Different sneering voices rose in the hall. Many of them laughed at Yuan for being ignorant.
Yuan simply ignored their rattle and slowly asked, "But what will happen if a pet eats it while breaking through to the next level?"
An elder from the Thousand Beasts Sect spoke up, sneering "It won't harm the pet. In fact, it will help regulate the pet's energy and ensure a smooth breakthrough. Many Beast trainers and pet owners use it for this purpose."
Everybody nodded in agreement. After all, it was a common knowledge.
"Yes." Yuan nodded in agreement. Suddenly, his lips curled into a smirk, eyes flashing "What if the pet eats Beast Energy Crystal? How do you think the Blue Dust flower will affect the pet then?"
The same elder blinked, clearly caught unprepared by his words. "Well... in that case, the flower will suppress the energy from the crystal, resulting in excess energy which ultimately leads to pet death by explosion"
"Bingo," Yuan said, his smirk widening.
The realization hit like a thunderclap. They looked at Yuan with disbelief in their eyes. No one had thought of it this way. The elder who had just spoken now looked pale, his earlier now turned into complete shock.
Thousand Pills Valley was known for their intense knowledge about herbs and pills, but today a young man outwitted them.
Mother Bing's eyes gleamed with pride, though she hid it behind a stern expression. After all, Yuan was her son.
The Golden Crane Sect, once skeptical, now stared in awe. Yuan had pointed to the crux of the issue. People who mocked Yuan earlier lowered their heads in embarrassment.
Someone in the crowd couldn't hold in and finally spoke, "But how do you prove the bird ate the Beast Energy Crystal?"
Yuan gave a dry chuckle. " The proof is right in front of you. The Crane's body temperature is higher than normal, even when considering the breakthrough to the next level, which proves the excess energy in the body. And notice the redness at the base of the feathers and the dried blood at the beak. That's all because of the excessive energy. Not to mention, the only scent in the blood is the Blue Dust flower."
He paused, turning to the bird and gently feeding it a poison-neutralization pill. After a few moments, he bandaged the Crane, his face calm despite the tense atmosphere and stood beside Mother Bing Shang quietly.
"Now what?" Sect master Gong anxiously asked.
Yuan glanced at him, his tone matter-of-fact. "We will just wait. The pill I gave it is poison-neutralization from our pavilion. It will help lower the effect of the blue-dust flower." After thinking about something, he continued, "Ask someone to feed it a blood regeneration pill or some red lilies later. They will help the crane to generate blood to recover from blood loss."
Sect master Gong was speechless.
'You were the one who cut the Crane at many places and collected the blood in buckets, and now you are asking me to feed him red lilies to recover from blood loss", he cursed in his heart at yuan shamelessness.
Mother Bing also rolled her beautiful eyes. But it was not Yuan's fault.
He only drew some blood to remove excess energy and lessen the burden on the beast's body. Otherwise, in three hours' time, the bird would have exploded. Even with the poison-neutralization pill, there was no guarantee.
But he was too lazy to explain that. He just silently stood beside Mother Bing and waited for the crane to breakthrough.
2 hours later, the bird successfully broke through from level 1 beast to level 2 beast. The hall erupted in murmurs of awe and relief.
Sect master Gong enthusiastically shook Yuan's hand and even hugged him. Many elders of the Golden Crane Sect thanked him while praising his brilliance.
Elders of Thousand Pills Valley and Thousand Beasts sect were also eager to know him. They made a mental note to learn more about Menghao Beast Pavilion and build a good relationship. But the news of Yuan being a cripple directly severed their enthusiasm down to half.
However still, because of this incident, pavilion's reputation increased a lot. Many people began to visit the pavilion, primarily Sects students, increasing the sales significantly.
After some time, the crane stood up and nudged Yuan's hand with its head. Yuan smiled helplessly and gently patted its head. Then he examined its condition and the changes brought by the breakthrough. He immediately realized the crane has grown bigger and was giving a much stronger aura than before.
"Okay, okay. Go heal your injuries and stabilize your cultivation." After checking, he gently said.
Crane nodded as if it understood what Yuan said and flew toward the top of the mountain.
Sect master offered to accept Yuan as his personal disciple despite knowing he wasn't able to cultivate. Disciples of Golden Crane Sect in the hall looked at yuan with envy, but to their shock, Yuan refused. He didn't want to accept anyone's pity.
Yuan and Miss Bing bid their goodbye and left the Golden Crane Sect.
*****
Three hours later, they arrived at the gate bustling city of over a hundred thousand souls, at the eastern borders of the Crimson Empire, Clear Cloud City.
The city was dominated by three powerful sects—Golden Crane, Thousand Beasts, and Thousand Pills Valley—and City Lord Estate. Many of the local businesses in the city were tied to them. Only some of the businesses were owned by people outside these forces and other small forces. Menghao Beast Pavilion was one of these minority businesses.
Stepping down from the carriage, Mother Bing and Yuan walked into the pavilion. As they entered the pavilion, Yuan let out a sigh, his body heavy with exhaustion.
"I'm going to rest for a while," Yuan muttered, stretching his sore limbs.
Mother Bing nodded. She'd had her questions, but she knew he was under a lot of pressure today, and needed rest.