Chapter 63: Seeking a Mount

  After hearing Zhao Xue's words, Guo Fei was slightly surprised and didn't expect such things to exist in this world. What made Guo Fei extremely interested was that he immediately thought: "We can cultivate slowly, but are we still in time? The competition is just a few days away, how can we form our combat strength?"

  "In the mainland, there is a famous tamer's guild called 'Wan Shou Xing' in the main city. They buy various wild beasts suitable for riding, tame them and sell them to cultivators. Taming mature wild beasts is similar to training war horses, it takes about two days to adapt. If you ride a Blood Qun horse, I estimate that you will be scared out of the battlefield in a mounted battle competition. Although these horses are brave, they will still be terrified when facing fierce beasts head-on."

  "Are these mounts expensive?" Guo Fei pondered.

  "Of course, they are expensive. They are bought at a high price from demon hunters and beast catchers, and it takes a long time to tame them with secret methods before they can become mounts. So one head is at least around 50,000 gold coins." Zhao Xue said in a low voice.

  "Ah, I can't afford this."

  "I owe you 200,000 gold coins, don't I? I won't welch on the debt. Consider it payment for a mount instead." Zhao Xue said with a sly smile.

  "County Master, you're really not a good person, losing 150,000 gold coins in one go. However, the rideable beast is something I picked myself, you come pay for it." Guo Fei said with a smile.

  Merchants and traders gather in the main city, with people coming and going. The Beast Parade is located in a large street area of the main city. This is an extremely large manor, where you can hear sharp beast roars from far away, and there is a strong smell of blood.

  Zhao Xue brought Guo Fei, accompanied by two attendants, to this place. She seemed very familiar with the place, and the guards at the entrance recognized her. As soon as they entered, someone rushed in to report. Not long after, a man in his 40s, with a big belly, pointed forehead, small eyes, and short stature, resembling a spinning top, came smiling to greet them.

  "Miss County, it's been a long time since you've come, we have new goods recently, go take a look."

  "Hmm, we're not here to buy pets today, we want to see the rideable beasts. Let's finish our business first!" Zhao Xue said with a smile.

  "Your Excellency, the County Lord, you are truly blessed. Today, we have successfully tamed two high-class 'Barking Wolf' mounts. With this knight riding on it, sweeping across the land from north to south, and later winning the championship in the King's Capital Selection Tournament, it will perfectly demonstrate the prestige of our Blackstone County Castle." The man said with a sweet smile, narrowing his eyes.

  He knew that Zhao Xue was a Taoist, no need to ride a beast, only warriors who cultivate riding skills would ride beasts. It's natural to see that Guo Fei came for the competition, and at first glance, this person is a shrewd businessman.

  "Really!" Zhao Xue's heart was clearly moved, and she nodded.

  "Yes. The young master bought one." This person said with a smile, narrowing his small eyes.

  "Ah!" Zhao Xue's face was taken aback, and then she smiled: "My brother has also come, this time he will participate in the selection of soldiers competition, with the help of this riding beast, I think it must be able to achieve good results, for our Blackstone County, for our Zhao family to win glory, as his sister, I am happy for him too!"

  "Is Young Master Ba inside trying out the treasured wolf horse? Why don't you go take a look, County Princess?" The man said with narrowed eyes.

  "Of course I'll go take a look!" Zhao Xue revealed a delighted and excited smile. If you didn't know her, you'd think she was very close to Zhao Ba.

  On the road, Zhao Xue saw Guo Fei's puzzled expression and explained in a low voice: "The wolf is a kind of wolf that grows on the Black Rock Plateau. It has a tall body, a fierce temperament, is extremely warlike, forms groups, comes and goes like the wind, and poses a great threat to our Heishi County. It can also be said to be one of our local specialties."

  The beastly procession was very large, and in the courtyard of the entrance, there were rows of iron cages on both sides, inside which were small beasts such as cute rabbits, cunning foxes, gloomy snakes, fluffy little bears, greedy squirrels, etc.

  Zhao Xue's eyes were fixed on each one, apparently she was a regular customer here and often bought these pets back.

  Through the first courtyard, it's a spacious suite. In the courtyard, there are huge iron cages placed one by one. Lions, leopards, tigers, wolves, and other ferocious beasts that Guo Fei didn't recognize were growling and snarling in low voices.

  "This is a real beast, much more ferocious than the ones I saw in the prehistoric animal garden." Guo Fei's eyes widened into circles as he thought to himself.

  He led Guo Fei and Zhao Xue through a secret underground passage in the courtyard, into the ground.

  Underground, it's incredibly spacious. The entrance is a passageway, and on both sides of the passageway are small compartments, inside which wild beasts are locked up. Moreover, they seem to be exotic species, many unknown giant beasts lying inside.

  Passing through the passage, I entered an underground square. Standing at the entrance of the passage and looking down, it was like a skywell below, but exceptionally wide, with a diameter of over 300 meters. There were rows of seats around the passage that allowed you to watch what was happening below. The entire square was surrounded by inlaid sparkling crystals that emitted rays of light, illuminating the whole area.

  At this time, in the arena, a man was riding on the body of a large black wolf, wielding a long-handled axe to chop left and right, looking majestic. This person was Zhao Ba.

  Look at this big wolf again, it is 1.7 meters tall, with thick legs and a long body, its whole body covered in fluffy black fur, its mouth full of sharp teeth emitting a cold light, its two eyes glowing red, on its body is a beast skin pad tightly fixed to the body, on top of the pad is a saddle, its head and tail also have thin iron armor, looking shiny and majestic.

  This wolf has incredibly great strength, carrying a person on its body, as if it were nothing, jumping and leaping with a speed as swift as the wind.

  Guo Fei took a look and saw that Zhao Ba's strength was at the middle level of Qi refining, but now he was riding on Xiang Lang's body to fight, and his Qi refining skills seemed to be at a higher level. Moreover, Zhao Ba's axe techniques didn't seem to be well-coordinated with Xiang Lang yet, and if they were to become more familiar, it would definitely become even more formidable.

  "Clap, clap!" Zhao Xue watched as Zhao Ba rode the wolf-like creature for a few rounds, and suddenly applauded, smiling sweetly: "Little brother's riding skills have improved greatly, it makes sister feel very relieved. If father knew about this, he would be delighted."

  Zhao Ba turned his head and looked around, then suddenly kicked off from the wolf's back and walked up along the stairs.

  "Sister, how do you have time to come here today? I suppose it's to buy a ride for Brother Guo. Brother Guo, my sister is sometimes overly enthusiastic and can be too kind-hearted, which can lead to trouble. The tournament is perilous, so be careful not to lose your life. However, hundreds and thousands of small soldiers die every day, one more or less doesn't make a difference. I suppose you've saved my life before, so I should show some hospitality, but the tournament is near and I have no time to spare. Let's catch up after it's over, if you're still around. Hehe."

  "Oh, Na Ba young master's guest is set, I've always been lucky, and I'm afraid no one can take my life yet. Hehe!" Guo Fei smiled and said.

  "Hmph!" Zhao Ba coldly snorted and said to those below: "I want this wolf's head, send it to my mansion."

  "You said, if he died in the competition, would the Council of Elders blame you?" Guo Fei looked at Zhao Ba's figure, his temperament hadn't changed, with a hint of overbearingness in his cold demeanor, and suddenly smiled at Zhao Xue.

  "It shouldn't be, but don't underestimate him. Be careful not to lose the rice while trying to steal the chicken. After returning this time, he resigned from all his military posts on the grounds of devoting himself to the selection of officials, and asked his father to move out of the lord's mansion, buying a separate courtyard to live in. I heard that during this period, he summoned many advisors, presumably from another faction who support him. In this competition, he will be your arch-nemesis. If you make a move in secret, they might not dare to do anything, but if you confront him openly and fairly in the tournament, you must be on guard, especially during the hunting competition." Zhao Xue said in a low voice as she watched him leave.

  "It seems their relationship is about to turn sour and become public." Guo Fei pondered silently without speaking.

  "Hmm." Zhao Xue suddenly laughed softly and said: "You say, if I tell him about his own physical condition, isn't this play already over?"

  Kuo Fei's body suddenly felt a chill. Zhao Xue's sweet smile hid sinister intentions. Putting himself in Zhao Ba's shoes, if he were to receive such terrible news, he would probably go crazy or become an idiot.

  "This plan is wonderful! I don't know if Young Master Ba will go crazy. But, would he believe it?" Guo Fei smiled faintly and said, he himself didn't want to do it, but couldn't stop others, he was actually very willing for Zhao Xue to do it.

  "You're indeed a bad guy! Hehe." Zhao Xue said with a soft and gentle smile.

  "It was you, Your Ladyship, who first proposed it, but I didn't say it."

  "It's not time yet, the play has just begun and it's ending in a hurry, there's no flavor to it." Zhao Xue thought.

  (Recommendations and collections!)