Chapter 321: Beast Tamer
【Special Mission Issued: Find the Fragments of the Ladder to Immortality—In the Lingxi World, humans and beasts coexist peacefully. Over the ages, a profession known as Beast Tamer emerged and became mainstream. One day, spirit beasts suddenly went berserk and turned hostile toward humans, breaking the harmonious relationship. Please help the humans of the Lingxi World resist a beast tide of kingdom-destroying scale.】
【Mission Reward: Fragment of the Ladder to Immortality】
“Beast Tamer?” Jiang Li saw the term described by the system and naturally thought of the Beast-Taming Sect.
“A kingdom-destroying beast tide… Looks like the beast tides in this world are no joke. The human race probably doesn’t have the upper hand.”
In the Nine Provinces, among the nine great dynasties, only the Baize Emperor’s dynasty belonged to the demon race. With a long history and deep foundations, it was formidable. Apart from that, there were other demon-founded nations like the Fox Queen of Qingqiu’s kingdom, also not to be underestimated.
The Four Seas Dragon Kings were also part of the demon race. They occupied the reverse side of the Nine Provinces continent, significantly raising the average territorial size of demon beasts.
Although demon beasts occupied more land than humans, in terms of overall strength, they were still a bit lacking.
The demon race had no experts in the Tribulation Crossing Stage, and barely any notable cultivators in the Integration Stage. That put them in an awkward position within the Nine Provinces.
“No matter what, let’s head over and take a look first.” Jiang Li didn’t think resisting a kingdom-destroying beast tide would be that difficult. What concerned him more was just one thing.
This mission was from five hundred years ago. The system was only issuing it now. Who knew how the humans of the Lingxi World were doing—if they hadn’t already been wiped out.
…
“Everyone, turn to Chapter 1, Section 2. This section will be on the test, so please listen carefully.”
The history teacher, wearing thick glasses, slowly flipped open the textbook. A colorful parrot rested on his shoulder, looking a bit dazed.
“Last class, we talked about how humans and spirit beasts used to get along well. They signed soul contracts. Human souls are innately powerful, and by signing contracts, they could help spirit beasts enhance their soul strength. In return, spirit beasts, with their strong bodies, could assist humans in construction. That was the earliest form of Beast Tamers we can trace back to.”
“But two thousand years ago, spirit beasts underwent a drastic change in temperament. They became bloodthirsty and aggressive, hostile to humans. At first, the humans were unprepared and were caught off guard, suffering great losses. Most of the territory spirit beasts hold today originally belonged to humans.”
“Human bodies are fragile and no match for spirit beasts. Technology only makes life more convenient—it can’t directly fight beasts.”
“Fortunately, spirit beasts that had already signed contracts with humans remained under our control. So we used beasts to fight beasts.”
“To distinguish between berserk beasts and contract-bound ones, we started calling the latter ‘Contract Beasts.’”
“Contract Beasts are our friends. Spirit beasts are our enemies.”
“As Contract Beasts fought against wild ones, the Beast Tamer system grew more refined. Humans not only enhanced the soul strength of their Contract Beasts, but also helped them grow more rapidly.”
“For example, the parrot on my shoulder—a macaw—was only a one-star when we signed the contract. After careful training, it’s now grown into a four-star Contract Beast.”
At this point, the history teacher broke away from his dull, pedantic tone. He playfully touched the macaw’s beak with his finger and smiled, as if recalling the youthful adventures he once had with it.
The students below looked at the teacher with envy.
Contract Beasts were ranked from one-star to six-star. One-star was the weakest, six-star the strongest. The teacher’s four-star beast was already an achievement most couldn’t hope to reach.
The students began whispering among themselves, completely distracted. The teacher only shook his head helplessly—he understood.
He had been just as excited at their age.
After all, that afternoon, they would summon their own Contract Beasts and form their contracts.
“Xia Chao, what kind of Contract Beast do you want to summon?”
“Isn’t that obvious? The cooler, the better! Something like a Boneclaw Lion or a Bloodwing Tiger—those beasts are not only badass but have tons of potential.” Xia Chao’s eyes sparkled as he spoke of his two favorites.
“You wish,” his friend said speechlessly. “Those are confirmed four-star Contract Beasts, and there’s even a slim chance they could evolve to five-star. Their combat strength is nearly unmatched within their ranks. Even if you did summon one, could you afford to raise it?”
“Heh heh, just dreaming. Gotta have some ambition, right?”
The history teacher opened his mouth, then closed it again. In the end, he didn’t want to dampen their enthusiasm.
Forming a Contract Beast bond and becoming a Beast Tamer was both an honor and a responsibility. In the future, they would all be going to the battlefield.
In the Lingxi World, everyone was a Beast Tamer. Spirit beasts were a threat, but not catastrophic. As long as the tide wasn’t city-level or kingdom-level, humans could handle it.
Kingdom-destroying beast tides were rare—and terrifying. One country had been wiped out by such a tide 250 years ago.
Some nations fell under beast tides. Others reclaimed lost territory. The push and pull created a strange balance between humans and spirit beasts.
The history teacher had seen war. He’d crawled out of mountains of corpses and rivers of blood. After retiring, he chose to teach at the Beast Tamer Academy.
Soon, the afternoon arrived. The Beast Taming Instructor had the students line up to summon their beasts, one by one.
Each student chanted the complex and obscure incantations. Rings of patterns rose beneath their feet—the summoning array they’d been learning all this time.
This student had mastered the summoning technique thoroughly. The formation was laid down in no time, and his voice rang with urgency and strength.
As he spoke the final syllable, light burst from the summoning array. A sleek, glossy-furred black cat stepped gracefully from the glow.
“It’s a Dark Night Shadow Cat! Three-star potential!” someone cried out.
The Dark Night Shadow Cat was currently only one-star. But if raised properly and evolved to its full form, it would become a stealthy three-star killer.
The student was thrilled with his summon. Each person could only summon one Contract Beast in their life—no second chances. To get such a survival-oriented beast was already a blessing.
He bit his thumb and drew a line across his palm. Pressing it onto the black cat, he immediately felt a strange and indescribable bond form between them.
This was the connection between Beast Tamer and Contract Beast.
“I’ll call you Xiaohei.” He picked up the black cat and affectionately rubbed its paw pads with his cheek.
“Meow.” The cat responded—whether that was approval or not was unclear.
“Your Contract Beast will be your lifelong companion. You have to treat it like a friend,” the Beast Taming Instructor reminded him.
“I will,” the student quickly nodded. “Even though Xiaohei and I formed a Master-Servant Contract, I’ll still treat him like a friend!”
The bond between Beast Tamer and Contract Beast was indeed a Master-Servant Contract. Once formed, the beast could not harm its tamer—this was a safeguard for the Beast Tamer’s protection.