New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live-Chapter 1098: Let’s Discuss Those In Private

Heads spun toward the voice, as Liu Yan bowed to the fox, who was still within Alexander’s grasp.

"You will? Ahem... I mean... Of course, you will! That is the only logical outcome!" the fox exclaimed, breaking free of Alex’s grip and brushing his robes straight with his hands.

"On one condition," Liu Yan added, standing back straight.

Those words put a wrench in the fox’s enthusiasm, as he wasn’t used to be made demands to.

He was usually the one making demands and getting his way.

However, this talent was worth taking a step down from his mighty pedestal, at least this once.

"Name it. I will acquiesce to anything reasonable and within my power." ƒrēenovelkiss.com

"You give them back their friend, and become an ally to the Paragons. Also, I don’t want to be part of your cult, or whatever you call it. I’ll only train under you. Not join your cause," Liu Yan said, crossing his arms.

The fox’s eye twitched as anger rose in him, which he tried masking behind a cracking smile.

"That is more than one condition, young man. Care to pick only one of those?" he pushed back.

"No. That is what I want. Take it or leave it. I can get stronger on my own, I’m sure," Yan replied with a grin.

Alex could practically hear the teeth in the fox’s mouth grind as he forced himself to remain calm.

"How about we talk about this in my home? Here, on the plateau and in the open, it seems a bit barbaric. Would that suit you?" he asked, trying to push his answer to later.

Alex knew this request had backed the fox into a corner. That could only mean one thing.

There was one condition that he couldn’t or wouldn’t fulfill.

But Liu Yan knew better than to push too firmly. He still had the upper hand in this possible negotiation.

If he shoved, he could end up with zilch and a side of squat.

"Fine. Let’s go to your home. Would it be possible for me to get something to wear while we are at it? My clothes are... well, you can see," Liu Yan said, his face taking a red hue as he pointed at his almost naked body.

"Of course," the fox agreed, making a quick hand signal to Elder Bai, who was still looking at this situation with a gaping maw and shocked eyes.

He quickly regained his composure before saluting the master and bolting off.

As this happened, the fox turned to a side path and beckoned them to follow him.

"This way. I believe one tribulation for now is as much as we can bear to watch. It wouldn’t be wise to put the young man through another set of the Heavenly Ascent. We shall take the alternate path, yes?" he asked, starting to walk away.

Although his tone sounded like a question, he wasn’t asking. He didn’t want this upset to happen twice and break all his younger disciples, whom he could still feel at the foot of the staircase.

If they saw some nobody go up the entire Heavenly Ascent on arrival, and go through multiple breakthroughs and tribulations, it would break their spirits. It would make them feel like all their training was pointless if they didn’t have that talent.

It was better to avoid this.

The path was longer, yes, by a few minutes at worst. But it stayed the better option.

Following the path around the mountain peak, which went up in a slow rise, took them around thirty minutes just to reach the second plateau, which they had to go through, to keep walking up the mountain.

Alexander could feel a certain pressure, just from walking on the plateau, which was supposed to be a resting place for the young people taking the ascent. He knew something was at work under the stone bricks.

He couldn’t imagine how the third plateau would feel.

They kept walking until they reached the mountain peak, where a small hut sat, accompanied by a small covered patio near the mountain edge.

The sight caught them all by surprise, as the valley below them caught their eyes. On one side of the mountain, a village lay at its foot, and a city could be seen in the distance.

But on the other side, which they were facing now, the empty wilderness of green and grey, as trees fought the mountains’ rough cliffs, in an effort to grow and thrive. The scene was serene, considering all that happened at the lower parts of the mountaintop, just on the other side of this plateau.

The fox walked to the small hut, pulled open the door, and stepped aside.

"Come on, people. We aren’t there yet. Still some walking to do. Get inside," he ordered, sounding like he was talking to a group of kindergartners.

The space where there should have been a door frame leading into a room, instead, was filled with blankness. A rectangular wall of white, like looking into an infinite corridor painted in white light.

Everyone stood there, uneasy at this picture, and the fox insisted.

"Come on. We don’t have all day. Hop on in."

Liu Yan was the first to move, assuming there wouldn’t be a trap if the man wanted him so much.

He wasn’t expecting what happened when he traversed the wall of white, though.

Slight nausea passed him as his vision swam a little before he walked into a gigantic room, hexagonal in shape, with a giant staircase at the far end.

The stairs climbed several meters up, leading into a ceiling that was almost twenty meters off the ground, and disappearing into another floor, or at least what he assumed was another floor.

There was no reason a building would be this big and only have one floor if it had such a massive staircase, right?

Soon after him, another person passed the door behind him, which was black from this side, and he saw David falter into the room, looking almost drunk, as he brought his hand to his lips, a slight gagging sound escaping his lips.

Liu Yan chuckled, but David raised his head, glaring at him.

"You say a word, and I’ll kill you before another person steps through that door," he threatened.

Yan raised his hands pleadingly, not wanting to beef with one of the founding members of the guild he was trying to join.

’Yikes... He’s touchy about his tough-guy appearance. I’ll be sure never to question that about him,’ he mused, as the others slowly filtered in, all reacting similarly.

It wasn’t long before the fox entered behind the last person, Elder Bai, coming in before him with a set of clothes in his hands.

"Here. For you."

Liu Yan took the clothes with a nod, putting on the shirt first.

"I already feel better," he joked.

But his smile was short-lived.

"Alright. Put the clothes on quickly. We still have thirty floors to climb," the fox said, his face back to his earlier weird smile.

"THIRTY FLOORS?!" everyone exclaimed simultaneously.

"Complain again, and I’ll make it fifty!"

Silence was his answer.

"That’s what I thought."