''Old Tao, which magic beasts at the early rank 5, are in good condition right now?''

The old man looked a bit confused at Cui Guoliang's sudden question, but he still answered respectfully

''My king, the magic beasts at the early rank 5 that are in a good condition, number only 4.

They are the 'Nine-eyed giant worm' on the north, the 'Thousand-eyed spider' on the west, the 'Twin-headed wolf' on the northeast, and...''

The old man had a look on his face that couldn't conceal his difficulty, as he stopped speaking.

''And what?''

Cui Guoliang didn't hide his displeasure, seeing that 'old Tao' was hesitating to speak.

As the caretaker who was responsible for the rank 5 magic beasts inside the 'Vermilion realm', 'Old Tao' would never hesitate to speak, unless there was a serious issue.

Indeed, the old man took a deep breath as he knelt on the ground and said

''My king, please forgive me! I have done everything that I can, but the 'Silver-winged panther king' still hasn't advanced to the middle stages.''

The moment that the old man finished his words, displeasure had already covered Cui Guoliang's face, while Shun Long's eyes were actually filled with shock.

He almost couldn't stop himself from asking

''How is a 'Silver-winger panther king', only at the early stage of rank 5?''

Turning his head to look at Shun Long, Cui Guoliang suppressed his frustration as he said

''Brat, I suggest that you choose the 'Nine-eyed giant worm'. I have been raising it for many years inside a very special lake, and although its combat strength isn't as big as the 'Thousand-eyed spider' or the 'Twin-headed wolf', its defense is much better than the other 2. It can definitely protect you well enough.''

Shun Long's eyes twitched as he heard Cui Guoliang mentioning the 'Nine-eyed giant worm', and immediately shook his head, as he responded with a determined tone

''Senior, thank you for your suggestion, but I would rather choose the 'Silver-winged panther king'.''

Was this a joke? How was he supposed to choose the 'Nine-eyed giant worm'? Hasn't little Black already eaten it? Should he force the black dragon to spit it back out for him?

Cui Guoliang looked at Shun Long like he was looking at an idiot as he said

''Brat, are you dumb? Didn't you hear old 'Tao' saying, that the 'Silver-winged panther king' hasn't broken through to the middle stages? It's obvious that there is a serious problem with it. You should choose the 'Nine-eyed giant worm' instead.''

Shun Long however, shook his head, as he said resolutely

''Senior, I still wish to choose the 'Silver-winged panther'. I hope that senior will agree.''

Cui Guoliang couldn't understand why Shun Long was so adamant on taking the 'Silver-winged panther king', but in the end, he still nodded his head, as he looked at the kneeling old man in front of him and said

'''Old Tao', go and bring the 'silver-winged panther king' here then.''

'Old Tao' got up from the ground, and bowed to Cui Guoliang, before he hurriedly left the room.

The old man couldn't believe his eyes.

What was so special about this kid, that the king was going to give him one of his rank 5 beasts? However, he didn't dare to question Cui Guoliang's order as he quickly left, to bring the 'Silver-winged panther king'.

Less than an hour later, a 2m(6.6ft) tall and 6m(19.8ft) long black panther, with shining yellow eyes, and a pair of beautiful silver wings on its back, appeared in front of Shun Long and Cui Guoliang.

Shun Long's eyes shone as he saw the panther in front of him, while his eyes carefully examined its body.

Although Cui Guoliang felt unwilling to part with the magic beasts that he had painstakingly raised, he understood that if Shun Long didn't have a suitable protector, then he could very likely die before he reached the Dao King realm.

With these thoughts in mind, the reluctance in his heart slowly disappeared, and looking at Shun Long he said

''Kid, this panther is still soul-bound by me. Gather your spiritual strength in a drop of your blood, and feed it in the panther's mouth. I will sever my connection with the panther at the same time, so it can accept you as its new master.''

Shun Long nodded his head, and knew that this was the most common way that beast tamers usually followed, when they wanted to sell the powerful magic beasts that they had tamed.

There was almost no danger following this process, except if the magic beast received a strong mental stimulation. In that case, it was possible for the link between master and servant to be severed, if the beast's spiritual strength far exceeded its master. However, these situations weren't common in the 'cultivation world'.

At the same time that Shun Long fed his blood to the black panther, Cui Guoliang immediately severed their connection.

Shun Long could now feel a mental connection with the panther, but it was completely different from the one he had with little Black.

He couldn't mentally communicate with the panther, but he could feel its emotions.

Cui Guoliang nodded his head as he saw that everything went smoothly, while 'Old Tao' had an envious and resentful look in his eyes as he stared at Shun Long.

Cui Guoliang didn't pay any attention to the old man, as he looked at Shun Long and said

''There is only a week left, until the teleportation array for the Night star continent is activated. Take a look at the martial skills inside the spatial ring, before you decide what type of weapon you want. I'm certain that the techniques that you have practiced in the Desolate east are simply incomparable to those of my collection. When you are ready, you can simply come back to the throne room.''

As he finished speaking, Cui Guoliang turned around and entered inside the black door, as he then disappeared from the room.

Shun Long told the panther to follow him, as he too entered the black door, which returned him back to his room.

Returning back to the jade-white room, Shun Long didn't choose to put the panther inside the 'Stone of Time'. Instead, he seriously examined its body for a couple of minutes, before a big smile covered his face as he thought

''That 'Old Tao' really isn't qualified to take care of magic beasts.''

After patting the panther's back, Shun Long let it roam freely around the room, while his eyes were staring at the spatial ring on his hand, as he then mumbled to himself

''Let's take a look at the techniques and martial skills of a Dao King.''