Chapter 344: You're the One with a Screw Loose!

Chirp!

Lifting its head, the azure eagle beast carried a hint of arrogance.

"An azure eagle beast?" Prince Feixuan recognized it.

Though not a beast tamer, he had some knowledge of savage beasts. This type, while not weak among flying beasts, was limited by its talent, with a maximum strength of the peak of the Tongxuan realm.

He himself was also at the peak of the Tongxuan realm. With his various techniques, defeating it wouldn't be difficult.

As a prince, not only was his power pure, but more importantly, he had learned the most advanced martial skills. If he couldn't even defeat a beast relying solely on brute force, it would be truly embarrassing.

With a light smile, he looked at Princess Moyu: "Princess, can your words be trusted? If I defeat this azure eagle beast, will you agree to our marriage?"

"Mm!" Princess Moyu nodded. "But if you lose, please leave immediately!"

"Of course. If I can't even defeat a beast pet, what right do I have to marry the princess!" Prince Feixuan's eyes gleamed.

Princess Moyu was a renowned super genius and a great beauty. Countless princes wished to catch a glimpse of her charm and have a date with the fair lady.

He hadn't held much hope when he came to propose, but he hadn't expected her to make this request.

If it were something else, he might not be so confident, but dealing with a savage beast only at the peak of the Tongxuan realm was no problem at all.

"Your Highness..."

Envoy Ranmu frowned, unable to help looking at the azure eagle beast before him.

Savage beasts differed from humans; relying on their physical bodies, their strength was hardly discernible when not fighting. Even though he was at the peak of the Grandmaster realm, he couldn't tell how strong the beast was.

Based on experience, the azure eagle beast shouldn't exceed the peak of the Tongxuan realm. Such strength shouldn't be a match for the prince, but... Princess Moyu's confidence made him uneasy.

"Just an azure eagle beast, nothing to worry about!" Prince Feixuan waved his hand.

"Then let's begin!"

With a light smile, Moyu waved her hand. The azure eagle beast let out a sharp cry and charged straight at Prince Feixuan, its massive wings sweeping down.

The coarse feathers were like steel, and with its powerful strength, before it even reached him, a fierce wind swept through the hall, cracking the hard stone floor under the force.

"Half-step Grandmaster? This..."

Feeling the power from the sweeping wings, the confident Prince Feixuan nearly stumbled and fell.

Wasn't an adult azure eagle beast only at the peak of the Tongxuan realm? How could it be half-step Grandmaster? And judging by the proficiency of its power use, it had likely advanced quite some time ago.

Though only a slight difference separated these two levels, their combat strength was worlds apart.

"I've been tricked!"

Realizing he'd been duped, the frustrated Prince Feixuan stamped his foot on the ground and fled straight back.

Whoosh!

But before he could get far, he saw the azure eagle beast before him lightly shake its massive body, leap into the air, and tear at him with its steel claws.

This beast was not only strong but also reacted much faster than normal savage beasts, changing tactics immediately after a missed strike.

The azure eagle beast's two most formidable moves were: sweeping wings and tearing steel claws.

After the first move missed, it used the momentum from the wing sweep to launch itself into the air.

Rip!

The air whimpered. Before Prince Feixuan could escape, the steel claws struck his chest. With a bang, he flew backward, spitting a mouthful of blood.

"You lost."

With a wave of her hand, the azure eagle beast flew back. Moyu turned to look at the prince nearby and said calmly.

"I..."

Struggling to his feet, Prince Feixuan's face was ashen.

He had thought that with his strength, dealing with this azure eagle beast would be easy. He never dreamed he couldn't even last a single move and was severely injured.

This beast was too bizarre!

It seemed to understand combat techniques, just like a human.

"You cheated... The azure eagle beast, limited by its bloodline, should only be at the peak of the Tongxuan realm. How is this one half-step Grandmaster?"

After taking a healing pill and recovering a bit, Prince Feixuan gritted his teeth.

"A loss is a loss. What, the esteemed prince wants to go back on his word?" Princess Moyu said indifferently.

This azure eagle beast was the one tamed by Zhang Xuan's beast-taming method at the Beast Hall back then. Its bloodline had been purified by the Heavenly Way true energy, successfully elevating it to half-step Grandmaster.

Moreover, the Heavenly Way true energy was extremely pure. Savage beasts whose bloodlines were purified by it became clearer-headed and more intelligent.

That was why, during the fight, it could quickly change tactics and easily crush Feixuan.

Back in Honglian City, since Zhang Xuan already had a half-step Sovereign beast pet, this one was dispensable, so he gave it back to Moyu to ride back to the royal city.

Though he hadn't signed a contract with it, it still had 30% trust in him, so it naturally obeyed her words.

"I..." Prince Feixuan's face reddened. He wanted to retort but couldn't find the words.

He had just sworn that if he lost, he would give up the proposal. Now he hadn't even withstood two moves. Even with the thickest skin, it was hard to speak up.

Just as he was纠结 about how to answer, a eunuch walked in from outside.

"Your Majesty, Teacher Liu from the Tianwu Academy requests an audience."

"Oh? Teacher Liu, please, come in!"

Mo Tianxue's eyes lit up.

"Yes!" The eunuch walked out.

"Hmph!" Remembering that infuriating fellow, Moyu's pretty face darkened.

Since childhood, everyone had always revolved around her. This was the first time—well, the second time—she had been treated like this.

Seeing his daughter's expression, Mo Tianxue shook his head with a smile: "Xiaoyu, you need to be careful. Get along well with Teacher Liu and don't be so willful. He's the best candidate your father has in mind!"

"Best candidate?"

Prince Feixuan and Envoy Ranmu exchanged glances, each showing vigilance.

No wonder His Majesty Tianxue had been evasive. It seemed he had already found a suitable person in the Tianwu royal city.

"Hmph, I'll see just how impressive he is to earn such praise from His Majesty Tianxue..."

His eyes narrowing, Prince Feixuan was filled with hostility toward this Teacher Liu he hadn't yet met.

Envoy Ranmu also looked serious.

They had just arrived in the Tianwu royal city and hadn't heard about Teacher Liu's great feats in solving nineteen difficult cases. However, the fact that His Majesty Tianxue valued him so much made him curious.

Turning to look outside the hall, they saw a young man following the eunuch.

"Early stage of the Tongxuan realm?"

Exchanging glances, Envoy Ranmu and Prince Feixuan frowned simultaneously.

They had thought he would be some outstanding young talent, but his strength was so poor—only at the early stage of the Tongxuan realm.

Such a person would be considered very strong in a small place like the Tianxuan Kingdom, but in a first-class kingdom, he was merely average.

"Your Majesty!"

Stepping into the hall, the young man called Teacher Liu casually cupped his hands.

"Huh?"

Seeing his gesture, the two were even more bewildered.

Normally, one should bow to the king. Even if not with a courtier's salute, someone his age should show the courtesy of a junior. But this guy... he used a peer-to-peer salute?

A twenty-something at the early Tongxuan realm giving a peer salute to a Grandmaster peak king?

What kind of background did he have?

"In the Tianwu royal city, with three great families and countless nobles... I haven't heard of any prominent figure surnamed Liu."

Envoy Ranmu was even more incredulous.

They had investigated even the condition of the Tianwu Kingdom's guardian beast thoroughly, so they knew the power distribution in the royal city well. But they had never heard of any major force with the surname Liu.

Even the Master Teacher Academy had no master teacher surnamed Liu.

Besides, if he were a master teacher, he wouldn't be called Teacher Liu but Master Liu.

"Teacher Liu, you've kept me waiting. I thought you'd come yesterday, but you only arrived today!"

Mo Tianxue looked over with a wry smile.

The other party was a medical genius and the president of the Physician Guild. Even as king, he had no right to rush him, only to wait. He just hadn't expected to wait over a day.

"I had something to do yesterday."

Zhang Xuan nodded and looked over: "I said yesterday I could treat one illness for you. Who's the patient? Call him out!"

After speaking, he glanced around, his eyes landing on Prince Feixuan and Envoy Ranmu.

Under his gaze, Prince Feixuan's eyebrow twitched.

Already annoyed with this guy, now he mentioned illness and looked at him, nearly making him explode.

"You're Teacher Liu, right?"

His face darkening, he stepped forward.

Zhang Xuan looked puzzled.

"I am Feixuan, the second prince of the Kunqian Kingdom. I've come today to propose to Princess Moyu..."

When mentioning the proposal, he deliberately emphasized his tone, wanting to see the other's reaction, but found him expressionless, as if he didn't care at all.

Raising his brow, he snorted: "Since you're the candidate favored by His Majesty and the princess, do you dare to compete with me?"

"Favored candidate?"

Zhang Xuan was completely baffled.

You propose your marriage, I treat my patient. Is this guy's brain faulty? He pops up and wants to compete?

Besides, what does 'favored candidate' mean?

Just as he was puzzled, a flash of insight struck him.

Hadn't Mo Tianxue invited him to treat a patient?

This guy was talking incoherently—he was probably the so-called patient...

Hmm, mental illness should be harder to treat than physical ailments. This was a good chance to emphasize the difficulty, extort a bit, and see if he could get a few more spirit stones...

He had come to treat the patient specifically for spirit stones. Even if the patient wasn't seriously ill, he had to make it sound severe; otherwise, how could he charge?

But seeing how this guy rambled, he must be quite ill. Cheating him out of two or three spirit stones would be worth the price!

Having figured this out, Zhang Xuan looked at Prince Feixuan with satisfaction and nodded. Then he turned thoughtfully to Mo Tianxue: "Your Majesty, this patient is very serious! He has a mental problem, a brain issue. It's more troublesome than normal treatment and will require considerable effort..."

"Pfft..."

Thinking his nod meant he agreed to the competition, Prince Feixuan was about to speak. Hearing this, he spat out a mouthful of blood and nearly fainted on the spot.

You're the one with a mental problem! Your whole family has mental problems!