Chapter 687: I Am Done Studying It
Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97
A typical beast tamer would have to spend several years of selfless giving and intimate conversations to win the trust and loyalty of a savage beast. Not everyone was like Zhang Xuan, where a single beating would suffice.
As such, the relations.h.i.+ps between beast tamers and their tamed beasts tended to be extremely strong. Furthermore, this tie was further strengthened when they engaged in collaborative cultivation and fused their bloodlines together.
This Draconic Granite Beast had spent many years accompanying this elder, and in the latter"s heart, it had already become his closest kin. On top of that, it had even given up its life for him. Thus, no matter how much trouble it would take, he wanted to fulfill the latter"s dying will.
"Has the Beast Hall tried taming the Great Violetwing Beast yet?"
Zhang Xuan frowned.
Even if a beast tamer couldn"t comprehend the Ancient Beast Language, they were still able to communicate with one another telepathically. The only reason the elder wasn"t able to interpret the Draconic Granite Beast"s last words and ended up immersing himself in the research of the Ancient Beast Language was because the latter was too weak to communicate telepathically then.
However, considering how the Great Violentwing Beast was present at that moment, it should have heard the words of the Draconic Granite Beast. If someone tamed it, they would be able to learn of the Draconic Granite Beast"s dying message, and the elder wouldn"t have to go through so much trouble.
The elder shook his head.
"Even though a mature Great Violetwing Beast tends to be at Transcendent Mortal 8-dan, this one has reached the level of half 9-dan. There"s no one in the Beast Hall who is sufficiently capable to tame it…"
"Half 9-dan?"
"Yes. Even though it hasn"t exactly reached 9-dan yet, the advantages it derives from its superior physique and bloodline allows it to defeat most 9-dan cultivators. Furthermore, the death of the Draconic Granite Beast has made it hostile to humans, thus making it impossible to tame it…" the elder said.
"The Great Violetwing Beast was a good friend of the Draconic Granite Beast?" Zhang Xuan was perplexed.
The elder hesitated for a moment before replying.
"They were… lovers!"
"Lovers?" Zhang Xuan was stunned.
There were plenty of powerful spirit beast species that were extremely limited in terms of their numbers. As such, it would be difficult for them to find a companion from the same species. Under such circ.u.mstances, they would choose to find another powerful spirit beast to mate with. But of course, it was uncertain whether they would be able to procreate together or not.
More often than not, they would regard the latter as their spiritual partner, a companion to fight and spend their days with.
In fact, there were some human couples who had such platonic relations.h.i.+ps as well.
Upon reaching a certain level of cultivation, cultivators would begin to crave for spiritual intimacy rather than physical relations.h.i.+ps. Procreation and physical pleasure would take the backseat instead.
Since the Great Violetwing Beast and Draconic Granite Beast were a couple, it was natural that they shared an intimate relations.h.i.+p.
As such, it viewed the elder, who took the Draconic Granite Beast away from it, in hostility. As such, how could it possibly be willing to inform the latter of the Draconic Granite Beast"s dying will?
Thus, the elder was determined to study the Ancient Beast Language so as to communicate and make peace with it.
Upon hearing his teacher"s words, Han Chong couldn"t help but ask, "But teacher, since the Great Violetwing Beast was the companion of teacher"s tamed beast, why does it still wreak havoc in the Beast Hall once every few days?"
"Wreak havoc?" Luo Qiqi turned her gaze over curiously.
"Indeed. That fellow comes over several times a month to attack the Beast Hall and devour a few spirit beasts, resulting in immense fury among the beast tamers. The Beast Hall has gone to great lengths to capture it, but it was simply too strong and too fast, thus resulting in a failure each time…" Han Chong explained.
Even though he hadn"t been in Huanyu Empire for too long, he was still able to learn of quite a few things.
In the past month, the Great Violetwing Beast had already attacked the Beast Hall several times and devoured several spirit beasts. This had left many people furious, but due to the Great Violetwing Beast"s overwhelming strength, there was nothing that they could do.
All along, he had thought that the Great Violetwing Beast was just provoked by the spirit beasts becoming subservient to humans—there were plenty of spirit beasts who felt that humans weren"t qualified to tame them—but from the looks of it now, it seemed like it was exacting vengeance for its companion.
"It is intentionally wreaking havoc in the Beast Hall because it is furious at the Draconic Granite Beast"s death. The other reason I have been studying the Ancient Beast Language over the past few decades is to ask it exactly it wants!"
The elder shook his head in disappointment. After which, it turned its eyes to Zhang Xuan and asked, "Since you are able to vocalize even the True Voice of Dragons, are you by any chance knowledgeable in the Ancient Beast Language as well?"
Even if he possessed the Pureblooded Dragon Body, there was no way he could learn the True Voice of Dragons by himself. Thus, someone must have tutored him. Given that the certain someone was able to impart even the True Voice of Dragons, there was a chance that the person might just have imparted the Ancient Beast Language along with it.
While the other party said that he had only learned it for a while, he could just be saying so out of humility.
Scratching his head, Zhang Xuan said, "I am not too knowledgeable about the Ancient Beast Language."
He did learn a few words back then, but it had only managed to enrage the spirit beasts he had attempted to speak with. Given how he didn"t even know the meaning of those words, it was no different from not knowing the language at all.
"Not too knowledgeable?" Hearing those words, the elder"s expectant eyes sank. "Then… what about the Eight Notes of Heavenly Dragons?"
Even though the Great Violetwing Beast didn"t possess the Dragon Bloodline, if the other party could talk to it via the Dragon Language, he might just be able to convince it to reveal the truth regarding the matter back then.
While verbal communication would be impossible, there were still various other ways for a human to communicate with a spirit beast.
"I… only know a single note!" Zhang Xuan felt even more embarra.s.sed.
The other party thought that he was well-versed in the Dragon Language, but in truth, Zhang Xuan only knew a single note.
He could still scare a few spirit beasts possessing Dragon Bloodline with it, but communicating with just that single note was clearly impossible.
"A single note?" The elder staggered speechlessly.
When the young man used the Dragon Language, he thought that he had found a solution to this problem. But in the end, nothing had changed at all!
"Forget it then…"
The elder shook his head helplessly.
He had gather many books on the Ancient Beast Language in the past few hopes in the hope that he could piece it together slowly. However, this language was simply far too difficult. Without anyone to guide him along, he couldn"t even differentiate the true words from the false, so he wasn"t able to make much progress in his research.
Considering how highly Han Chong thought of the young man, he thought that he could learn a thing or two from the latter. Who knew that the latter would be as ignorant as him?
Zhang Xuan gazed at the elder and asked, "It"s still too early to give up. Given that you have been studying the Ancient Beast Language for decades, you must have gathered quite a number of books. May I borrow them to read? Perhaps I might be able to make a breakthrough in your research."
"Borrow? Breakthrough?" The elder smiled bitterly. "You mean that you want to start studying now?"
"Un." Zhang Xuan nodded.
"Do you know how difficult the Ancient Beast Language is?"
Seeing that the other party had such an intention, the elder couldn"t help but shake his head. "The Ancient Beast Language has lost most of its heritage, and the records that remain are all unclear and mixed with falsehood. Putting aside whether the vocalization method for the words in them are true or not, even if they are, are the meanings listed in the book even accurate? I have already spent fifty years studying the topic, but I haven"t been able to make any advancement at all, so…"
The elder didn"t finish his words, but his meaning couldn"t have been clearer. He thought that Zhang Xuan was treating the entire matter too lightly.
He had spent his entire life studying the topic, only to find himself as ignorant as he was at the very start. If the Ancient Beast Language could be grasped that easily, it wouldn"t have lost most of its heritage in the first place, and innumerable beast tamers wouldn"t have failed in their attempts to restore it either.
"I am just very interested in the Ancient Beast Language, so I wish to take a look at those books. If I can comprehend something from them, that would of course be for the best. But if I can"t, there"s no harm in it either…" said Zhang Xuan, knowing the thoughts going through the other party"s mind.
"Alright then. All of the books I have on the Ancient Beast Language are in my log house. Over the years, I have collected everything related to the Ancient Beast Language that has appeared in Huanyu Empire…"
The elder waved his hands in disinterest.
Even though it did take him a lot of trouble to gather his collection of books, it wasn"t of particular importance to him. It mattered not to him whether the other party read them or not.
"You have my grat.i.tude."
Zhang Xuan clasped his fist before walking out.
As his figure disappeared into the log house, the elder couldn"t help but shake his head in disappointment. "Even with someone imparting the Ancient Beast Language, it"s impossible to learn it without several years of practice. If it could be learned that easily, wouldn"t I have wasted the past fifty years of my life for nothing?"
He thought that the other party should possess incredible composure given that he was able to utter the True Voice of Dragons. In the end, the other party was still so impetuous.
The Ancient Beast Language was tied to a huge secret of the Beast Hall. If it could be learned that easily, beast tamers like them wouldn"t face so much difficulty trying to tame beasts.
Hearing the doubt in the elder"s voice, Luo Qiqi couldn"t help but speak up for Zhang Xuan.
"Teacher… has always been a reliable person. Since he"s going to read the books, he must have an idea in mind. Perhaps, he really might just succeed."
Hearing the young lady"s address for the young man, the elder was stunned. He immediately turned his gaze over to her.
"Teacher? You are his student?"
The young lady"s cultivation and disposition were both exceptional among her peers. Why would she acknowledge a person who was even younger than her as her teacher?
"That"s right." Luo Qiqi nodded.
"If I recall correctly, you addressed him as Zhang s.h.i.+ previously. Could the young man be a master teacher?" Hearing Luo Qiqi"s reply, the elder suddenly recalled how Han Chong addressed the young man as well.
Han Chong pondered for a moment before replying. "Zhang s.h.i.+ is a 4-star master teacher, as well as the champion of the Master Teacher Tournament. The reason he"s heading for Hongyuan Empire is probably to study at the Master Teacher Academy!"
Han Chong had left the Myriad Kingdom Alliance even before the Master Teacher Tournament had begun, so there were many things that he was oblivious of. Nevertheless, he did hear some news regarding the matter.
"The champion of the Master Teacher Tournament?"
The elder was taken aback.
"Not only so, Zhang s.h.i.+ is also a 4-star beast tamer and 4-star physician!" Han Chong quickly mentioned.
"4-star beast tamer?" The elder frowned. "Since he"s a 4-star beast tamer, he should understand how difficult it is to learn the Ancient Beast Language. It is unlikely for him to act so impulsively on the matter…"
If the young man was only a master teacher and was ignorant of beast taming, the elder could still understand the other party"s actions.
But a 4-star beast tamer should have already accrued considerable knowledge of the field, so how could he possibly not understand the difficulty involved in learning the Ancient Beast Language?
On the other hand, if he knew, how could he possibly utter such amateurish words?
Shaking his head, the elder decided to put this matter behind him for now.
"Inform me when he"s done reading the books. I"ll take you to meet the hall master!"
"Meet the hall master? Is teacher going to help them find an aerial spirit beast?" Han Chong"s eyes lit up.
"Un. Since he"s a 4-star master teacher and a beast tamer, there"s no reason for us not to help him. I recall that the hall master has a Transcendent Mortal 7-dan spirit beast. Even though he never lends it anyone, he might be willing to compromise if I request it of him personally," the elder said.
"Thank you, teacher…"
Hearing that his teacher was willing to help, Han Chong hurriedly bowed in grat.i.tude. At that moment, "jiya!", the door opened, and the young man walked out.
"Ah?"
Everyone was taken aback. Even the elder couldn"t help but frown at the sight before him.
"I thought you were going in to read the books in order to learn the Ancient Beast Language? Why are you out when it has barely been ten minutes?"
The elder couldn"t help but ask, "Is the Ancient Beast Language too hard to comprehend so you lost your interest?"
There was no doubt about it, this fellow must have faltered at the sight of the immense collection before him. Otherwise, how could he possibly finish in such a short period of time?
"It"s indeed very difficult, but the reason I am out is not because I have lost my interest. It"s because…"
At this point, Zhang Xuan looked a little hesitant, but eventually, he still spoke decisively.
"… I am done studying it!"