Chapter 71 – Evolution

The Azure Dragon was swift, and within minutes, Yun Xiguang arrived at a secret military airport. After reuniting with Li Zheng, he realized that they weren’t deploying many Spiritbond Masters this time but had opted to resolve the issue using modern means instead.

Li Zheng explained, “The Youying Spiritbond Academy has produced too many Spiritbond Masters over the years, and these Spiritbond Masters have their own social circles. In the short term, it’s hard for us to determine who among them might be problematic and who isn’t. To prevent information leaks, our superiors decided to use modern weaponry, and a few trustworthy Spiritbond Masters would lead the way.”

Yun Xiguang said, “But there are still students at the Youying Academy, and some innocent people who might not be involved. If we use large-scale weapons, won’t we risk harming the innocent?”

Li Zheng replied, “Rest assured, we plan to first drop tear gas, smoke bombs, and tranquilizer rounds to incapacitate those without combat ability or with low combat strength, ensuring they won’t interfere with our battle.

“After clearing the area, Bai Ze will lead us, the capable fighters, to search for the three sources of spirit energy. Even if someone tries to stop us, the number of people won’t be significant, and with our strength, we can subdue them.

“After pinpointing the exact locations of the three sources of spirit energy, the Azure Dragon and the Field Team Captain Ling Rui, me and the Golden-Winged Great Peng, you and Qin Shu, along with Bai Ze, will split into three groups. We’ll lure the owners of these three sources of spirit energy to this location, which is a no-man’s land.”

Li Zheng circled an area on the map and continued, “After dropping the smoke bombs, the Armed Team will quickly move to the airspace above this location. Once we’ve lured the spirit energy owners here, the aircraft above will fire on the enemy with artillery. When the ammunition runs out, if the enemy is dead, then so be it. If not, they will surely be severely injured. At that point, we’ll make our move, and victory will be within our grasp.”

The Spiritbond World was accustomed to battles between Spiritbond Masters without outside interference. The Youying Academy might not anticipate this tactic, and while it was a good strategy, it also had its flaws.

Yun Xiguang said, “The sound of fighter jets is loud and cannot be concealed, making it easy for them to be discovered. Won’t a surprise attack be challenging?”

Although the people from the Youying Academy didn’t have radar, as Spiritbond Masters, their alertness wasn’t lacking. It was likely that the aircraft would be spotted by the Youying Academy the moment they entered South Province.

Yun Xiguang merely raised a reasonable concern, yet for some reason, after he finished speaking, the Azure Dragon, Bai Ze, the Golden-Winged Great Peng, and Li Zheng all looked at Yun Xiguang with a mix of hesitation and complex emotions.

The Azure Dragon appeared weary, Bai Ze seemed touched, and the Golden-Winged Great Peng was jealous — so jealous that his eyes were practically spitting fire.

Yun Xiguang couldn’t help taking a step back under the weight of these gazes, hesitantly asking, “Is… Is there something wrong with what I said?”

For reasons unknown, Li Zheng stepped forward, reaching out to pat Yun Xiguang’s arm, seemingly trying to establish physical contact deliberately. Then, he said seriously, “No, the problem you pointed out is indeed a difficulty in this operation, but it has already been resolved.”

Yun Xiguang glanced at his arm where Li Zheng had patted him, his gaze landing on Li Zheng’s hand, which was slightly raised as if ready to shake hands with Yun Xiguang at any moment.

It wasn’t the comforting touch of an elder to a junior, but rather a desire for physical contact that was being restrained with great effort.

Yun Xiguang was certain that Li Zheng had a wife and children, was deeply devoted to his family, and had a strong sense of responsibility. He also had no peculiar sexual preferences.

So why did Li Zheng want to make physical contact with him?

Yun Xiguang’s eyes were filled with wariness and confusion.

Chi Qiong’s eyes were tightly fixed on the spot where Li Zheng had patted Yun Xiguang, his gaze so intense that his eyes were almost defying avian anatomy!

The Golden-Winged Great Peng noticed Chi Qiong’s murderous intent towards his Spiritbond Master and extended his claws, his gaze sharp, contemplating filial piety versus righteousness.

The Azure Dragon glanced at Bai Ze, stroking his beard with a claw, wearing a smile that conveyed, “Your turn now.”

Bai Ze: “…”

Li Zheng was one of its saviors; it couldn’t just stand idly by and watch as Li Zheng was misunderstood by the Supreme Deity, could it?

The cunning old Azure Dragon hid behind the scenes, pushing the troublesome matters onto it.

In order to prevent Li Zheng from being “filially righteous” by the Golden-Winged Great Peng, Bai Ze hurriedly floated between Li Zheng and Yun Xiguang, saying, “The problem you raised has already been solved. There’s a Spirit Beast that possesses the skill to make the fighter jets invisible, and a car has been sent to pick it up. It and its Spiritbond Master will arrive shortly.”

“We’re deploying a large number of fighter jets over a wide area, so the requirements for both Spirit Beasts and Spiritbond Masters are high. Even if they have this ability, they’d need to be at least peak Grade A Spiritbond Masters to conceal all the fighter jets. I’m familiar with all the Spiritbond Masters from the major families and Zhuzhao Academy, both Grade A and Grade B, and none of them have such capabilities. That leaves the Youying Spiritbond Academy, which has several Spiritbond Masters specializing in Spirit Insects and reptilian-type Spirit Beasts. They might possess the ability to become invisible, but can we fully trust this person?” Yun Xiguang expressed his concerns.

Chi Qiong hadn’t let Li Zheng off the hook just because of Bai Ze’s explanation; the flames in his eyes burned even more fiercely.

Bai Ze hurriedly explained, “This person has absolutely nothing to do with the Youying Academy, and you can trust him completely. In fact, you two are quite familiar with each other.”

“Who is it?” Yun Xiguang asked.

As soon as he spoke, a silver-white figure approached him like an arrow, moving at incredible speed. In the blink of an eye, it was right in front of Yun Xiguang.

Seeing the white shadow approaching so rapidly, Yun Xiguang instinctively took a step back, his hand gesture changing slightly as he nearly unleashed Heavenly Fire against the intruder.

Fortunately, the white shadow stopped a meter away from him, lying on the ground and howling at him, its eyes conveying, “Have you forgotten about your adorable little wolf?” It looked as if it had been abandoned.

At the same time, a bruised and battered man, dressed in tattered clothes, limped over slowly, saying to Yun Xiguang, “Brother Yun, I… I’m here to support you!”

With that, he collapsed to the ground, unable to speak another word.

There was probably only one fool in this world who would address Yun Xiguang as “Brother Yun,” and that was Wu Ailang.

Yun Xiguang focused his gaze and saw that the arrival was indeed Wu Ailang, albeit in a terrible state.

Li Zheng quickly came to Wu Ailang’s side, supporting him up. Seeing the injuries covering Wu Ailang’s body, he exclaimed, “How did you end up like this? Weren’t you supposed to be picked up by a special vehicle? Where’s the car? Who hurt you like this? Did the Youying Academy dare to attack you in Jing City?”

Wu Ailang was too weak to speak, but Bai Ze, who understood everything, figured out what had happened and said, “He probably wasn’t attacked; he was made this way by the Snow Wolf.”

“Would a Spirit Beast harm its own Spiritbond Master?” Li Zheng looked at the snow wolf with a puzzled expression.

Bai Ze thought to itself, If it hadn’t intervened and stood between Li Zheng and Yun Xiguang earlier, Li Zheng’s Golden-Winged Great Peng really would have harmed the Spiritbond Master.

Bai Ze said, “I don’t think it was intentional harm; it was just the effect of the contract, dragging the Spiritbond Master along.”

Just as it finished speaking, a military vehicle pulled up in front of Li Zheng. The driver got out and urgently told Li Zheng, “Director Li, as soon as we left the city limits, the snow wolf found our pace too slow and jumped out the window, running off. Not long after it jumped out, Brother Wu Ailang seemed to be tethered by an invisible rope and flew out of the window as well.

“The snow wolf ran too fast, and we couldn’t catch up all the way! We could only follow behind, watching Brother Wu Ailang fly forward close to the ground…”

From these brief explanations, Li Zheng and Yun Xiguang understood what had happened to Wu Ailang.

The Snow Wolf was recognized by Chi Qiong as the number one mount, determined to advance and retreat alongside Yun Xiguang. Unfortunately, Wu Ailang was just an intern, with a low rank, and couldn’t participate in battles. During the previous Yun Family operation, Wu Ailang could only serve as a mascot, and there was no place for the Snow Wolf in the current battle against the Weaver Ants. Without the opportunity to serve the Phoenix Venerable, the Snow Wolf had lost so much fur from worry that it became bald.

Now, it finally had the chance to fight alongside the Phoenix Venerable, and the Snow Wolf didn’t want to wait even a single second longer. Once it left the city limits and confirmed that it wouldn’t be seen, it rushed out. Its speed was much greater than the cars, which were forced to maintain a limited speed due to traffic regulations.

Spiritbond Masters and Spirit Beasts couldn’t be too far apart, and when the Snow Wolf ran a kilometer away, Wu Ailang was affected by the contract and dragged out of the car by the wolf.

In theory, Wu Ailang should have used the contract to restrain the Snow Wolf, but who would have thought that the wolf would drag Wu Ailang around instead!

Fortunately, this time, a healer from the Special Affairs Bureau was present, and Li Zheng immediately called for treatment for Wu Ailang.

“The invisible Spirit Beast you mentioned is the Snow Wolf?” Yun Xiguang asked. “I don’t recall Snow Wolves having that ability.”

Bai Ze replied, “Indeed, Snow Wolves don’t possess that ability, but evolved Snow Wolves do.”

“Evolution…” Yun Xiguang glanced at Chi Qiong, suddenly understanding. “If the power of the phoenix feather can evolve a bookworm, it can naturally also evolve Snow Wolves!”

Bai Ze said, “That’s exactly right. The silver-white color of Snow Wolves is a natural camouflage, blending into snowy landscapes to create an invisible effect. This characteristic indicates that Snow Wolves have the potential for invisibility skills. These past two months, it’s been wandering around your house constantly, serving as the mount of the Supreme Deity for two months, and constantly coming into contact with the three phoenix feathers. It’s a very ambitious wolf, and its status as a mount has been acknowledged by the Supreme Deity. Without even realizing it, it’s been receiving a bit of the spiritual energy from the phoenix feathers, evolving unnoticed.”

“Even if the Snow Wolf can hide all the fighter jets, Wu Ailang’s body won’t be able to handle it. He’s not a Grade A Spiritbond Master.”

Yun Xiguang was deeply concerned about Wu Ailang’s health. Just the act of being dragged along had left Wu Ailang covered in injuries. Forcing Wu Ailang to forcefully activate the Snow Wolf’s abilities would be fatal.

“He can withstand it. Wu Ailang isn’t weak. He was dragged around by the Snow Wolf because he didn’t want to restrict the wolf himself. He forgot about the contract distance, letting go and allowing the wolf to run freely. By the time he was being dragged, it was too late for regrets.” Bai Ze explained.

Yun Xiguang asked, “Why has Wu Ailang’s strength reached the standard of a Grade A Spiritbond Master?”

Bai Ze glanced at Yun Xiguang and said, “It’s related to you. You’ve befriended Wu Ailang, and your luck makes the people around you better. Wu Ailang has benefited from your good fortune. His father keeps buying him supplements, and among the supplements he consumes, there’s a thousand-year-old lingzhi mushroom that enhances his physique, allowing him to evolve alongside the Snow Wolf. His strength is now entirely suitable for the battlefield.”

“My luck?” Yun Xiguang pointed at himself.

Bai Ze nodded. “I’m sure it’s your luck that made him fortunate.”

Bai Ze, the top-notch fortune-teller…no, the ultimate prophet among prophets, was convinced of this fact, proving that Wu Ailang had indeed become stronger because of Yun Xiguang.

Yun Xiguang suddenly recalled Li Zheng’s strange behavior earlier and guessed, “So Director Li was trying to benefit from my luck earlier?”

“Yes, the longer you interact with someone and the closer your relationship, the better their luck becomes.” Bai Ze agreed.

Only then did Yun Xiguang understand. It turned out that Director Li’s strange behavior was treating him like a lucky charm, wanting to benefit from some luck.

Chi Qiong finally forgave Li Zheng, making a nest on top of Yun Xiguang’s head and closing his eyes to sleep peacefully.

The Golden-Winged Great Peng also withdrew its death glare directed at Li Zheng.

All the hidden currents had subsided.

Bai Ze let out a long sigh of relief.

Serving a tiger-like ruler was like walking on eggshells; knowing the secrets of the Supreme Deity meant bearing too much!

It couldn’t resist stealing a glance at the Azure Dragon.

The Azure Dragon wore a calm expression as he looked at Bai Ze, his eyes filled with relief.

Finally, he could shed this heavy burden. The Azure Dragon gave Bai Ze a look that said, “Good luck to you.”

Bai Ze: “…”

Suddenly, it felt a craving for grilled dragon meat.