Yuan Haoran only followed Long Jingyi because he wanted to study him and use him to understand a little more about the cultivation world. However, he had not considered the implications of being near this type of person who was everything he was not.
In modern terms, Long Jingyi would be described as a main character.
Yuan Haoran contemplated turning away and walking off without a word. It would be no skin off his back. But he could not because he was a pragmatic man. Long Jingyi was the best course of action to learn about the cultivation world and acclimate to it.
So far, they had interacted for only a few minutes, and he had already gathered a lot of valuable information. Moreover, the annoying man was already offering to recommend him to join an elite academy.
It would be a shame not to take advantage of this 'hero'.
Yuan Haoran did not have special mage techniques, seeing that he did not know about it. Still, he was a Saint-level powerhouse with the cold thunder element and abundant scientific knowledge of the modern world.
Therefore, at the urging of his new 'friend', he stood in front of the herd and lifted his hand towards the Coal-scaled Bison. Then, he discreetly sent a small electrical charge into their brains, causing them to freeze.
'Work smart, not harder.' Yuan Haoran said to himself.
The young cultivators who had been fighting the creatures gasped in shock. They mumbled amongst themselves when they saw how easily the newcomer stopped the beast. The awe quickly turned into suspicion and fear.
"What kind of technique is this? I did not sense any spiritual or elemental energy." One of the female mage cultivators spoke up with suspicious eyes.
"Could it be a devil technique?" A male warrior asked.
"It is something strange for sure." Another cultivator joined the conversation.
Yuan Haoran was unbothered by the conversation; he would not take issue with a bunch of teenagers. He was not petty. It was nothing he had not heard before, not to mention he was a devil cultivator. But to be fair, he had not used any technique except for channelling his thunder element.
"Does your training permit you to be rude to others? Have you been away from the academy for so long that you have forgotten the tenets?" Long Jingyi no longer looked like the happy-go-lucky chap Yuan Haoran met.
It was a little satisfying to see that he was not always a composed and long-suffering good person. It made him a little more tolerable. Unfortunately, his anger also seemed to increase the sun-like energy around him, which was very unpleasant to Yuan Haoran.
"Senior Long, you just met this man and saved him. Now, he somehow can freeze these powerful beasts with a thought, even though we cannot sense his cultivation. It is suspicious." The first female cultivator could not help speaking up again in indignation.
"And why is he covering himself with a hood and a cloak in this weather?" Someone else grumbled.
Long Jingyi was disappointed in his juniors who were usually well-behaved. In his opinion, they probably could not take it when they saw someone else who looked young and could do what they could not do with ease. Jealousy was the real problem.
"Quiet! You will receive your punishment once we return to the academy." He turned to Yuan Haoran and bowed slightly. "I apologise on behalf of my juniors, Haoran. They are young and have not seen much of the world." Long Jingyi bowed slightly in sincerity.
Yuan Haoran wanted to correct Long Jingyi for ignoring courtesies and calling him by his first name only, but he changed his mind. Although he still found the man quite repulsive, he was proving to be quite useful. If the price for 'friendship' was a familiar address, he would let it be.
"No problem." Yuan Haoran said.
His scarlet eyes scanned the small group of ten cultivators, and his lips stretched into a chilly and eerie smile that Long Jingyi could not see from the side due to the heavy hood over his head. The so-called juniors shivered and stepped backwards afraid of him but unable to say anything.
Yuan Haoran turned to face Long Jingyi with his handsome but pale face that gave him a hint of fragility. The obvious wickedness in his eyes was gone, leaving an open and innocent face without secrets. Long Jingyi looked at his juniors with more disapproval for making unpleasant expressions at someone like Yuan Haoran.
"I suppose they feel a little guilty because they caused a lot of trouble. After all, the Coal-scaled Bison were following them." Yuan Haoran said casually.
"What do you mean?" Long Jingyi frowned.
"Your juniors are carrying at least three eggs belonging to this small herd. Of course, the beasts are unhappy." Yuan Haoran said before turning back to look at the small group.
He revelled in seeing them shiver at his chilly and bloodthirsty gaze as fear engulfed them. So, perhaps he was petty, and he did take issue with a bunch of teenagers for badmouthing him and accusing him of being a suspicious devil cultivator, however true.
He had dismembered people for less.
"Is this true?" Long Jingyi's expression became more severe.
The group did not dare act innocent. Four of the juniors took out four eggs from their storage bags and put them on the ground with shaking hands. The eggs were glowing slightly like the bison, but they had lost some of their energy from being in a confined space.
The revelation of the eggs made the Coal-scaled Bison fight against the weird freeze that was holding them in place. Their brains could still process information from their senses, but they could not control their giant bodies.
The sight of their lost eggs gave them an incentive to escape or at least, try.
Yuan Haoran sent another small electrical charge to their brains to keep them still while Long Jingyi stared down at his juniors with disappointment.
"We are sorry, Senior Long." One of the cultivators spoke up while the others stood behind him, looking contrite. "We did not think it mattered if we took the eggs. If we had beasts, we would be strong like you, Senior Long."
"Do you think your excuses matter?" Long Jingyi was angrier at the justification. "You know the rules of the domain. You are not allowed to take the animals in this zone to the outside world. This matter was emphasized before the gate was opened."
"But Senior Long..." The first female cultivator started with stubbornness in her eyes.
Like Long Jingyi, she was a heat-type cultivator, but her element was basic fire. She was always looking for ways to improve herself so that she could stand at Senior Long's side. She hoped she could become his mage in the future.
It was common for warriors and mages to partner up on the cultivation journey for practical purposes. Mages had limited physical strength on the battlefield unlike warriors, but they could develop skills like alchemy, forging, and formation design which would benefit warriors.
A partnership with Senior Long would elevate her cultivation path. Not to mention, he was the most coveted man in their academy. If she wanted to achieve her dreams, she needed to be more creative. That is why she convinced her companions to steal the eggs.
"Junior Sister Wan Xiu, you know the risks." Long Jingyi did not allow her to finish. "This domain has trained generations of young cultivators like yourself for hundreds of years. It needs to be self-sustaining to continue serving its purpose."
"When you take the eggs or the young ones from the spiritual beasts, it will eventually cause the animal populations to reduce and even die off. What use will a domain be without beasts to train with? And have you considered that some animals do not belong outside this place?"
The group of juniors looked repentant because they knew everything that their senior was saying was true. They had been taught lessons about spiritual beasts and knew how much damage they could cause in the wrong place.
It had just seemed like a good idea at the time.
"We are sorry, Senior Long!" One of them bowed, and the others followed, echoing the words.
"Go and set up camp for the night. The gate will open in the morning." Long Jingyi ordered. "We will finish up here."
Yuan Haoran watched the group leave before looking at his new 'friend' with deep contemplation.
"You seem to care a lot about this matter," Yuan Haoran commented.
"I travelled a lot with my father and saw what careless actions involving spiritual beasts can do. If these juniors don't learn to be careful right now, they will make the same mistakes." Long Jingyi returned to his normal positive demeanour.
"You must be close to your father," Yuan Haoran probed casually.
Long Jingyi stiffened at the statement. "Not anymore. What do we do about the Coal-scaled Bison?"
Yuan Haoran knew he had discovered something of potential value. When it came to dealing with enemies and friends, he believed it was critical to know their weaknesses. And now he could see a path for exploitation in Long Jingyi.