Training the "Dog"

"So you're a fire-attribute Calamity Beast with Nüba's bloodline, capable of bringing a great drought as soon as you emerge into the world once you're fully grown?"

Feng Zhuo narrowed his eyes, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing the red jade bracelet on his wrist.

The Calamity Beast before him, which called itself Yanba, had just forcibly established a Life-Bound Contract with him while he was unconscious.

Calamity Beasts were in no way inferior to Divine Beasts or Divine Plants.

He had only just lost his Yi Wood and felt that he was not favored by the Heavenly Dao of this world, so how had he inexplicably contracted a Calamity Beast with the bloodline of the legendary Nüba?

Could it be a blessing in disguise?

Yanba had the body of a dragon, crimson as blood from head to tail, with magma-like patterns flowing between his scales. Yet he had a savage lion's head, a deer's four legs, and nine chain-shaped tails.

He was the very picture of a mismatched creature.

"That's right!"

"I am a great Calamity Beast bearing the bloodline of Nüba! Wherever I pass, rivers run dry and the land lies scorched for a thousand li! You are but a mere Qi Refining Stage cultivator. To have won my favor, why do you not quickly..."

Before he could finish, a red-and-white thread of fire suddenly coiled around his neck.

Feng Zhuo flicked a fingertip, and the presence of his third-tier Life-Bound Spirit Fire surged, wrapping Yanba in a ball of flame.

"Aow-! Hot, hot, hot!"

Yanba, who had been so insufferably arrogant a moment ago, immediately rolled all over the ground, his nine tails thrashing wildly and kicking up clouds of dust.

Feng Zhuo watched coldly. Only when Yanba's scales began to turn white did he casually withdraw the flames. "Do you know now which of us is the master and which is the servant?"

Yanba lay sprawled on the ground, panting hard. More than half the mane on his lion's head had been scorched.

He glared resentfully at the red-robed youth before him, who could only be called beautiful. How could a mere Qi Refining cultivator possess a wisp of third-tier Life-Bound Spirit Fire that bore the presence of a phoenix?!

He had completely forgotten that, as a third-tier Demon Beast, he was only equivalent to a human cultivator at the Late Qi Refining Stage.

"M-master..." The words seemed to have been squeezed out between his teeth.

Feng Zhuo gave a soft huff.

The people of the Perching Phoenix Clan had never held any less pride in their hearts than any other cultivator in the world.

Feng Zhuo usually kept it hidden only because he was among people close to him.

The little beast before him was so arrogant the moment he emerged that he reminded Feng Zhuo of Glazed Purifying Fire's lofty, superior manner in his previous life.

In this life, he had no desire to raise another equally arrogant Life-Bound Spirit Beast.

Unfortunately, once a Life-Bound Contract was established, there was no way to dissolve it unless one died.

Since he could not get rid of Yanba, Feng Zhuo could only find a way to train him properly.

He turned his palm over, and a top-grade Spirit-Feeding Pill, lustrous as jade, appeared out of thin air. As its pill markings shimmered, a rich medicinal fragrance instantly filled the air.

Mingled with the medicinal fragrance was a faint, elusive hint of meat.

Yanba's lion eyes narrowed sharply, his nostrils twitching. His nine chain-like tails unconsciously went rigid as he stared fixedly at Feng Zhuo's palm.

Feng Zhuo's lips curved slightly. Just before Yanba could pounce, he unhurriedly put the pill back into his storage ring.

Even a Calamity Beast would have trouble resisting a beggar's-chicken version of a Spirit-Feeding Pill.

Much less Yanba, who had been born less than an hour ago.

"M-master..."

Yanba squeezed out the words, his front hooves pawing restlessly at the ground. In the end, he chose appetite over dignity. "What was that thing just now... Why did it smell so good?"

Feng Zhuo scoffed softly.

Just as I thought, this little feudal beast has never seen the world.

He casually brushed his sleeve, his tone leisurely. "It was only a Spirit-Feeding Pill of the lowest tier. Surely a dignified Calamity Beast would look down on a mere first-tier human pill?"

"Whimper..."

Yanba's nine tails drooped limply, his lion's head hung low, and even his crimson scales dimmed.

His intestines had turned green with regret. Had he known, he would never have listened to the white tiger at the same stall and its nonsense!

"Two-legged beasts are only fit to be pets," and "Demon Beasts are the masters"-it had all been lies meant to deceive beasts!

"Boohoohoo! Master, please see the truth!"

Yanba lunged forward and hugged the hem of Feng Zhuo's robe, his deer hooves trembling pitifully. "How would Little Ba dare defy his superior? That white tiger put me up to it! It said human cultivators were the easiest to bully..."

White tiger?

Feng Zhuo's fingers suddenly clenched.

Had Su Ruanruan's white tiger, which had helped a tyrant commit evil in his previous life, also come from that stall after all?

But why had he never heard of Yanba appearing in the world in his previous life...?

His gaze fell on the remarkably sentient spirit fire beside him. That was it. Yun Li was a cultivator with an ice Spirit Root; even if she had obtained Yanba's egg, she could not have hatched it.

And if he himself had not returned through rebirth and awakened his Life-Bound Spirit Fire, he feared he too...

"The fire spirit presence on Master is very rich."

Yanba ingratiatingly rubbed his lion's head against Feng Zhuo's wrist, tiny sparks spilling from between his scales. "Little Ba wishes he could stay pressed against Master every day. How could I harbor any rebellious thoughts?"

Feng Zhuo's gaze flickered.

So that was how it was. The many changes in this life ultimately stemmed from his return through rebirth for some unknown reason, not from the Heavenly Dao taking pity on him.

He asked with apparent casualness, "Are you and the white tiger close?"

All the scales on Yanba's body bristled. "No, no, Master! Our eggs were just sitting close together on the same stall! That fellow was full of twisted nonsense. I couldn't stand it for ages!"

Feng Zhuo nodded in satisfaction and flicked a top-grade Spirit-Feeding Pill into the air.

All nine of Yanba's tails shot out, weaving a net in midair that caught the pill with perfect precision.

"Stay away from the white tiger from now on," Feng Zhuo said, his sleeves fluttering as he turned. "You'll have all the Spirit-Feeding Pills you want."

Feng Zhuo did not dislike Yun Li, but he could not help disliking the white tiger.

In his previous life, the white tiger had used its spatial attribute to steal many of his spirit medicines. Had he not learned of it from the book after his death, he would still have been kept in the dark.

Though Feng Zhuo would not go looking for revenge in this life, he did not want to see Yanba get involved with the white tiger again.

Yanba swallowed the pill with an aow. "Thank you, Master!"

Seeing that Yanba knew what was good for him, Feng Zhuo said no more.

Another spring had come.

On a cliff where the morning mist had yet to disperse, the crisp clack of two wooden swords crossing startled birds from the branches.

"Stop!"

The senior brother in black robes suddenly used the back of his sword to pin down the trembling wrist of his junior brother in red, pressing his knuckles against the web between the other's thumb and forefinger.

The two were none other than Feng Zhuo and Cang Wuya.

"The first move, 'Returning Wind Touches Green,' is supposed to be a feint to lure the enemy. But look at you-you exposed every opening in your body to the enemy."

Cang Wuya tapped the ground with his toe, and fallen leaves were instantly swept into a vortex by Sword Qi. "Watch closely-"

The wooden sword abruptly became a streak of azure light.

Feng Zhuo felt a chill beside his ear. Half an inch had already been shaved from the loose hair at his temple, and the blade stopped a mere half inch from his throat.

"Little junior brother, letting your sword follow your heart doesn't mean being reckless."

Cang Wuya stepped back half a pace and spun his sword in a flourish, dew dripping in a line from its tip.

The faded red silk ribbon wound around the hilt rippled like water as his wrist turned.

Suddenly, he raised a leg and swept it toward Feng Zhuo's lower body. As the latter staggered back, his sword movements fell into disarray, and his wooden sword fell to the ground with a clatter.

Seeing that the sneak attack had failed, Feng Zhuo was not annoyed. Instead, he spread his red robes and lay down on the ground, propping up his chin as he laughed. "Little senior brother, we agreed this was only to strengthen my body. Why did you find me a sword art today?"

In truth, Feng Zhuo had been too slow at learning the sword. He should have begun studying a proper sword art a month ago, but had dragged it out until today.

Cang Wuya put it differently, however. "If someone gets close to you someday, little junior brother, a sword instruction will be more convenient for dealing with them than a technique."

Feng Zhuo nodded, accepting the answer.

Over the past few months, Feng Zhuo had celebrated his birthday on Carefree Peak and grown closer to the others there.

It was rather uncomfortable suppressing his cultivation, however, so he had no choice but to spend a great deal of time refining pills. He could now refine the vast majority of second-tier top-grade pills, and the strength of his Divine Sense had also improved considerably.

By the time the mist had dispersed, their morning practice was over.

Cang Wuya suddenly pressed a hand against a trembling jade token. "Little junior brother, I'll go into seclusion tomorrow to break through to Foundation Establishment."

As he spoke, he tossed out a green Jade Slip.

"Take this sword art and study it on your own first, little junior brother. If there's anything you don't understand, you can save your questions until I come out of seclusion."

The sword instruction was called the Azure Wood Nine Tribulations Sword, a top-grade earth-rank Cultivation Method.

Cultivation Methods were techniques that cultivators studied separately from their core methods. Like core methods, they were divided into five ranks: heaven, earth, black, yellow, and mortal.

A top-grade earth-rank Cultivation Method was only a step below heaven rank. Cang Wuya had sought it out especially for Feng Zhuo.

Feng Zhuo caught the Jade Slip and casually tossed it into his storage ring, his eyes suddenly lighting up. "Then doesn't that mean you'll reach Foundation Establishment at thirteen, little senior brother? Even faster than Chu Yunfei!"

Cang Wuya laughed. "Little junior brother, you're talking about me reaching Foundation Establishment at thirteen? If you weren't deliberately suppressing your cultivation progress because you wanted to enter the Green Wood Illusion Forest secret realm, you could probably have reached Foundation Establishment last year."

The sound of drums rolled from the distance. The inner and outer sect competition had begun several days ago, precisely to select the hundred people who would enter the Green Wood Illusion Forest.

The personal disciples of the various peaks, however, did not need to fight for a place.

Feng Zhuo chuckled. "Once we come out of the secret realm and both reach Foundation Establishment, we must find Chu Yunfei..."

Before he could finish, the dull thud of something heavy hitting the ground suddenly came from the mountain path.

The two turned to look and saw Yanba lying on the ground with a spirit bird several times his size in his mouth, assorted tangled vines still wrapped around his tails.

Cang Wuya silently looked at Feng Zhuo.

Feng Zhuo: "..."

Who said Yanba wasn't a dog just because he was the size of a puppy? Hehe~