Chapter Seventy-Six: Horseback Riding

"Isn't riding a horse to school a bit too conspicuous?" Yan Luo considered this for a moment. Yet... wouldn't witnessing such a scene evoke intense emotions in others? For him, emotions meant fragments of persona masks or heroic soul masks.

But there was another issue now. The Heartless Doll currently held the mythical beast mask of the Heavenly Bull and the wine-sword immortal Li Bai; its capacity of 200 points was fully occupied.

Yan Luo swiftly made up his mind: Extract the Heavenly Bull!

The mythical beast mask of the Heavenly Bull was on par with the demon beast Nightmare and the ghost soldier Ox-Head. Its energy attacks weren't as potent as Nightmare's, nor its strength as formidable as Ox-Head's—this mask granted a transformation with balanced combat abilities. Overall, it was powerful.

Still, the Heavenly Bull couldn't compare to Li Bai. With the wine-sword immortal's mask as a trump card, it was sufficient. Most importantly, the accumulated heroic soul mask fragments had reached seventy percent. Absorbed emotions, once fused, could yield a new persona mask if successful, or else simply become fragments; soon, he would gain another mask.

So now, emotions were crucial for Yan Luo. He couldn't let them go to waste.

The Heavenly Bull had three skills: Thunderous Charge, Earth Stomp, and Furious Rush.

Thunderous Charge was energy-based, Earth Stomp was a control skill, and Furious Rush was pure attack. Previously, Yan Luo would have chosen Thunderous Charge, but now, with the Olympic Sacred Flame, after some thought, he selected Earth Stomp.

By stomping the ground, a ring-shaped shockwave would spread, causing dizziness in those nearby.

For Yan Luo, who practiced the Ten Directions Staff Technique and wielded cold weapons with devastating force, this was an extremely powerful complementary skill!

Using the Heavenly Bull persona mask transformed him into a bull—he wouldn't be able to wield a staff. This skill was strategic!

Extract: Mythical Beast, Heavenly Bull.

The ox-headed mask dissolved into particles.

Surface Skills—
Red:
Blue: Earth Stomp (temporary)
Yellow: Olympic Sacred Flame (unable to upgrade)
Awakening:
Inner Skills—
Black:
White:
Gray: Force of Words (LV1: Word Bullet)
Ultimate:
Unfortunately, the extracted skill could only be used once before disappearing.

All this happened in his mind, taking no time at all. Yan Luo quickly slung his backpack over his shoulder, stuffed a piece of instant noodle into his mouth, and as for what the horse would eat... he'd fed it once before leaving the ancient Greek world.

It had now been close to twelve hours.

In theory, a warhorse needed to be fed three times a day with hay and twice with grain, or it would become thin... grass, cornmeal, soybean meal, bran—all were suitable feeds. Yan Luo, of course, had nothing for the horse, so it would have to go hungry for now; he'd figure something out at noon.

Virtual mounts in games were much easier—no feeding required.

In the world of ancient Greece, the realm of athletics, Yan Luo had also learned to ride a horse—it was not difficult. He mounted a European heavy horse, much larger than a Mongolian steed, and rode toward the school.

This horse had only a bridle, lacking saddle and stirrups. He'd need to find a way to buy them after school... and he'd need to shoe the horse as well, since warhorse hooves were quite delicate.

Even without much feeling, Yan Luo found it troublesome, especially feeding—it would probably eat more than he did... Maybe he should just sell it in the Dream Space?

Since the inner world allowed freedom of choice, in some worlds, horses were extremely valuable—whether as transport or as allies in battle. Take the Three Kingdoms: without a horse, Zhao Yun could never have charged seven times through the ranks at Changban.

Some generals relied on their horses' momentum in combat.

Wen Chou and Yan Liang, with martial ratings of 96 and 95 in Romance of the Three Kingdoms, faced Guan Yu riding Red Hare at 99 and were reduced from famous Hebei generals to mere cannon fodder...

In the Dream Space, horses were worth a lot!

Yet, thinking it over, Yan Luo gave up on selling it. He had no urgent need to buy anything; he had cultivation manuals, weapons, and armor—all he lacked was time. With this horse, he could earn the "Silver-level Fierce General" or even "Gold-level Fierce General" title in ancient war worlds.

This mattered greatly for practicing the Ten Directions Staff Technique.

As Yan Luo rode Cream Chocolate through the residential area, the locals were dumbfounded. An elder practicing Tai Chi twisted his waist in shock; as the horse galloped through the gate, the security guard nearly dropped his jaw to his feet.

"A horse?"

"It's really a horse!"

"He's carrying a schoolbag—is he riding a horse to school?"

...

With each exclamation came waves of astonishment—astonishment +1, +1, +1—Yan Luo absorbed over ten points of shock in mere moments.

After leaving the neighborhood, Yan Luo rode onto the main road.

To this horse from ancient times, cars on the road were monstrous creatures. At once, Cream Chocolate neighed shrilly, rearing up on its hind legs—clearly startled and ready to rampage.

Yan Luo quickly pulled the reins to calm it.

Perhaps the Ox-Head transformation had instilled a deep, bone-level fear in this horse; as it was about to go wild, Yan Luo tugged and tapped its head a few times, and it quickly settled, hesitated, then resumed running.

Soon, the horse was running smoothly.

Yan Luo's hometown was a fourth-tier city; even at morning rush hour, there weren't many vehicles. He rode on paths between the main road and sidewalks, used by bikes and scooters, causing no trouble.

"Clip-clop, clip-clop..."

Riding Cream Chocolate at speed, with city buses and cars limited to thirty or forty kilometers per hour, the warhorse could reach sixty, but having been startled, it managed only twenty.

The wind whipped Yan Luo's black hair, the perfect center parting styled by the perfectionist Murong Mu quickly becoming tousled.

Thus, on this morning, the roads of the fourth-tier city saw a peculiar sight—

On the main roads, buses and cars; on the sidewalks, children with backpacks heading to school; on the paths between, bikes and scooters—and Yan Luo, joyfully riding a horse.

A young man driving a BMW X3, humming leisurely and pondering where to find amusement today, suddenly spotted a horse running by the roadside.

His eyes nearly pressed from the left driver’s seat onto the right window.

He drove alongside Yan Luo for two or three minutes, then rolled down the window and called out, "Bro, that's impressive!"

Yan Luo glanced at him, saying nothing.

The young man wanted to chat, but seeing Yan Luo's aloofness, felt annoyed. "Kid, that's just a horse—my ride's a BMW! Wanna race?"

Yan Luo still said nothing.

The young man sneered, flashed a middle finger, then floored the accelerator—the BMW spat a plume of exhaust and sped ahead.

Yan Luo had no interest in pointless races—he kept Cream Chocolate at twenty kilometers per hour. Soon, he saw the young man parked ahead, a traffic police officer sternly lecturing him, notebook in hand.

"Whoa!" The officer saw Yan Luo riding a horse, and his notebook fell to the ground.

"Hey, hey, stop! Stop right there!"

He raised his hand to halt him.

Yan Luo pulled the reins, slowing Cream Chocolate to a stop beside the officer.

"Officer, is there a problem?"

"I'm only twenty-three..." The officer’s mouth twitched.

"Oh, sorry—I thought you were thirty-two... Maybe you just look older," Yan Luo apologized politely.

A surge of emotion: sadness +1

The officer struggled to speak: "I know that myself, no need to remind me... Why are you riding a horse?"

"I'm going to school."

Yan Luo pointed to his backpack. "Didn't you see it? I'm a senior in high school, about to take the college entrance exam... Early study starts at 7:30. I can't waste my limited time commuting—so I ride."

"Officer, I just thought it was rare to see someone on horseback, got excited, tried to race him—and before I could even speed you caught me... Officer, I promise not to do it again, please don't deduct my points, I'm begging you!" The young man pleaded.

The officer ignored him, face stern. "You could take a car to school—why ride a horse? Is this road meant for horses?"

Yan Luo pointed at the road. "What do you call this?"

"The highway."

"Another name?"

The officer hesitated. "Horse road?"

"Exactly." Yan Luo nodded impassively. "You know it's called a horse road—originally, it was meant for horses. Science advanced, cars took over, and fewer people ride horses. But modern folks shouldn't deny the road’s original purpose."

Yan Luo sighed, "That's forgetting our roots!"

A surge of emotion: bewilderment +1

Yan Luo continued, "And the Road Traffic Safety Law doesn't prohibit riding horses, does it?"

The officer answered reflexively, "No... But Article 60 says when driving animal-drawn vehicles, one should use tame animals; when crossing the road, the driver must dismount and lead the animal; when leaving the vehicle, tie the animal."

"If I were driving a chariot pulled by a horse, that would be an animal-drawn vehicle—but chariots are too dangerous... Now, you could see me as avoiding accidents by abandoning the vehicle. Well, officer, I have to get to class soon—college entrance exams are near, studying is important! I'll remember to tie up the horse... Don’t let me keep you from your duties."

"Bye, officer."

Yan Luo waved, and under the officer's stunned gaze rode away, "clip-clop, clip-clop"...

A surge of emotion: bewilderment +3