"I only have these five tokens."
The smile on Ling Xing's face immediately froze when he saw the early Corporeal realm expert from Yanbo Castle.
"I'm sorry. I was attacked by thieves on my way here. I risked my life and only managed to keep these five tokens. The rest were all stolen."
The early Corporeal realm expert stood in front of Ling Xing, his face full of fear as he apologized profusely. Because of his emotions, Ling Xing gave off an oppressive aura that made him feel suffocated.
The tokens hadn't been delivered for many years. Ling Xing had long guessed that the people from Yanbo Castle would play tricks. He'd also expected them to reduce the number of tokens, but he hadn't expected them to be so merciless. They'd only given five out of the thirty tokens they'd promised.
An early Corporeal realm expert being attacked by thieves was pure nonsense. Even an idiot like Man Shi wouldn't believe it.
The most despicable and disgusting thing about Yanbo Castle was that they'd sent an early Corporeal realm expert to deliver the tokens. He was basically cannon fodder. It didn't matter if he died or not, but they weren't afraid that he'd die halfway and fail to complete the mission.
Although they had another way to get the tokens, they'd had a bad relationship with Yanbo Castle last time. Coupled with the way Yanbo Castle handled things this time, it was obvious that the other way would be suppressed to a certain extent.
The person who'd come was only an early Corporeal realm expert. No matter how angry Ling Xing was, he wouldn't lower himself to his level. As for killing him to vent his anger, that was even more unlikely. The people from Yanbo Castle seemed to have taken this into account as well.
"Good, good, very good indeed." Ling Xing was furious, but he didn't explode in anger. He only nodded and smiled, saying 'good' three times.
His smile didn't seem fake at all. It was as if he really felt good.
Ling Xing looked at the terrified Corporeal realm expert and said, "You've done very well this time. You must be tired from the journey. Rest here for a few days. When we leave, I'll have you pay for the journey. You've worked hard."
The early Corporeal realm expert was flattered by Ling Xing's attitude. He had kept a low profile ever since he had arrived because he didn't want to be killed. It was obvious that he had already guessed that he would be cannon fodder. He thought that as long as he could survive, Ling Xing could do whatever he wanted with him. However, he was pleasantly surprised that Xing Haosheng had arranged for him to be paid for his journey.
Ling Xing had someone arrange accommodations for the early Corporeal realm cultivators, then he went to find Lord Wu to explain the matter.
Lord Wu was furious when he heard this, but five tokens were still acceptable.
This time, even though Huping City would lose a lot of entry tokens because of this, it was fortunate that they had Zi Chen and the other four. While there were fewer people, the quality of the entry tokens had increased significantly.
"Yanbo Castle has gone overboard this time, but it's fine. If we're lucky enough to run into them in the prefectural realm, ask Zi Chen to take good care of them," said Lord Wu.
Ling Xing smiled and said, "Indeed, that's what I'm thinking. If the opportunity is right, I'd be happy to see no one leave Yanbo Castle alive."
It was obvious that the two smiling old men were really angry in their hearts.
Since you've cut off my future path of development, I'll cut off your chances of survival.
They believed that if Yanbo Castle didn't gain anything from the prefectural realm, their future development would be greatly affected.
… …
… …
In the nameless forest, Zi Chen and the others ventured deeper into another place.
Dong Qing hadn't successfully tamed the Red-Eyed Boar Demon yet, but they'd slowly become familiar with each other over the past few days. Taming it was only a matter of time.
Ever since they'd caught the Red-Eyed Boar Demon, Wu Xie hadn't uttered a single word of complaint.
Relatively speaking, they hadn't gained anything in the past six months, but catching a Red-Eyed Boar Demon as soon as they'd gained something was definitely a pleasant surprise.
Moreover, this Red-Eyed Boar Demon was very strong. After it was completely tamed, its combat strength wouldn't be any weaker than theirs.
Therefore, they'd gained a lot this time.
This could be seen from the smile on Dong Qing's face every day.
In order to avoid that king-tier mutt, Zi Chen and the others deliberately took many detours and stayed far away from it.
After that, they continued to look for exotic beasts with potential.
However, their luck seemed to have run out this time. After two years, they still hadn't found any combat beasts with great potential.
Fortunately, after another six months, they found another unique combat beast.
It was a small winged pegasus with lightning flowing around its body. It had a single horn on its forehead, and it looked very much like the legendary high-grade Aurora Pegasus.
When it flapped its white wings, it was like Zi Chen flapping his thunder wings. Flashes of lightning would flash. As for its speed, it was like a bolt of lightning.
Seeing the small pegasus, everyone was naturally surprised and happy. Their gazes became extremely fervent. However, before they could try to surround it, it disappeared.
Its speed was like a bolt of lightning, far surpassing everyone.
Even Zi Chen couldn't catch up to it.
Fortunately, Zi Chen had the Heavenly Thunder Wings. Relying on the Heavenly Thunder Wings' increased level and the integration of the Heavenly Thunder Wings and the Nine Fleeting Thunderbolts, he was barely faster than the Aurora Pegasus.
The two quickly disappeared, one chasing and one escaping.
Everyone chased after them, but they soon lost track of them.
Just like that, everyone could only wait in place.
"Aurora Pegasus, that's an Aurora Pegasus."
Wu Xie couldn't help but sigh. "Although it's not a high-grade lifeform, at least it has awakened some of its bloodline."
"I hope Zi Chen can catch it." Dong Qing prayed.
"This place is really strange. In just three years, we actually encountered two existences with high-grade bloodlines." Shang Guan Hong said.
"Hehe, if we can tame dozens of these existences, we won't have to fear anything in the Manor Realm." Man Shi chuckled.
Wu Xie looked at Man Shi with disdain and said, "Do you think these things are cabbages?"
Two days later, Zi Chen returned with injuries all over his body. Without a doubt, he had encountered another king-level combat beast.
This place was very dangerous even for Yan Ming and the others, let alone Zi Chen who was only at the Middle Corporeal Realm.
Zi Chen's injuries were very serious, but there was a smile on his face. Everyone knew that he had succeeded and immediately cheered.
Sure enough, he threw out an item from the Corporeal Realm. It was the Aurora Pegasus. This pegasus had been sealed and had fallen into a deep sleep.
When Dong Qing saw it, he almost cried tears of joy and thanked him profusely.
One had to know that this item was truly priceless. It was comparable to a sword and shield.
Next, Zi Chen began to heal his injuries.
While he was healing, he signaled everyone not to go too deep. Next, they just had to wait for Dong Qing to tame the Aurora Pegasus.
The latter's speed wasn't slower than his, and it was obviously very familiar with this area. Therefore, the journey to find other special combat beasts was left to it.
This time, it took two months to tame it.
When the Aurora Pegasus appeared in front of everyone again, it was extremely docile. However, there was still some fear in its eyes when it looked at Zi Chen.
It had seen with its own eyes how powerful this human was.
The Aurora Pegasus wasn't big, but it could be used as a mount. Its snow-white fur and elegant posture when it walked deeply attracted Shang Guan Hong.
Unfortunately, she wasn't a beast tamer, so it was very difficult for her to tame a combat beast.
On the other hand, Dong Qing kept expressing his gratitude to Zi Chen.
"You're always thanking me. I say, can you not be so polite? Why don't you repay me with your body?" Wu Xie curled his lips.
Soon, two cold gazes were cast from the side, and he quickly shut his mouth.
"Little thing, it's up to you now." Zi Chen looked at the Aurora Pegasus and smiled, but the latter was so scared that it trembled.
Dong Qing also clearly conveyed Zi Chen's thoughts to the Aurora Pegasus. The latter had already recognized Dong Qing as its master, so it naturally wouldn't reject this request.
It rubbed against Dong Qing's body, then turned into a bolt of lightning and disappeared into the distance.
At the side, Wu Xie muttered softly, "Damn, it's also a little pervert. Zeng really knows how to pick a place."
When Dong Qing heard this, he thought about the little pegasus's actions just now and blushed. At the same time, he secretly glanced at Zi Chen.
With the help of the Aurora Pegasus, the efficiency of everyone's search for combat beasts naturally increased.
Just like that, they stayed in this dense forest for thirteen years.
In these thirteen years, Dong Qing had gained a lot, and Zi Chen and the others also had some gains, especially Zi Chen. In these thirteen years, he had gradually familiarized himself with his own combat strength. Sometimes, he would even have a king-level combat beast as a sparring partner, so his improvement was great.
Their original intention was to wait here until the Domain Realm opened, but in just thirteen years, they had provoked too many king-level combat beasts.
Because Zi Chen was too slippery, and coupled with his World Speed, a king-level combat beast couldn't do anything to him.
And when they were annoyed by the harassment, a group of king-level combat beasts actually started to team up and chase after Zi Chen.
Zi Chen could barely handle one king-level combat beast, but when faced with a group of them, he could only helplessly run for his life.
These king-level combat beasts were obviously in hot pursuit, determined to kill him. Zi Chen could only choose to return.
"Do we have such a big grudge?" Zi Chen, who was running away, couldn't help but complain.
"Human, give me back my children."
"You took my children. Isn't that a grudge?"
"Human, give us back our children, and we can treat you as a guest of honor."
Zi Chen's complaint immediately caused a commotion among the king-level combat beasts.
"What do you guys know? Your vision is only to become the king of a forest, but my goal is to conquer the entire world. I took your children away to train in the Domain Realm, to broaden their horizons. What do you know?" Zi Chen said unhappily.
"Die."
"Cunning human, you're asking my children to die."
"We'll kill you no matter where you go."
"Human, die."
The king-level combat beasts, who were already angry, became even more furious. As king-level combat beasts, they naturally knew what kind of place the Domain Realm was. It was full of dangers, and one could easily die there.
Zi Chen thought that after saying a few words, they would give up and let the little ones go on training, but who knew that they would react so violently.
Helpless, he could only tell Wu Xie and the others to run first.
"Roar!"