Chapter 595: What Are You Playing Dead For?

Back when Yao Chen Beast ruled the roost in Wenyan Ridge as a bandit, neither the Beast Hall nor the Alliance Lord's Mansion could do anything about it. Anyone who dared cause trouble was either killed or beaten until they looked like a colorful mess and tossed into some unknown corner.

This guy wanted to tame it right off the bat—not getting killed outright was already a courtesy.

Roar!

Its hoof clutched the jade bottle containing spirit beast blood and the storage ring as it roared again.

Ahem!

Zhang Xuan coughed, looking embarrassed as he translated: "It wants you to drink this spirit beast blood..."

As his beast pet, Yao Chen Beast could communicate with him through their soul bond; even without knowing beast language, he could understand such simple expressions.

"Drink beast blood..." Wei Changqing was on the verge of tears.

Spirit beast blood only works on spirit beasts. If a human drinks it, not only is it useless, but it might cause scales and fur to grow all over, making one look like a demon... or even kill them outright!

Not everyone has Heavenly Dao true qi to neutralize the狂暴 power within.

Roar!

Seeing no reaction, Yao Chen Beast roared again, opened the jade bottle, and shoved it toward his mouth.

"Master Zhang, save me! I... I won't tame it anymore..."

His face turning pale, Wei Changqing nearly lost his soul from fright.

Judging by the beast's demeanor, it wasn't just going to pour the spirit liquid into his mouth—it was going to shove the entire jade bottle in. If he didn't speak up, he probably wouldn't last a few breaths before dying on the spot, let alone continue the match.

What kind of nonsense is this...

He had come swaggering in, confident he could tame the other's spirit beast, only to find... this big fellow didn't play by the rules at all.

Other people's spirit beasts, upon seeing He Ling realm spirit beast blood, would immediately light up and fawn all over. But this one treated it like trash and even tried to feed it to him...

You just won't be happy until I'm dead, huh...

A dignified four-star beast tamer, stomped into the ground by a spirit beast and forced to tame it—what kind of mess is this...

"Alright, Yao Chen, stop messing around!"

Seeing that if this continued, the guy might really die here, Zhang Xuan scolded.

"Roar!"

Reluctantly, Yao Chen lifted its hoof and stood proudly on one side of the arena, not returning the storage ring or jade bottle.

No way—once something was in its possession, it became its loot. Return it?

Dream on!

"Cough, cough!"

Spitting out two mouthfuls of blood, Wei Changqing struggled to his feet, his face deathly pale.

The beast taming hadn't even started, and he was already nearly beaten to death by the spirit beast. If word got out, he might as well quit being a beast tamer... he couldn't afford that shame!

He looked pleadingly at Yao Chen Beast, hoping to get back his storage ring and beast blood, but the beast glared at him, making him involuntarily flinch.

Forget about asking—judging by its attitude, not killing him was already a huge favor.

Tears streamed down his face.

I came to reclaim my dignity... but it seems I've only made myself more of a laughingstock...

"It seems you haven't gained any loyalty from my beast pet... Is there any point in continuing?" Zhang Xuan looked over.

The rules were to tame each other's beast pets and decide the winner based on loyalty levels. Since he hadn't gained any loyalty from Yao Chen Beast, continuing or not made no difference.

"Of course we continue! Beast taming is about opportunity. You might not do much better than me. If you can't tame anything either, we'll at most tie..."

Wei Changqing gritted his teeth.

There wasn't much time left. If he couldn't earn this Yao Chen Beast's trust, the other might not earn Qing Ling Beast's loyalty either.

At worst, it would be a tie!

That way, at least he could salvage some face.

"Are you sure?"

Zhang Xuan looked at him oddly.

"I'm sure!"

Seeing his expression, Wei Changqing thought he was scared and sneered coldly, hands behind his back, regaining his confidence. He turned to his beast pet: "Qing Ling, this Master Zhang wants to tame you. If you can resist and do me proud, you can have anything you want when we get back. I'll even find an ancient vein to help you advance your bloodline..."

"Roar!"

Hearing its master's promise, Qing Ling Beast's huge eyes filled with determination, and it nodded quickly.

"Shameless, utterly shameless!"

"Exactly! Master Zhang just told Yao Chen Beast to cooperate, but he's directly ordering his own beast pet not to yield. How can anyone tame it like that?"

"That's cheating!"

"He keeps talking about fairness, yet gives his beast pet such explicit instructions—it's too much!"

...

Hearing Wei Changqing's words, the crowd below erupted.

Master Zhang had told Yao Chen Beast to cooperate, but you couldn't tame it and got beaten up.

That's your own lack of skill. Now that he's about to tame your beast pet, you make such demands and throw out huge rewards...

Have you no shame?

If you're going to compete in beast taming, it should be under fair conditions. Doing this is beneath the dignity of a master teacher.

"How disgraceful... disgraceful!"

Several elders of Purple Gold Sect covered their faces, ashamed of their sect's genius.

What a mess...

Even if he won now, he'd have no face left.

...

"Then I'll start!"

Seeing that the guy still wouldn't give up and wanted him to try taming his beast pet, Zhang Xuan shook his head with a wry smile and looked at the big creature before him.

"Roar!"

With a roar, Qing Ling Beast, like Yao Chen Beast, stomped a hoof at Zhang Xuan.

It had seen its master humiliated and intended to make this Master Zhang suffer a great loss.

But with its strength at the early stage of Mortal Deity Realm Four, it was far inferior to Zhang Xuan.

Dodging the attack with a shift of his body, Zhang Xuan slapped it across the face.

Smack!

A resounding slap landed on Qing Ling Beast's huge cheek. Before it could react, it flipped through the air and plunged headfirst into the ground, leaving only its two hind legs sticking out, twitching.

Zhang Xuan possessed strength comparable to the middle stage of He Ling Realm. A slap with over two million cauldrons of force could shatter even a low-grade spirit weapon. If he hadn't held back, this blow would have crippled or killed it.

It couldn't even resist, let alone react.

"Huh?"

"A single slap sent a Mortal Deity Realm Four spirit beast headfirst into the ground?"

"How much strength does that take?"

Everyone was stunned.

Spirit beasts are naturally strong, relying on their powerful bodies and defenses. At the same level, humans are no match. In other words, this early-stage Mortal Deity Realm Four Qing Ling Beast's true combat strength was comparable to a mid-stage Mortal Deity Realm Four expert, or even capable of fighting a late-stage one.

With such power, it got slapped headfirst into the ground without any ability to resist... What kind of strength is that?

Too terrifying!

Below the arena, Wu Tianhao, who had just flown back, saw this and his lips twitched in fear.

He had thought being thrown out earlier was just a fluke, and that with a little caution, he wouldn't suffer. Now he realized... it was lucky he was only thrown out. If he had taken a slap like that...

He'd probably be lying in the Physician Guild now, if not dead, then horribly disfigured...

"You said he was weak?" He turned to his companion. "We're done!"

"..." His companion.

...

"Wait, Master Zhang's move shows his strength, but... hitting it directly makes it impossible to build goodwill, so taming won't succeed!"

"Exactly!"

"If Master Zhang also gets zero loyalty, just like Master Wei, will it really be a tie?"

"Damn it! Master Zhang should have won. A tie would be a huge hassle!"

After the shock, everyone came to their senses.

Normal beast taming involves offering irresistible goodies to gain the beast's favor.

Attacking it only makes it more hostile, beyond repair.

Master Zhang, as a four-star beast tamer, should know this well. Why did he attack? And so brutally!

Now Qing Ling Beast would surely hate him. Not only would he gain no loyalty, but it would also become even more hostile.

"Haha, let's see how you tame it now..."

Unexpectedly, this Zhang Xuan was so rash as to fight back against Qing Ling Beast. Wei Changqing trembled, nearly laughing out loud.

When he had tamed this beast, it took him two whole years, offering all kinds of treasures, even hunting and sleeping with it, before it finally submitted.

But this guy slapped it so hard. Given Qing Ling Beast's proud nature, it would be lucky if it didn't tear him apart. Loyalty? Don't dream about it!

He hadn't gained Yao Chen Beast's loyalty, and the other hadn't gained Qing Ling Beast's loyalty. At best, it would be a tie!

In fact... if we're talking about favorability, he might even be the winner.

Clang!

Just as he was feeling pleased, a gong sounded—the incense stick had burned out exactly on time.

In the master teacher competition arena, the incense stick was a rough time limit. But now that time was up, a winner had to be decided; otherwise, it would be hard to judge.

Time was up, even if he had other tricks, it was too late. In other words... he was already undefeated.

Hmph!

Weren't you all saying I'd have to concede? That I'd definitely lose?

Now I've tied, gaining supreme dignity. Let's see what you have to say...

The more he thought, the happier he became. His eyes gleamed as he looked at the young man not far away, speaking with arrogance: "Master Zhang, you didn't tame Qing Ling Beast, and I didn't tame Yao Chen Beast. Let's call this round a tie, how about it?"

"A tie?"

"Exactly. Strictly speaking, you attacked Qing Ling Beast, making it hate you. You've lost in terms of favorability..." Wei Changqing said.

Wasn't this about magnanimity? Here it was!

He had clearly lost, yet he called it a tie...

"Hate?"

Just as he was secretly gloating, he saw Master Zhang shake his head and kick the constantly twitching leg: "What are you playing dead for? Get up and acknowledge your master!"

With a rustle and a roar!

Then he saw Qing Ling Beast hurriedly pull its head out of the ground, rush over to Master Zhang excitedly, lie down, and rub its head against him like a lapdog seeing its owner.

"Huh?"

Wei Changqing froze, his eyes bulging as if they would fall out.

How is this possible?

Didn't he just beat it? How did it acknowledge him as master?

Can someone tell me what just happened?