Divine Beast Creator
Chapter 1316 - 1317: The Competition and Training

Chapter 1316: Chapter 1317: The Competition and Training

Looking down at Xiao Hei by his feet, tail drooping and head lowered, Yang Hongzhi said, half-angry, half-amused,

"You little rascal, I’ve told you to take things seriously. Look at you—can’t even block Xiao Hui’s attacks. Once you recover, you’re getting some proper training."

Whimpering softly, Xiao Hei cast an aggrieved look at Yang Hongzhi, as though the man were subjecting him to cruel abuse. Yang Hongzhi ruffled Xiao Hei’s dog head and said helplessly,

"What’s the matter with you? You don’t want Xiao Hui roughhousing with you all the time, only to leave you injured each time, right?"

Xiao Hei whimpered pitifully, looking as if he were struggling to accept fate. After a while, he stopped his quiet whining, resigned to his situation. Covering his forehead, Yang Hongzhi felt a fleeting jealousy of Feng Yuan—for his Xiao Ji actually trained itself on its own initiative, a scenario which would never happen with Xiao Hui or Xiao Hei.

Indeed, although Xiao Hui trained seriously when instructed, expecting it to proactively train itself was something close to impossible. After all, Xiao Hui didn’t even know how to train properly on its own. Feng Yuan’s Xiao Ji, by contrast, supposedly learned to do so by observing classmates taming Spirit Beasts and chatting with other Spirit Beasts for insights.

Yeah... asking Xiao Hui to do that would just be too much. Scratching his head, Yang Hongzhi glanced at Xiao Hei and led him back to the estate. Since his visitor’s identity token hadn’t been reclaimed yet, he could get inside without further verification. However, there was no need to wait for the identity token’s automated scanning—wasn’t this equipment quite expensive?

Yang Hongzhi couldn’t help but muse about the costs silently as he ascended to the second floor of the estate with Xiao Hei. There, Feng Yuan and the others were enjoying tea and snacks while admiring the sea of flowers. Yang Hongzhi instructed Xiao Hei to lie down so he could apply medicine.

"Why not let Agunas help with a Rain of Life?"

Seeing Xiao Hei whimpering miserably, Feng Yuan asked out of curiosity. Agunas glanced at Xiao Hei and remarked,

"Rain of Life isn’t necessary; Wrathful Thunder might be worth a shot."

"Uh, you’re saying it’s faking it?"

Feng Yuan froze for a moment, staring at Xiao Hei in astonishment. It had deceived even him? Xiao Hei stiffened at once and looked pitifully at Agunas, its paws twitching in panic. But Yang Hongzhi suddenly applied pressure, causing Xiao Hei to yelp loudly. Najia stepped up to Xiao Hei, stared straight at it, and said,

"Did you really think your petty tricks would fool us? Once you’re healed up, it’s extra training for you. I’ll personally oversee it—you won’t get away."

Whining softly, Xiao Hei gazed at Najia, who now appeared, in its eyes, like a menacing demon instead of a kind and gentle soul. Tucking its tail between its legs, it began inching away from Najia, but Yang Hongzhi lightly smacked it and said,

"Stop squirming—I’m still applying the medicine."

"What a... headache of a creature,"

Yang Hongzhi sighed. Watching this unfold, Feng Yuan froze momentarily before smugly remarking,

"Thankfully, I don’t have to deal with anything like this~"

Xiao Ji glanced at Feng Yuan, then turned away wordlessly, as if disallowing any further comments. Of course, there’s only Xiao Ji—it wouldn’t give any lazy Beast Tamers the time of day. Watching Feng Yuan, Qi Chen said flatly,

"You really have no right to say that. Xiao Ji’s diligence is sheer luck—you can’t guarantee your next Beast will behave the same."

Looking at the playful Little Ice Cream scampering about, Qi Chen had doubts. If Feng Yuan had Xiao Hei as his Beast instead, would its strength have barely improved over a long stretch of time?

"Doesn’t matter, it’s not like I need them to constantly train to the limit. Naturally, some training is necessary—without combat power, they’re just pets."

Feng Yuan said while nibbling on a pastry. Thanks to Xiao Ji’s dedication, he rarely had to train on its behalf. To him, pushing a Spirit Beast’s potential too far required excessive time and effort. Digging out most of its abilities was usually sufficient as far as he was concerned.

The time and energy spent chasing absolute peak performance was several times that of standard training. If the Spirit Beast didn’t have sufficient strength to survive dangers, it might have been rendered obsolete. Frankly, he would abstain from training altogether in that case—playing with the Beast felt far better.

Qi Chen and the others exchanged glances with Feng Yuan but didn’t bother arguing further. After all, Feng Yuan seemed to have the capability to back up his carefree attitude. At least, he almost never needed his Beasts during fights.

"If he’s not participating in the Beast Tamer Tournament, then of course he wouldn’t need to train so hard. That said, even if Najia lends help, the Alliance wouldn’t allow contestants to bring a Divine Beast to the tournament as though it were a normal Beast, right?"

Looking at Yang Hongzhi, Dou Yanlan propped her chin on her palm and analyzed the situation aloud. The Omeilia Region was full of Divine Pact Makers, for one, surpassing the Divine Land Region in sheer numbers. Under such circumstances, Yang Hongzhi wasn’t going to make things easy unless he worked harder—Divine Land had steep odds of victory otherwise.

"That’s true. And normally, you wouldn’t see Divine Beasts lingering around their Divine Pact Makers. They typically only show up when summoned for assistance. But Najia posing as a Beast in the tournament isn’t entirely out of the question."

Feng Yuan mulled over the thought for a moment before replying. Moreover, the Divine Pact Makers in Omeilia seemed to have a particularly unique situation, possibly similar to Najia and Yang Hongzhi’s relationship, with Divine Beasts constantly remaining by their side. Even so, that wasn’t much of an issue. In the tournament’s early stages, Divine Pact Makers wouldn’t rely heavily on Divine Beasts, save for the occasional instance of Divine Beasts staying on the field permanently during matches.

"In the later rounds, it boils down to battles amongst Divine Beasts. Then it’s a contest of a Pact Maker’s synchronization with their Divine Beast. Of course, full-powered Divine Beasts wouldn’t strike without restraint—unless they wanted to crumble the arena."

"No need to pose—but this year’s regional Beast Tamer Tournament is bound to be chaotic. At least, Omeilia’s Divine Beasts seem just as keen on shadowing their Pact Makers right now."

"Uh, are they still planning to confront Ernis?"

Stopping abruptly, Feng Yuan turned to Agunas, puzzled, and asked. Swishing its tail in response, Agunas replied,

"Still the same—they can’t tolerate Ernis’ havoc."

"Tch, if they can’t stand it, they should suck it up. If they really pick a fight with Ernis, I wouldn’t be surprised if Ernis spends months hammering them into oblivion,"

Feng Yuan scoffed dismissively. Unlike Agunas’ gentle disposition, Ernis embodied pure vindictiveness—its penchant for picking fights with Arnis was a testament to its nature.

"Are you competing in the Beast Tamer Tournament? Need my help?"

Long Boduo asked curiously while nibbling his food, directing the question to Feng Yuan. Feng Yuan shook his head and answered,

"No, I’m not. The tournament doesn’t interest me."

Long Boduo studied Feng Yuan for a moment but didn’t think he was lying. Feng Yuan’s strength far surpassed Beasts like Agunas, and he could summon Eclipse and Xilnais to assist. Competing in the tournament would merely guarantee him an effortless championship due to his overwhelming superiority over other contestants.

"Then how about letting me enter on his behalf? By your rules, he’s of age to compete now, right?"

Long Boduo looked at Qi Chen as he spoke. The latter glanced at Long Boduo but then Feng Yuan interjected irritably,

"Don’t mess around. A Divine Beast Contract’s no joke; breaking it leaves lasting side effects. You and he don’t even get along—just don’t do it."

If Long Boduo genuinely enjoyed staying around Qi Chen, it’d be different—but to sign a Divine Beast Contract just for a tournament? Not only would Qi Chen refuse, but it’d be pointless too. If Feng Yuan wanted, he could easily exploit loopholes to cheat.

Using the White Wolf Deity’s Coming of the Future, Ah Mu could be temporarily boosted to Legendary Level. Then, throw in Agunas and its comrades’ Divine Beast Shelters, and anyone fighting Ah Mu would essentially be facing multiple Divine Beasts simultaneously. At that point—what was even the point? Omeilia’s four Divine Pact Makers would have no choice but to surrender without a fight.

Unless their Divine Beasts unleashed their true, unrestricted power, it’d be utterly insurmountable.

Agunas shot Long Boduo a glare and warned,

"Don’t fool around. A Divine Beast Contract isn’t something to casually toy with—it’s our solemn accord with humanity. Don’t think of misusing it."

Given Long Boduo’s status as a Ghost-type Divine Beast, its limited interactions with humans left it unaware of such intricacies; Agunas could let it slide. But if Drudgeon ever suggested something similar, Agunas wouldn’t hesitate to give the other a proper reprimand. After all, Drudgeon had spent enough time among humans to know better.