Chapter 136: Chapter 131: The Robbing Magical Beast

At the sound of the voice, a few men pushed their way through the crowd. Their style of dress was a stark contrast to the fashion of the Imperial Capital, resembling the popular attire of the north. They all carried a sharp, capable air, and in their midst was a young man of about twenty-four or twenty-five. He had thick eyebrows, large eyes, a square face, a high-bridged nose, and wheat-colored skin, exuding a distinct military aura. He was the one who had just spoken. His piercing gaze swept over the crowd as he announced loudly, "Whose Magical Beast is this? Name your price. I’ll buy it!"

The clown had killed the man who insulted Ye Wen Ni with a single strike of its claw. As if disgusted, it shook its talon, and not a single drop of blood remained on the claw, which was covered in a layer of fine scales!

After circling twice in the air, it didn’t land on Ling Xiao’s shoulder. Instead, it perched on a nearby streetlight, standing there arrogantly. Its disdainful gaze swept over the people below, landing particularly on the formidable-looking young man who had just spoken. The ring of downy feathers on the clown’s neck suddenly bristled, and it let out several loud cries.

"Clever, so clever!" The young man paid no mind to the stares of others and praised it loudly. Then he asked again, "Does anyone know whose Magical Beast this is? I am sincere in my wish to purchase it! No matter the price, I must have it!"

The men beside the young man were also well-built and tall. They stood there with a calm and steady demeanor, not saying a word, yet they exuded an aura of iron and blood.

Li Qiang clutched his injured arm, his eyes shooting venomous glares. He said to the formidable-looking young man, "It’s that woman! The Magical Beast must be hers. As long as you help me capture that woman, the Magical Beast is yours, I swear it!"

The formidable-looking young man glanced at Li Qiang and frowned slightly. He disliked these noble young masters like Li Qiang who, at a glance, had clearly never been through any real training. ’What a weakling!’

"Who are you?"

"I’m a member of the Royal Family, I..." Li Qiang suddenly glanced at Ling Xiao. The pain from his wound pulled at the corner of his mouth, causing him to grimace. "As long as you help me, I swear on my status as a member of the Royal Family!"

The formidable-looking young man gave a faint smile, the contempt on his face clear for all to see. Ignoring Li Qiang, he spoke to Ye Wen Ni, who had an injury on her arm, "Is that Magical Beast yours?"

Ye Wen Ni replied with a cold expression, "No."

"So you’re saying it’s an ownerless creature?" A hint of mockery touched the formidable-looking young man’s face. He ordered the men beside him, "Capture it for me. Remember, don’t hurt it!"

Just then, Shangguan Yutong hurried over. The moment the spectating students saw Teacher Shangguan, they immediately cleared a path for her. Shangguan Yutong’s eyes landed on the injured Ye Wen Ni, and her brows knitted together. "Who hurt you?" she asked.

Ye Wen Ni shook her head and said softly, "Teacher, let’s just go back. It’s over now."

The moment Li Qiang saw Shangguan Yutong, he struggled to his feet and said with a resentful expression, "Teacher Shangguan, you’re just in time. I’d like to ask, does this Ye Wen Ni have a noble status?"

Shangguan Yutong glanced at Li Qiang, her expression unchanging as she said, "What if she does, and what if she doesn’t?"

At that moment, one of Li Qiang’s subordinates tore off a piece of his own clothing to bandage Li Qiang’s wound. Blood still dripped steadily to the ground. The man whose head had been gouged open was as dead as could be. The surrounding crowd scattered to a safe distance. Although many students had grown somewhat accustomed to bloodshed after the recent battle in Cameron Town, many had never witnessed such a gory and brutal scene. They looked at the white falcon still perched on the streetlight, fear in their eyes.

Meanwhile, the three subordinates of the formidable-looking young man casually approached the Snow Mountain Lightning Falcon’s position, acting as if no one else was around. One of them actually pulled a net from his robes. Seeing that its threads were as thin as strands of hair, a knowledgeable student couldn’t help but exclaim.

"Ah, is that a net woven from the Celestial Silkworm Silk of the Land of Extreme Cold?"

The young man seemed a little surprised. He glanced at the student who had spoken. ’So not all the noble students at the Imperial Academy are completely ignorant,’ he thought. He didn’t even bother to watch his subordinates. That net was incredibly tough; even a Tier Three Magical Beast couldn’t break free, let alone a young Flying Magical Beast like this one.

’Since no one is admitting it’s their Magical Beast, heh heh, I’ll just treat it as ownerless!’

Standing beside Ling Xiao, Meng Li grew more and more astonished as time passed. Just moments ago, he had felt impossibly weak, but now, after such a short while, he had already recovered most of his strength! He tried circulating his Inner Strength and found it was only slightly obstructed... ’Did I... was I really pierced through?’

The look Meng Li shot at Ling Xiao from the corner of his eye was filled with utter astonishment!

At this point, Li Qiang decided to risk offending Shangguan Yutong and shouted, "Today, in front of so many students of noble standing, I’m going to have my say! Let’s all see if this Empire still belongs to the nobility!"

Li Qiang then recounted how he had pursued Ye Wen Ni, only to be injured by her, and how he had returned to settle the score. According to the laws of the Empire, it was a grave crime for a commoner to injure a noble! A noble had the right to deal with that commoner as they saw fit!

"But him..." Li Qiang pointed a finger at Ling Xiao. "He, as a noble, meddled in this affair! This is a severe act of contempt for royal authority! Teacher Shangguan, can you still protect a student like this?"

Hearing this, the formidable-looking young man couldn’t help but laugh, letting out a snort.

The pain caused Li Qiang’s face to become twisted and ferocious. He roared, "What are you laughing at!"

"Haha, I’m laughing because you’re a good-for-nothing. You’re useless yourself, yet you blame others. A piece of trash like you would never be a reliable comrade on the battlefield. You’d be the first to run away!"

"You... you dare mock a noble with the blood of the Royal Family?" Li Qiang angrily swung his arm, but he accidentally hit his fresh wound. The rest of his words were swallowed back down as his face twitched violently from the pain.

Li Qiang’s subordinates also glared angrily at the young man. One of them said, "If you’ve got the guts, dare to state your name!"

The formidable-looking young man swept a contemptuous glance over Li Qiang’s subordinate and sneered, "You’ve got a little more backbone than your master. For that, even though I didn’t need to bother with you, I’ll tell you. It’ll save you from thinking I’m trying to be secretive. I am from the Bauhinia Clan of the north. My name is Qin Jian! If you have a problem with that, come find me at the Bauhinia Clan!"

The crowd was stunned for a moment, then broke into whispers. Their gazes immediately shifted to the waiting Ling Xiao. ’Qin Jian... what is his relationship to the Qin Kang that Ling Xiao beat to a pulp a while back? Don’t tell me he’s here to settle the score?’

Ling Xiao glanced at Qin Jian but said nothing. By now, the three of Qin Jian’s men who were preparing to capture the clown had reached the base of the streetlight. The one holding the net made a couple of cooing sounds at the clown, while the other two drew their weapons and began to taunt it.

The clown remained unmoved on its perch. Everyone watched nervously, including Shangguan Yutong, Ye Wen Ni, and the others who knew the clown. Shangguan Yutong shot Ling Xiao a strange look. ’Why isn’t he recalling the clown?’ she wondered. ’He’ll be heartbroken if it gets hurt.’

Ling Xiao, however, was directing the clown with his Spiritual Power. First, Ling Xiao wanted the clown to gain sufficient combat experience. Opportunities like this might not come often, and each one was immensely beneficial for the clown’s growth. For instance, the earlier attacks on Li Qiang and his subordinate were carried out under Ling Xiao’s command!

Second, Ling Xiao wanted that net.

It all happened in an instant. The clown suddenly dove like a bolt of lightning toward the man holding the Celestial Silkworm Silk Net, giving absolutely no warning beforehand!

The man was startled, not expecting the creature to be so fast. Over on the side, Qin Jian’s eyes gleamed ever brighter. He clenched his fists tightly and muttered to himself, "I must have it!"

Instinctively, the man cast the net. His movements, however, were backed by years of experience capturing Magical Beasts. As the saying goes, a master’s skill is clear from a single move. Not just anyone could have made such a beautiful throw. Despite the suddenness of the attack, he managed to react perfectly, casting the net to intercept the clown and spread out over its head.

The hundreds of people in the surrounding area fell silent in that instant, all holding their breath and watching nervously. Normally, a bird’s instinctive reaction in this situation would be to fly upward!

And if it did that...

WHOOSH!

The clown’s body suddenly plummeted as if shot down by an arrow, falling at extreme speed toward the ground. Just as it was about to crash, it twisted its body, beat its wings, and righted itself vertically—one wing up, one wing down. It extended its sharp, vicious talons and slashed fiercely at the leg of the man holding the Celestial Silkworm Silk Net!

"AH!" The man let out a bloodcurdling scream and staggered violently. Blood burst from the wound, and his hand holding the net instinctively loosened for a split second!

Clutching a large chunk of flesh and tattered cloth from the man’s pants in its talons, the clown soared upward in a perfect arc. Its two claws then expertly snagged the Celestial Silkworm Silk Net. It then dove abruptly toward the net-holder’s eyes. Its sharp beak gleamed, reflecting a point of light in the sun as it aimed for the man’s eyes.

The net, which he had already loosened his grip on, was now completely released as he instinctively threw his hands up to cover his eyes. It was a purely human reflex. The other two men were frozen in place, stunned. Everything had happened in a flash; how could they have reacted so quickly? By the time they thought to attack the cunning and ferocious Flying Magical Beast, they had to hold back for fear of damaging the net.

With a loud, piercing cry, the clown shot straight into the sky!

In its talons, it carried the Celestial Silkworm Silk Net, which was nearly transparent in the sunlight... flying higher and higher!

Only then did a pleased smile touch the corners of Ling Xiao’s lips. As for everyone else, they were completely dumbfounded.

’Is that still a Magical Beast?’

Qin Jian hadn’t expected this outcome at all. His brows were knitted into a deep furrow, and his mouth was slightly agape.

At this moment, Shangguan Yutong said, "Ling Xiao, you all should head back first. The academy will handle this matter."

Across the way, Qin Jian fixed his gaze on Ling Xiao and said in a low voice, "You... are Ling Xiao?"