Chapter 1 Seeing the Dragon Egg

Seeing Nie Yan take out the Darkwing Dragon egg, Beastmaster Collinson wore an expression of shock, exclaiming, "Good heavens, I can't believe it, this is a Darkwing Dragon egg! Respected Mister Nie Yan, might I have a look?"

Never expecting Beastmaster Collinson to be so surprised, Nie Yan handed the Darkwing Dragon egg to him.

Collinson carefully received the Darkwing Dragon egg, his expression unusually reverent. As a Beastmaster, he naturally understood how precious it was. The Hilton Fortress' High-Ranking Overseer Brexspear had risked life and limb deep underground to obtain just one such pet egg. Collinson had only ever seen one other in his life!

Collinson carefully stroked the patterns on the Darkwing Dragon egg, examining it with rapt attention, his face occasionally showing excitement, and other times a hint of regret.

After a while, Beastmaster Collinson looked at Nie Yan and said, "Respected Mister Nie Yan, I cannot hatch this Darkwing Dragon egg. It was too small when it left its mother, which is why it appears transparent."

Nie Yan's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that this Darkwing Dragon was unhatchable? But thinking about it, that didn't seem right. Since High-Ranking Overseer Brexspear had given the Darkwing Dragon egg to him as a quest reward, it should be hatchable, perhaps just requiring certain conditions.

Just as that thought crossed his mind, he heard Beastmaster Collinson continue, "I cannot hatch it, but this Darkwing Dragon, it is still alive, so if one could find certain items, perhaps it could be given enough power to break free of its shell."

"May I ask what items are required?" Nie Yan asked. It was as he had expected.

"At least twenty magic crystals, thirty light crystals, two life crystals, and one power crystal," Beastmaster Collinson said.

Hearing that, Nie Yan breathed a sigh of relief. Requiring twenty magic crystals, thirty light crystals, two life crystals, and one power crystal to hatch the Darkwing Dragon would be as difficult as ascending to heaven for ordinary players. Magic crystals and light crystals were relatively easier to obtain, but life crystals and power crystals would be much harder to find, as these two items were exceedingly rare, and ordinary players would have no idea where to look. But for Nie Yan, it wasn't particularly difficult, as he knew where to find these items. He could go collect them now and gather everything in at most ten days.

This was a powerful flying mount! If it could be hatched, it would be of great help to Nie Yan.

Beastmaster Collinson handed the Darkwing Dragon egg back to Nie Yan, who put it away.

"Mister Collinson, please appraise this pet for me," Nie Yan said, and as he spoke, he paid 2,000 gold coins and handed the other black giant egg to Collinson.

Collinson held the black giant egg in his hands, carefully examining it for a moment, his hand stroking across the shell, his eyes closed as he sensed something, a warm white light shining in his hand.

Nie Yan watched Beastmaster Collinson, as if he was performing some kind of mysterious ritual. Nie Yan was a little nervous. Beastmaster Collinson's appraisal result was very important. If it was an ordinary pet, then it might only be worth a few thousand gold coins, or tens of thousands of gold coins. If it was appraised to be a flying mount, then it would be a priceless treasure. Flying mounts were too rare, and they would be of great significance to the entire Niu Ren Tribe.

After a while, Collinson opened his eyes and said to Nie Yan, "This is a flying mount, a Netherthunder Eagle of the dark attribute."

Hearing his words, Nie Yan's heart finally settled. It was a flying mount! Nie Yan wasn't sure what level of flying mount the Netherthunder Eagle was, but even the lowest level of flying mount was exceptionally precious.

"Respected Mister Nie Yan, have you decided to hatch this Netherthunder Eagle? Each player is only allowed to possess one flying mount. If you hatch this Netherthunder Eagle, you cannot give it to anyone else. And before this Netherthunder Eagle dies, you cannot possess any other flying mount," Beastmaster Collinson said.

Only then did Nie Yan remember that there was indeed such a setting. Once flying mounts were hatched, they would recognize their master, and they would only have one.

Nie Yan weighed it. He decided to give the Netherthunder Eagle to someone close to him. In a few days, he would be able to hatch the Darkwing Dragon. This kind of thing should naturally be held by the most trustworthy person. Nie Yan first thought of Xie Yao and Tang Yao. These two were undoubtedly closest to him. He considered it further. The Netherthunder Eagle was of the dark attribute, while Xie Yao was a Holy Word Priest. If the attributes clashed, the pet's and the master's attributes would be greatly reduced. But Tang Yao was different. Tang Yao was an Arcane Mage, and many of the Arcane Mage's spells possessed the dark attribute. If Tang Yao held the Netherthunder Eagle, his and the pet's attributes could be increased to a certain extent.

For Nie Yan, it didn't matter who held the Netherthunder Eagle, as long as it could exert its maximum effect.

The person who held the flying mount had to participate in every guild war in the future and could not be absent, which was equivalent to being bound to the Niu Ren Tribe.

For the Niu Ren Tribe, the Netherthunder Eagle was definitely a scarce strategic resource and absolutely could not be wasted.

Nie Yan contacted Tang Yao and asked, "Yaozi, where are you now?"

"I'm grinding monsters in Ghost City," Tang Yao replied in the voice chat.

"Ghost City?" Nie Yan was taken aback. He remembered that it seemed to be a Level 90 map. He asked, "Are you leveling up in a team?"

"I'm alone right now."

"Not bad, you can solo in a Level 90 map." Nie Yan said with a smile. To grind monsters and level up in such a high-level map, it wasn't enough to have good equipment; you also had to have excellent skills. With Tang Yao's cloth armor defense, the monsters there would kill him with a single swipe. Mages were ranged classes, and as long as they had enough flashy footwork, they could grind monsters above their level. Moreover, Tang Yao had a powerful Tier 3 Arcane Sprite, and it was said that the Arcane Sprite was close to Tier 4.

Hearing Nie Yan's words, Tang Yao was slightly proud and said, "I got a lot of good stuff and stuffed it all into the guild warehouse."

"Come to the pet shop next to the central square in Carol City. I have a good thing to give you."

"Pet shop?" Tang Yao was stunned for a moment, then said, "I already have a pet, a Level 75 Ghost Wolf. This pet is quite useful. Give the pet to someone else."

Nie Yan smiled and said, "It's not a pet, it's a flying mount!"

Hearing Nie Yan's words, Tang Yao was slightly stunned, then moved, and said, "You got a second flying mount?" He remembered that Nie Yan had previously obtained a Darkwing Dragon pet egg, which he was planning to keep for himself. He would only give it to him if he got a second flying mount.

"Not yet, I have two pet eggs here, one of which is a Netherthunder Eagle, give it to you, I have to find a way to hatch the Darkwing Dragon," Nie Yan said. Although the Netherthunder Eagle was strong, it was not on the same level as the Darkwing Dragon at all.

"I'll go back immediately!" Tang Yao said excitedly. Hearing that Nie Yan wanted to give him a flying mount, how could he dawdle? He quickly packed his things, found a corner, and read a return scroll.

A player could simultaneously possess a pet, a mount, and a flying mount. These did not conflict. Among them, flying mounts were the rarest and most powerful.

After a while, Tang Yao ran in from the entrance of the pet shop.

"Where's the flying mount? Let me see!" Tang Yao said excitedly as he ran.

Seeing Tang Yao's excited appearance, Nie Yan smiled slightly and handed the Netherthunder Eagle pet egg to Tang Yao, saying, "Give it to Beastmaster Collinson to hatch, and it will be yours."

"Where did you get this flying mount? I've done so many quests, and I haven't even found a hair of a flying mount," Tang Yao said in frustration. He deeply realized how difficult it was to find a flying mount.

"I got it from opening a sub-legendary treasure chest in the City of Gold," Nie Yan said with a smile.

"How's your Darkwing Dragon? Can it be hatched?" Tang Yao asked. The Darkwing Dragon in Nie Yan's hands was still just an egg.

"Twenty magic crystals, thirty light crystals, two life crystals, and one power crystal are needed to hatch it."

"Power crystal?" Tang Yao frowned and said, "I seem to have seen this thing somewhere. Shout in the guild group chat and see if anyone can find it."

Nie Yan was a little surprised to hear Tang Yao say that he had seen these things. Power crystals seemed to only come from maps above Level 90, and only some very rare maps had a drop rate of a few hundred thousandths. He remembered that there was a treasure chest in a Level 100 map that contained this thing, so he wanted to go get it himself. However, with a try-and-see mentality, Nie Yan posted a message in the guild group chat, searching for magic crystals, light crystals, life crystals, and power crystals.

In addition, he suddenly thought that the Assassin Alliance could also be utilized. He also posted a task in the Assassin Alliance, searching for these things, with generous rewards. Anyway, these items would be useful in the future, so the more the better.

"Boss, that power crystal thing, Boss Daoguang and the others got one when they were doing a dungeon. It's in the guild warehouse now," a player reminded.

It's in the guild warehouse?

Nie Yan was stunned for a moment. He had to go to the warehouse to take a look.

"There are also a few magic crystals and light crystals!"

With these things in the guild warehouse, things were much easier for Nie Yan.

"Respected Mister Collinson, please help me hatch this Netherthunder Eagle." Tang Yao talked to Beastmaster Collinson for a few words and paid 20,000 gold coins. The black giant egg in his hands instantly emitted a dazzling black light. The Netherthunder Eagle was about to hatch!