Let me explain. It snowed heavily before, and some relatives hadn't been able to visit yet, so today and tomorrow I have to go out during the day. I can only manage two updates—one in the morning and one in the evening.
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Du Chengbai stared blankly at the Golden Feather Eagle for a long time, but all he could read in those eagle eyes was hostility.
As the Yang family's eagle keeper, he was now completely at a loss with an eagle he'd raised for over a dozen years. If word got out, wouldn't people laugh themselves to death? An overwhelming wave of embarrassment washed over Du Chengbai in an instant, leaving him frozen and utterly unsure of what to do.
Noticing his awkwardness, Yang Kai smiled faintly. Without a sound, he quietly retrieved a single drop of the Myriad Medicine Spirit Liquid from the Black Book's space, then stroked the eagle's beak and guided the liquid into its mouth. "You must not hurt people!"
The eagle ruffled its wings and let out a few cries, seemingly reluctant.
"Be obedient," Yang Kai said, his brow furrowing slightly.
The Golden Feather Eagle immediately folded its wings, becoming perfectly docile.
Du Chengbai was visibly moved. He stared at Yang Kai in astonishment, his eyes full of disbelief. "Young Master, you can communicate with this eagle?"
"Pretty much," Yang Kai nodded.
Du Chengbai's face instantly filled with reverence. His Du family had only managed to enter the Yang family's service by relying on a set of beast-subduing techniques passed down through generations, becoming specialized keepers for the Golden Feather Eagles. He had always believed his family's beast-subduing art was unrivaled under heaven.
But compared to Yang Kai's miraculous methods, it felt like comparing clouds to mud.
Du Chengbai knew he could never achieve Yang Kai's level. Even if he perfected his beast-subduing art to its absolute peak, it would never be this magical.
In that moment, Du Chengbai was both shocked and terrified.
How could someone in this world communicate with demon beasts to such an extent!
Yang Yingfeng's eyes brightened, gleaming with sharp light, and a look of considerable pride crossed his face. Yang Kai was his son. The more outstanding Yang Kai performed, the happier he naturally was. While communicating with demon beasts wasn't some heaven-defying skill, it was definitely a valuable talent.
"Old Master Du!" Yang Kai glanced at Du Chengbai.
Du Chengbai's expression turned solemn, and he quickly said, "I wouldn't dare. Just call me by my name, Young Master."
The gap between their expertise was vast, and no one understood the difficulty of training Golden Feather Eagles better than Du Chengbai. The fact that Yang Kai could make the eagle so obedient naturally earned his respect.
"If I wanted this eagle, what would I need to do to get it?" Yang Kai asked, looking at Du Chengbai.
"Want this eagle?" Du Chengbai was startled, gazing at Yang Kai with confusion.
"Yes, to own it completely, not just have it belong to the family," Yang Kai said in a deep voice.
Du Chengbai immediately understood what he meant.
It wasn't the first time a direct descendant of the Yang family had set their sights on a Golden Feather Eagle. But these eagles were proud and difficult to tame, and as only fifth-rank demon beasts, their strength was roughly equivalent to a warrior in the True Yuan Realm. Even if someone obtained one, its usefulness was limited, so basically no one bothered with such a troublesome endeavor.
But this young master from the Fourth Lord's residence was different. He could directly communicate with the Golden Feather Eagle. If he could obtain such a rare beast, its uses would be considerable.
At the very least, using it for message delivery would be an excellent option.
Du Chengbai pondered for a moment, then said with a serious expression, "Young Master, please understand. This eagle belongs to the family. I am merely an eagle keeper and cannot decide to give it to you."
"I understand that. Right now, I just want to know how I could come to possess it. You've raised eagles for the Yang family for so many years—hasn't anyone ever taken an eagle away from you?"
Du Chengbai slowly shook his head. "No one has ever succeeded. Even if the family agreed, the eagle would refuse to leave its cage."
Yang Yingfeng furrowed his brow and interjected, "If it were a different time, I could use my own contributions to the family to help you exchange for an eagle. But right now, I cannot. During this sensitive period, everything you have must be secured by your own efforts!"
Yang Kai nodded in understanding. The War of Succession was approaching, and the family would not allow the relatives of the young masters to indirectly assist them.
Du Chengbai nodded. "Exactly as the Fourth Lord said, you can use your own contributions to the family to exchange for an eagle." He paused, then gave a bitter smile and shook his head. "However, Young Master, you only just returned to the Yang family. You have no contributions to the family yet."
"Contributions?" Yang Kai's eyebrow raised. "What kind of contributions would be needed to exchange for an eagle?"
Even the Fourth Lord, Yang, wasn't entirely sure about this. He could only turn his gaze to Du Chengbai.
The latter replied, "Contributions that bring clear benefits to the family. For example, making an entire force defect and pledge allegiance to the Yang family. Or, for instance, presenting the family with some artifacts, martial techniques, or precious elixirs and heavenly treasures!"
Yang Kai's eyes lit up. "Would a mysterious grade martial technique be enough?"
These words not only made Du Chengbai's expression change but also startled Yang Yingfeng.
He never imagined that his son, during his years away, could have learned a martial technique of the mysterious grade. In his memory, the Lingxiao Pavilion possessed only one single low-grade mysterious technique, and it was entirely controlled by Ling Taixu and the few elders. Ordinary disciples had absolutely no chance to study it.
"Kai'er, you haven't..." Yang Yingfeng frowned.
"No, I haven't practiced any martial techniques from the sect!" Yang Kai shook his head, knowing his father was worried about him leaking the sect's secrets.