Chapter 640: Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!
Chapter 640: Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!
"Haha," Lei Hou said with excitement as he looked at the newly constructed track. "I'll take the first ride and show Fourth Sister and Sixth Brother how it's done."
Without further ado, he eagerly mounted the Fierce Draconic Colt.
Steward Wang, still somewhat apprehensive of the Fierce Draconic Colt, quickly reminded, "Please be careful, Fifth Young Master."
"Scram."
"Sure thing!"
With a sudden burst of energy, the blazing Fierce Draconic Colt dashed forward, transforming into a fiery streak as it galloped away.
"Wow," Fourth Young Lady Lei Guan and Sixth Young Master Lei Pi exclaimed in unison, their eyes widening in amazement.
Although Chu Liang's track was designed to be long, it took only moments for the Fierce Draconic Colt to race through it. Just when it seemed the ride would end without incident, the colt decided to be mischievous.
Suddenly, it veered off course and charged directly into a nearby waterfall, drenching Lei Hou from head to toe. To make matters worse, the water from the waterfall, drawn from the pond, was murky and far from clean.
After circling around once, the Fierce Draconic Colt finally emerged, carrying a somewhat disheveled Lei Hou on its back. Nôv(el)B\\jnn
"Hahaha, this Fierce Draconic Colt is so mischievous," Lei Hou said, laughing despite his soaked appearance, clearly amused rather than annoyed.
As he circulated his foundational qi, the water evaporated in wisps of steam, leaving his clothes dry. However, the dirt stubbornly remained.
"Oh dear!" Chu Liang quickly stepped forward. "This has dirtied Fifth Young Master's clothes. What a grave offense. There's a hot spring bathhouse over there; allow me to take you there to bathe and change."
As Chu Liang gestured, a large wooden building could be seen nestled deep within the garden, with steam curling gently into the air—it was, in fact, a hot spring.
"Hey!" Steward Wang finally couldn't hold back.
You can go against the normal way of doing things, but this is going too far!
Considering the earlier setups, the construction of a house wasn't entirely surprising. But the hot spring? Steward Wang's thoughts spiraled in disbelief. Where the heck did you get the hot spring? That's not something you can just dig up, right??
Chu Liang replied with a smile, "Yesterday, when Steward Wang went to rest—"
"A 'minor arrangement,' huh?" Steward Wang's nostrils flared in disbelief.
If this was considered minor, he really couldn't fathom what would qualify as major.
Moreover, none of these constructions had been reported in the budget, leaving him completely blindsided.
Is this kid using his own money for these projects?????
But since the young masters and miss appeared thoroughly impressed, he had no choice but to bite his tongue.
Chu Liang escorted the Fifth Young Master to bathe and change. Though he didn't follow him inside, the cleverly concealed gaps in the wooden structure allowed his divine sense to observe everything clearly.
Lei Hou's back was smooth and unmarked.
It's not him. Chu Liang felt a tinge of disappointment.
After Lei Hou returned, he called out, "Sixth Brother, it's your turn to try."
"Alright," Lei Pi nodded, approaching the Fierce Draconic Colt carefully. He mounted it with such caution and gripped the reins very tightly.
With a sudden burst, a ball of fire leaped into the air, accompanied by Lei Pi's scream.
Lei Pi was not as brave as Lei Hou. He clung to the Fierce Draconic Colt's back, his movements stiff and cautious. The colt galloped along the track, its fiery mane blazing brightly, and as it neared the end of the ride, it veered off course once again and passed by the waterfall again.
Bang—
The colt plunged into the waterfall, drenching Lei Pi even more thoroughly than it had Lei Hou.
Chu Liang quickly stepped forward. "This Fierce Draconic Colt just doesn't change its mischievous ways. Allow me to take you to the bathhouse for a bath."
With that, he led Lei Pi to the bathhouse.
Once again, Chu Liang discreetly used his divine sense to scan Lei Pi's back.
The result was the same: no tattoos at all.
It wasn't him either.
When they returned, only Lei Guan had yet to take her ride.
Could it be her...?
Just as Chu Liang was about to confirm, two servants hurried over, calling out, "The head of the family has summoned the young masters and lady to the front hall. A distinguished guest has arrived."
"Ah..." Lei Guan said reluctantly, "I haven't had my turn yet."
"Fourth Young Lady, you can always come back another time. The Fierce Draconic Colt isn't going anywhere," Chu Liang said tactfully.
"Fine," Lei Guan relented.
Her father's authority was still absolute, so she and her two brothers hurried away.
When they arrived at the front hall of the main courtyard, they found their parents and the other siblings already present. They were the last to arrive, and they quickly moved to the back.
Lei Ren turned and shot them a sharp glare. He didn't have time to scold them as the distinguished guests had just entered.
Straightening his robes, Lei Ren greeted the newcomers with a hearty laugh. "Young Hero Du, what an unexpected honor to have such an esteemed guest visit our humble home. Please forgive us for not preparing a proper welcome!"
...
The Lei Family members raised their eyes, their gazes collectively shifting toward the figures entering the hall.
Outside, several cultivators surrounded a tall, slender man whose dark skin blended almost seamlessly with the shadows of the porch. His long arms hung past his knees and he carried a massive scythe on his back. There was something extraordinary about him.
If Chu Liang had been present, he would have recognized at a glance that this man was none other than Du Wuhen, the leader of the Thunderbolt Stronghold's three brothers.
"Master Lei, you are too kind," Du Wuhen said with a smile, cupping his hands in greeting.
In terms of seniority within the world of immortality cultivation, Lei Ren naturally outranked Du Wuhen. Lei Ren had reached the seventh realm, which meant that he was an Eminent One.
By all rights, Du Wuhen should have respectfully addressed him as "esteemed senior."
However, Du Wuhen represented the Thunderbolt Stronghold, the undisputed leader in the field of beast taming. Even though the sect had suffered a heavy blow from the Celestial King Sect a few years ago, it merely lowered their status among the Divine Nine and Terrestrial Ten. In front of smaller families like the Lei Family, they still stood lofty and imposing.
Furthermore, since the Lei Family relied on trading demonic beasts for a living, they often had to bow to the Thunderbolt Stronghold.
Thus, Du Wuhen treated Lei Ren as an equal.
Lei Ren didn't mind and simply smiled. "Lord Huang sent a letter mentioning plans to visit our Cliffhold Bastion to select beasts. The Lei Family is honored by the visit. However, the letter was a bit vague, so I'd like Young Hero Du to clarify your requirements so I can recommend the right ones for you. The Lei Family raises a wide variety of demonic beasts, and I'm confident we'll have something suitable for you."
"It's actually quite simple," Du Wuhen replied. "Normally, when my Thunderbolt Stronghold needs beasts, we wouldn't purchase them—we'd catch them ourselves. However, the disciples we've recently recruited are still quite young, and their teachers hope to help them find beasts with strong bloodlines and powerful innate abilities. At the same time, their teachers were worried about potential injuries. And so, they wanted the beasts to be well-tamed so that it wouldn't hurt anyone. As for the price, we will make sure you are satisfied with it."
Lei Ren immediately grasped the situation.
The truth was that the new disciples of Thunderbolt Stronghold lacked talent. They couldn't tame demonic beasts themselves and needed a shortcut to boost their combat power, so they had to resort to purchasing tamed beasts.
Take Du Wuhen's generation, for instance—they were prodigies, brilliant and unmatched, and never had such worries. The beasts the three brothers tamed themselves were nearly at the level of those celestial beasts. They were immensely powerful!
However, after suffering a devastating blow a few years ago, Thunderbolt Stronghold's prestige plummeted. With their diminished reputation, fewer talented cultivators were willing to join their sect, leading to less capable disciples and, in turn, greater challenges for the sect.
This highlighted the importance of a sect's reputation.
After Mount Shu Sect claimed victory in the Assembly of Immortal Sects championship and Red Cotton Peak rose to prominence, the sect entered an era of rapid talent influx. Many promising individuals with the potential for cultivating immortality flocked from across the nine provinces, eager to join Mount Shu Sect.
Lei Ren smiled and asked, "So, how many beasts does Thunderbolt Stronghold require?"
"The more, the better," Du Wuhen replied. "At least ten."
"Ten?" Lei Ren frowned slightly. "That's quite a number. If you just needed beasts with high cultivation levels, it wouldn't be difficult, but finding young ones with strong bloodlines... that's not so easy."
Du Wuhen leaned in and whispered something into Lei Ren's ear, causing Lei Ren's expression to brighten. "Since Thunderbolt Stronghold is so sincere, I certainly can't hold back. Even the beasts I've reserved for my own children—I'll let Young Hero Du take a look. Follow me!"
With that, the group moved toward the beast-taming garden in the front yard in a grand procession.
A dozen or so stewards accompanied them, including Steward Wang. Wherever Du Wuhen showed interest, the servants would immediately bring out the demonic beasts for his inspection.
After inspecting several beasts, Du Wuhen stopped again when they passed by the Fierce Draconic Colt's enclosure.
"This is the enclosure of a Fierce Draconic Colt?" Du Wuhen blurted out as he stared at the enclosure with such sharp gaze that seemed to pierce through the barriers.
The colt wasn't near the fence at the moment, but its aura was enough for Du Wuhen to sense its bloodline.
"Yes," Lei Ren replied. "However, this Fierce Draconic Colt arrived not long ago and has yet to be—"
"Master, the Fierce Draconic Colt has already been tamed," Steward Wang interjected quickly. "The young master has been riding it these past few days."
"Oh?" Lei Ren uttered and gave him a surprised look, then turned to Lei Hou.
Lei Hou nodded. "That's true."
However, Lei Hou wasn't particularly enthusiastic, as he didn't want his Fierce Draconic Colt to be sold.
"You've done well," Lei Ren said. Then he asked, "What's your name?"
"I'm Wang Fugui!" Steward Wang announced loudly, puffing out his chest as though taming the Fierce Draconic Colt was entirely his accomplishment.
Seeing his demeanor, Lei Ren added, "Bring it out for a look."
"Yes, right away," Steward Wang replied eagerly and turned to instruct the servants to open the fence.
But after glancing around, he realized the servant at this enclosure was nowhere to be found.
Where has Liu Bo gone now?
With the important guests from Thunderbolt Stronghold watching and the Lei Family elders observing, Steward Wang had no choice but to steel himself and enter the enclosure.
Recalling how the Fierce Draconic Colt had been playful with the young masters earlier, Steward Wang convinced himself it would be in a good mood, which gave him some reassurance. After navigating through the woods, he finally spotted the beast.
The Fierce Draconic Colt lay curled up, snoring away.
Steward Wang cautiously approached and gave its head a light pat. One of its fiery golden eyes cracked open, showing his reflection.
"Heh heh," Steward Wang chuckled nervously and said fawningly, "Wake up, the master has summoned you."
Bam—
A thunderous roar erupted, shaking the garden as a figure shot skyward like a cannonball, rapidly vanishing into the distance.
A faint, drawn-out cry trailed behind, fading into the horizon.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"