Chapter 160: Chapter 21: Taming the Black-scaled Phoenix Hawk
Zhang Xuan said, “Both of you disregarded life and death, and were not afraid of offending Heaven Mandate Hall, coming forward to deliver me the news. Even before I revealed my identity when I was in the most difficult situation, you provided all kinds of convenience. Zhang Xuan has engraved this in his heart, how could I possibly commit such an ungrateful act!”
Yu Longqing said anxiously, “But… if you don’t kill us… once this message leaks, you will surely encounter tremendous trouble!”
“City Lord Yu is right!”
Lu Mingrong nodded, “To kill a Fate Master and impersonate one, even if you are a clan scion, I’m afraid it won’t be easy to resolve…”
“First of all, although our interaction has been brief, I believe in your character and that you will not betray me for the sake of benefit,” Zhang Xuan interjected, halting their words. His eyes shone with a glint as he continued, “Secondly, to repay enmity with gratitude and gratitude with reward, this… is the duty of being human. If because of fear of danger, I were to kill my benefactors, how would I be any different from a beast?”
Yu Longqing and Lu Mingrong fell silent.
To repay enmity with gratitude and gratitude with reward is indeed the duty of being human. Sadly, many have forgotten this, and for the sake of their interests, would even abandon it. Unexpectedly, the young man before them had always adhered to it.
After a moment, Yu Longqing exhaled deeply, a wry smile on his face, “It seems we were the ones with too narrow a view!”
“Indeed! We thought that the longer we lived, the better we’d grasp human hearts, but unexpectedly, we’ve also forgotten our own initial aspirations…” Lu Mingrong shook his head.
The Lu Mingrong of old could, for the sake of others, devote all his energy and effort just for a single word, and even though it seemed foolish now, they were his most treasured memories.
Exchanging a glance, the two stepped forward together, bowed deeply with clasped fists, “Since Teacher Zhang trusts us so, we both here swear, if we leak this news, may we immediately meet with unending calamity and die a horrible death by the backlash of Origin qi!”
“There’s no need for such grave oaths. Since I act this way, it is naturally because I trust your character.”
Zhang Xuan shook his head, “Let’s not talk about this any longer; we still need to deal with the Liu Clan’s wrath. A clan elder has been killed and their coffers have been emptied; I’m afraid it won’t be easy to resolve.”
The Liu Clan’s loyalty to Ling Buyang was in hopes of riding on his coattails to success, but now with four thousand Origin Currency gone, their funds depleted, and their clan leader killed, the leak of this news would surely stir up a great upheaval.
If the message were solely contained within Baiyan City, it might be manageable, but if word reached the capital, it could possibly arouse others’ suspicions. Therefore, how to handle it must be carefully considered in advance.
Yu Longqing said, “Teacher Zhang need not worry. When I came over, I had already notified Steward Liao and had the City Guard summoned. Over the years, the Liu Clan had been so bold and ruthless behind the backing of Heaven Mandate Hall, committing all sorts of evils. They had become universally hated, and now that Liu Tianzheng is killed, this cancer of Baiyan City needs to be eradicated.”
“That’s good!” Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief.
With the City Lord Residence stepping in, plus the scattering of the rats once the ship sinks, the Liu Clan, no matter how powerful, wouldn’t be able to cause too much of a commotion. In just half a day, they were swept clean, with all their assets being confiscated—though it has to be said, the so-called assets had mostly been sold off already; what was left was merely an empty shell…
At that moment, Zhang Xuan had brought Liu Mingyue over and saw Xu Xin, who was bound and showing signs of madness.
“How to deal with him is your decision to make,” he said.
With his hands behind his back, Zhang Xuan stood not too far away.
“He killed my father with a sneak attack from behind, so I will kill him in the same manner…” Liu Mingyue bit her lip, her eyes reddening with emotion.
Although her father had been very strict with her, his love had been genuine. But now she was separated from him by life and death in just a few short days.
She took out a dagger, her hand trembling as she stabbed forward.
Several attempts, all unsuccessful.
Even though her strength had reached the pinnacle of the Accumulative Realm, she had never killed anyone. Despite being filled with hatred, she found it hard to actually do.
After what seemed an eternity, she took a deep breath, suddenly plunging the dagger deep into Xu Xin’s chest with force. After a brief struggle, this Peak of Jade Bone Realm Life Guardian fell.
Clink!
The dagger fell to the ground, and Liu Mingyue collapsed, the emotions she had bottled up inside erupting.
“Teacher…”
Seeing her like this, Yu Xiaoyu was full of worry.
Zhang Xuan shook his head, “This is what she has to go through and bear. She needs to move past this to truly become independent and mature.”
Whether Liu Tianzheng was good or bad was beside the point; he had truly given his all to his daughter. Even though Liu Mingyue had felt oppressed, she had always complied, acknowledging this truth.
Now….no one was ordering her around, no one was making demands, and while it wasn’t what she wanted, it was a grief that only she could overcome. If she couldn’t make it through, no amount of persuasion would help.
“You stay here a while longer to keep her company. Additionally, I plan to leave Baiyan City, so all of you should give it some thought. If you wish to continue being my students, come to the courtyard where I stay by tomorrow morning. If not, I won’t force you…”
Zhang Xuan said, waving his hand dismissively.
Having decided to impersonate Ling Buyang and investigate Empyrean Kong’s situation in the Imperial Heavenly Destiny Hall, there was no need to stay any longer. After thorough deliberation, he decided to set out the next day.
As for the decision of these three students, it was entirely up to them.
Leaving the room, Yu Longqing approached him with a solemn expression, “Teacher Zhang, that Black-scaled Phoenix Hawk seems to know Ling Buyang is dead, and it’s getting agitated. My people are barely able to restrain it anymore!”
“I’ll go take a look!” Zhang Xuan nodded.
The Black-scaled Phoenix Hawk was Ling Buyang’s beast pet. Logically, there would be a connection between their souls, and it should have known the moment he died. But Ling Buyang’s soul had been annihilated while in a state of Detachment, and with his corpse being protected inside a formation and later taken into a new world, it had been in a state of disconnected sensing the whole time.
At first, no problems were detected, but as time went on, everyone realized that they could no longer find anyone and immediately began to panic.
School Head Lu and City Lord Yu had already taken precautions, dispatching people to control the situation. However, this individual’s strength had reached the Divine Soul Realm. Even though over ten elders from the City Lord Residence were sent, they were having trouble handling the situation.
“A Primordial Beast of the Divine Soul Realm already possesses intelligence not inferior to that of human beings. It probably guessed something happened to Ling Buyang and is trying to find him…”
As they walked, Yu Longqing explained.
“Hmm!” Zhang Xuan nodded.
Yu Longqing said, “I’ve discussed this with School Head Lu. If we really can’t control it, we’ll just kill it… to prevent any leaks of information!”
This Ling Buyang also had a beast pet, something they had not anticipated. Fortunately, it died within the formation. Otherwise, if it sensed something was wrong and flew back to Heaven Mandate Hall, even without a Life Token, concealing the news of its master’s death would likely be impossible.
“No need!” Zhang Xuan shook his head.
“No need?” Yu Longqing frowned. “Does Teacher Zhang intend to tame it? Hawk-type Primordial Beasts are incredibly proud and recognize only one master in their lives. I know your beast taming skills are formidable, but taming it will not be so easy.”
It’s not a matter of distrust, but the difficulty of taming a creature that already has a master is far greater than taming an ordinary Primordial Beast.
Zhang Xuan smiled slightly, not responding, and continued to follow Yu Longqing toward the backyard.
In no time at all, they saw a giant hawk-like Primordial Beast struggling as its legs were shackled with iron chains. Over a dozen old men surrounded it, wielding their formidable strength without yielding, and both sides were in a deadlock.
From a distance, the Black-scaled Phoenix Hawk appeared weary, and the many elders all had yellowish complexions.
Primordial Beasts have strong physiques. Even though they do not know martial skills, they are generally much stronger than cultivators of the same level. Especially an aerial ruler like this one—if it were not shackled, instead of being suppressed, these men would probably not withstand a few charges before being killed.
Activating his disguise power, Zhang Xuan once again transformed into the likeness of Ling Buyang. He hadn’t even reached the front before shouting out.
“Xiao Hei!”
“Chiu…”
Seeing its “master” arrive, the Black-scaled Phoenix Hawk was stunned for a moment, its excited eyes shining. It took a couple of steps forward, then suddenly stopped, tilting its head and looking over with a hint of confusion.
Obviously, it sensed something was amiss.
This person, though identical to its master in every way, presented no aura of a soul—meaning there was no master-servant relationship!
“Worthy of being a Divine Soul Realm Primordial Beast, much smarter than that guy Dao Li. It noticed something off right away…”
Zhang Xuan mused inwardly.
Dao Li really was a bit slow-witted; teaching him to cook took several days, yet the results were still somewhat unsavory. As for making tea, either there was too much water or not enough leaves, also quite average. So far, only boiling water was passable. Evidently, compared to this large beast, he was far behind.
“Chiu~~”
As the other party drew closer, the Black-scaled Phoenix Hawk finally sensed something was wrong. Letting out a screeching cry, anger was clearly evident in its eyes.
Obviously, it had guessed that its real master might have been killed.
“You all go out; I want to have a proper talk with this fellow…” Zhang Xuan waved his hand.
The many elders from the City Lord Residence glanced at Yu Longqing, and upon seeing him nod, they all simultaneously backed away and left the courtyard.
“You should leave too,” Zhang Xuan motioned to City Lord Yu.
“Yes!” Yu Longqing hesitated for a moment, then walked out of the courtyard and firmly closed the gates behind him, standing outside to wait.
Though unsure what the young man intended to do, it was imperative not to let the beast escape. With this in mind, Yu Longqing turned to instruct, “Bring over three Siege Crossbow Carts for the city’s protection!”
Several elders rushed off hastily, and before long, the massive crossbows that each weighed thousands of pounds were rolled over, their bowstrings taut and imposing a fearsome presence.
With such Siege Crossbow Carts, accompanied by special arrows, a strike was something even Yu Longqing had to dodge. If Teacher Zhang genuinely couldn’t control the Black-scaled Phoenix Hawk, they wouldn’t hesitate to execute it on the spot.
Once everything was ready and he had just taken a breath of relief, he heard a piercing and angry cry from the Black-scaled Phoenix Hawk from inside the courtyard. Clearly, negotiations had failed…
The next moment, the giant body of the Primordial Beast soared into the air, but not by spreading its wings. It was as if it had been punched into the sky.
Thud, thud, thud!
With several successive bounces like a ball hitting the ground, while Yu Longqing looked on in confusion, a sound resembling sparrows chirped from within the courtyard.
“Cheep cheep~~cheep cheep cheep~~”
“???”
Yu Longqing was stunned.
Was that the cry of the Black-scaled Phoenix Hawk?
Why did it not sound quite right?