50: Zhang Family

The three were speechless. Being able to achieve Beast Spirit Weaponization meant that his control over his beast was exceptionally high, which eliminated the risk of it losing control.

Jiang Tianlong said unwillingly, "Impossible... This is impossible! How can someone control the power of a proud Diamond-rank Demonic Beast when there's such a massive level difference?!"

Guo Linshan glanced at him and said with a tone of relief, "Just because you can't do it doesn't mean you should doubt others. Remember, there are plenty of geniuses in this world far greater than yourself."

This remark was actually self-deprecating; after all, Jiang Tianlong was a Squad Leader of the Great Xia Spirit Guards at such a young age, just like him, which meant Jiang Tianlong's talent was far superior to his own.

Jiang Tianlong could still climb higher step by step, while he was already old and would likely remain at this level for the rest of his life.

However, to Jiang Tianlong's ears, it sounded completely different—he felt it was a mockery of his arrogance!

He looked at Su Ze in the air and gave a cold snort. "Hmph! Fine, very well! You've passed the test. Let's go!"

"Wait a moment!" Guo Linshan called out to the group as they prepared to leave.

"What about the promised apology gift? You aren't planning to back out on the debt, are you?"

Jiang Tianlong suppressed his anger and said, "Write down what you want and send it over. We are staying at the Jiang Family's hotel in the city center!"

He was the first to leave, feeling that he had suffered a great humiliation and could no longer bear to stay.

The other two followed closely behind. Their pace only slowed down once they were far from the Great Xia Spirit Guards' camp.

"Tianlong, what do we do now? The mission isn't finished. If we return to the Imperial Capital like this, the Old Master..." Jiang Chen couldn't help but shudder at the thought.

For him to refer to someone as the Old Master, it naturally meant the highest-ranking ancestor of the Jiang Family.

Hearing Jiang Chen mention the Old Master, Jiang Tianlong was forced to snap out of his rage.

"The family's mission was simply for us to bring back the Diamond-rank Demonic Beast, but they didn't restrict the method. We just tried the direct approach, and since that didn't work... we might as well try other means!"

The three of them nodded in agreement with the proposal, but since they hadn't determined a specific method yet, they decided to head back and rest first.

As one of the Four Great Families of the Imperial Capital, the Jiang Family's influence and sphere of power were naturally not limited to the Great Xia Imperial Capital alone.

They also had properties in Beishan City, including the high-end hotel in the city center where they were staying.

On the way back, Jiang Chen let the other two go ahead while he headed in a different direction.

After walking for a short while, the scene before him was starkly different from what the other two were seeing.

On one side was the most extravagant luxury hotel in the city center; on the other was a very dilapidated old district.

Tangled, messy power lines and stray cats and dogs scavenging for food in trash cans by the roadside were the most realistic depictions of the environment here.

He soon followed the address in his hand to a run-down old house. Looking through the open, rusted iron gate, he immediately saw a plain-looking woman in simple clothes washing vegetables.

Her expression was dull, showing neither joy nor sorrow, as she moved with mechanical precision.

Beside her sat a child wailing on the ground, repeatedly crying out for "Daddy," but the woman made no move to comfort him.

Just as she finished washing the vegetables and turned around, she saw the elderly Jiang Chen walking up behind her.

She looked at him and asked tentatively, "Hello, old gentleman, you are...?"

Jiang Chen replied with a smile, "Oh, I suppose I'm family to your husband, Combat Class Teacher Zhang Jian."

That's right, this humble house was indeed Zhang Jian's home.

It was hard to imagine that someone who was a high-level Beast Tamer and held the prestigious 'golden rice bowl' of a Beast Taming University teacher would live here.

Furthermore, upon hearing Jiang Chen's answer, the woman showed no joy at all; instead, a flicker of terror appeared on her dull face.

She forced herself to remain calm and said, "You... what are you doing here? Zhang Jian is gone, and we... we have no money to send gifts to the elders of the family."

Indeed, the reason they lived here was that Zhang Jian had to send "gifts" to his so-called family members every year.

That was the Jiang Family, one of the Four Great Families. To satisfy them, the price of the gifts could never be cheap.

A Beast Taming University teacher's salary was indeed high, but it was completely insignificant in front of such families.

But Zhang Jian still had to send them, because if it weren't for the Jiang Family, he would have starved to death on the roadside long ago, let alone becoming a Beast Tamer and working at the university.

Therefore, he needed to spend his entire life repaying this "kindness."

This was the Jiang Family's demand of him.

Hearing this, Jiang Chen smiled and said, "Rest assured, I'm not here to collect gifts. On the contrary, I'm here to help you."

"Zhang Jian is gone, and life must be very difficult for a widow and her child, right? In this world, as ordinary people, you could be eaten by demonic beasts any day."

"So..." Jiang Chen suddenly bent down and picked up the crying child. Perhaps sensing the suffocating aura emanating from him, the child suddenly went quiet.

"I'm going to take this child away, just like how we nurtured Zhang Jian back then. He will receive the best education, become a respected Beast Tamer, and then we'll arrange a good job for him. How about it? Isn't that wonderful?"

But the woman's expression suddenly turned panicked as she tried to grab her child. "No, we don't need that. Living like this is fine. I beg you, please put the child down, I beg you..."

But no matter how she cried and shouted, Jiang Chen had no intention of putting the child down.

Instead, he said, "Don't worry, we've left a sum of money for you too. After all, our Jiang Family is a great charitable house."

The woman suddenly became hysterical. She was pressed down by the pressure Jiang Chen released and couldn't stand straight, but she still gripped his clothes tightly.

"Let him go! You promised! You told Zhang Jian! As long as he followed your orders and carried out the mission, you would let us go, let the child go!"

Jiang Chen finally stopped hiding his true colors and said with a sinister expression, "Yes! We did promise him! But what was the result?! He failed the mission completely, and the information he scouted turned out to be fake! Naturally, the conditions we agreed upon before are now null and void!"

Hearing this, the woman could no longer hold back and began to sob, "I beg you, don't take the child away, don't let him have the same fate as his father..."

But she couldn't stop Jiang Chen's steps. Her arm was kicked away, and she could only watch helplessly as her child was carried out the door.