Treasure-hunting: Into the Unknown

As soon as the first drop of the Hatching Fluid landed on the egg, there was a flash of radiance not unlike that of the sun upon rising. The egg immediately began rattling, as though something within it was preparing to be let loose.

The second drop struck the egg.

Almost immediately, the shell began to crack and shatter.

The last drop made its way upon it.

Boom!

A deafening peal of thunder cracked in the Peach Blossom Forest. Lighting and thunder battled in the sky as though they were in the heat of war, and through the dense gathering of black clouds, a jagged lightning strike came down and slammed into the treasure beast egg.

The egg seemed to take in the power of the lightning itself, glowing and crackling in energy.

Crack!

The shell split neatly into two.

Seeing this, the Blazing Roc raised its magnificent head and roared up to the sky. Not long after, however, a smaller, weaker roar echoed it.

The tremendous column of thunder and lightning dissipated along with the light. And there, nestled between two halves of the egg, sat a cub. It was a Thunder Dragon Horse cub that was now looking around curiously, marveling at its strange new surroundings with big, innocent eyes.

"Hey there, little guy!" Delighted, Zachary knelt down next to the new cub, admiring it and tenderly extending his hand to it to pat its head.

Chomp! Without warning, the Thunder Dragon Horse took big nip onto Zachary's finger. Its wickedly sharp teeth easily penetrated his skin and it proceeded to start feeding on his blood with the greed of a newborn.

"In accordance to the ritual, the Thunder Dragon Horse has made you its master!" Mimi announced, her voice ringing. "Congratulations, Zachary! You have now earned your second treasure beast. Now you have two under your care and your control. Behold your Thunder Dragon Horse, a treasure beast of Scarce Level!"

By now, the little Thunder Dragon Horse cub released its jaws from where they were clamped on Zachary's finger. It proceeded to hop right into his hand, scurrying all the way up to his shoulder to rest.

"There you are, little guy. I think I'll call you Kiwi. That'll be your name. And Blazing Roc, I'll call you Orion from now on." He was quite pleased with the names he'd chosen for his precious treasure beasts.

Once he named them both, Zachary proceeded to give both of them a third-grade pill apiece. For the time being, he bade the Blazing Roc to care of the little Thunder Dragon Horse cub. In the meantime, he resumed his cultivation.

As he carefully refined the purple cultivation-aiding pill that Rita had given to him, he could feel his cultivation base growing, flooding through his body. He could

e is placed at that level, with his current strength, he'll be unable to keep up. His fall will be painful. I feel that he's the type that thrives when faced with adversity," Sara replied calmly, having thought this out.

"I...suppose that's quite true..." Rebecca replied thoughtfully, unable to deny the sensibility of it.

"I'm glad you agree. Now, would you keep an eye on Zachary for me? I want to know if he starts doing anything unusual or out of the ordinary. But it'll need to be done in secret. I don't want him to get wind of what's going on," Sara ordered in a strict tone.

"I get it. But Master Sara, I'm just curious. Why do you care so much about Zachary?" Rebecca asked, furrowing her brows as she tried to understand.

"I think right now, you're better not know." Sara just shook her head. She paused contemplatively for a moment before adding, "You know, I didn't expect your Hua Clan to perform so poorly in that contest. Both the Virid Sword Sect and the Dragon Fist Sect did far better. It's a little out of the usual standard for the Hua Clan, isn't it?"

"Oh it's just a little contest. Our clan's disciples aren't pinning their hopes on that. Their true aim is to enter the Elite Zone. The plan is to keep things close to the vest and bide our time, hiding our strength," Rebecca replied calmly, unbothered by the loss.

"Is that so? I hope it really works." Sara then dismissed her with an absent wave of the hand.

At the dismissal, Rebecca nodded, bowed politely and exited the room.

"The real game here is to see exactly how far Zachary can go. His true potential is still hidden. I wouldn't have ranked him that low if I could help it. It certainly wasn't my idea; it was Master Katrina's plan to do this," Sara murmured. There was a faraway look in her eyes.