Chapter 17: Xiao Hei Takes Huang Bin for a Walk

After leaving the Demon Beast Suppression Hall, Lin Yang went first to the Beast Taming Hall on the eastern side of the Qingyuan Sword Sect. Before he got close, he saw spirit cranes and blue birds flying among the peaks. At the foot of the mountain, several one-horned azure oxen as large as elephants grazed leisurely.

Fang Qingyao was crouched outside a pen, handing spirit fruit to several snow-white fox cubs. She stood as soon as she saw him.

“Lin Yang! You’re back? I heard they sent you on patrol at short notice. I was worried something had happened!”

She looked him over, relieved to find all his limbs intact. Then she froze. “Wait! You’ve reached the first level of Qi Refining?”

The Heaven-Deceiving Mirror of Mountains and Rivers could disguise his realm at any level; he was currently showing the first level of Qi Refining.

“Just broke through,” he said.

“Nice!” Her eyes lit up, and she patted his shoulder. “You only have third-grade spirit roots, and the spiritual energy at the Demon Beast Suppression Hall is so poor, but you broke through this quickly! I knew you’d make it anywhere!”

She was genuinely happy for him. The Beast Taming Hall was investing heavily in her, and she’d eaten plenty of spiritual medicines and fruit, yet she’d only just reached the first level herself. Lin Yang had done it under much harsher conditions. Evidently she needed to work harder!

“Are you joining today’s demon-hunting event?” he asked.

“No.” She shook her head. “It only lasts a day, and I’m just at the first level. I wouldn’t rank well. I was going to cultivate here for a while, then work through the main quests once I reached the third or fourth level.”

The main quests weren’t going anywhere. There was no need to risk her life for a limited-time leaderboard.

“Don’t take it slowly,” Lin Yang said with a smile. “I’ll carry you.”

She looked at him suspiciously. “You’re only at the first level too. How are you going to carry me?”

“Don’t worry about it. Just follow me.”

He wasn’t planning to kill tier-one beasts. Tier-three cores could be sold for high-grade spirit stones, so he needed at least a few tier-three beasts!

Fang Qingyao didn’t know where his confidence came from, but didn’t question him for long. “All right, I’ll go. But a team can have three people. Who gets the last spot?”

“Tang Yu.” He had already decided. “She came all the way to the Demon Beast Suppression Hall to give me a sword worth five hundred spirit stones.” Now that he had the ability, helping her earn a team reward was only right.

Fang Qingyao had always liked Tang Yu, and they’d been close in class. “All right, let’s find her.”

They left the Beast Taming Hall for Coldwater Peak.

…

Coldwater Peak was covered in a thin layer of snow year-round. Most of its buildings were made from cold jade, and even the surrounding air was noticeably colder. At the entrance, two female disciples stopped Lin Yang and Fang Qingyao.

“Coldwater Peak is restricted. Outer disciples may not enter freely.”

“Senior sisters,” Fang Qingyao said quickly, “we’re Tang Yu’s classmates. We’ve come to ask her to join our demon-hunting team.”

“Classmates from Blue Star?” One disciple looked them over. Tang Yu had said her classmates could be admitted if they came looking for her. “Junior Sister Tang is in Cold Moon Square ahead. You may go straight there.”

“Thank you, Senior Sister.”

They reached the square and heard familiar voices before drawing close. Twenty or thirty classmates had gathered. Tang Yu, dressed in water-blue robes, stood among them.

“We’ve only just arrived in this world, and there’s much we don’t understand. This event allows three-person teams, but once we’re in the mountains, don’t go off alone chasing points. We’ll all stay together. There’s strength in numbers.”

Tang Yu had been the class youth league secretary and still tended to organize her classmates in the cultivation world. Those with ordinary talent and no backing were willing to follow her lead; as the Coldwater Peak master’s personal disciple, her words carried weight.

Huang Bin and Liu Feng were there too. Huang Bin wore azure core disciple robes and the sect master’s personal disciple token at his waist. He clearly stood above the ordinary outer disciples.

“Tang Yu, you don’t need to team up with these outer disciples,” he said confidently. “I’ve reached the second level of Qi Refining, and Liu Feng is at the first. If the three of us hunt together, we might make the Black Mountain Region’s top ten teams today!”

Several classmates looked envious. They hadn’t even fully learned their techniques, while Huang Bin had already reached the second level. With a seventh-grade spirit root and the sect master’s support, his speed was beyond theirs.

Wang Biao and Zhao Hai were in the square too, but Huang Bin’s clique had pushed them to the edge of the crowd. Just then Zhao Hai spotted Lin Yang.

“Class rep!”

Wang Biao turned. “Holy crap, you came too?” His shout drew everyone’s attention.

Huang Bin’s smile stiffened when he saw Lin Yang. Unharmed? What were Cao Hu and Zheng Tong doing? Weren’t they supposed to cripple him today? How did he not have a scratch?

Huang Bin sensed his realm: first-level Qi Refining. His contempt returned. The two men must not have found their chance yet. Someone at the first level wasn’t worth worrying about.

“Lin Yang, how are things at the Demon Beast Suppression Hall?” Huang Bin smiled. “They deal with beasts every day. Be careful on patrol. Don’t take a nasty fall.”

Lin Yang ignored him and beckoned Wang Biao over. Wang Biao pushed through the crowd. “What’s up, class rep?”

Lin Yang pointed at Huang Bin. “Remember what I said at the Fishing Platform?”

Wang Biao paused, then remembered. Huang Bin had slapped him to the ground in front of the whole class to assert his authority. Lin Yang had promised that before long Huang Bin would pay for that slap.

Huang Bin evidently remembered too. His face darkened. “Lin Yang, you don’t think reaching the first level gives you the right to oppose me, do you? I have a seventh-grade sword tree spirit root and I’m at the second level. How can trash with third-grade roots compete?”

Lin Yang looked down at Xiao Hei. “Go. Bring him here.”

Xiao Hei still wore his big black shorts. He stood upright, clasped his paws behind his back, and swaggered toward Huang Bin. “You’re the kid who hit my big brother’s friend? I happen to need a human pet. From now on, you’re with me!”

The classmates stared. “That dog can talk?” “Why is he wearing shorts?” “A human pet? Isn’t that straight out of *Shrouding the Heavens*?”

Huang Bin’s face went black. He was the Supreme Sect Master’s personal disciple, and Lin Yang had sent a dog against him? Outrageous!

“Get lost!”

He reached out, and an azure sword appeared in his hand. It was the weapon he’d obtained from the limited-time pack bought with the twenty thousand spirit stones his master had given him: a tier-one epic Pure Yang Sword.

All his spiritual power poured into the blade. Azure sword qi shot skyward.

“A beast dares act up in front of me? Qingyuan Sword Art, first move: Qingyuan Slash!”

He swung. A blade of azure light five or six meters long slashed toward Xiao Hei, carving a deep trench in the ground. Classmates hurried backward.

“That’s second-level Qi Refining?”

“The epic weapon is so strong!”

“Won’t he split the dog in two?”

Xiao Hei gave the incoming light a lazy glance. “What kind of crap is that?” He casually slapped forward with his right paw.

Bang! The sword light burst apart. Xiao Hei pushed off with all four legs. A black blur flashed past, and before Huang Bin could react, the sword had vanished from his hand. The dog landed over ten meters away with the tier-one epic blade in his mouth.

Huang Bin’s face changed. “Give me back my sword!”

“You want back something already in my mouth?” Xiao Hei bit down. Crack! He tore a piece from the hard Pure Yang Sword, then crunched through the rest like a biscuit. In a few bites he swallowed the entire blade, hilt and all.

【Mountain-Melting Scarlet Hound has consumed a tier-one epic weapon!】

【A large amount of grade advancement energy obtained!】

【Current grade: Epic two-star → epic three-star!】

Xiao Hei burped a wisp of azure sword qi from his nostrils. “Average flavor. Barely enough for an appetizer.”

Lin Yang smiled at Huang Bin. “Thanks for the meal!”

Huang Bin was dumbfounded. That limited-edition epic weapon had been hard to obtain from the pack, and it was his hope for the leaderboard. He’d barely used it, and a dog had eaten it?

“Beast! I’ll kill you!” His eyes turned red as he roared and prepared to charge.

Xiao Hei suddenly grew. Smoke billowed and heat surged. In a blink, the palm-sized dog stood taller than a calf, his black shorts growing with him.

“Who the fuck are you calling a beast?”

He slapped Huang Bin’s back. Bang! Unable to resist, Huang Bin was pinned face-down. Xiao Hei pulled a rope from a nearby training dummy, looped it around Huang Bin’s neck, and climbed onto his back.

“Giddyup! Human pet, take me for a walk!”

Xiao Hei tugged. With the rope tight around his neck, Huang Bin could only crawl on hands and knees. “Let… let me go…”

“You’re short on stamina, human pet! Giddyup!” Xiao Hei whipped his backside.

“Ow!”

The dog rode him in a full circuit of Cold Moon Square. Huang Bin’s face was crimson, his tongue protruded from the pressure on his neck, and drool trailed from his mouth. The square fell silent. Dozens of classmates stared.

The sect master’s personal disciple, a core disciple with a seventh-grade sword tree spirit root and second-level Qi Refining, was being ridden like a horse by a black dog in shorts!

Liu Feng had started forward to help, but Xiao Hei glanced back at him. His legs went weak, and he stopped. The dog had eaten Huang Bin’s epic weapon; going up there himself would be suicide.

Tang Yu looked at Lin Yang in surprise. She could tell Xiao Hei had definitely reached tier two. The unassuming little dog was as strong as a Foundation Establishment cultivator! No wonder Lin Yang wasn’t worried about the hall’s dangers.

After a circuit, Xiao Hei stopped before Lin Yang and tugged Huang Bin to Lin Yang’s feet. “Your human pet has arrived.”

Lin Yang looked at Wang Biao. “Go on. Pay him back for that slap.”

Wang Biao stared at Huang Bin on the ground, still struggling to believe it. “Really hit him? He’s the Supreme Sect Master’s disciple!”

“Don’t worry,” Lin Yang said calmly. “I’ve got your back. It doesn’t matter who comes today. If his master dares make trouble, I’ll have Xiao Hei take him for a walk too.”

The classmates drew sharp breaths. Lin Yang had gone mad! The master of the Qingyuan Sword Sect was a great cultivator at perfected Violet Palace, and Lin Yang dared say he’d have the dog walk him too?

Xiao Hei nodded seriously. “I can do that. I happen to need an older human pet.”

Fang Qingyao laughed. “Wang Biao, what are you afraid of? Huang Bin didn’t hold back when he hit you.”

Wang Biao looked at Lin Yang, then at Huang Bin pinned firmly beneath Xiao Hei. Remembering being slapped down in front of the class, he felt anger surge through him. “All right!”

He rolled up his sleeves and approached. Huang Bin glared at him with venom. “Wang Biao, don’t you dare!”

Smack! Wang Biao slapped him. “See whether I dare!”

Smack! “A seventh-grade spirit root makes you special?”

Smack! “Being the sect master’s disciple makes you special?”

Smack! Smack! Smack!

Sharp slaps echoed across Coldwater Peak. Before long, both Huang Bin’s cheeks were swollen. Wang Biao shook out his tingling hand, feeling wonderful from head to toe.