Chapter 14 – The School of Battle Beast (1)
In a small house in the eastern part of the Ye Castle.
“Brother, are you saying this little puppy is actually a terrifying unicorn? But I cannot find any horn on its head. Oh, it’s so tiny!” Qingyu smiled, as her eyebrows arched in the shape of a crescent moon. Her pearl-like eyes were even blinking in confusion.
“Oh, I would never lie to you! It has only just entered into our world. You know, it’s currently only an infant. I believe, as it grows up, that the horn will appear, which I have seen during my awakening. As far as I know, this little beast is at least eighth-grade. If I’m lucky enough, it could even be a ninth-grade or holy-grade battle beast.” Qinghan stroke the cub in his arms, full of excitement.
By recalling what had happened in that valley, Qinghan rea.s.sured himself that this unicorn was really a high-ranked beast, as it had even managed to scare the green dragon away! He hopefully thought that it could even be a holy-grade battle beast. As for the divine-grade battle beast, he didn’t dare to wish for that. After all, throughout the Flame Dragon Continent, he had never heard of anyone who had acquired a divine battle beast.
“Eighth-grade? Or even ninth-grade? Oh, My G.o.d. That is crazy&h.e.l.lip; Brother, why don’t you tell the truth to the Elder Clan? Once they realize the ident.i.ty of this unicorn, they’ll most likely recommend you to be one of the key descendants.” The truth seemed to only increase Qingyu’s confusion.
“Why should I tell them? If I told them the truth, this little unicorn would never get to grow up... Someone will be envious and kill it!” Qinghan shook his head helplessly.
Back when the awakening was about to end, at the moment when his soul was about to fly back into his body, he was. .h.i.t by a dazzling white ray from the sky. Originally, he thought that he had failed again and that he would come out empty handed yet again. However, he quickly came to the realization that the dazzling white ray was a sign of success. The beast he had summoned had used soul telepathy with him, which let them instantly grasp each other’s memories. At that time, Qinghan’s heart was saturated with joy.
From the soul telepathy he learned, that this little unicorn was born in that valley, and was imprisoned in this confined s.p.a.ce because of some unknown power. The first time he had entered this valley, there wasn’t any living beast around. He lived there all alone.
Other beasts then began coming into this valley through the northern lane, which was the only entrance. Strangely, the magic power of this valley couldn’t deter these other animals from coming and going.
Qinghan guessed from this information, that the unicorn was probably deserted by its parents. While the lake in the middle of the valley could possibly have some magical power that attracted other beast to come and drink its water. In other words, it was a mysterious valley, where some beasts might be barred from coming into the innermost part.
“The magical power? The imprisoned beast?” Qinghan murmured, as he felt it was all rather unbelievable. Actually, the Awakening Ceremony itself was mysterious and miraculous. It was justifiable to say that this ceremony originated from the power of the ancient immortals.
But, right now, Qinghan seemed to insist on getting to the bottom of this matter. The events and the possible reasons for the happening of these events kept lingering in his mind.
“Do immortals really exist in this world?”
“If we cannot attribute the amazing ceremony to the power of immortals, then how can we explain all these ancient-related mythical things? The altar, the color-changing halo and the unearthly summoning s.p.a.ce&h.e.l.lip; These are all beyond my comprehension. Plus, I’ve always heard that supernatural events happen every now and then in Immortal City&h.e.l.lip;”
“Was it really the Secret Code that propelled me to success?”
“I knew, prior to my unconsciousness, that all my yin veins were broken. How did they recover? Does the Secret Code have a self-healing effect? But, I have never read about such a function in the book.”
He roughly remembered when he was on the verge of waking up, that a flow of comfortable warmth went through his body. However, he was not sure what kind of power led to his recovery as well as his final success.
“Hmm, it may be my good personality that saved me. Haha.” Qinghan couldn’t figure out the reason, so he just jokingly credited himself.
He never knew, that it was the bronze ring, or what he called a fake ring, that saved him at that urgent moment.
&h.e.l.lip;&h.e.l.lip;
With regards to the lion-nosed dog, it was ironically funny. At the time when this unicorn was summoned to this new world, it was rather weak and fragile, which had caused the little horn to be retracted into its head. Without the horn, the similarity between this little unicorn and the lion-nosed dog was so striking, that the elders mistakenly believed that it was only a fourth-grade battle beast.
Originally, Qinghan had planned to tell the elders what he had seen in the summoning s.p.a.ce and the truth about this unicorn. However, the moment Qinghan exited the altar, he had received a murderous look from Ye Jian, who had seemed to be determined to kill the cub in Qinghan’s arms. From then on, Qinghan had rearranged his plans, as he wished to try and conceal the true ident.i.ty of this beast.
Thus, a rare unicorn, that might even be a holy-grade battle beast, was misunderstood as a fourth-grade lion-nosed dog.
“Oh! I see&h.e.l.lip; But, brother, why would our Eldest Uncle, I mean, Ye Jian attempt to kill your little beast? As long as it’s a high-ranked battle beast, the family will like it. At least, it is a good thing for the family. I cannot find a proper reason for him to kill a cub; especially if it is a potentially high-ranked one.” Qingyu had always been a good listener, who would speak up whenever she had a question.
“A good thing? Hehe, for most of the elders, like Elder Tianqing, they really expected me to summon a high-ranked battle beast, that would strengthen the influence of our Ye Family. But this wasn’t true for Ye Jian, who had long been overshadowed by our father’s brilliant ability in cultivation. You know, he hated our entire family over such a small matter. Now, his status has steeply risen since the death of our father. And he’ll definitely try to stabilize his power by suppressing anyone who might become superior to him, especially us. Look, if he knew that I had summoned a high-ranked battle beast, which is probably even higher ranked than his own, what would he do to me and my beast? He may secretly kill my little unicorn, before it even has the chance to mature&h.e.l.lip; I’ll never let anyone know the truth, until my beast becomes mature and powerful. Humph, Ye Jian, Ye Qingkuang, Ye Ron, and the others who’ve bullied me, I’ll fight back once my beast has grown up. It’s only a matter of time...”
“Ah!” Qingyu exclaimed out of shock, but she immediately m.u.f.fled her mouth with her little hands.
“How could this be possible? Why would our Eldest Uncle be so hostile towards us? We’re relatives&h.e.l.lip;” The innocent Qingyu had a hard time trying to digest this negative information. She tried to put everything into place, yet she was still doubtful.
“Alright, sister, It’s time to go to bed. Oh, Remember&h.e.l.lip; Never ever tell anyone about what I have told you today. Well, I mean, the unicorn part.” Qinghan said discreetly.
“Yes, brother. I’ll be as mute as a fish.” Qingyu replied softly, before she went to her bedroom.
&h.e.l.lip;...
Outside the window, the cold wind was blowing loudly.
Lying in his bed, Qinghan couldn’t fall asleep, as his past experiences kept emerging in his mind - His strict and majestic father, and his considerate mother, the night when he had kneeled down in front of the courtyard of the Elder Clan, the attacks he had suffered by Xu Wuhen, the arrogant and despicable looks from Ye Qingkuang, and the disgusting scar on Ye Ron’s face&h.e.l.lip;
“Dear dad and mom, did you look down from the heavens today and see what has happened to me? Your son has summoned a battle beast, which could possibly be a holy-grade one. I have finally obtained some hope in my life, all because of this little cub. Mom, I promise that I’ll move your grave to the ancestral tomb, so that you and father will be able to rest together. In the near future, I’ll also take both of your memorial tablets to the Sacred Temple, where thousands of people will worship you&h.e.l.lip;” Qinghan’s mouth curled up, smiling at the nearby cub, which was sleeping soundly.
“You sleepy little beast. Ever since you’ve been summoned into this world, all you’ve done is sleep. When will you finally wake up...” Qinghan touched its smooth fur, as well as its lion-like nose, appreciating the adorable expression of this little, black beast.
Outside, the moonlight poured down from the sky, while the stars twinkled like the eyes of naughty children.
Chapter 14 – The School of Battle Beasts (2)
The next day, in a courtyard in the western part of the Ye Castle.
Qinghan was hastily walking towards a separated yard.
“School of Battle Beasts”
These four words were vividly sculptured on the entrance gate of this big yard, which was a forbidden area for non-descendants. It was a place for members of the Ye Family, who had already successfully summoned a battle beast, to learn the theoretical knowledge and practical techniques about battle beasts.
Taking a long and deep breath, Qinghan tried to calm himself down a little bit, as he was extremely excited. It was like a dream come true place for him, as he had long-desired to enter this school. When he was a little boy, he would spend hours looking at this place from afar, wishing that one day he would be allowed to enter this school with his own battle beast.
In the past, he could only wander around in the vicinity of this school, as he wasn’t allowed to step through the gateway. Now, however, due to this magical unicorn, he was officially permitted to become a student here.
“Hey, look, this is our ‘distinguished’ seventh young lord, Ye Qinghan. It’s rather uncommon to b.u.mp into you at this place&h.e.l.lip; Oh&h.e.l.lip; I remember, you’ve summoned that rubbish dog, hahaha&h.e.l.lip;”
As soon as Qinghan had stepped through the gateway, he received this unfriendly “welcome”. Glancing at the people in front of him, he realized that the one who had spoken to him was Ye Qingxie, a collateral descendant from Ye Jian’s family. In yesterday’s Awakening Ceremony, Qingxie had summoned a sixth-grade fire eagle, which he thought was much n.o.bler than Qinghan’s fourth-grade “lion-nosed dog”.
“Is he Ye Qinghan? I’ve heard that there appeared a nine-colored halo during his summoning process. But, you want to hear the most hilarious part of this? In the end, he only came out with a rubbish dog in his arms. This dumba.s.s wasted that golden opportunity&h.e.l.lip; Well, this garbage and his rubbish dog are actually quite a match. Haha&h.e.l.lip;”
“If the nine-colored halo emerged during my awakening period, I would’ve certainly summon a holy-grade beast, just like our ancestor Ruoshui did.”
“His father, Ye Dao, was a genius in cultivation. But, look at this guy, what an ironical comparison - a talented father and a garbage-like son!”
“What a pity!”
Following Ye Qingxie’s intended mockery, other descendants also joined this hot debate. Qinghan stood there calmly, receiving all kinds of looks from his counterparts, some were curious, some were jealous, and some were despiteful. Taunting exclamations and catcalls exploded like fireworks, as they were “drowning” Qinghan with their despicable saliva.
Nevertheless, Qinghan kept silent and looked indifferently at them. Last night, he had a.n.a.lyzed the pros and cons of the current situation, and found that it was not the right timing to directly oppose Ye Jian’s family. On one hand, in Ye Jian’s family, there were three seventh-grade battle beasts – Ye Jian’s blood tiger, Qingkuang’s violent bear and Qingfeng’s spirit wolf. These beasts were equivalent to cultivators in the Realm of the Prince. On the other hand, their grandfather, Ye Tianlong had retired long ago; Ye Jian was basically in charge of the whole family. Obviously, Ye Jian’s influence in this family was unshakable at this stage.
When Ye Dao was still alive, his achievements in cultivation were unmatchable, as he had entered the Realm of the Emperor at the age of twenty eight. While the battle beast he had summoned, was an eighth-grade dralion. At that time, Ye Dao was the brightest star of the Ye Family, whose radiance overshadowed the adjacent little stars, like Ye Jian. That was where the hatred originated.
After Ye Dao had pa.s.sed away, no influential figure was left to support Qinghan and his sister. Qinghan became the only man in his family line, though he once heard he actually had a brother-in-law who had been missing for years. Since then, Qinghan and his sister had become orphans that anyone could stamp their feet on. The ones that were insulting him just now, were all from Ye Jian’s family line.
Since Qinghan had already estimated that this would happen to him today, he wasn’t irritated at all. He stood at the gate, patiently waiting. Meanwhile, his silence actually managed to extinguish the pa.s.sion of the others to further insult him. Eventually, they got bored and started to focus on other stuff.
The School of Battle Beasts, a place for the education of Ye Family’s descendants, was composed of three branches – rudimentary, medium and advanced. Right now, the doors of the three branches were still closed. It seemed as if it was still too early for the cla.s.s to start.
“I’m a newcomer here. I think I should go to the rudimentary branch.” Qinghan thought to himself as he was playing with the little cub in his hands.
While Qinghan was standing at the gate wondering what he would learn from the school, suddenly, he saw a palm that was quickly approaching his face.
Someone was trying to sneak attack him!
Out of self-defense, Qinghan instantly dodged to the left side. Although he was simply a cultivator in the Realm of the Elite, he had some basic technique in terms of defense.
- Bang! -
Unfortunately, despite Qinghan’s quick response, the big palm still landed on his shoulder with a loud thud. The strong power forced him to stagger backwards. At the same time, he had to protect the little beast in his hands. Finally, he let himself fall backwards, as he ended up sitting on the ground.
“b.a.s.t.a.r.d, and your b.a.s.t.a.r.d dog. Get the h.e.l.l out of my way!” An arrogant voice suddenly appeared.
“Ye Qingkuang, what do you want?” Qinghan stood up, staring at the two brothers beside him.
One was a young man in his twenties, with a snow-white complexion and thin lips. He was the eldest young lord of the Ye Family, Ye Qingkuang. The little boy that stood on his side was his little brother – Ye Qingfeng, who held a little spirit wolf in his arms.
“What do I want? What do you want? I mean, are you trying to prevent us from coming in by standing in front of the gate? Look at you, and your poor puppy. Hey, are you guys interested in watching a fight between my violent bear and his black dog?” Qingkuang replied indifferently, without even looking Qinghan into his eyes.
“Haha, eldest young lord. Are you kidding? For your violent bear, the strength of a fart is enough to send that dog to h.e.l.l!”
“Haha, he deserved the heavy palm! After all, he intentionally stood in your way.”
The bystanders bursted out into laughter, as they were scornfully discussing Qinghan and his dog.
“You&h.e.l.lip;” Qinghan’s anger surged into a fury, as he was clenching his fists.
Just now, he was only randomly standing near the gate, how could this be considered obstructing others from coming in. It was just an excuse for Qingkuang to hit him, thus disguising his own filthy motivation. In other words, Qingkuang deliberately attempted to insult Qinghan in public.
“I didn’t get in your way on purpose. And you, as my eldest brother, how can you bully your younger brother? Our deceased ancestors of Ye Family are watching us from the heavens!” Qinghan restrained himself from fighting back, as he calculated that his strength was currently far from comparable with Qingkuang’s.
“Haha!” Qingkuang sneered as he glanced at Qinghan, “Oh, you’re quite eloquent, aren’t you? An elder brother bullying a younger brother? Yeah, that’s what I’m doing right now! If you don’t agree, come and bite me, mhmm?”
Qingkuang’s laughed out loudly, as if bullying Qinghan was the only joy of his boring day. He intended to continue this “game” until he was fully amused.
Suddenly&h.e.l.lip;
Qingkuang’s laughing face was abruptly frozen, as if he had just spotted a ghost in broad daylight. Pushing his little brother away to the side, he instinctively threw his fist towards his right side.
- Boom! -
With a thud, Qingkuang staggered several steps backwards, until he managed to steady himself. His face had turned deathly pale, as he was blankly looking through the gate.
“What the h.e.l.l is going on?”
“Ah&h.e.l.lip; It’s her! I’m just wondering, who has the nerve to attack our eldest young lord.”
“Hehe, Miss Wu has returned from the Flame Dragon Festival. I saw her yesterday.”
“Oh, it’s Miss Wu. Haha, I have to say, this is going to be interesting and exciting.”
“Miss Wu is so gorgeous! I cannot bear to look at her for too long. My nose is already bleeding!”
“Miss Wu?” Qinghan followed the eyes of the others, as a pair of long and slim legs appeared.
“Oh, G.o.d. What a beautiful pair of legs!” Qinghan uttered, as he even slightly drooled.
Above her legs was a tight hot pants made of leather. Looking upward, a thin waist was exposed with snow-white skin. Her body was wrapped up in red-leathered tights, giving emphasis to her magnificent b.r.e.a.s.t.s, which were ready to break out. While her face was also charmingly beautiful.
“She not only has a figure of a supermodel, but also boasts of the face of a G.o.ddess! She’s so seductive&h.e.l.lip; Miss Wu? Is she the little faerie girl – Ye Qingwu?” It suddenly occurred to Qinghan, that this girl was the granddaughter of Ye Qingniu, who was one of the most senior elders in the Ye Family. Ye Qingwu was a talented female cultivator, who was almost as talented as Qinghan’s father, Ye Dao. Right now, she had already summoned a seventh-grade snow fox, and entered the first level of the Realm of the Marshal. If she integrated with her beast, her power would be equivalent to the third level of the Realm of the Marshal. Given all her eminent achievements, she was ranked sixth on the Immortal Ranking List, which was higher than the so-called genius of the Xue Family – Xue Wuhen.
As cultivators, the higher the realm was they had reached, the harder it became to become stronger. Most cultivators couldn’t make any further improvements once they had reached the Realm of the Marshal. Ye Jian, for instance, was already in his forties and had cultivated for more than thirty years to obtain his current achievements – the Realm of the Emperor. In other words, as a young girl, Qingwu’s talent in cultivation was far above that of her peers.