Shu Da and Shu Er were also a little stunned, their eyes fixed straight on the Heavenly Fox.
"Two quarters!" Only when the Earth Altar Spirit Beast Master announced the time did the two of them finally react.
"Impossible!" Shu Da's eyes widened. He threw back his head and shouted.
"The Spirit Pressure Tunnel must be broken!" Shu Er cried out in disbelief.
How could an ordinary Fire Fox achieve such a result?
It had even done better than his Sea Burst Crocodile and Green Fang Snake?!
Impossible!
Shu Da and Shu Er refused to believe it.
"The Spirit Pressure Tunnel isn't broken, and there's nothing wrong with the Timing Hourglass. This is the real result." The Earth Altar Spirit Beast Master shook his head and announced, his voice tinged with astonishment.
He had guarded the Earth Altar for decades. He knew every blade of grass and every tree here like the back of his hand. If something had gone wrong, how could he not have noticed?
But when he announced the Heavenly Fox's result, even he found it hard to believe.
The result had far exceeded his expectations.
An ordinary, middle-grade Demon Beast Fire Fox had actually outperformed two high-grade Demon Beasts with eight years of cultivation.
This clearly didn't make sense!
He stared at the Heavenly Fox, then turned his gaze to Chu Yun. Chu Yun's faint smile hadn't changed from beginning to end. Seeing that smile, the Earth Altar Spirit Beast Master suddenly felt that he could no longer see through the young man before him.
"Cheating! This is blatant cheating!" Shu Da roared, venting his indignation and fury.
It was one thing for Shu Er to beat him. The Green Fang Snake was, after all, on the same level as the Sea Burst Crocodile, and he understood that he had made mistakes while hatching his egg.
But!
Chu Yun—a penniless orphan living under someone else's roof, adopted by his father—was nothing but a lowborn wretch. And yet the Fire Fox he raised had beaten him too.
He couldn't believe it, couldn't accept it!
Chu Yun had to be cheating! Desperate to restore his sense of balance, Shu Da latched onto this flimsy excuse.
"I actually lost to Chu Yun, a bastard who owns a Fire Fox?" Shu Er couldn't take the blow either. Coming back to himself, he fixed Chu Yun with a cold, glittering gaze and said grimly, "Tell us what trick you used to cheat. Confess, and you'll be dealt with leniently. You'll still be allowed to take the next round of the examination. If you stubbornly refuse to yield and we find you out, your crime will be compounded, and you'll be thrown into the death cell!"
"Good job." Chu Yun crouched down and sincerely praised the Heavenly Fox. Its intelligence was so keen that it had managed to coordinate with him to this extent. In his previous life, that would have been unthinkable.
The perfectly hatched Heavenly Fox's exceptional intelligence had even exceeded his expectations. He had only meant to give it a try. Even if it walked slowly and got a poor result, it wouldn't have mattered. After all, there were three rounds in the examination.
Concealing the Heavenly Fox's true identity was the most important thing.
But he hadn't expected it to pull this off and understand what he meant. Winning and taking first place would have been easy. The difficult part was winning by just the right margin.
Now that everything had gone just right, Chu Yun felt confident. He glanced sideways at Shu Da and Shu Er, then snorted calmly. "You two are so ignorant. Don't you know my Fire Fox is no ordinary beast, but a mutated Demon Beast? What's so strange about this?"
"Bull—bullshit!" Shu Da was so furious that he could barely speak. Pointing at Chu Yun, he shouted, "Don't think you can fool me! You must have cheated!"
He really was ignorant. He didn't even know what a mutated Demon Beast was. But he didn't want to admit the cruel truth that he had come in last. So he clung to the claim that Chu Yun had cheated.
"Heh." Shu Er let out a few cold laughs. "Don't think you can get away with fooling us. My Green Fang Snake has eight years of cultivation. So what if your beast's mutated? Could it possibly be stronger than my Green Fang Snake? A middle-grade Fire Fox beating a high-grade Green Fang Snake? Is that even possible? Everyone knows that's common sense! You obviously rigged this."
The Earth Altar Spirit Beast Master said nothing. He looked steadily at Chu Yun, waiting for an explanation.
Chu Yun rubbed his nose. Truth be told, he had indeed rigged things.
If he announced that the Fire Fox was actually a Heavenly Fox, he was sure everyone would be left speechless. But the crucial point was that the Heavenly Fox's identity absolutely couldn't be revealed before it had grown powerful.
So he put on a disdainful expression and looked down at Shu Er. "That's why I say you two are ignorant. How can there be any common sense when it comes to mutated Demon Beasts? My Fire Fox is a particularly fierce mutation. I don't mind telling you that when it hatched and reached Foundation Establishment, it shot straight up to eight years of cultivation. Your Green Fang Snake and Sea Burst Crocodile are ordinary beasts. How could they possibly compete with my mutated Fire Fox? Even your old schoolteacher taught you that. No wonder he was proud of me and ashamed of you."
"You!" Shu Da burned with rage. Chu Yun's words had hit him right where it hurt.
When they were children, Shu Tianhao had hired a schoolteacher to educate his three sons. Chu Yun was bright and often earned the teacher's praise. Shu Da and Shu Er, on the other hand, were so unruly that even their teacher couldn't do anything with them.
Could it be that mutated Demon Beasts really are stronger than ordinary ones? Shu Er said nothing, but doubt stirred in his heart. The schoolteacher had taught them all sorts of things, from the heavens above to the earth below, but Shu Er had let it all go in one ear and out the other. Now he lacked confidence. He wanted to think back to what the teacher had said, but how could he possibly remember?
The Earth Altar Spirit Beast Master studied Chu Yun, unable to spot any flaws. Finding his explanation reasonable, he nodded and said solemnly, "Mutated Demon Beasts truly can't be judged by common sense."
"However..." He changed tack and advised, "Mutated Demon Beasts have flaws too. Their internal structure is unstable. Once they reach a certain stage of cultivation, they can go no further. The stronger the mutation, the greater the flaw. Chu Yun, you should raise another Demon Beast as soon as possible."
Chu Yun's eyes "dimmed," and he let out a deep sigh at just the right moment. "I know. I just can't bear to let it go. After all, this Fire Fox is the first Demon Beast I've ever had."
The Earth Altar Spirit Beast Master didn't want Chu Yun to go astray, so he tried to persuade him again. "I understand how you feel. But raising a Demon Beast costs a great deal. This Fire Fox's mutation is too fierce. Who knows when it might suddenly die? Then all the effort and money you've invested will go down the drain. You should give up on it and get another one as soon as possible."
"Mm. I'll remember your words, Grandfather." Chu Yun had no intention of replacing the Heavenly Fox with some other Demon Beast, but he couldn't reject the advice outright. He could only give an ambiguous answer.
The Earth Altar Spirit Beast Master sighed. He could naturally hear that Chu Yun was brushing him off. But he had once made his way forward step by step too, and knew how it felt. He understood Chu Yun all the more and felt sorry for him.
"A mutated Demon Beast, huh? You got lucky! Hmph!" Shu Er's eyes flickered for a while before he finally calmed down. Though he was deeply unwilling to accept it, the Earth Altar Spirit Beast Master had also said it was a mutation, and Shu Er himself lacked confidence. In the end, he had no choice but to believe it.
"I hope your Fire Fox lives a little longer." Shu Da returned to his mocking tone. After hearing that the Fire Fox's body was unstable and riddled with flaws, he finally felt somewhat balanced again.
That was human nature. After extreme imbalance, once people found something that restored their equilibrium, they were willing to believe whatever helped them feel balanced.
It was only natural.
Chu Yun wanted to laugh. If they knew that the "middle-grade Fire Fox" was actually a "peerless Heavenly Fox," what would they feel?
But on the surface, he wore an expression of sorrow and regret. He gave a cold snort through his nose, as though he didn't want to hear Shu Da say such things.
Shu Da felt even more balanced and burst out laughing again. "Of the three Demon Beast eggs, you picked the only middle-grade one. And it turned out to be a mutated egg too. Chu Yun, Chu Yun, what am I supposed to say about you?"
"That's just your lot in life. Some people are destined to be lowborn, even if they're taken in as adopted sons. When fate hands them a chance to change their lives, they still can't seize it. That's just how it is. If you ask me, you should give up on this beast and get another one." Shu Er sneered and jeered.
Chu Yun gave a cold snort and said only, "Two defeated losers."
"You!" Shu Da and Shu Er were instantly left speechless. Their smiles vanished, and their faces twisted as if they'd swallowed dog shit.
No matter what became of Chu Yun's mutated Demon Beast in the future, their defeat—and the fact that Chu Yun had beaten them—was set in stone.
"Enough. Chu Yun won the first round, the Spirit Pressure Tunnel examination, and took first place. Shu Er came second, and Shu Da third. The second examination will be in three days: Demon Beast combat. Check the jade slips you received and use the techniques recorded on them to fight. If you're caught using any other techniques, you'll be disqualified from the examination. Go back." The Earth Altar Spirit Beast Master announced solemnly.
It turned out that the jade slips they had received were the key to the second examination.
Shu Da immediately took out the blue jade slip in his hand and checked it. Shu Er's expression, meanwhile, turned rather unpleasant. He had no choice but to make the Green Fang Snake spit out the jade slip it had swallowed. The sticky fluid coating the slip made his stomach churn, and goosebumps rose all over his body.
Chu Yun, however, wasn't in a hurry to check his. He leisurely tucked the fiery-red jade slip into his robes. Only after paying his respects to the Earth Altar Spirit Beast Master did he leave.
Inside the carriage.
The delicate fragrance of tea soothed the senses. This cup of fine Sea Jade Tea had a rich aroma, yet somehow left a refreshing taste. It was worth a fortune; a single cup cost at least a hundred Earth-Fiend Stone Coins on the market.
The cup holding the Sea Jade Tea was a delicate Enamel Carved Gold Cup. Its craftsmanship was exquisite, its style rich and luxurious.
Beneath the cup was a small white-jade saucer that insulated against heat and kept the hands from getting burned.
Lady Shu sat inside the carriage, its curtain pulled open as the sea breeze came pouring in. Beyond the window stretched a gorgeous view of blue skies, surging white crests, and tumbling waves.
But Lady Shu's gaze was fixed on the hand holding her cup. Her hand was well cared for, slender, with clear, gleaming nails like tender white scallions. It was just as it had been in her youth.
Yet Lady Shu knew that although her hand remained so, the corners of her eyes were already webbed with crow's-feet. Her eyelids sagged, and her skin had loosened. The beauty of youth had drifted farther and farther away, until at last it would become unreachable.
This was the sorrow of every proud woman who loved beauty.
Lady Shu couldn't help but sigh: Time was the most terrifying thing in the world; no beautiful thing could withstand its ravages. Yet time was also the most wonderful thing, for its accumulation could nurture hope.
Shu Da and Shu Er were her hope.