Chapter 240: Beast Hall [2 in 1]
Translator: StarveCleric Editor: - -
"How is that possible?"
"Are my eyes playing tricks on me?"
Everyone instantly began clamoring.
Even though Yun Tao"s subordinates didn"t say anything, they shared the same thoughts as their master. It was impossible for a cultivator to capture that strange bird based on their movement technique and speed.
As the subordinate of a prince, they had seen plenty of swift Tongxuan realm experts, but the sight in front of their eyes still left them completely bewildered.
For Zhang Xuan to travel dozens of meter from their side to the strange bird in the blink of an eye, this… was way too fast!
Could a movement technique be capable of such speed?
"Could it be that… we"ve underestimated him? Is Zhang Xuan a… Zongs.h.i.+ realm expert?"
The several of them shuddered at the thought.
Even though Hanwu Kingdom had Zongs.h.i.+ realm cultivators, they rarely made a move. As a result, even they were unable to fathom how fast a Zongs.h.i.+ could travel.
However, they had heard from the grapevine that Zongs.h.i.+s, as a stabilizing force of a kingdom, possessed profound abilities, and their strength was so great that it was hard to imagine.
Given how this youngster was able to subdue a Gold Alloyed Panther barehanded and capture the strange bird with just two of his fingers, even if all of them were to gang up on him, they wouldn"t stand a chance. Could it be that he was really a Zongs.h.i.+ realm expert?
Zongs.h.i.+ realm… that was the strength of the old ancestors who propped up Tier 2 Kingdoms with their sheer might. For one to appear before them, not to mention, he seemed to be under twenty….
Could it be that he was actually a young master from some prestigious clans in one of the Conferred Kingdoms?
Otherwise, how could he possibly possess such cultivation and incredible movement technique at such a young age?
Nevertheless, regardless of the truth, this youngster wasn"t someone they could afford to offend.
The several of them gulped in anxiety. For fear of inciting his rage, they didn"t even dare to breathe loudly.
"Compared to w.a.n.g Ying… he"s faster!"
Shen Bi Ru"s face paled.
Even though she was prepared for it after w.a.n.g Ying"s show of might at the Teacher Evaluation, Zhang Xuan"s speed still managed to astound her.
If he were to utilize it against her, she would probably die from the impact before she could execute any moves.
"Caw…"
While Yun Tao and the others were shocked speechless, the eyes of the strange bird widened in astonishment.
The strange bird had properly planned everything beforehand. Once the group closed in on it or use their weaponry against it, it would escape immediately. Then, when the time came, it would appear once more to wreak havoc. But why did this person suddenly appear?
If it knew that one of them possessed such incredible speed, capturing it before it could even react, it wouldn"t have dared to come over here to wreak havoc….
"Its speed isn"t that impressive!"
Holding onto the strange bird, Zhang Xuan shook his head.
When Yun Tao described how arrows were unable to hit the strange bird and how incredible its speed was, Zhang Xuan thought that it would be a troublesome opponent. As a result, he used the complete version of the movement technique, but….
What the heck is this!
Like a corpse, the bird didn"t even move! If Zhang Xuan knew that it would be like that, he would have used the incomplete version instead!
At this moment, his body was aching from the burden of the swift movement. If not for the fact that he cultivated Heaven"s Path Golden Body, this forceful increase in speed would have caused him to spit out blood.
Even though Zhang Xuan"s voice wasn"t loud, those here were all cultivators. Everyone heard his words loud and clear, and their mouths twitched.
This… It"s not that the strange bird was slow, but that you were too fast. The bird didn"t even have the time to react, alright….
Ignoring the shock everyone else was going through, Zhang Xuan activated his cultivation technique and circulated the zhenqi within his body, easing the pain. Then he turned around and called for Yun Tao. "Come over and tame it!"
"Right!"
Yun Tao ran over. Taking out a unique rope, he bound the strange bird, disabling its faculty of flight. Only then did Zhang Xuan loosen his grip.
Seeing that Yun Tao was thinking of ways to tame it, Zhang Xuan focused his attention on him. After a while, he lost interest.
Actually, it was no different from taming a dog or a cat. He prepared plenty of good stuff savage beasts would find hard to reject beforehand to attract the other party"s attention. Then, making use of all kinds of means, he tried to instill a good impression in the other party to obtain its trust.
"Normally, it would take three to four days for a savage beast to be tamed and establish a contract with a human. At the moment, His Highness is trying to gain intimacy with it. When their relations.h.i.+p reaches a certain point, there will be a possibility of the savage beast submitting to him. At that point, the two of them will cultivate a cultivation technique that can complement each other and boost the other"s strength. In this way the taming process will be complete!"
Afraid that Zhang Xuan was getting impatient, a subordinate walked forward and explained the process to him.
"It takes three to four days?"
"Indeed, and we"re talking about those that are easier to tame. As for the more powerful savage beasts, even official beast tamers would have to take a ton of effort. Beast Tamer Hu Qunxun from our Hanwu Kingdom once accompanied a Half-Zongs.h.i.+ savage beast by a marshland for three years to tame it. Every day, he would give it the food it favored. As time went by, their relations.h.i.+p deepened and it eventually submitted to him completely. This incident eventually went on and became a legend in our kingdom."
The subordinate nodded his head.
"This… can become a legend?"
Zhang Xuan was exasperated.
That beast tamer must be truly free to spend three years taming a savage beast. Zhang Xuan didn"t have the effort and patience to spend that much time on such a thing.
"Indeed, strong savage beasts have their pride. Without making it feel touched or enticed, how could it willingly submit to someone else?"
At this point, fervent pa.s.sion gleamed within the eyes of that subordinate. "I would be willing to spend a decade if I could win the loyalty of a Half-Zongs.h.i.+ realm savage beast."
Seeing the other party getting so agitated, Zhang Xuan was taken aback. But he soon understood the reason behind his agitation.
Not everyone had the Library of Heaven"s Path like Zhang Xuan, so they weren"t able to raise their cultivation as easily as if eating and drinking like he did.
For most people, once they dredged up the final inch of their potential, they would be stuck at the same cultivation realm for their entire life, unable to achieve a breakthrough, only waiting slowly for their lives to come to an end.
Shen Hong, Liu Ling, and the others were prime examples. If they hadn"t met with Zhang Xuan, it would"ve been nigh impossible for them to achieve a breakthrough.
Given such circ.u.mstances, it was natural that they would devote their efforts into other means to raise their fighting prowess.
Putting others aside, if Emperor Shen Zhui was able to tame such a savage beast as well, even if Shen Hong were to pa.s.s away, Tianxuan Kingdom wouldn"t be at risk of an invasion.
Know that not only could a savage beast match up against cultivator beyond that of its strength, its longevity was also significantly greater than that of a human"s.
Just by taming one, the safety of the kingdom would be rea.s.sured for a century. Let alone ten years, an ordinary cultivator would probably be willing to devote decades to something if there was a possibility of success.
After all, not everyone was like Zhang Xuan, possessing strength surpa.s.sing that of the Gold Alloyed Panther, which was well-known for its might, pus.h.i.+ng it to the point it was utterly unable to fight back. Further, he helped it surpa.s.s its limits within a few moments.
"How long will he take to tame this strange bird?"
As he pondered, Zhang Xuan no longer felt interested in watching the taming methods of a beast tamer.
"I will help Elder ask!"
The subordinate quickly rushed over. A moment later, he returned and said, "Elder, His Highness says that he estimates it will take around two days for him to succeed with the Inceptive Taming! For the beast tamer examination, just Inceptive Taming is enough. You don"t need to go through Complete Submission."
"Inceptive Taming?"
"That means that the strange bird will remain by his side. Even if His Highness doesn"t bind it, it won"t leave!" the subordinate explained.
"Two days of effort just for this?" Zhang Xuan shook his head. "This is too slow."
Having to spend an immense amount of effort, resources, and time just to tame a savage beast—it was much more convenient to rent one directly from the Beast Hall. Looks like… beast taming wasn"t worth learning after all.
"I shall take a look!"
After hesitating for a moment, Zhang Xuan walked over to Yun Tao and the strange bird.
"Elder!"
Upon guessing that the person before him ought to be a Zongs.h.i.+, Yun Tao felt even greater admiration for the other party, and his att.i.tude couldn"t be any more respectful.
"You need two days to complete the Inceptive Taming with this fellow?" Zhang Xuan looked at him.
"Yes!" Yun Tao glanced at the strange bird excitedly. "I used a special communication method which savage beasts can understand to communicate with it just now, and I offered it an unlimited amount of honey as long it follows by my side. Eventually, it promised to try living with me. The a.s.sessment will be two days later, and as long as I can provide it with sufficient honey, I should be able to succeed!"
"Caw!"
Hearing his words, Zhang Xuan turned to look at the strange bird, only to see that fellow stretching its neck and tilting its head back arrogantly, as though saying that he wasn"t worthy to be in its sight.
"Isn"t there any way to speed up the process?" Zhang Xuan frowned and asked.
"Caw! Caw! Caw!" the strange bird crowed.
After which, an awkward expression appeared on Yun Tao"s face. "It says that Elder was too rough with it when you captured it just now, and it is still extremely angry. Two days is already a short duration. If we try to haggle with it, it will raise it to ten days or even a month…."
"Short?" Seeing the strange bird acting so arrogantly, Zhang Xuan shook his head. "I don"t think so. I think it will submit within ten minutes."
"Ten minutes?" Yun Tao was taken aback. Then, he immediately smiled awkwardly. "How is that possible…."
Taming a Pixue realm savage beast within ten minutes was an impossible feat.
Even the most incredible beast tamer of the Beast Hall couldn"t do so.
"It"s quite simple!"
Zhang Xuan shook his head. He stretched out his hand and said, "Give it to me!"
"Yes!" Although Yun Tao didn"t know what Zhang Xuan was up to, he handed the strange bird over.
Grabbing the bird, Zhang Xuan stared at it.
"Submit right now and become his tamed beast."
"Caw!"
Hearing those words, the strange bird immediately glared at Zhang Xuan unhappily, as though challenging Zhang Xuan"s words.
It seemed to be saying that if Zhang Xuan wanted it to become Yun Tao"s tamed beast, he better treat it properly.
"Fine, since you are unwilling to do so, you can die right now!"
Unwilling to waste his time with it, Zhang Xuan slapped it.
Padah!
Before the strange bird could even react, it was smacked onto the ground.
"Elder…" Yun Tao"s mouth twitched and he nearly went into a frenzy.
Who tames a savage beast like this?
Even if the savage beast submits to you now, it might change its mind, bringing about plenty of trouble in the future.
The others were also dumbfounded.
You call this taming?
More like murder!
"Caw!"
Clearly, the strange bird also didn"t expect Zhang Xaun to become violent, nearly killing it with a slap. The eyes of the strange bird turned red and it struggled to its feet. However, before it could stand up, a leg appeared above it.
Whoos.h.!.+
Like a rubber ball, the strange bird flew straight onto a ma.s.sive boulder. Mouthful after mouthful of blood vomited from its mouth.
"I"ll give you one last chance. Submit completely, and I will raise your cultivation and treat your injuries. Otherwise, die!"
Zhang Xuan stared at that strange bird emotionlessly.
"Caw…"
Struggling to open its eyes, the strange bird hesitated for a moment before squawking.
Hearing that sound, Yun Tao was taken aback. Then his face flushed from emotion.
"Elder… it, it agreed to it…."
"It agreed to it?"
Yun Tao"s subordinates and Shen Bi Ru felt dizzy, and they nearly fainted from shock.
This works as well?
When did beast taming become so easy?
"It"s good that you agreed. I thought that you were a valiant figure who would persevere until the very end!"
Zhang Xuan couldn"t stand watching such a small and weak savage beast acting so c.o.c.kily. If it didn"t want to live, he could just send it on its way. In any case, Xuanluo Mountain Range had no shortage of savage beasts.
"Establish the contract!"
Unwilling to say anything more, Zhang Xuan grabbed the strange bird and threw it to Yun Tao.
Grabbing the strange bird while fl.u.s.tered, Yun Tao established a contract with the bird.
"Good, now give it to me!"
Upon seeing the confirmation of the contract, Zhang Xuan poked the strange bird, knocking it out. Then, after touching it, he pa.s.sed it back to Yun Tao to wake it up.
After which, his fingers began prodding the body of the strange bird.
His fingers were swift as the wind, his zhenqi sharp as a sword.
Surge after surge of pure zhenqi gushed into the body of the strange bird, inducing an evolution.
Crick crack!
After dozens of breath, the sound of the crackling of the bones echoed. The dying bird abruptly grew larger and its aura suddenly grew significantly stronger. In a few moments, it reached Pixue realm intermediate stage.
Along with the rise in its cultivation, the injuries on its body disappeared.
"Caw?"
Sensing the changes in its body, the strange bird stared fixedly at Zhang Xuan in disbelief.
The reason it collected a large amount of honey in its nest wasn"t just to satisfy its craving. More importantly, it could raise its cultivation.
Yun Tao"s action of stealing its honey was equivalent to preventing it from raising its cultivation. That was the reason why it was so infuriated such that it was willing to waste its time wreaking havoc on the group every day.
Initially, it just intended to agree to the contract temporarily and think of a way to get back at that fellow who beat it to submission previously and cleanse itself of this humiliation. Yet the man who beat it up helped it achieve a breakthrough with just a few pokes.
Its cultivation had been stuck at the same level for many years, to achieve a breakthrough in an instant….
The strange bird suddenly felt that it might not be a bad thing to submit to a human….
Upon thinking so, its previously perfunctory submission suddenly became sincere. Bending its body, it respectfully lowered its head. All signs of arrogance from before disappeared without a trace.
"This…"
Savage beasts weren"t as adept at deception as humans. Upon seeing the att.i.tude of the strange bird, everyone was dumbfounded.
When other people tamed a savage beast, they would do their best to serve it like it was their grandfather. Even so, it was still possible for them to fail. Yet just by punching the savage beast, this guy had been able to get it to utterly submit to him. They were just thinking that the affair with the Gold Alloyed Panther might just have been a coincidence, but when it happened for the second time, it was clear to them that Zhang Xuan possessed extraordinary capabilities in taming beasts.
"This isn"t something you can learn!"
"The first step, beating up a savage beast, isn"t hard to learn. But the second step, helping it achieve a breakthrough and healing its injuries, how could we possibly do so?"
"Frankly, you might not even be able to learn the first step either!"
"Why? Isn"t it just going all out to mercilessly beat up the savage beast?"
"Beat up the savage beast? It"s not that simple! When taming a savage beast, you try to hold back so you don"t kill it. But if you do so, the intimidation factor goes down! The reason why the strange bird submitted was because Elder Zhang Xuan would really kill it if it didn"t do so! But more importantly… Zhang Xuan was able to surpa.s.s that fellow in speed! Along with his unconcealed killing intent, he induced fear within the strange bird. Otherwise, how could that proud savage beast submit that easily?"
"Now that you speak of it… it does sound logical…."
...
Even though Zhang Xuan tamed the strange bird easily, everyone knew that it wasn"t something they could do if they were in his place. In fact, even official beast tamers couldn"t imitate his method.
Just the fact that they had to crush the confidence of the strange bird by surpa.s.sing it in terms of speed would stop many experts in their tracks.
"This fellow has already submitted, so let"s leave now!"
The reason why Zhang Xuan made a move was so that he could leave quickly. Now that the strange bird had been tamed, there was no need to remain here.
"OK!"
Delighted, Yun Tao nodded his head vigorously.
When Zhang Xuan tamed the Gold Alloyed Panther, Yun Tao thought that he was doomed for this examination. He didn"t expect the other party to be able to reverse the situation in a single go.
He looked at Zhang Xuan with grat.i.tude.
Since they were done with their exam, all that was left was the journey back to the Beast Hall. Zhang Xuan and Shen Bi Ru sat on the back of the Gold Alloyed Panther while Yun Tao and the others kept up with them with all their might, nearly breathing their last in the midst of doing so.
Tears streamed down Yun Tao"s cheeks as he ran.
The other party got to sit on the back of a savage beast grandly, while he could only carry that silly bird of his while running behind with all his might.
Even though they had both tamed a savage beast, the difference between the two sure was huge….
Two hours later, a huge valley appeared before them.
"The spiritual energy is dense!"
Upon entering, Zhang Xuan immediately realized that something was amiss.
The spiritual energy within the valley was almost doubly denser than the spiritual energy anywhere else. The pores in his body couldn"t help but breathe in the spiritual energy gleefully, and the brus.h.i.+ng of the spiritual energy against his body made him feel like he was soaking in a hot spring.
One could definitely cultivate to higher realms here when compared to cultivating outside.
"The Beast Hall has set up a Spirit Gathering Formation in the valley so that spirit flowers and spirit herbs can grow. The const.i.tution of savage beasts can improve as well, increasing the probability of them achieving a breakthrough!" Shen Bi Ru said.
The first time she was here, she was astonished as well.
For a formation to span the entire valley, and the spiritual energy to be doubled…. How much would something on such a grand scale cost?
Only an organization as wealthy as the Beast Hall would likely be willing to invest such a sum!
"That"s true!" Zhang Xuan nodded his head. He breathed in deeply, and felt the cells in his body come to life.
The first 7 dans of a Fighter were 1-dan Juxi, 2-dan Dantian, 3-dan Zhenqi, 4-dan Pigu, 5-dan Dingli, 6-dan Pixue and 7-dan Tongxuan.
Putting aside the first three elementary realms of a cultivator, in 4-dan Pigu realm, zhenqi is used to nourish the physical body; in 5-dan Dingli realm, one learns to utilize their zhenqi more efficiently and raise their strength; in 6-dan Pixue, one opens up the acupoints in one"s body; in 7-dan Tongxuan, one opens up all meridians, allowing zhenqi to flow through the entire body.
These 7 dans didn"t require high amounts of spiritual energy. As such, there were plenty of Tongxuan realm experts in a place like Tianxuan Kingdom where spiritual energy was severely lacking.
However, without sufficient spiritual energy, it was difficult for one to reach Zongs.h.i.+ realm.
A Zongs.h.i.+ possessed immense strength within his body. Without sufficient spiritual energy and acc.u.mulation, it was impossible for one to reach that level.
Take Zhang Xuan for example. Even with Heaven"s Path Divine Art, it was still difficult for him to achieve a breakthrough without sufficient spiritual energy
If Zongs.h.i.+ realm was an ocean, then Tianxuan Kingdom"s spiritual energy was like a trickling stream. At such a pace, it would take decades of acc.u.mulation before he could fill that ocean. However, if he could use the current of a river instead, the speed would increase significantly.
Even though the spiritual energy in the air was just two times more concentrated than outside, his cultivation speed would be raised severalfold.
Looking around his surroundings, the plants were clearly much lusher and denser compared to the outside. From time to time, canaries and savage beasts would fly by, their physique significantly larger than those that roamed on the outside.
Using an a.n.a.logy from my previous life, the Beast Hall is like an airport. It is built far away from the city, and those who want to go overseas and are in a rush would be forced to make the trip there!
Glancing at the numerous flying savage beasts in the air, this thought popped up in Zhang Xuan"s mind.
Previously, he wondered why the Beast Hall wasn"t built within the capital. Upon seeing those savage beasts, he immediately understood the reason.
These fellows were ma.s.sive and ferocious, and if placed in the capital, conflicts would likely break out often with the indigenous population. This was something that the emperor would want to avoid happening.
"The Beast Hall is inside. Let"s enter!"
Walking down the path in the valley, the group hurried forward.
Not too long after, a city appeared before their eyes.
Stretching for dozens of kilometers, all kinds of beautiful infrastructure could be seen. Crowds packed the street, and even though the bustle of the city couldn"t match up to Tianxuan Royal City, it had surpa.s.sed most of the 2nd-tier markets.
"This is… the Beast Hall?" Zhang Xuan blinked.
He thought that the Beast Hall would be just like the Apothecary Guild, an average-sized building in the middle of the forest, isolated from the world. Yet, to think that it would be a prosperous city.
"Initially, it was only a hall. However, as time went by, traders and the descendants of beast tamers started to reside here, and eventually it grew to be the city it is today." Yun Tao explained.
Zhang Xuan nodded.
Xuanluo Mountain Range bordered numerous kingdoms, and there were plenty of people who wanted to purchase a savage beast to protect their clan or to ride on an aerial savage beast. Furthermore, the spiritual energy here was concentrated. As such, it quite normal that it would grow to such a scale.
It was just like an airport. As time went by, all kinds of industry would be built alongside the airport, attracting countless people to reside there.
It was no wonder Shen Bi Ru gave him a strange look when he asked about how those in the Beast Hall obtained their resources.
"Let"s go to the Beast Hall!"
Upon entering the city, Zhang Xuan loitered around the streets, but he didn"t see anything of interest. So he called out and the several of them walked into the tallest building in the dead center of the city.
As the core of the city, the Beast Hall was tall and towering. Painted caesious, it was a hundred meters tall, shooting straight into the clouds. There were two gigantic savage beast sculptures at the entrance. They looked extremely savage and fearsome, adding to the grandeur of the building.
Straight ahead of them was a dozen-meter-long plaque with the words "Beast Hall" written on it in red. It was hard to tell what was used to write it, but it felt intimidating.
"It"s the blood of a high-tier beast!"
Yun Tao explained, "Such savage beasts are born strong, and even after their death, the pressure their presence exerted doesn"t disappear. Using their blood for calligraphy can instill fear in those looking at it, making them apprehensive about causing trouble there."
"Mmm!" Zhang Xuan nodded his head.
It must be said that the Beast Hall was indeed grand in scale. Much less others, even he couldn"t help but feel overwhelmed before entering.
Upon walking through the gates, just like the Apothecary Guild, a lounge came into view. A huge crowd paced to and fro, and there were plenty of experts in their midst. In fact, some of them were even lining up, and the entire place was bustling.
"That is… Pixue realm pinnacle? Tongxuan realm intermediate stage? Also… Tongxuan realm pinnacle?"
Looking around, Zhang Xuan was astounded.
In Tianxuan Kingdom, Tongxuan realm experts were rare and highly-esteemed, but here, like cabbages in a market, they were everywhere. In fact, even the most unimpressive looking elder could very likely possess the cultivation of a Tongxuan realm pinnacle.
On the other hand, Pixue realm experts, who were qualified to become the head of a clan, seemed to be insignificant figures here. Just by sweeping in the surroundings, Zhang Xuan was able to spot a handful of them.