Whispering Forest Arena

- Tie Clan, Whispering Forest Arena Entrance -

Sweat rolled down Tie Tin's forehead as fellow Tie clan members quietly talked with one another to his left and right.

Pulling out a pamphlet, he read its contents for the hundredth time with anxiety evident in his voice:

"Goal: Either be the last one able or the champion standing above the rest!

Prize: any rank-2 Gu of your choice from external elder Xie Ling!

Bonus Prize: If adequate enough, will receive guidance from elder Xie Ling!"

- Tie Clan, Whispering Forest Arena Elder Seating Platform -

*bang*

"Let the Tie clan's weekly forest demon-hunting games begin!!!"

"Yeesh, Tie Shei sure likes the sound of her voice. Anyhow, which young Gu Master does everyone here think has the highest chance of winning?"

"Probably Tie Lung. He's shown much promise in his combined use of martial arts and Strength Path Gu. It's a shame though, as he won't get far with how Strength Path is declining."

"I personally have my bets on that Tie Tin. His skills at rank-2 with the Demon Binding Chain Gu are nothing to scoff at."

"Now, now, everyone, let's ask the soon-to-be mentor of one of these fine lads and creator of this demon-hunting game what he thinks, elder Xie Ling if you would?"

They all turned their attention to a newly appointed rank-5 external elder of Tie clan. The man was covered from head to toe in the claws of the beasts he had slain. His eyes were like those of a hawk, watching and analyzing the youths as they rushed into the forest.

From his closed right palm, blood dripped.

When he opened his palm, on it lay the corpse of a Gu, one of its limbs still twitching.

Turning the palm over, fragments of the Gu fell from his hand, some pieces only held by a sticky goo that once held the insides of the Gu.

He brought his hand to his neck, where a Gu peeked out from one of the claws. It's eyes filled with curiosity as it starred at the bloodied palm before flying to the palm to take a closer look. But before long, without realizing it, it was already sitting comfortably on the palm with a tired look in its eyes. As it was about to shut it's eyes and enter dream land, a fierce Will suddenly attacked its own.

*crackle*

Within seconds, cracks appeared along its exoskeleton. It tried to screech, but something was blocking its throat from releasing air. And just as its flesh was about to give way to internal pressure, tentacles made of Will shot out of the cracks in its body, grabbing hold of the flesh before forcefully pulling the cracks back together, putting the Gu through immense pain. The body wasn't strong enough to hold the Will, but the Will was unwilling to let the body go.

"The mission of this hunting event is to capture as many Demonic Gu Masters in the Whispering Forest as possible. There are two catches: first, whether rank-1 or rank-2, capturing a Demonic Gu Master will result in the same amount of points. This forces the students to use all the investigation methods they possess to their fullest. This will be useful for them in the future when they go out into the real world."

At first, the elders weren't listening to his words as they were mesmerized by the sight of a Gu with two Wills, one that wanted nothing more than death and another that fought fiercely to live, but their mesmerization was short-lived as Xie Ling closed his hand, concealing the Gu from them.

"The second catch is that all Gu Masters, Demonic or Righteous, start out with no Gu worms. However, hiding within the forest are hundreds of dormant Gu Worms, meaning if a student takes his time, he will get stronger, but the same applies to his enemies. This helps expand their knowledge into Gu worms, while also teaching them that while being prepared is good, it also gives your enemy time to prepare."

In his palm, a powerful light began to squeeze its way through the gaps, however small, between his fingers. "We want students that aren't foolish enough to attack head first, but at the same time not too paranoid that nothing gets done. Tie Lung is like a Striped Honey Badger—ferocious, tough, and downright fearless."

Many of the elders nodded their heads at that comment, some smirking and others stroking their beards.

"But, just like a Striped Honey Badger, he can only fool lions stronger than himself for so long before they bite back."

*Thud*

Tie Lung fell to the ground, his muscles cramping up from a Paralysis Gu used by a rank-1 Demonic Gu Master.

Many of the elders widened their eyes in surprise. Tie Lung had been trained by Tie Shi Fu, and many, if not most, of his disciples were top-tier. Being defeated by a Demonic Gu Master of a lesser rank, while not impossible, has never happened before.

While one might be confused as to why Tie Lung was applying for this competition when he already had a master, this situation was incredibly unique, as Xie Ling didn't mind if his disciples had multiple masters. Tie Lung had been begging Tie Shi Fu to allow him to apply for this hunting competition, and after weeks of him begging time and time again, his master finally relented, allowing him to tryout for being a disciple of Xie Ling.

Why were so many youths interested in becoming disciples of Xie Ling? Because every single person who's received pointers from Xie Ling would receive a breakthrough in the use of their Gu worms.

Xie Ling's methods, while unconventional, earned the admiration and respect of his fellow peers.

Like the time he prepared a rank-3 elder for their mission to hunt down a Phantom Path Gu Master by shaving the man's head. After his mission, the elder reported how he felt the wind flow against his head, helping him to discern which of the illusion Fairies were real and which were fake.

Or the time he helped an elder's pupil with his lack of accuracy using Freezing Iron Needle Gu by telling him to play 'Chain Madness' with the other kids.

Many of the elders smiled at Tie Lung's misfortune, as just like Tie Shi Fu, they also had their pupils participating in this competition.

Naturally, none of them knew that all of the things that Xie Ling taught were a farce. In reality, all he had done was say some useless words while pouring Will into his unsuspecting target; this made them think that they had received a sudden revelation, when in reality it was no different than a chip being implanted into their brains.

Two months ago, a strange man covered in claws appeared at the gates of the Tie clan, in his hands was a long rope tied to the corpses of five rank-5 demonic gu masters. The man offered an exchange. "Instead of the bounties on these demon's heads, I want a chance to prove my allegiance to the prestigious Tie clan."

Or at least that was the story told to other clans to further promote Xie Ling's strength.

Watching Xie Ling treat Gu worms as nothing more than cheap candy, all the elders showed pained expressions. It was one thing to watch one or ten rank-1 Gu be destroyed, but another thing entirely when the count went into the 3 digits every single day. The cost reached up into the range of two rank-4 Gu.

And just as someone was about to do something about the mass genocide of Gu worms, a tall twig of a man walked up the stairs, pronouncing, "Sir, the Green Hair Zombies you ordered have arrived."

The air began to grow heavy and dense as Xie Ling pulled out a rank-4 Gu, causing old war wounds in the surrounding elders to begin creaking. "I believe the deal was a single Unprovoked Battle Gu in exchange for the procurement of 80 Green Hair Zombies."

Upon seeing the Gu resting in Xie Ling's hands, the man ever-so-slightly raised his hands with a greedy look in them before he quickly corrected himself. "Yes, that was indeed the terms of the deal."