Upon returning home, Jiang Yi shut the door and eagerly inspected everything.
[Host: Jiang Yi] [Age: Six] [Martial Soul: Master Ball (Every throw hits without fail, ignoring level differences, but be careful not to get betrayed by your pets!)] [Talent: Slave Master (An obsession from a previous life; humanoid pets have a natural 30% increase in favorability)] [Trainable Pets: None!]
Jiang Yi sat cross-legged on his bed. Before him floated an azure screen visible only to him.
The pet training panel!
It displayed his personal information and could help him train pets. This was also a mod he had tinkered with himself in his previous life.
Who would have thought it would become his cheat in this life?
"If I'd known, I wouldn't have made it so crude. If I'd added a god mode, wouldn't I have taken off..."
Jiang Yi sighed regretfully to himself and casually closed the system panel.
Back then, for the sake of the gaming experience, he had turned off all those miscellaneous functions and only kept the data visualization.
"Forget it. I should cultivate first."
Jiang Yi closed his eyes and began to meditate.
Faint specks of light gathered toward him from all directions.
The Master Ball Martial Soul was naturally suited for taming beasts. Only upon reaching Level Ten could he qualify to capture pets.
Time flew by, and six years passed in the blink of an eye.
Within a dense forest, near the border of the Star Luo Empire.
"Thunder Roar!"
The instant the words fell, a blue streak of lightning shot across the sky, followed by a crackling explosion of electric current.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Bolts of lightning as thick as an arm crashed down, striking the century-old Earth Dragon chasing the girl squarely.
The Earth Dragon convulsed all over and instantly collapsed to the ground, unable to move again.
Screech—
A large bird descended from the sky and landed steadily before the Earth Dragon.
Its body was entirely azure, with a wingspan exceeding two meters. Fine golden lightning patterns coiled around the edges of its wings, and every flap brought a faint hiss of electric current.
"It's all right now. Get up."
Jiang Yi leaped from the Gale Thunder Falcon's back, dusted off his robes, and looked toward the girl curled up in the grass.
She was a young girl with a sallow complexion and ordinary features. She was probably a villager from nearby.
This forest did not yet count as the Star Dou Great Forest. It was merely the border between it and human settlements. At its outermost edge, humans were also part of the ecosystem.
The century-old Earth Dragon had most likely wandered out from deeper within by accident.
"Th... thank you!"
The girl looked at him timidly, her eyes full of gratitude. Yet her thin body still trembled slightly; she had clearly been frightened badly.
"Mm. Don't go any farther in. Go home quickly. This place is still quite dangerous..."
Jiang Yi nodded and gave her a casual warning before turning and jumping back onto the Gale Thunder Falcon.
The next moment, the thunder falcon soared into the air, seized the limp century-old Earth Dragon in its talons, and flapped toward the depths of the forest.
"Wait, sir..."
The girl watched that rapidly receding figure and opened her mouth, but Jiang Yi had already vanished.
"So this is the world of Soul Masters?"
The girl pressed a hand to her chest, feeling her heart still pounding wildly.
A moment ago, she had thought she would die beneath that Earth Dragon's hooves. Yet before that Lord Soul Master, the monster had been so utterly helpless.
"I'll become a Soul Master too! Mom, I won't disappoint you!"
The girl tightened her grip around the dagger in her hand, wiped the dirt from her face, and resolutely turned toward the deeper forest.
That small silhouette contained unwavering determination.
Two days later.
On a towering tree at the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.
The blue Gale Thunder Falcon landed atop a branch, folded its wings, and tilted its head as it surveyed the surroundings.
"Damn it! Where the hell is Huo Yuhao?"
Jiang Yi sat on a thick branch, gnawing on dry rations as he gloomily stared at the endless sea of green forest below.
He had specifically made a trip to Star Luo City, intending to follow Huo Yuhao to find the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.
After all, for someone with the Master Ball Martial Soul, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was practically a walking gift package.
But he had arrived a step too late and failed to intercept him.
He had followed him into the Star Dou Great Forest, but it had already been over half a month, and he had not even seen Huo Yuhao's shadow.
He had probably entered earlier.
"Damn it, he really is the protagonist. Covering three hundred li a day... that kid's two legs are ridiculously fast."
Jiang Yi shook his head speechlessly.
He had searched around nearby for over half a month. Logically, Huo Yuhao should have arrived long ago.
If he delayed a few more days, Shrek Academy would close admissions. He must have missed Huo Yuhao somewhere along the way.
"Xiao Lan! Look at you. You've really disgraced the entire thunder falcon race!"
Jiang Yi turned back and looked disdainfully at the blue bird beside him.
The Gale Thunder Falcon!
This was his first pet. It possessed both wind and lightning attributes, and its greatest feature was its speed.
Having lived two lives, Jiang Yi deeply understood the essence of playing it safe. The Gale Thunder Falcon had also been his choice after careful consideration.
If he could not win, he would run. If he could not run, he would fly.
"Roar~"
The Gale Thunder Falcon gave a low roar and foolishly nudged his arm with its head, looking affectionate.
"..."
Jiang Yi looked at the stupid bird helplessly. This was what was bad about Soul Beasts—their intelligence really was worrying.
He reached out, took out a Master Ball, and gave it a light press. The blue bird transformed into a beam of light and was drawn into the ball.
Inside the Star Dou Great Forest, he did not dare fly around recklessly.
Jiang Yi put away the Master Ball, sat back down, chewed his dry rations, and opened the system panel again.
[Host: Jiang Yi] [Age: Twelve] [Martial Soul: Master Ball (Every throw hits without fail, ignoring level differences, but be careful not to get betrayed by your pets!)] [Talent: Slave Master (An obsession from a previous life; humanoid pets have a natural 30% increase in favorability), Wind Thunder Affinity (Resistance to wind and lightning attributes increased by 50%)] [Trainable Pets: Gale Thunder Falcon (839 years)]
Jiang Yi glanced over it, then opened the pet panel. A new interface immediately appeared.
[Pet: Gale Thunder Falcon] [Affinity: 89%] [Bloodline Grade: Purple Grade (Maximum: One Thousand Years)] [Talent: Wind Thunder Affinity, increased resistance to wind and lightning attributes, able to wield the power of wind and lightning...] [Evolution Value: Storm Thunder Eagle (839/1000)] [Soul Skills: Thunder Roar, Thousand Thunder Feather Blades, Thunder Flash (Learning)] [Evaluation: An ordinary Soul Beast. Perhaps it is a decent starter pet... but it is no match for Tang Wutong.]
Xiao Lan had initially possessed only a hundred years of cultivation. Jiang Yi had raised it to eight hundred years over the past few years, but it had drained all his family wealth.
Fortunately, Jiang Yi discovered that he could share his pets' talents and even part of their attributes.
That was also why he had set his sights on the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.
His talent was not particularly good. It had taken him five years to reach Level Twenty, making him merely average among his peers. At Shrek Academy, there were plenty like him.
The million-year Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was something he had to fight for. As for Huo Yuhao... well, he could only say sorry.
The two of them were neither related nor acquainted, so naturally, Jiang Yi would not be softhearted.
If it was worth taking, he would take it!
"I'll look farther in..."
After resting briefly, Jiang Yi slipped into the deeper forest.
He was unwilling to give up just like that. To wait for Tian Meng, he had remained stuck at Level Twenty for an entire year.
He had wasted several levels of Soul Power for nothing!
Half a day later.
Somewhere in the forest, a girl with a single ponytail was glaring resentfully at the boy beside her.
"It's all your fault, Bei Bei! We lost him now, didn't we?"
Tang Ya looked at the empty forest and scratched her head in frustration.
That little girl had treated them to grilled fish, and she had not even had the chance to thank her before the girl had already disappeared.
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