Discovery

The flickering firelight illuminated the cave as Krel sat by the fire, explaining the Church of the Guardian God's beast-taming arts to Zhang Tie. Zhang Tie listened intently—at least, on the surface.

"Beasts are like people—they have feelings and thoughts. Not just beasts; even tiny insects have feelings and thoughts. If you want to master beast taming, the first thing you must learn is to ignore the bodies of the beasts before your eyes and try to communicate with what lies within them!" Krel explained patiently.

After learning the Great Wilderness Scripture, Zhang Tie's curiosity about the beast-taming arts of other schools had flourished. Of course, he did not intend to learn them; he merely wanted to understand them well enough to put on an act. Krel's explanation struck him as quite interesting.

"I don't quite understand. Why do we have to ignore the beasts' bodies? What does that accomplish?"

"Because human consciousness is the most mysterious realm in the universe. When you focus your attention on the body of the beast before you, you are actually telling yourself that, because its body differs from yours, it is different from you. Once you have that thought, you are rejecting communication with it. Your consciousness turns its body into an obstacle between you and it, and so it cannot reach what lies within!"

It seemed to make some sense, though it still sounded rather mystical. Zhang Tie thought seriously for a moment. "Then do other Beast Tamers also communicate with beasts this way?"

"No. This is merely a secret art of the Church of the Guardian God. Among other Beast Tamers, low-level ones may rely on forced behavioral training and drugs to control beasts. Slightly better ones hypnotize animals. Some use illusion arts, some are proficient in beast language, and certain