The Strongest Beast-Tamer (Transmigration)(GL) - Chapter 54

“Yi Xian, come out and see this!”

Before Duanmu Ya appeared, her cheerful voice carried from afar, full of excitement as if she had just found something precious.

Yi Xian stepped out of her room and saw Duanmu Ya holding a large pile of miscellaneous objects in her arms. Insisting on doing everything herself, she placed them one by one onto the stone table. “Oh, I’m exhausted. You have no idea how—” She looked up, and her eyes widened when she saw Lord Yin Bao perched on Yi Xian’s shoulder, curiously peering around. “Oh my heavens, when did Lord Yin Bao wake up? Did I miss something important?”

Yi Xian smiled. “Just now.”

Duanmu Ya’s attention immediately shifted to Lord Yin Bao’s swollen belly. She leaned in and poked it gently with a finger, puzzled. “How did it gain weight after one nap?”

Lord Yin Bao squeaked in protest, and Yi Xian translated, “That’s the other beast core from the Twin-Headed Earth Spirit Spider. It just needs a little more time to fully digest it.”

Duanmu Ya circled around Lord Yin Bao twice, satisfied that nothing else seemed unusual. Then she tugged Yi Xian closer to the table to show off her spoils. On the table lay several white whiskers, strange bone spikes of various shapes and sizes arranged neatly, and a thin, translucent layer of something smooth like a cicada’s wing. “Guess what this is?”

Duanmu Ya grinned proudly, spreading the material out like a torn piece of hide. “Yi Xian, this is a rare find. It may look wrinkled now, but if someone makes a garment out of it and sells it at an auction, it could easily fetch the price of a third-grade elixir.”

Yi Xian asked, “Does it have any special use?”

Duanmu Ya motioned for her to spread it flat. “Watch closely.”

She gathered a small flame of Fire Spirit energy and tossed it directly onto the surface. The moment the flame struck, it did not ignite but gradually dimmed until it vanished completely.

Yi Xian examined it carefully and saw faint traces of scorching on the surface. When she touched it, the warmth of the flame still lingered. “This material can resist fire?”

Duanmu Ya smirked, teasing, “Take a guess. What do you think it is?”

Yi Xian looked again and recalled the Bone-Spiked Beast that had walked upright on its hind legs. “Could this be the shed skin of that Bone-Spiked Beast?”

Duanmu Ya’s eyes widened in shock, her expression like someone who had accidentally swallowed a duck egg. Yi Xian found it amusing. “You told me before that every part of the Bone-Spiked Beast is valuable, so naturally its hide would be too. If it can resist fire, it must also guard against other forms of damage, right?”

Duanmu Ya scratched her head. “Well, it is half-born of the Metal Spirit, so it makes sense that its hide has defensive properties. But we should test how much damage it can withstand.”

Yi Xian inspected the material again. “What a pity. It’s too small.”

Duanmu Ya widened her eyes. “Yi Xian, this piece is already huge! If you give this to a tailor, they’ll be overjoyed. This kind of hide is soft yet durable and is best used to protect vital areas, like the chest or joints. Imagine, if it can block even a single fatal blow, it’s as good as having another life.”

Yi Xian understood. Yet compared to the size of her little cub, the hide seemed pitifully small. If only she could make a tiny protective coat for her, it would keep her safe even if she encountered humans by accident.

Duanmu Ya saw her expression and guessed her thoughts immediately. “You want to make protective clothing for Xiao Nan, don’t you? That won’t be enough. Besides, the cub is still growing. She’s already bigger than she was back in the Beast Tribe.”

Yi Xian sighed, realizing how unrealistic her idea was. “At least there are enough bone spikes to make more Bone-Mending Ointment, right?”

Duanmu Ya’s grin stretched ear to ear. “More than enough! The last batch only used one spike. Honestly, this Bone-Spiked Beast is quite something. At first, I worried it might trick me. Imagine how embarrassing that would have been. But it kept its promise. Yi Xian, you should’ve seen it handing me those materials with both claws. It was adorable! I wish I were a Beast Tamer.”

Yi Xian chuckled softly. “Phantom beasts can be more trustworthy than humans. Sometimes, the human heart is far more dangerous.”

“Still,” Duanmu Ya said with pride, “even Beast Tamers and Spirit Masters rely on us Alchemists when it matters most.”

Yi Xian’s praise had clearly gone to her head, and she laughed happily. “That’s right. You’re indispensable.”

While Duanmu Ya began refining more Bone-Mending Ointment, Yi Xian took Lord Yin Bao to the Beast Tribe’s encampment. The beastmen showed clear hostility toward the creature on her shoulder. One massive figure stood like a wooden post, blocking her path.

“I smell something foul. Turns out it’s a filthy insect from the Underground City. You’re not welcome here.”

Yi Xian had visited this place many times without issue. She had even once thought how convenient it was having Lan Tong as a connection. Yet today, she was suddenly stopped.

Lord Yin Bao immediately clung to Yi Xian’s hair, curling into a trembling ball. All its former courage was gone. There was no sign of the fierce spirit that had fought Yu Hong to the end.

Yi Xian’s brow arched. She patted its tiny head. “What if I insist on bringing it inside?”

The beastman’s expression didn’t change. He took a step closer, towering over her. “If you can defeat me, you may pass.”

Yi Xian had long wanted to spar with a beastman. The tournament was only practice for the real test, which awaited in the finals and the Watermark Secret Realm. If not for Xiao Nan’s injury, she would have already started training. Now that an opponent had offered himself, she had no reason to refuse.

She stroked Lord Yin Bao’s head. “Think of him as Yu Hong. You’ll find beating him much easier. You’ve changed, Lord Yin Bao. We only won last time because of your help.”

Lord Yin Bao’s ruby-like eyes gleamed nervously. “I can beat the big oaf?”

Yi Xian nodded. “Of course. I need your help. I can’t do it without you.”

The beastman scratched his head impatiently. “Hey, are you two going to fight or not?”

Yi Xian and Lord Yin Bao answered in unison. “We’ll fight.”

The beastman instantly shifted into his beast form, a massive tiger with spotted fur. To Yi Xian, who was used to seeing Lan Tong and her cub’s beast forms, the creature seemed less intimidating. Its aura lacked Lan Tong’s commanding presence, and its size was even smaller.

Yi Xian summoned her Little Pony, who immediately used its Flash skill to blind the tiger. The creature shook its head violently before charging. Yi Xian almost teleported away out of habit but remembered she could not use that skill openly before certain people, like Yu Hong or Fu Xing. She paused briefly, then ran a few steps and leapt off a nearby tree, flipping in midair to avoid the tiger’s lunge.

The beast crashed into the tree, snapping it clean in two. The force of it still made Yi Xian’s heart race.

“Disrupt him,” she ordered.

Lord Yin Bao zipped across the field like lightning, squeaking from the east one moment and the west the next. The beastman’s head kept jerking around as he tried to follow the sound. Yi Xian realized the little creature had drawn more attention than she herself had.

She thought for a moment. “Let’s test the barrier.”

The last time she used her defensive barrier, Lan Tong had shattered it instantly. Whether that was due to Lan Tong’s raw strength or her anger at Xiao Nan’s injury, she didn’t know.

Lord Yin Bao squeaked its agreement. Yi Xian activated the Five-Section Needles and cast the barrier around the confused beast. The tiger immediately began scratching and rolling inside like a frightened animal, thrashing and pouncing against the invisible walls.

The display was almost comical. The fierce image of a beastman completely collapsed. Yi Xian even felt as though she were bullying an oversized pet. Lord Yin Bao, entertained, began taunting the tiger from outside the barrier. More beastmen gathered around to watch as Yi Xian silently calculated how long the barrier would hold.

Lan Tong soon arrived, her expression tense. She took in the scene as the tiger flailed inside the barrier, Lord Yin Bao jumped about, and Yi Xian stood unharmed. After a long pause, she asked, “You’re not hurt? If you want to spar, I can join you.”

Yi Xian replied, “He wouldn’t let Lord Yin Bao inside to see Xiao Nan.”

Lan Tong’s eyes flicked toward the little silver mouse hopping excitedly around. “So it was the one who helped Xiao Nan run away?”

Yi Xian had always thought Lord Yin Bao’s underground escapades with the cub were secret. She hadn’t realized Lan Tong knew. When did she find out?

Just then, Lord Yin Bao suddenly shrieked, “Ahhh, help!”

A streak of silver light shot toward Yi Xian, followed closely by the tiger that had broken through the barrier. Yi Xian was about to cast another when Lan Tong moved first, slamming the tiger into a tree. The beast collapsed to the ground with a groan as the tree snapped and fell.

Lan Tong grabbed Yi Xian’s hand. “Come.”

Yi Xian glanced back. The tiger was dazed, swaying unsteadily on its feet. She tried to pull her hand away, but Lan Tong released it quickly, surprising her. “How’s Xiao Nan?” she asked.

Lan Tong’s expression turned unreadable. “Go see for yourself.”

Yi Xian lifted the tent flap. Inside, the little cub was using her front paws to dig at the ground. Before her was a deep pit, and she scratched at a wooden board with her good leg. The surface was covered with claw marks. When she saw Yi Xian, she gave a small bark.

Then her blue eyes widened as Lord Yin Bao poked its head out from Yi Xian’s pocket.

Yi Xian noticed the wooden board cracking and quickly scooped the cub up, untying the bindings around her injured leg. The swelling had gone down. When Yi Xian touched it gently, the cub didn’t cry. Whether she was distracted by the purple fruit in Lord Yin Bao’s paw or the bone slowly healing, she seemed much better than before.

Yi Xian turned to Lan Tong. “Bring two more boards. This one will be Xiao Nan’s scratching post.”

Lan Tong nodded and stepped out to find them.

Lord Yin Bao saw the little cub limping, hopping up and down while chasing after Yi Xian, and demanded angrily, “Which idiot did this?”

Yi Xian noticed the cub chewing on a purple fruit and looking curiously in their direction. “I remember those people. Feed her something first. She hasn’t been eating much lately and has gotten thinner.”

Lord Yin Bao muttered about seeking revenge while pulling out a handful of colorful fruits from its small pouch, piling them in front of the cub. The two shared bites from the pile, affectionate like real sisters.

Taking advantage of the moment, Yi Xian reapplied the bone-repair ointment on the cub’s leg. When she finished wrapping it, Lan Tong returned carrying two wooden boards. “Would these work?”

They were both rounded, which of course would not do.

Yi Xian split them in half with her blade and secured the cub’s leg. She gave it a light pat. The cub didn’t even flinch. “Did it hurt last night?”

Lan Tong nodded. “She cried the whole night and only fell asleep when she was too tired. But she ate everything you left behind.”

Hearing that the cub had started eating again, Yi Xian relaxed a little. “Let Lord Yin Bao stay with her. Maybe she’ll recover faster that way.”

Lan Tong glanced doubtfully at the silver mouse. “A creature from the Underground City—”

Yi Xian immediately interrupted her. “Lord Yin Bao is my friend. When I was away from home, it was the one who took care of Xiao Nan, feeding her a purple fruit every day. See? Xiao Nan likes her very much. I don’t expect you to accept her right away, but for her kindness, please don’t speak ill of her in front of me, all right?”

Lan Tong smacked her lips. “You’re better at talking now.”

Yi Xian paused. Talking before never made a difference anyway. When faced with oppression, what could I do except pretend to yield?

She turned her attention back to the cub. Lord Yin Bao was now performing tricks, conjuring small earthen pyramids. The cub boldly reached out to touch one but was stopped at once. The pyramid collapsed into a pile of dirt, and the cub struck it with her paw, leaving deep marks.

When the pyramids failed to amuse, Lord Yin Bao created earthen shields, one after another, rising like castle walls around the cub. The cub gleefully smashed them down one by one, and each time, Lord Yin Bao built them back up, letting her play as though in a game of whack-a-mole.

The skills resembled those once used by the twin-headed Earth Spirit Spider. Since Lord Yin Bao’s awakening, Yi Xian hadn’t had the chance to ask about its new powers. “Those triangular spikes, did you create them yourself?”

Lord Yin Bao tilted its head. “After I woke up, some new things appeared in my mind. I just followed them.”

Yi Xian seemed to understand. That beast pearl had indeed been extraordinary. “Don’t protect her too much. Let her touch the spikes if she wants. If she gets hurt, she’ll learn from it. It’s time she learns to distinguish danger, or she’ll end up trusting the wrong people one day.”

Lord Yin Bao glanced at the cub’s splinted leg. “But her leg is still injured.”

Yi Xian had been thinking about that for days. If they had arrived even a little later, or if something had delayed them, they might have found only the cub’s corpse. The thought filled her with dread. Why had things turned out like this? Beyond racial prejudice, the truth was also cruelly simple. The cub was too weak to defend herself. Yi Xian realized that Lan Tong’s way of raising her, rough and unrestrained, might not have been wrong after all. She had made the mistake of overprotecting her, believing that feeding, sheltering, and playing with her was enough. It was not.

Looking at the pitiful cub, Yi Xian softened. “Once her bone heals, I’ll train her myself.”

Lan Tong asked, “You’ll train her personally?”

Yi Xian thought about it. Her own style focused too much on defense, and if she sparred with the cub, the little one might just treat it as play. That would never work. She looked at Lord Yin Bao. “Lord Yin Bao’s attacks are strong. It would be best if she trains the cub instead. What do you think, Xiao Nan?”

The cub tilted her head and howled happily.

Following Yi Xian’s hint, Lord Yin Bao subtly increased the intensity of the game. When the triangular spikes suddenly shot out, the cub’s paw was pierced, leaving a small bloody hole. She yelped twice, but seeing no one react, she simply licked the wound and switched to using her other paw.

Yi Xian didn’t use her Light Spirit to heal the injury. She only reminded Lord Yin Bao not to hold back.

When Yi Xian returned to Yundan Peak, she was immediately stopped by a furious Duanmu Ya. Seeing Yi Xian covered in ash with her clothes slightly burned, Duanmu Ya snapped, “What happened? Did your furnace explode while refining pills?”

She had nearly blown up her own cauldron earlier, having been distracted after overhearing the others discuss Yi Xian’s recent duel. The more she heard, the more anxious she became, and her mind wandered at the worst time.

Yi Xian quickly pulled her inside. “You’re angry about that? Don’t be. It’s not what you think.”

Duanmu Ya wiped her face. “Why did you choose to break through during a match? What if something went wrong? You could have crippled your cultivation! Do you want to end up like me with a useless spiritual root?”

Yi Xian stayed silent and kept nodding obediently. “Xiao Ya, calm down. It wasn’t like that. I’ll have Nian Yunyin explain it to you.”

The issue had started with Yu Hong. Yi Xian had used light refraction combined with a Lightning Spirit Orb to injure him. The orb itself was a weapon crafted by Nian Yunyin using a miniature formation. Yi Xian had worried that Fu Xing, enraged and confused, might go after Nian Yunyin for revenge, so she had warned her in advance and also shared how Light and Lightning together could amplify their power. Delighted, Nian Yunyin had even given Yi Xian a few clever ideas in return.

And the plan had worked perfectly.

Yi Xian dragged Nian Yunyin to Yundan Peak. “You’ll take the credit for Lord Yin Bao’s awakening.”

Nian Yunyin frowned. “Didn’t we agree? You’d make me a stronger Lightning Sphere, and I’d help you enter the finals. Changing the deal now won’t help. I already know the recipe.”

Yi Xian rubbed her temples. “Not that. I need you to explain to Xiao Ya so she won’t think I risk my life carelessly. Also, she remembered her useless spiritual root again. Could you comfort her for me?”

At the mention of that, Nian Yunyin’s expression froze for a moment, but she quickly hid it behind her usual careless grin. “You can handle someone like Yu Hong, but not this?”

Yi Xian raised her hands helplessly. “I can’t. So you do it.”

She pushed Nian Yunyin into the room and shut the door, feeling a pang of sympathy. Of all people, Nian Yunyin was the only one who could truly understand Duanmu Ya’s pain.

Leaving them to talk, Yi Xian wandered around Yundan Peak with Lord Yin Bao. They ran into several senior sisters and brothers, who immediately surrounded her, exclaiming, “Wow, Yi Xian, your phantom beast is so tiny and adorable! Can we touch it?”

Startled, Lord Yin Bao leaped into Yi Xian’s pocket and sealed the entrance with spider silk. Yi Xian could only laugh at its antics. Seeing their disappointed faces, she explained, “It’s shy and afraid of strangers. Once it gets used to everyone, it’ll be fine.”

Her fellow alchemists were kind and understanding. Though disappointed, they didn’t insist. They simply cheered her on. “Yi Xian, our peak’s ranking depends on you this time! We’ve watched all your matches. Keep it up!”

Yi Xian nodded repeatedly. Of all the peaks in Qingshan Sect, she liked Yundan Peak the most. The alchemists here competed every few months, but their duels focused on the quality of pills, not brute force. They were mild-mannered and easy to get along with. Only when a Supreme-Grade Pill appeared did things get… violent.

Thankfully, she had never witnessed one of those scenes.

Avoiding the crowd, Yi Xian descended the mountain, walking aimlessly. “Lord Yin Bao, congratulations. You’re famous now. Everyone at Yundan Peak seems to love you.”

Lord Yin Bao peeked out from her pocket and sighed in relief. “As long as they’re not like that pretty boy who wanted to throw me into a furnace for alchemy.”

Yi Xian blinked. Did Xiao Ya actually threaten to refine her once?

Then Lord Yin Bao twitched its ears. “Yi Xian, there’s something big happening over there.”

Yi Xian instantly hid in the shadows, moving silently toward the direction it indicated. The closer she got, the louder the sound of rushing water became, like something thrashing wildly in it.

Through the mist, she saw a large pool surrounded by heavy fog. A massive tail was slamming against the walls, sending waves splashing high. The part visible above the water was already four or five meters long. Under the moonlight, Yi Xian strained to see what it was, but every time, the tail blocked her view. The creature kept thrashing, stirring the pool violently. A few drops splashed onto her face, warm and faintly metallic.

It’s bleeding…?