Silly Eagle?
Lu Ran had been feeling sorry for his senior brother.
But when he saw the name "Silly Eagle"—a homophone for "dumbass"—Lu Ran raised an eyebrow and couldn't keep a straight face.
Was there really an animal called that?
If he remembered correctly, he had a vague impression that Senior Brother Jiang Man had indeed kept an eagle.
But that had just been an ordinary golden eagle!
According to the stories circulating in martial arts circles, Senior Brother Jiang Man had loved the TV series Divine Eagle Hero since childhood and had always wanted an eagle of his own.
But birds of prey like eagles weren't easy for ordinary people to keep.
Fortunately, Senior Brother Jiang Man wasn't an ordinary person. His talent for swordsmanship rivaled Lu Ran's, and he had brought honor to their country in international competitions.
With those credentials, he had only needed to pull a few strings to obtain a permit to keep birds of prey and get himself a golden eagle.
Silly Eagle must be the name Senior Brother Jiang Man gave that golden eagle, Lu Ran guessed.
He continued reading the messily written diary, picking out key details and filtering out the useless information.
[Silly Eagle and I earned an S rating in the Newbie Trial Secret Realm. That seems to be a pretty good rating.]
[Our biggest reward was the beast-taming skill "Fusion."]
[This skill lets Silly Eagle and me merge into a single being, turning me into a birdman. Haha.]
[We're really strong when I turn into a birdman! My swordsmanship has reached a whole new level, too.]
[I was invited to join the authorities.]
[I had incredible luck today, too. While exploring a secret realm with my teammates, another beast-taming skill dropped.]
[The beast-taming skill is called "Trait Borrowing"!]
[It lets a Beast Tamer temporarily borrow a trait from their contracted pet beast and use it themselves.]
[What's a trait?]
[Oh, so every pet beast can fuse with a trait once it reaches level 10. "Trait Crystals" only have a chance of dropping when you earn a certain rating in an Abyss-difficulty secret realm.]
[Then I'd better choose Silly Eagle's first trait carefully.]
[I got some information: a beast-taming team overseas entered the "Abandoned Testing Ground Secret Realm," got a "Weapon Mastery Trait" drop, and put it up for auction.]
[Apparently, the "Weapon Mastery Trait" allows a pet beast that fuses with it to master any weapon, wielding it as though it were part of its own body.]
[Fantastic! If I have Silly Eagle fuse with this trait and then borrow it myself, my swordsmanship will definitely reach a whole new level! Unity of man and sword—that's a legendary realm.]
Lu Ran stared at the beast-taming diary in shock, briefly lifting his head to glance at his master, Jiang Dou.
"What is it? Have you found any useful information?" Jiang Dou asked.
"I haven't finished reading yet, but Senior Brother Jiang Man's path really was a lot like mine..." Lu Ran couldn't help saying.
He had also considered finding a trait for General Ha to fuse with that would help him use weapons better.
Weapon mastery?
So a trait like that existed? Fantastic.
He silently committed the name of the Abandoned Testing Ground Secret Realm to memory.
Then Lu Ran resumed reading carefully.
[Unfortunately, Xia Country's Third Infinite City doesn't have the "Abandoned Testing Ground Secret Realm." Luckily, the Fifth Infinite City does, so I won't have to visit another country's Infinite City.]
[The "Abandoned Testing Ground Secret Realm" is an Abyss-difficulty Novice Secret Realm. It's so hard. There's only one monster inside: a modified Minotaur. He's fully armored and carries a giant axe. His attribute is "dark," his species rank is "Mid-level Commander," and his growth level is "level 10." He also has the "Weapon Mastery Trait." He's terrifyingly powerful. There's no way to clear it alone.]
[Do I have to give up? Awakening a second attribute for Silly Eagle instead of fusing with a trait might be easier, but I want this trait so badly.]
[After a lot of work, I found a group of reliable teammates, and we finally defeated the "Demonic Bull Commander." Unfortunately, our rating wasn't very high. Luckily, they said they'd help me keep clearing this secret realm. Once our teamwork improves, we'll definitely reach the rating needed for the "Weapon Mastery Trait" to drop.]
[Wonderful! After two months of hard work, we finally got a "Trait Crystal" drop.]
[Silly Eagle's species rank is High-level Extraordinary. After fusing with the "Trait Crystal," he's still High-level Extraordinary. It seems one "Trait Crystal" isn't enough to raise his species rank.]
[I cleared the Breakthrough Secret Realm. I'm a level-one Beast Tamer now, and I can learn "Trait Borrowing."]
[So powerful! After mastering two beast-taming skills, I've become even stronger. My sword intent has surpassed Master's by a huge margin, too, but I still can't comprehend sword will.]
[Does the realm of sword will really exist?]
[I get it now. Sword will really does exist! Today, I met an incredibly powerful Beast Tamer. Her name is Gu Qingyi, and she's so beautiful. This is the first time I've seen such an impressive female Beast Tamer. Her pet beasts are extremely skilled at energy shaping. Other people's shaping skills only capture the form, without the intent, but the techniques she and her pet beasts shape seem to contain mental will.]
[The advanced technique for Energy Coating is wrapping energy around the outside. Could the advanced technique for energy shaping be forms imbued with intent? Form-Intent Techniques?]
[I feel like this is the key to comprehending sword will and advancing my sword intent into sword will!]
Lu Ran had spotted a familiar name...
[Oh no... I feel like having Silly Eagle fuse with this trait was a mistake.]
[The authorities' latest research findings are out. Trait fusion requires caution. Traits suited to a pet beast are the best ones.]
[Only by continually absorbing compatible traits and awakening suitable attributes does a pet beast have a chance to evolve. The wrong combination of traits or the wrong choice of attributes can cause evolution to fail! The success rate for evolution isn't 100%!]
[As an eagle, Silly Eagle isn't suited to weapon mastery at all. After all, I can't actually have him learn swordsmanship.]
[All this time, I've treated Silly Eagle as support, having him help me grow stronger while neglecting his development.]
[I'd still rather become strong myself than have a powerful pet beast. But if my pet beast isn't strong, our strength after Fusion will suffer, too. No, there has to be a way to change this.]
[Abyss difficulty, level-one secret realm: Orc Tribe! This secret realm can actually drop the "Humanoid Trait"!]
[After fusing with the "Humanoid Trait," pet beasts can evolve toward a humanoid form! If Silly Eagle evolves into a humanoid, he'll definitely be better suited to the "Weapon Mastery Trait," and his compatibility with me during Fusion will be even higher!]
[Someone overseas has already successfully evolved a "Werewolf." Unfortunately, none of Xia Country's seven Infinite Cities has the Orc Tribe Secret Realm this time, and the teleportation arrays between countries haven't opened yet. If I want to enter the Orc Tribe Secret Realm, I'll have to travel to another country first.]
[It's decided. For Silly Eagle's future, I'm heading west in a couple of days!]
The diary ended abruptly there.
Lu Ran looked at Master Jiang Dou again.
"Did Senior Brother die in a secret realm overseas?" Lu Ran asked. After reading this far, he felt even more regret over his senior brother's fate. Although Jiang Man had said he had taken the wrong path, there had still been a chance to fix everything if he obtained a Humanoid Trait Crystal and let Silly Eagle evolve toward a humanoid form.
"Your senior brother went with two friends. In the end, all of them died in that Orc Tribe Secret Realm..." Old Master Jiang Dou couldn't hold back his tears. "The authorities told me their Identity Cards had all been deactivated. That's a sign they've died."
"Master..." Lu Ran looked at the old man, at a loss for how to comfort him.
"Ah, Master..." Senior Brother He had been waiting quietly beside them without saying a word. Now, seeing Old Master Jiang Dou cry, his eyes reddened as well.
Lu Ran hadn't actually known Senior Brother Jiang Man very well. After all, Jiang Man had rarely been at the dojo. But Master Jiang Dou and Senior Brother He must have been very close to him.
Judging by the style of his diary, Senior Brother Jiang Man had also been a humorous, entertaining master swordsman.
And he had undoubtedly been a genius. He had earned an S rating and even begun pursuing sword will, the realm above sword intent. What a shame that such a genius had fallen while still only a level-one Beast Tamer.
"Lu Ran, keep this diary." Jiang Dou sighed. "I know your temperament. I certainly can't talk you out of this, but remember: until you're confident enough, don't follow your Senior Brother Jiang Man's example and take risks you aren't sure about."
"Now that we're in an age where everyone can tame beasts, I'm glad to see you pick up a sword again. Perhaps this is a new opportunity for swordsmanship to flourish once more. But I don't want to hear that you've met with disaster one day, the way I heard about Jiang Man."
"Don't worry, Master," Lu Ran said.
"You just said your path was very similar to Jiang Man's... Did you also obtain the Fusion beast-taming skill and comprehend sword intent that way? No, his sword intent was different from yours." The old man pondered.
"No, I have a different beast-taming skill. I mastered sword intent by imitating wild beasts. I said our paths were similar because I also considered finding a 'Weapon Mastery Trait' for my contracted pet beast..."
The old man's eyes widened. Aren't you heading down a road of no return?!
"Then you've given up on that now, right? His diary spells it out clearly. Most animals aren't suited to this trait."
"Actually, no," Lu Ran said seriously. "An eagle really isn't suited to learning swordsmanship, and Senior Brother Jiang never considered taking that approach in the beginning. Before or after fusing with the trait, that eagle had no experience with swordsmanship at all. It's perfectly normal that he couldn't mesh with that trait."
"But I'm different. I started teaching my pet beast swordsmanship before he underwent extraordinary evolution. Even now, he's already gained a rudimentary understanding of an advanced swordsmanship realm like 'sword intent.' Once he truly comprehends it, wouldn't that mean he's even more talented than humans? I feel like we're different. My pet beast should be able to handle the 'Weapon Mastery Trait.' I've never neglected his development."
Old Master Jiang Dou and Senior Brother He: ???
"Did you contract a monkey?" Jiang Dou asked. "Martial arts dramas do sometimes feature apes living deep in the mountains that are proficient in martial arts and weapons... After all, they're primates, the animals most similar to humans."
Why was it a monkey again...? Lu Ran grumbled inwardly.
"No, he's a Silly Husky."
Jiang Dou: ?
You disobedient brat! You really won't listen to reason! This kid was still as infuriating as ever.
Before you continue