Chapter 249 Flying Cloud Tiger
The rare tiger noticed Zhong Cai's gaze, but instead of looking away, it let out a low growl at Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan.
At this moment, a slightly plump middle-aged man came out of the shop, smiled at the two of them, and said with a mixture of warmth and respect, "Is this your first time visiting Feiyun City? I am so sorry for not welcoming you properly."
With Lao Wu by his side, Zhong Cai became much more patient. He spoke politely, "This is my first time here. How did you know?"
The middle-aged man was merely a cultivator at the Palace-Opening stage, and now that he had discovered that Zhong and Wu's cultivation levels were beyond his comprehension, he naturally adopted a very polite attitude.
He smiled and patted the head of the large tiger lying beside him, whose fur was yellow and white, and replied, "This shop of mine is close to the city gate, and there is only one city gate. Over the decades, I know everyone who has ever passed through here. I was very respectful to you two, so I told you."
Zhong Cai nodded, then casually asked, "Did you call us for something?"
The middle-aged cultivator quickly said, "I would like to ask how long you have been here, senior, and whether you need a guide?"
Zhong Cai asked with a smile, "You want to recommend yourself?"
The middle-aged cultivator dared not hide anything and continued, "If senior doesn't mind, this junior is just thinking of earning some rewards."
Zhong Cai thought for a moment and said, "Find us a place to stay, and then tell us about the city."
The middle-aged cultivator readily agreed.
Before long, he took Zhong Cai to a nearby main street.
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Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan followed the middle-aged cultivator in and discovered that many houses were keeping tigers.
The tigers looked much like the ones kept by the middle-aged cultivator.
Zhong Cai pondered, the one in the mountain was a sixth-order rare tiger, and the tigers here should be rare beasts with similar auras to that rare tiger... Judging from this, they are either very closely related, or they may even be related to that rare tiger by blood.
I just wonder if there's any connection between Flying Cloud City and that rare tiger.
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In front of them stood an antique-style restaurant, which seemed to connect to a rather magnificent garden behind it, occupying at least 30% of the entire street.
The middle-aged cultivator smiled and introduced, "This is the largest inn; I guarantee you two will have a comfortable stay."
Zhong Cai said, "Let's find a private room to sit in first."
The middle-aged cultivator quickly got to work and soon spoke a few words with the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper, beaming with enthusiasm, came out and took the initiative to lead the group to a private room on the third floor.
It faces the street and is located by the window.
Simply by opening the window, one can directly see the outside scenery and appreciate the local customs and culture.
Zhong Cai casually ordered a few dishes.
The shopkeeper left quickly, making sure to close the door behind him.
—At this point, things finally calmed down.
The middle-aged cultivator's explanation officially began.
At the same time, Zhong Cai finally learned the story between Feiyun City and Zhenhu.
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The middle-aged cultivator was named Jiao Lu, and he was just an ordinary cultivator in Feiyun City.
The name of Feiyun City was derived from the breed of that rare tiger.
Yes, the breed of sixth-tier rare tiger is called "Flying Cloud Tiger".
It was a rare tiger that neither Zhong Cai nor Wu Shaogan had ever heard of.
According to Jiao Lu, the difference between a Flying Cloud Tiger's cub and adult form is very large, and there are many special characteristics.
Adult Flying Cloud Tigers are powerful and have rich bloodlines. If they are carefully raised, there is a possibility that they may mutate or improve their bloodlines. Once such a possibility becomes a reality, they may mutate into Flying Cloud Flood Dragon Tigers or evolve into Flying Cloud Winged Tigers.
An ordinary Flying Cloud Tiger can briefly take to the air, and its bloodline potential reaches the fifth level.
The mutated Flying Cloud Tiger has a very short horn on its head. It can briefly take off and also dive underwater... In fact, its ability to dive is many times stronger than its ability to take off. However, there are many differences between different individuals.
The evolution of the Flying Cloud Winged Tiger is quite obvious. As the name suggests, it grows wings directly, allowing it to run and fly freely, making it extremely agile.
The potential of bloodlines after mutation and evolution can reach the eighth rank.
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The Flying Cloud Tiger in the mountains came here thousands of years ago.
It is already at the sixth level, so it has naturally mutated or evolved—but its horn is hidden by its fur and its wings can be folded up, so it is not easy to determine whether it is a Jiaohu or a Yihu.
Therefore, when people in the city mentioned that rare tiger, they only referred to it as "Senior Flying Cloud Tiger".
That being said...
When Feiyunhu arrived, Feiyun City had not yet reached the standard of a city. It was similar to the other places Zhong Cai had seen that were connected to the mountain range; it was just an ordinary small town.
Even though the Flying Cloud Tiger was only a fourth-tier rare tiger at that time, it was still very frightening in such a small place and caused a great commotion.
However, after Feiyunhu found the territory he wanted and settled down, he did not attack the town or indiscriminately harm people.
After careful consideration, the most powerful cultivator in the city at that time risked his life to pay a visit and received a relatively mild response.
The townspeople gradually felt relieved, confirming that this rare tiger was a precious animal with whom they could coexist peacefully—its ability to communicate indicated that it possessed at least a high level of intelligence, and might even have developed wisdom!
But the townspeople at that time did not expect that the arrival of Flying Tiger would make them rich.
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How to get rich?
Why are there so many tigers in the city?
These are all related to a certain characteristic of the Flying Tiger.
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Nine out of ten Flying Cloud Tigers are male.
Male tigers experience a period of anxiety each year, during which they need to "contact" with female tigers to alleviate it. During this same period, their reproductive capacity is also very high.
How powerful is it?
To be specific, as long as the Flying Cloud Tiger stirs up trouble during this period, the required number of female tigers is not limited by level, but the number is at least three to five, and possibly countless... Among these, pregnant female tigers will account for at least one or two tenths of the total, and possibly as much as half!
Each pregnant tigress will give birth to one or two, or as many as five or six, cubs within six months!
That's terrifying!
In other words, if this rare tiger had a tremendous reproductive capacity, it might be able to give birth to dozens of cubs in a single year!
If they were allowed to multiply unchecked, they would likely form a terrifying tiger pack... Over time, a mountain, a mountain range, or even an entire region would be densely covered by them, devouring all resources and gradually turning fertile land into ruins!
We simply can't afford to raise them!
then……
Because of this terrifying reproductive ability, nature has also imposed extreme restrictions on it.
For example, a pregnant tigress consumes a great deal of energy, and if she is even slightly short of it, the cubs will die after birth.
For example, even tiger cubs that are born healthy and full of energy must be carefully cared for; if they are simply raised casually in the wild, they will soon die.
Normally, under natural circumstances, it's considered a lot if one or two tiger cubs survive each year. These one or two are often carefully selected by the tiger cub father, who then carefully protects them under his belly and keeps them immobile for many days until they reach at least three months of age before they are considered truly alive.
During this period, Fei Yunhu's father also consumed a great deal of food and resources.
If the tiger father doesn't take good care of the cubs, all the offspring born in a year will probably die out.
If tiger cubs do not have enough mother tigers to accompany them during their first period of anxiety after they reach adulthood, they will quickly go crazy and die.
The auras of adult Flying Cloud Tigers repel each other, and a female tiger that has been tainted by the aura of one Flying Cloud Tiger will dislike other Flying Cloud Tigers.
Even when their own children grow up, tiger fathers will drive them away—if the tiger cubs can't quickly find a place far away from their fathers to support themselves, they might come and bite their "competitor" to death during another period of anxiety for their fathers.
...All these factors prevented the Flying Cloud Tiger clan from growing stronger.
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Not all Flying Tigers possess sentience, let alone true intelligence.
The vast majority of Flying Cloud Tigers are just clueless; out of hundreds of thousands or millions, it's a very slim chance that even one will have intelligence.
But Fei Yunhu, who settled here, was exactly that.
The year after it secured its territory, it proactively sought out the strongest cultivator in the town and met with the heads of several of the town's largest families.
There are two main purposes.
Firstly, one could give these cultivators one of their own newborn cubs—whether they can raise it or not is up to them.
Secondly, they were instructed to spread the word to towns further away, so that cultivators would know of its existence and that they could adopt Flying Cloud Tiger cubs from it.
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The bloodline of the Flying Cloud Tiger is right here. Although the chances of its offspring's bloodline mutating and evolving are very low, if its potential is truly enhanced, it will be a huge win!
Moreover, even if there is no change after careful feeding, as long as the tiger cub survives, its owner will eventually get a level four or five adult Flying Cloud Tiger!
It's well worth it.
Of course, sincerity is also important when it comes to adoption.
Flying Cloud Tiger can judge whether its own cubs have a strong aura and active bloodline—the stronger and more active they are, the higher the possibility of increasing their potential—of course, this is not accurate, but only increases the probability.
Therefore, Flying Cloud Tiger has certain qualification requirements for cubs of different qualities.
For example, the most common, mass-produced Flying Cloud Tigers, even if their potential is at the fifth rank, can actually only grow to the third rank at most. Therefore, the cultivators who form contracts with them only need to reach the top level of the Yellow rank.
The best quality, with particularly bright hair, and extremely rare robust specimens... require cultivators to at least reach the Xuan-grade aptitude.
All things considered, the qualification requirements aren't that high.
Then comes the big part.
What Fei Yunhu valued most was actually the "betrothal gift" offered.
Yes, the idea of finding a human cultivator to "adopt" a Flying Cloud Tiger cub is actually more elaborately called "hiring" the cub back by the cultivator.
In order to obtain enough "dowry", the Flying Tiger provides a considerable amount of resources to the pregnant tigress every year. After the tigress successfully gives birth to the cubs, the father tiger will also consume all the cubs under his belly, while he himself also devours countless resources.
Once the "betrothal gifts" are delivered, Fei Yunhu is not stingy and will return half of them to the cub's biological mother.
As a result, many female tigers volunteer to help Flying Tiger through his period of anxiety each year—or they don't have to.
...Actually, it doesn't have to be a tigress.
No matter what kind of rare animal it is, as long as it accompanies the Flying Cloud Tiger through its period of anxiety, there is a high chance that it will become pregnant.
It doesn't even have to be "mother".
If in certain areas where the Flying Tigers live, it is truly impossible to find any females willing to accompany them, then males will also be acceptable.
Males can also reproduce during this period if they are affected by certain factors.
Except for not being a male Flying Tiger, any male will do.
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When Zhong Cai heard this, he was utterly amazed.
What a terrifying rare tiger!
They actually came up with the idea of "hiring" those infants who were on the verge of death to human cultivators, so that they could pamper them and try to keep them alive as much as possible!
What's even more terrifying is that once a rare beast falls into the claws of this Flying Cloud Tiger, it can't even control its own gender!
hiss.
This ability... is terrifying!
Humans truly do not possess this ability.
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Zhong Cai's pupils dilated, but he didn't show it. He simply asked softly, "The tigers in this city must all belong to that Flying Cloud Tiger..."
Jiao Lu smiled and said, "Yes."
Zhong Cai pondered, "In that case, the 'betrothal gift' isn't actually that much."
Jiao Lu nodded, then shook his head, and sighed, "If it's just an ordinary tiger cub, there aren't many. We ordinary citizens can save up enough by gritting our teeth. But if it's a strong cub personally selected by Senior Flying Cloud Tiger, it's very expensive." He smiled again, "In our Flying Cloud City, only a very few leaders of major forces and those powerful individuals who have established relations with Flying Cloud Tiger have the opportunity to contract with more outstanding cubs. The other rare tiger cubs are all arranged by people in our city, who spread the word far and wide, and then the people themselves come to hire them."
Zhong Cai understood and said with a smile, "Feiyunhu is very shrewd."
Jiao Lu smiled again, but he couldn't continue the conversation.
Zhong Cai didn't insist that he take the lead, but simply let Jiao Lu continue speaking.
Jiao Lu continued.
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Fei Yunhu's shrewd plan was naturally very attractive.
Those powerful figures and forces in the town who helped with the publicity didn't work for free; they also received "brokerage fees" from the cultivators who wanted to "hire" the cubs.
These costs are generally not much, but over time, as more cultivators come and go, they can easily add up to a considerable sum.
With various communications and transactions, the town attracted many visitors, revitalizing the local economy.
Gradually, the town also slowly expanded and grew.
Some townspeople gradually became wealthy, accumulating resources to exchange for cubs. As these numerous Flying Cloud Tiger cubs grew up, they became a scenic sight in the town, attracting the attention of even more outsiders.
The townspeople were very grateful to Feiyunhu. After the level was upgraded, they renamed the place "Feiyun County"... and after the level was upgraded again, it became "Feiyun City".
There are many Flying Cloud Tiger cubs in Flying Cloud City, most of whom are kept indoors until they grow up. They are already accustomed to the presence of humans and can live peacefully with other citizens, which also helps to attract more "tourists".
In much later times, both the city dwellers and the outsiders who hired the cubs could discern certain patterns.
That Senior Flying Cloud Tiger... is really good at choosing offspring.
None of the tiger cubs it cheaply "hired" to the citizens of Feiyun City have mutated or evolved; they are all ordinary tiger cubs. Moreover, almost all of them are of lower final rank—very few escape the net—for example, a tiger that is generally at rank three but ends up being at rank four or five. Over countless years, such exceptions have occurred less than a handful of times. It's that precise!
However, some of those whom it "hired" at high prices to outsiders did indeed successfully enhance their bloodline potential—the probability, though not high, was around 10-20%.
That's already pretty good!
And within that one or two percent, the strongest offspring that it favors the most achieve the highest level in the end—some of them have even reached the same level as their old father!
Therefore, the visiting cultivators valued this Flying Cloud Tiger cub highly, especially since they discovered that the best-raised cub among those they hired had extremely strong drive and might eventually become an eighth-tier rare beast!
That would be such a great deal!
In addition, once the Flying Cloud Tiger reaches level two, its combat power becomes extremely high, making it a remarkably outstanding contracted rare beast.
Once they grow up, they become tough and won't die easily. They can also hunt in the mountains in a very simple and brutal way, supporting themselves...
It's just that the initial investment was relatively large.
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Zhong Cai said with great interest, "It seems that the Flying Cloud Tiger's ability to advance from the fourth to the sixth rank is largely due to its skill. It must have accumulated quite a few other resources as well."
That's still a difficult question to answer.
Jiao Lu smiled and nodded again.
Zhong Cai recalled that when he and Lao Wu came out of the woods earlier, they had seen some cultivators carrying resources into the mountains... He suddenly understood, and after telling them what he had seen, he asked, "Those cultivators, were they the ones who went to hire them?"
Jiao Lu replied, "Of course."
Zhong Cai asked curiously, "Are you sure you'll get the job?"
Jiao Lu replied again, "Almost all of them can be hired. Those who are extremely blind and end up being devoured by Senior Fei Yunhu are very few and far between."
Zhong Cai paused: "This Flying Cloud Tiger eats people too?"
Jiao Lu said nonchalantly, "After offending Senior Fei Yunhu, it's only right to give him some supplies."
Zhong Cai: "..."
Okay, so you could call it making use of waste?
Jiao Lu quickly added, "Senior Flying Cloud Tiger doesn't like to eat people, but he doesn't like to waste food. Over the years, he has rarely actually eaten, and he is usually very kind in choosing cubs for people. And every time he eats, a recording stone will be sent out, recording the whole thing, so that we can all see that it is definitely not Senior Flying Cloud Tiger's fault."
Zhong Cai: "..."
That's really thoughtful.
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The group talked for a while longer.
Jiao Lu mainly explained the relationship between the Flying Cloud Tiger and Flying Cloud City, speaking very fluently, clearly having rehearsed it countless times over the years. Whenever Zhong Cai had a question, Jiao Lu would provide an answer before Zhong Cai even had to ask.
Zhong Cai listened attentively.
Jiao Lu said, "It is by chance that the two seniors came at this time." He sincerely recommended, "Just now, the seniors saw people going by because the mother tiger has given birth to cubs and they are being cared for by Senior Flying Cloud Tiger. During this period, there are many cultivators who come to hire the cubs, and they will all be taken away soon."
"According to the information from those forces, Senior Flying Cloud Tiger obtained thirty-six cubs this year, thirty-two of which are still alive, and about twenty have already been hired out."
“If you two seniors are interested, you can also go and meet Senior Flying Cloud Tiger.” Jiao Lu clearly held Flying Cloud Tiger in high esteem, even somewhat revering him. “The Flying Cloud Tiger cub is truly an outstanding rare beast. If you raise it and form a contract with it, you will definitely not suffer any losses.”
Zhong Cai listened and couldn't help but find it somewhat amusing.
But at that moment, both he and his old man Wu immediately sensed something, and their expressions changed slightly.
It turned out that a small ball of fur was stirring inside both of their animal sacs.
Zhong Caihe and Wu Shaogan: "..."
It's a bit subtle, and a bit funny.
The two of them were quite fond of their contracted pets. After noticing their restlessness, they exchanged a glance, then each took out their pets, placed them on the table, and gently stroked them with their fingers.
It was Qinghui and Qingyu.
They have followed Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan for many years and have a very deep bond with each other. Even when they came to the top continent, they followed each other and absolutely did not want to be separated from their masters!
As a result, the two of them only slept in the beast sack for a while, and yet someone recommended other rare beasts to their master?
This is intolerable!
In an instant, they couldn't sleep.
The two brothers were quite in sync, and immediately started shouting in their respective animal sacs.
Now they're both clinging to their owners again, and their barking has become even more... eager.
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Qingyu: "Chirp chirp! Chirp chirp chirp! Chirp!"
Qinghui: "Awooo! Awooo!"
Clearly, they were both very unhappy... especially when facing Jiao Lu, which made them extremely unhappy.
And Jiao Lu...
Jiao Lu was drenched in sweat.
Although he saw the two little dumplings being taken out by his seniors at a glance, he didn't pay much attention to their cute appearance—the two dumplings were indeed very small, but the aura they exuded was extremely terrifying!
Jiao Lu had met Senior Fei Yunhu before, and his respect for Senior Fei Yunhu was largely due to the terrifying pressure he had unintentionally emanated from him at the time...
But at this moment, he was shocked to discover that the aura released by these two little dumplings was in no way weaker than that of Senior Flying Cloud Tiger!
Jiao Lu swallowed with difficulty, his heart pounding very fast.
We're doomed.
These two... rare beast seniors are clearly the contracted rare beasts of two human seniors!
Moreover, they are very likely all sixth-tier rare beasts!
But he actually recommended other rare animal cubs to their owner right in front of them...
Jiao Lu felt that these two senior rare beasts were only releasing their pressure to intimidate him, which was already a great mercy to him.
If he were even slightly more irritable, he might have already devoured him whole!
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Jiao Lu dared not be negligent and immediately said, "It was my oversight. The two senior rare beasts are indeed very powerful and perfectly suited to you. They are the most suitable to become your contracted rare beasts."
He speaks extremely fast and has an extremely strong will to survive.
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