Chapter 1708: One Word Is All It Takes
Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97
“The heck!”
This sight made the eyes of the Heavenwood Greenserpent nearly fall to the ground. The other three divine beasts also exchanged horrified looks with one another.
They were the ones who had inherited the bloodlines of Ancient Divine Beasts. They were dignified, powerful, lofty, regal… But in such a short period of time, the Goldspirit Cloudtiger had actually chosen to submit to a mere human.
There was something really wrong about this!
“She has really sullied our reputation.” The Heavenwood Greenserpent was seething with rage.
It was the head of the Five Monarchs of the forest.
It had thought that it was already shameful for the subordinates of the Goldspirit Cloudtiger to actually have allowed a mere human to tame them, but barely a moment after it thought so, those beasts’ leader submitted!
Was this not as good as a crisp slap to its face?
It was true that the Goldspirit Cloudtiger was under a lot of pressure, having to deal with six Great Sage artifacts and five beasts simultaneously. In fact, it had already been thinking of reinforcing the Goldspirit Cloudtiger, but it did not expect the latter to surrender so quickly!
Where did all of its self-esteem go to?
“Rise. Swallow this pill!” Zhang Xuan flicked his finger and fed the Goldspirit Cloudtiger a grade-9 pill before heaving a sigh of relief.
In truth, the reason he had proposed to fight a one-on-one with the Goldspirit Cloudtiger was to make use of the opportunity to tame it.
And just as he had planned, through a mixture of scare tactics and a bit of guidance through telepathy, he had managed to convince the Goldspirit Cloudtiger to submit to him.
With the Goldspirit Cloudtiger on his side, even if the remaining four divine beasts turned on him, he would at least have the power to protect himself.
“With this, it should be considered my victory, right?”
With a flick of his wrist, Zhang Xuan collected his tamed beasts and his artifacts back into his storage ring before turning to look at the Heavenwood Greenserpent.
“Lad, what kind of sorcery did you use to make the Goldspirit Cloudtiger bow down to you and acknowledge you as her master?” With an awful look, the Heavenwood Greenserpent questioned Zhang Xuan with killing intent flaring from its eyes.
“Do you want to hear the truth?” Zhang Xuan asked.
“Of course!” the Heavenwood Greenserpent replied with gritted teeth.
“The truth is that… I am your master from your previous life. In the midst of her fight with me, the Goldspirit Cloudtiger realized my true ident.i.ty. That’s why she submitted to me without any hesitation!” Zhang Xuan said as he gazed into the blank s.p.a.ce with a deep look in his eyes, reminiscent of a true expert.
“You are our master from our previous life? Bullsh*t!” The Heavenwood Greenserpent nearly fainted from the rubbish that the young man was spouting.
Can you come up with a better excuse than that?
What master in our previous life? Why don’t you say that you are the reincarnation of Kong s.h.i.+?
The heck, I can also say that I was your grandfather in my previous life!
“You don’t believe me?” Zhang Xuan frowned in discontentment.
“Believe your head!” the Heavenwood Greenserpent retorted angrily. Even if you want to fool us, do you think that we’ll accept such an excuse?
Turning his sights away from the raging Heavenwood Greenserpent, Zhang Xuan looked at the other three divine beasts and asked, “What about you? Do you not believe me either?”
“It’s no use stalling for time. We won’t let you do as you please anymore!” the Acheron Blacktortoise replied slowly.
The Celestialfire Phoenix harrumphed. “Let’s not waste our words on him. There’s something really weird about this fellow. Let’s just kill him first before discussing anything else!”
“Let’s do it then. I’ll make the first move…” the Terra Qilin said as it took a step forward.
In truth, they also felt a little pressured by the peculiarities that the young man had displayed so far. Putting everything aside, there was something really amiss about how he was able to tame the Goldspirit Cloudtiger so swiftly.
As Monarchs of the forest, they were extremely prideful creatures. Who would be willing to give up a position of superiority just to become subservient to a man?
“It seems like none of you believe me…” Zhang Xuan shook his head in disappointment before looking at the four divine beasts before him straight in the eye. “Do you dare to make a wager with me?”
“A wager?”
“That’s right! I’ll wager that I just have to say a single word to express my ident.i.ty in order to make the Heavenwood Greenserpent bow down to me and acknowledge me as its master!” Zhang Xuan said calmly as he placed his hands behind his back leisurely.
“You think that I’ll submit to you with just a single word?” The Heavenwood Greenserpent nearly choked on its flurrying anger. “Are you certain that there isn’t anything wrong with your head?”
As a beast who had inherited the n.o.ble bloodline of the dragons, it was a powerful and highly-esteemed existence in the Beast Tribe. Even if it was grilled alive, there was no way that it would submit to a mere human!
Putting aside a single word, it was futile even if the other party used up his entire lifetime worth of words.
“Just give the word and say if you are willing to accept my wager!” Zhang Xuan shrugged nonchalantly. “The wager is simple. If I am able to make you submit, you must acknowledge my ident.i.ty and make the other three divine beasts submit to me. If I am unable to do it, I’ll free the Goldspirit Cloudtiger and kill myself on the spot!”
“You want me to make them submit to you too?” The Heavenwood Greenserpent was slightly startled. It did not expect the young man to propose such a wager.
“Indeed. As the head of the Five Monarchs, surely you have some confidence in yourself, right?” Zhang Xuan said with a taunting smile.
“Humph! If our boss is willing to submit to you, we have no qualms about submitting to you. However, can we really trust you to fulfill your end of the bargain if you lose the wager?” the Terra Qilin challenged.
Having known the Heavenwood Greenserpent for so many years, they were already familiar with the latter’s temper.
It was incredibly obstinate and unbending, especially when it came to matters that compromised its dignity!
The only one who had made the Heavenwood Greenserpent submit in so many years was Kong s.h.i.+. Yet, the young man wanted to make it submit to him.
What a joke!
“That’s right! If you can make our boss submit to you, we’ll acknowledge you as our master!”
“What’s there to be frightened of? There’s no way our boss will bow to a weak human like you!”
The Celestialfire Phoenix and the Acheron Blacktortoise also voiced their support proudly.
“I’ll hold you to your promise then,” Zhang Xuan replied calmly.
“Hah! I just hope that you won’t renege on your promise when the time comes!” the Terra Qilin spat coldly.
“This…”
But at this point in time, a frown furrowed its way onto the Heavenwood Greenserpent’s forehead. The situation was developing so quickly in a direction that it did not expect that it felt like there was a need for it to stop and think things through.
The fearlessness of the young man and his ability to make the Goldspirit Cloudtiger submit to him so quickly left it feeling a little unnerved.
At this lull in the conversation, the Terra Qilin sent a telepathic message to the Heavenwood Greenserpent. “Boss, you have always disliked the scheming humans. We believe in you! Why don’t you accept this fellow’s request and save Cloudtiger first?”
Considering the Heavenwood Greenserpent’s temperament, this was a wager that they were bound to win. There was nothing for them to fear!
“This…” Uncertainty flickered across the Heavenwood Greenserpent’s eyes for a moment before it finally gathered its resolve and nodded. “Very well, I’ll accept your wager!”
It would not dare make guarantees for other beasts, but it was at least confident in itself.
Even if it died, it would never bow down to another human in its life.
“Let’s begin then!” Seeing that he had managed to convince the Heavenwood Greenserpent to accept his wager, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief. “Are you ready? I don’t wish to leak the matter to others, so I’ll be sending you a telepathic message instead. Please listen to me very closely!”
“Feel free to do whatever you want. No matter what you do, there’s no way I’ll submit to you. I advise you to give up on this meaningless pursuit!” the Heavenwood Greenserpent sneered coldly.
Some things were simply impossible!
No matter what the other party said, there was nothing that would be able to change its mind.
Even if you are Kong s.h.i.+’s reincarnation, as long as I refuse to acknowledge you, what can you do about it?
Having made up its mind, it p.r.i.c.ked up its ears to listen closely to what the young man was going to say.
Just as it was making preparations, the Celestialfire Phoenix, Terra Qilin, and Acheron Blacktortoise were discussing the situation telepathically.
“Rest a.s.sured, I know our boss very well. No one can make his determination waver!”
“I think that fellow is intentionally stalling for time. There’s a chance that he might have some reinforcements on the way. We have to keep a close eye on the surroundings!”
While they were discussing the matter fervently, they suddenly saw the young man taking in a deep breath before shouting a single consonant telepathically.
Padah!
Instantly, the Heavenwood Greenserpent collapsed to the ground, its body trembling nonstop. It glanced frightfully at the young man before lowering its body all the way down.
With agitation in its voice, it exclaimed, “Heavenwood Greenserpent pays respects to master!”