After a moment of silence, Ding shi glanced at the master teachers in the surroundings and asked, “Even though Zhang shi cares not for these spirit beasts, can we really… shamelessly claim these spirit beasts for ourselves?”
As master teachers, they had their pride and moral compass.
“If not for Zhang shi, we might have died by now. If we were to claim his hard work for ourselves after all that, we would be worse than beasts!”
They already owed a debt of gratitude to Zhang shi for saving them. If they were to take the other party’s items for themselves after all of that, how could they possibly face the other party in the future?
How could they face their own consciences?
Scanning the surroundings, Ding shi said, “Since everyone here shares the same thoughts, I have a suggestion!”
At this moment, Ruohuan gongzi, Luo Xuan, and others from Huanyu Empire’s party had also scaled down the floating rock platforms and into the gorge.
“Ding shi, please speak!”
The crowd’s gaze fell on him.
“Since Zhang shi told us to return, let’s listen to his words. We’ll take these spirit beasts to report back at the starting line. However…”
Ding shi suddenly paused.
“Each of us shall only claim a single point to clear the examination. We will place whatever is left under Zhang shi’s name!”
“It is only right that we do that!”
“Indeed. These spirit beasts were tamed and killed by Zhang shi, of course we should put the points under his name!”
…
Hearing those words, the crowd immediately nodded in agreement.
Elder Mo had already said that the points were cumulative and transferable. Since these spirit beasts were tamed and killed by Zhang shi, they could just claim a single point to pass the examination while passing the remaining sum to Zhang shi.
Such respectable conduct should be made known to the teachers and elders of the academy!
This was what they should do, and this was what they believed in as well.
Having decided on the matter, the group quickly brought the spirit beasts and inner cores down the mountain.
…
Oblivious of their decision, Zhang Xuan leaped out of the gorge and flitted alongside the cliff, headed to the top of the mountain.
A conjecture of his had been confirmed while he was in the midst of taming the spirit beasts earlier on.
Previously, when he realized that the spirit beasts were luring master teachers into an ambush they prepared orderly, a doubt had emerged in his mind… How did these fellows uncover the tracks of the master teachers and avoid the traps they had laid for them?
After all, the spirit beasts that were in charge of luring the spirit beasts were only at Consonant Spirit realm. It was impossible for them to notice traps that even most master teachers had difficulty perceiving. Unless… someone had been guiding them from behind!
With this deduction in mind, Zhang shi interrogated the spirit beasts he had tamed to gather news from them.
Under his questioning, he managed to uncover some significant information.
The reason they were able to precisely locate the master teachers and avoid their traps was indeed due to a spirit beast guiding them from the rear!
‘Perfect Harmonization realm primary stage spirit beast… Myriad Anthive Queen!’
Through interrogating the spirit beasts, he had managed to uncover the mastermind behind the entire operation!
The Myriad Ant was an extremely rare savage beast. It was around the size of an ant, and it was able to fly freely in the mountains without being noticed.
These little things might mean nothing much to experts—they could easily crush one with their fingers—but what was truly fearsome was the being that stood behind them… Anthive Queen!
The Myriad Anthive Queen had a physique comparable to a human. While it was incapable of flight, it could control several ten thousand Myriad Ants simultaneously to scout an area.
The reason why those spirit beasts were able to notice the master teachers’ ambushes in advance was due to the Anthive Queen scouting via the Myriad Ants and relaying the news.
As Zhang Xuan advanced in the direction pointed out to him by the spirit beasts, with a deep frown on his forehead, he muttered, “Why would the Myriad Anthive Queen help those spirit beasts?”
The Myriad Anthive Queen was a Perfect Harmonization realm spirit beast. On top of that, with so many Myriad Ants scouting in its stead, it could easily predict the movements of those that could pose a threat to it and take precautions in advance.
As such, it was extremely difficult for the examinees to harm it!
There was no reason for it to organize the other spirit beasts to deal with the humans!
After all, if Elder Mo were to find out that it was doing so, it would be difficult for it to preserve its life.
After some thought, Zhang Xuan was still unable to figure out the aims of the Myriad Anthive Queen. Thus, he shook this question out of his head.
‘Its motive doesn’t matter at all. What I am interested in is the Myriad Anthive Nest!’
Naturally, Zhang Xuan wasn’t so magnanimous as to give the spirit beasts he had tamed and killed away to others. The only reason he did so was because he heard mention of the Myriad Anthive Queen, and there was an artifact that the latter possessed that he dearly wanted.
Myriad Anthive Nest!
It was through the Myriad Anthive Nest that the Myriad Anthive Queen was able to bring and summon Myriad Ants wherever it went!
The Myriad Anthive Nest was similar to a storage ring, but its interior was imbued with spiritual energy, allowing lifeforms to survive in it.
In other words, as long as there was sufficient space in the Myriad Anthive Nest, one could even put a human in it!
As a storage ring wasn’t suited for storing living beings, it was extremely troublesome for Zhang Xuan to switch place with his clone. However, if he could obtain the Myriad Anthive Nest, he would be able to hide within it whenever he needed his clone to appear in public.
In fact, he could even store the Great Violetwing Beast inside. He would be able to catch his opponent off-guard by summoning it in the midst of a battle.
This was especially so given his identity as a beast tamer. He could store all of his tamed beasts inside the nest, and he would have a mobile army with him at all times!
As such, he immediately rushed over as soon as the situation at the gorge cleared up.
There was nothing more important than this at the moment. He was even willing to give the spirit beasts and tamed beasts to the master teachers just so that he could get to the Myriad Anthive Queen as soon as possible.
After all, the Anthive Queen should have known by now that he had saved the master teachers. If it were to escape or hide, it would be difficult to find it once more.
Through the Eye of Insight, he was able to see the usually indiscernible Myriad Ants clearly in the air. Flapping their wings furiously, they were all heading in a certain direction.
Concealing his aura, Zhang Xuan silently followed behind them.
Since these Myriad Ants had to report back to the Anthive Queen, he would surely be able to find the latter by following them.
Given his current cultivation, there was no difficulty in hiding his presence from the Myriad Ants, who were mere savage beasts.
Advancing ahead, he saw a few more groups of spirit beasts attempting to lure the examinees into a trap. However, seeing that the situation wasn’t as dangerous as the previous encirclement, he chose not to interfere.
An hour later, he reached the middle mark of Leiyuan Peak.
At the current point, he was already several thousand meters above ground level, and the air was even colder than before. White clouds drifted in the surroundings, creating an illusion as if one were treading on clouds.
The further Zhang Xuan proceeded up the mountain, the fewer examinees he saw. At this point, he barely saw anyone else anymore.
‘Could the Anthive Queen be in the valley ahead?’
Watching as the Myriad Ants dive into a lush valley, Zhang Xuan chose to hide behind an enormous tree to assess the area inside before making a move.
The valley was huge, extending far into the horizon. Around three hundred meters away, there was a large cavern hidden beneath the shadows.
‘To think that there would be some familiar faces here…’
Zhang Xuan chuckled.
There were two men standing at the entrance of the cavern, and surprisingly, Zhang Xuan was actually able to recognize them.
They were Senior Feng and Brother Yu, the man who made the bet with him earlier before the examination!
At this moment, the duo was standing outside the cavern with a burning incense stick in their hands.
The smoke of the incense slowly drifted into the interior of the cavern.
‘Beastscale Incense? It’s no wonder that fellow dared to make the bet with me. It seems like he does have a trump card to fall back on…’
Upon seeing the incense, Zhang Xuan nodded in realization.
Unlike normal incense sticks, the surface of the Beastscale Incense was marked with grayish inscriptions, reminiscent of scales.
After lighting it with one’s zhenqi, the smoke produced by the incense would drift in the direction determined by the will of the person who lit it.
This item was crafted using the scales of high-tier spirit beasts, and it carried a unique scent that possessed a deadly charm to weaker spirit beasts. If they were to inhale too much of it, it could even lull them to sleep.
Rumor had it that the method of producing Beastscale Incense had already been lost, so they were extremely rare and invaluable.
It was probably due to this artifact that Brother Yu dared to make the bet with him.
With this artifact in hand, he would be able to attract countless spirit beasts over to him easily.
It seemed like that fellow had slain quite a few spirit beasts and procured their inner cores already.
As for the reason why they were here, could it be that they had noticed the Myriad Anthive Queen and intended to kill it?
Standing in front of the cavern, Feng Wu asked in disbelief, “Brother Yu, is there really a Perfect Harmonization realm spirit beast inside?”
“Don’t worry! I have made many preparations for this examination. Not only did I procure a Beastscale Incense, I even brought a few Seeking Mice here!” Brother Yu chuckled as a snow-white mouse jumped from his bosom.
The Seeking Mouse was a unique savage beast that possessed an exceptionally sensitive nose. Once it locked onto a scent, it would be able to find the source even when worlds apart.
Back then, when Lu Chong had been attacked by Lin Lang and hid in the royal palace’s Book Collection Vault, this creature had been the one that betrayed his location.
“This… isn’t an ordinary Seeking Mouse?”
Taking a glance, Senior Feng realized that there was a black streak trailing down from the Seeking Mouse’s head to its tail, and this had left him perplexed.
He had seen a Seeking Mouse in the past as well, but he recalled its fur to be completely white like snow. Why would it have a black streak trailing down from its head?
“Of course not. Considering how ordinary Seeking Mice are only savage beasts, how could they possibly accurately pinpoint the location of spirit beasts? This is a mutated breed, Golden Seeking Mouse, and it has long reached the level of a spirit beast. What is unique about it is that it has been fed with the feces of high-tier spirit beast from young. Once let loose, it is able to track down all spirit beasts in a radius of several dozen kilometers!”
Brother Yu stroked the Golden Seeking Mouse in his hand gleefully.
He had spent a hefty price to purchase this Golden Seeking Mouse just so as to achieve results so astounding that he could attract the eyes of the elders to him.
And from the looks of it… it seemed to be working as planned.
“This Golden Seeking Mouse is the one that told me that there is a Perfect Harmonization realm spirit beast inside…” Brother Yu chuckled.
“Considering that it is a Perfect Harmonization realm spirit beast, what should we do if the Beastscale Incense fails to work on it?”
Hearing the confirmation form the other party, Senior Feng still felt a little unnerved.
His cultivation realm was only at Half-Cosmos Bridge whereas Brother Yu’s was at Cosmos Bridge realm primary stage. If the Perfect Harmonization realm spirit beast managed to maintain its consciousness before the Beastscale Incense, their lives would be in danger.
“It is not like you are unaware of the properties of the Beastscale Incense. There’s no spirit beast beneath Transcendent Mortal 8-dan that can withstand its potency. Furthermore… even if it fails, I still have other aces up my sleeves. You need not worry!” Brother Yu declared confidently.
How could he possibly rush to this cavern knowing that there was a Perfect Harmonization realm spirit beast inside if he hadn’t prepared anything else!
Other than the Beastscale Incense, he also had a grade-5 formation plate in his possession.
If that fellow really dared to come charging at them, that would be the last thing it ever did!
