The flying speed of a Divine Court expert was fast, but it was still much slower than a flying mount. Moreover, it took energy for a cultivator to fly. To win against a flying mount, one would have to use a divine ability like Soul Chase. But, these divine abilities usually consumed more energy, so they were not suitable for traveling.
Little Yuan’er jumped on Whitzard with apprehension, but she was immediately amazed by its soft feathers and seemingly glowing horns.
There were many kinds of mounts. Ordinary fierce beasts tended to be slow and were more suitable for pulling goods. On the other hand, superior mounts usually existed only in rich and powerful families, and the rest were epic and legendary mounts.
For most cultivators, it was already considered an astonishing achievement to capture and tame a legendary mount like Whitzard, let alone ride one.
There was a saying in the cultivation world, ‘If you don’t own a legendary mount at birth, you won’t have one for the rest of your life.’
Of course, it was just a joke about the difficulty of obtaining legendary mounts.
“Sit tight!” Lu Zhou lifted his right arm and put it around Little Yuan’er’s shoulders.
Whitzard gave a loud cry, which echoed throughout the whole Golden Court Mountain, scattering birds and wild beasts. Then, it leaped into the air and flew toward Anyang while stepping on auspicious clouds.
Two hours later, Lu Zhou controlled Whitzard to descend slowly over a forest near the outskirts of Anyang. Little Yuan’er was shocked, and she could not calm down for a long time after landing.
“We have arrived.” Lu Zhou glanced at the city and jumped off Whitzard. He was pretty much able to move around freely now.
“Little Yuan’er?” he called when he saw Little Yuan’er still sitting in a daze.
Those words finally woke her. “Mas-Master…” Then, she jumped off the Whitzard and said, “I didn’t mean it, but the Whitzard is too beautiful.”
“Beautiful?” It seemed that girls all over the world looked at things from the same angle.
“Yes, I’ve never seen such a beautiful mount before.”
“We have arrived. I need to put away the mount before it attracts unwanted attention. Also…your attire and aura is special, so you need to change slightly.”
Although Little Yuan’er was not as famous as her senior brothers and sisters in the cultivation world, she was known by some. Since they were going to investigate the kidnapping of the Ci Family, she would naturally have to hide her identity.
“I understand, Master.”
She immediately concealed her aura, just like her master. After that, they walked to a nearby farmhouse and changed into the clothing of common people. That made them look like a pair of grandfather and granddaughter.
“Hehe! Master, you look more like a farmer now.” Little Yuan’er covered her mouth with a hand and laughed.
“It doesn’t matter,” Lu Zhou waved and said. “From now on, you and I will be a pair of grandfather and grandchild.”
“I understand, Master.”
“What?”
“Ugh…Grand-Grandpa…”
Little Yuan’er felt awkward having to call her master ‘Grandpa’, but it did not take long for her to become playful and keep calling him that.
Lu Zhou was somewhat speechless at first. After all, he was only twenty-eight years old in his previous life, and he felt rather embarrassed to be called a grandpa. But, he soon got used to it and gradually felt nothing.
‘Luckily I have a system that can let me grow younger. Otherwise, I would rather not travel to this dimension…’
After entering the city, Lu Zhou and Little Yuan’er glanced around. The streets of Anyang were quite lively, packed with jugglers, storytellers, and stalls selling all kinds of things.
“I didn’t expect Anyang to be so prosperous,” Lu Zhou praised.
“Hehe! Grandpa, this is so fun!” Little Yuan’er hopped through the crowd and grabbed a stick of sugar-coated haws from a stall before hopping away.
“Hey, little girl, you haven’t paid me money!” cried the vendor as he rushed toward her.
Little Yuan’er turned around and snarled, “Go away! It is your blessing that I am trying your haws! If you make another sound, I’ll rip your mouth apart!”
“…”
That frightened the vendor. He had never seen such a fierce little girl before.
“Yuan’er!”
“Ah? Grandpa…” In the blink of an eye, Little Yuan’er transformed into a gentle girl.
“Pay him.”
“But Grandpa, he is so fierce…I listen to you and never beat him for that.” Little Yuan’er pursed her lips, as if she had been wronged.
Lu Zhou shook his head. He reckoned that these villainous disciples must be used to robbing things from others, so they did not even know the basic principles of treating and dealing with others now.
‘Well, I’ll have to teach them slowly.’
“If everybody robs things from others like you, who would want to make sugar-coated haws again?”
“Oh!” Little Yuan’er had no choice but to pay the vendor.
“Ding! You have disciplined Little Yuan’er and are rewarded with 100 merit points.”
As they continued down the street, they saw a group of young people crowded ahead. Lu Zhou pointed at them and said, “Go and have a look.”
“Right away, Grandpa!” Little Yuan’er enjoyed crowds very much, so she hopped over promptly. However, it was too crowded for her to squeeze through the people, so she stomped her foot angrily, crushing the ground and making a hole in it.
“Get out of the way!”
Scared by her fierce attitude, the men on both sides took a step back.
“A Body Tempering expert!”
“She kicked a hole in the ground! She must be at least a fifth-tier Body Tempering expert! Heavens…”
“She’s just a little girl! Why is she so strong?”
The crowd parted in the middle, giving her a way through.
Lu Zhou shook his head lightly when he saw that. It seemed that Little Yuan’er’s temper was far more violent than when she was on the mountain. No wonder the group of villainous disciples always wanted to leave Golden Court Mountain to carry out tasks, because it was free and more comfortable to go out than to stay on the mountain.
As the crowd parted, Little Yuan’er saw what had attracted so many people.
There was a table with three men sitting behind it, each having a saber hanging on his waist. The bearded man in the middle glanced at Little Yuan’er as he nodded approvingly and said, “Not bad! Little girl, have you come here to join our sect as well?”
“What?”
“You have an amazing foundation, and the kick just now shows that your cultivation base is at the fifth-tier of the Body Tempering realm at the least. Well, register yourself. From today on, you will be a member of the Azure Dragon Association’s Anyang division,” said the man.
“When did I say I want to join your stinking dragon association?” Little Yuan’er found it puzzling.
“You are bold, little girl! How dare you insult the Azure Dragon Association!”
Little Yuan’er swaggered up before lifting one foot and stepping on the table, crushing it in an instant. “What is Azure Dragon Association? What are you doing here? Tell me now, my Grandpa is waiting!”
“Who is this wild girl? You are here to mess things up, aren’t you? How could you not know about the Azure Dragon Association…”
The man was about to attack when Lu Zhou walked over and said, “Stop it!” His voice was not loud, but it was mixed with a little bit of energy, and it could be clearly heard by the man.
“Interesting…Old man, you are a seventh or eighth-tier Body Tempering expert?” The man looked curiously at Lu Zhou.
Lu Zhou paid him no mind and said, “Yuan’er, you can make the Azure Dragon Association in Anyang help with the investigation.”
Little Yuan’er’s eyes lit up. “I understand, Grandpa!” Then, she turned around as she replaced her smile with a fierce look and said, “The few of you, come over here!”
“Hah…I bet this wild girl doesn’t know that Azure Dragon Association is backed by the Nether Sect.”
“What? The Nether Sect?” That gave Little Yuan’er a pause and she turned to look at her master. The sect leader of the Nether Sect was her eldest senior brother. So, she kept peeking nervously at her master for fear that he would get angry.
“Are you afraid now?”
Lu Zhou frowned slightly as he turned to look at the man and asked, “Did you say the Azure Dragon Association is backed by the Nether Sect?”
“Exactly!”
“Old man, you look good to me. Join us and be a cook. You will eat and drink well, and the Azure Dragon Association will shelter you.”