The Difference Between Beast Tamers

"My name is Bai Yu, and I am of the Feather Clan. I was forcibly dragged into this trial, and as luck would have it, I drew the most brutal one: the Blood Trial."

"Fortunately, thanks to my aerial advantage, they kept me on as a scout, which is the only reason I've managed to survive until now. I never expected that, after so little time, I would run into a lord such as yourself..."

The White Bird hung its head, its tone heavy with helplessness, though it ended by showering Wu Sheng with constant flattery.

This made Wu Sheng shake his head inwardly, wondering if this guy was truly a Prison Clan Member. His strength seemed decent enough, so why was he such a coward?

"How did a personality like yours manage to survive in the Feather Clan until now? Did your parents never teach you to possess the heart of a powerhouse?"

Wu Sheng asked, puzzled.

"Parents? My parents were killed in the clan wars long ago, and a kind elder took me in. But not long after I could remember things, he, too, died in the clan wars."

"At first, when I was small, some of the elders in the tribe would occasionally give me scraps of food. If I was lucky, I could scavenge the debris of treasures others had discarded, and I would patiently absorb and refine the residual energy within them. Later, once I had some ability to survive, I relied on cleaning up the battlefields after clan wars. Occasionally, I would even receive a small pittance as a reward from the clan leader, and that is how I have lived until now."

"During the last Blood Trial, I was still young and my strength had only just reached Planet Grade, so they didn't pick me. But this time, there was no escaping it."

Bai Yu buried his head very low. Wu Sheng could not see his expression, but he could hear a great deal of bitterness in his voice.

Seeing this, he sighed softly. Was the Prison Clan leadership too bloody and cruel? Perhaps, but they had to consider the entire Prison Clan!

With limited resources, there simply wasn't enough for the average clansman to use. If one wanted resources, they had to climb upward with their lives—that was the only viable path.

As for the common clansmen, aside from occasionally complaining when they had nothing to do, once they understood the situation, they still had to pick up their weapons and fight. Only by destroying the opponent in front of them would they obtain resources, either for their own use or to leave for their families.

Ideals and reality are, after all, two different worlds!

Someone like Bai Yu was destined to be cannon fodder, whether he was in his tribe or here in the Blood Trial; it made no difference.

All he could do was delay his own demise.

"Your other companions have already been killed by me. Since you are alone now, why not follow me?"

Wu Sheng's heart softened, and instead of delivering the killing blow, he decided to take the creature under his wing. However, he immediately added:

"Don't be happy just yet. I am only keeping you because of your talent for scouting. If you can handle your tasks well, I can't promise much else, but at least I can ensure you live a little longer!"

Upon hearing this, Bai Yu was overjoyed. He scrambled to prostrate himself on the ground and kowtowed to Wu Sheng: "Yes, yes, thank you for taking me in, Master. This one will certainly be diligent and dutiful, I promise."

"Good. First, erase the traces of the battle in the surrounding area, then follow me back to the cave. I need to cast some Soul Art on you to prevent you from turning on me in the heat of battle. I am a cautious person; since you've just joined, I can't afford to be unprepared, can I?"

Wu Sheng grinned, stating his intentions directly.

Among Spirit Readers, there are Puppeteers and Beast Tamers, though these professions are quite niche.

For a Beast Tamer, it is about commanding ferocious beasts to fight on one's behalf. These methods of control are divided into forced and voluntary means.

If one establishes a mental connection with a beast at birth, that is the best choice; such beasts will be perfectly obedient and fight for you until the very end.

If one waits until the beast has matured, only forced methods remain.

Some of these methods are quite tyrannical, but they all ultimately rely on threatening the subject's life.

The "Bio-chip" implants used in human territories are a form of alienated beast-taming, though they lean more toward artificial intelligence. Once an implanted person dares to resist their master's orders, they suffer from splitting headaches at best, or immediate self-detonation at worst.

What Wu Sheng used was a rudimentary soul technique recorded in Mind Confusion. He imprinted a portion of his own soul power into Bai Yu's soul through a specific secret method.

From then on, if Bai Yu ever harbored thoughts of rebellion, not only would Wu Sheng know immediately, but he could also inflict mental punishment through the soul imprint. While not fatal, it would be enough to render Bai Yu incapable of fighting for a short time.

"What, are you unwilling? Or have you already been implanted with a soul imprint? It shouldn't be the latter; even a Sky Grade Spirit Reader couldn't keep you outside for long while maintaining a stable soul imprint!"

Seeing Bai Yu's hesitation, a red light flashed in Wu Sheng's eyes. If this White Bird dared to say a single word of refusal, he would strike immediately.

"Ah... I am willing, this one is willing! I didn't expect you to be able to cast such a secret technique, Master. I was just a bit surprised, that's all... I'm just too happy!"

Bai Yu hurriedly offered a fawning smile while cursing his own stupidity.

The master before him was an elite-level Spirit Reader. Not only was his Psychic Amplification far beyond his own, but his foundational techniques seemed to have reached an incredibly high level.

Otherwise, how could a single soul sweep have been enough to plunge the Earth Grade Ninth Order Man Gu and his group into an illusion from which they couldn't escape for a long time?

Sigh, if I have to be a beast, so be it. At least I'm still alive, Bai Yu thought to himself.

It was as if, from this moment on, a bond had formed between the two, and the fate of this Prison Clan Member named Bai Yu quietly began to shift.

Out of a moment of compassion, Wu Sheng had taken in an orphan with an equally miserable fate.

And Bai Yu, relying on the great tree that was Wu Sheng, climbed higher and higher, eventually becoming the Feather Clan's first Universe Venerable, the "Feather Venerable," and later, gradually, the Feather Lord, and even the Feather True God.

Perhaps this is what they mean by "choice is more important than effort" in another sense!

The cave Wu Sheng had been using was too small, so he had to widen the passage just to fit Man Gu's physical body inside.

Fortunately, this was only a temporary base, intended for him to practice controlling Man Gu's body and to place the soul imprint on Bai Yu.

The soul technique he used on Bai Yu was the "Soul Spider" recorded in Mind Confusion. This soul imprint was highly sensitive to Bai Yu's soul fluctuations, allowing him to know his thoughts instantly.

At the same time, this soul imprint was the one among his techniques that allowed for the greatest distance between Bai Yu and himself.

Because whether it is a Beast Tamer or a Puppeteer, one cannot let their beasts or puppets stray too far, or the soul imprint will self-destruct.

Once the soul imprint detonates, the fate of those beasts and puppets is rarely pleasant.

Furthermore, the master must reinforce the soul imprint periodically, as this is not true Soul Slavery and cannot be done once and for all.

As the strength of the one being imprinted gradually increases, the old soul imprint could easily be broken if not reinforced.

This is also a major reason why the professions of Puppeteer and Beast Tamer are so rare.