My CEO Harem Cultivation System

Chapter 174 - Moving Foward (3)

It was around lunch time when the whereabouts of Li Yang was questioned. Setsuko had woken up extra early to train hard and ensure she won the competition in order to present the man with Beast Cores and make him feel satisfied.

And yet when she returned to her room to have lunch with him, the man was nowhere to be found. Setsuko Hirayama quickly searched for him, and it was like an empty void that stemmed in her chest. It was intolerable and it maximized when it was revealed that the man had left.

Some of the Priestesses admitted to seeing him leave early in the morning and it crushed her. Setsuko didn't know what to think. Were they sure that he left the temple? Did he return to the Kin Hunters and decided that he was done with her? Was there someone else that he preferred? Had he grown tired of her?

She could hardly eat.

The other Priestess stirred away from her during that time in the lunch hall and even Priestess Mitsuko could not answer Setsuko's question. Instead she had glared at the lady and said, "Why are you looking for him by asking me? I have not seen him at all."

"What?" Setsuko stared at the pink-haired girl.

Mitsuko was terribly irritated. "If you want to keep the man to yourself then at least know where his whereabouts are or keep a tight leash on him. It is not up to me to act like his caretaker."

Priestess Mitsuko had actually been nervous if Setsuko was going to confront her about kissing Li Yang, and she was relieved that it was about the man going missing. And yet the question was still left unanswered.

Unbeknownst to them that it was not their doing that the man was gone, and certainly, it wasn't Leila's fault either—the young Priestess had no answer and even bursted to tears at Setsuko's harsh interrogation.

Elsewhere, the one who actually knew of the man's whereabouts was found. Priestess Rei's suggestion was actually insane. Already, she had been summoned by the High Priestess and reprimanded thoroughly with a viciousness unlike any other.

"Why did you let the man go?!" Rhelea's voice thundered. There was no flowery nature in her tone as she stared at one of the Kitagawa twins with fury.

"I...I'll retrieve him immediately." Excuses did not work with the High Priestess. 

Priestess Rei did not think that Li Yang would actually go—even if the man moved fast, he'd only reach the mountain by sundown. Unless he managed to get himself a ride in the city—which was naturally the obvious path he took.

The High Priestess fumed in her seat. "No. You're not fit enough to do that. Call your sister or Mitsuko to retrieve him instead. Have them go together with other seniors in the temple."

"High Priestess Rhelea—"

"I am not done speaking." The High Priestess's gaze darkened at her, splashes of red spilling out of her eyes.

Priestess Rei flinched. 

It only took a moment, but the High Priestess frowned. "But fine, what is it?"

"Why do we have to retrieve him? If the man dies, then Lady Setsuko has no other family but us. We can always say that it was his decision to leave her."

The High Priestess stared down at the younger Priestess. This one did not notice how powerful Setsuko was growing, content in her simple life. "A woman who bears a grudge does not let it go easily."

—-

There were a multitude of creatures that lived in the mountain range. He encountered monsters made from an amalgamation of snow and rocks, Ice Golems that were perfectly camouflaged in the backdrop that he almost missed them—save for the mysterious Beast Cores that hummed within them.

There were creatures that resembled white mountain lions that fought in packs, easily ignoring the frigid blizzard that they were in. But perhaps the loftiest of all creatures that had intelligence resembling those of a human was something that people back on earth might have had nightmares about.

It had many names, abominable creatures, ape-like monsters of snow—it was a Yeti. Blue eyes glowed with frost of blue surpassing it, it had an aura and could even use Ao. At a height that toppled even the Ice Golems he had fought earlier and with the wit and intelligence surpassing that of animals, it attacked and defended the cave that Li Yang had stumbled upon with ferocity.

The snowball that flew at him might have been akin to a gigantic wrecking ball. Li Yang flew out of the cave and struck against pillars of stone stacked against one another. He thought it had been only by chance, but it was the signal that someone was living in the cave.

Despite his layer of qi coating him that kept him invulnerable and impervious to the freezing winds and surroundings, his body suddenly felt the chill which reached even his bones. The harsh temperature would quickly make a man die with his blood frozen up if he had no capacity to protect himself.

Li Yang knew how to deal with creatures as tough as this one.

The man moved past the snowballs—and his Afterworld Temporary Dissolution provided the trick. The multiple snowballs passed through him unharmed, Li Yang ventured forward and drew an arc. His sword sliced through the Abominable Yeti's abdomen like nothing but meat.

He arrived behind the creature, felt the consumption of energy sucked out of himself, and then looked back to see a fist punch through his face. Li Yang flew like a rag doll past several feet and reached one of the edges of the mountain.

The perilous heights and precipitous drop told him that even with qi or not—it was still deadly. The Yeti moved towards him, a hand on its abdomen with only blue-like light shimmering through his cut. It was a regenerating creature!

Li Yang gritted his teeth. He should have finished him off properly and yet he raised his sword at the creature. The ground beneath him was unstable, or rather, the Yeti's sheer weight would crumple the foundations of this cliff. 

His entire body ached as Li Yang stayed in position, eyeing the creature as it took languid steps toward him. It presumably believed that direct punch in his face had blown his brains—or at least stunned him enough to not make another move.

Well, it was half-right. 

His entire body ached and there was a chill that continued to seep into his body. While he initially assumed it was fear, it turned out to be something else entirely. 

The Yeti's fist delivered an attack that turned its enemies to frozen statues, and only Li Yang's own innate energy prevented his blood from freezing at once. 

Instead, thin but compact sheets of ice began to crawl down from his face and spread around him like a frost plague. Already, his vision began to blur as ice invaded and his nose was blocked in this instant. He needed to get up.

And yet the chill rapidly seized his legs and arms. 

The Yeti's steps thundered like lightning, and the ground rumbled beneath its feet as it rushed right at him.