Rock Tiger clan now held the highest status among all Tiger clans. However, the Rock Tigers themselves had many sub-branches—besides the Gray Rock Tiger clan to which Lie Qi belonged, there were the Black Rock Tiger clan, the Brown Rock Tiger clan, and others. Together, they formed the strongest force, but individually, they ranked behind some of the other branches.

The Wasp-waist Clan was in the middle, neither ahead nor behind, stable and comfortable. Their main purpose in coming here was to let the younger generation broaden their horizons, see peers of similar talent from other branches, and gain a clearer understanding of their own strength.

Apparently for this reason, they had no intention of competing for any ranking. The cultivators at the Nourishing Spirit stage from the Wasp-waist Tiger clan were all quite young, yet they all took the stage. The matches continued today, and those who had drawn later numbers had yet to finish.

They walked all the way to the dining area and happened to run into the two brothers from the Giant Tiger clan. Shang Yunduo took the initiative to greet them. The two were surprised for a moment but then exchanged a few words with him.

The entire exchange was polite but slightly awkward—asking about injuries and giving polite answers. The least awkward one was Shang Yunduo, who even pressed further: "When I'm better, can we spar again?"

Hua Guan nodded. "Sure."

Hua Jing refused to be outdone. "When I'm better, I'll spar with you too!"

Shang Yunduo said, "Sure."

They passed by each other. Shang Yunduo and Hua Jing glared at each other with displeasure, which surprisingly made Fengliu and the others gasp softly.

"Brother Bai Yun, you're amazing!"

Shang Yunduo was speechless.

Wasn't it just a greeting?

He had beaten the younger brother, then been beaten by the older brother—it could barely count as "no fight, no acquaintance."

Shang Yunduo was more concerned about something else: "Why are they eating differently from us?"

"Huh?" The group paused for a moment. "Oh, each branch has to prepare their own food."

This time it was Shang Yunduo's turn to be stunned. With such a large gathering, everyone had to bring their own food?!

After asking in detail, he learned that if a branch organized a gathering, they would naturally provide meals, but selecting people for the Lingxi Valley wasn't proposed by any specific branch. Since everyone was participating, they had to bring their own food.

For the first few days, they couldn't hunt nearby, otherwise, the demon beasts around the Four Corners Tower would all be caught and eaten by them.

Shang Yunduo and Pei Jie were essentially freeloading off the Wasp-waist Clan. The Wasp-waist Clan was quite generous—after all, the Fire Armor Clan hadn't sent anyone else, and the Deer Clan didn't eat meat. In the end, it was just Shang Yunduo mooching off them, and they could afford it.

Lie Qi felt too embarrassed to hang around here any longer and had headed over to the Rock Clan yesterday.

"But those two brothers from the Giant Tiger Clan seem to have come from the Rock Tiger Clan."

"Yeah."

The accommodations here were limited, and there were no facilities like a cafeteria. Everyone simply found an open space near their own clan, eating and drinking under the open sky. Here, it was all Wasp-waist Clan, with the Rock Tiger Clan next to them, but the Giant Tiger Clan didn't live nearby.

One person said, "Aside from the elders, it seems only those two brothers from the Giant Tiger Clan came."

Shang Yunduo was surprised: "Huh? Why?"

The young Tiger cultivators of the Wasp-waist Clan were surprised: "You don't know?"

Shang Yunduo shook his head.

Fengliu whispered, "Although the Giant Tiger Clan has very few members, they are incredibly powerful. They've always been like the Tiger King's shadow guards, you know?"

Shang Yunduo hesitated but nodded firmly. Yeah, he knew now.

Another person said, "So they usually don't participate in such competitions."

"Right, I overheard the elders chatting, and even they don't know why the Giant Tiger Clan came this time."

"Maybe they want to snatch a place?"

"Do they need to snatch?!"

That Hua Guan was clearly first place.

Incredibly strong.

Not just in this competition, but even during internal branch struggles to reshuffle rankings, the Giant Tiger Clan never participated.

Due to their special status, they were always ranked fifth, no matter who the Tiger King was. Even when a member of their own Giant Tiger Clan at the Transformation stage became the Tiger King, they remained fifth. This had been the consensus of the entire Tiger Clan for thousands of years and was utterly unchangeable. Even if the Giant Tiger Clan wanted to change, they could only move down.

After all, no matter how powerful they were individually, as a whole clan, they couldn't match the vast numbers of Tiger cultivators in the other top eight branches. Unless the Rock Clan finally fell apart and split into several small clans, and those small clans wanted to fight for higher positions, causing chaos at the top and a complete reshuffle—only then would there be a slight possibility.

"Could the elders have known in advance that other Sacred Clans would send some formidable figures, and if we don't send the Giant Tiger Clan, we'll lose again?"

"..." Several young Wasp-waist Tiger cultivators, who had already competed and lost miserably, all stopped chewing and fell into silence.

The outside world is so scary!

"What's that smell? So fragrant."

"Ah!" Shang Yunduo quickly moved the meat off the fire he had lit. "Barbecue. Anyone want to try?"

"Barbecue?"

"Isn't that how human cultivators eat?"

Shang Yunduo made it up on the spot: "Our Fire Armor Clan also likes cooking with fire! The only good things about human cultivators are alchemy and cooking. Come on, everyone, help yourselves. Cut it yourselves."

He first cut the most perfectly cooked, tender piece of meat for Pei Jie, then helped the others divide the rest, keeping a well-done piece for himself.

The rare meat, along with Shang Yunduo's secret seasoning, was a huge hit among the young Wasp-waist Tiger cultivators.

"What's this again?"

Shang Yunduo made up another story while sprinkling the seasoning: "Discovered it by accident during alchemy. It adds fragrance and is similar to chewing on fruits and spirit herbs."

Come on, give up eating raw meat and join the ranks of cooked food with seasoning!

After a meal that helped him blend in, and having recruited two new brothers with Fire Spirit Roots who wanted to learn alchemy, Shang Yunduo, as if he were truly a member of the Wasp-waist Clan, took a group of young ones enthusiastically to watch the competition.

"That red-haired one with the Deer Clan" had become famous overnight among all the Tiger cultivators at the Spirit Accumulation stage. When he arrived at the arena, other Tiger cultivators recognized him and even voluntarily made space for him.

Shang Yunduo sat in the front row, feeling both popular and dazed.

He felt terribly awkward sitting there, so he scanned his surroundings and made small talk: "Hey, the arena was repaired really fast!"

The Tiger cultivators looked at him strangely.

Shang Yunduo asked quietly, "What's wrong?"

Fengliu also whispered back, "You just came yesterday, so you don't know yet—competitions aren't allowed to damage the arena."

Shang Yunduo: "???"

Huh?

They wouldn't make him pay for it, would they?!

He looked back at the stage and suddenly met the gaze of a white-bearded elder in the elder's seat. The other elders either looked at him with curiosity, smiled at him, or gathered together and pointed at him—all with friendly curiosity. Only this white-bearded elder had a grim face, drooping eyes, as if he really didn't want to see him, and looked quite displeased.

Shang Yunduo slowly sat up straighter and quietly asked, "Which branch does that white-bearded elder in the middle belong to?"

"Deep Forest Tiger Clan!" Fengliu added, "Ah, he's the one who repaired the arena."

Shang Yunduo: "..."

Oh no!

Why didn't they tell him about this rule before the competition!

Author's Note:

The benefits of overnight fame—he smoothly blended in!

The drawbacks of overnight fame—he offended the logistics elder!