"We'll have a sparring match. If I win, everyone stops bringing up the marriage alliance. We'll fight side by side from now on. How does that sound?" Gu Qingshan suggested.
"Hmph. Very well. Our beastfolk have the sharpest instincts. One fight will tell us what kind of person you are." A Beast King spoke.
"Who wants to fight me?" Gu Qingshan asked with a smile.
"Of course we'll take turns. We'll come at you one by one," the Beast King said solemnly.
"That doesn't seem fair," Gu Qingshan said.
"To us Beast Kings, anything goes in a fight. We've never cared about fairness!"
The Beast Kings all shouted in agreement.
"Fine," Gu Qingshan sighed.
Everyone cleared the area.
Gu Qingshan stood in the open space, pulled on his armor, and casually picked up a long saber.
"Who's first?" he asked.
A burly Beast King, fully four meters tall, came forward and stood opposite Gu Qingshan.
"Me," it said gruffly, snorting through its nostrils.
"All right."
Gu Qingshan gripped his saber and assumed a defensive stance.
The Beast King tensed, ready to spring, and let out a shout.
Suddenly—
Gu Qingshan's heart skipped a beat.
He sensed something unusual stirring.
Everyone else sensed it, too.
Xie Daoling had been sitting far away, watching the show. Now she suddenly stood and said gravely, "What an immense power... Who could it be, to have escaped the seal on their strength?"
Boom!
A violent impact sounded from the top of the brothel.
Gu Qingshan's thoughts flashed like lightning. He shouted, "They're one of us! Nobody attack!"
A slender figure dropped to the ground.
Ye Ruxi.
She was covered in wounds. Her military uniform was torn in several places, and she knelt on one knee.
Gu Qingshan immediately went over to help her up.
Ye