Chapter 416: Chapter 317: The New Pet Xiaohuang, Imperial Army! (Double-Length)_2

Everyone’s attention was firmly fixed on the woman who had arrived.

Should a true fight break out, they would have to fight desperately!

However, the hand that the woman raised suddenly stiffened, and in the next moment, she vanished into the mist, disappearing without a trace.

"Gone?"

A few people extended their perception several miles out, but none could detect the woman’s aura.

Clearly, she had already left.

"Just, just left like that..." A commander wiped the sweat from his forehead, muttering dazedly, his voice somewhat bewildered.

"Let’s leave here first!" Yang Zhen decisively ordered, leading a few people away from this mountain peak nest.

Should she return again, he couldn’t guarantee they would be spared once more.

Not long after, Wang Tianshuang and several other Grand Marshals of the Cuiqi Army arrived in unison!

Yang Zhen went to negotiate and recounted the incident of seeing the woman in white just a moment ago.

The Grand Marshals went to the bird’s nest again, but this time the woman in white did not reappear.

The Grand Marshals decided to search around.

An hour later.

"This must be reported to the Great King." In mid-air, Wang Tianshuang looked at the nearby Grand Marshal Hu Xuzhi.

"Hmm!" Hu Xuzhi nodded, looking down with an expression that was not relaxed.

Below them, within a mountain forest, lay the corpse of a massive Demon Race creature.

It was the giant eagle that Wang Tianshuang had battled!

At this moment, the giant eagle had its wings spread wide, belly facing up, head drooping, with no sign of life.

Only the demon blood flowing out was still warm, indicating it hadn’t been long since death.

The corpse was so enormous that it even crushed a river path in the forest, causing the water to flow towards the surrounding woods.

Some fierce beasts, attracted by the scent of blood, hovered around the giant eagle’s corpse, seemingly deterred by the residual demon might of the corpse, hesitant to approach.

Perhaps only when the demon blood completely cooled would they muster the courage to compete for this once-in-a-lifetime treasure meat and blood.

On another side, Song Changming had already returned to the barracks with the main force.

"The matter of the Great Demon is for the higher-ups to worry about; we don’t need to think too much about it." Xing Tiexin told Song Changming and Fu Yuan.

Prince Cui would not tolerate a Great Demon roaming freely in his territory.

Previously, it had been Master Baitian, and now this suspected hawk Great Demon as well.

The thirty-six paths of Yun Province belong to the Thirty-Six Kings.

They often share benefits; even if one Prince Cui can’t handle the Great Demon, it would only bring other Great Kings of Yun Province for formidable aid.

Indeed, Song Changming and the others need not worry about this.

Back in his room, after removing his clothes and war boots, he noticed a fluffy thing tumbling on the ground; it was the little chick he had brought back.

"Chirp chirp!"

The little chick rolled and got up, looking displeased that Song Changming had tossed it on the ground and almost stepped on it, flapped its wings, making a short but shrill chirping noise.

Song Changming pinched it with two fingers, putting it on the table.

"Can you understand human speech?" Song Changming asked.

The chick continued to chirp non-stop until Song Changming pinched its beak with his finger and asked again.

Only then did it slightly nod.

"But I don’t understand bird language. Can you write?" Song Changming suddenly asked.

He remembered the Mountain Ginseng beside him, which not only understood human speech but could also write, so he asked.

Though full of Spirit, the chick shook its head, indicating it could only understand Song Changming’s meaning, not the Human Race’s written words.

"Well, that’s impressive." Song Changming praised.

Indeed, not everyone could live for five thousand years and become a spirit like that Mountain Ginseng.

Understanding human speech is already remarkable for a Foreign Race.

The chick wandered around on the table, its eyes darting around, seemingly assessing whether it was satisfied with its future living environment.

Song Changming grabbed some rice and put it on the table.

"Eat rice?"

"..." The chick looked at the grains of rice and then shook its head.

"Chicken doesn’t eat rice, then what does it eat?" Song Changming wondered.

However, the question seemed to hit a nerve, making the chick chirp endlessly at Song Changming, hopping up and down in apparent anger.

Song Changming didn’t understand its anger and took out dozens of kinds of food from the Storage Pouch.

But the chick ate nothing, only drank a bit of water.

Song Changming considered it simply wasn’t hungry seeing this.

After some communication and gestures, he somewhat understood that it was not a chick, nor did it like him calling it that.

So Song Changming gave it a name, calling it Xiaohuang.

Simple and easy to remember.

The little creature initially seemed not to like this name much either, but compared to being called a chick, it grudgingly accepted Song Changming calling it Xiaohuang.

Over the years, Song Changming hadn’t lacked pets.

Initially, there were two guard dogs, Dahuang and White.

Later came the Mountain Ginseng Spirit, Xiaojin, who knew five thousand years. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

And now, the chick picked up today, Xiaohuang.

"Getting older, indeed you like to keep something..." Soaking in a medicinal barrel, letting his body absorb the Medicinal Power in the water, Song Changming muttered.

After the daily bath finished, Song Changming immediately stood in front of the window, practicing Witch Refining Technique under the moon.

Strengthening the body and bones as well as crucially refining the Witch Seal, not to be neglected.

As the moonlight shone down, illuminating Song Changming, his whole body emitted a faint glow.

Nearby, Xiaohuang tilted its head, fixedly watching Song Changming cultivate.

After a while, it walked to the edge of the table, looked at the height from the ground, and hesitated.

Eventually, it gathered its courage, took a step, and flapped its wings desperately.

But it was futile, falling straight down.

The little creature, though having wings, couldn’t fly.

Song Changming calling it a chick wasn’t without reason; it looked no different from a common chick in appearance.

Luckily, it was sturdy, with fluffy fur that absorbs impact, never taking harm despite tumbles.

After rolling on the ground twice, it shook its head and approached Song Changming.

Song Changming noticed its approach, sending out a thread of Spiritual Perception, placing it on Xiaohuang.

Though picked up just today from the wild, no matter how weak it seemed, he still harbored some caution.

Seeing the little creature close in, only to peacefully lie beside him and doze off without any other actions.

As though unsatisfied with not being close enough, it nudged to his side, resting beside Song Changming’s leg, finally content.

Seeing this, Song Changming withdrew his Heart and Spirit, continuing to practice Witch Refining Technique.

He didn’t notice that while nurturing Moonlight for cultivation, the little creature closely by his side was also enveloped by a faint layer of silver light.

A day later, a group clad in Silver Battle Armor flew from the main city to Mingju City, stirring quite a buzz in the army.

"Who are they to cause such a spectacle that our Grand Marshal has to greet them personally?" a soldier asked, filled with curiosity, witnessing the scene.

"Wearing Dragon Silver Armor, Golden Wing Crown, who else could they be? They’re the elite of the imperial Army!" Fu Yuan answered.

Song Changming sat aside, sizing up this group with great repute.

He’d heard of the imperial Army mentioned by Fu Yuan, but seeing them in person was a first.

The imperial Army arriving numbered no less than a thousand, predominantly Innate Realm experts, indeed living up to the name of the imperial Army!

Under Prince Cui, there are forty-eight Banner Armies, and an imperial Army under the prince’s command!

The imperial Army rarely deploys, only guarding the main city, with nearly all soldiers persistently cultivating, forsaking all distractions, truly ascetics.

The resources that Prince Cui dedicates to the imperial Army’s training have always been abundant.

Consequently, expectedly, in terms of combat power, this imperial Army far surpasses ordinary Banner Armies.

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