Beast Taming: I'm Really Not a Cultivation Master

When Li Qian brought the topic back around, Gao Yaxin fell silent.

She gathered her thoughts for a moment before speaking. "Do you know the origin of Pet Beasts? Or, to be more precise, of Extraordinary Creatures?"

Li Qian was confused.

He didn’t understand why Gao Yaxin would ask such a question.

It wasn’t that the question was difficult.

Rather, it was too simple.

In the year 5428 of the Ancestor Star Calendar, Dimensional Rifts appeared, and countless Extraordinary Creatures poured out from them.

These creatures were given the name ’Extraordinary’ because they possessed all sorts of unimaginable Superpowers.

The Extraordinary Creatures wrought catastrophic destruction upon human civilization.

The Ancestral Star Human Race faced an unprecedented crisis.

Although humanity’s thermal weapons were lethal to the Extraordinary Creatures, there were simply too many of them to handle.

What was even more terrifying was that as the Dimensional Rifts opened, Extraordinary Energy flooded in, and the native creatures of the Ancestral Star also began to mutate, evolving toward becoming Extraordinary Creatures.

This was also the origin of the Ancestral Star’s Pet Beasts.

The situation hung by a thread.

At a critical moment, a human scholar proposed that only by mastering Extraordinary Power could the crisis be resolved.

Thus, all the nations on the Ancestral Star joined forces, forming a suicide squad of one hundred thousand people.

The suicide squad, with thermal weapons clearing the way, charged into a Dimensional Rift.

After three years of hard-fought battles, finally, in the year 5431 of the Ancestor Star Calendar, the suicide squad found information about Beast Taming in the ruins of a civilization within a Dimensional Rift.

In the year 5432 of the Ancestor Star Calendar, the suicide squad withdrew from the Dimensional Rift with only 300 survivors. In the same year, the Beast Taming Contract and the Meditation Method were popularized, and humanity officially entered the era of Beast Taming Civilization.

Ten years later, on the Ancestral Star, the Eight Great prodigious Beast Masters rose to prominence.

They all possessed extraordinary Beast Taming Talents and, in a short period of time, grew to King Level.

Under the leadership of the Eight Kings, the more than two hundred nations of human society quickly banded together and integrated, ultimately forming the Eight Great Federations: Dongxia, Divine Wind, Celestial Star, Xiling, Ogma, Wolz, Holy Court, and Eternal Night.

The establishment of the Eight Great Federations marked humanity’s entry into a new Chapter. That year became the first year of the Federation Calendar.

In the year 1135 of the Federation Calendar, the Mechanical Element was created, and humanity came to possess large, warship-class Mechanical Pet Beasts.

In the same year, humanity ventured beyond the Rainbow Star System, entering the age of Cosmic Civilization.

In the year 1156 of the Federation Calendar, human Mechanics once again discovered Extraordinary Creatures in the Sirius Star System within the Divine Zither Constellation.

This was all knowledge their teacher had taught them in their first year of high school, right when they started their Pet Beast knowledge class.

It was also recorded in most books on Beast Taming history.

So, at this moment, although he didn’t understand why Gao Yaxin had posed such a question, Li Qian still recounted it all concisely.

Finally, he concluded, "So, as far as the common understanding in human society goes, Pet Beasts have only two origins: one, the Dimensional Rifts, and two, the Outer Heaven Battlefield."

Even the native Pet Beasts of the Ancestral Star were born from the leakage of Extraordinary Energy from the Dimensional Rifts.

Their origin could also be traced back to the Dimensional Rifts.

As for the Outer Heaven Battlefield, that’s a general term for other star systems among the cosmic civilizations.

"Not bad."

Gao Yaxin nodded in approval.

This at least proved that Li Qian’s foundational knowledge was very solid.

"Pet Beasts originated from Extraordinary Creatures. In a sense, Pet Beasts are Extraordinary Creatures, but..."

Pausing for a moment, Gao Yaxin continued, "Extraordinary Creatures are not necessarily Pet Beasts!"

"That might sound a bit convoluted, but the meaning is simple. Some Extraordinary Creatures cannot be contracted by humans to become Pet Beasts. Or, if they are, the side effects are immense."

"Magical Beasts are this type of Extraordinary Creature."

"And Demon Cores come from Magical Beasts!"

Upon hearing this, a look of realization dawned on Li Qian’s face, quickly followed by even deeper confusion. "Why can’t Magical Beasts be contracted?"

"The Dimensional Rift is not a complete plane of existence."

Gao Yaxin continued to explain to Li Qian, "It’s more like a multi-dimensional space with nested layers, like an onion."

"Magical Beasts live in the relatively deeper layers of the Dimensional Rifts, where the Energy is violent and corrupt."

"By living in the deeper layers of the Dimensional Rifts for long periods, the souls of these Extraordinary Creatures become polluted."

"As everyone knows, a Beast Taming Contract is, in essence, a Soul Contract. The souls of Magical Beasts are polluted. If you contract one, it will cause your own soul to become polluted as well, turning you into a mindless Demon that knows only slaughter."

Hearing this, Li Qian’s heart suddenly lurched in horror. ’This Demon Core came from the Black Divine Teachings... doesn’t that mean...’

"That’s right!"

Gao Yaxin nodded gravely, voicing the suspicion in Li Qian’s mind. "Those Dark Organizations are trying to get their hands on the power of Magical Beasts."

"Then your teacher..."

Li Qian began to speak subconsciously, but stopped halfway, realizing it was inappropriate.

Gao Yaxin smiled faintly, not minding Li Qian’s unintentional offense. "My teacher is naturally different from those Dark Organizations. He’s conducting normal research, with no intention of misusing it."

"In fact, our Dongxia Federation is officially conducting this kind of research as well."

"To understand this world more clearly and thoroughly, we must enter the deeper layers of the Dimensional Rifts."

"And if we want to enter those deeper layers, Magical Beasts are an unavoidable obstacle."

Li Qian understood, then fell silent.

His conversation with Gao Yaxin today had a huge impact on him.

It had significantly altered his worldview.

After a moment of silence, he let out a long breath and smiled faintly.

’Whether it’s the Dimensional Rifts or the Outer Heaven Battlefield, I’ll encounter them all once I’m strong enough.’

’So there’s no need to rush. Developing slowly and growing stronger steadily is the right path.’

Having figured this out, he shook his head, casting all those useless and complicated thoughts to the back of his mind.

Focusing on the here and now was the most important thing.

He gave the Demon Core to Gao Yaxin and listened to her explanation about it. Afterward, the two of them chatted for a while longer before leaving Building One’s Celestial Terrace.

Although Gao Yaxin hadn’t spent much time at the Jiaoyang Cultivation Base either, she was still more familiar with it than Li Qian.

So, that afternoon, she took Li Qian on a tour of the base.

She introduced him to the various facilities inside.

It had to be said, a starved camel is still bigger than a horse. Although the Jiaoyang Cultivation Base had fallen into decline, its foundation was still solid.

Inside the base, aside from the Pet Beast Houses, there were twelve buildings in total just for research and staff dormitories combined. At its peak, it probably had hundreds of employees.

The only pity was that now, many of the research buildings were unused. Although someone still cleaned them so they weren’t derelict, it was merely to maintain basic hygiene.

Overall, Li Qian was quite satisfied with this Cultivation Base.

Although it seemed a bit deserted due to the small number of staff, the overall framework was still there. With an injection of funds and personnel, it could quickly be revitalized and become bustling again.

Of course, restoring it to its former glory was likely impossible for the time being.

’One step at a time.’

Li Qian was not short on time.

The next day, Li Qian came to the Jiaoyang Cultivation Base again, but Gao Yaxin had already left.

A piece of news spread along with her departure.

The Demon Core from the Black Divine Teachings had fallen into her hands.

Li Qian learned of this from Zhou Weiping, and a slight ripple went through his heart.

He knew very well why Gao Yaxin had done this.

It was simply to protect him.

By leaking this news, she would undoubtedly draw the attention of the Black Divine Teachings away from him.

And so, he would be safe.