Faced with the mountain beasts crowding the stone terrace, their eyes gleaming dimly before him, Xing Yan unwittingly grew flustered. The words he had weighed over and over in his mind suddenly refused to leave his lips.
I really do need to rehearse!
Judging by this, without such practice, however well he prepared his lecture, the result would probably be much the same when he stood before all those watching eyes at the Scripture Lecture Assembly. This must be what they meant by "knowing is easy, doing is hard."
Right, the proper rehearsal starts now!
The boy silently bolstered his courage.
Drawing a deep breath and steadying himself, Xing Yan looked toward the great gathering of mountain beasts sitting or crouching before him. In particular, he forced his gaze to meet his audience's burning eyes.
Hmm, that tiger is white all over. It must be the White Tiger Beast recorded in the ancient books?
Yes, and that fox in the corner is snow-white too. Its precise name should be White Fox Beast.
Who would have thought there would be so many white-furred mountain beasts here? That White Leopard crouching over there is rarer still. What was the precise name for a White Leopard again... right, White Leopard Beast!
Mountain beasts with such snowy coats are seldom seen elsewhere. This Luofu Grotto-Heaven truly is an abode of immortals. There certainly are plenty of rare birds and strange beasts!
Ha... what might this little girl originally have been?
Lowering his gaze slightly, he caught sight of little Qiong Rong sitting upright in front of the beasts, and the thought slipped into his mind. Unfortunately, the writings of the various philosophers and schools he had read before seemed to contain no such account.
This wandering train of thought did much to calm the