Survival Match (8)

The Survival Match had reached its ninth day.

Jiang Hao's squad was still in the Mountain Ridge Region. The higher they climbed, the thinner the air grew, accompanied by howling, icy winds. The weather changed from one day to the next; a morning of clear skies could give way to thunder and lightning by afternoon.

Rainy nights were the hardest to endure. With no combustible material to be found in the Mountain Ridge Region, they could not light a fire to keep warm. Their bodies burned through enormous amounts of energy every day, and to keep themselves warmer, they could only eat more. The food they had expected to last ten days to half a month was exhausted in half that time.

They had no choice but to slow down and hunt again.

Their only remaining source of food was birds. In a barren place like the Mountain Ridge Region, birds generally preferred to nest on cliffs.

The squad finally found a cliff, only to discover that someone had beaten them to it-and not just one team.

The two teams appeared to be fighting over a golden eagle chick. Judging by its aura, it was probably in the Golden Body Realm. The strength of those two teams went without saying. Jiang Hao's sharp eyes immediately picked out a familiar, graceful figure he had been yearning to see: Princess Han Qing.

The leader of the other team was someone he had also met once before, someone who had been decidedly unfriendly toward him: Gongsun Qianxue, Qianxun's older sister.

Both teams belonged to the first tier. He had never expected them to meet this way.

Jiang Hao could not restrain his own feet and involuntarily strode toward Han Qing.

He had just opened his mouth to greet her when Han Qing shot him a warning glance.

Huh?

Han Qing appeared to have disguised herself. Her distinctive violet eyes and silver hair had both changed.

Jiang Hao suddenly understood. Han Qing was King Han's third child and deeply cherished by him. Just how deeply? He had been willing to pay an enormous price to purchase a supreme-grade divine spirit deer from the strongest nation, the Chaoyun Kingdom, as her birthday present. He had insisted on adding her to the list of candidates for succession despite the cabinet ministers' unanimous opposition, granting her equal standing with her two older brothers. He had even once intended to give her command of the Shenzhou Army, though the cabinet ministers' fierce resistance had ultimately forced him to abandon the idea.

Third Princess Han Qing had become widely known as a result, but ordinary people had only heard her name and never seen her face. Few outsiders knew that the person before them was the third princess. In public, she went by Han Yuechu; Yuechu was her childhood nickname.

Han Qing was both a princess and a student of Shenzhou Academy, so Jiang Hao naturally called out, "Senior Sister Han, I hope you've been well. I never expected to meet you here."

Compared with Jiang Hao's enthusiasm, Han Qing's response was rather subdued. She merely nodded in greeting.

"Big Sister! I never thought I'd meet you here. I've missed you so much!"

At that moment, Gongsun Qianxun threw herself straight into Gongsun Qianxue's arms, wrapped both arms tightly around her slender waist, and buried her little head against her, nuzzling her again and again.

Gongsun Qianxue's expression softened considerably. She reached out and vigorously ruffled her younger sister's short hair, but her gaze flicked toward Wen Ruxue. She wished the clingy little thing burrowing into her embrace could have been Wen Ruxue instead.

Wen Ruxue was not paying any attention to her at all. She was staring at Jiang Hao in surprise. This was the first time she had ever seen him show such enthusiasm toward a woman, and her guard immediately rose.

She came to Jiang Hao's side. Faced with Han Qing's noble, elegant bearing, Wen Ruxue knew she could not compare. Doing her utmost to maintain a gentle smile, she said, "Jiang Hao, this senior sister is so beautiful. Aren't you going to introduce us?"

Han Qing seemed to maintain a certain distance from everyone. Even when she sensed the faint hostility emanating from Wen Ruxue, she remained unconcerned.

Still, she politely introduced herself. "Hello, my name is Han Yuechu. Jiang Hao's family and mine have been friends for generations. You can call me Senior Sister Han, just as he does."

And that was all.

"Hello, Senior Sister Han. My name is Wen Ruxue, and I'm Jiang Hao's classmate. What are you doing here...?"

As she spoke, she pointed questioningly at the golden eagle on the ground. It was enormous, enough to provide a team with several days' worth of food in this resource-starved Mountain Ridge Region.

Han Qing said calmly, "Nothing much. Our two teams simply set our sights on the same golden eagle."

"Xue'er, why didn't you say hello when you arrived?"

Just then, Gongsun Qianxue came over with her younger sister. Behind her were four teammates from the War Academy's first tier. Han Qing's team also had five people including herself, three men and two women. The three male teammates clearly harbored feelings for Han Qing.

Seeing Gongsun Qianxue and her teammates approach, they moved to stand behind Han Qing, refusing to yield an inch in presence.

Wen Ruxue reluctantly greeted Gongsun Qianxue. "Hello, Senior Sister Qianxue."

The three male teammates behind Han Qing were astonished. Just who were these newly arrived junior students? They knew not only Han Qing, but Gongsun Qianxue as well.

Although Gongsun Qianxue was not as famous as Han Qing, she had made quite a name for herself among the first tier by taking first place in the Fifth Competition Zone of this Beast Pet Tournament.

The saying that a beautiful, capable woman became the center of attention wherever she went was absolutely true.

Jiang Hao looked at Wen Ruxue, then at Gongsun Qianxue. He would be better off staying out of whatever was going on between them.

So he asked Han Qing, "Senior Sister, is there anything you need help with?"

"We don't need any help. You juniors should hurry up and leave. This isn't something you should be meddling in."

The tall, burly teammate behind Han Qing rejected the offer on her behalf, displeasure written across his face.

He clearly thought little of Jiang Hao and the others.

Besides, Han Qing already had enough suitors. How could the arrival of another younger boy not put them on guard?

We're being looked down on!

Chubby was unhappy and shot back, "Hey, Senior Brother, what kind of attitude is that? Brother Hao was only asking out of politeness. Was there any need to look down on us?"

In truth, they really did look down on these junior students whose strength was only at the Golden Body Realm.

Every First Tier contestant who had made it this far was at least in the Mountain Moving Realm. Seeing Chubby's defiance, the man was about to make a few more cutting remarks when Han Qing suddenly said, "Forget it. Let them have the golden eagle. We're leaving."

As a member of the royal family, she ought to show some magnanimity. Fighting over something with a group of commoners plainly did not suit her temperament. It was not that she looked down on Gongsun Qianxue and her teammates; she had to consider her status. If word later spread that she had fought with ordinary commoners over food, where would she put her face?

Her teammates, however, clearly did not see it that way.

The tall, burly teammate was the first to object. "Yuechu, we clearly spotted this golden eagle first. How can we just give it away?"

The other two male teammates were also unwilling to let food already within their grasp slip away, and each voiced his opinion.

"Exactly, Yuechu. Resources are scarce here. Who knows when we'll find another golden eagle?"

"That's right. We've already gone hungry for three days. If we don't replenish our energy, we won't last until the fourth stage."

Han Qing frowned. Her teammates' refusal to yield from the outset was what had dragged this dispute out until now. She could not disregard their feelings, either. Riding roughshod over everyone was not her style; unity was the most important thing in a team.

With that in mind, she said, "Jiang Hao, you should leave first. Don't let this delay your own progress in the competition."

Seeing her predicament, Jiang Hao realized that as a princess, she had to consider both her own status and her teammates' feelings. Being caught between the two was truly difficult, and their remaining here would only complicate the situation further.

"Then we'll be going, Senior Sister."

The six-person squad could only choose to leave this place of conflict behind.

Once they had left the cliff, Song Jie, who had been silently watching the show all along, could no longer resist teasing him. "Jiang Hao, you really are a master who keeps his talents hidden! You know such a beautiful young lady, yet you've been keeping her under wraps. She said your families were old friends. What exactly does your family do?"

He was not the only one whose curiosity had gotten the better of him. The others were also curious about Jiang Hao's family background. Han Qing's bearing, revealed in her every movement, made it clear that she came from a great lineage. Without some background of his own, he could hardly have enjoyed such a friendship with someone from a lineage like hers.

Faced with his companions' unanimous curiosity, Jiang Hao sighed helplessly. "Since you've all figured it out, fine. I won't pretend anymore. I'll lay my cards on the table: Instructor Liao Yunxiao is actually my second older sister."

Who was Liao Yunxiao? Anyone who was not deaf and blind knew she was the eldest young lady of Dragonkeep. Her father was Marshal Dragon Venerable, and her eldest brother was Marshal Long Yun. And what was Dragonkeep? A place with three Transcendent Masters. Dragon Venerable in particular, the mighty figure who stood at the head of the Shenzhou Kingdom's Ten Transcendent Masters, was the goal every Beast Tamer in the kingdom spent a lifetime pursuing. As the person most likely to break through and become the first Saint in the Shenzhou Kingdom's history, Dragon Venerable was like a guardian deity to the entire kingdom.

You're saying you're from Dragonkeep? Has your head floated into the clouds, or have I turned stupid?

"What, you don't believe me?"

Chubby gave an awkward smile and tried to ease the tension. "Brother Hao, it's not that we don't believe you, but even if you're making something up, it should at least be plausible. If I said I was the son of City Lord Guo Guo Mingzhi, would you believe me?"

Jiang Hao studied him seriously and reached a conclusion. "No!"

Chubby spread his hands. "See? How are we supposed to believe you?"

Fine. Since no one believed him even when he told the truth, they could hardly blame him for not telling them beforehand if they ever learned his true identity.

"Over there! Is that an eagle?"

Sharp-eyed Gongsun Qianxun pointed toward the horizon. A black speck in the distant sky was slowly drawing closer. Even from far away, all six members of the squad felt an oppressive wave of killing intent bearing down on them.

It was the instinct of prey caught in a hunter's sights, and that instinct told them the approaching creature was dangerous.

Everyone released their Beast Pets from their Beast Taming Spaces at the same time. Yet when the eagle drew closer, they were still startled. It was an enormous creature with a wingspan of a full ten meters.

"Holy shit, I've never seen an eagle this huge! With that aura, could it be a Mountain Moving Realm demonic beast, a Fog Capital Divine Eagle?"

"Everyone, be careful! Don't let it grab you!"

Only when they clearly saw its immense body did Jiang Hao and the others realize they were in trouble.