The day after humanity's great victory at Two Worlds Pass, factions across the human race began secretly investigating the creator of [Chicken and Rabbit in a Cage], Anonymous.
On the other side of the spatial passage lay the Fox Clan.
There stood a city much like Two Worlds Pass on the human side.
It, too, had an inner and outer layer.
Within the inner layer was a strange vortex. That vortex was, in fact, the spatial passage.
On the other side of the passage lay a vast expanse of land stretching ten thousand li in every direction. This was the Void Battlefield, where the territories of the various races were connected by spatial battlefields and spatial passages.
Those were the similarities. The difference was that the Fox Clan's city walls were red all over, built from a stone called red pine stone found within their territory. The human walls, on the other hand, were built from cut blocks of bluestone.
Of course, although the two walls were made from different kinds of stone, each was built from the most suitable materials available in its respective territory. There was no doubting their sturdiness. After all, if the walls could not hold, their territory would be in danger. Once the enemy poured in, they would be at their mercy, to kill or butcher as they pleased.
So the cities guarding the spatial passages were not necessarily the largest or finest in their respective territories, but they were certainly the most fortified.
The Fox Clan's city guarding the passage was named Qingqiu Fort, after their ancestral homeland.
At that moment, a scarlet fox raced through Qingqiu Fort. Whenever she encountered an obstacle, she leaped over it without slowing down. At last, the red fox darted into a palace much like the one on the human side.
Inside, a snow-white fox lay draped over her own fluffy tail, dozing with her eyes half-closed.
Hearing the commotion, the white fox opened her eyes. Seeing the red fox rush in, panting, she asked casually, "Hongyu, what's the hurry?"
The red fox rested for a moment and caught her breath, then hurriedly replied, "Chief, we found the human race's divine ability. It's on the Heavenly Dao Virtual Network, and it's called [Chicken and Rabbit in a Cage]. The creator is Anonymous."
At that, the white fox immediately rose to her feet, revealing the nine equally snow-white tails that had been hidden beneath her. They swayed freely behind her, proclaiming her identity.
She was a nine-tailed heavenly fox.
"[Chicken and Rabbit in a Cage]... A human ability... Let me see... Yes, this is the one."
Now that she knew its name, the nine-tailed heavenly fox quickly found the divine ability on the Heavenly Dao Virtual Network.
The Heavenly Dao Virtual Network was not exclusive to humanity; it was shared by all the races. Every intelligent race could freely buy and sell divine abilities and ancient texts there.
Physical goods, of course, were excluded.
That meant there were no secrets on the Heavenly Dao Virtual Network. It was only a matter of whether you could find them.
After experiencing the power of [Chicken-Rabbit Cage Divine Ability] for herself, the nine-tailed heavenly fox had an idea. "By the way, Hongyu, have you tested it with the [Combined Forces Divine Ability]?"
"I have. With the Ten Thousand Fox Formation, it produces ten thousand questions at once. The person caught in the spell can escape as soon as they answer all ten thousand correctly."
"Ten thousand questions? This divine ability only has two or three hundred. So some of them must repeat?"
"Some do, Chief. And... if there's a particularly clever fox, they can answer the questions and then help the others. With the questions repeating, the immobilizing effect isn't all that good.
"We only lost this time because we weren't familiar with the divine ability. It won't happen again."
The nine-tailed heavenly fox made no comment. She pondered for a moment, idly grooming her fur with two of her tails, then asked, "What if the Ten Thousand Fox Formation targets just one person?"
"Hongyu tested that too. If it targets one person, they only have to answer one question to escape, and they get to choose which one. So it's not as good as using it one-on-one."
"I see!"
So even with this divine ability, the Ten Thousand Fox Formation posed little threat to Grandmaster-level powerhouses, the nine-tailed heavenly fox thought silently.
Then she activated her bloodline divine ability. A moment later, a will descended into the palace at Qingqiu Fort.
"Lingxue, aren't you stationed at Qingqiu Fort? What is it?"
"Great Ancestor, a new divine ability has appeared among the humans..."
Then the nine-tailed heavenly fox, Lingxue, told her Great Ancestor what had recently happened on the Void Battlefield, and shared her plan.
Afterward, Lingxue waited quietly for her Great Ancestor's reply.
Barely ten breaths later, her Great Ancestor's familiar voice sounded in her mind. "Lingxue, I discussed it with the others, and they agreed. We'll act today at a quarter past the hour of the Rooster. Prepare as quickly as you can."
"Yes, Great Ancestor."
The nine-tailed heavenly fox replied firmly. Then she asked, "By the way, Great Ancestor, have the humans found out who created this divine ability?"
As an eight-star Grandmaster, the nine-tailed heavenly fox's Great Ancestor could travel in spirit to myriad worlds. Though she could not go in person, and would have no power there if she did, learning a little news was not difficult.
As for the nine-tailed heavenly fox herself, the only way to learn what was happening among the humans was through their spatial passage. But she had no confidence she could break through their defenses, so she had asked her Great Ancestor instead.
The nine-tailed heavenly fox was intensely curious about the creator of [Chicken and Rabbit in a Cage].
A moment later, her Great Ancestor's voice rang in her mind again, sounding somewhat surprised. "Strange. The humans haven't found a single clue either. It seems this person has hidden themselves very well. Never mind that for now. Your plan comes first."
"Yes, Great Ancestor."
The nine-tailed heavenly fox had no choice but to set aside her curiosity for the time being. Still, she didn't believe the other party could stay hidden forever.
But if they really managed it...
Lost in these thoughts, the nine-tailed heavenly fox looked at Hongyu and ordered, "Hongyu, take out our accumulated Earth Luck and have all one million soldiers at Qingqiu Fort learn [Chicken and Rabbit in a Cage]. Once they've drilled until they know it by heart, we'll march on the Lion Clan's Heavenly Lion Fort at a quarter past the hour of the Rooster.
"This time, we'll wipe out the Lion Clan's elite."
But Hongyu did not immediately comply. Instead, she asked, "Chief... The Lion Clan should have learned this divine ability too. Isn't this operation too risky?"
In Hongyu's view, the Fox Clan and Lion Clan were evenly matched. The enemy might have learned the ability as well, and this operation could cost them dearly. That was why she asked.
Lingxue was not at all angry that Hongyu had failed to agree at once and had instead voiced her doubts. After all, her plan was indeed rather bold. So she patiently explained, "Those big, stupid lions—do you really think that learning the same divine ability makes them our equals?
"This divine ability tests intelligence.
"When it comes to intelligence, the Lion Clan doesn't measure up.
"Besides, can they guess that we're coming for their main stronghold today?"
Hongyu thought it over and realized the Chief had a point. The Lion Clan had earned its place among the powerful races through its physical strength. Their intelligence wasn't bad, but it was nowhere near the Fox Clan's.
With a divine ability that tested intelligence, the Lion Clan would take much longer to get through it than they would.
But Hongyu thought of another problem. "Then what if they've memorized the answers? Wouldn't the divine ability be useless against them?"
"Memorizing the answers is a real concern.
"But they can't possibly memorize them this quickly, let alone have all one million of their soldiers learn them. And even if they do, they'll still be at a disadvantage compared with us. There's no way their entire army has learned this divine ability. If we move quickly, we can catch them completely off guard."
Hongyu did not argue with the nine-tailed heavenly fox. What she said was true.
For example, if the Fox Clan hadn't known they were going to attack the Lion Clan today, Hongyu wouldn't have ordered all one million soldiers to learn the new divine ability and memorize the answers to its questions. Besides, perhaps only a few tens of thousands of them had learned it. And the Lion Clan might not even have found the ability's name by the time the Fox Clan attacked that afternoon.
Thinking of this, Hongyu asked, "Chief, one more question. Why don't we wait? Once the divine ability has more questions, wouldn't it be safer to act then?"
The nine-tailed heavenly fox flicked her tail. "Strike while the iron is hot; miss your chance, and it won't come again. We have to take them down before they learn the divine ability. If we wait until they've all learned it, even with our advantage in intelligence, our casualties will undoubtedly be much higher. So it's better to act now.
"And if nothing goes wrong, eight-star Grandmasters will be stationed at the border from now on. Once that happens, a surprise attack won't be possible."
The nine-tailed heavenly fox did not deny Hongyu's point about the number of questions. That was inevitable.
Even if the divine ability's original creator, Anonymous, did not add more questions, a similar divine ability was bound to appear—and it would have even more. The races all desperately needed one, so it was inevitable.
After hearing the nine-tailed heavenly fox's explanation, Hongyu nodded. "I see! Now really is a good opportunity. But why choose a powerful race? Why not pick a weaker one, like the Rabbit Clan or Leopard Clan? They're not as clever as us, and they're not as physically strong as the Lion Clan. They should be easier to beat, and we'd take fewer losses."
The nine-tailed heavenly fox continued to explain Hongyu's doubts:
"If we attack a powerful race, the other races will be delighted to see us fight each other. They'll even hope we both suffer heavy losses so they can reap the rewards.
"But if we attack a weaker race, even if we win this time, they'll all band together afterward and treat us like a thorn in their flesh, a nail in their eye. That won't be good for our future development.
"Besides, if we attack a powerful race, there's a ninety-nine percent chance that the somewhat weaker races won't come to their aid."
After hearing this, Hongyu put herself in the weaker races' position. They really had no reason to come to the rescue. "That's true."
The nine-tailed heavenly fox added, "And we have allies in this operation. Great Ancestor has already made the arrangements.
"Our Fox Clan will attack the Lion Clan, the Monkey Clan will attack the Tiger Clan, the Rat Clan will attack the Ox Clan, and the Phoenix Clan will attack the Snake Clan.
"The four clans will act together and teach these free-riders a lesson. We'll show them the might of the intelligent races!"
Hongyu wholeheartedly agreed with her Chief's claim that those races were free-riders. It was true, in a way: all those races did was eat and eat, and eating made them stronger. They didn't even need their brains. In a sense, they really were getting something for nothing.
This absolutely wasn't jealousy.
The cultivation methods of the hundred races generally fell into two categories. One relied on the body—or, more precisely, inherited bloodlines. Those races only needed to eat and eat to grow stronger. The Pig, Lion, and Tiger Clans were typical examples, with their naturally powerful bodies.
The other relied on the mind. The Human, Fox, Rat, and Monkey Clans were examples. They could hardly improve by eating and eating; they had to learn, think, and research to increase their Talent Qi and thereby grow stronger.
Because bloodline-based races ate more, they were usually far more aggressive than the others.
As a result, the two kinds of races were somewhat at odds, and clashes between them were common on the Void Battlefield.
This time, those who cultivated through Talent Qi had decided to seize the opportunity to teach the bloodline-based races a lesson and stop them from running rampant on the Void Battlefield.
So Hongyu did not firmly oppose the expedition against the Lion Clan. She only wanted to minimize her side's losses.
"Then, Chief, what will happen to Qingqiu Fort's defenses when we all leave?"
"For the defenses, a group will be sent over from Qianye this afternoon to stand guard. It should be fine. There are also several Grandmasters and Grand Grandmasters watching the outer perimeter. Even if they come, they won't make it to the rear."
"Good! Then, Chief, I'll go make preparations."
"Right, Hongyu. Before we set out, we must memorize the answers to every question. We can't afford to be careless."
"Don't worry, Chief."
That afternoon, at a quarter past the hour of the Rooster, the Fox, Monkey, Rat, and Phoenix Clans concealed their movements with the military-strategy divine ability [Crossing the Sea Under a Veil of Sky] and launched a surprise attack on the Lion, Tiger, Ox, and Snake Clans across the Void Battlefield.
The four attacking clans won a great victory. They each wiped out the one million elite troops their target race had stationed at the border, while suffering few casualties themselves.
Immediately after the battle, the Hundred Races Alliance reconvened and redrafted the Hundred Races Treaty, abolishing the clause that prohibited eight-star Grandmasters from guarding the borders.
Once that clause was abolished, most of the races breathed a sigh of relief. At last, they no longer had to worry about their safety. They had been afraid that someone would launch another surprise attack on them; if that happened, they'd be done for.
After this battle, the once-bustling Void Battlefield fell quiet.
It was as if they'd all been playing around before, when no one could kill anyone—or at least, the damage was small. But now everyone was carrying a sharp, deadly saber. Who would dare go out?
They were better off staying home to defend their own territory.
Besides, on the old Void Battlefield, everyone had lost at most a few tens of thousands of people a year. Then you wiped out four million elite troops in a single battle.
It was far too outrageous, far too dangerous. Now, every race lived in fear.
For a short time, none of the races wanted to fight on the Void Battlefield. They couldn't get a war going anyway.
Also, after the battle, the Lion, Tiger, Ox, and Snake Clans had each lost one million elite troops. They had no choice but to pull people from the rear to fill the gaps, inevitably slowing their entire races' development.
Aside from the four clans, the other hundred races were all glad to see it. The stronger ones hoped to have one less rival, while the weaker ones hoped to have one less mountain weighing them down.
As for the Fox and the other three clans, they gained a great deal of Earth Luck Points and spoils from the battle. Adding those gains to the losses of their opponents, they had widened the gap between themselves and the bloodline-based races.
This battle, which shook the hundred races, also made [Chicken and Rabbit in a Cage] famous throughout them. If you didn't learn it, you'd be too embarrassed—and too afraid—to venture onto the battlefield.
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