Ahead of the horse herd, the Cloudwater Dragon Horse snorted and didn't look back. Turning around, it neighed at a foal. Su Hao only then noticed there were others near the horses. One of them was Professor Meng's student, Luo Cheng. The other two Su Hao couldn't name, only knowing they were elite spirit summoners. As for Tang Qiwen, who had been fawning over him earlier, Su Hao didn't see him.
Luo Cheng's spirit was also a White Feather Moth—a very common production-type spirit. Compared to Tang Qiwen's, this White Feather Moth was larger, with superior color and patterns. Its cultivation had reached the peak of the entry level. Yet, under the cannonball-like water spheres, it was still helplessly blasted far away. Seeing his spirit knocked out, Luo Cheng's face showed panic. He tried to use "Spirit Command: Persist" to wake it, but since he rarely used it—sometimes going months without activating a spirit command—he failed several times in a row. Frustrated, he shouted at the Horse King.
"What's wrong with it following me? I can train it to become a Cloudwater Dragon Horse stronger than you!"
The Horse King snorted dismissively, turned its head, and ignored him. Luo Cheng felt awkward. He was a mid-level Spirit Cultivator! And he couldn't even handle one spirit! Even more embarrassing, the White Feather Moth was unconscious, leaving him without a translator. He couldn't understand what the Cloudwater Dragon Horse was snorting about. He had to turn and look at the elite spirit summoners with him for answers.
One looked up at the sky, while the other, after a moment's thought, said in a more tactful tone: "That Cloudwater Dragon Horse says if you don't earn its recognition, don't even think about taking a Water Spirit Foal."
That was a loose translation. The original was actually, "Weakling, get lost from where you came." The elite spirit summoner glanced at the White Feather Moth—its combat skills were indeed lacking, failing to dodge several water blasts. Such a waste of good cultivation.
"Can you two help me take down the Cloudwater Dragon Horse? Afterwards, I'll design a full cultivation plan for both your spirits," Luo Cheng gritted his teeth. He was already bleeding resources. A full cultivation plan wasn't easy to design; it often took days of observation and analysis, draining mental energy. But if he could contract that Water Spirit Foal—the one showing curiosity about the outside world and clearly stronger than the others—it would be worth it!
The two elite spirit summoners with Luo Cheng were tempted. But after exchanging glances, they shook their heads. "It's not that we don't want to, but we really can't." One looked warily at the calm lake center. "The Cloudwater Dragon Horse is manageable, but there's a powerful water-type spirit in the lake. It just warned us to follow the rules, or else... Spirit Cultivator Luo, I suggest finding another spirit to contract. There are plenty of excellent spirits in the primitive zone."
Luo Cheng knew that. But giving up that outstanding individual foal? He couldn't bear it! His White Feather Moth had reached its potential limit. He'd chosen the moth path because it was easy to cultivate and cheap, but now that he had the resources and time, he naturally wanted to contract and train a remarkable spirit—like Professor Meng's majestic Ink Dragon. As he stewed in frustration, he saw others approaching. Familiar faces. But Luo Cheng was in a bad mood and didn't want to greet them.
Zhong Yunrui walked over and asked the two elite spirit summoners about the situation. Soon, Su Hao and the others understood. "This is tough for you," Zhong Yunrui said. "According to them, you have to earn the Cloudwater Dragon Horse's recognition in a one-on-one fight before it lets you choose a Water Spirit Foal to contract. And that's just the chance to contract." "That Cloudwater Dragon Horse is elite-level. You'll have a hard time. We could team up to drive it off, but it has a backer..."
As he spoke, Luo Cheng seemed to come up with a new idea. He borrowed an elite-level spirit, the Earthquake Wolf, from one of the summoners, planning to use its power against the Cloudwater Dragon Horse. But the moment he moved, the calm lake surface rippled. A large conch emerged, lifted by a water column dozens of meters into the air.
"Gu nuo~!" The Dream Butterfly above Su Hao's head tensed its tiny face. Su Hao saw the Fairy Conch's information—indeed, it was transcendent-level! It seemed as lazy and non-aggressive as most of its kind, as long as they followed the rules. However, the Fairy Conch seemed to sense Luo Cheng's trick. The Earthquake Wolf had only taken a few steps when the lake surface violently churned. Water waves surged into dragon-like jets, shooting out at incredible speed, one after another, slamming into the caught-off-guard Earthquake Wolf. In an instant, water dragons roared, the ground cracked, and a crater dozens of meters wide was blasted into the earth. The Earthquake Wolf inside was completely knocked out.
"Woo—" Its cry echoed far and wide, like a warning. Su Hao poked the Dream Butterfly: What's it saying? "Gu nuo gu nuo o(*≧▽≦)ツ┏━┓" Su Hao looked at Luo Cheng and the others with sympathy. See? Warned, weren't you? Can't do anything right, and you have to provoke the overlord of the primitive zone? The zone's management had warned them before coming that there were a few very strong spirits inside. Those spirits usually reasoned with you, but if you didn't listen to reason, they'd teach you physics.
Luo Cheng and his group dared not move. Only after the Fairy Conch sank back into the water and disappeared did they shuffle their feet, step by step, to the edge of the snowy forest, hiding behind trees to watch. The elite spirit summoner finally had a chance to use Spirit Command to summon the unconscious Earthquake Wolf and place it on another's Ten Thousand Vine Tortoise's back. "Let's go," he said, looking disgusted. "Wait. I want to see what they do!" Luo Cheng stared at Su Hao's group of four.
He thought it was Zhong Yunrui or Huo Lixue who planned to contract the Water Spirit Foal. With their main spirits at elite level, they might earn the Horse King's recognition. He was jealous. And furious that the Horse King had no foresight, turning down a mid-level Spirit Cultivator like him. But then he saw Su Hao—that high schooler—walking toward the horse herd. "He already has two spirits and wants to contract another?!" "No way he'll get the Horse King's approval!" Thinking this, Luo Cheng suddenly felt better, hoping someone else would share his fate.
...
"You're really going to fight that Cloudwater Dragon Horse?" "Yeah." If it were just an ordinary Water Spirit Foal, he'd let it go. But this one—it truly felt fated for him! Letting it go would be a crime against heaven; he'd dream about it every night! "Confident?" Su Hao looked at the Dream Butterfly, now airborne. "Gu nuo!" Its wings with emerald patterns fluttered gently as it hovered. Its big, watery eyes reflected the sturdy Cloudwater Dragon Horse, with blue stripes, thick mane, and swirling mist around it. "This Cloudwater Dragon Horse was originally elite-level peak, stronger than Elephant General and Rage Flame Bull..." But after giving birth to the Water Spirit Foal, it had suffered significant losses. It could only recover slowly over long years. Now, its combat power was barely weak elite-level. "The Dream Butterfly doesn't need to defeat it—just earn its recognition. That's entirely possible!"
The emerald figure flew higher. Green light particles gathered into energy spheres orbiting around it. With a thought from the little one, the spheres spun and shot from all directions—up, down, left, right—swooshing toward the Cloudwater Dragon Horse. Luo Cheng, watching from afar, his smug grin, suddenly froze.