The Master of Beasts

THUD.

THUD.

THUD.

The loud noises startled Da Bai, who was on the verge of falling asleep.

"What is that?" Da Bai rubbed his eyes and turned to look.

Holy smokes, what is this thing? he thought. Weren't the strongest Spiritual Beasts supposed to be taken away by their owners? Da Bai was shocked by the murderous aura of the White Tiger.

If Chen Jiuge had heard Da Bai's words, he surely would have scoffed, What a joke! Do you have any idea how big the ecosystem has gotten? The Spiritual Beasts I caught hadn't even reached this area yet, and my Contract slots were all full. Besides, who said they couldn't be released back into the wild?

Chen Jiuge knew of the White Tiger that Da Bai encountered. Its Bloodline, however, was only activated enough to be considered a nascent White Tiger Bloodline, far from a genuine one, but it was still valuable. Consequently, Chen Jiuge hadn't wanted to take it to the Spirit Void Realm, hoping to nurture it further. He had no idea Da Bai would be so unlucky as to encounter a major boss the moment he arrived.

Oh, right, Chen Jiuge had also recently enhanced the White Tiger's Bloodline a bit more. Its strength had now grown significantly, especially since the White Tiger was a Holy Beast primarily known for slaughter, making it nearly peerless among those of the same rank.

ROAR!

The massive roar brought a strong gust of wind, twisting the sunglasses on Da Bai's face sideways.

Carefully adjusting his sunglasses, Da Bai timidly said, "Big Bro, Big Bro, can we talk this out? I was just passing by; can we not fight?"

Although her Spiritual Wisdom wasn't high enough to speak complexly, the White Tiger understood him perfectly. I'm a lady, damn it! What kind of look is that in your eyes, you wretched little thing? Die!

With the White Tiger's fierce pounce, the battle began.

The scene was too gruesome to watch.

"Big Bro, my leather jacket! It's custom-made! I only have a few of these!"

"Ah, my sunglasses! They're originals!"

"My big gold chain!"

"Hey, can't you be a bit gentler? Lighter, lighter!"

Da Bai's wretched cries echoed through the entire valley.

Half an hour later, Da Bai reverted to his original form, his face bruised and swollen, as he massaged the White Tiger.

"Sis, is this pressure okay?" Da Bai asked cautiously, trying to appease her.

The White Tiger, squinting comfortably, nodded her large head.

In the battle between the two beasts, Da Bai had lost. To be precise, he hadn't lost by much. However, his lack of battle experience and usual laziness meant his Cultivation was something he'd purely coasted into. He was far inferior to the White Tiger, who had fought her way up from scratch in the ecosystem.

Moreover, a Holy Beast's Bloodline was, to a certain extent, stronger than a Divine Beast's. For example, the combat-centric White Tiger held a significant advantage in battle. Even a White Tiger with a less-than-pure lineage was more than Da Bai could handle.

In summary, it wasn't that the White Tiger was too strong, but that Da Bai was too pathetic.

ROAR!

"Continue," the White Tiger grunted.

"Okay, Sis," Da Bai replied with an ingratiating look.

Watching the comfortable White Tiger, who was almost falling asleep, Da Bai's eyes started darting around as he planned an escape route. I can't handle this tigress, he thought. Getting beaten up hurts too much. I need to get away sooner rather than later.

「Meanwhile, Yang Huan and Yue Li, tasked with capturing Da Bai, officially entered the ecosystem.」

THUD!

Yue Li, who had just executed a shoulder throw on a clueless, massive tiger, asked Yang Huan carelessly, "Second Brother, where are we going now? It's not easy to find Da Bai in such a large ecosystem."

"These Spiritual Beasts are so annoying, and we can't even kill them," Yue Li added irritably, watching the huge tiger pick itself up, preparing to attack again.

This rule had been laid down by Chen Jiuge. After all, his Contracted Spiritual Beasts were basically top-tier within the ecosystem. Without some form of suppression, if they were allowed to rampage and slaughter, how could the ecosystem continue to develop?

Of course, killing them wasn't completely forbidden, as long as one could afford the Spirit Stones as compensation.

After enduring plenty of harassment, the duo, perpetually short on Spirit Stones, finally arrived at a large river crowded with Alligator Dinosaurs.

"Second Brother, are you sure Da Bai went this way?" Yue Li asked with some doubt. If they headed in the wrong direction, forget bringing Da Bai back today; even finding him would be an issue.

Yang Huan, whose Cultivation Technique included tracking skills, was confident he hadn't made a mistake and paid no mind to the chattering Yue Li.

The two beasts continued forward.

「Inside a small valley, Da Bai, whose escape attempt had failed, endured another beating, his face now even more swollen.」

Roasting a Spiritual Beast corpse brought back by the White Tiger, he said, "Sister, let me tell you, Spiritual Beasts taste best when roasted. My culinary skills are top-notch; I guarantee that once you try it, you'll want more."

As he spoke, Da Bai's mouth began to water.

In the past month, because he was short on cash, Da Bai had been eating Spiritual Chicken and snow rabbits. It wasn't that they tasted bad; it was just that after eating them for several centuries, he was thoroughly tired of them.

Watching Da Bai's disgraceful display, the White Tiger disdainfully pushed him away. His drool better not drip on the food.

After a while, a fully fed Da Bai patted his round belly, his face beaming with happiness. So delicious!

The White Tiger was also pleased. This little critter in front of me isn't bad, she thought. Strong, resilient, knows how to massage, and can even grill meat. It was definitely the right decision to keep him.

After an entire morning, Yang Huan and Yue Li finally reached the small valley.

"Second Brother, am I seeing things?" Yue Li couldn't help but rub his eyes as he looked at the bizarre scene before him.

"Probably not," Yang Huan replied, his expression very odd.

The scene they witnessed was Da Bai, right after a full meal, massaging the White Tiger to help aid her digestion.

"So, Da Bai is giving that White Tiger a massage?" Yue Li stammered.

The two of them knew Da Bai's strength. In a one-on-one fight, though they might have a slight edge, actually capturing Da Bai was unrealistic, mainly due to his lack of real combat experience. For this White Tiger to have Da Bai massaging her, her strength must be terrifying!

Yang Huan's face turned serious as he said to Yue Li, "It seems these three hundred Top Grade Spirit Stones won't come easy."

Yue Li was responsible for drawing her fire while Yang Huan waited for a chance to ambush. Their tactics were sound, and they yielded good results—until Da Bai backstabbed them.

「Outside the small valley, Yue Li, sporting a black eye, fumed, "Da Bai actually betrayed us! What a shameless villain!"」

Yang Huan looked at his third brother speechlessly. We came here to capture Da Bai. If he didn't resist, what would be the point of us even being here?

"This business doesn't seem easy," Yang Huan sighed. "We should go back and discuss it with Yue Meng. Today's not going to work; we might need to seek outside help."

Yang Huan had never expected that the ecosystem already harbored a Spiritual Beast at the peak of the Returning to Void realm. His own group had endured countless perils in the Desolate World and had only reached that level with the help of a Holy Fruit. What right do these Spiritual Beasts here have to be this strong?

Yang Huan was mistaken on this point. Eden Garden, having undergone transformations by several Golden Immortals, possessed a Cultivation environment many times superior to the outside world. Surviving within the ecosystem entailed daily life-and-death battles, a far more arduous existence than what Yang Huan's group had experienced.

Chen Jiuge was also aware of the series of events triggered by Da Bai's attempts to evade his debts. The modified Great Array could now monitor all actions within Eden Garden in real-time and even replay them; it was essentially a Cultivation version of super surveillance.

The White Tiger's performance had naturally caught Chen Jiuge's eye. This White Tiger's Bloodline is so mixed, yet her strength is so formidable. It seems worth considering a Contract. The only issue is her Spiritual Wisdom; that's a bit troublesome.

The White Tiger has already reached the peak of Returning to Void, Chen Jiuge mused. Naturally, unlike Yang Huan and the other beasts before, she can't simply consume a few more Fourth Rank or Fifth Rank Wisdom Fruits. Sixth Rank Wisdom Fruits are scarce, enhance comprehension, and their prices are dozens of times higher. Not to mention, one might not even be enough.

Forget it, I'll make some preparations first, Chen Jiuge decided. If it really doesn't work out, I'll use Merits to get what's needed. This White Tiger's combat prowess is too tempting. However, her White Tiger Bloodline is very difficult to gather. Even among the tigers purchased from White Tiger Peak, not many Spiritual Beasts possess the White Tiger Bloodline. Could the Bloodline inheritance of Holy Beasts be different?