It was the dead of winter. Snowflakes drifted down as the north wind howled.

The world was a vast expanse of Frost White. The mountains seemed to wear robes of snow, draped in a silvery mantle.

"Fellow Daoist Xueyu, I’ve said all that needs to be said. I hope it will be of some help to you." Murong Caiwei smiled faintly.

With that, she called to her younger cousin and the others and boarded the Snow Sparrow carriage.

The Snow Sparrow carriage took to the air, flying through the void as it departed from the snowy peak.

At that moment, Dongfang Xueyu watched them leave, his head held high.

But his mind was elsewhere, and for a long while, he couldn’t snap out of it.

’A young maiden’s heart in bloom... Does my little sister really admire that scoundrel Fang Yang?!’

A shiver ran down Dongfang Xueyu’s spine at the thought.

His head still felt fuzzy. He wanted to deny it, but he couldn’t be sure.

After all, it was perfectly normal for a young girl’s heart to be stirred.

The problem was, that scoundrel Fang Yang was by no means a good person.

And what Murong Caiwei had just told him was related to this very matter.

Furthermore, Caiwei’s words had been subtly urging him to challenge Fang Yang.

Of course, he knew Murong Caiwei wanted to use him as a blade to dull Fang Yang’s sharp edge.

At the same time, however, he felt that what Murong Caiwei said made a lot of sense.

If he and Fang Yang became enemies, then even if his sister truly did admire Fang Yang, her personality was such that she would surely pull away and not get too deeply involved.

WHOOSH...

The north wind roared, proclaiming its majesty to the world.

Dongfang Xueyu stood his ground, a cold glint flickering in his eyes.

Then, a determined look appeared on his face. He leaped into the void, transforming into a fire phoenix and flying straight for the martial arts training grounds.

「Meanwhile.」

Inside the Snow Sparrow carriage, an argument was breaking out.

"Sister, isn’t it going too far to act in Brother Dongli’s name? Brother Dongli never fears anyone, let alone tries to suppress them."

Cairou added, "Besides, Dongfang Xueyu isn’t necessarily a match for Fang Yang."

"How dare you!" Caiwei’s brows shot up. "I have my own plans. Remember, you are my sister, not Dongli’s sister!"

Rebuked so harshly by her cousin, a flash of indignation appeared deep in Cairou’s eyes, but she quickly hid it.

She took a deep breath, suppressing the resentment in her heart.

Time and time again, her cousin had to have her way, even when she was in the wrong.

It was clear her cousin was used to being arrogant and couldn’t stand being contradicted.

But her cousin seemed to forget that they were now at the Thunder Saint Academy, not in the Murong clan.

Her father, the Soldier Star Great Saint, was still powerful, but he was no longer the most powerful one.

...

While the cold wind blew outside, the Wind Peng Dojo was filled with the songs of birds and the scent of flowers, like an eternal spring.

On the pasture, a White Feathered Eagle soared on its wings, chasing a Small Frost Horse.

The Small Frost Horse galloped with all its might, reaching one black stone hut after another to evade the White Feathered Eagle’s pursuit.

They were playing a game like "eagle catching chicks," frolicking about with joyous abandon.

Seeing this, the electric python coiled and uncoiled its body, tying itself in frantic knots.

It hesitated, wanting to join in the fun.

As it thought this, its gaze darted between the White Feathered Eagle and the Small Frost Horse, then back toward Fang Yang.

But right now, Fang Yang was reviewing a stack of papers in his hands.

He was looking at the data!

[Name: Small Frost Horse]

[Realm: Tier Two Elementary]

[Bloodline Magic: Tier One - Wind Chasing Skill, Tier Two - Burning Flame Skill]

[...]

’The Small Frost Horse’s growth curve is meeting expectations. The electric python’s growth curve is also on track.’

’But the White Feathered Eagle... why has its growth stagnated? It’s like it’s hit a bottleneck and isn’t budging.’

Fang Yang frowned, his eyes fixed on the White Feathered Eagle’s data sheet.

As a former science and engineering university student, he possessed a certain scientific literacy.

That was why he had started with his own appearance and height, gradually improving them.

Raising war pets was like raising a lover, or even like raising children.

Take himself as an example. During his youth, even without his parents’ care, he had forced himself to meticulously look after every aspect of himself—his eyes, nose, mouth, teeth, skin, and height.

By doing so, he gradually developed a sense of confidence, which in turn gave him the opportunity to get close to Chen Ying and Sen Hui.

Now, he was using his own past development as a baseline to compare the growth of his three war pets.

He immediately discovered that the White Feathered Eagle had been underperforming recently!

If the White Feathered Eagle continued like this, forget becoming a Desolate Beast, even becoming a Dao Seed Level Ten Thousand Beasts King would be nothing but a pipe dream!

’Where exactly is the problem?’

Fang Yang’s brow furrowed slightly as he watched the White Feathered Eagle and Small Frost Horse playing in the distance.

He began to recall and review everything in his mind.

Before long, his eyes lit up with understanding.

’Racial limits!’

Fang Yang shook his head and chuckled lightly. "The White Feathered Eagle’s racial limit is Tier Two Peak. I forgot about that. It seems I’ll have to write a letter to Lu Yao and urge her to expand the scale of the White Feathered Eagle’s Bronze Tribe."

Indeed, the White Feathered Eagle had survived the slaughter of the Guan River Festival and had truly developed the aura of a Beast King.

With the passage of time, it could also break through to the Tier Three realm.

But this growth rate was far too slow compared to a juvenile Desolate Beast.

It could only be said that Fang Yang had very high standards.

Having figured this out, his brow smoothed over.

BUZZ...

Half an hour later, the protective array hummed.

A water-mirror light screen materialized in front of Fang Yang. Within the screen, a large, Frost White bird was clearly visible.

A White Simurgh Bird!

This was a messenger, responsible for delivering challenge letters for the Heaven, Earth, and Human rankings.

’Someone is challenging me?’

A moment later, Fang Yang accepted the challenge letter and opened it. "The challenger is Dongfang Xueyu."

Having had the experience of being Fang Nian, Fang Yang was very clear on the rules of challenging and being challenged.

For example, as the one being challenged, if he defeated Dongfang Xueyu, he would receive all the Merit Points Dongfang Xueyu had earned on the current rankings.

"White Simurgh Bird, I accept Dongfang Xueyu’s duel," Fang Yang gave his reply.

Upon hearing this, the array in the White Simurgh Bird’s abdomen lit up, and a powerful male voice boomed out:

"The contract is set. In three days, the duel will commence at Martial Arts Arena A-3 and will be transferred to the ’Vast Yellow Desert’ Wondrous Realm."

The White Simurgh Bird’s sudden use of human speech immediately drew an astonished look from the White Feathered Eagle.

The White Feathered Eagle flapped its wings, its eyes blinking rapidly, as if it couldn’t believe what it had heard.

"It’s not the one talking. Someone is transmitting their voice from a distance using an array." Fang Yang pressed down on the foolish bird.

If a White Simurgh Bird could talk, it wouldn’t be a Fierce Beast, but a Desolate Beast on par with a Saint.

Using a Desolate Beast as a common messenger? Wouldn’t you have to be a living Venerable to be that audacious?

...

The news that Fang Yang and Xueyu were going to duel spread quickly, causing quite a stir.

Xueyu was one thing, but Fang Yang was one of the nine Great Saint Seeds!

The title of Great Saint Seed alone generated enormous buzz, to say nothing of a special case like Fang Yang.

The other Great Saint Seeds all had perfect-grade Spirit Bodies and perfect-grade Sacred Bodies.

Only Fang Yang had a mere grade-A Spirit Body.

What did this mean?

It meant that while Fang Yang’s aptitude and foundation were somewhat lacking, his comprehension and talent were absolutely stunning—perhaps even on par with Sen Yue!

To be compared to a Young Venerable like Sen Yue... what an incredible honor!