Tournament Rules

Feng Hei Lang woke up and stretched herself out. 'Ah~ It's already sunrise, so I better go meet Instructor Le Yi in the courtyard.' She nudged Xing awake and pushed him into her shadow.

He yawned and trudged in, disappearing from her view. Feng Hei Lang quickly exited her room and shifted into human form. She decided to skip breakfast, since she wasn't very hungry.

In a few minutes, she entered the courtyard. Other foxes were there, including Kang Lei. A lot of the foxes stared at her, especially Mei Wang, who gave her a nice, cold gaze.

Feng Hei Lang quickly moved to stand next to Kang Lei. She whispered, "Why are they all looking this way?"

He smiled. "Morning, and obviously because we just came back from the mission. A lot of foxes here wish they would be able to get out and go on some."

She blinked a few times in surprise. "It's that important to go on missions?"

Kang Lei grinned. "Yup! Which makes me glad I was able to go out!"

Instructor Le Yi clapped her hands together after all foxes entered, calling for attention. "Alright everyone! Quiet. We will only be meeting in this courtyard temporarily, then we will head to the main courtyard where you took the entrance exam to hear the assembly. Headmaster Zhong Qiu will be greeting you, along with the two twins from the Royal Fox Family. You must show your utmost respect. If any of you are late to the assembly, I will deduct tallies from you. "

For a few minutes, she talked about proper behavior and how they should act. Kang Lei whispered to her, "What do you think the tournament will be?"

She shrugged. "I hope it's something interesting though!"

Instructor Le Yi nodded her head once and said, "You may all head to the main courtyard now. Hurry up and don't be late!"

Feng Hei Lang started walking out of the courtyard and turned to Kang Lei. "How long do we have before the assembly starts?"

He tilted his head. "About...5 minutes?"

Her jaw dropped. "JUST FIVE MINUTES?! The courtyard is the opposite side of this one!"

Kang Lei shrugged. "I'm sure we'll make it...hopefully."

Feng Hei Lang started running, leaving him behind. "Take your time if you want! I need to keep my precious tallies!"

She quickly started running towards the other courtyard, using [Dash] as an extra boost. Feng Hei Lang left quite a few foxes in her dust, trying to hurriedly get to the other courtyard.

Within just a few minutes, she had arrived. There are already many foxes all over the courtyard. Feng Hei Lang let out a sigh of relief. She had made it.

She quickly sat down, and a few moments afterwards, Kang Lei arrived. He winked as he said, "I never said I would be late, would I?"

Feng Hei Lang rolled her eyes and looked around the courtyard. She spotted Kirei in a corner. There seemed to be quite the crowd of foxes around him.

Just when she was about to go over and say hi, two loud claps caught her attention. "Welcome foxes, to our annual tournament for the year. For the new foxes that joined this year, please listen as I explain."

Feng Hei Lang turned to the front to see Headmaster Zhong Qiu in his human form. He cleared his throat and placed his hands behind his back. "Alright, this tournament is something that happens every year at Hu Li University, and participation is mandatory. Every year we have a different competition, and the winner gets a prize. This year's prize is very special as it was donated to us by his and her Highness. Please give them a respectful thank you."

Feng Hei Lang turned around to see the princess and prince at the back of the crowd. They were only noticeable when Headmaster Zhong Qiu pointed them out.

There was a round of applause and some bowing from the foxes. Headmaster Zhong Qiu continued. "The prize for this year is not only just a foxfruit, which is precious in itself, but also a single huatu root!"

She tilted her head in confusion and whispered to Kang Lei, "What is that?"

As he turned to her, his eyes were shining. "Have you seriously not heard of it before? Foxfruit is a fruit that only foxes can eat. When they do, it gives them a much higher chance of success to reach the exotic beast level! When you reach there, the chance of failure is very high, but foxfruit solves all that! It's why it's so expensive! And huatu root is just as good. It has incredible healing properties that can save someone on the edge of death. Both are super pricey treasures!"

Headmaster Zhong Qiu clapped his hands once more to clear the noise. "I can see that you are excited, but please refrain from interrupting me. As some of you know, last year, we simply had pure fights. However, this year is different. It is a test of strategy and stealth. We are having a game of capture the tail with hidden features."

Feng Hei Lang turned to Kang Lei again. "What's capture the tail-? Isn't it capture the flag?"

He blinked a few times in confusion. "What's that? Anyways, capture the tail is really fun! Remember the wolf that we caught? They would stuff the tail and place it somewhere along a path. The first person to grab it and bring it back to the start wins. However, people can steal it from you and grab it. It's basically a free-for-all. But I don't get what they mean by hidden features..."

Headmaster Zhong Qiu beckoned Instructor Le Yi to the front. "The difference from normal capture the tail is that Instructor Le Yi will be patrolling within the arena. She will be walking around, hoping to catch any fox that she sees. You have to stay hidden while trying to get the tail in order to win. That way, you cannot have any out in the open fights. It is also not a test of speed. It is a test of camouflage and stealth."