“You called for me, Kid?”

Feng Yan asked as soon as he arrived in the Herb Garden.

“Yes. The team participating in the Tribute Tournament with you will arrive soon for practice.”

After contemplating for a few seconds, Ikasa finally decided to give Feng Yan the latest Top-Grade Sense realm Manual.

“Here, this is the Top-Grade technique I derived from your theories. Use it if you want.”

He nonchalantly passed the book while looking at the distant blades of grass growing in the farmlands.

Feng Yan looked at Ikasa with a complicated expression. He had spent Eighteen years refining the technique and only reached the initial phase. On the other hand, Ikasa had learned only the start and deduced the entire technique!

‘Comparison shouldn’t be made amongst men.’

Feng Yan thought, shaking his head, and silently tucked the book into his sleeve.

As both wallowed in silence, Mo Fan approached them with a team of 15 people behind him. Ikasa recognized a few acquaintances among the team.

Commander Lu Shao, Vice Commander Zhou, third commander Zi Ming and so on.

“Greetings, Brother Ikasa!” Mo Fan greeted enthusiastically.

“The City Lord has instructed these men to listen to your every command. As long as you train them to be in the best condition for the tournament, your word will be final!”

Mo Fan conveyed his master’s words, sealing the fate of the people behind him.

“Thank the City Lord for his trust in me. I will make sure to raise the standards of these guys to Feng Yan’s level.”

Ikasa replied, understanding the hidden meaning of Zhen Wu’s words.

He turned to the newly arrived team and introduced himself and Feng Yan.

“The City Lord’s trust in me may seem unusual to you, right?”

Ikasa paused to gauge their reactions. And as expected, everyone was skeptical of his ability to train them. He serenely smiled and dangled a carrot before these people.

“After knowing the rewards I am offering you, you won’t doubt your Master’s words.”

” Firstly, this is a High-Grade Offensive Battle Technique! You can win this if you perform to my expectations!”

The Young man held up the Battle Technique manual for Chop! The ominous red color attracted the attention of the team.

Seeing the people gasp, he smiled in satisfaction.

“There are even better rewards, but if you can’t win this high-grade manual, you won’t even have a chance to lay your eyes on the other rewards.”

His words raised the team’s curiosity. Even the veterans like Commander Lu Shao and Zi Ming were no exception. One of them couldn’t take it anymore and asked, “You haven’t said how we can win these manuals?”

​ Ikasa focused on the young man who asked the question. He was relatively thin amongst the group, and his hair was tied in a bun.

Then his eyes roamed over every other member of the team. He slowly announced his condition after ensuring everyone’s attention.

“The First Task is simple. There is a Black Fox here, hiding in this estate. All you have to do is lure it out without using any offensive means.”

The group of 15 looked at each other, confused as to how they should complete the task.

“A Fox? How are we supposed to lure it?”

“Do you know any Fox that is black in color?”

“What do the Foxes even eat? Would meat work?”

The team scratched their heads as they tried to devise a suitable solution. Commander Lu noticed the smirk on Ikasa’s face. He realized that they should be able to obtain more information from him.

“Mr. Ikasa, can you give us more information about this creature?”

‘Someone with a brain!’ Ikasa thought as his smile widened.

“I do not know which Fox-type spirit beast it is, but I am sure it is a Cub. It likes to play pranks on people. So far, only one person has seen it. According to his description, it has red tufts of hair on the head and tail….”

Before he could finish his explanation, one of the team members pointed to the open space near the tree.

“There it is! The Black and Red Fox is sitting right there!”

Everyone turned to look at the spot he pointed to. But they didn’t see anything. Ikasa understood that it might be the same scene as with Pei Yuan.

“Describe how it looks, Guard!”

The person pointing at the Fox raised his head and met Ikasa’s eyes.

“It has bright red eyes. The tips of its ears are dark red, and also its paws. It is a little fur ball that has not yet grown up.”

When the Guard turned to look at the place he saw the little creature, he noticed it had gone missing.

“Where did it go? It was right there!”

Ikasa took this chance to explain the various pranks this Fox liked to play. He recounted the incident with Pei Yuan and then Chu Kuang to the team members.

“Let me remind you of one thing. That Fox may be a cub, but it has a very high level of Cultivation. If you use lethal force to injure it and it retaliates, any casualties you incur are your responsibility!”

After reiterating his warning, Ikasa had done everything he could to make these people understand the danger of the situation.

“Whoever makes the Fox appear before I will win! Now, let’s begin!”

Despite not being divided into teams, the guards stuck to the command chain. Three teams formed with Commander Lu, Vice Commander Zhou, and Third Commander Zi Ming taking the lead!

Commander Lu led his men to search for foods the Fox might like. Vice Commander Zhou had the same thought but went to the City to purchase roujiamos.

Third, Commander Zi Ming had a different plan. He decided to play with the little beast and coax it into showing up. The Guard who had seen the Fox belonged to his command.

“Er Gou, where did you see that little Fox?”

Zi Ming asked, eyeing the surroundings for places where the Fox might come out to play.

“There, in the patch by the tree.”

Zi Ming eyed the place suspiciously, but he didn’t see any paw prints that would indicate the presence of an animal. Even the grass was not flattened.

“Everyone, disperse. If you notice unusual activity, play along and come running to the tree.”

Zi Ming instructed his men. His plan was clever. He thought the little furball would be too engrossed in playing and end up exposing itself, but he was too naive.

On the second floor of the Hallway, Ikasa and Feng Yan watched the teams go their ways.

“Do you think any of them will succeed?”

Ikasa asked Feng Yan, noticing Zi Ming’s ingenious plan.

“That little critter is clever. It won’t fall for such an obvious trick.”

Unknown to them, the little critter they were talking about was sitting right beside Feng Yan’s legs, nodding its head at the older man’s assessment.

A few minutes later, it lifted its nose and took a whiff of the air. Its eyes shone with delight when it smelled the familiar scent of roujiamo. It bounded down the stairs toward the smell, happily waving its furry tail.

“The Second team has returned from the City.”

Feng Yan informed Ikasa, judging from the smell of oily meat spreading from the Roujiamo.

Soon after, they heard a commotion downstairs.

“The roujiamos! How are they disappearing so fast?”

“Hey, that one was mine, you little bastard! Keep it for me!”

One of the irritated ones suggested a foolhardy idea to Vice Commander Zhou.

“Should we just throw a net on it and be done with it?”

Zhou Ruan looked at the guard as if looking at a fool.

“Do you think a Beast that can threaten our safety can be captured with an ordinary net?”

With a lack of good ideas to make the beast reveal itself, one of the guards fell on his knees and prayed to the disappearing meat sandwich.

“Oh lord, ancestor, please reveal your glory so we can bring you offerings of delicacies every day!”

As foolish as the plea sounded, he received a response! The creature’s tail gently caressed his face, and then the sensation disappeared with the remainder of the meat sandwich.

Shortly after, people from Zi Ming’s team began to experience horror after horror. Some lost control of their faculties and fainted on the spot, while some remembered the instructions and ran to the tree in the center.

Zi Ming’s face turned dark when he noticed just two people gathered under the tree of the initial five. And that included him!

‘These faint-hearted bastards!’

Zi Ming cursed, stomping his feet when he realized his plan had backfired spectacularly!

Ikasa laughed at the impotent rage of Zi Ming and looked forward to Lu Shao’s return.

Commander Lu returned with a bag of Fox nuts. His men spread into the premises and tried to lure Fox with the nuts, to no avail.

The little Fox, full from the meat sandwiches, was lounging on the stairs to the second floor, ignoring the men with fox nuts.

As the sun went down, everyone had given up and didn’t have an idea to make the little Fox show up. They gathered in the open space near the tree and awaited Ikasa’s verdict.

The exhausted men had provided much entertainment to Ikasa and Feng Yan. On a whim, he decided to call out to the Little Fox.

“Little Fox, would you like to choose the winner?”

Ikasa may have said the words in jest, but the Fox took them seriously. It jumped down the stairs and reached the guard who had prayed to him, treating him as an Ancestor.

It appeared before everyone and pointed one of his paws at him. The people present were left stupefied by Fox’s sudden appearance. Sensing everyone’s attention, it waved its tail and jumped into the tree’s hollow!

When it finally disappeared, Ikasa regained his composure. Only one thought was circulating in his head.

“Fcuk! That’s a Zorua!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep