A Will Eternal

“Aghhhh! Don’t spread that!!” he shouted. Well aware of the rabbit’s proclivities, he burst into motion, wings popping out behind him as he gave chase at top speed.

However, the rabbit was far too fast. Soon, only its voice could be heard, echoing out in the distance.

“Aghhhh! Don’t spread that!!”

Aftering chasing after the rabbit in vain for some time, Bai Xiaochun found to his despair that, despite being in the tenth level of Qi Condensation… he wasn’t even close to being as fast as the rabbit. Its god-like speed was completely beyond belief.

“I’m finished. Kaput….” he muttered, staring blankly at the disappearing rabbit. He stood there trembling, mind spinning. Even in his wildest dreams, he would never have imagined that the talking rabbit would somehow show up on the north bank. It was like a nightmare come true.

“What did I just say?” he muttered, tugging at his hair. “How much did the rabbit hear…?” He felt like crying. The incredibly stealthy talking rabbit had pushed him to the brink of madness. If things like this kept happening, he was certain that it would start affecting him mentally. Maybe he should just stop talking from now on.

He already regretted creating the strange pill which had led to the creation of this incredibly annoying talking rabbit.

“That damned rabbit probably didn’t hear anything. Definitely nothing. If it did, it would have started repeating it immediately!” Still jittery, he sniffled a bit as he tried to comfort himself, and yet, it did little good. The talking rabbit was like a pill furnace that could explode at any moment, shaking heaven and earth.

He returned nervously to the honor guard station, where he straightened things up in case he needed to make a sudden break for the south bank. Then, he looked nervously at his Beastbirth Flower.

“Three days. My ultimate battle beast will appear in three days!!” Eyes bloodshot, he could do little more that wait nervously. The black dog dragged over another battle beast, but Bai Xiaochun staunchly turned it away and explained that in the future, there would be no need for any further contributions or any other battle beasts.

The black dog didn’t look very happy, and immediately bared its teeth in ferocious fashion. Bai Xiaochun’s heart began to thump, and he coughed dryly.

“Well, it’s not that set in stone….” he said. “Look, there’s a super stealthy rabbit that’s been lurking around the north bank. It loves to chatter constantly. Why don’t you go catch that for me!?”

The dog looked back suspiciously at Bai Xiaochun, who continued to gesticulate wildly and offer further explanations. Finally, the dog understood, and it turned and vanished in a black blur.

Bai Xiaochun watched it go, eyes sparkling with anticipation.

“Good luck, buddy. If you can get that rabbit for me, I’ll do everything I can to find another Beastbirth Seed for you!” The mere thought of the terrifying talking rabbit caused Bai Xiaochun to sigh. Heading back into the rear courtyard, he continued to wait anxiously.

Another day passed.

During that time, Bai Xiaochun kept his ears focused on any possible sounds coming from outside. All of the north bank disciples were in a stir as they searched for the reason why their battle beasts had suddenly changed. Of course, people already suspected Bai Xiaochun, and even came to look around the honor guard station. However, he had done a good job of making sure that no one saw the Beastbirth Flower.

Furthermore, he had carried out all his activities at night, and had been very careful not to leave behind any clues. Therefore, although people suspected him, there was no incriminating evidence, so eventually, the disciples left him alone.

Bai Xiaochun only got more nervous, though. Another day passed, and the investigation grew more serious. That was especially true among the disciples whose battle beasts had become a lot harder to control. They were constantly breaking out into fits of rage.

“What exactly is going on here!?”

“Maybe it’s some sort of plague? But it doesn’t seem like a plague. That can’t be the reason!”

“Something fishy is going on. Something very very fishy!”

The north bank was in a frenzy, and was bubbling on the point of an eruption. Massive amounts of Outer Sect disciples were involved in the investigation, as were Inner Sect disciples. Even the peak lords got involved. Soon, it was only half a day before the Beastbirth Flower was due to bloom. That was when a clue was finally unturned.

“Beihan Lie’s old Nightstalker Beast!”

“It took away a battle beast recently, and when the beast returned, it had a very strange expression on its face!”

“Find that dog!”

Enraged, the north bank disciples spread out everywhere on the north bank. Soon, they found the black dog, and at the same time, they found a rabbit.

The rabbit was flying along helter skelter as it was chased by the black dog.

If that were all there were to it, it might not be a big deal. However, it wasn’t long before the faces of the disciples flickered in shock as they realized that the rabbit was talking.

“Junior Sister Meixiang, considering my status as the peak lord of Ghostfang Peak, I hereby swear that I will never allow Li Qinghou to win your hand!

“Ooh, you’re so naughty, Elder Sun….

“Hahaha! This medicinal pill is incredible. I, Bai Xiaochun, am clearly super awesome. This rabbit can actually talk!

“Bai Xiaochun is about to have the ultimate battle beast. Hmph! You north bank disciples should be shaking in fear!

“Not only did you refuse to lend me your battle beasts, you even slandered my name! Just wait until you realize what happened. Once you figure out your beasts contributed their own life force essence at my behest, then I’ll slip back to the south bank and you won’t be able to do anything about it. Hahahahahahahahaha!”

As the rabbit sped along spewing its vivid and realistic lines of dialogue, the north bank disciples stared mutely. However, when it reached the end of the passages, they realized that this strange and marvelous rabbit had been created by Bai Xiaochun, and that it loved to talk!

The north bank disciples were trembling, their eyes wide, their breath coming in ragged pants. They watched as the black dog chased after the rabbit, and the two disappeared off into the distance.

“Contributed life force essence?”

“When we realize what happened with our beasts, Bai Xiaochun plans to slip back to the south bank?”

“Bai Xiaochun!!!” Countless north bank disciples howled in rage, especially the ones whose battle beasts had been affected. All of them began to fly at top speed in the direction of the Beast Conservatory, causing heaven and earth to shake violently.

As the rabbit ran along, it continued to talk, until eventually, all of the north bank disciples heard it. Eyes wide, they bellowed in rage, causing all of the north bank to quake.

“Bai Xiaochun!!”

“So, you were the one who did this!! You want to slip back to the south bank?”

“Take Bai Xiaochun down!!”

The north bank disciples were maddened. The Outer Sect, the Inner Sect, and even many of the elders appeared and began to rush in the direction of the Beast Conservatory.

As the stealthy rabbit fled from the black dog, it suddenly stopped in place, as it realized that an old monkey had appeared in front of it out of nowhere. The monkey’s expression was serious as it stared at the rabbit for a moment, and then spoke in a profoundly ancient and threatening voice.

“Who exactly are you, rabbit?!”

The rabbit looked back with an expression as ancient and threatening as the monkey’s.

“Who exactly are you, rabbit?!” it said.

The monkey eyes flickered sharply, and it suddenly launched itself toward the rabbit. The same look appeared in the rabbit’s eyes as it turned and fled. A moment later, the monkey and the rabbit were nowhere to be seen.

Meanwhile, back in the Beast Conservatory, Bai Xiaochun was waiting anxiously. In only four more hours, the ultimate battle beast would appear. It was at that point that an intense rumbling sound rose up outside, and soon, figures appeared, rushing in his direction.

“Bai Xiaochun!!” Enraged north bank disciples closed in, not even pausing before they slammed into the spell formation shield surrounding the honor guard station. Incredible rumbling sounds echoed out, and the spell formation trembled. Bai Xiaochun’s eyes went wide, and his heart began to pound.

“What are you people doing?!?! I’m a Prestige disciple! I’m the Junior Brother of the sect leader. I’ve spilled–”

“It doesn’t matter who you are!” shouted the mob. Soon, cracking sounds were emanating from the spell formation under the combined bombardment of the crowd. It was already on the verge of breaking.

Bai Xiaochun’s scalp was tingling with fear as he realized how truly ferocious the north bank disciples were. The south bank disciples usually resorted to throwing rocks, but the north bank disciples were actually unleashing full attacks. All of a sudden, he realized that if the spell formation broke, he would quickly be reduced to a bloody paste.

“Help! They’re trying to kill me!!” he screamed, backing up. He felt utterly wronged by these bullying north bank disciples. First they provoked him, then they slandered him, and when he simply borrowed their beasts for some contributions, they tried to kill him.

In the instant that he began to back up, the spell formation shattered, and countless north bank disciples prepared to charge in. It was at that point that a cold snort echoed out from the sky above, and the four peak lords of the north bank descended to intervene.

The old woman from Irispetal Peak looked out at the north bank disciples.

Unwilling to accept that Bai Xiaochun was being protected, some of the disciples spoke out. “Peak lord, we’re–”

“Shut up!” said the old lady, her voice booming like thunder. “How dare you attack the Beast Conservatory! What shocking behavior!”

The surrounding disciples fidgeted in place apprehensively.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Bai Xiaochun solemnly added, “That’s right! How dare you attack the Beast Conservatory! What shocking behavior!”

“You shut up too!” the old woman said, turning to glare at Bai Xiaochun. Just when she was about to continue speaking, her eyes went wide as she noticed the Beastbirth Flower in the rear courtyard. Even as she gasped, the other peak lords began to tremble.

“A Beastbirth Flower!!”