Get stronger!?
As soon as the words left his mouth, Little Blue hadn't reacted yet, but First, who had been pretending to look at the sky beside them, perked up its ears.
After a good while, Little Blue finally said hesitantly, 'Um, Beast Tamer, could I not?'
First:!!!!
'Are you crazy? The Beast Tamer wants to help you get stronger, and you're refusing? Don't you want to get stronger?'
It stopped looking at the sun and turned around, staring at Little Blue in disbelief.
'I... I suppose I do...' Little Blue hesitated, then said softly, 'It's just that the Beast Tamer already helped me get stronger once, and if I get stronger again, I'm afraid something might go wrong...'
First:?????
'What are you afraid of? That your foundation won't be stable?'
Little Blue timidly nodded one of its leaves.
Seeing this, First was speechless. Its newly acquired underling seemed a little dumb.
'Beast Tamer, I'm not afraid. Why don't you help me get stronger instead?'
Putting aside its silly underling, First leaned its head toward Xu Bai, its face full of ingratiating eagerness.
"First, quit messing around." Xu Bai reached out and pushed the tiger's head aside.
It wasn't that I didn't want to help you get stronger. The materials needed to help you get stronger were just too expensive. I, your Beast Tamer, couldn't afford them.
He secretly offered First an instant's worth of an apology, then looked at Little Blue and continued gently, "Little Blue, you can rest assured. I can promise you that the end result of this improvement won't cause you any harm."
First:??????
So love really could disappear, couldn't it?
Watching the Beast Tamer fawn over Little Blue, First immediately lost heart and lay down off to the side, silently drawing circles in the dirt.
The Beast Tamer had better come comfort me right now, or else I'll... three, I won't eat a single meal today, and that'll scare him to death!
On the other side, Xu Bai naturally noticed First's change in mood. But he still had to coax Little Blue, so he didn't have time to deal with it just yet. He could only make it up to First afterward.
'There's no danger in the end, but what about the process?' Little Blue hesitated for a moment, then asked in a small voice.
Xu Bai put on a perfectly serious expression. "If there's no danger in the end, do you think there could be any danger along the way?"
Little Blue thought about it and decided that made sense.
"Little Blue, you know your own strength. Even a strong Ten-Year Soul Beast could probably kill you one-on-one. First and I can protect you most of the time, but there might be times when we're not around. If you run into danger then, what will you do without enough strength?"
Xu Bai glanced at Little Blue, turning up the coaxing.
Hearing this, Little Blue couldn't help but freeze.
That was true. Without strength, it wouldn't even be able to protect itself when danger came. And to protect itself, it needed to have powerful strength.
At that thought, Little Blue's leaves trembled, as if it were about to make some important decision.
Seeing this, Xu Bai played his trump card. "Little Blue, you don't want to lose the chance to bask in the sun and moon forever, do you?"
Little Blue:!!!!
'Beast Tamer, I'm willing! Please make me stronger!'
"A deal?"
'A deal!'
Xu Bai nodded slightly.
You agreed to this yourself. I didn't force you, so don't blame me later.
After muttering to himself, he turned his attention to First.
He'd finished coaxing Little Blue, and now he had to go comfort First. Was he raising Beast Tamed Beasts or raising children?
Xu Bai sighed softly, feeling a little worn out.
Fortunately, First was easy to please. Just one meal of delicious food was enough to make it let go of its resentment and perk up again.
Though the matter was already behind First, Xu Bai still explained the reason to it. He also promised that once he had enough money, he'd help First improve its strength first.
Seeing its Beast Tamer make such a solemn promise, the Little White Tiger was so moved it could barely contain itself, crying, "I'll never repay the Beast Tamer's kindness! I could never repay it!"
With the trivial matters settled, all that remained was to buy the materials.
For that, Xu Bai naturally chose the Seven Treasures Trading House, where he was already a familiar face.
Unfortunately, the Seven Treasures Trading House in Huangshan City was a branch—and a branch in a mid-sized city at that. Its selection wasn't very comprehensive, and he could only just barely find most of the materials.
Fortunately, Huangshan City was a mid-sized city with plenty of shops like trading houses. Xu Bai spent the whole day visiting every part of the city, and finally gathered all the materials he needed.
But...
Xu Bai's eyes flickered as he glanced behind him from the corner of his eye.
In the crowd, it seemed there was a figure trailing far behind him.
After becoming a Soul Grandmaster, his spiritual power had risen again. It now surpassed that of most Soul Elders and was even comparable to that of some Soul Ancestors.
Anyone tracking him whose strength didn't exceed a Soul Elder couldn't escape his notice.
"Looks like I drew a little too much attention today and caught the eye of someone with designs on me..."
Xu Bai furrowed his brow slightly and continued walking as if nothing were amiss, silently weighing things over.
In Huangshan City, there were only five powers with Soul Ancestor-level strength or higher: the Spirit Hall Branch, the City Lord's Mansion, the Great Soul Arena, the Chen Family, and the Seven Treasures Trading House.
As local powers, if they had their eyes on him, they would most likely send a powerful expert to summon him directly. There was no way they'd have some underling—who might not even be a Soul Master—follow him instead.
Setting those five major powers aside, none of the others were anything for Xu Bai to fear.
After First's mastery of Metal Spirit Power reached the pinnacle, its combat strength had increased dramatically.
With proper preparations, even killing a Soul Elder by catching them off guard wouldn't be difficult.
So Xu Bai didn't alert the watcher. He planned to go home and get ready.
He was determined to find out who had their eyes on him. With a little luck, he might even make a fortune out of it.
At the thought, a flicker of anticipation rose in Xu Bai's heart.
He'd just bought the materials Little Blue needed to evolve, and his little stash was nearly empty again. He'd been worrying about how to make a quick buck, and now someone had shown up to deliver money. Talk about someone bringing a pillow just as you were nodding off.
When he returned to the courtyard, the feeling of being watched disappeared. The person had probably gone to report back.
"First, time to get to work!"
With a thought, Xu Bai forcibly summoned First from the Beast Taming Space.
'What's wrong, Beast Tamer?' First wandered out groggily and lifted its head in confusion.
"We've got someone watching us again. They'll probably make a move tonight," Xu Bai replied honestly.
'Someone's watching us again!' First instantly snapped awake, its eyes gleaming with excitement.
As a tiger-type Soul Beast, it naturally had a fighting instinct.
But it had been Xu Bai's Beast Tamed Beast for nearly a year, and it had only seen one real battle—and that had been the sort where it secretly fired off a cold arrow.
Especially since its mastery of Metal Spirit Power had reached the pinnacle some time ago and its combat strength had surged. Its claws had been itching for a fight for ages.
'Beast Tamer, why don't we attack them directly and strike first?' First offered. It didn't really want to wait.
"Don't be rash. We have no idea how strong the other side is. Going after them recklessly could cost us our lives!" Xu Bai scolded it lightly, then said sternly, "First, you're not a little kid anymore. You need to learn to stay calm when things happen. Look at Little Blue's steady personality—you should learn from it more often."
Meanwhile, Little Blue was basking in the sun nearby, completely unaware of what was going on:?????