49: test

Standing to the side, Chen Ze stepped forward with some trepidation. Although he was the oldest, he held the lowest status.

He had originally thought he was just here to tag along and wouldn't have any part in this, but he hadn't expected it would actually be his turn to take the stage.

"Chen Ze? So it's you. What? Do you not trust this old man?" Yu Shenghuo said, looking at the approaching Chen Ze; clearly, the two knew each other.

Chen Ze replied with a beaming smile, "Senior Brother Yu, you must be joking. Your word is naturally trustworthy, but we've come with a mission and need to confirm things personally. I hope Senior Brother won't make things difficult for us."

Yu Shenghuo gave a cold snort, but facing Chen Ze's smiling face, he couldn't very well lash out.

He and Guo Linshan exchanged a glance and nodded to each other.

Finally, Guo Linshan spoke up, "Fine, since you insist on a test, we will grant it!"

"However, as my subordinate, him facing such suspicion is a mark of distrust toward both me and Elder Yu."

"Therefore, once Su Ze successfully passes the test, you must leave quietly and provide compensation!"

Jiang Chen was just about to object when he heard Jiang Tianlong beat him to it, saying, "No problem! It's just compensation—you can have as much as you want!"

At this point, to object would be to slight Jiang Tianlong's face, so Jiang Chen could only sigh and silently accept it.

Jiang Tianlong wasn't stupid either and added, "However, if it turns out you really did neglect your duties, not only will you face disciplinary action, but it also means you're unfit to hold the rights to that Diamond-rank Demonic Beast. I demand that you hand it over!"

In reality, that meant handing it over to the Jiang Family.

Guo Linshan didn't answer immediately; instead, he called Su Ze over.

In his view, a tamed beast was Su Ze's personal property, and he couldn't use it as a gambling chip.

Su Ze had heard their conversation from behind long ago. After walking up to Guo Linshan, he simply nodded to show his agreement.

Watching Su Ze step forward, Jiang Tianlong revealed a malicious smile and said, "You must be that lucky little fellow, right? But I want to tell you that luck alone isn't enough; you must also have strength!"

He was indeed very happy because, while there were indeed those with higher talent than him among the Jiang Family's younger generation, it just so happened that none of them had an empty beast taming slot right now.

On the other hand, he was currently facing a breakthrough. After breaking through, he would have enough Spiritual Power to form a new beast taming slot.

So, once this Diamond-rank Demonic Beast fell into the hands of the Jiang Family, there was a high probability it would become his beast!

Facing his provocation, Su Ze sized him up and down and said, "I'll admit my luck is pretty good. On the other hand, some people are full of themselves, only to find in the end that they might have neither luck nor strength. Now that's truly pathetic!"

"You..." Jiang Tianlong knew Su Ze was using his own words to mock him. He was just about to get angry, but after seeing Guo Linshan and Yu Shenghuo standing on either side of Su Ze like guardian gods, he swallowed his anger.

Especially Yu Shenghuo—although he was advanced in years, after achieving another breakthrough, he was now the strongest among them.

"Whether you have luck or not, we'll see after you pass the test!"

At a signal from Jiang Tianlong's eyes, Chen Ze stepped forward to begin the intimacy test for Su Ze's beast.

"This first test, and the most basic one, is to be able to summon the beast. If you don't even dare to summon it, then everything else is just empty talk," Chen Ze said with a smile.

According to the information they had received, Su Ze couldn't control the Diamond-rank Demonic Beast; he hadn't even dared to summon it when he was set up and placed in danger by their agents.

Sure enough, Su Ze showed no intention of opening his beast taming space to summon the beast; instead, he waved toward the side.

This left the group bewildered. Just as they were about to step forward and tell Su Ze to stop his useless struggle, they saw a fiery-red figure drifting from a distance like the wind, landing right into Su Ze's arms.

Guo Linshan's nerves tightened instantly, and the light of a summoning array even began to emerge beneath his feet.

Looking at this unfamiliar figure, he thought someone had infiltrated, but Su Ze waved his hand to signal him to be at ease.

Because this fiery-red figure was none other than Feng Qingyi.

She no longer spent all day hiding in the beast taming space; instead, she wandered around Su Ze in her human form, looking at all sorts of novel things and occasionally coming back to find Su Ze for some petting.

Even the Great Xia Spirit Guards' camp hadn't been able to stop her, which was why Su Ze had been looking around when he entered—he was searching for Feng Qingyi.

If she hadn't revealed herself voluntarily, no one would have discovered her.

"Sorry, Captain Guo. She's quite curious, and I couldn't keep an eye on her, so she went running around the camp."

As a Detachment Commander of the Great Xia Spirit Guards, even if he hadn't experienced everything, he was well-traveled.

Thus, he quickly guessed that this young girl, whose beauty didn't seem human, really wasn't human.

He retracted his hostility and withdrew the summoning array.

But some were still unwilling to give up. Jiang Tianlong stood to the side with a dark expression and said, "You dare to find some random Little Girl and claim she's a demonic beast in human form?"

Before Su Ze could speak, Feng Qingyi had already given her answer through action.

The red hem of her dress floating behind her transformed into Fire Feathers and shot toward Jiang Tianlong.

The scorching temperature made it impossible to avoid, and they followed him closely like maggots on a bone.

Jiang Tianlong was forced to summon his own beast—a pure white Pegasus with wings on its back.

Using the power of his demonic beast, he finally managed to block Feng Qingyi's Fire Feathers.

This confirmed Feng Qingyi's identity for him, and his gaze toward her became even more fervent.

"Such powerful strength while still only in its infancy... Is this a Diamond-rank Demonic Beast?"

But seeing how close Feng Qingyi was with Su Ze, he frowned again.

The information Zhang Jian had tested out was actually wrong. Not only could Su Ze summon the Diamond-rank Demonic Beast without suffering a backlash, but their relationship was also quite intimate.

The three of them exchanged glances, sensing how thorny the situation had become.

Chen Ze continued, "With such power, it is indeed undoubtedly a Diamond-rank Demonic Beast. However, simply being able to summon it isn't enough; we need to see that you can wield its power..."

Before he could finish his sentence, he saw Feng Qingyi, after having her head patted by Su Ze, obediently transform into a streak of flame and land on Su Ze's back, turning into a pair of wings.

"Does this count as being able to use the beast's power?" Su Ze asked as he floated gently off the ground, looking down at the three of them.