Chapter 131: Chapter 128: Strength Increases Again

"It looks... so ugly, hahaha!"

Ling Xiao was taken aback by the strange bird’s appearance. ’So this is the incomparably majestic Snow Mountain Lightning Falcon once it’s grown?’ he thought, and couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

"I’ll call you clown!"

The little creature’s mind was linked with Ling Xiao’s. It was incredibly intelligent and immediately sensed his mockery. It chirped twice in protest, its call as clear and melodious as a lark in a silent valley, yet tinged with an arrogance that defied his ridicule.

"Ling Xiao, I’m here!" From downstairs came Yisha’s gentle, soft voice.

Chunlan said softly, "The Young Master is upstairs. It seems he’s busy."

Yisha just said, "Oh." In truth, she felt a certain pressure every time she visited Ling Xiao. Although Chunlan and Qiuyue were maids, it was clear Ling Xiao didn’t put on any airs as their master. He treated her the same way he treated them. Because of this, Yisha always felt that her status as the successor to the Lanyue Empire’s great herb-trading clan gave her no real advantage over Chunlan and Qiuyue when it came to Ling Xiao.

So, Yisha had been working hard. She still hadn’t revealed the Beauty Pill to the public. By now, she had accumulated over seventy of them. Yisha was waiting for an opportunity—an opportunity to make both herself and the Beauty Pill famous throughout the land! That opportunity was the annual Blast Flame Lion King festival. As the Lanyue Empire’s largest celebration, the royal family would choose to rejoice with the people.

Of course, "rejoicing with the people" actually meant rejoicing with the aristocracy and the great clans; common folk wouldn’t get to see the royals. At that time, as a member of one of the Lanyue Empire’s great clans, Yisha’s status would allow her to attend and present a gift to His Majesty the King and the Queen.

From what she knew, the Queen was already over sixty years old. She was kind and humble, had been lovingly married to the old King for decades, and enjoyed an excellent reputation among the people of the Empire.

Although His Majesty the King had many women, he cared most for the Queen, who had married him in her youth and had been by his side for forty or fifty years. For this very reason, Yisha had specifically asked Ling Xiao for confirmation: could the Beauty Pill restore Her Majesty the Queen’s youthful appearance?

Ling Xiao had told Yisha that the Anti-Aging Pill could restore a person’s appearance to what it was in their youth and maintain it until the day they died. It was a top-grade beauty elixir in every sense.

The Beauty Pill, on the other hand, could also remove wrinkles and blemishes, making the skin more delicate and smooth. However, it had to be taken every few months. Only then could one achieve the goal of preserving their youth.

To be blunt, this was just a strategic move on Ling Xiao’s part. If he were to directly refine and sell the Anti-Aging Pill, setting aside the problem of it being a one-time purchase, such a heaven-defying item would undoubtedly attract intense scrutiny from major powers. If they traced it back to him, he, with his limited strength and influence, couldn’t hide behind the academy or his father’s protection forever. He would eventually have to stand on his own, and that would lead to immense trouble.

In reality, while both Ling Xiao and Yisha expected the Beauty Pill to cause a massive stir upon its release, they had both underestimated the extent of it. As a result, a great deal of trouble awaited them.

Ling Xiao was in his room, watching the Snow Mountain Lightning Falcon chick, clown, slowly devour its eggshell piece by piece. Afterward, it looked at Ling Xiao, still seeming hungry, and let out two clear chirps.

Ling Xiao took a Crystal Core from his ring. clown glanced at it, then turned its head away in disdain, leaving Ling Xiao fuming. "You’re not eating? I thought you liked this stuff. You already absorbed the energy from two Tier Five Crystal Cores, so why don’t you want it now?"

clown stared at Ling Xiao with its bright, clear eyes and continued to chirp. Suddenly, it dawned on Ling Xiao. He slapped his forehead, cursing himself for being an idiot. ’Back then, the little thing was absorbing the Crystal Core’s energy,’ he thought. ’Now that it’s hatched, it can’t just eat the Crystal Core whole, can it? Since it’s not absorbing the energy, it’s either because it can’t anymore, or because its tiny body is already full of it!’

As he thought this, Ling Xiao eyed clown suspiciously. With its ugly appearance, resembling an oversized chicken chick, he couldn’t see any sign of this supposed energy, let alone imagine this was the juvenile form of the mighty and majestic Snow Mountain Lightning Falcon.

A sudden idea struck him. He took out several elixirs from his ring, all of which were meant to restore stamina. His current strength was still too low, so he could only refine these low-level elixirs for self-defense. Yet, what Ling Xiao considered low-level elixirs would be hailed as divine-grade medicine in the Adventurer Realm.

A single elixir that could instantly restore one’s physical and Spiritual Power to their peak state—if this Spirit Medicine wasn’t divine-grade, what was?

’It’s a shame this is just a last resort for me,’ Ling Xiao thought. ’Comparing yourself to others is a sure way to drive yourself crazy.’

The little creature seemed curious about the elixirs. It wobbled across the table on its tiny feet, toddling up to Ling Xiao’s palm. After carefully inspecting the elixirs for a few moments, it opened its beak toward a light-brown pill, snatched it, and swallowed it in one gulp. It then chirped excitedly a few times as its damp feathers began to dry. However, its plumage was so sparse that it didn’t look any more presentable than before.

Ling Xiao’s mouth twitched violently. ’In my carelessness, I brought out a Top-Grade Qi Replenishing Pill along with the others!’ This elixir wasn’t for restoring physical stamina; it was for replenishing Spiritual Power! The ingredients used to refine it were the very same Heavenly and Earthly Treasures he had extorted from the King!

"This little creature... it’s still a money-burning Magical Beast!" Ling Xiao heaved a long sigh. He stood up and gently poked clown’s head. "If you turn out to be useless, I’ll roast and eat you!"

clown tilted its head, shot Ling Xiao a sidelong glance, and chirped a few times in discontent. Then, pushing off with its feet—SWOOSH!—it leaped into the air. It jumped clear across the several-meter gap from the table to the large bed, landing on the soft West Lake Black Swan-down quilt. It let out a satisfied chirp, closed its eyes, and lay there, looking utterly content.

Ling Xiao stared, dumbfounded. He muttered, "Now I understand how that senior with the exotic beast was able to run rampant through the Cultivation Realm. For a newborn to have such power and intelligence... it’s truly terrifying!"

With that thought, he opened the door and called for Yisha. She had been fond of the Magic Beast Egg for a long time, and as one of the few people Ling Xiao trusted, there was no need to keep this from her.

"Oh, what an adorable little thing!" As expected, the moment Yisha entered Ling Xiao’s room and saw the little creature calmly napping on his soft quilt, she immediately cried out in excitement.

Ling Xiao, standing to the side, pursed his lips. He couldn’t agree at all. ’What’s so cute about it? It’s hideous!’ he thought. ’And a money pit, to boot.’ He sighed internally. ’Women truly are an incomprehensible species!’

"Qiuyue, don’t you think this little thing is..." Ling Xiao started to say to Chunlan and Qiuyue, who had followed them upstairs. Before he could finish, both girls gasped in unison and rushed over.

The normally shy and introverted Qiuyue couldn’t help but exclaim, "Oh heavens, what an adorable little bird..."

"..."

Ling Xiao felt he had nothing in common with them and went downstairs. Uncle Fu was sitting there quietly. Seeing Ling Xiao, he looked up and smiled. "Young Master, is there anything you need?"

Ling Xiao smiled and shook his head. "Uncle Fu, please don’t be so formal. If anything needs doing, just have Chunlan and Qiuyue handle it!"

Uncle Fu smiled and said, "Very well. This old man can’t do much these days, but I trust I’ll still be up to the task of being the Young Master’s butler when the time comes!"

"I’d be overjoyed!" Ling Xiao deeply respected the meticulous old man. It wasn’t just his immense strength; Uncle Fu’s elegant bearing alone commanded respect and warned others not to underestimate him. To have such a man as his butler—what more could he ask for?

Just then, a cry of alarm came from upstairs. Ling Xiao looked up to see clown suddenly land on the second-floor railing. It chirped a few times, as if annoyed by the girls’ fussing. Then, it launched itself from the railing, tracing a graceful arc as it leaped down! The girls’ screams erupted at that very moment.

The little creature landed squarely on Ling Xiao’s shoulder, where it settled down peacefully and closed its eyes.

The girls upstairs were dumbfounded. Yisha shook her head and said, "I’ve never seen a Magical Beast like this. It’s... it’s almost like dealing with a person. How bizarre!"

Chunlan and Qiuyue both nodded in agreement.

Uncle Fu gave the Snow Mountain Lightning Falcon perched on Ling Xiao’s shoulder a long, hard look, utterly astonished. He had never seen someone tame a Magical Beast in such a way, nor had he ever seen a Magical Beast so reliant on a human!

It was obvious that the little creature only looked ugly and strange because it was a newborn. Flying-type Magical Beasts, in particular, were rarely beautiful at birth and often looked vastly different from their adult forms.

A smile crept onto Uncle Fu’s face. He was getting old, his youthful ambitions long since eroded by the river of time. Unexpectedly, this mysterious young man had rekindled the passion of his past. Watching the young Ling Xiao, Uncle Fu felt as if he had returned to his years of slaughter on the battlefield.

「Another month passed quietly.」

Ling Xiao’s strength had improved once again! Shangguan Yutong had secretly taken him to the academy’s testing hall for an assessment. The Sword Qi Ling Xiao could now unleash had reached the level of a Tier Five Great Sword Master!

Such rapid growth left Shangguan Yutong speechless. She could only sigh that Ling Xiao was a monster. No wonder the legends said that once a Celestial Vein Master’s Celestial Vein was unsealed, their strength would increase at a heaven-defying rate.

Others might take years to advance from Tier Four to Tier Five, yet this guy... six months ago, he was just a Tier Five Sword Attendant!

Shangguan Yutong, who had also consumed a Vantia Holy Fruit, could only lament that some people are just built differently.