When he arrived, Mu Yuxing was already standing quietly by the front gate, his unique aura giving off an unfathomable depth.
Twenty or so Beast Tamers stood behind him; they were the other candidates representing the Yongnan City Beast Taming Union in the upcoming competition.
The Beast Taming Union naturally wouldn't only have Lin Su eligible to compete. Although none among these twenty-plus individuals could concoct a perfect-level energy potion, many could produce high-level ones, which was commendable.
Since arriving at the Beast Taming Union, aside from consulting Mu Yuxing on some issues regarding the concoction of energy potions, Lin Su spent most of his time within the Beast Tower. He hadn't interacted much with the other Beast Tamers in the union, and now, he merely greeted everyone politely before turning to Mu Yuxing, "Senior, I'm late."
"The timing is perfect." Maintaining his usual aloof demeanor in front of everyone, Mu Yuxing nodded slightly before speaking indifferently, "Everyone is here, let's set out."
Dark purple glyphs densely interwove beneath his feet into a dazzling array, a surge of energy kicking up a storm. Amid a clear cry, a massive figure, mountainous in size, suddenly descended!
It was a gigantic golden hawk, roughly the size of a small hill; its feathers shone with an icy gleam like blade edges, and its sharp Claw Blades stirred ripples in the space around them, its gaze piercingly intense, instilling fear upon eye contact.
This was one of Mu Yuxing's pets, which Lin Su had seen before.
During their first meeting, Mu Yuxing had been standing on its head.
At the time, Lin Su didn't know the breed of this pet, but now, having spent a long time in the divine martial world, he had sufficient knowledge of the local pet breeds to recognize it.
Golden Feathered Vulture, a medium emperor breed of both the gold and wind systems.
This breed evolved from a monarch breed, which on the Blue Star falls under the restricted category of the Alien Beast Ban, and this evolutionary form doesn't exist at all on Blue Star.
In a Beast Tamers' environment like the divine martial world, it was not surprising that Mu Yuxing's main pet reached the emperor breed. Once his Beast Taming Space broke through from tier seven to tier eight, able to support emperor-tier pets, this Golden Feathered Vulture would grow into an emperor-tier as well, unimaginably strengthening its power.
Upon the Golden Feathered Vulture's appearance, it briefly scanned everyone around before they felt a gentle breeze lifting them steadily upward, eventually landing on the broad back of the Golden Feathered Vulture.
At the same time, Mu Yuxing, who had positioned himself atop the head of the Golden Feathered Vulture, remained expressionless, hands clasped behind his back, exuding the aura of a master. "Hold on to the feathers."
Lin Su, curious about the feather in front of him, which was longer than his own body, quickly reached out and grabbed it tightly following the instructions. Soon after, a vigorous shake came, the Golden Feathered Vulture cried out long and loud, and shot into the sky instantly.
The intense shaking didn't last long; once the Golden Feathered Vulture completely ascended, Lin Su's body stabilized, and the roaring wind quieted down, he curiously observed his surroundings and noticed a pale blue membrane of light around the body of the Golden Feathered Vulture, warding off the fierce winds.
Clearly, this was to prevent them from being blown away by the extreme speeds of the Golden Feathered Vulture.
Having reseated himself, Lin Su still nervously surveyed his surroundings, one hand firmly grasping onto a feather.
Honestly, he had never ridden such a large pet before.
Qin Nan's Gray Feathered Lion Hawk could be ridden, but he hadn't gotten that chance yet.
Originally, Lin Su thought Qiuqiu and the like, smaller, cuddly pets that were strong yet adorable, were great. But now, he suddenly found himself envious of Qin Nan and Mu Yuxing.
Riding a large pet seemed quite impressive.
Although the teaching skill 'Gigantify' could make pets larger, and Qiuqiu could reach such sizes at high proficiency, riding an enlarged version of Qiuqiu felt a bit weird.
For future pets, he could consider contracting such pets.
Before Lin Su could get carried away by his thoughts, Mu Yuxing's indifferent voice once again reached his ears.
"The Southern Domain Alchemist Contest is held in turn by the four cities of the Southern Domain, and this time the host is the Qingyun City Beast Taming Union," Mu Yuxing paused slightly, "The Qingyun City Beast Taming Union, having been defeated by us last time and taking second place, will surely not let matters rest now that it's their turn to host. The main contest cannot be rigged, but targeting is inevitable."
Upon hearing Mu Yuxing's words, everyone's faces showed various expressions.
"If they provoke us, I only have one request — hit back hard," Mu Yuxing snorted coldly, "Do not disgrace our Yongnan City Beast Taming Union!"
"Yes!" the people behind him responded in unison.
Lin Su responded and began to ponder in his heart.
The four cities of the southern region of the Great Yan Kingdom: Qingyun, Yongnan, Yang Feng, and Star Light, among which the Qingyun Beast Taming Union had the strongest capabilities, followed by Yongnan, and then the other two cities. Qingyun had lost to Yongnan in the last session, and this time Qingyun was the host again…
It seemed that this Alchemical Competition might not go so smoothly.
He could concoct energy potions of perfect caliber, so advancing to the finals was certainly no issue, but if luck was not on his side and other Beast Tamers from different unions could also produce perfect caliber potions, winning the championship wouldn't be so easy.
He couldn't afford to slack off these next few days; every bit of practice counted.
…
"Yongnan City, which is closest to us in Qingyun City, has yet to arrive..."
At the competition venue already set up by the Qingyun Beast Taming Union, a burly man with a slightly sinister expression sneered, "It seems Mu Yuxing does not regard our three cities highly."
By his side, a man and a woman, both equally distinguished, exchanged glances upon hearing the sinister man's words, and ultimately chose to remain silent.
This man had held a grudge against Mu Yuxing for not just a day or two, and it was unnecessary for the two of them to intervene.
After his complaint, the sinister man changed the topic and chuckled, "This time, there must be talents of perfect quality among the concoctors from Yang Feng and Star Light, right?"
His words carried a hint of sarcasm but also an intention to probe.
Before the competition, the sinister man had already secretly inquired about the condition of the other three cities.
In the last Alchemical Competition, Qingyun Beast Taming Union had lost to Yongnan's team, and this time, as the host, it was a great opportunity to regain honor.
However, among the participants from Qingyun City this time, not a single one could concoct a basic energy potion of perfect caliber; the closest to perfect caliber was his direct disciple.
Fortunately, according to the intelligence gathered, there hadn't been any notable talents in the other three cities in recent years. It seemed likely that there would be no perfect-caliber talents in this competition, and Qingyun City still had a great chance to win.
However, as the competition was about to start, the sinister man felt an unusual premonition, which made him very uneasy, prompting him to probe.
Facing his words, the man and woman beside him showed different expressions; the man snorted and couldn't help rolling his eyes, "Chu Feng, don't you know the situation in Yang Feng City? I wish there were, those little brats are not up to par."
The woman, a strange glint flickering in her eyes, also spoke with a smile, "We in Star Light City certainly don't have one either. This Alchemical Competition will probably depend on Yongnan and Qingyun cities."
Yet, in her heart, doubts quietly surfaced.
Chu Feng bringing this up at such a critical moment—was it a simple probe, or did he actually know something?
That was Star Light City's hidden trump card for this time.
Qingyun and Yongnan had taken the first place so many times; it was time for Star Light City to win at least once.
"Yongnan City?" Chu Feng sneered, "They can forget about taking first place this time."
According to the intelligence he had gathered, the competitors from Yongnan City this time were utterly insignificant and posed no threat whatsoever.
"They are here," the leader from Yang Feng City suddenly spoke up.
Gentle breezes swept across, and a golden hawk in the distant horizon approached rapidly towards them. In the blink of an eye—as if eclipsing the sun—it greatly loomed over everyone's sight.
"Still the same impressive but impractical tactics," Chu Feng sneered, "Now that everyone is here, let the competition begin."
He was eager to ridicule Mu Yuxing thoroughly after the competition's conclusion.