“I haven’t!” Zhang Xuan replied.
With his current strength, he didn’t need to use the Great Violetwing Beast to deal with mere Cosmos Bridge realm and Perfect Harmonization realm spirit beasts.
As for an opponent of the Byzantium Helios Beast’s level, it would be futile even if he were to send the Great Violetwing Beast at it. As such, throughout the examination, Zhang Xuan hadn’t tapped into the strength of the Great Violetwing Beast yet.
“He actually hasn’t used it yet…”
Brother Yu and Senior Feng’s lips twitched, and they nearly burst into tears.
They had specially asked Elder Mo regarding the issue of high-tier spirit beasts before the examination, and the response they had received was that they could only be used once.
They’d thought that given how Zhang Xuan had managed to procure so many inner cores, he must have used the ability of his tamed beast. Who could have possibly known that his tamed beast would prove to be the decisive factor in their bet…
It might be difficult for them to hunt down a spirit beast within ten minutes, but for the half 9-dan Great Violetwing Beast, it was no issue at all.
Could they really fail due to this?
If that were to really happen, they might just cry their eyes out.
“Nevertheless, there’s a chance that the Great Violetwing Beast might be unable to find a spirit beast, or that it won’t be able to accomplish the feat within ten minutes. We still have hope!”
At this point, Brother Yu could only hold on dearly to this slither of hope.
So what if the other party used his Great Violetwing Beast? They hadn’t lost yet!
Perhaps Lady Luck might just favor them!
‘I can only hope for the best now…’
Ignoring the others, Zhang Xuan gazed into the sky.
When he was descending from the mountain, he noticed some trails which indicated the rough directions where spirit beasts might be hiding. In his whistle, he’d informed the Great Violetwing Beast of those locations, so capturing one shouldn’t be a problem. The issue was with the tier of the spirit beast.
He could only win against Brother Yu if the spirit beast was at Cosmos Bridge realm.
Just as he was deep in thought, a huge gust of wind suddenly blew from the sky. The Great Violetwing Beast had finally returned, and gripped in its large claws was an aerial spirit beast.
‘Not bad, you returned quite fast. But why does this spirit beast… look so familiar?’
Seeing how the other party had returned within two minutes, Zhang Xuan nodded in approval. However, upon catching sight of the spirit beast it had captured, he couldn’t help but freeze for an instant.
Why did this fellow look so familiar?
It was then when it suddenly struck him. Wasn’t this the fellow he had seen reporting to the Byzantium Helios Beast, as well as the one who had stolen Brother Yu and Senior Feng’s storage rings?
It seemed like that fellow was in the midst of his flight when he bumped into the Great Violetwing Beast, so the latter chose to capture it.
‘But this fellow…’
Zhang Xuan’s lips twitched upon the realization. He hurriedly turned his sights to Brother Yu and Senior Feng, and as expected, the eyes of the duo had reddened in fury. If looks could kill, that aerial spirit beast would have withered there and then.
“It is that fellow! Karma always strikes at the most unexpected situations…”
“This is great…”
Incapable of flight, it was nigh impossible for them to capture the aerial spirit beast and get even with it.
Nevertheless, they had already solemnly sworn to themselves to comb through the entire Leiyuan Peak to hunt that fellow down no matter how long it took. But by some stroke of luck, Zhang shi’s tamed beast had actually managed to capture that darned fellow!
‘The heavens are impartial!’
With this, not only would they be able to get their vengeance, they would also be able to retrieve their storage rings and boost their score further!
“Zhang shi, have your tamed beast throw that fellow down. I have some personal grudges to clear with it…” Brother Yu roared furiously in anger.
“Throw it down?”
Seeing that fellow’s attitude, Zhang Xuan shook his head before gesturing to the Great Violetwing Beast.
Receiving the instructions, the Great Violetwing Beast hesitated for a moment before releasing its claws, leaving the aerial spirit beast to plummet to the ground.
Hu!
The Transcendent Mortal 7-dan spirit beast whizzed through the sky.
“Wait till I lay my hands on you…”
Recalling the humiliation of being stripped clean, Brother Yu pushed against the ground and leaped into the sky.
Gathering his might, he wrapped his zhenqi around his fist as if blazing flames.
“What is that fellow up to?”
“That spirit beast was captured by Zhang shi’s tamed beast, why is he trying to kill it?”
The master teachers in the surroundings glanced at one another in confusion as they watched Brother Yu rushing frenziedly toward the spirit beast Zhang shi had captured.
Boom!
But at that moment, the Transcendent Mortal 7-dan aerial spirit beast suddenly opened its eyes, and with a forceful flap of its wings, it stabilized its posture before retaliating with its claws.
While it only managed to recover at that very instant, with its superior cultivation and positional advantage, it still managed to gain the upper hand.
Peng!
As the fist and the claw collided, Brother Yu felt as if a huge mountain had crushed down on him. An incomparably dense might struck him squarely, leaving his apertures bleeding from the impact.
Sou!
Under the immense force, the rising Brother Yu was suddenly smacked back down like a cannonball, leaving behind a huge depression in the ground.
Pu!
Fresh blood spurted from his mouth. The clash had left him severely wounded.
As talented as he was, he was only a Transcendent Mortal 6-dan Cosmos Bridge realm primary stage cultivator at the moment. Against a 7-dan Perfect Harmonization spirit beast, he was still far too lacking.
“Brother Yu…”
Not expecting such an outcome, Senior Feng hurriedly rushed forward to help his companion up. By the time he turned his sight back to the 7-dan aerial spirit beast, the latter was already heading off into the distance.
Panicked, Senior Feng exclaimed, “Zhang shi, that fellow is escaping…”
If that fellow were to get away, how were they supposed to get their storage rings back and exact vengeance?
“You’re right,” Zhang Xuan remarked nonchalantly, as if he was uninvolved in this matter.
Stunned by Zhang Xuan’s nonchalance, Senior Feng’s rage flurried. “Then what are you waiting for? Capture it!”
“Capture it? I would love to do so, but I am only allowed to use my tamed beast once. I have already used up my chance when my tamed beast brought it over here. If I were to use it once more, won’t I be reported for flouting the rules?” Zhang Xuan said with a troubled expression on his face.
Of course he couldn’t capture that fellow back! Otherwise, if the existence of the Byzantium Helios Beast were to be made known somehow, he could potentially land himself in trouble!
It was still better to keep out of trouble’s way than to risk it.
Pu…
Hearing those words, Brother Yu, who had barely just recovered slightly from his injuries, couldn’t help but spew another mouthful of blood out of frustration.
He was certain that the Great Violetwing Beast had sealed the aerial spirit beast’s meridians beforehand, thus binding the latter’s movement. How did the latter recover from that so quickly?
Furthermore, even if the aerial spirit beast did recover, the force of its attack was a little too strong… It was as if the Great Violetwing Beast had sided with the aerial spirit beast against him!
“This…”
While he was busy spurting blood, Senior Feng’s body was trembling in frustration.
Why did he have to be so nosey and raise the concern regarding Zhang shi’s tamed beast? He’d thought that this rule would help him to subdue that fellow, but who knew that he would be the one suffering from it in the end!
Spewing yet a mouthful of fresh blood, Brother Yu howled furiously, “As long as you capture the aerial spirit beast back, I’m willing to admit defeat…”
As long as he could retrieve his storage rings, what did losing an Aerial Strike Amulet count as?
“You will admit defeat? Then… where is the Aerial Strike Amulet you promised me?” Zhang Xuan stretched out his hand, demanding for his possession.
“This…” Brother Yu’s body stiffened.
‘It has been stolen by that aerial spirit beast. Only after capturing it can I hand it over to you…’
“Don’t worry. As long as you capture that fellow, I’ll hand it over to you…” Brother Yu replied, gritting his teeth.
“That won’t do. You will have to hand the Aerial Strike Amulet over first before I will instruct my spirit beast to capture that fellow. I am taking a huge risk here by doing this; you know that my actions might be taken as flouting the rules, thus putting me at risk of disqualification, right? The least you can do is to show your sincerity,” Zhang Xuan replied.
“You…”
Brother Yu was on the verge of exploding from frustration. “Don’t worry! I, Yu Cheng, vow that even if I don’t have the Aerial Strike Amulet, I will compensate you with a high-tier spirit stone. You need not worry about me reneging on my promise!”
Unable to produce the item, Brother Yu could only offer a promise.
“In other words… the Aerial Strike Amulet isn’t in your possession?” Yet, instead of focusing on the promise, Zhang Xuan chose to bite firmly at the underlying meaning behind Brother Yu’s statement.
“…” This time, Brother Yu really burst into tears.
‘Can you stop mentioning the Aerial Strike Amulet?
‘All I need you to do is to capture that fellow, I’ll give you whatever you want afterward as long as you do it, so can you just stop talking about the Aerial Strike Amulet…’
“Brother Yu… That fellow is already gone…”
Just as Brother Yu was about to continue arguing, he suddenly heard Senior Feng’s despairing words. Hurriedly lifting his gaze, he realized that the Transcendent Mortal 7-dan spirit beast had already vanished in the dark sky.
If not for this incident, they might still have been able to find that aerial spirit beast in Leiyuan Peak. However, after this matter, why would that aerial spirit beast dare to remain here knowing that someone was after its life? It would definitely fly as far as it could!
“Damn it…”
The more he thought about it, the more furious he felt. Brother Yu struggled to his feet and glared at Zhang Xuan in animosity.
At that moment, one of the seniors suddenly exclaimed, “Alright, time’s up!”
Everyone subconsciously glanced at the incense on the stone pedestal, only to see the final whiff of smoke dissipating from the incense. Ten minutes had passed.
Brother Yu clenched his jaws and said, “Seniors, he’s failed to capture a spirit beast, so his score is still lower than mine. This should mean that he has lost the bet…”
‘Since you’re going to be difficult, don’t blame me for returning the favor!’
“Lost?”
Zhang Xuan shook his head. “My tamed beast captured a Perfect Harmonization realm spirit beast and brought it here, and if not for this fellow’s intervention, I would have surely procured its inner core and earned another thousand points. It is clear that he intentionally let my spirit beast loose, even trying to convince me to flout the rules so as to have me disqualified from the examination! Most important of all, he made a bet with me despite not possessing the required capital. All of this suggests that he is trying to scam me of my high-tier spirit stone…”
Zhang Xuan stepped forward, and with an indignant expression, he said, “I beseech the seniors to redress my grievances!”
“This…”
Hearing the both sides of the story, the seniors gazed at one another and fell into a dilemma.
It was true that Zhang shi would have surely won if Yu Cheng hadn’t interfered. In this respect, Zhang shi had the moral high ground.
However… whatever the cause was, it was a fact that Zhang shi’s score was lower than the other party. If they were to just look at the outcome, without a doubt, Zhang shi had lost the bet.
A moment later, one of the seniors spoke up.
“Both of you are talented students of our Master Teacher Academy, there is no need to for the two of you to become enemies over such a minor matter. Why don’t we just call the bet off…”
Yu Cheng harrumphed.
“No way! Since he dared to accept the challenge, he should have been prepared to face the consequences. It is clear that he has lost the bet, so he should pay me a high-tier spirit stone!”
Since he was unable to exact vengeance on the aerial spirit beast, he would just have to vent his frustrations on Zhang Xuan.
Otherwise, the matter that had happened would just turn him into a laughingstock, creating a dark stain in his history.
“This…”
Hearing those words from Brother Yu, the seniors contemplated for a moment longer before one eventually stood out and said, “Alright. Since that’s the case, why don’t we leave this matter to Elder Mo to resolve…”
Considering the astounding strength the both of them had displayed even before their enrollment, they would surely become new stars of the academy. Even as their seniors, they dared not offend them.
“Alright!” Yu Cheng replied smugly.
It was a fact that his score was higher than Zhang Xuan’s, not even Elder Mo could twist this fact.
“Tell me your names, and I’ll record your results first,” the senior said.
“I am Yu Cheng, and he is Zhang Xuan…” Yu Cheng said. However, before he could finish his words, the seniors who were still calm a moment ago suddenly widened their eyes in shock. Staring at the young man before them, their lips quivered in agitation, as if excited to see their favorite idol.
“Zhang Xuan? You are… Zhang shi from Huanyu Empire?”
Additional chapter 1
