Molting the Mortal Coil

Chapter 1021: New Empire

As they approached closer they had a more unobstructed view of the battle that was going on. The worms werent actually large in comparison to some of the beasts hed seen in the past. Far from it actually. They were nothing like the mountain sized Living Disaster. They were merely huge in comparison to their original sizes. Each of the two worms was roughly the size of an elephant, one of them was curled up upon itself like a caterpillar, the tightly packed W shape of its body lifted eight feet into the air and twice that in length. Instead of wide, flapping ears, a trunk, and tusks, this huge worm had a colorful mane of red and blue hairs over its tan colored body.

Across from it, there was another worm-like beast that was longer and lower to the ground, similar in size to six horses standing in a line. This strange centipede-like creature had a hard and leather-like brown hide, stippled with bundles of little white spines that looked like tufts of grass. The two faced off from each other, bleeding from wounds that had opened up along their flanks. The tan colored one roared like a lion, while its opponent the chocolate and white speckled beast let out a bison like moo. Then the two darted towards each other again, smashing their bodies together in the most simplistic and violent fighting method. The brown many limbed worm used its clumps of spines to stab the body of the tan colored worm.

The many sharp points ripped long gashes in the other worms body, but the tan worm with its large blue and red mane was no slouch. The creature opened its mouth, revealing multiple layers of huge fangs that rung the circular walls of its mouth. The circular jaws and many fangs dug into the side of the other monster and a single deep wound was traded for many smaller ones. Each of the two worms were spilling blood everywhere and testing the toughness of the other.

Back and forth, they struck each other again and again and the battle only ended when the whole of the arena floor was covered with blood the color of mud. They fought back and forth until the brown and white speckled one finally passed out from blood loss. As it did, it suddenly shrunk down as it flew backwards through the air, landing in the hands of a burly man to the side of the arena. It disappeared with a slight pop sound, and then the big, dark haired man brushed off his jacket and grumbled out some unintelligible words.

Mmm srryrrives ssss waasft.

The other beast also flew through the air like a rocket, shrinking as it landed in the hands of a man across the arena. This man was shorter and thinner than the first one and had a head of long blond hair to his shoulders. This man walked around the arena till he met up with the larger black haired man.

Say that again! Properly, so that everyone can hear you.

There was some hesitation before the big man finally grumbled in a manner very reminiscent of a child before responding with a volume that was only inferior to a yell, Im sorry I said your wife's ass was fat!

The huge crowd of spectators fell into dead silence for a long moment before half of them exploded into laughter, while the other half looked disgusted and turned to leave. Theyd been drawn by the huge scuffle expecting to find an interesting bit of drama, but it turned out it was just a ridiculous tavern brawl. Having won and gotten the larger man to admit his wrong, the smaller blond man grabbed the other by the shoulders and they walked back towards the town without a care in the world.

The bullet shaped Shifting Jade Mountain approached at an almost violent amount of speed, arriving in the air over the arena just in time to catch the end of the battle and overhear the reason behind it. Guan Zhenyan seemed quite pleased by the display, but Sage was wondering what sort of city they were going to stay in. It was quite an unusual way to settle a dispute, since he had no idea of what rules might have been in play or if anyone would step in to stop things if they got out of hand. Public dueling aside, the more interesting thing was the way the two had fought using giant worms. Zhenyan had mentioned Gu briefly before they started on the journey to the Xuanyuan Empire and Sage was curious to see what the man meant.

It was interesting enough for him to choose it above the few other locations that Zhenyan had mentioned, especially since this is the location of someone he claimed was the most trustworthy of his friends. The Shifting Jade Mountain passed by the arena and through the air over the huge city. Then, guided by Guan Zhenyan, it lowered down to the ground in front of a huge manor estate on the west side of the city. The property was even more grand than the one at the center of the city that Sage assumed was owned by the Citys Lord.

Contrary to the elegant and refined look of the huge manor, the person that came out to greet Zhenyan looked like a wine soaked bear. The man was very tall, over seven feet, with a barrel shaped chest and even larger waist. Other than a set of leather straps that held on a pair of shoulder pads, he wore nothing else on his upper body. The lack of clothing revealed the thick mat of chestnut hair that covered the whole of his chest, back, and arms. The big man strode up to Guan Zhenyan, leaving a group of attendants behind as he nearly ran forward and wrapped the smaller man up into a hug. Zhenyan was lifted into the air and swung around a few times before getting set down again.

I havent seen you in ages, Smokey! Are you finally here to pay off your debt? Come on lets head inside, you must be exhausted from the trip!

Somehow this bear-like man wasnt the one that owed money to Guan Zhenyan, but the other way around. At the same time, the man threw a welcoming party, treating Zhenyan as a best friend and despite making mention of the debt he was an exquisite host. If one could overlook his strange choice of clothing and lack of gentlemanly manners, the scale of the banquet and quality of dishes were spectacular.

After some time, Sage figured out what was going on. Guan Zhenyan would start to look bored or annoyed, and at that time, the bear man would mention the debt again. Zhenyan would smile and put on his best appearance once more and they would continue to chat. The debt made Zhenyan treat him politely and sit in the seat of a friend. Analyzing the situation, Sage and those on the Inner World were surprised by the big mans plot. Despite starting to get bored every half hour or so, Guan Zhenyan was actually quite polite and seemed only bored and annoyed. Given what Sage knew of him, it was already quite impressive to get him to be so calm and docile.

Turns out the man was named Fierce Powerful Bear: Xiong Xiong Xiong. Given his unique name, everyone just called him Bear Three. He happily gave Guan Zhenyan a place to stay and brought him out for a party or gathering at least once a week, constantly working to build a better relationship between them. Bear Three seemed like a useful person to have as a friend, but Sage couldnt confirm this assessment as he still had to spend a few years recovering. Not only was his body killed, but half of his Nascent Soul was sacrificed as well. The Shifting Jade Mountain was safely hidden away on the Inner World and Guan Zhenyan had a good hiding place.

With his worries assuaged, Sage could finally focus on recovery.