"Sit down! Good! Rollover! Ah, what a good boy! Now fetch!"
At the same time as the Tournament was starting, a certain village just recovered from the mortal crisis. It was a sunny day, perfect for harvesting their crops when the Village got attacked by a giant Spirit Bear, destroying houses and injuring people.
No one could stop it until two female Cultivators appeared at the right time, saving their lives. Who would have thought the bear would suddenly turn as docile as a little cub in their presence and perform everything a lady asked him to. All villagers were dumbfounded, watching the lady and bear duo from the distance.
"Alright, we are done playing. Sit on the ground and don't move. I will get back to you in a bit," the lady called out to the ten-meter tall bear who nodded like a human and dropped its butt to the ground.
Thud.
The ground shook, causing almost all villagers to trip. They were still scared shit-less but seeing the lady had everything under control, they could finally breathe out.
"Village Elder! You don't need to worry anymore! Little Puff won't be a problem anymore. He will be a good boy from now on," the lady called out sweetly as she hopped towards the Village People with a cheerful smile on her face. Her golden hair was like a sun, all shiny and bright.
Just the thought of her calling the terrifying bear a Little Puff was enough to make everyone feel at ease. The lady even carried a small one-tailed fox on her shoulder which added multiple points to her cuteness.
"M-milady… I don't know what to say… We can't be more grateful. You saved our lives. If there is anything we can do for you, please let me know. Be it money or treasures, just name the price," the Village Elder replied politely, bowing deeply in gratitude. "Although our Village is small and the crops been bad this year, it is nothing compared to the price of our lives."
"Oh! We didn't help you for the money. We helped you cause you needed help," the lady assured with an angelic smile. "Don't worry about it."
"Milady… I'm speechless once again. Thank you from the bottom of my heart." The Village Elder bowed once again. "Please, tell us your names. We will put you into our books so you can be remembered for generations. The Village will never forget this day."
"Ehmm…" the lady scratched her head awkwardly as she looked around the place as if searching for her friend. "There is really no need for that… I just wanted to help…"
"Grandpa!"
Just as the lady seemed ready to run away, they heard a kid call out from the side. A group of Villagers walked to them with a kid at the front, all cheerful and lively. Most of them had tattered clothes, full of rips and claw marks which exposed their skin but there were no signs of any wounds, the skin as smooth as the baby.
When the Village Elder saw them, he instantly got dumbfounded, tears spilling out from his eyes.
"Feng'er!!!" the Village Elder cried out, dashing towards the kid and embraced him tightly. "Feng'er! Y-you are walking! H-how?! Your body was crippled!"
Not only him but the whole Village was shocked, seeing everyone healthy, especially the Grandson of the Village Elder who was crippled for years.
"Hehe! I'm all good now! It was Big Sis that healed me!" the kid called out happily as he pointed behind the Elder.
The Village Elder swiftly turned around only to see the second blond beauty approach their Goddess. It was the second female Cultivator!
"She helped all the injured Villagers and mom asked her to look at me! Who thought all I needed was one pill to get better! Nothing hurts me anymore!" Feng'er recounted in excitement. "She said it was a poison I must have consumed in the nearby forest. Thankfully, my body was able to hold on for so long. She said I shouldn't be alive. Hehe."
Thud!
The Village Elder didn't even wipe his eyes as he instantly dropped to the ground, his forehead touching the ground.
"Goddesses! As a grandfather and the Leader of this Village, thank you! On behalf of the whole Village, please give us the honor of worshiping you!"
"Sir, stand up please, we don—" the lady with the fox called out to stop him but was cut off as more and more Villagers began kneeling on the ground, joining their leader.
"Wait, wait, what are you all doing?" the two female Cultivators questioned awkwardly, their brows knitting.
"Goddesses! Let us worship you! We will not get up till you accept!" the Village Elder cried out with the others following suit.
Even Feng'er didn't hesitate to drop down, calling out, "Goddesses! Thank you!"
The Spirit Bear couldn't help but cringe, covering his eyes as if it was face-palming himself. Most Spirit Beasts at the higher level had the intelligence rivaling humanoid races so it wasn't a surprise he understood everything.
The two ladies were hopeless, entering from one problematic relationship to another. The two were naturally Lisa and Yiren who already left the Hidden Leaf Village and traveled in the direction of the Spirit Land, hoping to find their husband.
Just when they wanted to take a break in the passing village, they noticed a raging bear devastating everything. They couldn't just fly past when they could easily help them.
"Yiren… How about we let them do what they want and just move on?" Lisa asked as she scratched her head. "We were supposed to get a meal and rest anyway."
"Ah… Okay," Yiren muttered with a sigh, already tired by being treated a Goddess.
"Everyone, I'm Yiren and this is my sister Lisa. Please, just call us by our names. We are not Goddesses or anything. We are just some random Cultivators passing by so just treat us as such," Yiren introduced but the Village Elder cried out with another deep bow.
"Goddess Yiren! Goddess Lisa!"
Something told them they wouldn't stop no matter what, just like in the previous Village so they didn't try anymore.
"Okay, okay, call us whatever you want, just stand up already," Lisa ordered, taking the role of the manager once again.
This time the Villagers accepted listened immediately, "Yes Goddess!"
"We are hungry and need some rest. If you can, please prepare some food and drinks for us as your payment for the help. My Pills were really expensive you know. Even if you sell the whole Village you won't afford to pay for them all. I will compensate with a meal," Lisa proposed, causing Yiren to stab her with a shoulder but that was exactly what the Village Elder wanted.
"Of course! With pleasure!" the Village Elder agreed with his eyes brightened and turned to his people, "Everyone! I hereby announce that today's will be the day of the Goddesses Yiren and Lisa! Every year we will celebrate in their name and we will start today! Everyone is invited for today's celebration!"
"Yeah!" the Villagers cheered but one person wasn't entirely happy with it.
"Ughh… I knew it," Yiren grunted but Lisa assured her with a hug, "Don't worry, we will at least save on food. Who knows how long we will travel. My butt hurts from traveling as well, so it's okay to rest."
"Okay…"
Yiren could only agree, unable to reject the ultimate power of cuddles. She turned around and walked back to the Spirit Bear, deciding on his fate. Yiren didn't even need to use her Ability for the second time. Just the pressure coming from Mona was enough to put the Spirit Bear in place.
"Because you hurt many people of this Village, I will assign punishment to you," Yiren said sternly, causing the bear to look at her pitifully.
"No, don't look at me like that. You ruined their crops and almost killed humans because you were too lazy to hunt. Instead of fighting other Beasts, you look for an easy prey that will satisfy your stomach. What about your future? What is your ambition? Don't you want to dominate this region as the strongest beast and be crowned a king? I'm disappointed," Yiren scolded.
The Spirit Bear stared at his feet depressed, looking like a kid that just got reprimanded. He no longer looked terrifying but instead cute and funny.
"As punishment, you will stay in this Village and protect it for ten years. You are forbidden to hurt anyone in the Village and can only eat beasts. Every month, I require you to hunt one beast of equal level to you," Yiren commanded.
Roar!
The Spirit Bear didn't seem to like that, protesting immediately but Yiren's eyes lit up with gold light as she cried out, "Little Puff! Didn't I make myself clear enough?!"
Fear could be seen in the Spirit Bear's eyes as he dropped to the ground, posturing itself in front of her. Even in that position, he was taller than Yiren but she was able to reach out and touch his nose.
"Don't worry, I promise you will come out stronger. What are ten years for you?" Yiren assured and walked back to the Villagers. All of them stood still, dumbfounded.
Did they just receive a guardian beast? A small village like theirs?
Yiren didn't want to listen to another wave of compliments so she ended it before they left the Village Elder's mouth.
"Please, let's proceed with the celebration. We are tight on time as we are in the middle of traveling."
"Yes, Goddess! We will start the preparations right away!" the Village Elder replied excitedly and began ordering people, hurrying everyone.
"Grandpa! Can we watch the Water Land Tournament too? It started already!" Feng'er questioned as he tugged on the Village Elder's shirt.
"Huh? Who cares about some kind of Tournament. If you really must, you can watch it at home. Right now the Celebration is the most important," the Village Elder said sternly.
"But I wanted everyone to see. There is one participant who is really cool! His name is even the same as mine, Xuefeng!" Feng'er called out excitedly.
"Then go watch it in your roo—" the Village Elder replied only to be cut off by Yiren.
"Wait! Did you just say, Xuefeng?"