A Beginning's Continuation

by Tony Tran

  “To start off our auction, I present to you a rare Treasure Eater Tortoise.” The man said as the cloth that was curtain owning the cage was pulled off, revealing a large turtle with s golden shell that gleamed and blinded everyone looking at it.

  “Treasure Eaters are generally level three demonic beast's and are only found in mineral mines and will take up the characteristics of whatever minerals it eats. This particular one was caught in a gold mine, hence its shell is gold, but if someone were to feed it let's say mithril then it would turn into mithril.” The middle-aged auctioneer said as he tossed a few silver coins to the turtle.

  The audience watched in amazement as the turtle turned from gold to silver once it ate the silver coins.

  “Bleh… It eats treasure…” Zhang looked at the turtle in disdain. The last thing he wanted was a beast that ate treasures.

  “The bidding for this Treasure Eater will begin at ten thousand gold coins.” The auctioneer said, before Zhang zoned him out.

  “Brother, you think we should get it?” Ling laughed as she said jokingly, knowing full well that he would absolutely hate having such a pet. It was one thing for them to spend lavishly on themselves but to feed treasure to a pet was something outrageous.

  “If we get it you're feeding it. Actually, if I feed it a piece of mithril and then kill it and collect the mithril then I could profit off of it.” Zhang replied half-jokingly.

  So, while Ling continued to tease Zhang, the Treasure Eater tortoise was sold for a staggering price of one hundred thousand gold coins to one of the people in the vip boxes.

  “The next beast up for auction is a death worm!”

  Upon hearing the words death worm, Zhang could not help but chuckle inwardly, remembering back to the auction in Red Mist City. Of course, many other people couldn't help but chuckle also because domesticated death worms are generally worthless and the only good use anyone could get out of one would be churning soil for farming.

  After the death worm was sold for a measly seven thousand golds, another cage was pushed into the middle of the arena by the same hulking men.

  “Next we have a level four Eyeless Silver Winged Bat!”

  This too did not catch Zhang’s attention, because within his Ruler’s Domain were hundreds of Wraith Spiders that could slaughter this bat in an instant.

  “Next up is a level six White Wind Liger. This beast took a team of a dozen level seven cultivators the span of a month to capture it. In front of its fangs and claws, steel might as well be considered paper. Along with its outstanding arsenal, this liger can manipulate wind to make itself run faster when on land. The bidding starts at one hundred thousand gold coins.” The auctioneer said as the curtain was removed from the cage while pushing the cage to the center of the arena, revealing a massive liger that was easily five times larger than any average tiger. With beautiful white striped fur the liger gave off a majestic air that couldn't properly be described as he eyed the people in the audience.

  As it mesmerized everyone, a ferocious roar echoed from its mouth and startled everyone present, it seemed like this liger could break out of its cage at any moment and slaughter the audience.

  “I'm getting this for you.” Zhang said with a grin as he looked at Ling. He was eventually going to give the Ruler’s Domain to Yuying, in turn giving her the horde of Wraith Spiders, and since most if not all animals are extremely afraid of Ai for some reason, only Ling and Lingqi need demonic beasts to protect them.

  Also, there was something about this liger that made Zhang like it.

  “One hundred and one thousand gold coins!” One of the people in the audience said.

  “One hundred and ten thousand!”

  “One hundred and fifteen!”

  One hundred and sixteen!”

  “One hundred and fifty thousand!” Zhang said in a loud voice.

  “One hundred sixty!”

  One hundred sixty-six!”

  “I want that Liger! Two hundred thousand!” Someone in the vip box said leaving the small-time bidders speechless.

  “Three hundred thousand.” Zhang said further adding to the silence.

  “Three hundred thousand gold coins, going once! Going twice!” The middle-aged man began counting down.

  “Three hundred and fifty!” Someone from the vip boxes said. Looking up at the balconies an elderly man with shaking hands could be seen gripping the balconies stone railing.

  “Four hundred thousand.” Zhang said calmly.

  Well it could be said that the White Wind Liger was soon given a new owner as no one else placed anymore bids.

  After the Liger were a few pretty strong demonic beasts, however Zhang did not think that any of them could compare to the potential he saw in the Liger so he did not bid.

  Once the auction concluded, all of the bidders who had won were ushered down into the arena where they would claim their prizes and of course, pay.

  “Young master and young lady, thank you for your patronage.” The auctioneer said with a smile as he approached Zhang and Ling with the White Wind Liger’s cage following behind him, being pushed by the two hulking men.

  “Now young master will your people be coming to pick up the liger or we could deliver it to wherever you are staying for a small fee. We can even train it for you for a fee.” The auctioneer said.

  “No need, we’ll take it out for a walk.” Zhang said with a grin and a wave of a hand he made a mound of gold coins appear on the ground, causing everyone around to gawk.

  “I would advise against that young master; this liger is not tamed yet and very dangerous.” The auctioneer warned since there have been cases of people buying demonic beasts and being killed or attacked by them.

  “It's alright. Just open the cage there's nothing to worry about, my husband will have everything under control.” Ling said with a reassuring smile.

  “We’d have to wait until the other masters leave the arena before I can open the cage.” The auctioneer said, thinking about the safety of the other customers.

  “No problem.” Zhang and Ling said in unison and waited patiently for the gold coins that Zhang placed on the ground to be collect and for the other customers to leave.

  Once the arena was finally vacated, the auctioneer stood in the stands while one of the two hulking men was standing in front of the cage with a small key in his hand. Soon the cage was unlocked and the door slowly creaked open.

  The hulking man ran toward the gate and slammed it shut, leaving only Zhang, Ling and the Liger in the arena.

  Moments passed before the Liger charged out of its cage with a savage glint in its eyes.

  “Sit.” Zhang said as his aura exploded and suppressed the liger, before it could even get close to him and Ling.

  The amount of essence under his control swirled in the air and wrapped around the Liger’s body, pressing it onto the ground.

  The liger’s savage glint soon disappeared as Zhang and Ling made their way toward it. The closer Zhang inched toward the Liger the more his aura intensified, showing the difference between their strength.

  Although Zhang was only a single level higher than this Liger, regular cultivators could not compare to him, since his body was constantly being nourished by the Underworld Heart. Making him many times stronger than others.

  “I'm going to call you Little White.” Ling said with a smile as she patted the Liger’s head.

  “Follow.” Zhang said as he released the pressure he placed upon the Liger and gestured for it to follow him and Ling. Being intelligent as it is, the Liger instantly listened to Zhang’s command and obediently followed behind him.

  Chapter 34: Subconscious Fear

  With the liger in tow, Zhang and Ling departed the monster auction house and went back onto the streets. Of course, this time, unlike before, everyone's gazes were centered around them.

  It's not every day that one sees a giant liger obediently following a scholarly looking young man and a young woman. Such beasts are generally u
nleashed upon battlefields and kill indiscriminately, due to how hard it is to tame them. Even with extensive training, a liger would still be an unruly beast.

  With its ancestors branching from the king of the jungles and the king of beasts, it is expected for ligers to possess unyielding personalities.

  “Little White, if you move any slower you’re going to fall behind.” Ling said with a smile on her face. Not even breaths passed after the words left Ling’s mouth, before the liger sped up and arrived by her side.

  “That’s a good Little White.” Ling said as she began brushed the liger’s white fur. If anyone had seen the air that the liger had been giving off while it was within its cage, they wouldn’t be able to imagine the things that are happening right now. Compared to before, the liger was now very much like a domesticated cat, of course, if it was given the order to attack, then whoever was on the receiving end would more than likely be torn to bits because while they were moving through the streets, the liger would occasionally growl at those who come too close to it, showing that if provoked by others beside Ling and Zhang, it would attack.

  So, with the liger in tow, Zhang and Ling headed back to the Wolfden Brothel. They would need Yuying to work her magic on the liger to ensure that it would devote one hundred percent of its loyalty to them, very much like the Golden Titanic Spiders that evolved into Wraith Spiders.

  However, something strange occurred when they reached the brothel, the liger’s fur stood on end as it gave off a low growl and would not enter the brothel. Perhaps it could sense something within the brothel that it did not hope to cross paths with, but no matter what Zhang or Ling tried it would not go inside the brothel. One could tell that it definitely was afraid of Zhang and Ling but the degree of fear it had towards the brothel was many times greater.

  “What are you guys doing?” A voice rang into everyone’s ears. Once Zhang and Ling’s gazes were directed at the source of the voice, they could see Yue Lang standing in front of the brothel entrance with a ravishing smile on her face.

  “Miss Yue Lang, I don’t know what’s wrong but our liger won’t enter, we’re sorry for any inconveniences that we are causing.” Ling said politely in an apologetic tone.

  “It’s alright. Sometimes felines are skittish of our brothel for some reason. But sometimes they will find the courage to enter.” Yue Lang said as she eyed the liger from the corner of her eye. The moment Yue Lang’s gaze was directed at the liger, it slowly began moving forward and into the brothel although there was still a hint of reluctance in its footsteps.

  “Many thanks miss Yue Lang. If we have the opportunity, we should sit down for a drink.” Zhang said with his hands clasped before running off after the liger.

  “My offer of sharing a room together for a night still stands.” Yue Lang chuckled as she watched Zhang and Ling chase after the Liger.

  “I let you in but there is another obstacle for you to face.” Yue Lang laughed in a low tone as she looked at the liger.

  Getting the liger into the brothel was an issue in itself however, getting it through the crowded pathways within the brothel was another thing. Hundreds of gambling tables littered the floor and thousands of people walking from one venue to the next filled up most of the space available, so getting the massive liger to the central staircase and to their suite was a problem.

  Unlike in the streets outside, few people made way for them because everyone was too busy gambling their lives away. But if there is a will there is a way, slowly Zhang and Ling managed to guide the liger through the busy floor and to the staircase.

  Surprisingly enough there was an issue that Zhang thought would happen but didn’t. He had thought that the liger might be too heavy and break the central staircase but surprisingly enough that did not happen or come close to happening at all.

  By now the day was half over and the other beauties had all returned to their suite, so when Zhang pushed open the door and entered, he was greeted by a barrage of smiles.

  “I think we have a problem…” Ling said as Little White would not budge once more, much like what had happened at the entrance of the brothel, the liger would not budge and stayed outside of the suite. Its eyes were focused solely upon a single figure within the room, the figure of Ai who was seated at a table and sipping some tea and eating desserts.

  Spotting the liger, Ai’s eyes glinted and a happy expression had spread across her face.

  “Wahhh, it’s so fluffy.” She said as she got up from the table and headed for the liger. Ai had always been an avid lover of animals, but for some reason most if not all of them would be deathly afraid of her.

  As Ai came closer and closer to the liger, it began to take steps backwards and trying to distance itself from her.

  “Don’t you dare run away.” Zhang said, peeking his out from within the room.

  “Ai, wait until big sis imprints it.” Lingqi said, peeking her head out from behind Zhang.

  With a hint of disappointment, Ai stepped to the side and waited for Yuying to make her way out of the room and in front of the liger.

  Yuying placed her hand in front of the liger and accompanied by a glare from Zhang, the liger quickly laid its large head onto the ground. Moments later, Yuying’s index finger pressed onto the liger’s temple and countless runes flowed from her hand onto its body. Seconds turned into minutes and minutes turned into dozens of minutes before Yuying lifted her hand and the spell was complete.

  Once the imprinting was complete, the liger no longer hesitated when given orders and seemed to become more familiar with Ai, however it still seemed to be somewhat subconsciously afraid of her because when in Ai’s embrace the liger’s fur would still stand on end.

  “Little White, come here.” Ling said with a smile as she gestured to the liger. Unlike before, it did not show any hints of fear, rather one could see that he liger was now viewing Zhang and the beauties as it true masters or perhaps family.

  “Oh, yea I almost forgot.” Zhang said as a black and white pearl appeared in his hand. This of course, was one of the many pearls that he had collected in the catacombs in New Moon City.

  Tossing one of the pearls in front of Little White, who is now gently licking Ling’s hand, Zhang watched as the liger ceased its prior actions and began sniffing the pearl. A few moments later the pearl was picked up by the liger’s teeth and swallowed it. But unlike the wraith spiders, nothing happened.

  “Maybe he needs more than just one?” Lingqi said as she leaned onto Zhang arm.

  “Perhaps.” Zhang said as he produced another pearl and tossed it at the liger.

  But like before there was still no change, so Zhang produced yet another pearl and tossed it in front of the liger. After the liger was fed its fifth pearl, an unbelievable change began occurring. It’s snow white fur began showing black streaks, much like a regular tiger but with a blueish hue to them. Its fangs began growing longer, peaking out of its mouth, and its claws appeared to become many times sharper, allowing it to further display its arsenal.

  However, that was not the end of it because Little White’s body began to shrink. Slowly Little White changed from being a few times larger than a regular tiger to the size of a kitten, now the name Little White could truly be applied.

  Despite shrinking in size, Zhang could tell that the liger was actually stronger than it was previously and was on the borderline of entering the seventh level of cultivation. Before it was only at the beginning of the sixth level of cultivation but now it had nearly jumped an entire level. With time, it would surely enter the seventh level and hopefully that would not be the end of its growth. Before anyone could comment on its size, Little White’s body began growing and it soon returned to its original size.

  “Shrink again.” Ai said cheerfully. Amazingly enough, the liger began shrinking and changed to the size of a kitten once more.

  “There we go, you’re much cuter like this.” She said with a grin as she picked up the liger and began petting it.

  �
�Meowwwww~” Little White meowed while being carried by Ai of course, it’s fur was still standing up so it looked like a cute little fur ball. With that the liger was tamed and underwent an amazing transformation.

  Now that Little White was kitten sized, it could be carried around easily and would draw much less attention when going out onto the streets.

  After the issues regarding Little White were solved, Zhang and the beauties headed toward a hall that was rented out by Cheng Yu, this hall was reserved to serve meals for people apart of their caravan, it would also serve as a common gathering place in case a gathering was required before they leave Wolfden City.

  “Brother, can I get one too? Can I? Please?” Ai asked Zhang as she tried to get him to find her a White Wind Liger, like Ling.

  “But they only had one. Next time I see something as good as Little White I’ll get it for you.” Zhang replied with an apologetic smile.