In the room, Water Qilin Yaya told Ximen Chuihuo everything that had happened, down to the last detail.

Facing Ximen Chuihuo, Yaya was very reserved. The man before it wasn’t nearly as peaceful as he appeared.

In the entire Spiritual Control Sect, there wasn’t a single low-tier Spirit Beast that didn’t fear him.

After hearing Yaya’s report, a shadow slowly fell over Ximen Chuihuo’s eyes.

Then, he chuckled. "It seems the Spiritual Control Sect’s reputation isn’t all that great. Everyone dares to scheme against our Sect’s young miss."

"And to think those old fools helped spread the news, deliberately exposing the girl’s identity."

Yaya immediately explained, "No, that’s not it. That person was helping..."

Ximen Chuihuo waved his hand. "You have his contact information, right? Give it to me. I’m going to find him."

Water Qilin Yaya didn’t dare say more. It was a Tier Three, but it was a Water Qilin in name and nature—its Tier Three strength was watered-down.

Even though Ximen Chuihuo’s Cultivation was only at 2.7, he was just one step away from entering Tier Three.

In terms of raw power, the Water Qilin was no match for him, let alone the Spirit Beasts he raised.

Rumor had it the Spirit Beasts he raised were each more savage than the last, utterly devoid of natural animal instinct.

******

By now, the sky had long since darkened. Jiang Zuo appeared before a barbecue stall with Sweet Potato.

He hadn’t eaten anything like this since he started Cultivation. ’How many years has it been?’

He’d completely lost count.

After eating some barbecue, Jiang Zuo couldn’t help but sigh. ’Duoling Dogs are still the most delicious. There are only two days left. I wonder if I’ll be able to get the dog leg smoothly.’

He had just received a call from someone claiming to be Ximen Linglong’s older brother. ’He’s probably here to deliver the dog leg,’ Jiang Zuo thought.

Sweet Potato sniffed at the barbecue, then turned its head to eat its apple. As expected, it only loved apples.

Before long, a handsome young man in a casual T-shirt appeared before Jiang Zuo. Jiang Zuo looked at him and asked casually, "Ximen Chuihuo?"

Ximen Chuihuo smiled. "Fellow Daoist Po Xiao?"

Jiang Zuo said, "Where’s the dog leg?"

To Ximen Chuihuo, Jiang Zuo’s directness was rude, but he didn’t mind. Instead, he bowed slightly and said gratefully, "Thank you, Fellow Daoist, for intervening and resolving my little sister’s crisis."

’Three cultivators just past Tier Two and three at Tier One Peak... that kind of lineup to trap a single Duoling Dog?’

’Unless those six were idiots.’

He didn’t even need to think to know their target was Ximen Linglong.

This was the main reason Ximen Chuihuo’s expression had turned grim.

He understood the full picture—the cause of the incident and all the intricacies of who was right and wrong.

That was why the first thing he did was come looking for Jiang Zuo.

As for whether there was anyone else behind those people, he would take his time to dig them out and settle the score with each one.

’His sister... Ximen Chuihuo’s sister. How dare they entertain such crooked ideas?’

Jiang Zuo could naturally see all this as well, but he never cared. The only thing he cared about was the Duoling Dog’s leg.

So, in response to Ximen Chuihuo’s gratitude, Jiang Zuo just repeated his question: "Where’s the dog leg?"

Ximen Chuihuo smiled. "To express my gratitude, Fellow Daoist, I plan to give you the hind leg of Duoling Dog Number 1, Da Bai."

Jiang Zuo didn’t quite understand. ’An adult Duoling Dog is an adult Duoling Dog; what difference does its number make?’

Then, Jiang Zuo was surprised. He saw Ximen Chuihuo summon a large dog, one over a meter tall. This Duoling Dog was much larger than a normal one and possessed the strength of a Tier Two Peak.

’This dog is incredible.’

Then Jiang Zuo remembered. In his past life, there had actually been large Duoling Dogs as well.

But for a period of time, Duoling Dogs were almost all of the normal, Tier One size.

’How long was that period? Decades? Centuries? Millennia? Or tens of thousands of years?’

’After that, it seemed there were only puppies left.’

Ximen Chuihuo patted Da Bai’s head and said to Jiang Zuo, "Fellow Daoist, are you satisfied?"

Jiang Zuo scanned the surroundings and saw that no one was paying attention to them. He then looked at the Summoning Pattern Ximen Chuihuo had conjured and discovered that it was actually mixed with a Hidden Small Array.

’Modifying a Summoning Pattern... this guy has some ideas.’

Not only that, Jiang Zuo felt that this Ximen Chuihuo really knew what he was doing.

Jiang Zuo then nodded. "So, do I need to do it myself?" 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Ximen Chuihuo shook his head. "No need to trouble you with such a small matter, Fellow Daoist. We’ll do it ourselves."

Jiang Zuo watched Ximen Chuihuo. ’In truth, it’s not appropriate for disciples of the Spiritual Control Sect to act against their own Spirit Beasts. It severely affects their loyalty.’

But since Ximen Chuihuo was going to do it himself, Jiang Zuo didn’t say anything. With a dog leg this big, he wouldn’t even mind if he was intentionally given a little less.

However, what Jiang Zuo didn’t expect was that Ximen Chuihuo took out a knife and handed it to Da Bai. "Be careful this time. Don’t cut the wrong spot, or it’ll cost extra money. That would be a hassle."

Da Bai then shot Ximen Chuihuo a sidelong glance, took the knife in its mouth, and lay down.

Jiang Zuo then saw Da Bai raise its hind leg, grasp the knife with its front paw, and begin to size up its own thigh.

Seeing this, the corner of Jiang Zuo’s eye twitched. A possibility occurred to him, but it was simply too incredible to believe.

’More importantly, this was coming from a disciple of the Spiritual Control Sect.’

But without any hesitation, Da Bai found the right angle and brought the knife down on its own hind leg. The cut was clean, swift, and absolutely perfect.

’Is this something a Duoling Dog should be doing?’

The dog leg fell off. Da Bai then cast a Healing Technique and a Recovery Technique on itself. After stopping the bleeding, it even attached a prosthetic limb.

The whole sequence was executed with abnormal skill; it clearly wasn’t the first time it had done this.

’This dog... is something else.’

Jiang Zuo then looked at Ximen Chuihuo. "Have you had a good life in the Spiritual Control Sect?"

Hearing Jiang Zuo’s question, Ximen Chuihuo didn’t seem to care much and replied casually, "It’s been alright. When I was a kid, I’d get hung up and beaten every few days. I got smarter as I grew up, so now it only happens once every few months."

"I think if I work a little harder, it’ll probably only happen once every few years."

At this point, Ximen Chuihuo became quite talkative. "Ever since I was a kid, I always wondered, what’s the point of raising so many Spirit Beasts if you don’t eat them? Especially the disobedient ones. Wouldn’t it be better to just slice off a piece and cook it? What’s the point of coddling and placating them for no reason?"

"The first time I was hung up and beaten, I was probably about eight. The Great Elder gave me a rare Spirit Beast."

"It was said to be especially powerful, but it wouldn’t listen. I was told to tame it, but by the next day, I had already dismembered it."

"And I have to say, it tasted pretty good."

"After that... well, after that I started down a path of no return, I guess."

Jiang Zuo: "..."

’Is this something a disciple of the Spiritual Control Sect would do?’

’Then again, the disciples of the Spiritual Control Sect really have it good. So much wild game to eat, taking turns every few days... that’s a pretty happy life.’

Meanwhile, Da Bai was packing up its own dog leg. It knew very well that Ximen Chuihuo held a very high reputation in the Spiritual Control Sect.

This reputation was born among the low-tier Spirit Beasts, earned fair and square by eating them.

It was said that one of Ximen Chuihuo’s actions once enraged a high-tier Spirit Beast.

Killing him was impossible, so in its fury, it left. It just couldn’t stay any longer.

But on the third day after it left, it returned. Rumor has it that when it came back, it was missing a leg.

From then on, the way all the Spirit Beasts looked at Ximen Chuihuo changed.

Fortunately, in the entire Spiritual Control Sect, there was only one Ximen Chuihuo.

Otherwise, some Spirit Beast would have surely rebelled by now.

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