Chapter 1297: Aberration

Chapter 1297: Chapter 1297: Aberration

Yue Zhixiang grumbled inwardly while feeding various spirit beasts at the Spirit Beast Institute with several other disciples. As the saying goes, a horse doesn’t fatten without night grazing. These spirit beasts also require a nightly snack to help them thrive, and tonight, it was his turn to lead a few junior brothers in this task.

After feeding spirit grass to the last spirit beast, Yue Zhixiang stretched, tossing aside the confusion in his mind. Just as he was about to call his junior brothers to return for some extra sleep before morning practice, he noticed commotion from the other side of the Spirit Beast Institute, followed by the shouts and painful cries of his junior brothers.

Seeing this, Yue Zhixiang hurried over to investigate, finding that the issue lay with the Dragon Qilin Steed of the institute. This steed, after all, was considered one of the dragon kind, but the Dragon Race of the Daoist Plane did not care about its existence. It belonged to a breed long tamed by cultivators. Each adult Dragon Qilin Steed had the physique comparable to a Reincarnation Realm cultivator, and the most outstanding ones could reach the level of the human realm. The steed tamed by the Beast Taming Institute were chosen for this quality, not for battle but to be trained and then sold to major sects and prominent families in exchange for cultivation resources, as they were immensely favored by less powerful yet well-established family disciples, serving as both mounts and capable fighters in critical moments.

For this reason, each Dragon Qilin Steed was vital to distributing additional training resources for the future of the Beast Taming Institute’s disciples, making Yue Zhixiang treasure these spirit beasts dearly. Upon arriving, he found the Dragon Qilin Steed, once tamed and gentle, suddenly agitated and thrashing about the stable. One junior brother’s arm hung limp as he pointed at the steed, directing other disciples to subdue it.

"What’s going on? Why are you mishandling Yingying? This steed was coveted by the Qinghe Cui Family, ready for delivery! There must be no mistakes, don’t you understand?" shouted Yue Zhixiang, scolding them.

"Ouch, Brother, we know that. Yingying was usually the gentlest and most spirited. Today, who knows what curse befell it. Just after feeding, it suddenly refused to eat, and I thought maybe it was unwell. But as I approached for a check, it became agitated, thrashing and trying to break the reins. I was nearby trying to calm it when it shoved me aside and kicked my arm. Look, my arm is injured!" said the scolded disciple, showing his wounded arm in grievance.

Yue Zhixiang frowned, querying, "Is this true? Could there be something wrong with the feed?"

"It can’t be! This feed was prepared together under your guidance, and all Dragon Qilin Steeds receive the same!"

Upon hearing his junior brother’s defense, knowing it was sincere, Yue Zhixiang stepped forward, grabbed a handful of feed and sniffed it, finding nothing wrong. As he put down the feed and intended to check on Yingying’s situation in the stable, a cacophony of whinnies rose from all spirit beast pens across the Spirit Beast Institute. With alarm, Yue Zhixiang had no time to inspect further, as the defense array’s alarm bell rang piercingly through the institute.

"B-b-brother, what’s happening?" asked the bewildered junior brothers, never having faced such circumstances before.

Yue Zhixiang was also unacquainted with such situations, but having been around longer, he speculated it related to the departure of the senior uncle today. Without hesitation, he ordered, "What do you mean what’s happening? Don’t you understand the invasion alarm? There’s an enemy invasion! The Dragon Qilin Steed’s behavior must be sensing an enemy’s presence. Junior Brother Han, report the situation here to Master immediately; everyone else with me, cast spells to soothe the beasts, prepare..."

Dong! Dong! Dong!

Before finishing his command, a series of dull thuds echoed overhead, causing everyone to look up, their faces turning pale in shock. They watched as owls screeched, slicing through the night sky, fearlessly colliding with the defense array, shattering themselves to pieces, creating varying depths of pit-like holes across the array.

"Why are you still standing there? Get moving!"

Amid Yue Zhixiang’s roar, the junior brothers finally snapped into action, hurriedly preparing to confront the enemy under their senior’s direction. At times, being small has its advantages, as crisis often prompts swift mobilization. Soon, under the guidance of their masters, the entire Beast Taming Institute converged on the Spirit Beast Institute. They had little choice; apart from a few Lifebound Spirit Beasts resting in their Beast Taming Rings, most spirit beasts were kept at the Spirit Beast Institute, and the Beast Tamers’ combat strength was significantly reduced without their spirit beasts.

"Master, this..." Yue Zhixiang, sweating profusely, breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing his master, Leng Shuyi, rushing to him to report, but was stopped by his master’s hand, who spoke first: "I’m aware, you’ve done well! Now lead your junior brothers to handle the spirit beasts; listen, everyone should take according to what they can manage."

"Master, what about those spirit beasts already claimed by other families?" questioned Yue Zhixiang.

"Can’t concern ourselves with that now! Use them to repel the enemy first; subsequent matters will be handled later."

"Disciple accepts the order!" Yue Zhixiang, given the command, felt nervous yet slightly exhilarated. The weary path of cultivation had finally given him the chance to showcase his skills. He didn’t know who the enemy might be tonight or if his talents could shine in this battle.

Unlike the disciples’ mix of tension and excitement-induced chaos, each elder of the Beast Taming Institute bore a heavy heart and grim expressions, as they perceived more than the disciples. The beast sea outside the defense array alarmed them, but their anxiety was not solely about the enemy count; they feared the exposure of secrets. Unlike the uninformed disciples, yet to pass the final assessment to be into trusted inner circles, the elders were aware of the dangers of their knowledge.

Knowing the dangers, they feared the secret being uncovered by outsiders. At this critical time, the overseer had been called to the main institute with no word since. Could this puzzling assault be tied to matters at the main institute? Has the main institute’s secret been discovered by the Immortal Palace, or has the entire Daoist Plane experienced great upheaval? Sometimes being isolated has its drawbacks.

As Leng Shuyi wrestled with his thoughts, a surge of energy mixed with the night breeze swept over him, accompanied by two senior brothers retreating beside him. Among them, Senior Brother Lu, responsible for handling the array, approached and shook his head helplessly, saying, "Prepare to repel the enemy! The defense array is breached!"