Chapter 439: Qingyan Beast

"Twenty drops? And you’re not even being greedy? Do you know how many we have in the Beast Hall?"

Hall Master Xie Jiuchen’s face turned green. He regretted making such a boast. He had just announced that anyone who successfully challenged would receive a drop of Spirit Beast Blood, and this guy immediately spoke up. It felt like he was setting a trap for himself. If he kept challenging repeatedly, should they give it to him or not? Even though the Xuanyuan Kingdom Beast Hall had been around for a thousand years, Spirit Beast Blood was extremely rare. If this continued, they would surely go bankrupt!

When others challenged the Ten Beast Cage, even if they succeeded, it was a near-death experience, leaving them severely injured and bedridden for three to five months. But this guy? He completed the challenge as if he were strolling through a garden, completely unharmed, and even gained a large group of savage beasts as his followers.

Look, that Golden-Bodied Iron-Armed Ape is still waving its arm, its mouth stretched into a grin as if it had eaten honey, almost waving its arm off. The Gale Wolves still looked over piteously, full of melancholy longing.

“What’s with that longing?!” These Gale Wolves were specifically caught by his people; each one was incredibly unruly. Many young beast tamers had failed to tame them, and they even considered making 'taming these wolves' the topic for the Beast Taming Competition. But these creatures? After getting a beating, not only were they not angry, but they wore such expressions. How much do you guys crave a beating, anyway?

It was imaginable that if Zhang Xuan continued like this, not only would the Beast Hall’s entire savings be depleted, but all the savage beasts within the hall would probably become his. What kind of monster is he?

"If the Hall Master agrees, I’ll go down. To be honest, challenging the Ten Beast Cage is quite interesting!" Seeing the other party remain silent, Zhang Xuan was about to jump down again.

"Wait…" Hall Master Xie Jiuchen quickly stepped in front of him, forcing an awkward smile. "Don’t be in such a hurry. You’ve just gone through the Ten Beast Cage; you must have used up a lot of energy. Why don’t you rest before continuing?"

"No need, I’m not tired! In fact, challenging it more is a form of training for me. Hall Master, you don’t have to worry about me." Zhang Xuan nodded.

"Worry… I’m worried about you collapsing the Beast Hall!" Hall Master Xie Jiuchen quickly waved his hand. "I know Beast Tamer Zhang has unparalleled talent in beast taming, and it's fine even if you challenge it again, but… gathering so many savage beasts is quite troublesome… If you’re not tired, perhaps you could let the savage beasts rest for a while?"

"Rest?" Zhang Xuan looked down. "Are you tired?"

The Gale Wolves, Tiger-Headed Beasts, Golden-Bodied Iron-Armed Ape, and others quickly shook their heads. "See? They’re not tired!" Zhang Xuan said.

"…" Hall Master Xie Jiuchen was speechless, feeling faint. He thought, 'You’re so formidable when taming beasts, but how can you be so clueless when speaking and dealing with people? I’ve been trying to put you off; the meaning is very simple: I don’t want you to keep doing this. Why don’t you understand plain speech?'

"Ahem, Beast Tamer Zhang, perhaps you didn’t understand the Hall Master’s intention. Since you’ve already passed the Ten Beast Cage once, there’s no need to keep challenging it repeatedly. Succeeding once means there isn’t much point in doing it again!" Seeing their conversation becoming increasingly muddled, Elder Wei Yuqing couldn’t help but interject.

"Challenging it once gives me a drop of Spirit Beast Blood, which is very important to me!" Zhang Xuan nodded. 'Of course it’s meaningful. If it weren’t, I wouldn’t be bored enough to keep challenging this thing.'

"You…" Elder Wei Yuqing’s face also turned ashen with exasperation. He spoke indirectly, but the other party directly laid it bare… 'Can we even have a civil conversation anymore?'

"Alright, I know you can definitely pass, but opportunities must also be left for other beast tamers. Your continued challenge of the Ten Beast Cage ends here!" Unable to bear it any longer, Hall Master Xie Jiuchen waved his hand, making a firm decision.

"This…" Zhang Xuan frowned. He had come to challenge after reading about the Ten Beast Cage in the Beast Hall’s books, thinking that twenty challenges would be enough to gather the Spirit Beast Blood needed for the second stage of his Heaven’s Path Golden Body cultivation. He never dreamed that the other party would flat-out refuse!

"It’s fine if I don’t challenge it!" After a moment’s hesitation, Zhang Xuan looked over. "I have an urgent need; I still need nineteen drops of Spirit Beast Blood. What do you think is the best way to get them—purchase them, or by some other means?"

"Nineteen more drops?" Hall Master Xie Jiuchen and Elder Wei Yuqing exchanged glances, both feeling dizzy. 'So much Spirit Beast Blood… are you going to boil and eat it?! A normal savage beast can’t even absorb one drop of this blood, yet you’re asking for twenty drops right away… Do you perhaps have an army of savage beasts behind you?'

"Purchasing it is an option. One drop of Spirit Beast Blood normally costs five spirit stones. Since you’re a beast tamer, I’ll give it to you cheaper: four!" Hall Master Xie Jiuchen said.

"Four spirit stones for one drop?" Zhang Xuan’s eyes widened. "Forget it, I’ll just challenge the Ten Beast Cage. You guys prepare quickly!" 'He didn't even know who to ask for spirit stones! Four spirit stones per drop… you’re practically robbing me!'

Zhang Xuan propped his chin, starting to calculate: "Since Spirit Beast Blood is so expensive, after challenging the Ten Beast Cage twenty times, I can simply sell the rest to you. If I challenge it a hundred times a day, I can earn four hundred spirit stones. If I keep it up for a month, that’s over ten thousand…"

The two high-ranking officials of the Beast Hall were going crazy. 'Brother, you’re bent on ruining our Xuanyuan Kingdom Beast Hall, aren’t you? You won’t give up! What grudge or animosity makes you so ruthless?'

"Alright, alright! You want twenty drops of Spirit Beast Blood? I can give them to you, but there’s a condition!" His chest felt like it was about to explode from frustration. Suddenly, Xie Jiuchen’s eyes lit up as he thought of a solution. He waved his hand and snorted.

"A condition?"

"Precisely. Our Beast Hall has just captured a savage beast that is incredibly difficult to tame. If you can find a way to make it useful to the Beast Hall, then twenty drops of Spirit Beast Blood, or even ten more, would be nothing!" Xie Jiuchen looked at him. "Of course, if you fail, then the matter of challenging the Ten Beast Cage will be dropped, and you mustn't bring it up again in the future!"

"Ten more drops?" Zhang Xuan’s eyes lit up. "Good, I accept!" Seeing the other party’s evasive behavior, he knew continuing to challenge the Ten Beast Cage was definitely out. Since they offered such a condition, only a fool would refuse. Ten more drops meant an additional forty spirit stones, and it was just about taming a savage beast – definitely a huge profit.

"If you don’t agree, it means you forfeit, and you must never mention challenging the Ten Beast Cage again…" Hall Master Xie Jiuchen waved his hand decisively, but mid-sentence, he froze, his eyes wide. "What did you say? You agree?"

"Yes, I agree! Why wouldn’t I?" Zhang Xuan nodded.

"But… you know what level of savage beast I want you to tame, and you just agree?" Xie Jiuchen nearly pulled his beard off. 'I’m a three-star beast tamer, and even a formidable Supreme Realm expert couldn’t tame that beast, yet you just agreed without hesitation?' He had originally planned to use some provocation to trick the other party into taking the bait. After all, if he couldn’t tame it, he didn’t believe the other party could either. His intention in saying this was just to deter Zhang Xuan from the Ten Beast Cage. He never expected Zhang Xuan to agree before he even finished speaking.

"Who cares what level it is!" Zhang Xuan waved his hand. To him, the level genuinely didn't matter. The most crucial thing was getting enough Spirit Beast Blood.

"…Alright!" Seeing the guy’s confidence, Xie Jiuchen hesitated for a moment. In fact, the news was similar to what Hall Master Feng had received: the sudden early holding of the Beast Taming Competition was actually to gather beast taming talents from across the kingdom to see if they could find a way to tame this savage beast. This guy in front of him had such talent in beast taming, able to tame Gale Wolves in the blink of an eye. Perhaps he really could come up with a suitable method. As long as he could tame that savage beast, even if the cost was twenty drops of Spirit Beast Blood, it would truly be nothing.

"Let’s go, I’ll take you to see it!" Having made his decision, Xie Jiuchen no longer dwelled on the issue. He casually called over an elder, gave some instructions, and then walked with Wei Yuqing deeper into the Beast Hall.

Knowing this was an opportunity to earn Spirit Beast Blood, Zhang Xuan didn’t hesitate and followed closely. "Teacher!" "Young Master!" Zhao Ya, Sun Qiang, and others caught up. "Let’s go together!" Knowing there was nothing to hide from these few people, Zhang Xuan said no more. The group continued along the path and soon arrived at a spacious courtyard.

The courtyard walls were tall and thick, over ten meters high, built like city walls. Inside, there was a hazy aura of weaponry, indicating a formidable formation had been set up.

"This savage beast is inside. Let me warn you beforehand: it's still not too late to refuse now." Stopping outside the courtyard, Xie Jiuchen said with a serious expression, "It’s an Azure Nightmare Beast. Our entire Beast Hall paid an enormous price to capture it. It possesses a faint dragon bloodline, is incredibly unruly, and is virtually impossible to tame."

"Azure Nightmare Beast? A Half-Step Grandmaster realm savage beast?" Zhang Xuan was startled. Having processed the Beast Hall’s books, he knew about this kind of savage beast. It was reputed to be one of the most powerful savage beasts below spirit beasts, possessing a faint dragon bloodline, incredibly formidable, capable of fighting against early Grandmaster realm experts! 'This Beast Hall actually managed to capture such a creature; that’s quite impressive!'

"Indeed. This creature is extremely ferocious; even getting close to it is difficult. I can take you to see it, but if you feel you can’t do it, just refuse directly. Absolutely do not take the risk. Of course, if you refuse, you must also promise not to continue challenging the Ten Beast Cage." Xie Jiuchen stated his terms first. He was afraid that if the other party couldn’t tame it, he would go back to challenging the Ten Beast Cage, thus rendering half a day’s effort pointless.

"Let’s go in and take a look!" Zhang Xuan waved his hand.

Xie Jiuchen and Elder Wei Yuqing nodded, found the core of the formation, and led everyone inside.

The courtyard was spacious and vast. Besides formations, it was also covered by a unique iron net refined by artifact masters, making it nearly impossible for any savage beast trapped within to escape.

After walking for a while along the courtyard, a massive iron cage appeared before them. Inside, a huge savage beast, over five meters tall and more than ten meters long, lay quietly on the ground. Upon seeing people approach, its eyes immediately turned red, and it let out a deafening roar.