Chapter 69: The Great Riding Competition

  Guo Fei's heart skipped a beat after hearing this, the person they were talking about was obviously Hu Xiaoyue and others. He didn't expect Hu Xiaoyue to be so extraordinary, it was no wonder she had survived in the Black Rock Plateau for nearly a hundred years, and with just one move, she had obtained the heavenly material and earthly treasure that made Linjiabao jealous.

  "Uncle Liu, you did the right thing. With one move, you took out three of our hunters, clearly exceeding the limits of a Qi-refining cultivator. Moreover, your Spirit-tracking disc didn't react; if your judgment is correct and it's indeed a famous demon cultivator, then they've likely entered the realm of Demon Core Protection, which is beyond what we can handle. Let's put this on hold for now and report to my father first. For the time being, send someone to guard the exit of Blackrock Highlands and immediately report if anything happens. If they don't come out, we'll enter Blackrock Highlands together during the Beast-hunting Festival and take care of them." Lin Zhen said in a deep voice.

  "Brother!" Lin Shan pouted in dissatisfaction. She was clearly very eager for the Millennium Blood Ginseng and wanted to go get it immediately.

  "They have a demonic cultivator and a powerful sect expert, clearly an extremely formidable demon-hunting team. We can't act rashly without understanding the situation, let's wait for Father to return." Lin Zhen raised his hand, stopping Lin Shan.

  Lin Shan no longer made a sound, apparently between the two of them, Lin Chen's words still counted. The two brought Guo Fei and Zhao Xue to the mountain villa's hilltop pavilion.

  The wealthy family really enjoys, the scene is extremely grand, making Guo Fei a bit stunned. This mountain pavilion occupies a vast area, about the size of a football field, with crystal balls inlaid on the pillars around and in the middle of the pavilion, illuminating the place. The top of the pavilion is extremely high, supported by precious golden nanmu wood, covered with glazed tiles, and the floor is arranged with soft chairs, with red wooden tea tables placed in front of each chair seat, and a stove is built opposite to roast meat.

  After several people arrived, several servants immediately lit the charcoal fire in the stove, set up an iron frame, brought over a few live small animals, slaughtered them on the spot, applied seasonings and started roasting them over the charcoal fire.

  Time was not long, a plate of fruit and dishes were brought up, two jars of fine wine were also opened, a fragrant aroma of wine spread out, making people drool.

  Several scantily clad, wild dancers took the stage immediately, a fifty-year-old man pulled out a strange instrument, and as the music played, the dancers sang and danced wildly.

  The maid placed several plates of roasted fresh meat in front of a few people.

  "Steamed chicken slices with pearl-like sauce!" The maid introduced softly. Guo Fei took a light bite, and the flavors in his mouth were soft, fragrant, smooth, and exceptionally tender, making him repeatedly praise it in his heart.

  "My goodness, what a treat!" Amidst Guo Fei's sighs, dish after dish of delicacies were brought out, and the group began to drink, eat meat, and enjoy the music and dance.

  "Brother Lin, sister Shan, the day after tomorrow is the horse riding competition. I introduced Guo Fei to you both, hoping that you can get close and take care of each other during the competition. The horse riding competition is quite brutal, no one dares to say they have an advantage." Zhao Xue said with a smile as they had their third round of drinks and fifth dish of food.

  "County Master's sister ordered us, how dare we not obey? Moreover, the Guo brothers' martial arts skills are exceptional, and it's a win-win situation for us to cooperate. Of course, I'm more than happy to do so, but I wonder what the Guo brothers really think?" Lin Shan said with a smile.

  "Equestrian skills are much more than I can comprehend, so at that time, I'll have to ask Brother Lin Zhen and Miss Lin Shan for guidance!" Guo Fei said sincerely.

  Looking at Guo Fei's expression, Zhao Xue smiled and said: "Guo Fei, the Riding Competition is not like a duel on the same stage. It's a real life-and-death battle. Based on past experience, many people will secretly form alliances and ride together to slaughter the remaining contestants."

  "Oh, doesn't the examiner care?" Guo Fei asked in surprise. Such a big competition should be a selection of talents, if the contestants are slaughtered, won't it cause great losses to Heishi County?

  "At first, the competition was set up to test riding skills, but in our Blackstone County, many people live on the edge of life and death, and the accumulated grudges between families are often settled here. As a result, the competition has become increasingly bloody, but it turned out that this kind of competition is actually beneficial for selecting talent, so it was allowed to develop into what it is today. However, I think that the core members of each family will not recklessly go on stage to die unless they have confidence in their own safety. Those who do go are usually collateral relatives trying to make a name for themselves and taking risks. You'll understand when you get to the competition arena. So, even if you're very skilled, it's still possible to be surrounded and killed if you charge alone. But with Lin brother and Shan sister cooperating with you, your chances of winning will increase greatly." Zhao Xue explained.

  "Thank you!" Guo Fei didn't decline, he had already been labeled as someone who eats soft food, why bother pretending, how others see him is of no concern to Guo Fei, his own goals are very clear.

  Wine and food filled, making Guo Fei very envious of the rich life. After returning from Linjiabao, Guo Fei rested for a day. On the day of the competition, he dressed neatly early in the morning, holding the long gun he had captured, and ordered his servant to feed Jinmao loudly at dawn. As soon as the sun rose above the horizon, Guo Fei mounted Jinmao and rushed to the arena.

  The sun shone on his body, and the golden fur of the Golden Retriever's long hair gave off a faint golden color. Passersby on the road kept their distance, although riding beasts were not uncommon in this world, and people knew that riding beasts were tame, but encountering such a fierce beast still made ordinary people fearful.

  Guo Fei rode on Jinmao Hou's back, feeling as if he had transcended the world. For a moment, he was filled with countless emotions and couldn't help but think that just a year ago, he never could have imagined having such an experience. It must be said that Jinmao Hou moved extremely steadily, and because of his connection with Guo Fei, although they hadn't yet reached the highest level of unity between horse and rider, their coordination was already remarkably tacit.

  The riding competition is just as Zhao Xue said. The venue is a huge valley, with towering boulders standing all around the inside and outside of the valley. Winding roads crisscross through the boulders. In the middle section, there are three football field-sized sandy lands. The cliffs surrounding the valley are steep and high, and standing at the edge of the cliff, you can look down at the entire valley below. There are eight paths leading into the valley, sloping downward to the bottom of the valley, this is where the battle takes place. Those who surrender raise a white flag or are chased out of the valley, climbing up the slope means losing.

  Guo Fei rode a golden retriever slowly to the assembly area, instantly attracting a burst of attention.

  "Golden Fur!" Some people naturally recognized this strange beast, and a glance of envy flashed by, revealing deep jealousy.

  Lin Shan was overjoyed and shouted loudly to Guo Fei, "Brother Guo, over here!"

  Even Lin Yixiang, who had been quiet all along, revealed a look of surprise, his eyes fixed on the Golden Retriever under Guo Fei.

  Guo Fei took a look and found that most of the contestants had already arrived. Lin Zhen wore a suit of fine steel plate armor, with a bright silver helmet on his head, holding a long spear in his hand, and riding a beast under him, which was actually a fierce tiger. The tiger's body was covered with yellow stripes, with black stripes hidden underneath, its shape slightly shorter than Guo Fei's Golden Fur Lion, but equally majestic. Its upper body wore a suit of yellow leather armor, just like the Golden Fur Lion, and on its head it also wore an iron helmet with two metal spikes standing upright.

  Lin Xiangru's small body was pressed against the back of a large flower leopard, as if stuck together. Her weapon had also changed, from a short willow-leaf dagger to two slender double swords. Wearing a rhinoceros leather armor and a small golden helmet, she looked spirited and refreshing.

  In this world, the beasts are much larger and more intelligent than in other worlds. Guo Fei learned from Zhao Xue that Linjia Fort is a hunting-based community, and both of their mounts were raised by Linjia Fort since they were young, having eaten many rare treasures, resulting in extremely fast growth rates. Although they have not yet reached spiritual awakening, they are already quite close, with an extremely high degree of compatibility between rider and mount, making them formidable in battle.

  Guo Fei looked around and saw that there were not many people with exotic beasts, most of them had five-colored deer, barbaric cattle, and wolf-like creatures. Zhao Ba was still riding on the back of a wolf-like creature, with twenty or thirty people following behind him, who cast a cold smile at Guo Fei when they looked at him. It was clear that these people were all allied with him.

  Apart from this group of his, there were several other groups gathered together. They occasionally whispered to each other, apparently discussing a potential collaboration.

  The only one standing alone was Leng Dao, he stood alone at the entrance of a valley, like a proud crane, coldly gazing down at the battlefield in the valley.

  His mount was also special, surprisingly a large black bear. This black bear was extremely large, about two meters high, with leather armor wrapped around its chest and an iron mask on its head, looking exceptionally ferocious. The not-short Cold Blade rode on its body, seemingly much smaller.

  Guo Fei had heard Zhao Xue introduce Cold Blade before. He was originally a child of the Blackstone County hunters, making a living by hunting from a young age, and later joined the military, accumulating merit to become the commander of the Metropolitan Guard. This black bear seemed to have been raised by his grandfather when he was a child, following Cold Blade everywhere, with a ferocious temperament and extremely fond of fighting. Cold Blade had once ridden the black bear alone in battle against a pack of wolves, killing over a hundred and returning victorious. Zhao Xue guessed that his black bear might have already awakened to spiritual intelligence, entering the ranks of the demonic beasts.

  "This guy is really strong!" Guo Fei stared at Leng Dao, secretly warning himself.