Blood Linglong is one of the best horses on the track here, naturally also the fastest. Facing such an outstanding horse, the Princess of the Dynasty has always been a pitiful creature who gets crushed every time.

Although it doesn't have human intelligence, being repeatedly beaten by this horse fills its heart with a sense of helpless grievance.

Today's race saw Blood Linglong directly leave the Princess of the Dynasty half a lap behind within the first three laps, thoroughly embarrassing her. Yet unexpectedly, guided by her knight master, she didn't even need a burst of speed but still managed to later surpass the previously unbeatable opponent with ease.

Feeling that Blood Linglong seemed to be trailing further and further behind her, the Princess of the Dynasty was indescribably delighted. Her strides became steadier, and her speed even increased slightly compared to before.

Maintaining her original speed was already fast enough to surpass Blood Linglong, whose pace had clearly dropped significantly. Now that she had sped up even further, the gap between the two horses was becoming increasingly pronounced.

From barely overtaking, to being ahead by one length, then two lengths, three lengths… The disparity grew sharper and sharper, just like at the start of the race, but in reverse.

Earlier, it was Blood Linglong overtaking the Princess of the Dynasty. Now, the situation had flipped, with the Princess of the Dynasty overtaking Blood Linglong and further widening the gap.

Watching the increasingly distant figure of the Princess of the Dynasty, Xiaolajiao began to grow anxious. She sensed something was off. Qin Fang, casually steering the Princess as she passed by, went off far into the distance, without even using his riding crop, just occasionally tightening the reins and giving a gentle jerk.

"Jiajia, your horse slowed down..."

As she passed the five "judges" once again, the four young masters called out in unison. A reminder was now unavoidable; if they let things drag on any longer, Xiaolajiao wouldn't have any chance of victory left.

"My horse slowed down?"

Xiaolajiao froze slightly upon hearing this. She immediately calmed herself to sense the speed and rhythm of Blood Linglong beneath her, and her expression drastically darkened.

She knew horses well, especially Blood Linglong, which she had ridden for several days. She instantly realized what the problem was.

Blood Linglong was running out of stamina...

Before the race against Qin Fang, Xiaolajiao had already pushed Blood Linglong to gallop around the track multiple times. Qin Fang was almost hit by the horse as its speed approached its limit.

This was Xiaolajiao's usual routine whenever she came to the race track, and it was also Blood Linglong's most exhilarating moment, never encountering a hitch before.

However, Xiaolajiao failed to notice one thing—after running such a high number of laps, Blood Linglong's energy consumption was enormous.

Blood Linglong wasn't a wild horse anymore. It had been domesticated for so long that its stamina simply couldn't compare to those wild horses that roamed freely and galloped as they wished.

If it were only regular running, maybe the difference wouldn't have been noticeable. But in such a speed-based competition, and with the stark contrast, its depletion became increasingly apparent.

And as the laps progressed, this issue became more and more pronounced...

This explained why Blood Linglong was able to easily surpass the Princess of the Dynasty during the first three laps—its stamina could still sustain its speed at that time.

But starting from the fourth lap, the increasingly fatigued Blood Linglong began losing its edge, while the well-rested Princess of the Dynasty started picking up pace.

This give-and-take dynamic allowed the Princess of the Dynasty to quickly close the earlier gap, overtake Blood Linglong, and now even widen the distance significantly.

This is truly a case of "the observers see things more clearly than the participants."

As someone continually seated atop Blood Linglong, Xiaolajiao couldn't use instruments like a speedometer to detect changes in speed—a horse isn't a car, after all. It could only be judged by feel.

Without direct comparison, subtle differences in speed were hard to detect.

Back when the Princess of the Dynasty was lagging far behind, Xiaolajiao naturally couldn't feel the disparity. But now, with the four young masters' reminder, she sensed something was wrong.

"Blood Linglong, you can't lose! We can't lose… Come on! You must push harder! Giddyup, giddyup~~ Giddyup giddyup~~"

At this point, Xiaolajiao was panicking. If she didn't encourage Blood Linglong to go all out, she would lose the race. Thinking about the wager she had made with Qin Fang, a chill ran down her spine.

She was still an innocent girl. Her bold and brash personality aside, no man had ever been close enough to so much as steal a kiss.

If she lost and had to spend a month sleeping alongside Qin Fang… Just the thought gave her nightmares—a complete disaster!

A desperate not-to-lose Xiaolajiao had no alternative. She frantically urged Blood Linglong to accelerate, refraining from using the whip out of her affection for the horse but relentlessly squeezing its belly to prompt it forward.

Blood Linglong seemed to sense its owner's urgency, putting more effort into its strides. Its speed did increase vaguely—it started catching up to the Princess of the Dynasty's pace...

However, it could only barely match the Princess's pace. With their speeds now equal, the most Blood Linglong could manage was maintain the existing gap without shrinking it further.

The problem was, by now, Qin Fang and the Princess were nearly half a lap ahead—just as Blood Linglong had done to them earlier. At this rate, without narrowing the disparity, victory would be impossible.

"Giddyup, giddyup, giddyup..."

Xiaolajiao noticed this too, her frustration mounting. Her shouts became incessant, urging Blood Linglong to somehow accelerate.

But with Blood Linglong's stamina heavily depleted, further pushing the horse would only exacerbate its exhaustion unless Xiaolajiao resorted to harmful tactics to force it into an all-out burst. Only then might they barely catch up...

Although even that was just a slim possibility, given the substantial disparity. With more than half of the ten-lap course completed, barely two laps were left.

Time wouldn't wait, and the difference had become glaring. Unless Blood Linglong suddenly had divine intervention, instantly increasing its speed by 100%, catching up was utterly improbable...

Minutes later, Qin Fang elegantly guided the Princess of the Dynasty across the finish line, marking not just the end of this race but also confirming its outcome.

"I lost..."

Before the race, she never once thought she could lose, never believed losing was possible. Yet, the truth was brutal—she had indeed lost, and lost miserably.

If earlier Xiaolajiao presumed that Qin Fang challenging her with a different horse was a show of contempt, now she understood his intentions and the reality of the situation.

"You knew my Blood Linglong would run out of stamina?"

Still, Xiaolajiao couldn't resist asking the question. Even a professional jockey couldn't necessarily predict this—she herself hadn't realized it.

"Sort of..."

Qin Fang shrugged. With his Scouting Skill, he could detect many things others couldn't. He had pinpointed Blood Linglong's excessive energy consumption, noting it couldn't maintain its high speed for the entirety of the contest.

This was why he remarked earlier, "Riding the best horse to compete with you would be bullying you." It wasn't an act of arrogance but an outright statement of fact.

Riding the Princess of the Dynasty had already secured such an effortless victory. If Qin Fang had chosen Flying General, after just four to five laps, there wouldn't even be a point in continuing—the Flying General would've left Blood Linglong one full lap behind by then...

(To be continued. If you enjoy this story, feel free to visit Qidian (qidian.com) and cast your recommendation votes or monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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