Chapter 653: Attracting Spirit Beasts

"Let's return to the imperial capital first!"

Jumping down from the tree, Zhang Xuan fixed his direction and strode forward.

The other party's trial had nothing to do with him; the most important thing now was to meet up with Master Hong and the others and head to Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy, not to waste time here.

Rustle!

He had only taken a few steps when he heard another series of footsteps. He flickered and hid in a tree again, then saw several huge spirit beasts sniffing the ground and charging in the direction where Luo Qiqi and the others had disappeared.

"They've found them..."

He frowned.

Although these spirit beasts were only at the fifth level of Mortal Transformation, and except for Ye Qian, Luo Qiqi and the others were all sixth-level experts, with so many together, it was still hard to defeat them.

"I'll go help!"

Turning around, he followed closely behind these spirit beasts and chased after them.

Regardless, he knew Princess Yu Fei'er and the others, and Luo Qiqi was even his alchemy student; he couldn't stand by when they were in danger.

Roar! Roar!

"Damn it, they're here again. Ye Qian, you go..."

As he moved forward, he heard a commotion ahead, followed by the whistling of energy and a violent fluctuation of power.

"They've already started fighting!"

Knowing there was no time to hesitate, Zhang Xuan hurried forward. He hadn't gone far when he heard a sharp wind above him. Looking up, he saw a huge Dragon Eagle Beast swooping down at him.

It was the same one that had participated in the siege earlier.

Earlier, he had been hiding in dense foliage, concealing his aura, making it hard for the beast to find him. But now, moving swiftly with his true energy circulating, he was immediately spotted by this big fellow.

Enemies meet with burning hatred. The Dragon Eagle Beast's steel-like claws brought a fierce wind before they even reached him, as if they could pierce through metal and stone.

"If I get entangled with it, it'll be hard to leave..."

Knowing that once he got tangled up with this creature, other spirit beasts would surely catch up, making escape difficult, Zhang Xuan raised his eyebrows and bit his lip.

"Hum!"

The Dragon Eagle Beast had dragon bloodline, so the strange "beast language" he had learned should be effective. Without dragon bloodline, the effect would be much weaker. That was why, to save the woman in white, he could only flee. Among so many spirit beasts, only this one had dragon bloodline. If the "beast language" failed and his true energy was too depleted, he wouldn't even be able to escape.

Sure enough, as he finished shouting, the Dragon Eagle Beast flying in the air trembled in fear, abandoned its attack, and plummeted straight down.

Thud!

The sound of a heavy object hitting the ground. The huge spirit beast, over ten meters long, crashed heavily, sending dust flying and twitching incessantly.

Roar!

Just as he was about to leave after dealing with this big fellow, he heard another roar. The Bear Scale Tiger he had seen before clawed the ground, leaped into the air, and slashed at him with sharp energy.

The commotion between the man and the beast had attracted the attention of many spirit beasts. This one was the fastest and had already come to help.

"Troublesome!"

Seeing the beast charging at him as if he had killed its father, not even giving him time to hide, Zhang Xuan shook his head, knowing evasion was useless.

Since you want to fight, then fight!

His cultivation had improved so much; he hadn't tested it yet, so he might as well use this to practice.

His palm turned into a blade and chopped straight down.

Whoosh!

The palm wind was like a sword beam, spreading straight ahead, crossing dozens of meters to reach the Bear Scale Tiger.

He didn't use soul force for this move. Even so, with his physical body and true energy combined, his strength exceeded six million cauldrons, which this big fellow couldn't withstand. With a dull thud, the energy from the beast's claws was shattered, and its body sank, pinned to the ground.

"Roar?"

The Bear Scale Tiger's eyes bulged as if it had seen a ghost.

Three days ago, it had fought this guy. Although his sword technique was exquisite and hard to counter, his strength was clearly weak. How... in just a few days, a casual palm strike had knocked it down, leaving it powerless to resist?

This was... too exaggerated!

If he had been this strong before, he wouldn't have been chased around by them, not daring to show himself...

"Don't chase me! Otherwise, I'll kill you!"

With a roar that sent the Dragon Eagle Beast crashing down and a palm strike that made the Bear Scale Tiger dare not resist, Zhang Xuan snorted, flicked his sleeve, and was about to continue flying toward Luo Qiqi and the others when he heard roars. The previous Cang Lion Spirit Beast and other spirit beasts had turned around from ahead and surrounded him.

These fellows had come so quickly; the Dragon Eagle Beast must have sent a message as soon as it spotted him.

"Since you're looking for trouble, don't blame me!"

He hadn't wanted to bother with a group of spirit beasts, but since they came to him, he didn't care anymore. He lightly stepped on a tree trunk and shot straight forward.

Heavenly Way Movement Technique!

With his increased physical body and strength, the Heavenly Way Movement Technique was easier to execute and faster. He seemed to tear through the air as he reached the Cang Lion Spirit Beast and rammed into it directly.

Aren't you good at defense?

Then I'll break your defense with brute force!

Bang!

The two collided. Before the Cang Lion Spirit Beast could react, its huge body flew backward, tumbling dozens of meters away, dizzy and disoriented.

After ramming this big fellow, Zhang Xuan twisted his body and charged at a wolf-shaped spirit beast.

With a strike from the air, his fist wind made the air crackle. The spirit beast took the blow and immediately went limp, following in the footsteps of the previous ones.

...

While the fight was raging here, Luo Qiqi and the others were all stunned.

The spirit beasts had caught up with them again and were about to attack fiercely. Yu Fei'er, in anger, had ordered Ye Qian to go and block them.

Ye Qian was only at the Harmonious Spirit realm. They thought he would be lucky to survive, at least severely injured. But unexpectedly, before he could even act, the previously ferocious spirit beasts retreated like a tide.

"Could it be they know I'm the crown prince... and dare not act?"

Ye Qian scratched his head.

Impossible!

He hadn't said anything about it, and besides, would spirit beasts care about a crown prince? If they really wanted to kill, they'd even kill the emperor!

"Someone has attracted the spirit beasts' attention for us. Look, there's a fight over there!"

Frowning slightly, Princess Yu Fei'er was the first to react.

The spirit beasts that had attacked them all rushed in one direction after retreating. Combined with the intense energy fluctuations and constant roars from that direction, it was clear someone was fighting.

"Ye Qian, is that one of your people?" Xing Yuan frowned.

Their trial was supposed to be absolutely confidential, known to no one. They had specifically instructed that no one should follow. To ensure safety, they hadn't even taken flying spirit beasts but had traveled on foot into the mountains...

Now, just as they encountered danger, someone had attracted the spirit beasts away. If it wasn't one of his people, it would be hard to believe.

"No, I didn't have anyone follow..."

Ye Qian quickly waved his hand.

He also knew about the trial; how could he deliberately violate the rules?

"Why not go and see?"

Luo Qiqi waved her hand.

"Yes," Xing Yuan nodded. "This trial cannot afford any mishaps. If someone is really following us, it would be troublesome..."

Without further ado, they quietly rushed toward the direction of the fight.

Soon they arrived and looked; all of them froze.

"It's... Teacher Zhang!"

"Why is the teacher here?"

"Wasn't this guy taken away? How did he appear here?"

...

Seeing the familiar face, their expressions varied.

Luo Qiqi was delighted, while Princess Yu Fei'er was gritting her teeth.

She had lost the last bet and dreaded meeting him, afraid he would demand the wager.

"I get it. The teacher must have seen us being attacked and deliberately lured these spirit beasts over..."

Luo Qiqi suddenly spoke.

"You're overthinking it. Could he be that kind?" Yu Fei'er snorted.

"If not, why would all these spirit beasts attack him instead of us? Look at how they attacked anyone they saw earlier. If Teacher Zhang hadn't deliberately attracted them, these beasts wouldn't have done that!"

Luo Qiqi said.

"This..."

Everyone was stunned.

What she said made sense.

Earlier, these spirit beasts had wanted to devour them all. They thought they would have to fight another fierce battle, but in the blink of an eye, they attacked Teacher Zhang instead, leaving them alone. If Teacher Zhang hadn't used some method to attract them, it would be hard to believe.

"Whether he attracted them or not, look at their fight..." Wu Zhen interrupted their speculation, pointing forward with a slight tremble.

Hearing this, everyone quickly looked. As they did, their eyes widened and their mouths went dry.

"Wasn't he at the peak of Turbid Clarity realm just a few days ago?"

Xing Yuan swallowed his saliva.

Three days ago, when he entered the Cleansing Pool, he was at the peak of Turbid Clarity. How, in the blink of an eye, had he become a peak Harmonious Spirit realm?

They had seen fast progress... but never this fast!

Most importantly, the peak Harmonious Spirit realm was lower than all of them in level, yet he fought so many spirit beasts as if an adult was playing with children...

His combat strength was simply too fierce!

Princess Yu Fei'er's eyes widened, her pretty face twitching, and her fists clenched.

She had thought this shameless guy only used underhanded methods to beat her, but she never expected his real strength to be so formidable!

If he had used such powerful force against her that night, she might not have lasted a single move before being beaten senseless and knocked out.

Could it be... he had deliberately held back?

"It must be deliberate!"

Thinking of how he had kept kicking her butt, her anger flared up.

If it weren't deliberate, it couldn't be such a coincidence that he kicked there every time...

He could have crushed her, but he deliberately kicked her butt. What a lecher, utterly shameless!

"Senior, senior sister, since Teacher Zhang is so strong and is now considered an insider of the academy, can he accompany us on the trial? With him here, I think it would be much safer and easier!"

Not knowing everyone's thoughts, Ye Qian couldn't help but say.

"Have the teacher come?" Luo Qiqi's eyes lit up. "Yes, if he comes, our chances of success will increase greatly!"

"Hmm, that's true. I agree!" Xing Yuan considered and nodded.

"No, he can't come!"

Yu Fei'er's eyes widened, and she waved her hands repeatedly.