Chapter 3896 — Something's Off

"Leader, how are we doing this—split up or stick together?" Qiao Hongcai asked in a low voice atop the flying spirit beast.

Since this trial would drag on for a long while, it was simply impractical to deliberately separate newcomers from the same pavilion, and so the deployment of newcomers was not as strictly divided as in the last newcomer trial; if newcomers wished to band together, they could request to be deployed as a group.

Wei Zhao thought it over, then said to Xiao Che and Qiao Hongcai, "To be safe, let's go together first."

Wei Zhao still remembered their last deployment vividly: the moment they landed, they had run into two monstrously powerful Foundation Establishment spirit beasts in quick succession. Any other newcomer would have wet themselves on the spot, and losing their life would have been all but certain.

There was clearly something fishy about such arrangements. Wei Zhao feared their adversaries would pull the same trick again; he himself could handle it, but Xiao Che and Qiao Hongcai might not be able to cope.

What was more, Meng Jueming now had Simurong Zhen, a peak early-Foundation Establishment expert, under his command. If she joined forces with the likes of Meng Zhou, the threat would be considerable, and they had to guard against it.

Once the three had settled on a plan, the staff at the rear-mountain hall deployed them, and sure enough, the moment the three landed atop the tree canopy, they sensed something was wrong.

Their landing spot looked like an enormous tree nest, and crouched within that nest was a spirit beast that appeared to be some kind of eagle.

"Well, well—this feels about early Heaven rank. Leader, our luck's not bad at all!" Qiao Hongcai said, eyes lighting up.

Just as he said, at first glance this eagle did not seem strong; early Heaven rank was, for this spirit beast trial, practically a spirit pet tailor-made and delivered to their door.

To encounter such a suitable choice the moment they landed—their luck was truly something else.

Yet Xiao Che studied the scene and hesitated. "This feels... a bit off."

"It is off. This thing is only a cub," Wei Zhao said with a bitter smile. The eagle before him looked all too familiar—it was exactly the same as the Ghost-Eyed Golden Eagle he had seen last time.

"Huh? Early Heaven rank, and it's only a cub? Then how ferocious must the adult be?" Qiao Hongcai was startled. Bold as he usually was, even he now looked at the chirping little eagle with a hint of retreat in his eyes.

"If I'm not mistaken, this is called a Ghost-Eyed Golden Eagle. The adult is at least mid-Foundation Establishment, possibly even stronger," Wei Zhao said, a note of wariness in his tone.

The Ghost-Eyed Golden Eagle he had encountered last time was at mid-Foundation Establishment, but that did not mean it was the limit of the species—they could well be stronger.

Hiss! Xiao Che and Qiao Hongcai both drew a sharp breath. Mid-Foundation Establishment or above—how on earth were they supposed to handle that?

After all, even at the same rank, many spirit beasts far outstripped human cultivators in actual combat power, especially aerial overlords like the Ghost-Eyed Golden Eagle—a born warrior species, all but invincible among peers.

If a mid-Foundation Establishment Ghost-Eyed Golden Eagle really showed up, the three of them would have no confidence of holding their own. Wei Zhao might still have a slim chance of saving his skin, but Xiao Che and Qiao Hongcai would be one step from death.

Originally, with that ghostly thing holding sway in the jade pendant space, Wei Zhao would not have worried even if they truly provoked a Ghost-Eyed Golden Eagle. But to his exasperation, after hearing about the spirit beast trial, the ghostly thing had flatly declared it would not interfere unless Wei Zhao himself faced a lethal threat.

That was not hard to understand. Though the ghostly thing was now no more than a wisp of primordial spirit, it had after all once been an elder of the spirit beast clan. Helping Wei Zhao intimidate other spirit beasts in ordinary times was fine, but helping human cultivators like Wei Zhao subdue spirit pets was a bit much to ask.

If the spirit beasts followed humans of their own accord, it would have nothing to say—but they meant to use spirit pet talismans to subdue them, an unequal contract that flatly violated the spirit beasts' will. That the ghostly thing had not leapt out to kill these humans outright already showed remarkable magnanimity; expecting it to lend a hand was pure fantasy.

"This is no place to linger. Let's withdraw first," Wei Zhao proposed.

Xiao Che nodded at once in agreement. The early Heaven rank Ghost-Eyed Golden Eagle cub before them was not fearsome in itself, but if they stayed here, an adult Ghost-Eyed Golden Eagle might arrive at any moment, and then the trouble would be enormous.

Qiao Hongcai, however, hesitated, his feet reluctant to move, looking rather unwilling to part.

"Don't tell me you want to subdue it?" Wei Zhao asked, his eyelid twitching.

Qiao Hongcai was silent for a moment, then drew a deep breath. "Leader, you two go on ahead. I want to stay and give it a try."

"What? Hongcai, don't joke around!" Xiao Che was startled.

At a time like this, even running for their lives might not guarantee they got out whole—and this fellow wanted to subdue the cub before them? That was plucking teeth from a tiger's mouth. Was he insane?

Wei Zhao frowned as well. "This is no small matter, Hongcai. Think it through. If we run now, the Ghost-Eyed Golden Eagle may not give chase relentlessly, but if you take its cub, it will surely hunt you to the death. The consequences then would be nine parts death to one part life."

In human society, subduing a cub was no different from abducting a child; once the parents learned of it, frenzied revenge was certain. The same held true for a Ghost-Eyed Golden Eagle.

With the strength and mobility of a Ghost-Eyed Golden Eagle, if Qiao Hongcai truly drew its eye in the outer reaches of the rear mountain, calling it nine parts death to one part life would already be wildly optimistic—ten deaths and no life was the bloody reality.

"I know, leader, but the stronger the adult, the more precious the cub, isn't it? I truly don't want to let such a fine chance slip by, even if I must risk death for it," Qiao Hongcai said with firm resolve.

After all, he was a rootless vagrant cultivator with no backing at all. Had he not met Wei Zhao, he might now be in the same plight as bottom-tier weaklings like Cha Wu, with no hope of turning his fortunes around—and as for high-grade spirit pets, those were pure delusion.

If he missed this chance today, Qiao Hongcai might never in his life subdue such a ferocious spirit pet as the Ghost-Eyed Golden Eagle. Given his hot-blooded style, making such a seemingly rash choice was unexpected, yet entirely within reason. (To be continued...)