Chapter 400: Neo-Demon Duel

“I agree!” said Wu Chen, clenching his jaw.

Ignoring his sister, Wu Chen reached up to tap his forehead. Immediately, a glob of blood emerged from his mouth, which then transformed into a red leaf. The veins of the leaf were clearly visible and emitted a strange glow. Wood-type Qi emanated off it. As soon as Meng Hao saw it, his eyes flickered with a barely perceptible glittering.

“So, it has something to do with the bloodline....” he thought. “No, that’s not it. It’s that object. So it has to be fused with the body?” The leaf shot over from Wu Chen to Meng Hao.

Wu Chen’s sister’s face immediately darkened and she took a step forward.

“Sis, this is my decision!” said Wu Chen, setting his jaw.

His sister looked over at him. Seeing the expression on her younger brother’s face, she thought about all the hardships they had endured. Finally, she sighed inwardly and closed her eyes.

The leaf hovered in front of Meng Hao. He reached out and touched it, whereupon the leaf disappeared. It transformed into a red aura that merged into his hand and then appeared as an image in his mind.

The image contained the technique necessary to plant the leaf firmly within his body. The description was very detailed, and could be considered a secret magic. People not of the three great bloodlines would never be able to figure it out.

After a long moment passed, Meng Hao’s eyes began to shine, and he nodded. He rose to his feet.

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

“Okay, let’s go.”

Wu Chen took a deep breath, then rose to his feet and bowed deeply to Meng Hao. Giving over his Tribe’s secret magic had been a huge price to pay. Wu Chen didn’t even dare to think what would have happened if Meng Hao had suddenly refused to help him afterwards.

To Wu Chen, all of this was... a huge gamble!

Taking this risk required him to suppress everything and go all out!

“Senior, this is my older sister, Wu Ling.” Wu Chen actually didn’t even dare to look at her at the moment. [1]

Wu Ling glared at Meng Hao and then, one word at a time, said, “It’s a violation of Tribe rules for Wu Chen to give you that secret magic. If you’re cheating him in any way, then I, Wu Ling, swear on the Tribe totem that I will not rest until you are dead!” She still believed Wu Chen to have been deceived, and radiated a strong killing intent toward Meng Hao.

In her opinion, Meng Hao’s evil intentions had been revealed the instant he mentioned his desire to have the secret magical technique. People like this couldn’t be allowed to live. Besides, if any news spread that he had acquired the technique from Wu Chen, it wouldn’t matter that Wu Chen was a descendant of the three great bloodlines, it would be impossible for him to escape punishment.

The reason she hadn’t prevented him from doing so just now was to protect his sense of self-respect. Secretly, though, she was thinking of various ways that she could kill Meng Hao to shut him up.

“If you want to blame someone,” she thought, “blame yourself for being so greedy!” She gave him a deep look. In her mind, he was already dead.

Meng Hao gave a slight smile but didn’t respond. Clasping his hands behind his back, he strode off. As he did, his five Greenwood Wolves lazily got to their feet to follow.

Wu Chen led the way. As for Wu Ling, seeing how Meng Hao ignored her caused her to snort inwardly. Her eyes flashed with killing intent as she followed.

Eventually, they passed the courtyard of rank 3 Dragoneer Grandmaster Shui Mu. Wu Ling called out to Wu Chen, then entered the courtyard. Moments later she emerged, followed by an old man.

The old man wore a haughty expression; this was the same person who had instructed Meng Hao regarding how to raise neo-demons. He was quite famous in this stretch of courtyards, and was in charge of all the Neo-Demon Kennelist vassals. Of course, he was rank 3 Dragoneer Grandmaster Shui Mu.

A bright green snake rested on his shoulders. It almost looked like it was made of crystal; however, its forked tongue flicked in and out of its mouth, and its eyes shone with a cold glow.

“Many thanks, Grandmaster Shui Mu! I, Wu Ling, will never forget this kindness!” An expression of veneration filled Wu Ling’s face. Even though she was a descendant of one of the three great bloodlines, she still would not dare to do anything to offend a rank 3 Dragoneer. Furthermore, she had paid quite a high price to get his help, all for the sake of Wu Chen.

The arrogance was plain on the old man’s face as he responded, “Considering you came with a command medallion, and since I owe you a favor, I might as well help out. It will only be this one time, though. Don’t think it will happen again. Also, I make no guarantees regarding victory or defeat.”

Old man Shui Mu’s gaze suddenly came to rest on Meng Hao and he suddenly appeared to be annoyed. Then he looked at Meng Hao’s Greenwood Wolves, and his eyes glittered. This wasn’t his first time seeing them; he had noticed long ago they seemed extraordinary. However, they weren’t enough for him to truly care about.

Shui Mu looked over at Wu Ling and frowned. “What’s he doing here?”

Wu Ling hesitated. “He was invited by my younger brother,” she said softly. “Grandmaster Shui Mu....”

Shui Mu’s annoyed expression grew even more obvious and he let out a cold harumph. “Considering that you’ve invited others, then I’m afraid I won’t be participating.” His expression dark, he flicked his sleeve, turned, and walked back into his courtyard. In his mind, it was inconceivable that he, a Dragoneer, could possibly participate in any activity with a mere Neo-Demon Kennelist.

Meng Hao’s eyes flickered slightly as he watched Shui Mu turning to stalk off. He said nothing, but rather waited to see how Wu Chen and Wu Ling would handle the situation.

Wu Ling was starting to get really nervous. She had spent a lot in her efforts to get help from Grandmaster Shui Mu. Glaring hatefully at Meng Hao, she followed after Shui Mu, her face filled with an expression of entreaty. She rattled off an endless stream of words as she tried to convince him to come back. Eventually, she gritted her beautiful teeth and offered even more compensation. Shui Mu eventually gave a begrudging nod, then returned, walking past Meng Hao without giving him a passing glance.

Wu Ling breathed a sigh of relief. However, the bitterness she felt in her heart only deepened. She gave Wu Chen a meaningful look, and then shook her head slowly. She was disappointed, she really did feel that it had been a big mistake on Wu Chen’s part not to listen to her advice from the beginning.

Sighing, Wu Ling followed behind Grandmaster Shui Mu as he walked off. Meng Hao smiled indifferently as he followed. As for Wu Chen, he looked thoughtful as he walked. The small group left the Neo-Demon Kennelist district and made their way up the mountain to an open square which was cut into the side of the mountain. Its surface was smooth granite.

Meng Hao looked around as they walked, whereas Wu Chen was lost in thought. Up ahead, Wu Ling took out a branch, which she waved out in front of her. A green beam of light appeared that shot up into the sky and then exploded.

The resulting boom seemed to shake Wu Chen out of his reverie. He took a deep breath and the looked up toward the explosion. Ten beams of light immediately shot out from ten different houses located on the mountain. Moments later, ten people emerged. In addition, various other Crow Scout Tribe members from down below the mountain began to make their way up. Wu Chen turned toward Meng Hao, a look of determination in his eyes. He clasped hands and bowed deeply.

“Grandmaster, please, help me.”

Meng Hao smiled and gave a slight nod. His impression of Wu Chen was growing. The young man was a bit impulsive, but his determination and perseverance were admirable.

People began to arrive, the first being from the group of ten.

One of their number was an old man dressed in a long white robe. His white hair floated in the wind, and his body was festooned with tattoos. One of the tattoos was that of a tree.

He seemed to be the most powerful in the group, the rest of whom emanated thick totemic power. Their Cultivation bases were extraordinary, most of them being around the early Core Formation stage.

As for the old man, he emanated power equivalent to the mid Nascent Soul stage.

Standing next to the old man was a smiling middle-aged man with grayish hair. His body was also festooned with totem tattoos, and emanated shocking power. He seemed to be slightly weaker than the old man; his power was analogous to the early Nascent Soul stage.

Wu Ling stepped forward and clasped hands toward the old man. “Wu Ling, descendant of the three great bloodlines, extends greetings to the Earth Priest. The command of the Greatfather stated that any time during this three day period, my younger brother Wu Chen could initiate his neo-demon duel with Wu Ali. The winner will receive the totem medallion!”

Shui Mu stood next to her looking proud as he clasped hands in greeting to the old man.

Wu Chen looked nervous as he stepped forward to stand next to Wu Ling, head bowed.

This old man of the mid Nascent Soul stage was none other than one of the two High Priests of the Crow Scout Tribe, who spent most of his time handling Tribal affairs. He looked Wu Ling over, glanced at Wu Chen, and then sighed inwardly. On an emotional level, he felt sorry for the two of them. However, whatever decisions were made by the Greatfather had to be complied with. The Earth Priest would never argue with him unless it was some matter of great importance. He gave them slight nods, then looked over at Meng Hao. As for the Greenwood Wolves that were gathered behind him, his eyes flickered as he studied them. However, he said nothing. Instead, he turned to Shui Mu.

“Thank you for your assistance, Dragoneer Shui Mu.”

Hearing this caused Shui Mu to suddenly feel a bit excited. He quickly clasped hands and bowed.

“To be able to assist descendants of the three great bloodlines is an incredible honor for someone as lowly as me.”

As these words were being exchanged, the rest of the ten people arrived. One of them was a young man wearing clothes very similar to those worn by Wu Chen. He was tall and strapping, with handsome features and a somewhat proud expression. As he neared, Meng Hao could sense coldness emanating from Wu Chen’s eyes.

The young newcomer gave a cold snort and then said, “Wu Chen, that totem medallion belongs to me, Wu Ali. However, since the Greatfather decreed it, I have no choice but to defeat you and settle the matter once and for all!” After this he clasped hands and bowed in greeting to the Earth Priest, as well as the middle-aged man standing next to him.

The middle-aged man smiled approvingly and nodded. He was the Grand Elder of the Crow Scout Tribe, a position below that of High Priest, but one of great power nonetheless. He was also a powerful expert of the same bloodline as Wu Ali. It was because of him that Wu Ali had become so aggressive recently, and attempted to take the totem medallion that belonged to Wu Chen.

It was at this point that a small crowd of other Crow Scout Tribe members arrived from below the mountain. There weren’t too many, so it didn’t take long for a group of close to one hundred people to surround the square.

Wu Chen was nervous. He took a deep breath as he stared over at Wu Ali. He was about to say something when Wu Ali gave a cold laugh and then waved his hand. A green light shot out to circle around in mid-air. Piercing cries rang out.

Suddenly, the light stopped moving and transformed into a little green-colored bat the size of a human hand. It had sharp fangs, and its eyes glowed with a cold light. All in all, it looked quite fierce, and caused the eyes of all the onlookers to glow.

“This is my level 2 neo-demon, a Greenwood Bat!” said Wu Ali arrogantly. “Wu Chen, produce your neo-demon. If you don’t have one, then go ahead and ask your Dragoneer to help you.

Wu Ling’s name in Chinese is 乌灵 wū líng. Her surname of course means “crow.” Ling means “spirit”