Mid-term Exam, Part 13

Half of the Sword School’s resources are in the Orange King’s belly.

When this statement was made, even the students of the Sword School largely disbelieved it.

“The Orange King? You mean that fat cat that always loafs around the cafeteria entrance begging for food?”
“How could that be? That cat only ever thinks about eating. You believe that?”
“You’d be better off believing I’m Carefree Immortal’s descendant, quickly transfer me fifty spirit stones to fund my grand mission of revitalizing the Sword School.”
‘Indeed, no one would have guessed it, but it was the truth.’

Even when she was cultivating in the Sword School, she never imagined the Orange King had such a background.

She had always considered it an ordinary kitten.

All of the Qin family members were socially anxious; she was, and so was her niece Qin Zhen.

It was truly a matter of bloodline; all Qin family members had pale skin and dispositions that wouldn’t let a fart escape even after three beatings.
Even when gathered together, they could go an entire day without speaking a word, communicating solely through glances, walking silently, without a single footstep.

This often made their neighbors suspect that the house was not inhabited by people, but by a group of pale specters.

Qin Suzhi was terrible at interacting with people.

During her school days, she always had a gloomy expression, walking quickly and quietly.

With high brow bones and deep-set eyes, she was already difficult to get along with, and a social recluse, so everyone thought she was very unapproachable.

Later, her classmates of the same year learned that she had gone to work in the Sword School’s Hall of Affairs, handling interrogations, and they all praised her, saying it was a perfect fit.

Although by the time she advanced to higher years, she finally became acquainted with everyone… a little bit, and even developed a handful of close companions, at that time, Qin Suzhi was indeed solitary, cultivating alone and living alone.

Therefore, in her first year at the Sword School, the only friend she made was the Orange King.

Although it might not be apparent from her appearance, Qin Suzhi was an extreme cat person.

In fact, all of the Qin family members loved fluffy animals; her niece Qin Zhen, for instance, really liked dogs.

Back then, Junior Brother Yang Xi kept chasing after Qin Zhen, which greatly troubled her, even to the point where she once considered dropping out to stay home as a shut-in and leech off her family.

Qin Suzhi then advised her, “You can think of him as a dog.”

“But… he’s not actually a dog,” Qin Zhen frowned, still speaking frankly.
“And he’s not as cute as a dog either.”

Qin Suzhi calmly said, “You should first ask him if he’s willing.”

Qin Zhen felt it was a bit improper, but she was truly distressed, so she frowned and asked.
As expected, Yang Xi was very willing.

From then on, the two of them found a way to get along and their relationship was quite good.

As a teacher, Qin Suzhi could be said to have helped her student resolve her troubles.

In short, Qin Suzhi was utterly obsessed with small animals. Initially, she didn’t want to learn swordsmanship at all, intending to tame beasts.
Unfortunately, her face was too cold and her demeanor too gloomy, giving her extremely bad luck with animals.

The spirit beasts she forcibly brought home all swore they would rather die than follow her and were actively looking for new masters, which left her quite despondent.

Only this orange cat at the cafeteria entrance, if given a chicken leg, would allow itself to be petted.
If given more, it would even grudgingly perform a handshake, roll over, and tumble.

Even if Qin Suzhi’s aura screamed ‘do not approach,’ it would shamelessly and calmly collapse its plump body onto her feet, allowing her to pet it.

Of course, the belly was off-limits.

Therefore, when Qin Suzhi learned that the Orange King’s true form was actually the mythical beast Taotie among ninth-tier spirit beasts, and that more than half of the Sword School’s assets were inside its belly, her first reaction was to suspect that person was teasing her.

Especially since the person who said this was Wang Quan, the Sect Leader of the Sword School.

An ordinary Sect Leader’s word was law, earning deep trust from the sect, but Wang Quan was no ordinary Sect Leader; such actions were perfectly normal for him.

Wang Quan lightly coughed twice, and said gently, “How could I lie to you? Would lying to you benefit me in any way? Looking at me like that, you really think too poorly of me.”

Qin Suzhi remained silent for a moment, then asked, “If it’s true, why tell me such a secret?”

Wang Quan smiled softly, “My dear child, because you have been chosen by the Taotie, you are destined to work for our Sword School for a lifetime.”

After Carefree Immortal left, she didn’t leave many things to the Sword School, but every item was precious.
Even revealing one would cause countless bloody storms.

For instance, the seventh-tier spirit vein beneath the main peak.

This spirit vein was not only the foundation of the Sword School but also one of only five publicly recorded seventh-tier spirit veins on this continent.
Its preciousness was indescribable, making countless sects drool with envy.

Throughout the Sword School’s history, many attempts were made to forcibly seize this spirit vein, but the Sword School’s mountain-protecting grand formation and the restrictions of successive ancestors guarded it firmly.

Coupled with the strategic planning of successive Sect Leaders, this spirit vein always remained safe and sound.

But these were only the visible things.

There were also more blessed lands, independent secret realms, void fragments, ancient battlefield ruins, and heirloom treasures all left behind by Carefree Immortal.
These treasures were naturally not left in plain sight, but sealed in a place no one could find.

This place was inside the Taotie’s belly.

If one day, the Sword School were to repeat the mistakes of the Full Moon War, then allowing the Orange King to devour the Sword School and transfer all surviving disciples might not be an impossibility.

However, the Taotie was a greedy spirit beast that only devoured and never excreted.
Only those chosen by the divine beast Taotie were qualified to obtain the ‘key’ to retrieve the desired treasures from its belly.

Its selection criteria have remained inconclusive to this day, generally staying around three individuals.
Whenever someone died, it would select a new candidate.

The current belief within the Sword School was that all previous Sword School Sect Leaders had been chosen by the Taotie.

But Qin Suzhi knew that the current Sect Leader, Wang Quan, was not.
He couldn’t directly retrieve items from the Orange King’s belly; he always had to get them through Qin Suzhi or other chosen individuals.

This was also one of the main reasons why some voices within the Sword School believed Wang Quan’s position as Sect Leader was ill-gotten.

After all, he hadn’t received the acknowledgment of the divine beast left behind by Carefree Immortal.

Wang Quan did not deny this claim, but Qin Suzhi vaguely felt that given the Sect Leader’s many years of understanding the Taotie, and considering he was one of Carefree Immortal’s few remaining direct disciples, with his intelligence, he couldn’t possibly be unaware of the Orange King’s selection criteria.
He simply… chose not to follow them.

As for the Orange King being overweight, Qin Suzhi had always known.

In essence, the Orange King devoured too much matter, only consuming and never expelling, which led to it becoming increasingly heavy and obese.

She had once thought of intervening, and the cook lady had even strictly forbidden the Orange King from stepping into the cafeteria for this reason.
Alas, it harbored an internal wound, its instinct to devour was too strong and could not be reined in.

Coupled with the doting of the Sword School students, who always secretly gave it extra treats, and its habit of doing nothing but eating and sleeping, this matter dragged on and on, until it reached its current state.

This exam, ostensibly the students’ midterm and sports meet, was in reality also meant to provide the Orange King with a bit of exercise.

A lazy cat like the Orange King, though serving as the final BOSS, was actually not even using one ten-thousandth of its strength.

It was merely retracting its sharp claws and playing with the children of the Sword School.

After the Orange King landed, its two cat eyes were like two eerie yellow lanterns.
Its pupils contracted to the size of date pits, flashing with an awe-inspiring cold light.
It pressed its body down, bent its four legs, and remained silent.

Without the arrogant, noisy meows and roars, Su Qing realized the Orange King was serious now.

It was indeed a fat cat, but having grown to such a physique, it now exuded the aura of a top predator.

Everyone’s nerves tensed, and they silently retreated to the corners.

The great fox Lihuo was still persistently staring at the baby tooth on the ground, tears silently streaming down its face, its heart dead.

After losing all its baby teeth, the Beast School’s special baby meals would be completely out of its reach.

It, it was clearly still growing, “Wuwah!”

Su Qing, holding her sword in one hand and grasping Lihuo in the other, slowly retreated to the side.
She couldn’t shake the feeling that those amber cat eyes were silently fixated on her.

Xie Ying tried to leap to the second floor, but Hua Ling pulled her back.
Hua Ling shook her head, gesturing for her not to move.

Sure enough, someone with the same idea gathered their spiritual energy and leaped up, wanting to hide in a high place.

However, at the very instant he left the ground, the Orange King pushed off with its hind legs, its entire body twisting and springing up like a coiled spring.
Its speed was astonishingly fast, impossible to catch. In the blink of an eye, it appeared mid-air, its waist, thick as a winter melon, stretched out, incredibly agile.
Its white-gloved, mangosteen-like paw slammed down with a heavy strike—

“Thwack!”

Before the person could react, they were struck hard by an immense force.

The entire person immediately plummeted to the ground like a kite with a broken string.
The Orange King, still not satisfied, pounced again like a cat hunting an insect, smashing it viciously into the ground with another paw.

The opponent’s health bar instantly cleared to zero, their body dimmed, and they were eliminated.

The surrounding crowd immediately erupted in an uproar. Many people gasped, but all vigilantly stopped moving.

It was a joke; this cat attacked indiscriminately.

Whoever moved and attracted its attention would be the first one targeted.

The Orange King landed lightly and silently on its paw pads, its tail held high, indicating its joyful mood.

It raised its head, meowing fiercely, its voice carrying a mix of smugness and threat: “See? This is the consequence of refusing to offer tribute to me! You will all pay the price!”

Before its words had fully fallen, the Orange King, like an out-of-control vehicle, crashed headlong into the crowd.

Although its body was round, it was incredibly agile and as fast as lightning.
Every leap, every pounce, was completely unexpected.

The first, second, and third-year students no longer fought amongst themselves.

The third-year students also temporarily let Tian Ning go, each thinking about how to protect themselves.
Yet, some were still struck by its claws, or knocked over by its body, or swept down by its tail.

The scene quickly became chaotic, people were overturned, and wails rose one after another.

“Lord Orange King, please hold back your divine power! I’ll give you all the chicken legs you want from now on! I’ll eat the bones, and you can have the meat!”

The Orange King, however, became playful, meowing wildly.

“Too late, too late!”

Tang Yueling felt as if she were an insect being played with in a cat’s paw.
Don’t think she didn’t realize; this cat was clearly not using its full strength, calmly messing around and laughing at them. It was truly hateful.

She narrowed her eyes and looked at Su Qing.

Su Qing was being relentlessly pursued by the Orange King, but her movements were very agile, and she knew the Orange King well enough.

Seeing its paw about to sweep her down, she immediately ducked low, slid her feet, and the entire person actually “whooshed” right through the narrow gap between the soft cat belly and the ground, landing at the base of the Orange King’s tail.

She quickly scrambled up, not even forgetting to stroke the tip of the Orange King’s swaying tail.

Her face showed extreme ecstasy, her eyes narrowed in delight, which infuriated the great fox Lihuo, who was now furiously biting and grinding its teeth on her fingers.

‘Can’t stand these cat slaves.’

Tang Yueling almost rolled her eyes.

She casually threw a magical artifact at Su Qing’s head and asked, “Things are a complete mess now. You suggested luring it down, do you have a way to deal with it?”

Su Qing was hit. She clutched her head, finally snapping out of her blissful immersion in all that fur.

“There is, actually.” Su Qing understood the Orange King unusually well; after all, she was a divine being who still thought about petting cats even when trapped in the Eternal Night Forest.

One of the Orange King’s main characteristics was its lack of culture. If a puzzle-solving formation were deployed, it might be able to trap it.

But Su Qing felt that this formation would definitely not work on it. Perhaps it could directly eat the formation.

So she very practically stated another characteristic of the Orange King, “You know, generally, fat cats can’t lick their own backs.”

And the Orange King, it was a super fat cat.