12 Mei Cuixue. (2/2)
This sparring was a fairly regular occurrence for the two sects, it had practically become standard fare for them now. So the words spoken by Mei Kongxu's mother were just a formality, both she and Li Tian knew that things would just start straight away like they always did. Or at least so they thought, but this one time there was an unknown element that had mixed in.
”Sorry, but would it be possible for me to speak up and come with a suggestion?”
The unexpected voice caught everyone's attention, all the gazes focusing on Li Yang, who had raised one of his hands slightly. There was a short moment of silence, one of Li Tian's, Mei Kongxu, and Mei Kongxu's mother's eyebrows raising in surprise, partly due to the unexpected action and due to Li Yang's guts to speak up in front of two exalted elders. Li Tian glanced at Mei Kongxu's mother, who nodded her head and gestured for Li Yang to continue talking.
”Thank you for allowing me to speak. My suggestion is simple, aren't you all tired of these sparring matches? I won't deny that they help a bit with increasing our skills, but that is only when there is some variety in when it takes place and who takes part. We only just had a round of sparring matches a month ago, and about 90% or more of the people who fought then are going to fight now, the results simply aren't going to be that different, are they? So rather than just repeated sparring matches where the results are pre-determined, why don't we mix things up?”
Li Yang wore a charming smile as he spoke in a casual and carefree manner, his elegant appearance and guts sufficient to cause some of the girls to take a second look at him. His words also caught the attention of the disciples, especially those who had lost previously and were certain that they would just lose here as well.
Li Tian and Li Jueyong couldn't help but narrow their eyes slightly, wondering exactly what Li Yang was planning this time around. Li Tian didn't make a comment, glancing at Mei Kongxu's mother and leaving the final decision in her hands. Mei Kongxu's mother swept her gaze across the crowd of disciples behind her for a short second, her gaze eventually landing on Li Yang.
”you're Li Yang, correct? The lad who's going to marry me, Mei Cuixue's daughter, Mei Kongxu? I'll give you this, you certainly have great guts to be able to speak so carefreely in front of elders like us. Very well, you've caught my interest, what's your idea?”
Li Yang smiled politely in the face of Mei Cuixue's praise, making sure to give her a polite bow and introducing himself while heaping some praise onto her.
”Indeed, this little one is Li Yang, the son of Li Tian. And it is indeed I that have been blessed with the privilege of marrying your daughter. And I must say, I can see where she gets her great looks and aura from.”
He was eloquent and charming, but his words caused Li Tian to nearly roll his eyes while Mei Kongxu's lips twitched slightly. He didn't bother with their reactions, straightening his back and pointing at one of the distant mountain peaks.
”My suggestion is fairly simple actually, why don't you send us into one of the training grounds where you allow Demonic beasts to roam freely? Like this, we can show off our actual fighting skills by fighting proper battles, it's much better than sparring matches where everyone constantly has to hold back. We can also rank people based on how strong the Demonic beast corpse that they leave the training grounds with is, that way it will be a bit easier to hand out the rewards from the sparring matches. What do you think?”
Just like the Deepsea King sect, the World-rending Behemoth sect had several training grounds where they allowed Demonic beasts to roam. These training grounds allowed the disciples to properly test themselves in bloody combat, it was a much better forge than some standard sparring matches. Mei Cuixue didn't say anything straight away, allowing her gaze to sweep over the clearly excited disciples.
Wherever there were Demonic beasts there would be Qi, and thus there would be plants and other resources that they could use for cultivation, not including the Demonic beasts themselves. Seeing their expressions, Mei Cuixue ended up nodding her head, pointing at Li Yang and Mei Kongxu.
”Seeing as you've already convinced the disciples, me saying anything else will just disappoint them. Very well, we'll change it up this once to see how it goes. But you will have to enter along with everyone else, and the two of you will travel together.”
He was supposed to marry Mei Kongxu so that the two sects could foster a closer relationship so she might as well take this chance to push them a bit closer to smoothen the process. The disciples from both sides immediately started buzzing with excitement at the prospects, Mei Kongxu getting sent over to Li Yang's side and whispering to him suspiciously.
”What are you planning?”
He clearly had some plan behind changing the usual sparring matches, it might just be to get his hands on some resources, but it might also be something else. But facing her suspicion, Li Yang simply feigned innocence, acting as if he had just thought of something as he swiped his interspatial ring.
”Planning, me? I just want to encourage some friendly competition. How about you and I have a little competition? The one who bags the strongest beast gets a reward, separate from the usual rewards of course. Hmm, if you win, I'll give you this, how about it?”
The thing he took out from his interspatial ring was a box that seemed to be made from burnt wood, traces of lightning still visible at the edges of the box. This was the box that was meant to hide the Heavenly Queen's 1st star, it was one of the few things capable of properly hiding the energy coming from the bone. Mei Kongxus' gaze narrowed faintly when she saw the box, a soft light flashing through her pupils as she responded without hesitation.
”Deal”