I Can See Your Combat Power
Chapter 1758 - 192: Humility before the Inferior, Flattery before the Superior

Chapter 1758: Chapter 192: Humility before the Inferior, Flattery before the Superior

Smart people may have flaws like being indecisive, overthinking, or acting too little, but once they make up their mind, they can still demonstrate remarkable execution.

Although the situation did not develop as Du Ting, Nian Bo, and Nongman Valley had envisioned, it instead headed toward the worst possible outcome.

But since it has already happened, there’s no point in complaining anymore.

The available forces in Unparalleled City were meticulously counted and represented as small white flags, which were then arranged into defenses surrounding Red Cloud Mountain.

The small flags in Du Ting’s hands dwindled continuously, yet even half of the areas requiring defense on Red Cloud Mountain had not been adequately fortified.

Only then did everyone realize just how large Unparalleled City had grown—there were more than just the inner city that needed protection; there were countless villages and towns scattered across the mountainside. What was even more disheartening was that this self-proclaimed new sacred land of martial arts lacked the matching armed strength.

"Do you now understand why the City Hall chose to retreat?"

Du Ting’s face was cold as he pulled out several dozen small flags—roughly four or five times more than the previous—and said indifferently, "But since things have come to this, the only option left is to fight to the death."

As he spoke, he scattered hundreds of small flags along both the upper and lower reaches of the Lingjiang River, then continued, "The strength of Ten Thousand Beasts Manor has never relied on the martial prowess of the Shi Family disciples but instead on the centuries of beast-rearing heritage accumulated by Yancang on behalf of the Beast Taming Sect. Among these are not just demon-scaled beasts but also savage beasts capable of ambushing from underwater!"

"Those that carry divine beast bloodlines are even more destructive—just a few of them breaking into Red Cloud Mountain can obliterate all that we cherish in an instant! Therefore, in this defensive battle, you must use your flesh and blood to keep these feral attackers beyond the lines of vigilance!"

"Gentlemen, risk your lives, for now we have no other choice!"

...

Unparalleled City was embroiled in distress over the imminent battle, while Shi Muzhi, who had left humiliated and unsuccessful after achieving nothing, was seething with anger to the point of eruption!

As an external associate of Mao Sect, even the true inheritors of Longzhou sects showed him respect. Yet today, he had come to Red Cloud to demand the return of two Dragon Beasts, but the result was such an unbearable loss—family guards killed, savage beasts destroyed, and even Shi Yuqing, who was meant to be sent to the Beast Taming Sect for further training, tragically perished at the ferry crossing.

Perhaps the ignorant folks of Unparalleled City thought Ten Thousand Beasts Manor’s departure was a retreat, but only those who truly understood Shi Muzhi’s family guards knew that if the master had erupted in fury on the spot, there might still have been an opportunity for reconciliation. However, this cold and silent departure showed he had been thoroughly enraged.

Unparalleled City would inevitably pay a devastating price for its arrogance, but for now, the most urgent task was to deliver this batch of savage beasts to Long Valley and complete the task assigned by Mao Sect.

...

Beast Origin Valley

As the Xihesa Holy Land, the Beast Taming Sect deeply understood the importance of the balance of all things. The Beast Taming Clan among the West Xiehe martial world was gradually in decline. Though the Beast Taming Sect still held a leading position among Xiehe’s top powers, fewer and fewer young people were willing to study the path of beast taming.

Helpless in the face of this trend, the Beast Taming Sect tried to revitalize the Beast Taming Clan. Therefore, aside from Naked Sect and Corpse Sect, the other five sects would regularly provide excellent beast species nearing breakthroughs every few years, handing them over to external families or individuals proficient in beast-rearing or bird-rearing for surrogate taming.

The goal was to rekindle Xiehe martial artists’ enthusiasm for the beast taming discipline. But after hundreds of years, the waters of beast taming remained stagnant—only a few wealthy clans could afford to nurture spirit beasts and savage beasts, while Tamers as a profession had devolved from independent powerhouses to mere vassals of families.

Only a few clans or individuals benefited from this policy and grew into regional giants or distinguished noble families.

And through continued exchanges with the Beast Taming Sect, some of these families became the apprentices of a particular master, some joined a certain sect for training, and others married daughters of the Cao Family, becoming external relations of the Holy Land.

Although this didn’t meet the original objectives set out in the design, it at least preserved the heritage of the Beast Taming Clan.

Still, this preservation was unhealthy, as anyone could see that the Beast Taming Sect had turned into a tightly-knit circle surrounding the Holy Land, making it quite difficult for outsiders or newcomers to join.

The Beast Taming Sect naturally harbored concerns about this as well, but after several hundred years of hard work nurturing a few promising seedlings, they couldn’t simply abandon them and start anew, which made the situation awkward and stagnant.

While the Beast Taming Sect wanted change, those surrogate families and individuals also understood the sect’s desire for change. Yet, nobody knew when or how this change would come to fruition.

For now, everyone adhered to a tacit agreement, submitting surrogate taming tasks to the Beast Taming Sect every few years and receiving excellent savage beast specimens in return.

Beast Origin Valley was the venue specifically designated by Mao Sect for this exchange, where groups like the Iron Wing Clan, Ten Thousand Beasts Manor, Dragon Taming Stronghold, Thousand Birds Peak, and Golden Lion Valley would bring the savage beasts they had nurtured and return them.

The quantity and quality of the returned savage beasts directly determined rankings and the number of high-quality beast species one could claim.

This year, the evaluations were overseen by Mao Sect’s true inheritor, Cao Yanran, with assistance from several of Mao Sect’s Inner Sect Disciples.

As the Holy Land built upon beast taming, the savage beasts returned by surrogate families were naturally looked down upon by these disciples. Nonetheless, they meticulously inspected each savage beast as part of the sect-assigned task and ultimately provided their evaluations.

"Iron Wing Clan, returned beast species: 117. High-quality species: 30. Common species: 62. Subpar species: 25."

"Dragon Taming Stronghold, returned beast species: 197. High-quality species: 150. Common species: 47. No subpar species."

"Thousand Birds Peak, returned beast species: 36. High-quality species: 30. Common species: 6. No subpar species."

"Ten Thousand Beasts Manor, returned beast species: 89. High-quality species: 19. Common species: 31. Subpar species... 49."

Where there are people, there will be rivalries. Among those involved in the niche of beast taming, a sense of superiority could only be derived from comparing oneself with peers.

So, upon hearing that Ten Thousand Beasts Manor produced so many subpar species, several representatives broke into mocking laughter, with some audibly ridiculing.

"So many high-quality beast species ended up with Ten Thousand Beasts Manor—how did they manage to raise nothing but subpar stock? Is it something wrong with Yancang’s soil and water?"

Faced with such direct ridicule, Shi Muzhi responded with neither aggression nor overbearing menace but instead offered reluctant laughter while bowing to plead for leniency. Seeing his submissive demeanor, the others refrained from prolonging the scorn, ending their jeers after a few sarcastic remarks.

Only Cao Yanran’s expression darkened like a storm cloud. After the evaluations concluded, he pulled Shi Muzhi aside.

"What is going on with you? The quantity and quality of the savage beasts are entirely off. Did you even follow the methods I provided for nurturing the beasts? Why are the coat condition and physical strength so poor?"

Of course Cao Yanran was upset—Ten Thousand Beasts Manor, as an external relation of Mao Sect, was particularly notable among the groups involved in beast-taming. They received the most care and attention, yet their final evaluation failed to even reach the middle rankings. How could this be acceptable?

"The true inheritor may not know that the manor nurtured over 50 high-quality savage beasts this time, intending to redeem our reputation in the evaluations," Shi Muzhi tearfully lamented. "But before arriving, we received a message from Luyang instructing us to go to Unparalleled City and demand the return of two lost Dragon Beasts. Unexpectedly, that Unparalleled City relied on the support of a Void Grandmaster and showed no regard for Ten Thousand Beasts Manor. Not only did they refuse to return the Dragon Beasts, but they also killed my brother’s family guards and slaughtered dozens of savage beasts. I beg the true inheritor to seek justice for us!"