From stable boy to peerless immortal

Chapter 19 The Art of Judging Horses

Behind the young man were other knights carrying bows and weapons, their horses laden with various wild beasts and prey. They were making a ruckus and laughing loudly, oblivious to everyone else, and their bodies reeked of blood, clearly having just returned from a hunt.

An elderly gardener, seemingly frail and slow to react, failed to avoid the horse and was struck head-on by the swift blue steed.

bang——

With a muffled thud, the old gardener flew out like a kite with a broken string, dropping the shovel to the ground.

He crashed heavily to the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood that stained his beard red. His chest caved in, and he struggled a few times but could not make a sound.

Hua Yujie, on horseback, glanced at it coldly, his eyes devoid of any emotion, as if he had bumped into a beast.

"Young master, this person..." the attendant beside him said.

"You blind fool, blocking my way, you deserve to die!"

Hua Yujie's tone was indifferent, carrying a chilling ruthlessness. He casually pointed with his riding whip: "Drag him aside, don't dirty my eyes!"

Having said that, he spurred the horse on, and galloped away.

The attendant dragged the old gardener to the roadside and skillfully took out a silver ingot from his pocket and threw it on the ground.

"This money is for your medicine, young master. It's twenty taels of silver, enough to buy two beautiful young ladies at the brokerage."

"Hmph, you got off easy..."

He snorted again and rode away.

After the group left, another familiar gardener dared to approach, sighing as he leaned close to the old gardener: "Old Li, is there anything else you haven't fulfilled?"

At this moment, the old gardener's face was deathly pale, blood was gushing from his mouth and nose, his eyes were fixed on the gardener, and his mouth was trembling as if he wanted to say something, but he couldn't utter a single word.

Anyone with eyes can see that this person is beyond saving.

"Old Li, don't worry... I'll personally hand this money to your son, so you can go in peace..."

The gardener was already sobbing uncontrollably, wiping away tears with his sleeve.

Upon hearing this, the old gardener on the ground tried to twitch the corners of his mouth as if he wanted to laugh, but gradually lost his breath.

Not far away, Shen Yuan quietly watched this scene, reaching out to wipe away a splatter of blood from his face.

The blood is cold.

His face was blank and expressionless.

The good mood I had just enjoyed with Old Man Niu had completely vanished.

Hua Yujie, it turns out he is the son of Madam Wu of the first wife, and the younger brother of Hua Yulin, who is known as the number one talent in the Hua family... Shen Yuan looked in the direction where Hua Yujie and the others left, his gaze deep, and a thought popped into his mind.

"I wonder if the blood that spurts out after these self-proclaimed noble scions have their heads cut off is cold, and if their hearts are black when their chests are cut open..."

......

The next day, Shen Yuan brought a jar of old wine and several packets of braised meat and duck to Old Man Niu's place again.

Old Niu didn't waste any words. After they had eaten and drunk their fill, he looked at Shen Yuan and asked, "What do you think is the most important thing for a horse breeder when it comes to raising a spirited horse?"

Shen Yuan tentatively asked, "The bloodline of a horse?"

"Yes and no." Old Niu nodded first, then shook his head.

"Horses are livestock, but once they are elevated to spirit horses, they become demons!"

"The process of taming a spirit horse is actually a process of allowing the spirit horse to cultivate, enhance its bloodline power, and ultimately transform itself!"

Old Man Niu said earnestly, "Of course, it's not easy."

"Just as people have different talents, horses also have different qualities, ranging from naive to exceptional. The difference lies in the word 'bloodline.' Take your Fire Roman horse, for example. Although it's just an ordinary breed, it possesses some of the bloodline of the Red-scaled Horse. This is why its physique and build far surpass that of an ordinary naive horse, greatly increasing its potential to transform into a spirit horse!"

"The chance of an ordinary horse transforming into a spirit horse is one in ten thousand, but the chance of a fire-horse transforming into a spirit horse is more than ten times higher."

"This shows that the bloodline of a horse is of paramount importance! Raising a dragon horse is no simpler than a person cultivating to become a Martial Saint!"

Old Niu stood up, his back to Shen Yuan, and looked at the tenacious sapling growing from a crack in the wall. He said softly:

"As for why I say yes and no, it's because anything is possible in this world."

"Bloodline is important, but the dragon horses and celestial horses of the past and present were not necessarily spiritual beings at first; they may have just been dull-witted foals."

He didn't say much on the matter, but turned around and said seriously to Shen Yuan:

"If you want to raise horses, you must first learn how to judge them! The art of judging horses lies in 'appearance'! You need to look at the horse's skin, flesh, tendons, bones, as well as its temperament, eating and drinking habits, and so on! Then you need to look at the horse's spirit, bloodline, and other aspects. There's a lot to learn here!"

"Just as no two people are exactly alike, every horse is unique. Only by learning to distinguish the differences in quality among horses can we 'teach them according to their aptitude' and raise and nurture them according to their specific circumstances."

"From today onwards, I will teach you the art of judging horses and the art of riding!"

Horsemanship... Shen Yuan was somewhat puzzled.

Old Man Niu noticed something was amiss and explained:

"The art of judging horses goes without saying. Horsemanship may seem simple—just riding a horse—but it contains profound principles of control, command, and subjugation. If one can cultivate horsemanship to a certain level, one can sense the flow of a spirit horse's blood and energy, and by drawing upon its power, achieve perfect harmony between rider and horse, allowing one to fight beyond one's level!"

"The life force of demonic beasts is naturally ten, dozens, or even hundreds of times stronger than that of humans! A peak martial artist, once he rides his spirit horse and becomes one with it, can unleash a devastating attack that would leave even a Xiantian martial artist with a terrible death!"

"A thousand heavily armored cavalrymen, if their commander is a skilled horseman, can lead a thousand cavalrymen under their command. Martial arts masters can kill grandmasters, and even fight and battle with great grandmasters!"

"As I said yesterday, to raise a spirited horse, it's best to first tame it, with the person as the master and the horse as the servant. Only then can you be invincible. Your talent for martial arts is excellent, which is very good. In this way, you can defeat the horses' arrogance, make them bow their heads, and ultimately tame them!"

Old Niu's explanation was simple, direct, and easy to understand, which made Shen Yuan nod repeatedly, and he gained a lot from it.

Next, Old Man Niu began to teach Shen Yuan riding skills and even some secret techniques.

......

Time flies, and more than ten days have passed in the blink of an eye.

That night, in Shen Yuan's small courtyard training room.

Whoosh whoosh!Whoosh whoosh!

A figure strode quickly through the spacious room.

The practice room was cluttered with various tables, chairs, and benches, causing many obstacles and making it difficult to walk normally without stumbling.

However, this figure was as swift as the wind and as agile as a snake, moving quickly and precisely avoiding all kinds of obstacles and passing through them.

Before long, the figure stopped, revealing Shen Yuan's true face.

"This 'Dragon and Snake Transformation Technique' is modeled after the essence of the transformation of dragons and snakes. It has both the lightness and agility of a snake and the swiftness and power of a dragon. It is a rare martial arts lightness technique, known for its speed and skill."

"Once mastered, it allows one to escape danger in time, making it an excellent life-saving skill... Now it seems that's really true."

Shen Yuan was quite pleased.