I Tame Beasts by Feeding

A thunderous boom echoed in all directions.

Flames and shockwaves tore up the basin floor, sending dust a hundred meters into the air. A massive, scorched crater appeared, surrounded by a dozen or so gravely injured Demon Beasts, gasping for breath on the charred earth.

PTHOO!

Wang Qizheng spat out a large mouthful of blood. His body swayed twice as he stumbled toward the ground, but with immense willpower, he managed to stretch out an arm and catch himself.

His condition was abysmal. Half his body had been caught in the Fireball Skill’s blast; his flesh was charred black, and his hand and arm were burned down to the bone, covered only by a layer of blackened meat.

The black bear and the Wild Mountain Monkeys weren’t much better off. They had also been hit by Yu Changsheng’s fireball, their fur burned completely away, leaving them with a terrifying appearance.

"This is a Fireball Skill? What kind of damned Fireball Skill is this?!"

Wang Qizheng gritted his teeth. He was already blind in one eye, and the other, caught by the flames, was bloodshot. He glared fiercely at Yu Changsheng’s blurry figure.

’Whose Fireball Skill could possibly be this ferocious!’

Little did he know, Yu Changsheng himself had been startled.

’This is the Small Success Fireball Technique?’

’This is insane. It’s more terrifying than a cannon.’

’If I upgrade it to Great Success, could one fireball cover this entire basin?’

But then Yu Changsheng glanced at the hundred thousand essence points needed for Great Success and immediately gave up on the idea. ’Wouldn’t it be better to use a hundred thousand points on my Cultivation Technique? Dumping them into the Fireball Skill would be a total waste.’

’No, I don’t have enough Magical Power left in my body. I can’t muster a second one.’

With a flicker of his Divine Sense, Yu Changsheng shouted sternly, "Red Snake King, go finish them!"

The Red Snake King, already poised for action, lunged forward like an arrow released from a bowstring. It pounced directly in front of Wang Qizheng, its sharp Poisonous Fangs aimed at his neck.

"Get lost!"

Wang Qizheng’s eyes were blood-red. He kicked off the ground, the will to survive erupting from the soles of his feet.

He directed his Silver Saber to slash violently at the Red Snake King’s teeth, then kicked out at it.

But the result was not in his favor. The Red Snake King’s strength far surpassed that of a Cultivator at the same tier, let alone Wang Qizheng, who was two minor stages below it.

BANG!

The silver gleam of the saber was easily blocked by the Red Snake King, which then snatched the Silver Saber in its jaws and slammed its head into Wang Qizheng’s arm, shattering the charred limb to pieces.

"AHHH!" Wang Qizheng roared through clenched teeth, fighting back with all his might. He barely held on, his body retreating continuously.

He didn’t want to die. He didn’t want to die yet!

The selection was just the beginning; his future path was still long!

’I have to live!’

Driven by desperation, Wang Qizheng ignored his ruined arm and used one of his legs to jam the Red Snake King’s gaping maw, channeling all his Magical Power to control his other Silver Saber.

SWISH! The snow-white blade slashed toward the back of the Red Snake King’s head.

If he was lucky, he still had a chance to survive and kill this damned Demon Beast.

But the Red Snake King seemed to sense the attack from behind. It paid it no mind, and a blue light shimmered into existence around its body—the Water Illusion Spirit Armor.

PFFT! The Silver Saber struck the back of its head and glanced off harmlessly.

Wang Qizheng’s eyes widened in disbelief.

’What kind of Magic is that?!’

It was one thing for the Red Snake King to spit poisonous fog, but now it could even use the Water Spirit Illusion Armor and was immune to physical damage!

’How is this even fair?!’

The last thread of Wang Qizheng’s resolve snapped. The Red Snake King’s tail whipped out and struck his spine, causing him to lose his balance.

The thick, powerful tail then swept across. He was too slow to dodge and was struck across the face, the blow distorting his entire visage.

THUD!

With a dull thud, blood splattered everywhere.

Wang Qizheng’s head slammed into the ground. His body went limp as he collapsed, his breath as faint as a thread. It was clear he didn’t have long to live.

The Red Snake King, however, was completely unscathed, its Water Spirit Illusion Armor still intact.

He raised his eyes in despair, only to see the Red Snake King’s massive, bloody maw lunging toward him.

He no longer had the strength to resist. He closed his eyes, unwilling to accept his fate, as blood flowed freely.

CRUNCH! Wang Qizheng’s head was bitten off, and his corpse was promptly swallowed whole by the Red Snake King.

"Sss-ha!" The Red Snake King let out a triumphant roar, its fighting spirit high.

Just then, the injured black bear and Wild Mountain Monkeys began to stir, their expressions filled with fury, as if their prey had been stolen.

PFFT! PFFT! PFFT! Yu Changsheng recalled his Soul-Breaking Nails.

While the Red Snake King had been killing Wang Qizheng, he had used the Soul-Breaking Nails to reap the lives of several other Demon Beasts, quickly collecting their corpses.

"Go!" Seeing the Wild Mountain Monkey’s gaze fall upon them, Yu Changsheng immediately pulled Zhuang Yan past the Earth Spikes in the basin.

That massive Fireball Skill had drained a lot of Yu Changsheng’s Magical Power. Even after taking a Qi Recovery Pill, he wouldn’t recover for a while. Confronting the Wild Mountain Monkeys now would be suicide.

Not to mention the Beast Tide of Demon Beasts that was continuously breaking through the poison fog and charging toward them!

"Sss-ha!" The Red Snake King flicked its tongue at the Wild Mountain Monkey, then turned its tail and slithered away, leaving only its back in view.

"ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!" The Wild Mountain Monkey was furious. It directed the surrounding Demon Beasts to encircle Yu Changsheng while it mounted the black bear to issue commands.

Although these ordinary Tier One Demon Beasts had low intelligence, they were surprisingly efficient under the Wild Mountain Monkey’s command.

A horde of Demon Beasts charged madly toward Yu Changsheng, making the very ground tremble.

Just as the distance between them closed and the Wild Mountain Monkey began to see a glimmer of hope...

Yu Changsheng felt a summons from his Talisman Jade.

’Looks like the selection is over.’

He glanced back at the exasperated Wild Mountain Monkey, a faint smile on his lips. With a wave of his hand, he recalled the Red Snake King.

"We’ll meet again!"

The Wild Mountain Monkey angrily pounded the ground, causing rows of sharp spikes to shoot up from the earth.

However, Yu Changsheng and Zhuang Yan’s figures had already dissolved into motes of light, vanishing from the Ten Thousand Beasts Secret Realm.

「Outside.」

「On the grassy field at the entrance to the Secret Realm.」

Rows of servant disciples sat collapsed on the ground. Some were spitting blood, some were lying on the ground on the verge of death, and others were missing arms and legs.

Of the three thousand servant disciples, only a fifth had survived.

And among that fifth, many had been crippled; even with a Talisman Jade, they would be unable to become Outer Disciples.

Elder Wan scanned the crowd. Only a few dozen disciples were still standing, their condition acceptable.

"Elder Wan, are you satisfied with a selection like this?"

"So many of the three thousand servants died. Who will dare to participate next year? The sect is killing the goose that lays the golden eggs."

Yun Hejing shook her head and sighed with pity.

Elder Wan snorted coldly and said, "What does a little girl like you know? Short on servants? We can recruit as many as we want from the Fish Market outside."

"From now on, the Outer Disciples selected by our Wanxiang Sect will not be trash. Only by doing this can the sect pour its resources into cultivating truly excellent seeds."

Yun Hejing fell silent at his words, clearly disagreeing with him.

She glanced over to where Yu Changsheng was, and her heart settled. She couldn’t worry about the other servant disciples, but this one... she would definitely protect him from now on.

’It won’t be long now. Perhaps he’ll become my junior brother soon,’ Yun Hejing said to herself.