Unparalleled Artist: Unlikely Hero
Following his father's murder, Wu Ling's mother returned to the life of a courtesan, disguising her young son as a girl to take refuge in the Bamboo Silk House, a women's only sect dedicated to the arts. Now, as his powers awaken, he'll find himself torn between protecting his family and the goals of powerful cultivators who see him as a means to an end. "Wu Ling, I've accepted a marriage proposal on your behalf," the bewitching Hall Master of the Bamboo Silk House declared. "When you enter the Inner Sect, you'll enter under the name 'Hua Qianhu', fiancee of a young lord of the Liang family." "Hall Master, that's impossible!" Wu Ling protested. "Even if you ignore my relationship with Meifeng, I might have dressed well enough to hide as a mortal woman but I could never..." "So you truly didn't realize what you were doing," the Hall Master said, a dark smile on her lips. "Little Ling, you're a natural-born Shapeshifter. I'll teach you what you need to know," she said, her features shifting until she looked like a mirror image of the stunned Wu Ling. "As long as you follow my arrangements and learn my techniques, it isn't impossible for you to reunite with Meifeng..." "But you should consider Young Lord Liang carefully," the Hall Master added. "His affection for you is genuine. Perhaps, one day, you'll even feel the same for him..."
Negotiating a Price
The entire arena went quiet when Wu Ling made his proposal. Who among the spectators hadn't seen a person facing a challenge plead for their lives against a foe they couldn't defeat? People who feared death or doubted their own strength had no business stepping into the Pit. But to see someone like this Hua Qianhu, boldly proclaiming that she would slaughter all challengers her opponent could send and then beg that they not force her hand, was a very rare sight!
"Ya think ya can just kill as ya please," Gao the Glutton finally said. "An then ya say when tha killin' stops? Ya think ya can just walk away 'cause ya want ta? That we won't make ya pay fer what ya did?"