"That's a Green-Red Tiger. It has two purple rings on its tail, so it's two thousand years old! Why would a Soul Beast of that age be in the outer perimeter?"
Xu Bai was startled and hurriedly glanced at First beside him.
First was a cub abandoned by its Green-Red Tiger clan. Now that it had seen one of its kind, Xu Bai was worried it might react too strongly.
That was a thousand-year Soul Beast—not something First could handle right now.
Fortunately, seeing one of its kind didn't make First lose its reason and provoke it outright. It only stared at the giant tiger with cold eyes, as if suppressing the hatred in its heart.
"Don't look, First. It's a thousand-year Soul Beast. We can't afford to provoke it yet. Give me some time, and I'll start helping you break through to a thousand years. Then we can come back for revenge."
Through their connection, Xu Bai sent his reassurance to First, soothing its emotions.
Hearing its Beast Tamer's message, First's pent-up emotions eased a little. It shook its head, forcing itself to look away.
"Come on, First. We're leaving to avoid its sharp edge for now. There's no shame in yielding temporarily, so don't feel bad about it."
Xu Bai rubbed First's head and sent one more reassuring message.
First nodded, agreeing with its Beast Tamer.
And so, the man and tiger cautiously left the area and headed out of the mountain range.
Long after they were gone, the enormous Green-Red Tiger finally looked over in confusion. Just now, it had seemed to catch a familiar scent, one very much like that of the useless cub that had been abandoned.
It leaped over to where the scent had come from and sniffed carefully. Only then did it put its suspicions to rest.
The scent had indeed been very similar to that useless cub's, but there were clear differences. There was also the scent of a human. Even if that useless cub were still alive, with its cowardly nature, there was no way it would be mixed up with humans.
After leaving the Hengduan Mountain Range, Xu Bai finally relaxed his guard and returned First to the Beast Taming Space. He also took the opportunity to ask about the giant tiger and its relationship to First.
First answered bluntly. It was its Second Uncle, and the tiger who had first suggested abandoning it.
Second Uncle?!
Xu Bai was surprised at first, then wore a pleased expression.
Even the enemy's generation was the same. Well done, First. We really are fated to be together.
Inside the Beast Taming Space, First couldn't see Xu Bai's expression, but it could faintly sense its Beast Tamer's mood through their Beast Taming Mark.
First: ?????
After hesitating for a moment, it tentatively asked,
'Beast Tamer, I feel like you're... pleased?'
"Pleased? You're imagining things."
Xu Bai denied it without a moment's hesitation, then said with a straight face, "I was thinking about how to help you increase your age. I'm figuring out how long it'll take me to save enough money for the materials."
'Is that so?'
First was confused.
"What else? Use your tiger brain. Even if I were going to laugh at you, I wouldn't be pleased."
Xu Bai's words were reasonable and delivered with righteous conviction.
First thought it over and decided its Beast Tamer made sense. It immediately felt deeply ashamed.
It was far too sensitive. How could it suspect a Beast Tamer who genuinely wanted what was best for it? It was being absolutely wretched!
This little interlude ended with First reflecting on itself.
By the time they got home, night had fallen.
After taking care of trivial matters like dinner and washing up, Xu Bai lay down on his bed and opened the Manual.
[Note]: Spend a large amount of mental energy to deduce the second-stage training method? (Yes/No).
"Yes!" Xu Bai silently answered. The Manual's display changed, and it began its deductions...
The following morning.
Xu Bai slowly opened his eyes, feeling that he had slept exceptionally well.
Under normal circumstances, when a Soul Master increased their mental power through external means, they became extremely agitated, making it very likely they wouldn't be able to sleep that night.
Don't ask Xu Bai how he knew. He had suffered from a rare bout of insomnia that night in the Hengduan Mountain Range.
The next day, he had recorded more than sixty kinds of Soul Beasts. That meant that even though he had been awake all night, he'd remained full of energy throughout the day. When he finally went to bed that night, he still wasn't the least bit sleepy.
So he had promptly opened the Manual and started deducing the second-stage training method for the Mutated Blue Silver Grass.
As it turned out, the Manual's sleep-inducing effect was truly incredible. He'd never have to worry about insomnia again.
Xu Bai chuckled to himself and grumbled inwardly before turning his attention to the Manual:
[Second Stage]: Make Thousand Wood Spirit Powder to accelerate the growth of herbaceous Soul Beasts under a thousand years old.
[Required Materials]: A thousand-year Ancient Spirit Tree Heart, a hundred-year Wutong Tree Twig, a thousand-year Da Hong Pao Leaf, Scale Armor Stone...
[Method]: Grind the Ancient Spirit Tree Heart and Da Hong Pao Leaf into powder, then burn them using the Wutong Tree Twig. Next, use the Scale Armor Stone...
[Usage]: Once every three months, one portion each time.
"So it really is something similar to Hundred Herb Liquid, just... its range of use has been narrowed. Is it because the required age has increased?"
Xu Bai mused to himself, then looked at the "Required Materials" and felt a pang of frustration.
The cost per batch was only a little cheaper than Spirit-Raising. All the required materials added up to around a thousand Gold Soul Coins.
He'd thought that something cheap and useful like Hundred Herb Liquid was just the beginning. He hadn't expected it to hit its peak right out of the gate.
"Fortunately, the method is simple, so I won't have to waste much on trial and error." Xu Bai sighed, glanced at the fifty Clear Heart Orange Trees in the Beast Taming Space, and decided to keep increasing production—ramp it up as much as he could.
Too bad Thousand Wood Powder only worked on herbaceous plant Soul Beasts. Otherwise, maybe one day he could replace the Soul Beasts in his orchard with hundred-year ones.
The profit margin might not be as good as the Clear Heart Orange Trees', but they'd definitely earn more Gold Soul Coins.
After a sigh, he turned his gaze to First, who was sleeping nearby. Complicated feelings and a trace of pity flashed in his eyes. In the end, with a heavy heart, he silently apologized.
If everyone was going to get stronger, he'd have to put First through the wringer again. He'd take all the resentment himself.
Still asleep and apparently having a sweet dream, First suddenly shuddered, its face twisting with fear. For some reason, it had begun to have a nightmare.
Time flew by like this, and before long, more than two months had passed.
Xu Bai had finally saved enough Gold Soul Coins to buy cultivation materials for First and Little Blue.
First had been indispensable in helping him save up the money so quickly.
He looked into the Beast Taming Space. A small island had formed at its center, and more than three hundred Clear Heart Orange Trees stood densely packed across it.
Of course, Little Blue had also contributed a great deal along the way.
With more than three hundred fruit trees bearing fruit at once, picking them by hand would have taken Xu Bai a great deal of time and effort.
So Little Blue, with its many vines, had become the perfect tool and helper.
Actually, there was an even easier and faster way: Xu Bai could simply use his authority over the Beast Taming Space to pick the Clear Heart Oranges and pile them up.
But none of that mattered now. The most important thing was to go buy the materials!
After such a long lull, Xu Bai and his two Soul Beasts could finally make another rapid leap in strength.