Chapter 68: Selection

“It doesn’t matter; her disciple lacks the necessary aptitude.” Everything had been settled; the spirit beast egg that little Ah Jiu wanted could not be taken by anyone else.

So that hurried girl was Elder Smoked Chicken’s disciple. Since she didn’t possess the required qualifications, Ah Jiu was now curious to go in early and watch the spectacle.

How would this arrogant person end up, she wondered?

She looked up at her uncle Nie Xingyuan, who was already standing. “Uncle, aren’t we going in to take a look?”

Nie Xingyuan, seeing her gleeful anticipation, sighed helplessly. “Did you forget what Master taught you not long ago? You must learn to seek profit and avoid harm.”

He was still a little exasperated. This little girl never shied away from trouble.

Sword cultivators were supposed to advance fearlessly, but because of the matter between Junior Sister and Senior Brother, everyone worried Ah Jiu might not protect herself well and get into trouble. Add to that the recent incident at Hammer Rock Sect; there’d been no news from Chuiyun yet.

It was said that Hammer Rock Sect’s leader, Sui Jinghai, had transferred all the talented disciples elsewhere. Those who followed Sui Yanfang to the Beast-Taming Sect had been sent away before acting, but their exact whereabouts remained unknown.

Aside from this, Hammer Rock Sect had declined rapidly during this period; anyone with ties to Chuiyun had been thoroughly investigated, but no information was found.

Second Senior Brother had been following up on these matters and had uncovered some clues. His intuition told him this incident was related to the disappearance of Senior Brother and Junior Sister.

Having been reprimanded by her uncle, Ji Jiuxuan felt she might have been wrong.

Yet her nature, shaped in her previous life, was hard to change. Her uncles wanted her to learn to avoid danger, and she could do so for their sake—but if someone touched her bottom line, she would risk everything, even her life.

She was about to obediently wait as her uncle said, when Nie Xingyuan spoke, “Let’s go inside and take a look.”

Ji Jiuxuan was immediately confused. Hadn’t he just told her not to take risks?

Wang Xunji and the others hadn’t come out yet, had they?

Maybe they were lingering, and her uncle was impatient, so he brought her in first?

She followed Nie Xingyuan through the spiritual energy gate. Around them was a vast forest, and on the side stood a small building. Wang Xunji was currently arguing with a man in a gray robe, who was clearly impatient.

Wang Xunji’s disciple stood aside, head bowed. When she saw Ji Jiuxuan and the others enter, her anger grew fiercer.

“Shameless bootlickers, risking my disciple’s future just to flatter her!” Wang Xunji glanced at Ji Jiuxuan, then looked contemptuously at the gray-robed man. “Qi Yanwei is dead—dead! She seduced Senior Brother and bore a child. You’re just a pathetic fool.”

With a sudden “bang,” Wang Xunji, completely unguarded, was thrown to the ground by Nie Xingyuan.

Initially intending to slap Smoked Chicken, the gray-robed man unleashed a surge of spiritual power skyward. A colossal formation appeared in the sky, and a giant eagle flew out from it, beating its wings at Wang Xunji, who was sent flying, vanishing beyond the Spirit Beast Peak’s territory.

A voice echoed overhead: “Wang Xunji of Wang Ying Peak attempted to forcibly obtain a spirit beast. Wang Xunji and her disciple are now barred from the Spirit Beast Pavilion.”

Yes, the Spirit Beast Pavilion, part of Spirit Beast Peak, yet independently managed, housed countless spirit beasts, including many that guarded the sect.

Legend said it was managed by a single individual; no one else ever interfered.

Ji Jiuxuan looked up at the gray-robed man—the voice had come from him. So domineering! How satisfying.

Wang Xunji’s disciple trembled, tears streaming, and knelt. “Elder, please, don’t bar me! I haven’t yet formed a contract with a spirit beast. Please, Elder…”

She was now incoherent.

Ji Jiuxuan wondered why the gray-robed elder was so harsh toward this seven- or eight-year-old girl, but his words made her sigh: like master, like disciple.

She truly had inherited her master’s ways.

“You’ve thrown sect knowledge to the dogs? Daring to use hallucinogenic spirit medicine on the Divine Gale Eagle? If you wish for death, I can oblige you.”

The gray-robed elder’s face was cold, silencing the girl’s attempted protest. “Get lost. Don’t make me treat you as I did your master.”

The girl scrambled up in panic, muttering, “I’ll leave now, leave right now.”

Ji Jiuxuan sincerely admired her boldness. Hallucinogenic spirit medicine could work on certain spirit beasts, but not on high-level ones—it could easily drive them berserk, and then one wouldn’t even know how they died.

The gray-robed man looked at Nie Xingyuan and nodded, then asked, “Is it her?”

“It is,” Nie Xingyuan said, introducing Ji Jiuxuan: “Ah Jiu, this is He Lingsang, Elder He of the Spirit Beast Pavilion.”

Another figure from the Eight Trigrams Record of Tianxuan Sect, but before him, Ji Jiuxuan dared not show any oddity. She respectfully saluted, “Greetings, Elder He.”

“All right, the Divine Gale Eagle is here. Stand still—it will sense your situation. Only if you’re suitable will it choose you.”

At this moment, He Lingsang appeared much gentler. His square face radiated righteousness, making Ji Jiuxuan feel he was not difficult to get along with.

In her mind, she recalled the Eight Trigrams Record’s appraisal: He Lingsang was upright and dignified; anyone who tried to meddle with the Spirit Beast Pavilion faced his wrath. Only Qi Yanwei had ever seen his gentleness, but alas, she married another, her soul departed, and all tenderness turned to emptiness.

The Eight Trigrams Record was called such because its contents were a mix of truth and rumor.

“Yes.” Ji Jiuxuan looked very docile at that moment, her gaze sincerely fixed on the Divine Gale Eagle, silently repeating in her mind: ‘Choose me! I promise to raise your precious baby to be healthy and chubby.’

“How will you make it healthy and chubby?”

The sudden question startled Ji Jiuxuan; the voice was all too familiar. She quickly looked at her wrist.

There, the little skinny dragon, resembling a mud eel, stared at her with big black eyes, its expression both threatening and aggrieved, as if to say: “You heartless woman, now that you have me, you’re already seeking another! I’d like to slice you apart.”

Ji Jiuxuan gave an awkward smile, but the Divine Gale Eagle nodded, “You have been chosen.”

With a flash of spiritual light, two spirit beast eggs appeared nearby. “Stand in front of them and don’t move. If either is willing to follow you, you may take it away.”

She expected the little skinny dragon to voice more opinions, but for once, it was silent.

The spirit beast eggs emitted a soft white glow, then both shone brightly.

Nie Xingyuan and He Lingsang had heard of Ji Jiuxuan’s remarkable feats at the Beast-Taming Sect, so they weren’t surprised.

He Lingsang said, “You may pick one of the two.”

The Divine Gale Eagle stood nearby, showing no preference.

Ji Jiuxuan couldn’t tell the difference between the two eggs. According to books she’d read, the richer the spiritual energy on the egg, the stronger the spirit beast’s power after hatching.

Aside from that, there was only the color to judge. Both eggs were Divine Gale Eagle eggs, and after close inspection, they looked nearly identical.

She was about to randomly choose one when the little skinny dragon spoke up, “Pick the one on the left—it’s a better match for you.”