Chapter 698: Qiu Niu

Li Yi watched the fire beast rampaging through the marketplace without intervening, for he knew that in Beihuang City, a beast of Earth Demon rank was not powerful enough to run wild—its subjugation or death was merely a matter of time.

Yet the beast's rampage had occurred suddenly; even experts needed a moment to react before acting.

And others, like Li Yi, felt this was none of their business and chose not to get involved, pretending not to see it as they quickly left the marketplace.

After all, the fire beast had already destroyed countless merchants' goods—killing it wouldn't even cover the losses, and if anyone struck carelessly and damaged more goods, the consequences would be dire.

After repelling a group of warriors, the fire beast's fierce survival instinct drove it to abandon its suicidal fight; it roared once and bolted in one direction.

Wherever it passed, flames erupted, filling the air with the stench of burning.

Some merchants, unwilling to let their goods be destroyed, shouted: "Whoever stops this fire beast, I'll pay a hundred gold!"

The moment those words were spoken, a warrior burst from the crowd, attempting to block the beast's advance with his brute strength—but the warrior was clearly weaker, and the beast smashed him aside, sending him flying into the distance.

"I'll pay a hundred gold too!" Other merchants, fearing their own goods would be damaged, joined in with bids.

In mere moments, over a dozen merchants had offered a hundred gold each—the reward had already climbed past a thousand gold.

This sum was enough to stir the hearts of powerful warriors.

The next instant, a young warrior stood before the fire beast, blocking its path. Though he appeared only about twenty, his body bore dark markings—like totems, yet in truth, they were manifestations of bloodline power.

"A Divine Blood warrior," Li Yi noted the young warrior.

Undoubtedly, the man possessed Divine Blood, but his strength and bloodline density fell far short of the earlier Dong Chong.

The young Divine Blood warrior roared and charged head-on, colliding his body against the fire beast.

Terrifying power erupted, like a hammer striking molten iron, spraying countless sparks; the shockwave, laced with flame, blasted outward, flinging nearby onlookers into the air.

In that instant, the young Divine Blood warrior displayed unmatched strength, halting the rampaging beast solely with his bare body.

Li Yi's eyelid twitched.

Such a brute method—had he wielded a weapon, one strike could have slain the beast. Yet he chose to wrestle it directly.

But the young Divine Blood warrior truly overpowered the beast; raising his fist, black light coiled around it, and as his bloodline surged, he struck—shattering the beast's scales and forcing it backward.

"The Divine Blood warrior has acted! Finally, someone can subdue the fire beast!"

"Kill it! Don't let it cause more chaos!"

"Damn it! Who owns this fire beast? Come out now—I demand compensation for my losses, or I'll cut off your head and hang it on the marketplace street!"

Yet at that moment, the wounded fire beast erupted with renewed power, its massive body lunging forward, hooves raised to crush the young warrior.

The young warrior raised both arms, preparing to absorb the blow head-on.

BOOM!

In an instant, wind and fire raged, terrifying power unleashed, shaking the entire marketplace; the ground instantly melted into lava, and the young warrior, unsteady, was crushed beneath the hooves and plunged into the molten rock.

The searing lava couldn't even burn his skin.

But the humiliation of defeat flushed his face crimson; he lost his composure, frantically struggling to rise, forgetting to counterattack.

The fire beast, seasoned in wild survival and combat, seized the chance, stomping repeatedly, aiming to crush him to death.

The young warrior endured several direct stomps—his formidable physique could not withstand it; he spat blood, and the black markings of his Divine Blood dimmed.

He was stronger than the beast, yet chose this fighting style—and lost. What a foolish defeat.

Li Yi shook his head.

These warriors possessed great strength but couldn't wield it properly—even learning martial arts from the Four Seas and Eight Provinces would make them formidable.

Seeing the Divine Blood warrior in dire straits, no one stepped forward to help.

"Why aren't the other warriors acting?" Li Yi asked.

Beside him, E Ji said: "Great Yi, ordinary warriors cannot interfere in a Divine Blood warrior's battle—it's an insult. Even if someone else defeated the beast and saved him, the Divine Blood warrior would still harbor resentment."

Su Ji added: "Unless the one who intervenes is a powerful Divine Blood warrior like you, Great Yi."

Li Yi's expression shifted slightly.

He hadn't known such a rule existed.

Yet seeing the young warrior coughing blood in the lava, gravely wounded, Li Yi knew that if he didn't act now, the man would die—and no third Divine Blood warrior had appeared in the marketplace.

No choice.

He decided he'd be a good man for once.

"Stay here. I'll save this young man." Li Yi spoke, then shot out from the auspicious cloud; his power surged, silver lightning weaving around him, thunder cracking across the sky.

The commotion immediately drew many eyes.

"Silver lightning? Another Divine Blood warrior!"

"This warrior's aura is terrifying—his bloodline is thick. Is he a direct descendant?"

"Finally, a powerful warrior steps in to stop this chaos—the fire beast has already killed many. This must end!"

Amid the murmurs, Li Yi arrived above the fire beast's head.

Dragon-Tiger power erupted.

Li Yi stomped down upon the beast's skull.

Terrifying force erupted instantly.

The fire beast, moments ago rampaging, let out a mournful cry and crashed to the ground, instantly subdued and immobilized; the residual power swept outward, shaking the earth, spreading jagged cracks across the land.

One strike.

The fire beast could no longer rise; even its flames rapidly faded.

With the beast's assault ended, the young warrior in the lava finally burst free—his body stained with blood, wounded, his face showing shock, yet mostly humiliation.

He scanned the crowd, his gaze finally settling on Li Yi.

Seeing Li Yi standing atop the beast, silver lightning crackling around him, he froze.

Clearly, he recognized Li Yi as another Divine Blood warrior—one far stronger than himself.

"I'm Lian Zhen. Thank you for your help," the young man called out loudly.

"I'm Da Yi. Your fighting is crude. You were stronger than the beast, yet failed to subdue it—instead, you were defeated. You must refine your technique; don't over-rely on your bloodline power," Li Yi advised, speaking like a senior.

"You're right. I'll learn from this mistake—I won't repeat it," Lian Zhen said without defiance, showing deep respect.

To him, Li Yi was a fellow Divine Blood warrior, vastly stronger, and had saved his life—he owed him a debt.

Seeing the young man's sincerity, Li Yi nodded slightly: "Go tend to your wounds. I'll handle this beast."

Lian Zhen said no more. He memorized Da Yi's name and appearance, then turned away, ashamed.

As a Divine Blood warrior, losing so publicly was a disgrace.

Li Yi looked down at the beast beneath his feet. As its flames faded, he finally saw its true form.

Dragon's head, ox's body?

This wasn't a fire beast—it was a true dragon's offspring, bearing true dragon blood.

He recalled mythological creatures from Earth.

This creature should be called: Qiu Niu.

"A dragon offspring?" Li Yi thought silently: "On Earth, it would be pure myth—but here, it's dismissed as an unknown fire beast. Clearly, hybrids aren't valued in this world."

Thinking this, he didn't rush to kill the Qiu Niu—he wondered if he could tame it.

After all, his previous ox, Niu Niu, had, according to Zheng Lan, gone off to study and take exams. Rumor had it it was now called Professor Ox, utterly obsessed with learning.

He'd be living in this wild world for a while—raising another ox as a mount would be convenient.

But first, he needed to find the beast's merchant owner.

It belonged to someone else—he couldn't steal it. Best to buy it with gold. If he tamed it, fine; if not, he could kill it for meat.

Soon.

Seeing the chaos had ended, a merchant, charred black from head to toe, was dragged forward by other merchants.

"Merchant Chuan, is this fire beast your merchandise?" the other merchants asked him to confirm.

"Yes, it's mine," Merchant Chuan said, face grim, with no choice but to admit it.

He knew the damage caused would cost him a fortune in gold.

"Will you compensate us for our losses?" the merchants asked again.

"I'll pay," Merchant Chuan said helplessly.

Refuse, and his head would be cut off today.

Seeing his willingness to pay, the merchants' anger subsided, and they turned to thank Li Yi.

"Thank this Divine Blood warrior for subduing the beast. All merchants pledge fifteen hundred gold to the warrior." One merchant stepped forward, respectfully offering fifteen pieces of crimson gold to Li Yi.

Li Yi didn't refuse—he reached out through the air and snatched the gold, then said: "Merchant Chuan, will you sell me this fire beast? How much gold?"

"No gold—I gift it to you," the charred merchant Chuan said hastily.

"Very well. Thank you for your generosity," Li Yi said, accepting the beast without hesitation and tossing it into his Five Elements Bracelet.

He'd try taming it later.

Seeing the massive beast vanish into thin air, the other merchants stared in shock.

But they quickly realized: this Divine Blood warrior possessed a mysterious treasure capable of storing goods in thin air.

(End of Chapter)