Chapter 65: Dragon Horse

For Qingxi, Ouyang Changfeng’s tasks had become of utmost importance lately.

And now, a mission worth tens of thousands of points lay before him; Qingxi was determined not to miss it, nor did he wish to stand atop the city walls one day, wracked with regret.

Thus, he did not hesitate to leave the saddle behind.

Three points were nothing compared to ten thousand—a mere trifle.

The two of them, one leading and one following, walked along the riverside.

Soon, they arrived at the rocky area where Qingxi had originally tethered his thousand-mile horse.

With a hopeful heart, Qingxi detoured into the rocks and found saddles and reins scattered on the ground, even a few horseshoes lying about.

“How strange—the horseshoes are all intact, as if they naturally fell from the horse’s legs. The saddle is whole as well. It doesn’t look like an attack from a water beast,”

Qingxi surveyed the scattered items, finding the scene odd.

“Look, the reins seem to have been bitten through by something.”

Qiu Yingying appeared behind him, extending a jade-like finger from beneath her black robe to point out the reins—one end pristine, the other marred by obvious bite marks.

Qingxi glanced over, sensing something amiss. He quickly activated his scanning function; nothing within thirty meters could escape his detection.

Suddenly, surprise flashed across his face. Circling a person-sized boulder, he came to the other side and saw the creature lying there, fast asleep.

It was a young foal.

Since it lay on the ground, Qingxi estimated it stood no taller than half a grown man's height, its body barely a meter long.

Yet what astonished him was that the foal slept belly up, four hooves in the air, its face turned to one side, using a stone as a pillow, drooling copiously.

Its thunderous snores grew louder, drowning out even the nearby roar of the waves.

“This foal is truly amusing,”

Qiu Yingying, at some point, had come to stand beside Qingxi, gazing at the sleeping creature with a glimmer of curiosity in her bright eyes.

Unable to see through the foal, Qingxi activated the reading function.

[Species: Descendant of the Dragon Horse]

[Racial Talent: Celestial Steed Roving the Skies]

[Rank: Human-tier, Upper Grade]

[Note: A king-level, defective young dragon soul concealed in the Xisha River possessed the thousand-mile horse, undergoing transformation to become a new species, named Dragon Horse Descendant, combining the strengths of dragon and thousand-mile horse. Once it matures past the Profound tier, it can sprout wings and achieve tremendous speed. Thousand-mile horses are rare, dragon horses even rarer; it is strongly recommended the host accept this as their first spirit beast.]

“Damn!”

After reading the foal’s introduction, Qingxi could not suppress a gasp.

A dragon soul!

That was a priceless treasure!

Qiu Yingying shot him a glance, “Damn? What does that mean? I’ve never heard it before—is it a dialect from your hometown?”

Qingxi broke out in a cold sweat, thought for a moment, and said, “Yes, it’s a phrase from my old home. Usually, it means surprise or shock. When startled, you can say ‘Damn’ to steady yourself.”

“Only someone as uncultured as you would say such things.”

Qiu Yingying wrinkled her nose in disdain, rolling her eyes at Qingxi, then gazed at the sleeping dragon horse, “This foal may look young, but I sense a mighty force within it—at least human-tier, upper grade.”

Qingxi was startled, surprised by Qiu Yingying’s acute perception.

Remembering the system prompt, he immediately contacted the assistant, “Assistant, how do I claim the dragon horse as my spirit beast? Do I need to drip blood for ownership or sign a master-servant contract?”

“Neither,”

The assistant replied, “Dragon horses are extremely rare new species in this world; their rank is currently low, but their potential and intelligence are unmatched—unlike ordinary beasts. To tame it, you must use a special method.”

“What special method?”

Qingxi’s curiosity flared.

If even the system called it special, this would surely be worthwhile.

“Sacrifice all five-elemental origins from your system space to transform the dragon horse into your spirit beast. The more origins you sacrifice, the greater the benefits, possibly elevating it directly to the Profound-tier spirit beast.”

“Wait, you want me to sacrifice my five-elemental origins? Are you crazy!”

Qingxi was speechless at the assistant, inwardly cursing its schemes to drain his origins.

But on second thought, he had little origin left anyway. This dragon horse was a unique species in the cultivation world; Qingxi knew he couldn’t let it slip away.

So, he extended his hand and channeled the last few hundred strands of origin into the sleeping dragon horse.

At the same time, the assistant’s voice sounded in his mind.

“Ding! Initiating spirit beast ownership ceremony—detecting spirit beast information… detection complete. Binding in progress: 5%… 100%, binding complete!”

Qingxi then noticed a new section on his system panel.

[Spirit Beast: Dragon Horse (Unawakened)]

[Rank: Human-tier, Upper Grade, Peak]

[Note: Once the dragon horse evolves to Profound-tier, awakening will occur automatically, with a 5% chance of innate Martial Soul manifestation]

Seeing the 5% chance for an innate Martial Soul, Qingxi couldn’t help but gasp again.

He had envied Qiu Yingying before, but now he felt his own decision was wise.

If he nurtured the dragon horse well, who knew—one day it might develop an innate Martial Soul and become a celestial steed with unrivaled speed.

By then, wherever he went, he would surely cut an imposing figure.

At this thought, drool nearly spilled from his mouth.

Nearby, Qiu Yingying watched Qingxi press his hand to the dragon horse’s brow, then become visibly excited—his expression almost pig-like in its delight. She rolled her eyes in disgust.

Suddenly, the dragon horse convulsed as if jolted by electricity, its tongue trembling, flicking water all over Qingxi’s face.

“Ha!”

“Who are you?”

The dragon horse rolled upright, fixing its gaze on Qingxi and Qiu Yingying, its ears pricked like a playful hound.

The dragon horse discovered new memories had appeared in its mind.

“How odd—you’re so weak, how could you possibly be my master?”

As it pondered those memories, the dragon horse placed both forehooves on Qingxi’s shoulders, scrutinizing him closely, a look of human-like disdain on its face.

Qiu Yingying’s eyes lit up as she heard the dragon horse speak.

“You speak! You’re a spirit beast!”

Historical records state only spirit beasts can speak at low cultivation levels.

Birds, of course, are an exception.

Qiu Yingying had seen beasts as powerful as Earth-tier, comparable to Spirit Steel realm, but they only spoke rudimentary human language.

Now, witnessing the dragon horse converse, she immediately concluded—this was a one-in-ten-thousand spirit beast!

The chance of a spirit beast emerging among monsters was as rare as a cultivator having a root above Profound grade.

Thus, Qiu Yingying’s heart stirred.

She extended her hand, an invisible, heavy force emanating from her palm, pinning both Qingxi and the dragon horse in place, then pressed her finger to the dragon horse’s brow.

(Happy Mid-Autumn Festival to everyone. The next chapter is a special side story, not closely tied to the main plot, but definitely worth reading.)