Chapter 74: Let Go of That Bird

This brightest spot of light was currently in the midst of a rapid descent.

Following the position of the light spot, Li Zhangsheng locked onto his target at the first opportunity.

This was a Skylark; its size was far larger than its peers, with a body length approaching one meter and a wingspan of over two meters. Its entire body was covered in light green feathers, and it trailed nine long, azure tail feathers, its appearance somewhat resembling the legendary Divine Beast, the Azure Phoenix.

The greatest characteristic of a Skylark is its tail feathers; at birth, it has only one, and with every advancement in rank, the number of tail feathers increases by one.

This Skylark with nine tail feathers represented that it had reached the Lower 9th Rank, and coupled with its superior quality, it was no wonder its size was larger than an ordinary Skylark.

A Skylark this large could already be used for riding; of course, the rider could not be too heavy. If it were a fat man weighing two or three hundred jin, a tragedy of "a little bird being crushed" would likely occur.

At this moment, the Skylark was falling from the sky. Its wings flapped from time to time, but because the bones of avian Spirit Beasts are generally very light with thin bone walls, its falling speed was not very fast.

However, just as Li Zhangsheng approached, on the ground below the Skylark, a nimble Cloud Leopard was currently holding its head high, revealing a gaze dripping with greed. Its four limbs were slightly bent, ready to launch a thunderous strike at any moment.

Seeing the Cloud Leopard's "predatory gaze," the Skylark's heart was filled with fear. The panicked Skylark wanted to spread its wings and fly, but it had already suffered heavy injuries, and one wing was unnaturally twisted, causing it to be able to use only one wing. It could not fly at all, at most only slowing its descent.

"Oh no!" Seeing there was still some distance, Li Zhangsheng's heart tightened. He immediately took action, choosing to summon Aixi.

At the same time, the Skylark descended another few meters, entering the Cloud Leopard's attack range. The Cloud Leopard moved; it leaped up, and in the process of pouncing toward the Skylark, its mouth opened wide to bite at the poor bird.

At the critical moment, Aixi hurriedly lunged toward the Cloud Leopard. However, although its speed was fast, it was over ten meters away from the Cloud Leopard. If there were no surprises, the Skylark would likely be unable to escape from the leopard's mouth.

"Stop, let go of that bird!" Li Zhangsheng roared subconsciously. His Mental Power flowed away rapidly, activating the Secret Technique Imprint of Mental Acceleration, which instantly buffed Aixi.

In an instant, the speed-boosted Aixi arrived first despite starting later. The moment the Cloud Leopard was about to bite the Skylark, Aixi bit the Cloud Leopard's tail first, and its two claws even hugged the leopard's body.

Under Aixi's pull, the Cloud Leopard only felt its body sink, and when its teeth closed, it only bit off a few bird feathers.

Awoo~

Under the powerful force, the Cloud Leopard was slammed hard onto the ground, and its tail was even bitten off by Aixi. In pain, it let out a shrill scream, struggling as it tried to escape from Aixi's embrace.

Unfortunately, under Aixi's suppression, the Cloud Leopard had no power to resist.

At this time, the Skylark landed on the ground neither too heavily nor too lightly. It had originally been so scared that it closed its eyes, but the imagined pain never arrived; instead, it heard the Cloud Leopard's shrill screams.

The Skylark could not help but open its eyes, discovering that it was shrouded by a huge shadow. The owner of the shadow was massive, and its upper jaw exposed two sword-like fangs, which refracted a soul-stirring cold light under the illumination of the sun.

Compared to the Cloud Leopard, Aixi was even more ferocious, which clearly gave the Skylark a fright, nearly causing it to faint.

Roar~

Just at this moment, Aixi bit through the Cloud Leopard's throat in one go and raised its head to roar. The sound was like thunder, and an invisible Pressure spread out, affecting all the wild Spirit Beasts in the nearby vicinity.

The wild Spirit Beasts that were "waiting for the bird" were all Lower Rank Spirit Beasts. Under this powerful Pressure, it was as if they had encountered a natural predator; they were all filled with fear, either scared out of their wits and running away, or whimpering and collapsing to the ground, unable to get up.

Only then did Li Zhangsheng finally stand before the Skylark, saying condescendingly, "If you want to live, then actively open your mind and establish a Temporary Contract with me!"

Chirp~

The Skylark nodded repeatedly. After the narrow escape from the leopard's mouth just now and being frightened by Aixi, its will had been broken, and its desire to survive was triggered; how could it care about anything else?

Freedom is precious, but life is even more so!

If even one's life is about to be lost, how can one pursue freedom?

The next moment, Li Zhangsheng cast the Temporary Contract.

The Skylark completely opened its mind, not resisting at all throughout the entire process. Finally, the Temporary Contract was established, and a contract imprint formed on its forehead.

【Spirit Beast Name】: Skylark (Growth Stage)

【Spirit Beast Realm】: Lower 9th Rank

【Spirit Beast Race】: Low-level Servant

【Spirit Beast Quality】: Superior Quality

【Spirit Beast Bloodline】: None

【Spirit Beast Attribute】: Wind Element

【Spirit Beast Status】: Heavily Injured

【Spirit Beast Weakness】: Thunder Attribute

Seeing the quality of the Skylark, Li Zhangsheng expressed great satisfaction.

Because the Skylark's race is very low, a Medium Grade Skylark is only worth a dozen or so Low-grade Soul Crystals.

But what about a Superior Quality Skylark? Even without piling up resources, it has a high possibility of becoming an Elite Spirit Beast, and even has a certain chance of becoming a Leader or even a Legendary Spirit Beast.

A difference of one word, yet the value is a world of difference.

With this Skylark's quality, plus the advantage of being able to be ridden, as long as it appeared in the Fairy Market, it would definitely be snatched up by Monster Tamers.

"It's a pity its race is too low, and it hasn't activated its bloodline!" After reading the Skylark's data, Li Zhangsheng felt quite conflicted. If the Skylark's race were a bit higher, or if it had activated its bloodline, perhaps he would have used a Blood Contract slot.

Li Zhangsheng still had two Blood Contract slots left, but the Fairy Egg in his hand would undoubtedly occupy one slot. The last slot had to be treated with caution to avoid encountering a better wild Spirit Beast and finding he had no extra Blood Contract slots, which would be awkward.

"Paradise Bird, help treat the Skylark!" After the contract was established, Li Zhangsheng released the Paradise Bird. The Skylark's wing was suspected to be fractured and must be treated as soon as possible; otherwise, if the injury worsened, it could cause irreparable loss.

Chirp~

Accompanied by a loud cry, the Paradise Bird shone brightly, and countless white light spots gathered, instantly enveloping the Skylark.

This was the Healing Prayer, which could quickly heal injuries.

The Skylark only felt its whole body warm, which made it close its eyes slightly, and the injuries on its body began to recover at a speed visible to the naked eye.

When the Healing Prayer ended, the Paradise Bird then condensed a mass of Sacred Water, which landed on the Skylark's injured wing.

Under the Paradise Bird's efforts, the Skylark's injuries quickly stabilized, and it was finally put into the Monster Pet Bag by Li Zhangsheng for quiet recovery.

The dust settled!

However, regarding Li Zhangsheng's actions, others were very puzzled. No one expected that Li Zhangsheng would pass over the stronger Silver-backed Vulture and instead contract the weak-combat-power Skylark.

Even if it was just a Temporary Contract, it still made people feel curious.

Curiosity killed the cat; Li Runfeng could not hold back and asked out of curiosity.

"The Silver-backed Vulture's image is too poor, and its appetite is huge. Besides, I already have the Paradise Bird, so why would I need it? As for the Skylark, it has four major advantages: small size, high appearance, fast speed, and small appetite. It couldn't be more suitable as a scout!" Acting on the idea of making a fortune in silence, Li Zhangsheng casually found an excuse.

To dispel their doubts, Li Zhangsheng contracted two more Skylarks, planning to release them in a few days.

Soon, the two major flying groups finally decided the winner. In the end, the Skylark group won with a slight advantage, but they suffered heavy losses, losing a large number of members.

Very quickly, the thick-backed eagle took flight once more, flying in the direction of Peng City.

(End of chapter)