Chapter 436: Azure Seat Golden Eagle (Combined Chapter, Requesting Everything)

This could absolutely be called a "benefit" where those who are quick get it, and those who are slow miss out.

It did not exceed Li Changsheng's expectations; in less than three minutes, 30 clansmen had already stood inside the circle.

The clansmen who were a step too late were blocked outside by two Clan Elders; they sighed and beat their chests one after another, feeling dejected over their own hesitation.

At the same time, there were also some clansmen who wanted to beg the Clan Elders to let them through.

Unfortunately, the Clan Elders naturally would not let them through.

Because of this, some clansmen remembered that this was a "benefit" issued by Li Changsheng, and immediately turned to run toward the high platform to beg Li Changsheng.

When the others who were a step late saw this, their hearts were immediately moved.

"Say no more, come back next year!"

Li Changsheng sternly refused; he could not change his orders in the morning and change them again in the evening. If they wanted to blame someone, they should blame their own slow decisiveness for missing the best time to choose.

Besides, thirty clansmen guards were enough for the Starry Sky Auction House; any more would be unnecessary and would instead increase costs.

Taking a step back, if Li Changsheng were soft-hearted and agreed to this clansman's request, believe it or not, those clansmen who were still watching would adopt the same action.

By that time, agreeing would significantly increase costs, while refusing would affect his reputation.

Refuse—he had to sternly refuse!

Ignoring the disappointment of these clansmen, Li Changsheng used Flying Through the Void and landed lightly near the circle.

"I will ask one more time: this time, you are to stay with me in Peng City for one year. If any of you regret it, you can step out now!"

While Li Changsheng was speaking, those clansmen who were a step late craned their necks and looked at the clansmen in the circle, hoping that someone would drop out at the last minute.

Unfortunately, they were disappointed in the end; not a single person in the circle regretted it, and they all stood there firmly.

"Very good, then I will first distribute your remuneration for this year!"

Li Changsheng took off the several Monster Pet Bags hanging from his waist, and under his shaking, one after another, different High Quality Fairies appeared on the Training Ground.

Upon seeing these thirty High Quality Fairies, the vast majority of the clansmen present revealed greedy expressions.

At the same time, they also discovered a phenomenon: these High Quality Fairies were all actually Intermediate or High-rank Servant Races, rather than the low-rank Servant Race Spirit Beasts they had imagined.

It seemed like a small difference, but the price could very likely differ by double.

Seeing this situation, the rest of the clansmen regretted it so much their guts turned green; one had to know that many of them worked hard for a year and might not even earn ten Soul Crystals.

And these High Quality Fairies? Their price range was roughly between 30 and 50 Soul Crystals.

These High Quality Fairies partly came from the Cai Clan Royal Beast Garden, and some were taken by Li Changsheng while he was delivering invitations.

These High Quality Fairies all had one characteristic: their races were all Intermediate or High-rank servants, and there was not much difference in price.

The reason they were not the same race was mainly to distinguish the treatment between First Rank and Second Rank clansmen.

The treatment for Second Rank clansmen naturally had to be better, so Li Changsheng specifically prepared High-rank Servant Race Spirit Beasts for them.

After Li Changsheng revoked the Temporary Contracts for all 30 Spirit Beasts, some High Quality Fairies had thoughts of running away in their hearts.

Unfortunately, under the pressure of Li Changsheng's Mental Power, these Spirit Beasts, which were only at the Shiliu Jingjie, all became weak-kneed and could no longer muster the thought of running away.

"Alright, everyone line up, contract one by one!"

As Li Changsheng's voice fell, the clansmen in the circle became restless; everyone wanted to be in the front, wanting to be the first to pick their favorite Spirit Beast.

These clansmen were all very clear in their hearts that even for Spirit Beasts of the same race, there were significant differences, such as traits, Bloodlines, some being good at attacking, some being good at defending, and so on.

The two Clan Elders immediately took action; under their forceful intervention, the originally chaotic queue quickly became orderly, with several Second Rank clansmen choosing first.

"Sigh, no Bloodline!"

"Eh, mine has the White Dragon Bloodline!"

"Wah ha ha ha, I hit the jackpot! Mine has the Bloodline of the Divine Beast Bai Ze!"

"Holy crap!"

They were different from Li Changsheng; before contracting, they could only understand their race, traits, and characteristics through their mastery of knowledge, but they could not see their Bloodlines.

The process of contracting felt like a lottery; contracting one with a Bloodline was naturally a cause for joy for everyone, as Spirit Beasts with high-level Bloodlines would have their strength enhanced to a certain extent, and might even comprehend a Bloodline Inheritance Skill.

Of course, where there is joy, there is naturally disappointment, but thinking about it carefully, it was still much better than those clansmen who did not secure a spot—not as good as the best, but better than the worst!

"The morning after two days, we will gather here and head to Peng City together!"

"Yes!"

Because they had just obtained a High Quality Fairy, the 30 clansmen were in high spirits, and they even began to yearn for Peng City.

"Dismissed!"

Li Changsheng nodded with satisfaction; he did not return to his small courtyard, but instead went to the gate of the Manor with Li Wenbo.

It was now evening, and the banquet would begin in two or three hours.

At the gate, besides some guards, Li Haoqiong and several Clan Elders were entertaining guests.

Li Changsheng arrived at just the right time; at this moment, more guests were beginning to descend upon the Li Family Manor.

In the sky, three Azure Seat Golden Eagles were pulling a carriage without wheels, circling down from the air and landing at a distance from the gate.

The Azure Seat Golden Eagle is a type of Intermediate Exotic Beast that can reach Elite rank when fully grown; it is rumored to possess a sparse Golden Winged Great Peng Bloodline.

When these three Azure Seat Golden Eagles stopped, the carriage did not land on the ground, but hovered two or three feet above it.

This was a carriage made of precious Suspension Wood; it is a precious floating material, light as a feather yet extremely dense, and it is rumored that one foot costs over a hundred Soul Crystals.

This carriage alone was likely worth twenty or thirty thousand Soul Crystals; it was truly wealthy and imposing.

By the way, the main body of Li Changsheng's Purple Flame Corpse-Hiding Coffin was also made of Suspension Wood, but the amount used far exceeded this carriage, and its craftsmanship was extremely profound.

Whoosh~

The carriage door opened automatically, and the first thing to reach out was a hand as white as jade, followed by a graceful and luxurious noblewoman floating out from inside.

Besides the noblewoman, there was also a fair-faced, handsome youth wearing silver cloud-patterned brocade robes, holding a Thousand Mechanism Fan; it was none other than Luo Jie.

They were naturally the representatives of the Luo Clan, the County Gentry of Peng City!

Li Zhangsheng stepped forward, cupped his hands, and called out, "Brother Luo!"

"Brother Li, ah, holy crap, you've broken through again!"

Luo Jie also cupped his hands, but when he sensed the intensity of Li Zhangsheng's Mental Power, his face was filled with shock, and he even nearly dropped the Thousand Mechanism Fan in his hand.

Damn it, I haven't even advanced to the Third Rank yet, and you're already Fourth Rank; how are people supposed to live!

Thinking back to over four months ago, Luo Jie's cultivation realm was still above Li Zhangsheng's, but in just over four short months, Li Zhangsheng had not only caught up but the gap between them was growing wider and wider.

Because he had only recently advanced to the Fourth Rank, not many people knew the news of Li Zhangsheng's breakthrough; although the clansmen were gossipy, their range of activity was basically limited to Luo City, and as for the four high-level figures of the Yuanling Academy, they were not the type to gossip.

Thus, the news of Li Zhangsheng's advancement to the Fourth Rank was temporarily limited to the cities around Luo City, and it was expected to take a few more days before it spread to Peng City.

"Just lucky, just lucky!"

Li Zhangsheng was modest; if not for Ning Bizhen's full assistance, he would have needed at least another month to advance to the Fourth Rank.

"Brother Li, I don't want to talk to you!"

Luo Jie had a look of despair; he had truly been struck by Li Zhangsheng this time. As fellow members of the Yuanling Three Musketeers, the gap was simply too large.

At this moment, the elegant and noble lady finally spoke: "Xiao Jie, why don't you hurry up and help with the introductions!"

Luo Jie had no choice but to pull himself together, suppressing the shock and loss in his heart, and introduced the two parties in a somewhat distracted manner.

The lady's name was Luo Xi; she was Luo Jie's paternal aunt and also a high-level figure in the Luo Clan's business.

Luo Xi was also a Fourth-rank Demon Tamer, though her Mental Power was more vigorous than Li Zhangsheng's.

"So it is Brother Zhangsheng, I pay my respects. Our Luo Jie has often mentioned you in front of me; it is truly better to meet once than to hear a hundred times!"

Luo Xi wore a cordial smile. Ever since the Academy Exchange Tournament, their Luo Clan had taken an interest in Li Zhangsheng, and now that they saw Li Zhangsheng had advanced to the Fourth Rank, they naturally valued him even more than before.

This was a surefire candidate for a King-tier.

While Li Zhangsheng had not yet completely soared to success, Luo Xi naturally wanted to make an effort to befriend him, or at the very least, not make an enemy of him.

While they were talking, Li Wenbo and Li Haoqiong also walked over, and Li Zhangsheng naturally did not forget to introduce them.

"The Li Clan is truly full of talent!"

Sensing the intensity of Li Haoqiong's Mental Power, Luo Xi could not help but exclaim; Li Haoqiong was also very young and highly likely to go further in the future.

Compared to the flourishing Li Clan, the Luo Clan, caught in power struggles, gave one the feeling of a setting sun.

Because of his relationship with Luo Jie, Li Zhangsheng naturally received them personally, taking the initiative to lead them to the resting area.

With two or three hours left before the banquet began, he naturally could not let the guests wait idly, so the Li Clan had specially arranged some lounges for the guests to entertain themselves and rest.

"We'd better stay in the public lounge; it's a good chance to interact with other factions!"

Standing at the entrance of the public lounge, Luo Xi saw many familiar figures, all of whom were from Yuan Province factions that possessed Fifth-tier Beastmasters.

This time, most of the factions invited by the Li Clan were also at this level.

The Xiao Family of Luoning, the Gu Family of Qinghe, the Lu Family of Changqing, Changshang Valley...

At this very moment, nearly ten major Yuan Province factions were gathered in the public lounge.

Suddenly, Luo Xi's gaze focused on a dashing and graceful young man.

"Why has the Shen Family of Hu Prefecture come as well?"

Luzhou was one of the three provinces of the Langya Kingdom; one could tell from the prefix that the Shen Family belonged to a Famous Clan.

The person who came from the Shen Family was none other than Shen Haofei, a fourth-year student at Tiandu Academy, and he was also a direct descendant of the Shen Family.

Shen Haofei had been specially invited by Li Zhangsheng. Upon learning that Li Zhangsheng possessed the Nine-Headed Snake Bloodline, he had traveled thousands of miles to get here, and he had arrived quite early.

Upon seeing Li Zhangsheng, Shen Haofei was also visibly stunned; he could naturally tell that Li Zhangsheng had advanced to the Fourth Rank.

Shen Haofei was naturally struck by this as well, but he was broad-minded and was not affected too much.

What he worried about most was still Tiandu Academy; Li Zhangsheng's progress was too fast, and for the next Academy Exchange Tournament, Tiandu Academy was afraid it would still not fare well.

However, Shen Haofei was already destined to be unable to participate in the next Academy Exchange Tournament, so he did not take it too much to heart.

Shen Haofei stood up on his own initiative and came before Li Zhangsheng, completely ignoring Luo Xi and Luo Jie, his entire mind focused on Li Zhangsheng.

To summarize in one sentence, Shen Haofei was completely uninterested in anything other than cultivation.

However, Shen Haofei still suppressed his inner thoughts and cupped his hands, saying, "In just two months of not seeing each other, I didn't expect Brother Li's cultivation to have broken through again; it is truly a joyous and congratulatory occasion!"

"Brother Shen is too polite; with Brother Shen's natural talent, I presume you are not far from the Fifth Rank!"

Li Zhangsheng also offered a compliment; two months ago, Shen Haofei's strength was on par with Miao Yinfeng, and now it was very likely he had made some progress.

"Not at all, compared to Brother Li, I am still far behind!"

Shen Haofei was modest, and then he said impatiently, "Brother Li, this is not a place to talk; let's find a lounge and have a good chat!"

"Good, Brother Shen, please this way!"

Li Zhangsheng was very clear about Shen Haofei's intentions; this time, Shen Haofei had come entirely for the Nine-Headed Snake Bloodline.

The two sides agreed to meet at this time mainly because Li Zhangsheng wanted to take the opportunity to boost his family's prestige.

The two went to a nearby lounge; there was naturally an Isolation Restriction here, which could hinder the penetration of Mental Power and simultaneously prevent others from eavesdropping.

"Since Brother Shen has come for it, I will not hide it from you!"

While speaking, Li Zhangsheng took out a Jade Ceramic Jar and opened the lid of the jar.

Wisps of blood threads emerged, eventually gathering into a phantom of a nine-headed snake, exuding a powerful might.

However, this bit of might could not affect Li Zhangsheng or Shen Haofei at all.

Shen Haofei stared intently at the nine-headed snake phantom, revealing a fanatical look in his eyes; if his six-headed snake could drink this Nine-Headed Snake Bloodline, there was a certain hope it could evolve into a nine-headed snake, or at the very least, master some of the nine-headed snake's abilities.

After a long while, Shen Haofei reluctantly withdrew his gaze and asked, "Brother Li, name your price!"

This time, Shen Haofei was prepared for the other party to ask for an exorbitant price.

"Brother Shen, I am not short of Soul Crystals; for such a rare treasure, it is naturally best to trade goods for goods!"

Li Zhangsheng shook his head and took out a list, on which were listed a dense array of item names, likely numbering as many as twenty or thirty.

Under the influence of Mental Power, this list drifted lightly in front of Shen Haofei.

Shen Haofei hurriedly took the list, but when he finished reading the information on it, he could not help but feel his scalp tingle.

(End of this chapter)