"Long Feng, allow me to introduce you to a new friend, this is Heavenly Steed Zhui Feng!"

Zhang Yang dismounted, pointing directly at the steed as he spoke softly, then turned back to Zhui Feng, smiling, "Zhui Feng, this is our good friend Long Feng; you two should meet!"

Lightning and Shadow also leaped out, barking excitedly, clearly introducing Long Feng's identity to Zhui Feng.

Zhui Feng merely glanced at Long Feng a few times, then snorted softly through his nostrils—a gesture that passed for a greeting.

Spiritual Beasts are usually very cautious and rarely interact with humans; Lightning was an exception. For Zhui Feng to treat Long Feng this way was already quite generous.

"Heavenly Steed Zhui Feng!"

Long Feng's eyes snapped tight, becoming even more vacant.

He had a suspicion when he first saw the white horse, but he dared not believe it. Now, Zhang Yang’s words confirmed it.

A Heavenly Steed—it truly was a Spiritual Beast Heavenly Steed. And Zhang Yang had actually managed to chase it down. More importantly, he had subdued it.

Just by observing them, it was obvious. How could a Heavenly Steed that hadn't been subdued allow Zhang Yang to ride on its back?

How much time had passed? This was a Spiritual Beast; seeing one even once was rare enough, let alone subduing one. Zhang Yang had gone after the Heavenly Steed and returned with it, bringing it along so harmoniously. It was a miracle Long Feng's mind hadn't completely short-circuited at that moment.

"Long Feng, it’s fate that you and Zhui Feng share a connection; your names both contain the character for 'Wind,' and you are both incredibly fast!"

Zhang Yang smiled slightly again. This time, his words finally snapped Long Feng back to reality.

A bitter smile touched the corner of Long Feng's mouth. "We both have 'Wind' in our names, it’s true, but compared to its speed...?"

Long Feng trailed off, shaking his head slightly. He knew he was fast, but he wasn't so arrogant as to compare himself to the spiritual beast reputed to be the fastest on land.

Zhui Feng snorted a couple more times, holding its head high. When speed was the topic, it possessed absolute confidence—a confidence even Zhang Yang couldn't dispute.

"And what about these people?"

Long Feng asked, changing the subject away from the Heavenly Steed Zhui Feng. He had many questions bubbling up, but he knew he couldn't ask them with the Heavenly Steed present. He needed to change the topic for now.

"These are poachers. They were trying to capture Zhui Feng while it was poisoned. We ran into them on our return and took the opportunity to clean them up!"

Zhang Yang briefly recounted the recent events. These people had lost their memories of the incident, and Zhang Yang informed them of his decided punishment. There was no need to hide anything from Long Feng and the others.

Even if they forgot their memories, they were still poachers; they wouldn't see daylight once they reached the police station.

As for the people locked in the truck, they would receive the same treatment—their memories erased. Although this area was remote, any trouble avoided was worth the effort.

Long Feng nodded slowly. These people deserved their fate; they weren't worthy of pity.

However, herding so many people along was troublesome. Fortunately, their minds hadn't recovered, so simply driving them forward would suffice.

Guiding the crowd slowed their progress considerably. Old Huo’s jaw dropped when he saw so many people, and it hadn't closed since learning they were all poachers.

Over a hundred poachers being marched by three people—when he looked at the trio, a trace of fear entered his eyes, and he paid less attention to the strange white horse now accompanying Zhang Yang.

He didn't understand the situation, but he knew those three were anything but ordinary. It explained why they dared to drive through this desolate grassland—they clearly had the means.

Capturing over a hundred people just like that—what kind of feat was that? Even the police would need a significant deployment to manage such a task.

They woke up the few individuals in the vehicle, erased their memories, and made them join the walk.

The road ahead presented a bizarre spectacle: two vehicles escorting more than a hundred people on foot.

Thankfully, they encountered a local vehicle on the road, who they convinced to drive ahead and report the situation to the nearest county police station.

By evening, numerous police cars arrived and finally took custody of everyone. Zhang Yang pointed out the location of the poachers' vehicles and weapons, but he offered no explanation for their current condition.

That explanation came from Long Cheng, who immediately contacted his superiors, flashing the Long family's influence. Soon after, no one inquired further into the matter.

As for the Long family contingent, Long Cheng harbored no worries; he was heading directly for the Long family headquarters anyway.

Despite this, they spent the entire night sorting things out in the county town, only setting off early the next morning.

"Zhang Yang, aren't you getting in the car?"

Long Cheng sat in the driver's seat, looking at Zhang Yang in surprise. Zhang Yang had mounted the white horse again. Riding a horse on the grassland was normal, but seeing Zhang Yang ride it felt strangely off to Long Cheng.

"No need. I'll wait for you at the next town ahead. Hurry up a bit!"

Zhang Yang smiled gently. The moment he finished speaking, Zhui Feng slowly began to walk forward.

Long Cheng knew something about the origins of this horse, so he didn't press the issue when Zhang Yang spoke. He started the car and followed, quickly overtaking Zhang Yang and the horse.

They were still within the county boundaries, and the clever Zhui Feng knew this was no place to showcase its phenomenal speed. Even as Long Cheng's car and the truck behind passed them, Zhui Feng didn't show any haste.

Long Feng, seated in the car, cast an envious glance at Zhang Yang.

Last night, he finally found an opportunity to piece things together. He learned that Zhang Yang caught up to the Heavenly Steed precisely when its poisoning symptoms were peaking, which gave even him a moment of tension.

Long Feng wasn't surprised that Zhang Yang saved the steed; he was intimately familiar with Zhang Yang's medical skills.

Urged on by Lightning and Shadow, the poor Heavenly Steed was quickly absorbed into Zhang Yang's little rogue band, a result that left Long Feng speechless. Zhang Yang's luck was simply too good; he had subdued another Spiritual Beast so easily.

Three great Spiritual Beasts! Zhang Yang was probably the person in history accompanied by the most Spiritual Beasts.

However, this instance did involve a significant component of sheer luck.

Setting aside the fact that he happened upon a poisoned Heavenly Steed, this steed had only recently reached adulthood. Its intelligence was high, yet it possessed a childlike innocence.

Had it been an older, fully matured Heavenly Steed, it would have been impossible for little Lightning and Shadow to manipulate it into submission.

Spiritual Beasts possess their own wills; convincing one to follow a person willingly is difficult, even if that person saved its life.

Furthermore, Zhui Feng followed Zhang Yang for another reason: loneliness. The Heavenly Steed had lived in solitude since childhood, unlike Lightning and Shadow.

Having been alone for so long, it longed for companionship. Regardless of how much it recognized Zhang Yang, it could sense that Lightning and Shadow held absolutely no malice toward it.

The person accompanied by those two little creatures could not be far off in character.

One could argue that without Lightning and Shadow, Zhang Yang never would have subdued the Heavenly Steed this time. Viewed this way, Zhang Yang's current success truly relied heavily on luck.

Zhui Feng ambled out of the county town, with many people on the roadside pointing and murmuring.

Such a magnificent white horse was rare, and one managed without a saddle or reins was even more unusual. Many people commented that Zhang Yang would tire quickly riding like that without proper gear.

Zhang Yang heard the chatter and understood a few remarks, but he paid them no mind.

How could an ordinary horse compare to a Heavenly Steed? If these people witnessed Zhui Feng’s speed, they would be utterly stunned.

This small county town was minor, much smaller than those in the interior provinces.

Before long, Zhui Feng had slowly walked well clear of the town, continuing until they reached a sparsely populated area.

Long Feng and the others' vehicles had long since vanished from sight.

"Hsss~"

In the empty stretch, Zhui Feng let out two soft whinnies, then violently stamped its hoof. In an instant, its form shot far ahead, leaving a visible afterimage trailing behind it.

Running at full tilt, Zhui Feng caught up to Long Cheng, who had left much earlier, in just over a minute.

After exchanging greetings with those in the car, Zhui Feng broke into another gallop, plunging forward into the grassland. Within mere breaths, they vanished completely from sight on the vast plain.

This speed left both Long Feng and Long Cheng gaping.

This time, they finally witnessed what true extreme speed meant. They had never seen anything move so fast in their entire lives.

Old Huo, riding in the truck behind, had just bent down to sip from a bottle of mare's milk wine bought in the county town—the light-proof Qinghu variety, which was less potent and wouldn't intoxicate him if consumed sparingly. This caution was also what would have landed him in deep trouble had the police seen him later.

In the time it took him to take a sip, Zhang Yang and Zhui Feng had already sped past. When he looked up, there wasn't a trace of them left.

"Senior, this... is this a Spiritual Beast?"

Long Cheng gripped the steering wheel, driving somewhat blankly, though thankfully his driving skills were good enough to maintain momentum instinctively.

"Yes, that is the Heavenly Steed, a Spiritual Beast. Its speed... I, I don't know how to describe it!"

Long Feng nodded lightly. Only by witnessing the Heavenly Steed’s speed firsthand could one truly understand why it was hailed as the unrivaled master of swiftness.

Even the elders at the Fourth Level of the family did not possess such velocity.

Long Cheng finally understood why Zhang Yang had told them to wait in the town ahead. At that speed, he couldn't possibly catch up, even with the accelerator pressed to the floor.

Towns in the grassland are spaced far apart. It wasn't until evening that Long Cheng and the others reached the next town, where Zhang Yang was, predictably, already waiting.

When they learned the time Zhang Yang had arrived, they were even more speechless.

Zhang Yang had arrived before noon—nearly a full fifty percent faster than them! Long Cheng didn't know that Zhui Feng hadn't even been running at full throttle. At maximum speed, their journey time would have been shorter, and Zhang Yang's wait time much longer.

Finding a town in the grassland was not easy. Here, they replenished enough fuel and water to last until the next stop.

After another two days of travel, they would enter Xijiang Province, reaching the foothills of the Kunlun Mountains, bringing them close to the Long family headquarters. (To be continued)RQ