Nether river wolf
When the match between Tan Hu and Gu Guangzhi was about to start, the spectators who saw Gu Guangzhi in his weak state had no hopes for the match. They were hoping to see another explosive match where Gu Guangzhi would display his talent in using Rock burst Gu and Tan Hu would keep him on the edge by displaying his proficiency in wind path and blade path. But Gu Guangzhi looked like a twig that would snap by a gentle breeze. Everyone thought the match would be over as soon as it began but Gu Guangzhi surprised everyone with his water wolf.
The ferocious water wolf easily withstood attacks from Tan Hu on its own. It's blue fur had an awe inspiring dark luster and captivated the attention of everyone. Some spectators were confused as to why Gu Guangzhi had only enslaved a single beast. Enslavement path gu masters usually employ several packs of wolves to fight with their enemies. They made wild guesses and came to the natural conclusion that since Gu Guangzhi was not very proficient in enslavement path, he was able to enslave only a single beast. Either that or he was using this wild beast as a steed instead of an actual steed type gu.
While most people were skeptical whether Gu Guangzhi could win against Tan Hu with his water wolf, very few were able to correctly identify the water wolf as a mutated beast. An ordinary mutated beast had the power equivalent to that of a Rank 4 gu master. In an ordinary setting, a peak Rank 3 gu master like Tan Hu could use some killer moves to fight and even defeat a higher tier existence like a mutated beast. After all, humans had intelligence far higher than that of beasts. But in the arena, the water wolf received its commands from Gu Guangzhi and decimated Tan Hu's attacks.
Under the onslaught of 'Alphas among wolves', Tan Hu had to spend a lot of his primeval essence on his defense. This style of enslavement truly tied Tan Hu down. He launched one wind blade after another to cut down the grass wolves but more and more kept popping up. Sometimes, he had to create several wind blades to take down a single grass wolf while sometimes a single one was enough to cut them down. This irregularity would often lead to him wasting his primeval essence.
As time passed, Tan Hu couldn't gain the edge over Gu Guangzhi despite his higher cultivation. When his primeval essence reserves were hitting rock bottom, he came to the conclusion that he cannot win and surrendered. This came as a shock to all the spectators and they jeered Tan Hu for being a coward. Gu Guangzhi was asked to kill his opponent but he did not want to kill someone that had surrendered. So he instead asked Tan Hu to leave Jia Gui's faction and join Jia Fu as part of his vital gu ransom.
At hearing such a demand, Tan Hu frowned. He was economically tied to Jia Gui. Leaving his faction would spell a lot of trouble for him. He could always take a gamble with his life by giving away his vital gu instead to prove his loyalty to Jia Gui but he knew Jia Gui wouldn't be very thankful to him after losing in the gu competition. He took a glance at Gu Guangzhi.
Tan Hu thought to himself, 'He is still in the initial stages of Rank 3 but he is able to defeat me. His tenacity matches his talent. With such a gu master in his faction, it is no wonder that Jia Fu is winning this gu competition. I've decided! I'll take a loss in the short term but I'll join Jia Fu's faction. Jia Fu is winning anyway. Once he becomes the head of Jia clan, I can recuperate all my losses and earn more.'
Thus Tan Hu agreed to Gu Guangzhi's demand and joined the Jia Fu's faction. Jia Fu was more than pleased about this but nevertheless used a Poison vow Gu to strengthen this arrangement with Tan Hu. Tan Hu wasn't just a powerful gu master but also a talented merchant. With this blow, he would hurt his brother's faction by a lot. While Jia Fu was busy rewarding Gu Guangzhi for his victory, and elderly gu master approached them. Jia Fu instantly became alert.
"Brother Bai Zan! This is a sudden surprise. It pleases me very much to entertain you as my guest. Come please be seated.", Jia Fu enthusiastically greeted.
Bai Zan was one of the elders of the Zan clan. While Jia clan quickly rose to power on basis of trade, Zan clan was a more traditional clan that relied on wars to assert its authority. Hence everyone was wary of offending Bai Zan, who was a Rank 4 peak stage gu master and a powerful figure in the Zan clan.
"I've no time for such things. I've come to talk to your subordinate. You…", said Bai Zan pointing at Gu Guangzhi, "…come with me." He left as abruptly as he entered.
'Mannerless brute!', though Jia Fu regarding Bai Zan but nudged Gu Guangzhi to follow Bai Zan to avoid trouble.
Gu Guangzhi followed Bai Zan out. After a short while, Bai Zan spoke up, "I saw your beast in the last match. I like it and I want it. Here, take this Rank 3 Earthwolf Spider as a trade. It is an earth path steed type gu and will suit you well. If you are able to refine it further, you can even get a Rank 4 Hundred Li Earthwolf Spider."
Any other gu master would instantly trade a beast for a similar rank steed type gu. However Gu Guangzhi immediately declined, "I'm sorry but my water wolf is like family to me. I practically grew up with it so I can't trade it like any other beast." Upon hearing this, Bai Zan felt happy that an inexperienced gu master like Gu Guangzhi still thinks that his beast is a water wolf instead of recognizing it as a mutated beast. But he didn't let that expression show it on his face.
"Look here! I'm being generous today so I decided to trade with you. Otherwise, I would've simply killed you right here and taken away your beast! Or do you think you are protected because you are in Jia city? Think what is good for you and give me that water wolf! It is wasted on the likes of an earth path gu master like you! It needs an enslavement path gu master like me to bring forth it's full potential. Accept this like a fair trade or face the consequences!"
Gu Guangzhi was a bit annoyed at the forceful trade by Bai Zan but he couldn't just walk away from a powerful figure like Bai Zan. Just when he was contemplating on how to handle this situation, he heard a chuckle in the background.
"Trading a mutated beast like nether river wolf for a Rank 3 steed type gu? What kind of fool thinks that it is a fair trade? Perhaps a Rank 4 gu might level the field but who knows?"
Gu Guangzhi was puzzled when he heard someone calling his water wolf a mutated beast. On the other hand, Bai Zan was enraged. Though he could just forcefully snatch the mutated beast from Gu Guangzhi, he didn't want Gu Guangzhi to know about this till the 'trade' was over.
He angrily retorted "Who the hell do you think you are for calling me a fool?"
"Oh, I'm Tie Xing De from the Tie clan. What about it?", asked the gu master in a provocative manner. Tie Xing De was just a Rank 3 upper stage cultivator but Bai Zan just kept silent and walked away. His clan could bully small clans and even mid-sized clans like Jia clan to an extent but they were no match for the Tie clan which was a super force in the Southern border.
Gu Guangzhi recognized the man as the gu master who bought the strengthened moon bats from him. "Thank you for that. It seems you saved me from a lot of trouble." Tie Xing De smiled and said, "Well you better be careful. With such a precious mutated beast, you will become an easy target for others."