Genius Beast Taming: Starting from Awakening an S-Rank Talent

Zhou Heng suggested, "I heard the school is organizing a New Year's Day performance today, why don't we go check it out together?"

Gao Wenwu immediately said, "Deputy squad leader, squad leader, you go first, Hongmei and I will come over later."

"OK!"

Zhou Heng and Li Lang immediately walked out of the classroom, only to run into Ji Chao, who was all smiles, in the corridor.

"Young Master Zhou!"

"What are you doing here?" Zhou Heng asked coldly.

Ji Chao was very outgoing: "I came here specifically to see you. Today is New Year's Day, and I've prepared a gift for you. I hope you won't mind."

Li Lang raised an eyebrow: "What gift? Show it to us."

Ji Chao immediately opened the box, and inside was a red feather the size of a palm.

Zhou Heng's eyes narrowed: "These are phoenix feathers?"

Ji Chao spoke humbly and in a flattering tone: "That's right. This is a feather that fell off a pure-blooded phoenix when it advanced to the sixth rank. I know you have a contract with a blue phoenix, which will eventually evolve into a pure-blooded phoenix. I'm giving you this phoenix feather as a way to wish you good luck."

The feathers of a pure-blooded phoenix are quite precious to ordinary beast tamers.

Because pure-blooded phoenixes are at least of the quality of overlords, they are basically controlled by the major clans.

The owner of this feather was at the sixth level, and the shed feather was a spiritual item of considerable quality.

But for Zhou Heng, this was not a rare treasure.

He wanted it, and soon someone would deliver it to him.

After all, it's just feathers; a phoenix has far too many feathers.

Although the Zhou family is known for its beast taming based on the bloodline of the divine dragon, they do have pure-blooded phoenixes as their beast taming animals.

However, as Ji Chao said, the gift doesn't have to be expensive; the key is that it has a good omen.

Zhou Heng casually accepted the phoenix feather: "Thank you for your gift."

Ji Chao became even more respectful: "It's my honor that you don't mind that my gift is inexpensive. How can I accept your thanks? You're too kind."

Zhou Heng toyed with the red phoenix feather: "How many Alliance Coins did this phoenix feather cost?"

Ji Chao grinned: "It's not expensive. I bought it from an acquaintance for only 180 million. After all, it's just a feather, and it was shed from a phoenix that was at the peak of the fifth rank when it advanced to the early stage of the sixth rank. It can only be considered a fifth-rank spiritual item. If it weren't for the extreme rarity of pure-blooded phoenixes, it wouldn't be worth 180 million."

Li Lang gritted his teeth: "Ji Chao, you really dare to go all out! It's just New Year's Day, and you dare to give a gift worth 180 million. What are you going to do when it's Aheng's birthday?"

He was quite displeased because he felt that Ji Chao was too cunning and had outshone him in front of Zhou Heng.

Ji Chao revealed a smug look: "Don't worry, Young Master Li, I will definitely give Young Master Zhou an even more precious gift when he celebrates his birthday."

Zhou Heng said seriously, "I don't care about the value of a gift; I care more about the sentiment. I accepted your gift today only because this phoenix feather is indeed a good omen, not because it's worth tens of thousands."

Ji Chao nodded and bowed: "I understand what Young Master Zhou means. So what if it's just 180 million? Even if it were 1.8 trillion, what difference would it make? Your Shenlong Zhou family has the authority to mint coins. No matter how much Alliance Coins you have, it's just a string of numbers to you."

Li Lang suppressed his displeasure and said indifferently, "You seem to know quite a lot."

Ji Chao remained calm and composed: "This isn't a secret. Didn't Young Master Li know this before?"

Li Lang remained silent.

Zhou Heng stored the red phoenix feather in his storage watch, and then took out five low-grade fourth-tier crystal cores: "Ji Chao, this is my return gift."

A single low-grade fourth-order crystal core is typically worth around 20 million, and five of them together would be worth 100 million.

Ji Chao quickly declined, saying, "How could I accept your gift? If I did, my parents would criticize me when I got home."

Zhou Heng retorted firmly, "Are you perhaps dissatisfied with the quality of a fourth-tier crystal core? Do you want a fifth-tier crystal core?"

Ji Chao looked terrified: "I had absolutely no such intention."

Zhou Heng placed five fourth-order crystal cores directly into Ji Chao's hand: "Since you don't mean it that way, then quickly accept them. It's a matter of reciprocity, a rule that has been followed in our East Asia since ancient times."

Ji Chao bowed and said, "Thank you for your generous gift, Young Master Zhou."

Afterwards, Ji Chao flattered Zhou Heng again before leaving.

Li Lang glanced deeply at Ji Chao's retreating figure: "This guy really goes all out, giving away a gift worth 180 million without hesitation."

Zhou Heng objectively commented, "This person does indeed have some ability; he's not just a sycophant or an opportunist. Even though I didn't like him before, I can't help but feel a little favorably towards him because of this gift."

Li Lang's heart tightened: "Does this mean you want another follower?"

He was starting to worry about his standing in Zhou Heng's heart.

Zhou Heng shook his head: "No, after all, he only has B-level talent, and his future achievements are ultimately limited."

Li Lang's worry immediately turned to joy: "That's good!"

He breathed a sigh of relief instantly.

He would never allow anyone to take his place as Zhou Heng's number one fan.

After that, Li Lang followed Zhou Heng down the teaching building.

In the open area downstairs, Zhou Heng summoned Fengyi Qingluan directly.

"唳~~"

The phoenix and the blue luan sang out, their voices clear and melodious.

Zhou Heng smiled and said, "Jiuxiao, I've got something good for you."

"Huh?"

Phoenix and Azure Phoenix tilted their heads, highlighting a human-like curiosity.

Zhou Heng took the red phoenix feather that Ji Chao had given him from his storage watch.

Upon seeing the red phoenix feathers, Fengyi Qingluan's eyes immediately lit up: "Screech~~ Screech~~"

It sensed a shared aura deep within its own bloodline.

Zhou Heng's smile deepened: "Here, take it and play with it!"

"唳~~唳~~"

A flash of blue light appeared in Fengyi Qingluan's eyes, and a palm-sized red object immediately flew out of Zhou Heng's hand.

Then, the Phoenix Azure Luan opened its mouth and spat out a blue flame, which landed on the red phoenix feather. In the blink of an eye, the red phoenix feather transformed into a huge feather two hundred meters long, radiating red light, with mysterious golden flame cloud patterns appearing on it, revealing an undeniable sense of nobility.

Even on a single phoenix, the feathers on different parts of the body are different.

The feathers on the wings and the tail feathers are relatively long, while the soft feathers under the armpits are relatively short.

What's in front of me is a soft feather from under the phoenix's armpit.

A phoenix feather, about 100 meters long, floated in mid-air, suspended without falling.

"唳~唳~"

The phoenix and the blue luan let out a cheerful chirp, flew to the phoenix feathers, tucked their legs in, and lay down.

It used this phoenix feather as a large bed.

Many students nearby gasped in amazement at the sight.

"My God! Look what that is! It's a huge feather, bigger than my house!"

"What kind of bird's feathers are these?"

"It looks like a phoenix feather!"

"Phoenix feathers?"

"It really is phoenix feathers!"

"Isn't that Phoenix-like Azure Luan the steed of Zhou Heng, the top student in the first year of high school?"

"Looks like this is Zhou Shao's doing again!"

"That's amazing..."