Chapter 49:Refuse to Sign the Blood Contract

Only then did the young man surnamed Duan notice the fruit tree on the Crimson-Scaled Beast’s back. His pupils suddenly contracted, and he blurted out, "A Bloodfire Spirit Fruit Tree?"

The moment he said it, everyone began talking at once. No wonder the Crimson-Scaled Beast’s cultivation had advanced so quickly.

The young man surnamed Duan took a deep breath, forcing down his shock, then cupped his hands toward Qi Tian.

"My name is Duan Yuntao. How about selling this Crimson-Scaled Beast to me?"

Qi Tian’s heart leaped with delight. He hadn’t expected such a good opportunity to come along.

The Crimson-Scaled Beast wasn’t of much use to him anyway. He might as well sell it. After roughly estimating its value, he held up one finger.

"One thousand spirit stones. No bargaining."

"O-One thousand?!"

Duan Yuntao’s face stiffened. He turned around and began discussing it quietly with the other four junior brothers.

After a moment, Duan Yuntao turned back, looking troubled.

"I can only come up with around five hundred spirit stones right now. Could you lower the price a little?"

"I already said no bargaining. If you don’t have enough, forget it."

Qi Tian said it without the slightest concern.

"Wait!" Duan Yuntao gritted his teeth and hurriedly said, "I really can’t come up with that much right now, but I can sign an IOU! I’ll definitely gather the full one thousand spirit stones and give them to you within three months!"

Qi Tian thought for a moment.

"Fine."

With an IOU in hand, he had nothing to worry about. Even if Duan Yuntao really tried to run, Qi Tian could always go to the higher-ups of the Beast Tamer Association and demand an explanation.

Duan Yuntao was overjoyed and pulled out paper, ink, and a brush from his storage pouch.

"Wait. There’s one problem," Qi Tian suddenly said.

Duan Yuntao froze.

"What problem?"

Qi Tian pointed at the Crimson-Scaled Beast.

"Can you tame it?"

Duan Yuntao took another yellowish-brown beast-hide scroll from his storage pouch.

"This is a Blood Contract Scroll. As long as a demonic beast willingly offers a drop of its blood essence and signs the contract, the Blood Contract will have some binding power over it."

Qi Tian glanced at the scroll.

"Oh? Is it really that simple?"

Duan Yuntao looked a little awkward. He coughed lightly.

"Of course... If it’s forced to sign, its loyalty will be very low, and it won’t pass the assessment. But that’s fine. As long as I get it to sign first, I can bring it back and slowly build a bond with it. With my beast-taming skills, I’ll eventually get it to submit willingly."

Qi Tian suddenly understood.

So that was it.

Duan Yuntao intended to get the contract signed first, then slowly raise the Crimson-Scaled Beast’s loyalty after bringing it back.

He turned toward the Crimson-Scaled Beast and said with a smile, "Little Red, give him your blood essence and sign the contract."

The Crimson-Scaled Beast stared at the beast-taming scroll and immediately understood what Qi Tian meant. A distinctly human expression of humiliation and fury flashed through its eyes.

It violently shook its head, letting out a low, resolute whimper.

The smile gradually faded from Qi Tian’s face, and his eyes turned cold.

"If you don’t sign it, I’ll kill you!"

The Crimson-Scaled Beast closed its eyes, looking utterly determined to face death rather than submit.

It couldn’t defeat Qi Tian. To the Crimson-Scaled Beast, submitting to a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator was simply the law of the jungle.

But to sign a Blood Contract with that mere seventh-layer Qi Condensation cultivator?

That would be a humiliation beyond measure.

It would rather die.

Qi Tian looked at the Crimson-Scaled Beast’s resolute refusal to submit and felt utterly helpless.

A thousand spirit stones. Just like that, gone.

But he couldn’t exactly beat it to death.

If he killed it, he’d end up with nothing.

"Ah."

Qi Tian sighed and said to Duan Yuntao, "Give me some time. Let me go back and try to convince it."

Duan Yuntao looked disappointed, but he didn’t dare press him.

"All right. If you ever manage to convince it, come to the Beast Tamer Association and let me know right away."

"Sure."

Remembering that he still needed to deal with the Bloodfire Spirit Fruits in his storage pouch, Qi Tian said, "Then I’ll take my leave for now."

With that, he swung himself onto his Windchaser Horse.

"Follow me."

He waved to the Crimson-Scaled Beast.

Qi Tian and the other three Falling Cloud Sect disciples then rode away from Spirit Herb Mountain on their Windchaser Horses. The Crimson-Scaled Beast followed behind, carrying the Bloodfire Spirit Fruit Tree on its back.

Along the way, Qi Tian asked, "Are we heading back to the sect to collect the reward?"

Cai Zhenyu glanced back at the Crimson-Scaled Beast.

"Hmm. If we return to the sect, the Mission Hall will have to contact the person who posted the mission, and after going through all the necessary procedures, it’ll take at least three to five days. If you need the reward right away, Senior Brother Qi, you can go directly to Hundred Herbs Hall and collect it there."

He said "Senior Brother Qi" so naturally that there wasn’t even the slightest hesitation.

It was the first time he’d addressed Qi Tian that way.

When he’d volunteered to join the team, he’d intended to sound Qi Tian out, gauge his strength, and look for any weaknesses.

Instead, he had learned nothing along the entire journey.

If anything, Qi Tian had somehow managed to tame a second-rank demonic beast.

At this point, Cai Zhenyu no longer dared entertain any ill intentions toward him.

"Where’s Hundred Herbs Hall?" Qi Tian asked.

"Zhenyuan City."

"Oh. Then let’s go."

Qi Tian nodded.

The group continued on their way.

By the time they reached Zhenyuan City, dawn had yet to break.

This was the eastern gate of Zhenyuan City, not the western gate Qi Tian had entered through two days earlier.

Zhenyuan City was merely a small border city. Its security was hardly stringent. But like most cities and towns, it closed its main gate after dark, leaving only a single side gate for people to enter and leave. The air-restriction formation remained active throughout the night.

Qi Tian and the others rode their Windchaser Horses through the side gate.

Two guards on duty were leaning against the wall with their eyes closed, dozing off. At the sound of approaching hooves, one of them blearily opened his eyes. Seeing the four of them dressed in Falling Cloud Sect robes, he was just about to close his eyes again.

Then he spotted the Crimson-Scaled Beast bringing up the rear.

The guard froze.

His sleepiness vanished instantly, and he instinctively drew his sword with a sharp clang.

"Demonic beast!!"

The other guard was so startled by the shout that he practically jumped to his feet, fumbling for the hilt of his blade.

"What happened?!"