Achieving the Title of Beast Tamer!

Chapter 30 Achievement Title — Beast Tamer!

The black cat, after being smacked on the tail by the fish, immediately grew furious. Its paws, wrapped in boundless anger, flailed wildly—and in an instant, churned the water by the stream into mud.

"Little kitty!"

Ji Ruo's eyes lit up as he clutched two fish and walked over. "I love little kitties! Let me pet you!"

"Ji Ruo, maybe you shouldn't go. What if it's a demon..." Liang Shixian opened his mouth, but before he could finish, Ji Ruo was already greeting it. "Little kitty, hello! My name's Ji Ruo. Wanna come play?"

Ji Ruo wasn't being arrogant. It was just that the black cat could even be bullied by a fish—how could it possibly be anything strong?

And since it wasn't strong, yet still dared to lie openly by the stream catching fish, it was likely very hungry.

Ji Ruo took less than a second to make his judgment, then stepped forward.

His thought was simple—catch that cat and give it a good petting!

The black cat finally noticed Ji Ruo and the other person. It stopped churning the water, arched its back, and stared at them warily, letting out a soft, babyish threat: "Meow!"

The cat looked only a month or two old, a pure little kitten. Its attempt to act fierce was absurdly cute.

Ji Ruo chuckled and took a few more steps forward.

The black cat turned and ran.

Its movements weren't particularly fast, and its steps were even a bit unsteady.

It struggled to climb up the trunk of a nearby tree, then looked down at Ji Ruo from above, then at the stream it had muddied. Its eyes were filled with deep reluctance and unwillingness.

It was afraid of Ji Ruo and his companion, but it couldn't bear to leave—it really wanted to eat fish!

Liang Shixian came up beside Ji Ruo and said quietly, "Ji Ruo, don't mess around. We're still in the exam... no, we're not in the 'Martial Exam Designated Area' anymore. Ten Thousand Beast Mountain is too dangerous. If you want to pet a cat, I'll give you one when we get back. My cat's about to have kittens."

"Class monitor, have you ever heard the legend of the fisherman?"

Liang Shixian blinked. "What legend?"

Ji Ruo grinned. "The one where you cast your line at every river and stop at every bit of water!"

"?"

Liang Shixian was confused. "What does that have to do with us?"

"Because cat lovers are pretty much the same."

"...But that black cat seems really scared of us."

"Don't worry, I've got a way to get it down." Ji Ruo said, stuffing one fish into his pocket, then pressing his palms together with the other fish between them.

His palms suddenly turned crimson, the heat distorting the air slightly.

"Sizzle~~~"

Liang Shixian: "???"

Smelling the faint, strange fishy aroma mixed with a hint of cooked scent, Liang Shixian was dumbfounded.

Did you learn Iron Sand Palm just to cook with it?!

"Little kitty, want some grilled fish?" Ji Ruo said with a smile, pinching the fish he'd cooked with Iron Sand Palm and waving it at the black cat.

"Gulp~"

The black cat on the tree swallowed. The familiar yet strange aroma kept tugging at its heart. Its eyes showed a mix of longing and hesitation.

"Meow meow meow~ Come on, come on! Let me pet you, and I'll give you fish!"

Ji Ruo said cheerfully, looking exactly like a sleazy uncle trying to trick a little girl into watching goldfish.

Of course, Ji Ruo could never be a sleazy uncle—after all, he was younger and quite handsome.

The black cat wavered. Even Liang Shixian could see how torn it was inside.

Its hesitant movements only made it cuter.

Then, whether it was because it was truly starving, or because Ji Ruo's [Diplomatic Spokesperson] title—which boosted verbal appeal—had taken effect, the black cat actually began to slowly climb down from the tree.

It walked toward Ji Ruo, stopping every step, still conflicted.

But perhaps the temptation of Iron Sand Palm grilled fish was too great. Before the black cat could make up its mind, its body had already carried it right in front of Ji Ruo.

Ji Ruo crouched down and gently offered the grilled fish.

"Meow~ Meow~ Eat up, eat up." Ji Ruo happily chatted with the black cat in his self-made cat language, translating for himself as he went.

The black cat glanced at Ji Ruo, as if it couldn't understand what this creature was saying in cat.

Liang Shixian: "..."

Childish! Way too childish!

The black cat cautiously licked the grilled fish Ji Ruo held out. Then its eyes lit up, and it began nibbling in small bites.

Its eyes were filled with deep satisfaction and happiness—it had never eaten such delicious fish before!

Even though Ji Ruo had only roughly cooked it with Iron Sand Palm, without any seasoning, and the taste might be hard for a human to stomach, for this black cat, it was the difference between raw and cooked food!

In a sense, it was a complete upheaval of the black cat's eating habits—for the first time in its life, it tasted something so wonderful.

Ji Ruo placed the grilled fish on the ground in front of the Black Cat, then reached out and gently rubbed its little head.

The Black Cat's body stiffened for a moment, but then, perhaps because having its head rubbed was genuinely comfortable, it began to enjoy the sensation, squinting its eyes while eating the grilled fish.

At the same time—

[Congratulations, dear host, for triggering a function-oriented achievement: Give it a casual tease, and a stranger cat comes to your side!]

[Acquired title: Beast Tamer!]

[Beast Tamer: Comes with special skill—Contract; grants passive—Common Tongue]

[Contract: When neither party shows obvious resistance and their strength is not far apart, you may sign a contract with a non-kin creature, establishing a master-subordinate contractual relationship.]

[Common Tongue: Language is universal, allowing barrier-free communication.]

[Note: The contract is sealed; those who break their word shall suffer the Punishment of Eating Rocks!]

[Note: Barrier-free communication is the foundation of all contractual relationships!]

[Note: Be a kind-hearted child, okay~]

Ji Ruo was overjoyed.

This achievement actually rewarded a title!

He happily scratched under the Black Cat's chin, and the cat squinted its eyes in contentment.

"Is it good?"

"Meow meow~ (Good! Delicious!)"

He could really understand it now!

[Common Tongue] was terrifyingly effective!

Ji Ruo grew even more delighted: "Then do you want to eat even better grilled fish?"

Liang Shixian, seeing Ji Ruo actually start chatting with the Black Cat, helplessly covered his face—you're really carrying on a conversation!

"Meow~ (I want to!)"

"Then sign a contract with me. After the contract is made, I'll take you to eat good food."

He'd already tested [Common Tongue]; next, Ji Ruo planned to try [Contract].

And keeping a cat wasn't something unacceptable.

This Black Cat came from the Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Secret Realm. Whether demon or monster, it was inherently far superior to any ordinary cat sold on the market in human society.

Bloodlines and such—could a regular cat compare to a secret realm cat?

"Meow meow meow~~ (Okay, okay!)"

At this moment, the Black Cat had no idea what was coming.

If its 'big sister' were to wake up, she'd probably be so furious she'd go back into hibernation—telling it to live well, only for it to end up as a human's pet.

How could it take revenge like this?!

[Contract achieved!]

[Congratulations, dear host, on acquiring a new pet!]

[Click to view pet details.]

That was it?

Ji Ruo was stunned for a moment, then suddenly felt a sense of control over the Black Cat rise within him.

A master-servant contract!

The Black Cat, too, instinctively felt a closeness to Ji Ruo. After finishing the grilled fish, it came over to rub against his pant leg.

"Meow meow meow~ (Master, I'm still hungry~)"

It called out 'master' without a second thought, finding nothing wrong with it.

"Wait, I'll catch you some fish. We're having a feast today!" Ji Ruo laughed heartily.

Liang Shixian: "?"

Can you really understand cat language or what? How are you having a full-on conversation with it?

Ji Ruo picked up the Black Cat. It was only about a month or two old, not very big, so he set it directly on top of his head. Then he crouched by the stream, activated Thunder Breathing, and used Thunderclap and Flash to boost his hand speed, scooping fish out of the stream at a speed barely visible to the naked eye.

To be fair, Ji Ruo was truly down-to-earth—Iron Sand Palm for frying rice and cooking, Thunderclap and Flash for catching fish.

The Black Cat watched as fish after fish were tossed onto the grass beside it, its eyes sparkling.

Remembering its own earlier attempt at fishing, it cheered, "Meow~ (Master is amazing!)"

Ji Ruo smiled. "Little cat, let me give you a name. How about Wangcai?"

The Black Cat wrinkled its nose. "Meow meow meow~ (That's such an ugly name, I don't want it. I already have a name!)"

"You have a name?"

The Black Cat lifted its chin. "Meow! (Of course! I'm called Rosie!)"

This little kitten actually had its own name?

And the name didn't seem much like a demon or a monster's. Curious, Ji Ruo tapped on Little Rosie's [Details].

(And with that tap, a whole day passed.)