Survival Match (10)

The opportunity was too good to miss. How could Jiang Hao let it slip away? Whatever blood sacrifice mode was, staying alive came first.

Activate!

"Ding! Blood sacrifice mode activated. You can use blood sacrifice mode to improve your beast pet's bloodline. Note: the sacrificial target must belong to a race with a superior bloodline to your beast pet's."

As blood sacrifice mode began, the Fog Capital Divine Eagle's blood flowed involuntarily into Jiang Hao's body. Anyone with X-ray vision would have seen a thread of blood connecting Jiang Hao to Big Hen, steadily channeling the eagle's blood into Big Hen's body to be purified and transformed.

At first, the Fog Capital Divine Eagle failed to notice anything wrong. A single beat of its broad wings sent Song Jie flying, but a strand of spider silk pulled him back.

"Die!"

Suddenly, Gongsun Qianxun sprang out of Stealth and landed on the Fog Capital Divine Eagle's back, driving her sharp claws into its vulnerable neck with the force of a thunderbolt.

"Screee!"

The Fog Capital Divine Eagle cried out in pain and whipped its head around, flinging her off its body. That thoroughly enraged it.

It shook its body violently. In an instant, hundreds upon thousands of feathers shot toward everyone like deadly arrows.

Horrified, Song Jie shouted, "Xiaolin, Heavenly Net!"

The moment he finished speaking, densely packed strands of spider silk shot outward from Chen Xiaolin in every direction. The silk threaded through the feather arrows, while the feather arrows charged relentlessly through the silk.

In the end, however, the feather arrows had the upper hand. The Fog Capital Divine Eagle possessed mountain moving realm strength, after all. Even though Jiang Hao had battered it half to death, a final strike from the enraged eagle was still nothing to take lightly.

The feather arrows sliced through the silk and hurtled toward them. Time seemed to freeze in that instant. Everyone could only watch helplessly as the feathers tore through the air toward them.

None of them knew exactly how powerful those feather arrows were, but at that moment, they could feel death looming within arm's reach.

Were they going to die?

That was their only thought.

Pfft!

The first feather arrow pierced Gongsun Qianxun's shoulder, sending a jet of blood spraying out, followed by the second and the third...

The first feather arrow pierced Song Jie's lower abdomen, likewise drawing a spray of blood. Just as the second was about to penetrate his chest-

Something unexpected happened.

The Fog Capital Divine Eagle pinning Jiang Hao beneath its foot suddenly swayed, then collapsed limply to the ground.

The feather arrows under its control lost their driving force and began drifting weightlessly down, one after another.

What happened?

Naturally, the Fog Capital Divine Eagle had lost too much blood. It had never imagined it would be defeated this way. It had endured two rounds of Six-Shot Fireball and remained standing with barely a sliver of health left. Given just a little more time, it could have turned the tables and wiped out the six-person squad.

But now, it could no longer feel its strength. It could not even keep itself upright.

Beside it, Big Hen had undergone a dramatic transformation. Its body was several times larger, and although its feathers were still shit-yellow, its appearance had become that of an eagle: an eagle's beak, talons, eyes, and wings. The only trace of a chicken remaining was the comb on its head.

"Ding! Blood sacrifice mode ended. Your beast pet has unexpectedly awakened bloodline power."

Level 1 bloodline power grants bloodline suppression and command abilities. The higher its level, the stronger its effects and the longer the lifespan. Your beast pet's lifespan has currently increased to 100 years.

"Ding! You killed a mountain moving realm Fog Capital Divine Eagle. Your beast pet received 12 attribute points and 12 skill points."

"Ding! Since your beast pet has already acquired bloodline power, it cannot receive any skills this time."

"Ding! Your beast pet killed a mountain moving realm Fog Capital Divine Eagle above its level, greatly increasing its strength. Its current level is 42."

In other words, the Fog Capital Divine Eagle before him had been a level 52 mountain moving realm beast. Big Hen had not only defeated a higher-level opponent in single combat, but also earned a twelve-point bonus for doing so. Together with the attribute and skill points from gaining two levels, putting all the attribute points into strength immediately raised its strength from 337 to 359. As for skill points, Jiang Hao had no need to worry about running out. A whopping 20,022 points would last him several years.

"Ding! Your rapport with your beast pet has increased to 95. Upon reaching 100, you will gain effects including telepathic communion and life sharing."

Reading this, Jiang Hao nearly burst into tears. Other people's beast pets were born with bloodline power and could share their lives with their beast tamers as soon as they signed a contract.

Now Big Hen finally possessed bloodline power too. Whether or not it had happened by accident, this had to be the greatest surprise of all.

Moreover, with blood sacrifice mode, he could continuously improve his beast pet's bloodline power without any restrictions.

Had his perseverance finally paid off? Had he at last waited for the clouds to part and reveal the moon?

After that delightful surprise, Jiang Hao treasured Big Hen even more. Worried that the Fog Capital Divine Eagle might counterattack again, he hurriedly returned his beast pet to the beast taming space.

"Hiss..."

He had barely tried to get up when he felt as though his whole body was falling apart. Everything hurt.

"Jiang Hao, are you all right?"

Wen Ruxue hurried over to cast Healing Art on him, but he stopped her.

"Go check Song Jie's injuries first."

A feather arrow had pierced Song Jie's abdomen. Although it was not a fatal wound, his life could still be in danger if it went untreated. Jiang Hao's own injuries were severe, but they were only flesh wounds and broken ribs.

Wen Ruxue understood which case was more urgent. She reassured him, "All right. Bear with it for a little while. I'll be right back."

When she reached Song Jie, he was almost moved to tears. Goddess, you really do have me in your heart! My safety was the first thing you thought of!

Under Healing Art, Song Jie's injuries slowly improved. He was just about to pour his heart out when Wen Ruxue turned and returned to Jiang Hao's side.

Song Jie: (皿)

That slap to the face really stung!

Although Healing Art could heal any injury, there was nothing she could do about broken bones. Jiang Hao would have to rest and recover slowly.

Next came Gongsun Qianxun, and finally she returned to Chubby. The large chunk of flesh he had lost was much the same: he would have to rest and recover on his own.

The only members of the six-person squad who had escaped injury were the two female support members, because they had stayed farther away and the fighters had deliberately protected them.

They had nearly been wiped out twice. That alone showed how perilous the battle had been, and the spectators watching the livestream in the studio had broken into a cold sweat on their behalf.

Even those who had wanted to make a few mocking remarks obediently shut their mouths. Jiang Hao and his teammates' performance against a mountain moving realm Fog Capital Divine Eagle deserved their admiration. They also came to understand that being a beast tamer was not what they had imagined. Along with strength, status, and wealth came enormous costs, even the risk of death.

But not every contestant deserved their respect. They remained generous with their contempt and ridicule toward those who quit simply because they could not endure the harsh conditions.

Their favorite topic was guessing when a particular contestant would withdraw and what excuse they would use.

Among the thousand contestants in the second group, some quit because they could not stand the hostile environment, some because they were lonely, and some because they had suffered minor injuries. Most, however, withdrew because they could no longer bear the hunger.

You might ask how anyone could go hungry in the Wuji Mountains, where wild animals and demonic beasts were a dime a dozen. That was indeed true, but do not forget that the Wuji Mountains were a paradise for countless demonic beasts. A seemingly harmless wild rabbit standing before you might well be a demonic beast strong enough to crush you. After suffering a few times, would you still dare attack so readily?

If you did not attack, you went hungry. Without replenishing their energy through food in time, people developed all sorts of physical problems. Besides, very few were as thoroughly prepared as Jiang Hao. Even if they caught something to eat, it tasted bland whether boiled or roasted. Nobody could endure that forever.

That was the Survival Match: the fit survived, and the unfit were eliminated.

Less than ten days into the third stage of the tournament, a third of the thousand contestants had already been eliminated.

In other words, anyone who could hold out for a month was practically guaranteed a place in the top five hundred.

Back with Jiang Hao's group, after some basic treatment, the six gathered around the Fog Capital Divine Eagle that had died from blood loss, unsure where to begin. It was simply enormous, standing three to four meters tall, and it was plump and well-fed. Once plucked, it would provide enough meat to feed all six of them for more than half a month.

The final kill counted as Jiang Hao's, so the points naturally went to him. But everyone had contributed, so the beast crystal's value would be divided according to their efforts.

When they dug out the beast crystal, they discovered-good grief-another rare beast crystal. Jiang Hao had contributed the most, so everyone unanimously agreed that he should receive the largest share, with the remaining half split equally among the other five.

At market prices, one rare beast crystal could be exchanged for one hundred to one hundred and fifty high-grade beast crystals. A crystal from a mountain moving realm demonic beast like the Fog Capital Divine Eagle was worth at least one hundred and fifty.

Jiang Hao would take seventy, leaving eighty to be divided equally among the others, giving each of them sixteen high-grade beast crystals.

Good grief! The prize for placing between one hundredth and fifty-first was only a thousand mid-grade beast crystals. Their haul was actually worth more than that.

No wonder everyone wanted to become a beast tamer. At this sight, the studio audience was instantly consumed by envy.

Just as everyone was enthusiastically butchering the divine eagle, Han Qing appeared with her teammates.

Seeing their bedraggled condition, then looking at the Fog Capital Divine Eagle being carved up, even the normally composed Han Qing could not help praising them. "Judging by its size, this divine eagle must have reached the mountain moving realm. It's quite impressive that you managed to kill it."

Nothing was more inspiring than earning a goddess's approval.

Jiang Hao grinned proudly and lifted a plump eagle leg. "Senior Sister Han, want some?"

Han Qing blinked, then laughed and waved her hand in refusal. "These are the spoils you and your teammates earned. How could we take them without lifting a finger? It's just..."

As she trailed off, Han Qing's expression grew odd, as though she had something difficult to say.

It was rare for the goddess to ask him for anything. Jiang Hao's heart warmed, and he declared, "Senior Sister, just say the word. If it's within my power, I, Jiang Hao, won't shirk my duty-even if I have to climb a mountain of blades or plunge into a sea of fire."

Gongsun Qianxun rolled her eyes and gave an undisguised snort of contempt.

Han Qing said, "It's nothing so dramatic. I only came to ask whether you brought salt or any other seasonings!"

Jiang Hao smacked his lips, thinking, Her Highness really does live untouched by the smoke of mortal kitchens. Lowering yourself to enter the Beast Pet Tournament must have been such an ordeal for you.

"I have those. What do you need? Salt, chili powder, garlic paste?"

Watching Jiang Hao pull more than a dozen seasonings out of his large backpack, Han Qing could only gape in astonishment, speechless.

Did you come here to compete or to have a picnic?

In the end, Han Qing only asked for some salt and chili powder, but faced with Jiang Hao's enthusiasm, she accepted a few more seasonings as well, including sesame oil, ginger, and sugar cubes.