155: Bluewing Wolf Lord
Three ten-year-old Heart-Cang Fruits, ten stalks of verdant Pu Ren Grass, plus the feathers of a Wind-Riding Bird, and one jin of Void Eagle breast meat—these were all the Materials needed for the [Azure Fang Wolf] to evolve into a [Cangyi Wolf Lord].
Colorful threads spread out from the stone book on the altar table. He leisurely took out the Heart-Cang Fruits, cut them in half, and removed the pits.
The remaining fruit pulp was refined into juice and mixed with the juice extracted from the Pu Ren Grass in a one-to-one ratio until the liquid became viscous.
"Let it eat all that one jin of breast meat," Chu Mu said indifferently, then applied the mixed juice in the air onto all the feathers of the Wind-Riding Bird.
After the [Azure Fang Wolf] finished eating the Void Eagle meat, Chu Mu controlled the feathers of the Wind-Riding Bird to cover its back, then removed the kernels from the fruit pits and fed them to the [Azure Fang Wolf].
Immediately following this, colorful threads connected to the [Azure Fang Wolf]'s body, and a continuous stream of energy was infused into its body to provide power for its evolution.
As time passed bit by bit, the feathers covering its body seemed to sprout flesh and began to pierce into the [Azure Fang Wolf]'s body, little by little.
"Roar, hiss."
A painful, suppressed roar was squeezed from the [Azure Fang Wolf]'s throat. Then, those feathers rapidly expanded outward along its ribs.
In just over ten minutes, a pair of wings, exaggeratedly large relative to its body, extended from its back.
The wings were blue-gray in color, and its fur was grayish-brown. However, it could be seen that the outermost layer of fur was tending to shed, and a new layer of light blue fur beneath the coat was about to cover its entire body.
[Race: Cangyi Wolf Lord (Spirit Rank Species) Rank: Intermediate Alien Tier Aptitude: Extraordinary Status: Relaxed, Leisurely, Joyful Attribute Affinity: Martial, Wind, Feather Skills: 1. Azure Fang Sky-Dance: Consumes energy to condense Azure Fangs, which can be launched from different positions in the air according to its will. 2. Cang Wings: The newly grown wings of the Cangyi Wolf Lord, capable of granting the Cangyi Wolf Lord more terrifying speed. 3. Flowing Wind Blade: Conjures a breeze in the target area and secretly hides extremely thin, hard-to-detect wind blades within it. 4. Wolf Lord: The Cangyi Wolf Lord leads the pack and can forcibly control low-rank wolf-type creatures, making them obey its commands. As the number of wolves in the pack increases, the control ability weakens. 5. Resilient Body Spirit Claws: The body has higher immunity, and the sharp blades on the claws can attach more energy, possessing more terrifying tearing ability, causing wounds to continuously tear. Evolution Route: Can be viewed upon promotion to Spirit Rank.]
Chu Mu quickly browsed through the information of the [Cangyi Wolf Lord]. The rest of the skills could only be said to be decent, above the passing line—not particularly outstanding, but not very ordinary either.
At least it had all the necessary combat abilities. Only one skill made Chu Mu feel particularly concerned, and that was the [Wolf Lord] skill.
If it could make low-rank wolf-type creatures obey its commands, then the significance of this skill would be very useful.
In the future, the Chu Family could raise more wolf-type Source Beasts, so that if Chu Qinhui contracted one [Cangyi Wolf Lord], it would be equivalent to controlling an entire wolf pack.
After finishing the evolution for the [Azure Fang Wolf], Chu Mu felt mentally exhausted. He did not listen to Chu Qinhui's superfluous words of gratitude, nor did he give too many instructions.
Anyway, as the Contract Master of the [Cangyi Wolf Lord], he himself would certainly find ways to maximize the advantages of his Source Beast.
It was mainly because, during this month, the third generation of the Chu Family, Chu Shengyuan and Chu Shenghan, had also successively promoted to the Uncommon Rank.
Chu Shengyuan did not need to worry about his second Source Beast because he had already determined it early on. The day after his successful promotion, he contracted the [Wood Spirit Crystal Pattern Python].
Chu Shenghan, however, struggled for a while before contracting a [Moon Worshipping Rabbit]. This Medicine Beast, as her second Source Beast, could be considered as following in the footsteps of her father and brother, becoming the third Chu Family Member to contract a Medicine Beast.
It also served to maintain the reputation of the Chu Family as they aimed to become a Noble Family of medicine.
Jiang Nian's Realm improvement was much slower; it was only recently that she barely reached the Mortal Rank Upper Stage. This was the cultivation speed she could achieve only with sufficient cultivation resources and various spirit items.
In other cultivation Noble Families, even if they had cultivation resources like the Chu Family, given that their populations were much larger than the Chu Family's, they probably wouldn't have such an abundant supply of spirit items.
Therefore, even though Jiang Nian could not yet receive the cultivation amplification of the Chu Family, the speed of her Realm improvement could still be considered terrifying compared to people from other Noble Families.
There was another matter that gave Chu Mu a headache: nearly three months had passed, and for every evolution route of Chu Jingyu's three Source Beasts, not a single one had all the Materials collected.
The two Spirit Rank ones were fine; it was normal for it to be a bit difficult to collect everything in Zhiyao County. However, the Materials for the [White-Browed Mountain Eagle] to evolve into the [Azure Ridge Cloud Eagle] could not be collected either, as the main medicinal ingredient, the [Cloud Ray Spiritual Root], was always missing and could not be found.
Let alone finding it, when they went to the Treasure Pavilion to ask, the staff hadn't even heard of the name of this item.
Chu Mu looked at his Source Spirit Stone balance, which was less than three digits, and sighed softly. There were still so many Source Beast evolution routes to check.
Moreover, the cultivation bonuses for the Chu Family Members and the harvest bonuses for the medicine fields all required the consumption of spiritual power. The fifty-five Source Spirit Stones recovered daily were simply not enough.
After all, in cases where a Source Beast had more than one evolution route, he had to check every single one, just in case some material was hard to find, which would cause the Source Beast contracted by the Chu Family Members to have its path of promotion cut off.
…After experiencing the hardships of the journey—during which the entire caravan lost two large birds—Chu Shengfan and Sun Chunchen finally arrived successfully at Qianling City.
They were originally scheduled to arrive ten days ago, but who knew that many accidents would occur on the road, causing them to sometimes flee and sometimes need to take detours, which delayed them quite a bit.
However, regardless of everything, it was good that Chu Shengfan and Sun Chunchen were able to arrive successfully.
Qianling City looked even more prosperous and lively than Xianyuan City, and the Contract Masters coming and going looked more vibrant.
The entire city was nearly half the size larger than Xianyuan City, and buildings stood in great numbers. There were not only streets for walking on the ground but also special air routes for people to fly in the sky.
After exiting the 'platform' where Source Beasts were docked and accepted, and seeing the grandeur of Qianling Prefecture City, Chu Shengfan was stunned for a moment.
Even Sun Chunchen, who was usually knowledgeable and experienced, was stunned for a moment.
The group of four exited the platform and walked on the wide street, feeling a bit lost as to where to go.
Sun Chunchen looked around and stopped a Contract Master who seemed to be specifically driving a Source Beast to solicit passengers, and asked gently, "Is there any place for housing rental agencies?"
That Contract Master was at the Intermediate Alien Tier. He raised his eyes to look at Sun Chunchen and said with a smile, "You all have accents, you must be from out of town, right? Get on the carriage and I will take you there directly."
The so-called carriage was an open-top vehicle pulled by a robust Source Beast with a single horn on its nose, sturdy limbs, and a somewhat ox-like appearance.
Sun Chunchen looked around. Outside this 'platform', there were quite a few Contract Masters dressed similarly. After the long and tiring journey, they really needed to hurry and rent a courtyard to settle down.
He nodded to the Contract Master and led Chu Shengfan and the others onto the empty carriage.
Seeing them get on, the 'coachman' Contract Master smiled. He patted the Source Beast beneath him, and the Source Beast began to stride and slowly accelerate.
The 'coachman' Contract Master turned his head to speak to them, "If we are talking about Qianling City, the most famous and reliable place for housing rental business is the Yunshu Trading Firm. Seventy percent of the housing rental business in Qianling City is managed by them. No matter what price range of courtyard you want, they can handle it properly for you."
Seeing that this 'coachman' was also talkative, Sun Chunchen asked with a smile, "Has the enrollment for Qianling Academy started this year?"
Hearing this, the coachman carefully looked at the four of them. When his gaze swept over Chu Shengfan, his eyes revealed a look of understanding, "Then you came just in time. The enrollment activities for Qianling Academy started seven days ago and will last for a total of one month. However, there are many assessment items. If you had come any later, you might not have been able to finish the assessment tasks."
"Oh, we outsiders only know that entering Qianling Academy requires an assessment, but we don't know what the content of the assessment is. Could you explain it a little?"
The Source Beast pulling the carriage looked sturdy and rough, but the carriage was exceptionally smooth and very fast.
The coachman's face carried a bit of pride; it seemed that being able to introduce Qianling Academy to outsiders made him feel honored.
"I don't know the specific assessment content too well, as Qianling Academy changes it every year, but it is roughly in a few categories. One is combat-related; last year, there were several items, including pair combat, team combat, the Contract Master's own combat, and wilderness survival challenges, etc. Another is research-related, for example, giving you a Source Beast and asking you to analyze its appearance and potential abilities. Or simply giving you a Source Beast on the spot and asking you to promote its evolution, and so on. There are some other categories as well. In total, it takes about ten days for one person to take the exam. However, there are also some students who are outstanding in certain aspects and are admitted early; such students appear every year. So, Senior, you must tell your child not to be stingy in showing their talent."
Hearing his words, Sun Chunchen made a mental note, "Haha, good. We people from a small place, this kid is almost the hope of our whole family. If he doesn't pass, we really won't have the face to go back."
"Old Gentleman, don't say that. Qianling Academy is a top-tier academy in our entire Jingyuan Dynasty. Even if he doesn't pass, it's nothing to be ashamed of. If it really doesn't work out, our Qianling Prefecture City also has some other small academies that are quite good. Relatively speaking, their conditions will be more relaxed."
"Haha, good. If he really can't get into Qianling Academy, we will go try a small academy."
In the midst of the conversation, the Source Beast pulled the carriage and stopped on a wide street.
The coachman pointed to the gate with a huge plaque and said with a smile, "We have arrived. This Yunshu Trading Firm is the agency you are looking for. In our Qianling Prefecture City, no matter what kind of property you want, they can almost find it for you."
Sun Chunchen cupped his hands, "Thank you. How much is the fare?"
"That will be four hundred Origin Rune Stones," the coachman said with a smile.
Chu Shengfan was shocked by this consumption price, which was even higher than in Xianyuan Prefecture. He felt that they hadn't traveled very far.
Helplessly, just as he was about to take out the Origin Rune Stones, Sun Chunchen, who was beside him, calmly handed four Source Spirit Stones to the coachman.
The four of them got off the carriage and, led by Sun Chunchen, walked into the Yunshu Trading Firm, which looked somewhat magnificent and resplendent.
People came and went inside the trading firm. The four of them were not dressed conspicuously, so no one came to receive them immediately.
There were counters all around. On each counter was a palm-sized life form made of crystal. They projected light from their bodies to form the shapes of buildings on the counters, and they would even change their orientation, position, and size according to the arrangements of the guides behind the counters, which looked extremely convenient.
Sun Chunchen, Chu Shengfan, and the others observed for a while before queuing up at a counter with fewer people. It took about ten minutes before it was their turn.
"Hello, are you looking to buy or rent a house?" Behind the counter was a young woman in her twenties, who looked at Sun Chunchen and the others with a standard smile.
"Rent a house."
"Okay, do you have any special requirements for the house?" The young woman's smile remained unchanged.
"Close to Qianling Academy, with a courtyard. It would be best to have a backyard where Source Beasts can frolic."
Hearing Sun Chunchen's requirements, the young woman pondered for a few seconds, then patted the small crystal figure on the counter. An illusory light and shadow projected from the figure. The young woman pointed to the appearance of a small courtyard in the light and shadow,
"This small courtyard is only fifteen kilometers away from Qianling Academy. The total area is over one thousand square meters, and the backyard alone is over six hundred square meters. It is the most suitable one. Also, if you rent it by the year, it only costs ten thousand Source Spirit Stones per year."
Only! Ten thousand Source Spirit Stones!! That was Source Spirit Stones, not Origin Rune Stones.
Hearing this price, Chu Shengfan felt his brain buzz for a moment. How many [Moon Worshipping Rabbit]s and [Medicinal Fragrance Powder-Eared Rabbit]s would his family need to sell to be able to afford the rent?
Even Sun Chunchen twitched the corner of his mouth, not knowing if he was also finding the price expensive.
Sun Chunchen waved his hand, "Then it can be a bit further from Qianling Academy, but add one more requirement: is there any house that comes with a storefront?"
"Yes." The young woman's expression did not change. She patted the crystal figure again, the light and shadow changed, and a brand new small courtyard appeared in their eyes.
Proportionally, the courtyard looked much larger than the previous one. There were four storefronts in the front, a spacious courtyard behind the storefronts, then a three-story building for living, and behind that was a huge courtyard for activities.
"This property is newly listed. The owner wants to sell it, but if you want to rent it, it requires a ten-year lease minimum. The location of this house is quite good, on the relatively prosperous Fengwu Street, and it is only over one hundred and fifty kilometers away from Qianling Academy."
During this process, the light and shadow constantly changed angles and adjusted sizes, striving to let Sun Chunchen and the others see every detail of the house.
"How much is the rent?"
"The annual rent is three thousand Source Spirit Stones, but you have to pay for ten years in full at once. If you want to buy it, it only costs two hundred thousand Source Spirit Stones."