Chapter 3895 — The Spirit Beast Trial
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 3
In the cultivation world of Cloud Terrace Island, spirit beasts as pets had always been extremely commonplace. Any cultivator of even modest means and background was bound to have a spirit pet at his side—and one need look no further than Miss Shangguan's little Curly Bear for a living example.
The new disciples present had long been green with envy over this. Yet for one thing, their own strength was paltry; for another, they had no spare spirit jade to feed and maintain a spirit pet. They could not even satisfy the most basic precondition for subduing one—the spirit pet talisman—so for the time being, they could only dream.
The spirit pet talisman was the most common and reliable means of subduing a spirit beast on Cloud Terrace Island, but the prices were far from low. Even the lowest-grade talisman was marked at a hundred spirit jade or more in the market stalls; apart from the second-generation cultivators of the Soaring Sky Pavilion, no new disciple could afford one.
Pausing a moment, Hu Yunfeng went on: "This spirit beast trial will last one month, and the site is again the outer reaches of the rear mountain. Before you set out, each of you will be issued one low-grade spirit pet talisman. One month from today, we will gather and tally your scores. As for the specific scoring method and a few matters to note, Steward Meng Jueming will explain them to you in detail."
Watching Meng Jueming stride briskly onto the platform to stand beside Hu Yunfeng, the new disciples were all baffled. The man was nothing but a new-disciple steward of the Azure Cloud Pavilion, while those present included every new disciple of the Three-Tier Pavilion. What sense did it make to have him give the briefing?
Even if Pavilion Master Hu Yunfeng did not deliver it himself, there was still Vice Pavilion Master Feng Song; failing that, sending Kang Jingming, the new-disciple deacon, up to speak would have been more reasonable than Meng Jueming.
But Wei Zhao and the others knew exactly what was going on. Meng Jueming's promotion to third vice pavilion master of the Welcome Pavilion was already a settled matter, and Hu Yunfeng was plainly doing him a favor by letting him show his face and build up his authority beforehand.
"No wonder this thing dressed himself up so prim and proper today—like a duck strutting out to be sold. So this was the setup all along!" Qiao Hongcai curled his lip at Wei Zhao and the others with a strange look on his face.
Wei Zhao nodded. "I'd say he saw how badly we've been squeezing Meng Jueming these past couple of days, so he's seizing the chance to let him salvage a bit of face. Otherwise, even once he takes the third vice pavilion master's seat, he'd still be covered in dust."
"Ah, when I think about how Senior Brother Lu was pushed out by that man, I get uneasy. If he really settles into the third vice pavilion master's position, I fear he'll be even more overbearing in the days to come," the aggrieved senior brother said with a sigh.
Wei Zhao clapped him on the shoulder and consoled him with a smile. "No need to be so gloomy, Senior Brother Ku. Fortune's wheel turns—who's to say who'll be strutting and who'll be eating dirt when the time comes? We'll just wait and see."
Taking the stage, Meng Jueming cleared his throat and then announced with a solemn face: "The scoring for this spirit beast trial is divided into two parts. First, points for the spirit beast's rank; second, points for the spirit beast's combat strength. The sum of the two is your final score for this stage."
Watching Meng Jueming put on his pompous airs, the crowd below could not help but feel a wave of disgust. But bound as they were by their own interests, they could only swallow it and keep listening.