“You… can fly?”
Seeing as the man and the beast fell through the sky, creating large mushroom-shaped clouds upon impact, Yu Fei-er turned to look at the young man beside her with widened eyes as if she had seen a ghost.
Wasn’t flight an ability exclusive to Saints?
As a Consonant Spirit realm cultivator, how was he doing this?
Recalling Luo Qiqi’s fearless demeanor previously, Yu Fei-er suddenly realized something and asked, “Qiqi, you knew of this in advance?”
“Back in the underground chamber, Zhang laoshi used this technique to save me once,” Luo Qiqi said. With a curious gaze, she turned to Zhang Xuan and asked, “Speaking of which, teacher, why are you able to fly?”
Actually, she had been wanting to ask this question all along, but there wasn’t a suitable opportunity before.
If it were to be known that someone beneath Sainthood was capable of flight, it would surely leave the blood of many running wild in agitation. But at the same time, it could possibly spell trouble for Zhang Xuan.
“It is an artifact that my teacher gave me. Actually, rather than flight, calling it a temporary tool for gliding would be more exact. Furthermore, it has its flaws as well. For one, it has a high zhenqi consumption, so I can’t sustain it for too long!”
Since there was no way Zhang Xuan could explain this well either, he decided to dump everything on to ‘Yang Xuan’, as per usual.
“Artifact? Yang shi is indeed amazing!”
Hearing that it was another one of Yang shi’s doing, the duo’s eyes immediately lit up in excitement.
Considering how many valuable artifacts Yang shi had given Zhang Xuan, it seemed like he truly valued the latter a lot.
Seeing that he had managed to get the duo off his hook after bringing his ‘teacher’ into the picture, Zhang Xuan smiled in relief.
“This artifact is rather rare, so I ask you two not to tell others about it so as to avoid unnecessary trouble!”
Luo Qiqi and Yu Fei-er nodded in response.
“Don’t worry!”
It was an unspoken rule for one to not speak of the affairs of a high ranked master teacher unless a compelling situation warranted it.
Besides, they also didn’t wish to bring trouble to Zhang shi either.
As the trio spoke, they gradually landed on the ground.
Zhang Xuan exhaled a large mouthful of turbid air.
With his current cultivation, he could easily maintain flight for over an hour. However, holding onto two people with his zhenqi in the midst of his flight was still rather tough on him.
It was fortunate that he only had to bring them down and not proceed forward, or else he might just end up plummeting to the ground just like Qin Zhong.
“Is that fellow… dead?” Luo Qiqi asked.
Not too far away from the trio, there was a huge pit with a man and a spirit beast lying inside. The beast was still able to retain its consciousness, but the man, as he was already inflicted with grievous wounds even before the fall, was unable to endure the impact and fainted immediately.
“No matter what, Qin Zhong is a Cosmos Bridge realm expert. It’s just a distance of a thousand meters; he won’t die that easily!” Zhang Xuan shook his head.
Back then, Feng shi and his team also fell from an altitude of a thousand meters but they still survived the fall. Even if this fellow was severely injured by one of the puppets earlier on, considering the defensive artifacts he had in his possession as the young master of the Beast Hall, it was impossible for him to die from this.
At worst, he would only be bed bound for a few months.
After explaining the matter to the others, Zhang Xuan turned to the Greenleaf Winged Dragon Beast and commanded, “What are you waiting for? Hurry up and bring us to the Beast Hall!”
Even though this huge fellow was wounded as well, it was still conscious. Upon meeting Zhang Xuan’s gaze, it began to tremble in fear.
Roar!
Hearing those words, it immediately struggled to its feet and stepped forward.
Possessing the Dragon Bloodline, it possessed an innate fear toward those capable of uttering the Dragon Language. Naturally, it could only obey Zhang Xuan’s commands obediently.
Hu hu hu!
The trio leaped onto the back of the aerial spirit beast, and leaving the unconscious Qin Zhong behind, they advanced toward the Beast Hall.
This lesson should serve well to teach that arrogant Qin Zhong to remain humble for the rest of his life.
After flying for some time, the group finally arrived at the Beast Hall.
The Huanyu Beast Hall was larger and more majestic than the Beast Halls Zhang Xuan had seen in the past. Countless spirit beasts filled both the sky and the land, creating an extremely boisterous atmosphere that could be felt even from a distance away.
Several hundred meters away from Beast Hall, Zhang Xuan and Luo Qiqi alighted from the back of the spirit beast.
This fellow was the tamed beast of the young master of the Beast Hall. If they were to arrive there on it, it could potentially cause a lot of trouble, and it would be troublesome to explain the matter.
As for why they chose to ride the Greenleaf Winged Dragon Beast to the Beast Hall instead of Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy directly, the answer was simple.
Hongyuan Empire was more than a million kilometers away from Huanyu Empire, and while the Greenleaf Winged Dragon Beast was at the Consonant Spirit realm, it would take at least one and a half months for it to cover that distance.
It was less than a month until the start of the school term, so Zhang Xuan would be late for the entrance examination if he were to ride on its back.
On the other hand, there should be higher ranked spirit beasts in the Huanyu Empire Beast Hall for them to ride on. Thus, they decided to stop by here first.
Upon stepping into the lounge of the Beast Hall, the trio was immediately stunned by the huge crowd.
The territory of Huanyu Empire stretched across the horizon, and there were countless who visited the Beast Hall every day to travel around on the spirit beasts.
There were around a dozen queues, and every queue had several hundred people lining up. Judging from the sight, some of them might have even been lining up since a month or two ago!
“The number of aerial spirit beasts, savage beasts, and beast tamers in the Beast Hall is limited. As such, it is normal to have to queue for days before getting a ride.”
Looking at the huge queue before her, Luo Qiqi smiled bitterly.
Due to the limited number of beast tamers, aerial spirit beasts, and savage beasts, it was impossible to fulfill everyone’s demands. As such, the Beast Hall would allocate queue numbers each day, and those whose numbers weren’t called would have to wait till the second day, the third day, or even beyond that.
“In the Hongyuan Beast Hall, there are even a few who fail to get a ride after queuing for two months straight. Even though there are fewer people here, I fear that it will still take around ten days or so before we can get a ride.”
Yu Fei-er nodded.
The number of experts and esteemed personnel far exceeded the number of spirit beasts and beast tamers available in the Beast Halls. Traveling had always been and was likely to remain a huge problem on the Master Teacher Continent.
“If only Ye Qian were here. He is well-acquainted with the people here, so he may have been able to allow us to bypass the queue,” Luo Qiqi said bitterly.
“If he were here, there would be no need for us to come all the way here. The royal family should have some spirit beasts as well, so we could have just asked him to bring some over,” replied Yu Fei-er.
While most of the aerial spirit beasts were centered in the Beast Hall, the royal family of most empires and kingdoms would rear a few themselves. Back then, the flying ship that Hong shi and the others left on was powered by the aerial spirit beasts of the empire.
If Ye Qian was here, given his identity as a crown prince, he could easily have brought a few aerial spirit beasts out for them. They wouldn’t have had to come all the way here to the Beast Hall just to find a ride.
Given the huge number of people here, it would be difficult for them to find a suitable aerial spirit beast.
“Forget it, borrowing a spirit beast from the empire is an extremely troublesome procedure, and one will also incur a debt to the empire. It will be much better to use the spirit beasts from the Beast Hall instead!” Luo Qiqi said.
Logically speaking, given Yu Fei-er’s identity, even if Ye Qian wasn’t around, it wouldn’t be too difficult for her to borrow a few spirit beasts from Ye Wentian.
But her unique identity complicated the matter. As the princess of Hongyuan Empire and a master teacher, if she were to ask for a favor, she would incur a debt which she would have to repay in the future. Since that was the case, it would be better for them to rent a ride from the Beast Hall instead.
Not to mention, master teachers possessed a privilege on this aspect—they had a priority queue just for them!
On top of that, Luo Qiqi and Yu Fei-er were 5-star master teachers. They were qualified to find the hall master or the elders of the Beast Hall straight to request for a better spirit beast and beast tamer.
“Let’s go!”
Thus, the group proceeded forward. At that moment, Luo Qiqi suddenly thought of something, and she turned to the young man beside her and asked, “Zhang shi, since you are a beast tamer, do you have any acquaintances here?”
“This is my first time here, so how could I possibly have any acquaintances here?” Zhang Xuan shook his head.
It was his first time in Huanyu Capital, so how could he know anyone here?
“That’s true…”
Recalling how Zhang shi had arrived later them, it was indeed unlikely for him to have any acquaintances here.
“Alright then.”
Nodding, Luo Qiqi surveyed the surroundings to find a member of the Beast Hall whom she could ask to show them to an elder or the hall master when a delighted voice suddenly called out.
“Zhang shi… why are you here?”
Turning around, Zhang Xuan saw an elder walking to him with an excited smile on his face.
“Hall Master Han?”
Upon seeing the elder, Zhang Xuan was taken aback.
The person was none other than the hall master whom he met at Coax Ridge when he tamed the Demon Cinque Beast back then, Han Chong!
Why was he here?
“Thanks to Zhang shi’s help, I managed to triumph over Luo Ming in the competition and gained the opportunity to study at Huanyu Empire…’
Han Chong smiled.
He had once suffered a trauma which resulted in a sharp fall in his fighting prowess. Thus, he turned his attention to the Demon Cinque in the hope of taming it to defeat Luo Ming. However, while he was doing so, he met Zhang Xuan. Not only did Zhang Xuan save him when Demon Cinque Beast went on a rampage, the latter even treated his trauma, allowing him to regain his former strength. Due to that, he gained the opportunity to enter a higher ranked Beast Hall to further his knowledge of beast taming.
It could be said that Zhang Xuan was his benefactor!
If not for Zhang shi, he would already be dead by now!
He’d thought that it would be hard for him to meet this incredible genius again, but who knew that he would actually reunite with him here?
Hearing the explanation, Zhang Xuan immediately understood what was going on.
“It is through your own capability that you obtained this opportunity; I only did what I should.”
He recalled how much Han Chong valued this opportunity. For it, he spent three entire years trying to tame Demon Cinque Beast.
“Zhang shi is too polite!”
After trading a few pleasantries, Han Chong asked, “Is Zhang shi here to take the 5-star beast tamer examination or…”
“Actually, we are intending to head to Hongyuan Empire, so we would like to rent a fast spirit beast with good stamina.”
Zhang Xuan chuckled. “May I ask for Hall Master Han’s help with this matter?”
“This isn’t a problem at all. I’ll show you to the Beast Lodge!”
Hearing that it was just a small matter, Han Chong hurriedly nodded.
Even though he came from the branch in Myriad Kingdom Alliance, as an ex-hall master, his standing was still higher than ordinary beast tamers. It wasn’t a problem for him to find a spirit beast for Zhang Xuan.
“I’ll be thanking you then, Hall Master Han!”
Zhang Xuan smiled in delight.
Han Chong shook his head.
“There’s no need to stand on ceremony. Also, there’s no need to call me Hall Master Han. I am only an ordinary 4-star beast tamer here, so you can just address me as Beast Tamer Han.”
While he was a hall master in the Myriad Kingdom Alliance branch, he was nothing more than an ordinary beast tamer here except for his slightly higher standing.
It would be inappropriate for him to be addressed as ‘hall master’ here, and it could even be taken as insubordination.
“Alright.”
Zhang Xuan nodded. Following behind Han Chong, the group headed for the Beast Lodge.
On the other hand, seeing how Zhang Xuan walked away with a 4-star beast tamer right after claiming that he knew no one in the Beast Hall, Yu Fei-er and Luo Qiqi glanced at one another, and their eyelids twitched frenziedly.
‘You call this knowing no one here?
‘Who are you trying to fool?’
Why did this Zhang shi feel so upright and dependable at times, and yet so unreliable and eccentric at others?
