Yuki found herself standing in front of a giant white bird. This bird was bigger than a house. She couldn’t help but feel awed by it since this was the first time ever seeing one. She was not alone either. Everyone but Fatty seemed awed by it. Fatty couldn’t help but ask: “Is this the sect’s Soaring White Crane!?”

“Soaring White Crane?” Ai had never heard of it.

“It is a white crane that is born every thousand years or so. They are quite docile and will form pacts with powerful cultivators as long as you show that you are stronger than them. ” Fatty replied. 

“You are wrong, human.” A voice from above suddenly sounded out. Everyone looked on as the Soaring White Crane lowered its head and looked at Fatty. Making the poor fat man begin to sweat. “We do not form pacts with just anyone. The pacts you speak of are not pacts like one would have if they were taming a beast. It’s a verbal pact between both parties. So even if the other party is weaker, it would not matter as long as we took a liking to them. Make sure you do not make this mistake again in the future young fat one.” 

A few chuckles were heard from the surrounding disciples. Fatty rubbed his nose in embarrassment as he thought: Even the best of the information brokers can get it wrong sometimes! 

“Ahemm…. As you all now know, the Soaring White Crane is unlike other demonic beasts, or I should say it is not really a demonic beast but a special mystic race. They are just as intelligent as you and I and deserve the respect that they give you. They are willing to form pacts with cultivators and also allow them to ride on their backs. So you should feel privileged.” The sect master finally cut in. He did not want someone to say something stupid.

Although as he was talking, a certain white bird and a certain white fox were staring at each other. Mainly because Yuki had the eyes of a hunter staring at its prey, only because her imagination was going wild when she saw such a big bird, she kept picturing it slowly roasting over a fire drizzled in some sauce and spices. 

“Little fox, do not even think about it.” The Soaring White Crane snorted and turned away. But it did feel a shiver run down its back. There was a hint of killing intent that had slipped out from Yuki as she fell into her daze and was daydreaming about roasted birds.

Elder Nishikawa saw the interaction and couldn’t help but cover her mouth and chuckle. Her disciple really knew how to stir up trouble! But she had to admit it was quite amusing seeing the overly large bird try to act tough when she was using her own aura to weigh down on it. Being a phoenix, she had seniority over the little bird. She had to make sure it was not going to try to pull something stupid.

“Alright, everyone, gather together. We will all take our leave.” The sect master had finished giving his speech and waved his hand. He wrapped his spiritual qi around everyone and brought them up onto the Soaring White Crane’s massive body. “We are heading to our trial mountain, where the battle stages are set up for large sect tournaments.”

Yuki sat down on the cloud like feathers and pressed her hand on it to see how squishy it was before suddenly thinking it might be a good idea to start plucking her roasted crane now. 

The soaring white crane felt another shiver run down its spine and quickly focused its attention on to Yuki. It wished the little fox would stop thinking about turning it into food! Normally it would not care, but if the little fox truly decided to do something like this and if the ancestor guarding the little fox decided to let her do as she pleased, then the poor little crane knew its life would be forfeit to that of a chicken. It was a majestic Soaring White Crane! Not some little fox who can’t even fly! Even if a fox’s dinner table might have a few chickens here and there, it did not plan to be a replacement!

The trial mountain was a place of not just multiple arenas but also a place for some of the sect’s most dangerous trials that could kill a disciple if they were not careful and normally were only usually taken by inner sect disciples who were trying to rack up glories for the elders to see so they could become core disciples or personal disciples of the elders.

The area they landed, though, was a huge colosseum that was filled with circular battle stages. Each one was crafted of the same rock that the colosseum was made of and protected by a barrier array to make sure no attacks harmed those watching the fights. The sect leader smiled as she saw all the newer disciples taking in the sights before clearing his throat and saying. “Alright, everyone here is to participate in the fights. Those who are here to watch can do so. The battles will be seen all over the sect using a mirror array. So do not think you can slack off just because not many people are here. Do not lose face. Fight with everything you got! Elders will step in if someone is about to die so do not worry.” 

The sect master’s gaze swept over all the disciples once before continuing: “Now then, let’s look at who you will be fighting first, shall we?”