Fang Qianyuan had never experienced flying through the vast heavens and earth in the form of a Swift Eagle.
Although he was not doing so in person, sharing the Swift Eagle spirit's vision gave him the illusion that he himself was soaring, almost as though he were truly there.
Soon, however, he sensed that an invisible layer of Gang Qi covered the surrounding sky like a pot lid. Caught within it, the Swift Eagle found flying increasingly difficult and hurriedly descended.
Looking down over the valley, he saw that aside from the largely unobscured houses where the ordinary disciples lived, every other area was shrouded in banks of strange mist.
Fang Qianyuan knew this was Cang Mountain Academy's mountain-protecting formation, designed to thwart enemy reconnaissance.
Besides defending against enemies, high-ranking Spirit Tamers also had many secrets they did not wish others to know, which naturally needed protection.
Fang Qianyuan recalled that the academy's rules prohibited using such powers at will, and hurriedly directed the Swift Eagle downward.
Just then, however, a streak of blue-green light suddenly flew in from the western sky.
A Swift Eagle appeared, considerably larger than Fang Qianyuan's Swift Eagle spirit and far more majestic in bearing. It spoke in a human voice: "Who are you? Why have I never seen you before?"
Fang Qianyuan did not know how to make his Swift Eagle speak, so he could only remain silent.
Unexpectedly, this made the other party take him for a spy. Flying into a rage, the eagle immediately struck at him with its beak.
Pain!
Once the spirit communion ritual was complete, a wondrous bond intertwining their lives had been established between the Spirit Creature and its Spirit Tamer. Although the Spirit Tamer held the dominant position in this bond and would not die even if the Spirit Creature fell in battle, pain and distress were unavoidable.
With a single peck, the other eagle tore a fist-sized wound in Fang Qianyuan's Swift Eagle. No blood splattered, but blue-green vapor churned and streamed out of it.
A Spirit Creature's body was formed from spirit essence, and Fang Qianyuan was only a novice. He immediately felt that he was struggling to sustain it.
Yet when he circulated his spirit essence again, he actually managed to keep the wounded Swift Eagle spirit intact and sent it rushing back toward his body.
The Swift Eagle was swift indeed. Moments later, it returned to his body and reentered his spirit sea to recuperate.
Only then did Fang Qianyuan feel the stone in his heart drop to the ground, leaving him reassured at last.
Still, the Spirit Creature seemed considerably weakened. That single peck had truly done it grievous harm.
"Hm?"
At this sight, the Swift Eagle in the sky muttered in bewilderment and swiftly flew over Fang Qianyuan's head.
"Are you a new disciple from Gending Court?"
Fang Qianyuan gave a wry smile. "Senior sister, I am indeed a newly admitted inner academy disciple. Here is my identification token."
He guessed that she was an academy guard responsible for patrols. As for calling her senior sister, that was because the voice coming from her Spirit Creature was unmistakably a woman's, melodious and pleasing to the ear.
This was nothing unusual. When Spirit Creatures spoke in human voices, their masters were usually controlling them through the Borrowing Art within the spirit taming art, which could perfectly reproduce their own voices.
In fact, the Eagle Eye Art Fang Qianyuan had used earlier was also an application of the Borrowing Art. But he had only just mastered it without a teacher and had not yet had time to learn how to make his creature speak.
"Ah!" The Swift Eagle gave a remarkably human shudder. "I'm so sorry, junior brother! I was wrong! Please don't lodge a complaint with the academy, or I'll be in terrible trouble!"
The Swift Eagle hastily circled Fang Qianyuan several times, seemingly at a complete loss.
Fang Qianyuan was rather speechless. He did not even know whose Spirit Creature this was. How could he lodge a complaint?
Besides, he was the one who had broken the academy's rules first, and he was genuinely afraid of getting into trouble.
He could only say, "There's no need to go that far, senior sister. You were faithfully carrying out your duties. You did nothing wrong."
"Junior brother, you're such a good person!" The Swift Eagle circled a few more times before seemingly realizing something belatedly. She exclaimed in surprise, "Wait, judging by your token, you should be a disciple who only joined yesterday. How have you already learned to summon a Swift Eagle? And your Spirit Creature actually withstood a blow from me without dispersing! Heavens, I remember now! You're Fang Qianyuan, the one Senior Sister Lan just mentioned. She was teaching you here a little while ago. Don't tell me you learned everything in the blink of an eye?"
The Swift Eagle's mistress seemed to have heard of Fang Qianyuan, since she even knew about Lan Mei teaching him. She hurriedly flew the Swift Eagle away, and while Fang Qianyuan was silently puzzling over it, she soon returned with another Swift Eagle.
This time, even without identifying its voice, Fang Qianyuan vaguely sensed that its aura was familiar.
"Junior Brother Fang, Qing'er said you can already summon a Swift Eagle?" the eagle asked gravely in a human voice. Sure enough, it was Senior Sister Lan's voice.
Fang Qianyuan considered briefly, then nodded. "That's right."
To escape his humble circumstances, become powerful, and avenge his grievances, he needed resources-and resources would not materialize out of thin air.
Besides his own efforts, the sect's support was also crucial.
Fang Qianyuan knew that he had no illustrious background. If he wanted to be taken seriously, he had to reveal sufficiently powerful talent.
He did not intend to hide his abilities. Instead, he would stand openly above all the other disciples as a peerless genius.
Thus, regardless of how earth-shattering he knew this feat to be, he admitted it.
Moreover, Spirit Tamers had an endless array of reconnaissance methods. The entire academy was under surveillance. If its higher-ups cared to investigate the commotion caused by the disciples below, how could they fail to learn of it?
As the saying went, an awl placed in a sack would soon show its point. He still had to seize opportunities to display what ought to be displayed. Only his deepest secrets needed to remain hidden.
"Simply unbelievable! You learned it just like that? What a peerless genius!" Lan Mei was indeed stunned. She hurriedly said, "Come to the Heavenly Hall right away. We'll wait for you here. Oh, Elder Gong is beside me. He already knows about this and says he wants to assess you personally!"
As it turned out, Lan Mei and Gong Yuan were even more eager than they had appeared. Before Fang Qianyuan could reach the Heavenly Hall, they came running over themselves.
Fang Qianyuan had met Elder Gong before. He was the lean middle-aged man who had sat on the platform during yesterday's spirit communion ceremony. He looked refined and scholarly, but his eyes were exceptionally bright.
The moment he saw Fang Qianyuan, he impatiently asked him to demonstrate.
Fang Qianyuan did as instructed, leaving both Lan Mei and Gong Yuan too stunned to speak.
"You shouldn't be studying alongside the newly admitted disciples. That would be an utter waste!" After a long silence, Gong Yuan finally recovered his wits. He thought for a moment, then made his decision. "From now on, I will personally oversee your lessons and teaching arrangements."
The talent Fang Qianyuan had displayed brought many possibilities to his mind. Whatever the case, such talent could not be allowed to go to waste.
His previous wait-and-see attitude had turned into a firm resolve to make Fang Qianyuan's training a priority. He would even supervise it personally, allowing not the slightest error in the process.
A genius deserved the attention due to him.
Listening to Gong Yuan from the side, Lan Mei could not help being shocked once again.
She looked enviously at this junior brother, who seemed slightly taken aback but soon regained his composure, and had a faint premonition that this time, he truly was about to soar into the heavens in a single flight.