What Mo Xuan had said earlier was really just his own guesswork. Whether it was correct, even he wasn't sure—he just felt it made a lot of sense.
Mo Que'er blinked and said, "Oh right, Great-Granduncle. I noticed the Mo clan seems to have a tiny, very thin trace of phoenix bloodline. That's why that wisp of my remnant soul was drawn to Mo Que'er's body, and we ultimately fused."
Mo Xuan stroked his chin and nodded in realization. "No wonder fire-type Dao arts are what I learn fastest—and the power is noticeably stronger than others'."
Mo Que'er nodded obediently. After some idle chatting, she blinked her big eyes and asked, "Great-Granduncle… can I get a cultivation slot?"
When you eat fish and meat every day, you don't understand hunger. Now that she had truly become an ordinary mortal, Mo Que'er finally realized how blissful it had been to cultivate before. And she'd even been lazy and annoyed her mother back then…
Mo Xuan had no confidence at all deep down, but he kept smiling. "Of course. I'll find a way."
"Thank you, Great-Granduncle!" Mo Que'er hugged his arm happily, bouncing in place.
Mo Xuan's smile slowly turned bitter. Acting tough when you're not… really didn't feel good. One million points… He knew how hard that was to save up. He cleared his throat and said, "Little Que'er, it might take some time. Don't rush, okay?"
Mo Que'er froze, then murmured, "I'm only a mortal body now. Without spiritual energy to nourish and replenish me, that bit of phoenix fire-origin inside my soul is weakening. If it drags on too long and the origin burns out… my future achievements will be much smaller."
That was why she hadn't dared to keep a low profile—she'd gone all-out in the examination.
"So that's how it is…" Mo Xuan's brows knitted tight. He gritted his teeth hard. "Fine. This year, I will win you a cultivation slot!"
His beloved little "sun"… his precious, precious core… How painful it was to give up. Mo Xuan's heart bled.
Mo Que'er bit her lip gently. "It's okay. Great-Granduncle, don't make things too difficult for yourself. I don't need some grand achievement. Just being able to cultivate… I'd be satisfied."
Mo Xuan, having made up his mind, said firmly, "Little Que'er, you're our Mo clan's golden phoenix. Getting you cultivating as soon as possible is the family's number one priority now. Your Great-Granduncle has a few tricks up his sleeve. Just wait for my good news."
Mo Que'er was deeply moved. She hummed softly and hugged his arm tighter.
Mo Xuan's eyes glistened. My little sun…!
Once he left Mo Que'er, Mo Xuan decided to act immediately—before his willpower weakened and he couldn't bear to hand over the "heart-meat" sun core.
He went to the workshop, took a batch of mirror samples, told the family he'd be gone four or five days, and that he'd return after attending the trade gathering.
No dithering—Mo Xuan set off at once.
"Yi Tiao!"
"Yi Tiao, come out!"
Huh?
Mo Xuan scanned the beast pouch and didn't see Yi Tiao. He blinked blankly. Strange… he didn't remember Yi Tiao going out.
Where's my Yi Tiao?!
Mo Xuan's face changed sharply. His gaze locked onto Xiao Ba—who was sprawled on the bed, snoring loudly, and had gotten noticeably fatter.
Xiao Ba shuddered, startled awake, and immediately curled into a trembling ball.
Mo Xuan gritted his teeth and asked, word by word, "Xiao Ba. Where did the divine, majestic immortal crane mount Yi Tiao go—the one I paid eight hundred points for?"
"Master, I… I don't know! Maybe he went out to play?" Xiao Ba stammered, shaking.
Mo Xuan's brows furrowed. With a sweep of his intent, he searched—then found a single feather in the sand.
Only one feather.
Only one feather.
Good.
Mo Xuan's smile turned chilling. "Last time. I'll ask one final time. How did my eight-hundred-point Yi Tiao become… a single feather?"
"Master… I… I…" Xiao Ba burst into tears, sobbing as he confessed. "I ate him."
Xiao Ba explained everything.
These days, Mo Xuan had been busy staying with family, not paying much attention to Xiao Ba and Yi Tiao, only feeding them at mealtimes.
Xiao Ba's food was Ding-grade meteor cores—Mo Xuan had stored a supply in his storage pearl so Xiao Ba wouldn't keep whining about hunger. Mortal delicacies couldn't fill Xiao Ba's huge belly at all. Knowing Xiao Ba liked wine, Mo Xuan even gave him a jar now and then—待遇 that most pets could only dream of.
Yi Tiao's food was top-grade spirit grain grown by the family—also not cheap. One sack sold for enough to support a family of three for over a month.
Ordinary immortals couldn't afford to raise such big eaters.
But for three days straight, Yi Tiao kept swallowing Xiao Ba's meteor cores. When Xiao Ba complained even a little, Yi Tiao beat him.
Xiao Ba endured hunger and injuries, fury piling higher and higher—until he finally couldn't take it anymore.
That day, Yi Tiao got drunk, wandered over to Xiao Ba—who was obediently curled in the corner—and started using him like a punching bag "for exercise."
How could Xiao Ba endure that?
In his rage, the oval light at his brow—the vertical eye—brightened and brightened… and suddenly shot a beam.
It hit Yi Tiao in an instant.
Yi Tiao stiffened all over, dumbfounded. He couldn't move.
Xiao Ba, blinded by anger, didn't even think about the beam. He lunged and pinned Yi Tiao to the ground. He hadn't intended to kill—only to vent and teach Yi Tiao a lesson.
But…
A short while later, Xiao Ba realized Yi Tiao had stopped moving. He loosened his tentacles and looked—
Yi Tiao was dead.
Xiao Ba was terrified. How could that be? Yi Tiao had been so fierce… how did he die so easily?
And what should he do?
Mo Xuan had told them to get along. Xiao Ba hadn't meant to kill him. He really hadn't!
Panicking, with no idea what else to do—and too afraid to tell Mo Xuan—Xiao Ba finally hardened his heart and swallowed Yi Tiao to destroy the evidence.
For days afterward, Mo Xuan didn't notice. Xiao Ba, anxious but relieved, thought he'd gotten away with it… only for the truth to be exposed now.
"Master…" Xiao Ba sobbed miserably. "Xiao Ba really didn't mean it. Yi Tiao bullied me so badly. He wouldn't let me eat, beat me every day. I didn't fight back… and he still wouldn't stop…"
Mo Xuan listened and, strangely, his anger cooled.
Those days, he had vaguely noticed something—seeing meteor cores piled together, he'd assumed Xiao Ba wasn't hungry. Seeing Xiao Ba curled in the corner, he'd assumed they were playing hide-and-seek.
He hadn't imagined Yi Tiao was that overbearing.
And honestly—
Yi Tiao was just a domesticated crane.
Xiao Ba was a void beast. A Devil Devouring Beast, no less.
A crane bullying that?
That was basically a suicide note.
Yi Tiao, Yi Tiao… you deserved it.
Still—
Eight hundred points!
Mo Xuan's heart ached so badly he wanted to die. Eight hundred points! He'd ridden him once—felt cool once—then gone!
No "insurance" in Qingyuan. Gone meant gone. No compensation.
Mo Xuan held that single remaining feather, grief-stricken.
"My eight hundred points… is just… this feather now…"
He thumped his thigh hard.
Xiao Ba had eaten an eight-hundred-point meal. What a prodigal!
Xiao Ba, terrified at first, saw Mo Xuan wasn't exploding the way he'd expected, and his heart loosened—only to tense again when Mo Xuan's expression darkened. He hurriedly begged with pitiful eyes, "Master, Xiao Ba knows he was wrong! Xiao Ba won't dare again! Please spare Xiao Ba this time… I really wasn't doing it on purpose."
Mo Xuan let out a long sigh.
What could he do now?
He couldn't kill Xiao Ba for Yi Tiao. Xiao Ba was far more valuable. A Devil Devouring Beast, cultivated well, could become the ultimate trump card. Yi Tiao was ultimately just a ride.
Mo Xuan forced himself to calm down, let Xiao Ba out, and scolded him harshly:
"You're a void beast, and you're still this soft—letting people bully you, do you understand?! If you were tougher, would Yi Tiao dare mess with you? Getting bullied like that—who are you blaming? And you could've told me! You kept silent—how was I supposed to know?"
Xiao Ba nodded again and again. Warmth spread in his chest.
Master really is good to me…
Mo Xuan frowned and sighed. "Annoying. Yi Tiao's gone. How am I supposed to get to the Academy?"
Paper planes weren't fast. It wasn't that he couldn't fly himself—direct flight just consumed too much immortal essence and wasn't cost-effective.
In Qingyuan, saving energy was king.
But with no other choice, it looked like he'd have to take the paper plane.
Xiao Ba waved his tentacles and volunteered eagerly, "Master! You still have me! I'm not slower than Yi Tiao!"
"Hm?" Mo Xuan blinked, surprised. You?
Last time in the void, he'd moved like a lazy balloon.
"Master, sit on me." Xiao Ba inhaled and expanded.
How to sit?
Mo Xuan looked him over, then plopped down right on top of Xiao Ba's round head.
He sank in deeply—like sitting in a sofa.
Whoa!
Even Mo Xuan couldn't help exclaiming. This was… comfortable!
Xiao Ba spread his many tentacles to brace against the ground—then kicked off—
A rocket-like launch straight into the sky, instantly breaking the sound barrier!
Mo Xuan was shocked.
So fast?!
He'd seriously underestimated Xiao Ba!
"Fly that way!" Mo Xuan pointed.
Xiao Ba adjusted course and accelerated again and again—faster than Yi Tiao by far!
Mo Xuan set up a simple wind-blocking formation. Sitting steady on the "Xiao Ba sofa," he happily crossed his legs, resting his chin in his palm.
This was way too comfortable.
Xiao Ba really wasn't bad!
If he'd known Xiao Ba was this convenient and this fast, why had he bought Yi Tiao at all? What a waste of points.
Mo Xuan decided: from now on, Xiao Ba would be his mount.
Immortals mostly rode cranes—he rode a void beast.
That was extra flashy.
In less than half an hour, the Academy was already within sight.
Mo Xuan patted Xiao Ba's smooth, tender skin with satisfaction.
Xiao Ba really was the best.
As for Yi Tiao—he'd brought his own doom. Xiao Ba wasn't to blame. Put a tiger and a kitten together: if the kitten provokes the tiger repeatedly, how could there be any second outcome?
Newly ascended immortal Fang Hao rode his crane, hands behind his back, floating leisurely amid the clouds, feeling utterly pleased.
Ah—this was worthy of the five hundred points he'd scraped together. Stable, fast. Paper cranes and paper planes couldn't compare at all.
Then—
Whoosh!
Xiao Ba shot past from behind with Mo Xuan riding on top.
"Hello, Senior Brother Fang," Mo Xuan's greeting only reached Fang Hao's ears after they'd already flashed into the distance.
Fang Hao stood there, stunned.
That… what kind of mount was that?
He'd never seen anything like it.
So flashy. So fast.
He desperately wanted to ask Mo Xuan—but without a jade tablet, he could only wait until the next time they met face to face.