"My name is Bai Yu. I'm from the Feather Clan. I was forced to take part in this trial, and I was unlucky enough to draw the most brutal one—the Blood Trial."
"Fortunately, I had a bit of an advantage in the air, so they brought me along as a scout. That's the only reason I've managed to survive this long. I never expected to find you, sir, so soon..."
The white bird drooped his head, his voice full of helplessness, but in the end he kept showering Wu Sheng with flattery.
Wu Sheng shook his head to himself. Was this guy really a Prison Clan Member? He seemed reasonably strong, so why was he so afraid of dying?
"How have you managed to survive in the Feather Clan with a personality like that? Didn't your parents teach you to have the heart of a strong warrior?"
Wu Sheng asked, puzzled.
"My parents? They were killed in the clan wars a long time ago. A kind clan elder took me in, but not long after I was old enough to remember things, he died in the clan wars too."
"At first, I was still young. Some of the elders in the clan would occasionally give me food. If I was lucky, I could also find scraps of treasures that other people had thrown away. I patiently absorbed and refined whatever energy remained in them. Later, once I was capable of surviving on my own, I went to the clan wars to help clean up the battlefield. Sometimes I even got a little compensation from the clan leader for my hard work. That's how I've managed to live until now."
"I was still young during the last Blood Trial, and I'd only just reached Planet Grade, so they didn't pick me. But this time, there was no escaping it."
Bai Yu kept his head bowed so low that Wu Sheng couldn't see his eyes, but he could hear the sorrow in his voice.
Seeing this, Wu Sheng sighed inwardly. Could he really blame the Prison Clan's higher-ups for being too brutal and bloodthirsty? They had to consider the whole clan, after all!
Resources were limited, nowhere near enough for ordinary clan members. If they wanted resources, they had to fight their way up. That was the best path.
As for ordinary clan members, they might complain now and then when they had nothing better to do, but once they understood the situation, they still had to take up arms and fight. Only by eliminating the enemy in front of them could they secure resources, either for themselves or to leave to their families.
Ideals and reality belonged to two different worlds, after all!
Someone like Bai Yu was destined to be cannon fodder, whether he stayed with his clan or came to the Blood Trial. It made no difference.
All he could do was delay his own death.
"I've already killed your other companions, and now you're alone. Why not stay with me for now?"
Wu Sheng's heart softened, and he decided not to kill Bai Yu. Instead, he offered to take him in. Then he added, "Don't get too excited yet. I'm taking you in because of your talent for scouting. If you do your job well, I can't promise you anything else, but at least I can help you stay alive a little longer!"
Bai Yu was overjoyed. He hurriedly prostrated himself and kowtowed to Wu Sheng. "Yes, yes! Thank you for taking me in, Master. I'll do my duty and give it my all. I promise!"
"Good. First, erase the signs of the fighting around here, then follow me back to the cave. I need to place a few Soul Arts on you, so you don't turn on me at a critical moment and get me killed. I'm a cautious man. You just joined me, so I can't leave myself completely unguarded!"
Wu Sheng grinned and stated his purpose outright.
Among Spirit Readers, there were Puppeteers and Beast Tamers, though these professions were more obscure.
For a Beast Tamer, the job was to command ferocious beasts and have them fight on their behalf. There were two ways to tame them: by force or willingly.
The best option was to establish a mental connection with a ferocious beast when it was first born. It would then obey you in everything and fight for you to the death, right up to its last breath.
But if you waited until the beast had grown up, you had no choice but to use force.
Some of these methods were extremely domineering, but in the end, they all used the target's life as leverage.
The "Bio-chip" implanted within Human Territory was a kind of modified Beast Taming method, though it was more technologically advanced. If anyone implanted with a chip dared disobey their master's orders, they would suffer anything from splitting headaches to an explosive death.
What Wu Sheng used was a simple Soul Art recorded in Mind Confusion. Through a certain secret method, he imprinted a portion of his own soul power onto Bai Yu's soul.
After that, if Bai Yu ever thought of resisting, Wu Sheng would know at once. He could also use the soul imprint to punish him mentally. It wouldn't be fatal, but it would be enough to leave Bai Yu unable to fight for a while.
"What is it? You don't want to? Or have you already been marked with a soul imprint? It shouldn't be the latter. Even a Sky Grade Spirit Reader couldn't leave you outside for so long and keep a soul imprint from dissipating!"
Seeing Bai Yu hesitate, Wu Sheng's eyes flashed red. If the white bird dared to say no, he would attack immediately.
"Ah... I'm willing! I'm willing! I never imagined Master could use such a secret art. I just thought it was a bit sudden, and, well... I was too happy!"
As Bai Yu hurried to smile ingratiatingly, he cursed himself for being so foolish.
This lord here is an elite Spirit Reader! His Psychic Amplification is far beyond mine, even though we're at the same level, and it seems he's also mastered the basic secret arts to an incredible degree.
Otherwise, how could a single sweep of his soul have plunged Boss Man Gu and the others, who were at Earth Grade Ninth Order, straight into an illusion they couldn't escape for such a long time?
Oh well, if I have to be a ferocious beast, then so be it. At least I'm still alive. Bai Yu thought to himself.
It was as if some kind of bond had formed between them at that moment, and the fate of Bai Yu, the Prison Clan Member, quietly changed.
Wu Sheng had taken in an orphan whose life had been just as miserable, acting on a moment of compassion.
And Bai Yu used Wu Sheng's support to climb higher and higher, until he became the Feather Clan's first Universe Venerable, the "Feather Venerable." Then, in time, he became the Feather Lord, and eventually the Feather True God.
Perhaps this was another case of choices mattering more than effort!
The entrance to Wu Sheng's cave was still too small. To get Man Gu's body inside, he'd even had to widen the passage.
Fortunately, this was only a temporary base. He'd set it up so he could get used to controlling Man Gu's body and place a soul imprint on Bai Yu.
The Soul Art he placed on Bai Yu was the "Soul Spider" recorded in Mind Confusion. This soul imprint was especially sensitive to the fluctuations of Bai Yu's soul, allowing Wu Sheng to sense his thoughts at once.
It also let Bai Yu stay farther from him than any other secret art in Wu Sheng's repertoire.
Neither Beast Tamers nor Puppeteers could let their beasts or puppets stray too far. Otherwise, the soul imprint on them would self-destruct.
And once the soul imprint self-destructed, the beasts and puppets would meet a grim fate too.
Besides, it was best for the master to reinforce the soul imprint every so often. After all, this wasn't Soul Slavery, which could be done once and then left alone.
As the one who bore the soul imprint grew stronger, an imprint that wasn't reinforced could be broken with ease.
That was one of the main reasons Puppeteers and Beast Tamers were such obscure professions.