Chapter 38 - 37: You Can Also Call Your Female Master

"How dare you!"

"Hu Qiumu, how dare you betray the tribe and bring an outsider to harm our clansmen!"

Across from the crowd, Hu Qiumu’s face was expressionless. "I’ve come to take back my cubs," he said. "What’s wrong with that?"

"What do you mean, *your* cubs? They have the blood of our Fox Clan in them."

"Exactly. We were kind enough to raise them for you, but instead of being grateful, you repay our kindness with malice."

Normally, whichever tribe a cub was born into, that was the tribe they belonged to.

This was an unspoken rule among all Beastman, and though it wasn’t a written law, few ever broke it.

After all, doing so would damage the tribe’s reputation and hinder its development.

"You make it sound so noble. But did you ever get our consent for this?"

"No. What you did is called robbery. Understand?"

"Stop trying to paint yourselves as saints."

As Chu Liangyu finished speaking, the expressions of the crowd opposite them turned exceptionally ugly.

"What kind of creature are you, to think you’re worthy of being the Female Master to a male of our Nine-tailed Clan!"

From within the crowd, a tall man with sharp, upswept brows stepped forward, his attitude arrogant and cold.

Hearing his own elder brother speak so harshly, Hu Qiumu immediately frowned and stepped in front of Chu Liangyu. "What she is like is not for you to judge."

"Heh..."

’Tsk, that attitude is just asking for a beating.’

Chu Liangyu lowered her gaze, hiding the fierce glint in her eyes.

’At this point, only a fight would shut these people’s mouths.’

Chu Liangyu gave Hu Qiumu a cool look. This time, he nodded without the slightest hesitation.

Hu Qiumu shifted back to his beast form, his nine tails instantly fanning out as he charged toward the crowd.

The bronze short knife appeared in Chu Liangyu’s hand. Her figure weaved nimbly through the chaos, darting in and out to land a slash that would incapacitate an opponent.

In no time, half the crowd was already down. Those still standing hastily shifted to their beast forms to defend themselves.

But there were very few Nine-tails; most only had four or five tails.

However, Hu Da was the only other Nine-tailed Fox among them, just like Hu Qiumu.

In the Fox Clan, the number of tails symbolizes one’s power, which meant the two were evenly matched.

After dealing with the weaker ones, only Hu Da remained.

As the two brothers faced off, Chu Liangyu harassed Hu Da from the side, irritating him to no end.

"What, have you become so useless you need a female to help you?" he panted, looking at Hu Qiumu with contempt.

Hu Qiumu wasn’t provoked. Instead, he replied, "Big Brother can also call his Female Master for help."

"I’m not as shameless as you."

By now, Hu Da was already being overwhelmed by the two of them, yet he still couldn’t stop running his mouth.

"Oh? Then I guess Big Brother will just have to endure it."

"You!"

Hu Da was already losing the will to live from their coordinated attacks. Hearing Hu Qiumu’s words, a breath caught in his chest, and he couldn’t get it out.

Another heavy blow sent Hu Da flying, and Chu Liangyu’s bronze short knife was pressed against his neck.

"You’ve lost."

"It was two against one. What’s there to be proud of?"

’Who was it that ganged up on whom? Did he get that backward?’

Chu Liangyu almost wondered if her own memory was failing her. When she realized what he’d said, she was so angry she laughed.

"That’s right, I am proud. What are you going to do about it?"

Pfft—

He sprayed a mouthful of blood. As the red mist spread, Chu Liangyu immediately jumped back.

Hu Da pointed a trembling finger at Chu Liangyu, clearly incensed.

Before he could even get a full sentence out, he fainted and was carried away by a group of his clansmen.

Meanwhile, news reached the clan leader’s courtyard.

"What are we going to do? He brought someone who injured and maimed our people."

"Why don’t we just give the cubs back to them?" Mother Hu suggested, pacing back and forth anxiously.

"Give them back? What’s there to give back? How powerful can one female be?" Father Hu snorted, then stood up. "I’ll go see for myself."

Mother Hu’s eyes filled with disapproval. She wanted to stop him. "You..."

Before she could finish, he was already gone. Mother Hu couldn’t help but sigh deeply.

Gazing toward the place where the cubs were kept, she felt a pang of pity. After a moment’s thought, she started walking in that direction.

After clearing away the people blocking their path, the way forward was momentarily clear. But it was only for a moment before they ran into an enraged Father Hu, who had rushed over.

Just like Hu Da, he first gave Chu Liangyu a thorough look-over, from head to toe.

Then, as if dissatisfied, he asked, "Why did you find a female like this?"

Chu Liangyu...

’Their attitudes are all cut from the same cloth. Truly, a family of one mind.’

"Regardless of your dissatisfaction, it’s already a done deal."

"Besides, I didn’t come here to win your approval. I’ll trouble you to return our cubs."

He was an elder, after all, so Chu Liangyu reined herself in slightly. But if he refused to cooperate, she...

"Sharp-eyed and sharp-tongued."

"Then let me tell you, I will never give them to you."

Gripping her bronze short knife tighter, Chu Liangyu felt a surge of irritation. ’Why is this entire family so stubborn?’

’But she knew this old fox was different from Hu Da. His power was above Hu Qiumu’s. As for by how much, she’d have to fight him to find out.’

Hu Qiumu shot her a look that said "be careful," then initiated the attack.

In an instant, two enormous foxes appeared in the center of the crowd.

It was obvious that while both were Nine-tails, Father Hu was a full size larger than Hu Qiumu.

They used the same coordinated tactics: Hu Qiumu attacked head-on while Chu Liangyu looked for an opportunity to strike.

But Father Hu was, after all, a seasoned warrior. The pair couldn’t gain any advantage against him.

In terms of raw power, Hu Qiumu could only fight him to a standstill for a short time. As the fight dragged on, the depth of the older fox’s strength became apparent.

Father Hu’s stamina was far superior to Hu Qiumu’s. In the end, Hu Qiumu was still too young and hadn’t had the time to settle down and cultivate his skills.

Their long fox tails collided, unleashing a shockwave that threw Chu Liangyu off balance.

Father Hu’s eyes narrowed. Seizing the opportunity, he directed one of his tails to strike at Chu Liangyu’s back.

"Watch out!"

Hu Qiumu saw it out of the corner of his eye and tried to help, but Father Hu deliberately blocked him, preventing him from moving an inch.

Just as it seemed Chu Liangyu was about to be pierced by the fox tail, a faint green light flared from her body.

The attack had triggered a protective Array on her, blocking the blow.

Chu Liangyu immediately spun around. With a swift fall of her blade, a fox tail dropped to the ground.

The pain of a severed tail was extraordinary. Father Hu’s eyes turned bloodshot as he cried out in agony, retracting all his tails.

Chu Liangyu pressed her advantage, attempting to put her knife to his throat, but he swept her away with one of his remaining tails.

Chu Liangyu let the bronze short knife fly from her grasp and instead channeled her Taiyin Fist. Her movements were unhurried, giving off the feeling of a gentle breeze.

Father Hu had never seen such slow movements. He gave a derisive snort, lashing out with a long tail to engage Chu Liangyu once more.

When the two collided, there was an explosive sound that made everyone’s heart skip a beat.

The crowd’s breathing stopped for a moment, until they saw the situation on the field clearly.

Chu Liangyu’s hand was clenched into a fist, pressed against Father Hu’s chin.

The fist held an incredible power; a single punch could have pierced right through his jaw.

Father Hu looked at the female before him with complex emotions. He had actually lost.

A deep purple light flashed in his eyes. Chu Liangyu looked up just in time to meet his gaze.