Chapter 106: Journey to the Wuhansnow Clan

Seeing his beloved Skyborne Snow Horse, Blazing Radiance, sprawled on the ground with its body half propped up and plaintive cries issuing ceaselessly from its mouth, Bai Naizhao approached in a daze. He took out some healing medicine and, his face full of anguish, began tending to the horse’s wounds.

For a Skyborne Snow Horse, having one wing broken was equivalent to a savage beast losing all four limbs. The injury was truly catastrophic.

The pain of a broken wing would not kill the Skyborne Snow Horse, but it was tantamount to crippling it. A severed wing could never be restored, and from that day forward, it would never again soar through the highest heavens.

The Thunderclasp King Beast had suddenly attacked Bai Naizhao’s Skyborne Snow Horse with a pillar of wind. Everything had happened too quickly; even Sikong Xing and the others had been unable to intervene in time.

Of course, given Sikong Xing’s current position, it would also have been inconvenient for him to interfere. Stopping the Thunderclasp King Beast would have been tantamount to opposing Chu Feng.

“Chu Feng! You indulged that vicious beast and injured my beloved horse. You owe me justice!”

Bai Naizhao suddenly rose to his feet, pointed at Chu Feng, and roared furiously.

“Bai Naizhao, you’ve got it backward! Your Skyborne Snow Horse was too arrogant and too restless. It provoked my Thunderclasp King Beast, which was why it attacked your beloved horse! Look at the other three horses. Have any of them suffered the slightest injury? Why was yours the only one hurt?” Chu Feng shouted back.

“Chu Feng, stop making excuses! Since the Thunderclasp King Beast is your battle pet, it naturally shares your thoughts. If you wanted it to injure someone, wouldn’t it injure that person? I’m an expert in beast taming. Don’t try to fool me with such crooked sophistry!” Bai Naizhao retorted.

“Believe whatever you want! If my Thunderclasp King Beast had truly wanted to injure your beloved horse, then ha, I’m afraid your horse would have been reduced to blood and flesh long ago. You wouldn’t have been left with even a single strand of mane!” Chu Feng said coldly.

“Master!”

Unable to outargue Chu Feng, Bai Naizhao immediately turned to Sikong Xing for help. “Sect Master Sikong, Chu Feng indulged that vicious beast, injured my beloved horse, and humiliated me. I ask that you uphold justice!”

“Hmm. This is merely a misunderstanding.”

Without the slightest hesitation, Sikong Xing gave his answer. “Bai Naizhao, your beloved horse was injured, but it did not die. It can still remain at your side in the future. Later, you may claim five hundred sect contribution points as a small compensation for its injuries. Let this matter end here. Do not continue to harbor resentment over it.”

Bai Naizhao bit his lip tightly, but he did not dare say another word of protest. He could only nod in agreement.

Sikong Xing then walked over to Chu Feng and said, “Chu Feng, conflicts and disagreements are inevitable among young people. But consider the long road of martial cultivation: having one more friend is always better than having one more enemy. You will be traveling together to the Frostbound Snow Clan. If Bai Naizhao says anything inappropriate, I hope you will be magnanimous.”

“Thank you for your instruction, Sect Master Sikong. I understand.” Chu Feng nodded. “As for how I conduct myself, I do not offend those who do not offend me. But if someone offends me, I will show no mercy.”

As soon as he said this, the faces of many people nearby changed.

To speak such words in front of Sikong Xing required considerable courage. The implication was that Chu Feng had no intention of accepting Sikong Xing’s advice to be magnanimous.

“Ha! Good! There’s backbone in those words!”

Sikong Xing looked at Chu Feng and nodded with satisfaction. “A martial artist who wishes to achieve greatness should naturally follow such principles while walking the martial path. Very well, the time is nearly upon us. The four of you may set out!”

This expedition to the Frostbound Snow Clan consisted of two men and two women, four people in all.

Apart from Chu Feng and Bai Naizhao, the other two female martial artists were also deacons of the Beast-Taming Hall. One was named Yan, and the other Ying. Like Chu Feng, both were at the sixth level of Body Refinement.

Since Bai Naizhao’s beloved horse had been crippled, it was naturally impossible for him to take it to the Frostbound Snow Clan. Fortunately, there had originally been one extra horse. Chu Feng now rode his own Thunderclasp King Beast, while the Skyborne Snow Horse prepared for Chu Feng was given to Bai Naizhao.

The three Skyborne Snow Horses had been badly frightened, but after seeing that the Thunderclasp King Beast had no intention of harming them, they quickly recovered their spirits. They kept far away from it, however, intimidated by its formidable aura.

Seeing Bai Naizhao mount the horse unwillingly, Chu Feng could not help laughing inwardly. It was exactly as he had imagined: a grown man riding a pony.

Fortunately, Bai Naizhao was rather short, so the sight was not particularly comical. Even so, compared with his smug bearing when he had been mounted on Blazing Radiance, the difference was like heaven and earth. He seemed to have become an entirely different person.

“Sect Master Sikong, you should return. We’re leaving now!”

Mounted on the Thunderclasp King Beast, Chu Feng looked fearsome and imposing. Threads of lightning coursed over the beast’s body, lending him an aura of extraordinary might.

“Very well. Take care along the way.” Sikong Xing smiled and nodded.

Bai Naizhao took the lead, while Yan and Ying urged their Skyborne Snow Horses to follow close behind. After running more than a dozen yards, the three horses spread their enormous wings and slowly rose into the air.

Chu Feng smiled faintly.

The Thunderclasp King Beast let out another resonant cry.

Its two fleshy wings, each more than ten feet long, suddenly unfurled. The fierce currents of air that erupted around it forced several nearby disciples to cover their faces with both hands and retreat hurriedly.

Under the gaze of hundreds of people, the Thunderclasp King Beast soared into the sky, beating its enormous wings as it chased after Bai Naizhao and the other two.

It had barely flown any distance when it suddenly rolled in midair, much like a crocodile performing a death roll in the water. Chu Feng’s body turned along with it.

“Ha! Thunderclasp King Beast, you really continue to surprise me! You’re a mighty creature on land, and a king in the air as well. One day I’ll take you into the water and see how you perform there!”

The Thunderclasp King Beast cried out again, answering Chu Feng excitedly.

Before the Hall of Nine Profundities, Sikong Xing and the others still stood in place, watching Chu Feng recede into the distance across the sky.

“Master, Chu Feng and Bai Naizhao are like the tip of a needle and the edge of a blade. Will sending the two of them together to the Frostbound Snow Clan cause unforeseen trouble?” Gao Guangying asked Sikong Xing.

“Bai Naizhao considers himself extraordinary. Having him travel alongside Chu Feng will teach him that there is always someone better, and that the heavens extend beyond the heavens. This will not be a bad thing for him.” Sikong Xing spoke with profound meaning.

“But… they are both young and hot-blooded, and Bai Naizhao has already suffered several losses at Chu Feng’s hands. What if they compete with each other along the way, or even come to blows? Wouldn’t that have the opposite effect and ruin the important undertaking shared by the Frostbound Snow Clan and the Nine Profundities Sect?” Gao Guanghe asked again.

“Although Bai Naizhao is proud and somewhat petty, he still knows how to distinguish public duty from private grievances. He will not allow this matter to grow into a major disaster. Besides, judging from his destiny, he needs a young man stronger than himself to reshape his temperament.”

Sikong Xing spoke slowly, his words carrying a profound mystery beyond the understanding of ordinary people.

…

In the frigid heights, cold air permeated the sky, and vast expanses of icy mist shrouded the world.

The three Skyborne Snow Horses spread their wings and flew northward in a neat formation, like three great wild geese arranged in the shape of the character “品.”

Compared with the orderly flight of the three Skyborne Snow Horses, the Thunderclasp King Beast was far more mischievous.

Its flying ability was extraordinary. It could skim swiftly just above the ground, shoot straight into the heavens, or twist and roll through the high air. One daring aerial maneuver followed another, each more varied than the last.

Thus, carrying Chu Feng, the Thunderclasp King Beast would sometimes surge ahead, sometimes fall behind, sometimes skim low over the ground, and sometimes fly above the heads of the three Skyborne Snow Horses. It was like a fish swimming through the vast sea, reveling in its freedom.

Naturally, Chu Feng was enjoying the pleasure of flight to the fullest as well.

A distance of two hundred and fifty miles was brief indeed for either the Skyborne Snow Horses or the Thunderclasp King Beast.

After only the time it took to burn several sticks of incense, the three Skyborne Snow Horses slowed down and began descending gradually toward the ground.

Having spent so long delighting in the flight, Chu Feng was no longer in the mood to play. He likewise ordered the Thunderclasp King Beast to land.

The four travelers and four beasts touched down in a world of ice and snow. The snow lay more than a foot thick, and beside them stood a gigantic stone stele nearly twenty feet high. Four large words were carved into its surface:

Dusk Snow Manor.

Not far ahead, several majestic snowcapped mountains rose into the sky, so tall that their peaks could not be seen.

Around the mountainsides, dark winds howled, lifting countless heaps of snow. When the wind scattered the great banks of snow, they fell like rain. As far as the eye could see, the blizzard raged, and the landscape shifted endlessly.

Bai Naizhao put away the three Skyborne Snow Horses. After standing there and surveying the surroundings for a long while, he pointed toward a road.

“This way.”

He seemed to be speaking more to himself than to anyone else. Having said this, he strode ahead.

Chu Feng, Yan, and Ying followed the route Bai Naizhao had chosen. Chu Feng’s thoughts were simple: so long as Bai Naizhao did not provoke him, he would not seek trouble with Bai Naizhao either.

“Excuse me! May I ask whether the gentleman ahead is Young Master Chu? Please wait! Please wait!”

They had traveled only a dozen yards when a man’s shout suddenly came from behind.