Two days later, out in the wilderness.
Xu Bai stood with his hands clasped behind his back. A Soul Ring rose beneath his feet, and he no longer bothered to hide the aura of a One-Ring Soul Master. His presence was so powerful that even the microorganisms passing by couldn't lift their heads.
Beast Taming Space, open!
I choose you! Come out, First!
As ripples stirred in the space behind him, First strode out at an arrogant, swaggering pace.
"First, do you know why I called you out?"
Xu Bai asked calmly.
'Of course!'
First bared a bloodthirsty grin and let out a vicious roar, startling a flock of birds in the distance. 'Who does the Beast Tamer want to kill?'
Xu Bai stumbled. He raised a hand and smacked First on the head, then said irritably, "Who taught you to say that? And you're asking who I want to kill? With a cultivation base that's barely reached a hundred years, who could you kill? You might not even beat a stronger One-Ring Battle Soul Master."
First looked aggrieved.
Then why had you summoned me with such a serious look? I thought we were going to fight...
Xu Bai glanced at First and said calmly, "Today is the first time I'm helping you train your racial skill, so of course I have to make it a little formal."
Train its racial skill?
First looked puzzled. You could train this stuff?
"Why wouldn't you be able to?"
Xu Bai shook his head and said, "When you use Metal Spirit Power, haven't you noticed how hard it is to control? That means you haven't mastered the skill yet."
"Now I'll help you train. Once you improve your proficiency, maybe all it'll take is a thought, and you'll be able to pull metal out of the earth beneath your feet to attack your enemies."
At that, First fell silent. A scene came unbidden to mind: with a single roar, it would rip tens of thousands of pieces of metal from the earth and beat up its little brother.
Then, with a determined look, it gazed at Xu Bai.
'Beast Tamer, I want to learn that! Hurry up and train me hard!'
Xu Bai held his forehead, starting to wonder whether teaching First to read had really been the right decision.
First was certainly gifted at learning to read, but what on earth had it been looking at these past two days?
With a soft sigh, Xu Bai raised his hand and tossed several iron balls of different sizes out of the Beast Taming Space. They hit the ground with a series of thuds, leaving several dents.
"The training is simple. There's just one thing to master: focus."
Seeing First's bewildered expression, Xu Bai explained, "I brought you twenty iron balls, all different sizes. Your job is to control one of them in the air without affecting the others."
First frowned at the pile of iron balls, thinking it looked rather difficult.
"It's fine. We'll start with something easy."
Xu Bai smiled, then put the iron balls back into the Beast Taming Space, leaving only two balls of about the same size on the ground. "Let's begin, First. Use Metal Spirit Power!"
First's expression grew solemn. With a thought, it released the power within its body.
The next moment, a faint golden light spread out, covering a radius of more than ten meters.
"Aw—"
First gave a soft growl. The golden light trembled, and under the influence of that strange power, the two iron balls on the ground miraculously floated into the air.
It wasn't just the two iron balls that rose. Tiny metal particles within a radius of more than ten meters floated up as well.
"First, put down one of the iron balls, or just stop controlling it," Xu Bai said at the right moment.
At his words, First tried hard to control the power, attempting to put down one of the iron balls.
But things didn't go as planned. When it tried to lower one ball, the other one and all those tiny particles descended with it.
Unable to do that, First tried to simply withdraw its control over the one iron ball.
Unfortunately, the instant it tried, all the golden light withdrew.
With a thud, both iron balls fell to the ground.
First refused to accept defeat. It tried several more times, but every attempt ended in failure.
First: ε(┬┬﹏┬┬)3
Beast Tamer, my own skill is bullying me...
It gazed pitifully at Xu Bai, hoping he would comfort it.
"Don't be discouraged. Failure is normal."
Xu Bai reached out and rubbed First's head, then offered a pointer. "That power comes from inside you. It shares your origin. When you use it, try thinking of it as your own limbs, not as a tool."
First nodded, seeming to understand a little. Then it gathered its confidence and resumed training.
Then... it failed again. It kept at it for nearly the entire morning, stopping only when it was completely exhausted.
Xu Bai went over and patted First's head as it crouched to one side, drawing circles in the dirt. "Failure is the mother of success. It's only been one morning. With your talent, I'm sure it won't take long for you to succeed."
First kept drawing circles, apparently still sunk in the pain of failure and unable to pull itself out.
Xu Bai fell silent for a moment, then tentatively said, "How about this? Don't be sad. What if we have something nice to eat today?"
Sure enough!
First pulled off a lightning-fast change of expression worthy of a Beijing opera performer, appearing in front of Xu Bai in an instant. Its eyes shone as it stared at him.
Xu Bai: ??????
Looking at the white tiger who forgot everything as soon as food was mentioned, Xu Bai couldn't help thinking of a panda named A-Bao.
Then, inspiration struck. He thought he knew how to train First.
The next day, at the same time and in the same place, Xu Bai brought First out again.
"First, after a whole night of careful thought, I've decided to change your training method."
Xu Bai stood with his back to First and his hands clasped behind him, still putting on the airs of a grandmaster.
But with a body that was only eight years old, that pose wouldn't inspire reverence. It would only make people think he was amusing.
Of course, First wasn't a person. It gazed at Xu Bai with an expression full of admiration, thinking that the Beast Tamer truly lived up to his name. He'd thought of another training method in just one night.
"I call this training method the A-Bao Training Method."
Xu Bai turned around, took a jar of honey from the Beast Taming Space, dipped a spoon into it, and held it out to First with a smile.
"Come on, First. Try this and tell me what you think."
His smile was kind, but in First's eyes it seemed to carry a hint of ill intent. For no reason at all, a shiver ran down First's spine. It had a feeling something bad was about to happen.
First instinctively wanted to refuse, but as soon as the honey's sweetness reached its nose, it tossed all thoughts of caution aside.
The Beast Tamer was being so nice to me. Surely he wouldn't hurt me.
With that thought, First opened its gaping maw and swallowed the honey-coated spoon in one gulp.
Delicious! The Beast Tamer really wouldn't hurt me!
First's eyes widened slightly, and an expression of pure bliss appeared on its face.
Xu Bai nodded with satisfaction. He'd spent a full twenty Gold Soul Coins on this jar of Century-Old Gilded Royal Honey. In terms of flavor alone, it was the cream of the crop.
He refused to believe First wouldn't crave it after tasting it.
Beast Tamer, I want more!
After licking the Royal Honey off the spoon, First rubbed its head against Xu Bai and gazed up at him with big, sparkling eyes.
"Don't rush. This whole jar is for you." Xu Bai's lips curled into a malicious smile. "Try this one, too."
As he spoke, Xu Bai took another earthenware jar from the Beast Taming Space. It was filled with some unidentified yellow-brown powder.
Up close, it gave off a strong herbal smell.
Seeing First's impatient look, Xu Bai scooped a big spoonful straight from the jar and held it out.
As the spoon drew near, the herbal smell reached First's nose. First furrowed its brows and instinctively wanted to back away.
But because it trusted the Beast Tamer, it worked up its courage and swallowed the spoonful in one gulp.
Then First's eyes flew open. Only one thought crossed its mind.
The Beast Tamer wants to kill me...
Bitter. So bitter it pierced its heart and left it dizzy with misery.
It would swear to heaven that it had never eaten anything so bitter in its life.
"Aw!"
First spat out the spoon and, with its tongue drooping and stained blackish brown, charged toward the jar of Royal Honey beside Xu Bai.
But Xu Bai had been prepared. The moment he saw First turn its gaze toward the jar, he put it away in the Beast Taming Space.
"Aw..."
Seeing Xu Bai put away the life-saving Royal Honey, First let out a mournful wail and glared at him in bitter resentment. Then it turned its gaze to the grass beneath its feet.
After all, they were out in the wilderness, and the weeds had grown thick—at least half a foot high.
First tore up half a clump in one bite and chewed it fiercely, trying to use the weeds' bitterness to overpower the terrible taste in its mouth.
Seeing this, Xu Bai raised his eyebrows and looked at the jar, full of unidentified yellow powder. A thought suddenly occurred to him.
"Is this stuff really that bitter?"
Gentian Coptis Powder was said to be the most bitter thing in the plant world when compared at the same age.
This jar contained ten-year-old Gentian Coptis Powder. It was only ten years old, but it had cost him thirty Gold Soul Coins.
After a while, Xu Bai looked away. First looked so miserable that he'd lost the courage to satisfy his curiosity.
"First, don't blame me. I'm doing this for your own good..."
Xu Bai silently repeated those words in his heart, soothing the last scraps of his conscience. Then he began preparing First's training equipment.
He took out two sets of small iron balls. He coated one set with Royal Honey and sprinkled Coptis Powder over the other.
He would use the temptation of food, combined with the fear of Coptis Powder, to draw out the potential hidden deep within First.
Xu Bai had just finished preparing when First finally recovered.
It looked at the Beast Tamer with tears in its eyes, wearing an expression of hurt betrayal.
I'm doing this for its own good...
Xu Bai repeated the words to himself and instantly felt emboldened. He glared at First and snapped, "You think that look will make me go soft? Training starts now. Otherwise, this is all you'll get to eat from now on."
As he spoke, Xu Bai kicked the earthenware jar of Coptis Powder.
"Aw—"
First let out a wail of utter despair. If that was all it would get to eat from now on, it might as well die.
"Of course, if you do well, and I have enough money, I can buy you a jar of Royal Honey every month."
Xu Bai continued. He'd handed out the stick, so naturally it was time to offer a carrot.
If all he did was beat it with the stick over and over, who could stand that?
Sure enough, the moment First heard it would get Royal Honey every month, it perked up again.
Betrayal?
Impossible!
The Beast Tamer was its benefactor. How could its benefactor betray it?
"Since you're in such good spirits, let's begin training."
Xu Bai smiled. "The task is the same as last time, but I've added rewards and punishments. Whether you get a reward or a punishment is up to you."
"Oh, and one more rule: if an iron ball hits the ground, you're not allowed to eat what's on it."
As he spoke, he took out two iron balls: one coated with Royal Honey and one covered in Coptis Powder.
"Show me what you can do, First!"
At that, First's expression turned serious. It took a deep breath and activated Metal Spirit Power.
Golden light spread out. The two iron balls, along with the tiny iron particles in the area, slowly floated into the air.
First stared at the iron ball coated in Royal Honey, its eyes full of longing. It opened its mouth, focused its mind, and tried to draw the iron ball toward itself.
Then both iron balls moved at once.
At once, the fear of being ruled by the Coptis Powder came surging back, and for a split second, First lost its focus.
But that split second was enough. Both iron balls slipped out of its control and plunged straight down.
By the time First came to its senses, the honey-coated iron ball was only 0.01 centimeters above the ground.
The Beast Tamer's words rang in its ears.
If the iron ball hits the ground, you can't eat what's on it.
No Royal Honey...
It couldn't have any...
For First, who valued food more than its own life, that was absolutely unacceptable.
"Aw!"
With a roar, First unleashed its body's potential in an instant and released Metal Spirit Power once more.
"First, you actually did it..."
Xu Bai's astonished voice rang out, bringing First back to its senses as it stared at the iron ball coated in Royal Honey.
The faint golden light that had once covered an area of more than ten meters had narrowed to a single short line. One end of the line came from First; the other was attached to the honey-coated iron ball, which First was now controlling and slowly lifting into the air.
'So I really did it...'
First murmured, dazed for a moment, as if none of it felt real.
It hadn't been able to do this yesterday, no matter how hard it tried. Yet just one day later, it had succeeded...
"That's right, First. You're a genius!"
Xu Bai said with a smile. He'd thought that even with this training method, First would need at least another day or two of practice. He hadn't expected it to succeed on its very first try.
'Of course. Just look at who I am.'
First raised its head proudly, then happily licked the Royal Honey off the iron ball.
Maybe it was just its imagination, but the honey on the iron ball seemed even sweeter than what it had tasted before.
Once First had licked the iron ball clean, Xu Bai took out two more clean iron balls and said, "First, try again. Let's see if you can do it."
"Aw~"
First responded and activated Metal Spirit Power.
The next moment, faint golden light spread out and began to expand.
At the sight of this, First quickly focused his mental power. The spreading golden light began to gather, then turned into a faint beam. It took control of one of the iron balls in Xu Bai's hand and slowly lifted it into the air.
"Very good!"
Xu Bai praised him, then suddenly thought of something. With a thought, he opened the Manual in his Sea of Consciousness:
[Beast Taming]: Mutated Green-Red Tiger (First) [Attribute]: Metal [Current Age]: One hundred years [Species Potential]: One thousand years [Species Skill]: Metal Spirit Power (Proficient) [Evolution Direction]: None [Soul Beasts Currently Recorded in the Manual]: 7 (Viewable)
Xu Bai nodded. As expected, the Manual had changed. Metal Spirit Power's proficiency had gone from beginner to proficient.