Chapter 730: Thousand-Ant Queen Bee

"Although Teacher Zhang didn't seem to care about these spirit beasts, could we really be so shameless as to claim them for ourselves?"After a moment of silence, Teacher Ding couldn't help but look around."If Teacher Zhang hadn't intervened, we would certainly be dead by now. To then appropriate his tamed beasts and the prey he hunted would be worse than being an animal!"Everyone present was a master teacher, each with their own dignity and values. They were already immensely grateful to Teacher Zhang for saving them. If they were to covet his possessions as well, how could they face others in the future? How could they reconcile it with their own principles and morality?

"Since everyone feels this way, I have a suggestion!" Teacher Ding said, looking around. At this moment, Young Master Ruohuan, Luo Xuan, and others also came down from the rocks and approached."Please tell us, Teacher Ding!" the others said, looking at him."Since Teacher Zhang told us not to continue, we should listen to him. We'll take these spirit beasts back now to complete the assessment. However..." Teacher Ding paused, "each of us will only claim one point, just enough to pass the assessment. As for the rest, I suggest we credit them all to Teacher Zhang's name!""That's only right!""Indeed, these spirit beasts were tamed and hunted by Teacher Zhang in the first place, so they should naturally be credited to him!"Hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement. Elder Mi had previously stated that points could be accumulated or shared among many. Since these spirit beasts were tamed and hunted by Teacher Zhang, they would only take one point each to pass their assessment, leaving the rest for Teacher Zhang. A master teacher of such character deserved to stand out and be recognized and noticed by all the teachers and elders of the academy! This was also what they ought to do, aligning with the principles they upheld.

With the decision made, everyone took the spirit beasts and their inner cores and quickly headed down the mountain.

Unaware of their decision, Zhang Xuan leaped out of the valley and flew straight up the steep mountain, soaring towards the peak. Taming so many spirit beasts had confirmed some of his suspicions. Earlier, when he noticed many spirit beasts systematically luring humans, setting up ambushes, and besieging them, a doubt had arisen in his mind: How did these creatures know the humans' whereabouts, and how did they manage to avoid all sorts of traps? The spirit beasts responsible for luring the humans were only in the Harmonized Spirit Realm. It would be impossible for creatures of that level to detect traps that even many master teachers found difficult to perceive, unless... there was some guidance from behind! With this hypothesis, he had intervened to save the people, and while he was at it, tamed some spirit beasts to gather information. Upon asking, he indeed found out some things. The reason they were so successful in tricking so many humans was indeed because a spirit beast was guiding them from behind!

"A Unity Realm primary stage spirit beast... the Thousand Ant Bee Queen!"He raised an eyebrow. Through his communication, he had already learned the identity of the mastermind behind it all: a Unity Realm primary stage spirit beast, the Thousand Ant Bee Queen!Thousand Ant Bees were extremely rare savage beasts, about the size of an ant, capable of flying freely through the mountains without being detected. These tiny creatures were nothing to powerful cultivators and could be easily killed, but what made people wary was the entity behind them: their queen! The Thousand Ant Bee Queen was roughly human-sized and couldn't fly, but she could control thousands upon thousands of Thousand Ant Bees, using them as her eyes to cover an entire area. The reason those spirit beasts could predict human ambushes in advance was that the Bee Queen controlled the Thousand Ant Bees to secretly observe and then relay messages.

"Why would the Thousand Ant Bee Queen help these spirit beasts?" Zhang Xuan frowned as he continued forward. The Thousand Ant Bee Queen was a Unity Realm spirit beast, and with so many Thousand Ant Bees at her command, she could completely predict human movements and make decisions in advance. Therefore, it would be extremely difficult for these new students to harm her. There was no need for her to risk integrating other spirit beasts specifically to confront humans. If Elder Mi discovered such an act, she would certainly be annihilated.

"No matter what its purpose is, I must get the Thousand Ant Beehive!"After thinking for a while, he couldn't figure out the creature's motive. Shaking his head, he stopped dwelling on the question, and Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up. He had tamed so many spirit beasts and hunted so many; naturally, he wasn't so magnanimous as to give them all to other master teachers. Instead, upon hearing about the Thousand Ant Bee Queen, he remembered a treasure he desperately wanted: the Thousand Ant Beehive!The Thousand Ant Bee Queen relied on this very item to freely summon Thousand Ant Bees and take them wherever she wished. Like a spatial ring, it contained its own independent space. However, unlike spatial rings, it possessed spiritual energy and could hold living beings. This meant that with this item, even people could be easily stored inside. Spatial rings couldn't hold living items, which made it troublesome when exchanging with his clone. With the Beehive, if he needed his clone to appear, he could simply put his main body inside without any repercussions. He could also store the Purple-winged Heavenly Empyrean Beast inside and suddenly unleash it, catching opponents completely off guard. Especially with his identity as a beast tamer and having tamed so many spirit beasts, he could, if he wished, put all his spirit pets inside and carry them with him. Once deployed, they could form a spirit beast army, possessing boundless combat power!Therefore, upon hearing about the Thousand Ant Bee Queen, he could no longer hold back. Obtaining it was more important than anything else, so much so that he couldn't even bother sending these spirit beasts and the numerous master teachers down the mountain. He had rescued them, so the Bee Queen must have known. If she escaped or hid beforehand, it would be difficult to find her again!

With a subtle pattern pulsing in his eyes, Zhang Xuan could clearly see the Thousand Ant Bees that were almost invisible to other master teachers. They were all rapidly flying in one direction, flapping their wings. Completely concealing his aura, Zhang Xuan silently followed behind them. Since these Thousand Ant Bees obeyed the Bee Queen's commands, by following them, he was sure to find her. Given his current strength and mastery over his cultivation, it was quite simple to evade the savage beast-level Thousand Ant Bees and remain undetected.As he continued forward, he encountered several more new students who had been ensnared by spirit beasts. Seeing no significant danger, Zhang Xuan decided not to interfere. Half an hour later, he arrived at the mid-level of Thunder Elemental Peak. At this point, they were no less than several thousand meters above the ground. The air was colder, and white clouds swirled around, making it feel as if one were walking among the clouds. As he ascended higher, the number of spirit beasts and new students undergoing the assessment significantly decreased, with hardly any people left.

"Could it be in the valley ahead?"Seeing the Thousand Ant Bees ahead fly into a densely vegetated valley, Zhang Xuan's body swayed, and he hid behind a large tree, quietly looking forward. The valley was vast and open, stretching as far as the eye could see. About three to four hundred meters ahead, a massive cave lay shrouded in darkness.

"I didn't expect to run into acquaintances..." he thought with a faint smile. In front of the cave, to his surprise, he saw two familiar faces. It was none other than "Brother Yu," the one who had wanted to make a bet with him! Brother Yu was currently with "Senior Brother Feng," Feng Wu. They stood outside the cave, lighting a long stick of incense. The smoke swirled from the incense, drifting straight into the cave.

"Beast Scale Incense? No wonder this fellow dared to bet with me; so this was his reliance..."Zhang Xuan nodded, carefully examining the long stick of incense. This incense was completely different from ordinary incense. Its surface bore bluish-gray patterns, as if covered in scales. Once lit, the smoke traveled in a straight line, following the will of the one who lit it, drifting towards the desired direction. This item was refined from the scales of high-level spirit beasts. Its unique fragrance had a fatal attraction to lower-level spirit beasts, and if inhaled excessively, it even had a hallucinogenic effect, causing them to fall into a deep sleep. This guy must have specifically come over to bet with him because he possessed this. Not only was Beast Scale Incense highly valuable, but its refining method was also said to be lost. He didn't know where Brother Yu had obtained it, but once lit, it could certainly attract countless spirit beasts, making them willing to be hunted. It seemed this fellow had already hunted many spirit beasts and acquired numerous inner cores. Could it be that he had also discovered the Thousand Ant Bee Queen and intended to hunt her?

"Brother Yu, is there really a Unity Realm spirit beast inside here?" Feng Wu asked, seeming to disbelieve it."Don't worry!" Brother Yu chuckled softly, and a snow-white mouse hopped out from his embrace. "For this assessment, I've prepared for a long time. I have not only the Beast Scale Incense but also a Scent-Tracking Mouse!"A Scent-Tracking Mouse was a special kind of savage beast known for its incredibly strong sense of smell. Anything it sniffed once could be tracked even across vast distances. Back then, when Lu Chong ambushed Lin Lang and hid in the royal library, the Lin Clan had found him using this very item.

"This... this isn't an ordinary Scent-Tracking Mouse, is it?" Feng Wu asked, looking at the creature. He noticed a black line running down its body from its head to its tail, filling him with confusion. He had seen Scent-Tracking Mice before, and they were always pure white as snow, without any mixed fur. Why did this one have a black line?"Of course not," Brother Yu replied, his hand gently stroking the Scent-Tracking Mouse, his eyes full of pride. "An ordinary Scent-Tracking Mouse is just a savage beast; how could it detect the location of spirit beasts? This is a Golden Scent-Tracking Mouse, a type of Scent-Tracking Mouse that has already reached the spirit beast level. It has been fed on the excrement of high-level spirit beasts since it was young. Once released, it can easily find spirit beasts within dozens of miles!"This Scent-Tracking Mouse had been purchased by him at great cost, specifically so he could make a splash during this trial and earn the admiration of all the elders. It seemed... the effect was indeed good.

"It's this one that says there's a Unity Realm spirit beast in here..." Brother Yu said with a smile."A Unity Realm spirit beast? What if it's not affected by the Beast Scale Incense?" Feng Wu asked, still somewhat worried despite the confirmation. His own strength was only at the Half-Step Bridge Heaven Realm, and Brother Yu was merely at the early stage of the Bridge Heaven Realm. If this Unity Realm spirit beast wasn't bewitched by the Beast Scale Incense and wasn't unconscious, but instead charged out directly, their chances of survival would be slim.

"You've seen the effects of the Beast Scale Incense; as long as a creature hasn't reached the Mortal-Transcending Eighth Realm, it's almost impossible to resist it," Brother Yu said, nodding confidently. "Besides... don't worry, even if it's not completely swayed, I have other methods. There will be no danger!"He knew there might be a Unity Realm spirit beast in the cave, yet he still dared to come. How could he not be prepared? Not only did he have the Beast Scale Incense, but he also held a Level 5 formation plate. It would be fine if the creature inside didn't come out, but once it did, he would ensure it never returned!