Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 221 - 221 0201 Regrettably His Horse is No Good -

Chapter 221: Chapter 0201: Regrettably, His Horse is No Good – Part 2 Chapter 221: Chapter 0201: Regrettably, His Horse is No Good – Part 2 Qi Tian furrowed his brows, about to say something, when a sarcastic voice came from behind him.

“Oh, isn’t this our Qi Tian, the esteemed County Teacher? For someone of your lofty status to take the time to come to the Bird’s Nest Hall is indeed a rare honor for us.”

Qi Tian turned around, only to find the source of the mockery was none other than his longtime rival, Liu Haoshuai.

Qi Tian only glanced at Liu Haoshuai before shifting his gaze away. He held no fondness for this fellow who was about his age and had repeatedly sought trouble with him. If it weren’t for the fact that this was the Imperial Master Mansion, he would have slapped Liu Haoshuai to death already.

Seeing his disregard, Liu Haoshuai became annoyed. He huffed and said to the disciple in charge of selling talisman materials, “Brother, how about doing me a favor? Don’t sell anything to Qi Tian.”

The disciple handed the purchase order back to Qi Tian, saying, “I’m sorry, junior brother, but I can’t help you.”

Qi Tian collected the list without even looking back and headed for the exit of Bird’s Nest Hall. Liu Haoshuai called out after him, “Qi Tian, don’t think about buying anything here as long as I’m in the Bird’s Nest Hall.”

Qi Tian did not respond, simply raising his right hand, and gave Liu Haoshuai the finger.

Liu Haoshuai understood the insult. He snorted with a dark expression, “We shall see, Qi Tian. My uncle is about to break through to the Foundation Establishment Stage soon. You’ll regret it then.”

Upon returning to Sky Eagle Hall, Qi Tian was just about to search for the Master of the Sky Eagle Hall, Luo Xia when a soldier in a fish-scale armor approached him. With due respect, he saluted Qi Tian, “Are you Qi Tian?”

“Yes, I am. Who are you?” Qi Tian asked.

“I am Cui Liguo, the leader of King Zhangbei Manor’s soldiers. I am here under the orders of the Princess to meet you.”

“The Princess? Zhao Qian?” Qi Tian asked with a frown.

Cui Liguo nodded and handed a letter to Qi Tian, “This is what the Princess has asked me to deliver to you.”

Qi Tian took the letter and pulled out two pieces of paper from the envelope, one was a letter written personally by Zhao Qian, and the other was an invitation.

Opening the letter revealed elegant, minute handwriting, stating that today was the birthday of Prince Zhao Donghao and Qi Tian was extended a special invitation. The invitation was also handwritten by Zhao Qian.

“Today is the Prince’s birthday?” Qi Tian asked. “How many people have been invited?”

Cui Liguo nodded vigorously and replied, “The Prince is celebrating his forty-fifth birthday. According to the Prince’s wishes, he only invited a few close friends. The Crown Prince and Princess have also invited a few close friends for the celebration. Not counting those within the manor, approximately twenty or thirty guests have been invited.”

Qi Tian nodded and said, “Alright, I understand. Wait a moment for me to get ready, I at least need to prepare a gift for the Prince.”

Qi Tian returned to his dormitory, contemplating what gift to give Zhao Donghao for his birthday. Truth be told, he was not well acquainted with Zhao Donghao, but he did share a decent relationship with Zhao Qian. Furthermore, during his fair fight against Gao Han, who was at the half-step Foundation Establishment stage from Guardian National Master Manor, Zhao Donghao along with Wu Junlin, the steward from the Prince Mansion, came forward and their presence deterred Chen Wenbo, Gao Han’s master and a cultivator of half-step Golden Core. If it hadn’t been for their arrival, even if he had won against Gao Han, he might have fallen victim to Chen Wenbo’s poison. Therefore, Qi Tian did owe King Zhangbei a considerable favor.

At the moment, Qi Tian didn’t really have much on his person. He had earned quite a few spirit stones during his time in Wanjie City, but he couldn’t just gift some spirit stones over. The royal family only provides so few spirit stones annually to King Zhangbei Manor and his gift surpassing that sum implied a certain disregard for the royal family’s dignity. Aside from spirit stones, Qi Tian had an abundance of ancient texts, most of which were obtained in Lianying Realm. He also got a few when he killed some butcher-like treasure seekers in Wanjie City.

Apart from the ancient texts, Qi Tian also had quite a few beast bones and flesh. After some thought, he quickly selected a gift, packaged it, and then left his dormitory.

Upon seeing Qi Tian’s empty hands, Cui Liguo’s face paled slightly, but he didn’t say anything. He himself was a cultivator and knew about the existence of the Storage Bag – perhaps Qi Tian had put the gift in there.

Both left the Imperial Master Mansion, which was the second time Qi Tian was leaving after his journey to this mansion. The previous time, Qi Tian was struggling to survive in the Imperial Master Mansion. In the blink of an eye, he became an honored guest of King Zhangbei Manor. His sudden twist of fate was quite unexpected.

Cui Liguo brought a horse-drawn carriage while he rode a horse himself. The carriage was parked outside the Imperial Master Mansion. “Qi Tian, would you like to take the carriage, or…” This was instructed by Zhao Qian, who allowed Qi Tian to decide his mode of transportation to King Zhangbei Manor.

Qi Tian waved his hand, releasing Hu Niu from the Spirit Beast Bracelet. Upon landing, Hu Niu called out excitedly which terrified not only Cui Liguo’s horse but also those pulling the carriage. Consequently, Cui Liguo’s horse reared up with fright, and the horses pulling the carriage collapsed to the ground, outright scared and making a mess. If the charioteer of the carriage had not been standing on the ground, he would have been thrown off.

Cui Liguo pulled hard on the reins to soothe his horse. One may have guessed his horse has already bolted due to fright. After a great deal of effort, he was able to calm down his horse. He looked at Hu Niu and felt a shiver of fear run down his spine. It took quite some time for him to muster up the courage to ask, “Qi Tian, is this your mount?”

Qi Tian nodded. This was the first time he had publicly revealed Hu Niu in front of so many people at the Imperial Master Mansion. Before, when his abilities were too inferior, he had been afraid of drawing attention and thus had kept Hu Niu hidden. But now, he had no such worries.

“I found this during my cultivation journey in Lianying Realm.” Qi Tian patted Hu Niu’s head. Hu Niu closed its eyes contentedly, “Commander Cui, can I ride it to the Prince Mansion?”

Cui Liguo swallowed, wanting to refuse, but somehow his refusal turned into approval.

Qi Tian, satisfied, mounted Hu Niu. With a squeeze of his legs, he signaled Hu Niu to move forward. “Let’s go.”

Hu Niu walked with light steps carrying Qi Tian. Cui Liguo rode his horse, cautiously trailing behind. At first, he did not take Qi Tian seriously. Even though he knew that Princess Qian had a good relationship with Qi Tian and that Qi Tian was to be the Acting County Teacher, Qi Tian could not compare with King Zhangbei Manor. However, seeing Hu Niu, his contempt for Qi Tian remarkably diminished.

Even though Hu Niu was only a beast at the Eighth Level of Qi Cultivation, to tame such a creature as a riding beast was no ordinary feat, let alone tamed during Qi Tian’s cultivation journey in the Lianying Realm – this was certainly intriguing.

Along the way, Cui Liguo wanted to make good conversation with Qi Tian, but unfortunately, his horse refused to cooperate. Despite his coaxing, his horse did not dare to move forward and remained a cautious distance away from Hu Niu. Due to the distance, Cui Liguo couldn’t exactly raise his voice and discuss things with Qi Tian, thereby losing this opportunity to understand Qi Tian better.

The King Zhangbei Manor was located in the northern part of Zhangshui City, on the north bank of the Zhang River. The Mansion was quite vast, though not as large as the Imperial Master Mansion, it is the second-largest mansion in Zhangshui City.

King Zhangbei, Zhao Donghao, as the person with the most prestigious secular status in Zhangshui City, was celebrating his birthday. Although he kept it a low-profile event, some locals heard the news and came to King Zhangbei Mansion to give him their blessings.

When Qi Tian arrived, he found a long line of people on the street in front of King Zhangbei’s mansion, all here to present Zhao Donghao with birthday gifts.