The Strongest Beast-Tamer (Transmigration)(GL) - Chapter 57

As the finals drew near, the atmosphere in Qingshan Sect grew tense. Each participant wore an expression as solemn as a prisoner on the way to execution. Yi Xian, who had forfeited three consecutive matches, was nearly forgotten by her peers across the sect’s peaks. Many assumed she had withdrawn out of fear. Thus, when she suddenly appeared again, it caused quite a stir.

Rushing down from the mountain, her face was blackened, though her eyes still gleamed with sharp light. Her hair looked like a pile of hay stacked messily upon her head. Only the outfit given to her by Nian Yunyin was passable. After being struck by lightning for half a month, the fact that she was alive at all was nothing short of a miracle.

When Yi Xian stepped onto the dueling platform, the referee nearly expelled her on sight. To prove her identity as a Light-root Beast Tamer, she had to summon her Little Pony.

Her opponent, a young woman already standing in the arena, burst into laughter as Yi Xian argued with the referee. Her silver-bell laughter lingered throughout the entire dueling field.

“Hey, your hair is quite the statement.”

“Thanks.”

Yi Xian hadn’t even caught the name of today’s opponent. Dragged here hastily by Nian Yunyin, she had also missed the part where names were exchanged. She was fighting completely blind. After her brief reply, she gave a simple order to Little Pony, who immediately released a flash of light at the laughing girl.

But this girl wasn’t easy prey. She dodged sharply, moving with speed beyond ordinary cultivators, and darted toward Yi Xian like a streak of wind.

In Yi Xian’s eyes, four images of the girl appeared at once, surrounding her from all sides. It was the first time she had encountered such a technique. She quickly activated her energy shield, but before it fully formed, a kick slammed into her abdomen. Had Lord Yin Bao’s earthen shield not cushioned her fall, she might have been thrown straight out of the arena.

Lord Yin Bao retaliated instantly, launching a flurry of earthen spikes that scattered across the field, buying Yi Xian precious moments to think.

Such speed!
Such power!

In terms of close combat, the girl was her equal. And this was only the warm-up. The real fight had yet to begin as she hadn’t even summoned her phantom beast.

Lord Yin Bao moved with lightning speed, even faster than before, after consuming the beast pearl of the twin-headed earth spider. Sometimes, even Yi Xian could barely follow its movements. Yet despite that, it couldn’t completely avoid the girl’s phantom projections and was nearly hit several times.

Yi Xian’s gaze lowered instinctively to her opponent’s footwork. Speed came from the feet, from subtle shifts and alternating steps so small they deceived the eyes. She remembered that illusions worked in much the same way, tricking sight, stirring confusion, and feeding unease.

Moments ago, she couldn’t tell which form was real and which was false, but illusions always shared a rule that no matter how many phantoms there were, only one was real, unless it was a true clone technique.

“I’ve got it.”

Yi Xian called Lord Yin Bao back, and Little Pony brightened the field with beams of light. A single spark of lightning struck her own straw-like hair. “Can’t see clearly,” she muttered.

The girl lunged again, but under the light, Yi Xian focused on the ground, studying the shadows. Among the four figures, one alone cast a shadow. That was the real one. The rest were empty projections.

She blocked the next attack easily and countered with a precise thrust of her Five-Section Needle Light, forcing the girl two meters back. “Your illusion art doesn’t work on me. Stop wasting time. Summon your phantom beast.”

The girl didn’t believe her and attacked again from multiple directions, only to be countered each time. “How did you break it?”

Yi Xian smiled faintly and swung her Five-Section Needle Light. The girl leapt back as a beast appeared at her feet, its long white fur uneven and patchy, with bald areas that exposed sharp bone spikes beneath. It stood upright on its hind legs, not particularly pretty, but its golden eyes were striking and intelligent as they fixed on Yi Xian.

Yi Xian froze, stunned. She hadn’t expected to meet this beast again.

The girl urged, “Attack!”

The Bone-Spiked beast took a few steps forward, then abruptly retreated. After a few more shouts from its tamer, it suddenly vanished back into the beast pouch at the girl’s waist and refused to come out, no matter how she called.

“Hey! What did you do to my phantom beast?”

“This—” Yi Xian was at a loss for words. Explaining her strange connection with the Bone-Spiked Beast three times over would sound absurd. Still, she realized something important. This girl was a Metal-root Beast Tamer. “Sorry.”

She swung her Five-Section Needle Light again, enclosing the girl in a shield. Without giving her a chance to react, Yi Xian hurled the entire barrier out of the dueling platform.

The girl, too preoccupied with her beast’s disobedience, only noticed when it was too late. Furious, she stomped her foot, certain Yi Xian had taken advantage of her distraction.

When the referee announced the result, Yi Xian released the shield. “Your beast is intelligent. It remembers kindness. Be good to it.”

The girl stood frozen. When Yi Xian was nearly off the platform, she called out, “Hey, I’m not satisfied with this. Let’s fight again sometime. I’ll win next time.”

Yi Xian smiled. “Sure.”

Fate was strange that way. Duanmu Ya, watching from the crowd, also saw the Bone-Spiked Beast. Rising on tiptoe, she peered at the girl and sighed wistfully. “To think it just got signed after being released. Yi Xian, I always felt that beast really, really liked you. The way it looks at you is so…” She paused, searching for the word,“… reverent.”

Yi Xian tilted her head. “What?”

Duanmu Ya frowned, frustrated at her own choice of words. Reverence didn’t sound right, yet it was the only term that came close. Shaking her head, she muttered, “Forget it. I thought you’d sign a contract with that beast.”

Yi Xian shook her head. “A Metal-root Tamer suits it better. They can bring out its full potential. It’s smart enough to choose a partner it trusts, so don’t worry.”

Seeing Yi Xian so calm, Duanmu Ya could only drop the matter. Not that she could sign with any ‘cute ones’ herself anyway.

Later, Duanmu Ya chose a new courtyard, claiming she had blown up her last one during alchemy practice. The new one sat high on the mountain, facing the cliffs, with a beautiful but remote view. It was much quieter than before.

“Yi Xian, that inner room is yours, this one’s mine. From now on, make sure you train somewhere far away from where we live. If you destroy another courtyard, I’ll have to go back to the alchemy room.”

Yi Xian felt a pang of guilt at her pitiful expression. “Did your master scold you for this?”

Duanmu Ya shook her head. “She only told me to be more careful next time, but I prefer working here. I want to plant some spirit herbs in the yard. I’m just worried you’ll fry them with lightning before they sprout.”

Yi Xian laughed and quickly agreed. “Alright, you plant them. Maybe Lord Yin Bao can recruit a few helpers to water and tend them for you.”

At the mention of its name, Lord Yin Bao poked its head from a freshly dug hole, scratched behind its ear, then disappeared back underground. Ever since Yi Xian’s Lightning root had awakened, it avoided touching her, traumatized by lightning. When not hiding in her pocket or perched on her head, it preferred burrowing in the earth.

Yi Xian had spoken half-jokingly, but Duanmu Ya took it seriously. She caught Lord Yin Bao and began negotiating with it about recruiting helpers and offering payment. To Yi Xian’s amazement, the two actually managed to communicate through nods and gestures, and somehow reached an agreement.

The remaining four duels were scheduled across three days. Between matches, Yi Xian trained with Lord Yin Bao in a secluded area.

Her Lightning Root was only at the first stage of the Heaven Level, and her light root had reached the fourth. She realized she could only cultivate her light root under clear skies and her Lightning Root during storms. At this rate, I’ll never get a break, she thought. Even civil servants have weekends, yet I can’t rest a single day.

While she was lost in thought, Lord Yin Bao attacked first, hurling earthen spikes and webs toward her. Yi Xian countered with Lightning Energy, cutting through the web in one strike. She tried channeling light with her left hand and lightning with her right. When the two energies collided, a powerful explosion shook the ground, leaving a crater two meters deep.

“Lord Yin Bao, can you see the Lightning Energy clearly?”

“No.”

Lord Yin Bao covered its eyes with its paws for quite a while before removing them, still shaking its head.

Yi Xian discovered that the vision of phantom beasts was quite similar to that of beastmen. After being exposed to bright light, their sight weakened more severely than a human’s, causing great discomfort. She had not meant for that to happen; it was merely a method she had no choice but to use for entering the Watermark Secret Realm.

Unwilling to let Lord Yin Bao suffer through practice with her, Yi Xian sent it somewhere safe to stay. Then she walked another five meters away and began training with her Lightning Energy alone. With a flick of her hand, a tree five meters away collapsed instantly. Upon inspection, the struck part was scorched black. Even though she tried to conceal her lightning power, the awakening of her second spiritual root was impossible to hide.

Next, she took out the Lightning Sphere that Nian Yunyin had sealed with a miniature array for experimentation. When Light and Lightning collided, the explosion was enormous, and the brilliance rivaled Little Pony’s Light Baptism.

Yi Xian tried fusing a portion of her Light and Lightning energies, releasing them together. The effect was somewhat similar to the Lightning Sphere, though with one key difference. When lightning led and light followed, the resulting power was fierce and explosive. When the energies were divided evenly, the strength was noticeably weaker. “So it’s still a matter of cultivation.”

She concluded that with her current strength, the combined power of her first-stage Heaven-level Lightning Energy and Light Spirit, she could barely protect herself in the secret realm, and doing anything more would still be difficult.

“Ouch!”

“Who’s there?”

Yi Xian had just thrown a strike when a startled cry followed the sound of a tree collapsing. She was confident in her control and knew her attacks should not be fatal, but they could certainly cause injury. She rushed toward the sound and found a young girl pinned under a fallen tree. The girl looked about seventeen or eighteen, slightly younger than herself, wearing a white robe patterned with golden cloud motifs.

Yi Xian froze briefly. “Are you alright?”

The girl glared at her with wide, watery eyes. “You ruined my nap! Hurry up and help me up!”

Yi Xian knew she was at fault. She often changed practice spots and had not properly checked her surroundings this time. Quickly, she moved the fallen tree and helped the girl to her feet. “Are you hurt? Do you need me to take you back?”

The girl brushed the dirt off her robes and pointed at the bright red mark on her leg. “I can’t walk. You’ll have to carry me back.”

Yi Xian crouched down to inspect the wound. It was clearly from a lightning strike, the skin around it faintly charred. Strange. Did her leg happen to move under the tree and get caught in the blast?

“I can use light energy to heal you.”

“No need. You look unreliable. Just carry me back, and make it quick.”

Yi Xian didn’t get angry, though the girl’s tone left her helpless. She took out a small bottle of Bl00d-Replenishing Pills and handed one over. “If you won’t let me heal you, at least take this for the bleeding.” She then crouched down again, turning her back to the girl. “Come on, I’ll carry you back to Yunmiao Peak.”

The girl climbed onto her back without hesitation, snatched the bottle, and uncorked it to smell the pills. “The quality is average, but since you admitted your mistake so sincerely, I’ll forgive you.”

Her words carried the weight of a royal pardon.

Yi Xian couldn’t help but laugh. “Then thank you for your generosity.”

The girl was surprisingly heavy. Carrying her felt like hauling over a hundred catties. When they reached Yunmiao Peak, several disciples gasped upon seeing them. “Senior Sister! What happened to you?”

Yi Xian nearly dropped the girl out of shock. No one had told her that the ‘little girl’ was Yunmiao Peak’s eldest senior sister. She had assumed the girl was a young, spoiled disciple from a wealthy family. “Her leg’s injured. Please, help her.”

The Yunmiao disciples swarmed around immediately. “Oh no, Senior Sister, how did this happen? Quick, bring the healing herbs!”

Yi Xian was pushed aside and could only stand awkwardly at the edge.

“Senior Sister, we told you not to nap outside. It’s dangerous! We’ve prepared several resting spots for you. Why do you keep wandering off?”

“Senior Sister, if Master finds out again, what will we do?”

“Quiet.” The girl’s lazy voice silenced them instantly. “You’re all too noisy. I’ll sleep wherever I want. Say another word and I’ll tie your tongues in knots. Now hurry up and carry me back.”

Yi Xian wiped the sweat from her forehead once the crowd left. So that was her being polite? “Sleeping outside, really?” she muttered to herself.

After that, she decided against returning to that area for training and instead went back to Yundan Peak.

When she mentioned the incident, Duanmu Ya exclaimed, “You mean Senior Sister Zi Han? She’s only eighteen. The Peak Master of Yunmiao Peak adopted her as an infant, so her status is very high. Even Xie Ying and Huangfu Yi have to address her as Senior Sister and wouldn’t dare offend her.”

Yi Xian was astonished. “And she just sleeps everywhere?”

Duanmu Ya burst into laughter. “Senior Sister Zi Han is famous for that! Her ability to fall asleep anywhere is unmatched. There was even a match where she fell asleep waiting for her turn, and her fellow disciples had to carry her back.”

Yi Xian had thought Zi Han was spying on her training. Now she realized it was pure coincidence. “So the entire Qingshan Sect knows about her habit?”

Duanmu Ya nodded. “Yes, and when people see her, they usually make way fast. You’re really lucky, Yi Xian. I heard she gets violent if anyone disturbs her sleep. You even injured her today, and she spared you. That’s rare.”

Yi Xian chuckled wryly. “It must be thanks to that Bl00d-Replenishing Pill. I’ll make sure to check the area carefully next time.”

At the mention of the pill, Duanmu Ya’s eyes sparkled. “She used my pill? What did she think of it?”

Recalling Zi Han’s disdainful expression, Yi Xian smiled. “I’m sure your elixirs are everyone’s favorite. I was just lucky today. You’ll definitely become a ninth-grade alchemist and refine even better ones.”

Delighted, Duanmu Ya hurried off to tend to her herb garden.

The next day, Yi Xian faced her fourth-to-last match. As the finals drew nearer, more spectators gathered. Many duels had already concluded, and excitement for the upcoming human-beastman final was palpable.

Yundan Peak’s Yi Xian versus Mingwang Peak’s Xie Yu.

Yi Xian arrived early, standing calmly in the arena to steady her mind. She needed two more victories to qualify for the grand finals. Every fight from now on mattered; she could not afford to lose.

“A Heaven-level rookie like her? I can crush her with one finger,” a young man sneered. “Watch and see how I make her beg for mercy. Hey, you there—”

Yi Xian sensed his presence and opened her eyes. The moment Xie Yu saw her, his smug grin froze. His face twisted in horror. “Xie Xian? You’re still alive?”

Yi Xian’s expression remained calm, but his words struck her like lightning. “My survival disappoints you that much?”

Xie Yu quickly masked his shock, smirking with vile amusement. “So the lowly weakling who made it to the finals is you? Changed your name, joined the Qingshan Sect, and even awakened a light root? Did you really think that would erase everything?”

Yi Xian found his manic tone nauseating. She would have ignored him if she didn’t want answers about her original body’s past. “And if I did?”

Xie Yu’s smile turned cruel. “You think awakening a light root makes you special? Your mother only had that pathetic light root. Looks like you’re following her path to ruin.”

Yi Xian’s eyes darkened. “You seem very interested in whether I live or die. Were you the one who sent people after me?”

His gaze flickered with panic. “Don’t spout nonsense. I had nothing to do with that. Watch yourself, Xie Xian. Tell Grandfather anything, and I’ll kill you.”

Yi Xian lost her patience. The Lightning Sphere shot from her hand before she even thought. Though he blocked it in time, Little Pony released Light Baptism almost simultaneously. The explosion shook the entire arena, leaving a massive crater in the ground. Even with his defense, Xie Yu was blasted directly into it, lying half-dead before regaining his senses.

When he finally opened his eyes, Yi Xian was crouched at the edge of the pit. He shouted weakly, “You’re insane! I already told you I didn’t send the killers! If you want revenge, go find—” He stopped abruptly, fear flashing across his face. “You dare play dirty with me?”

Yi Xian’s calm gaze chilled him. So he does know something. “You seem to know who it was.”

Three years ago, the original Yi Xian had been an ordinary human. If she had been exceptionally gifted, her downfall might have been envy. But someone had gone to the trouble of sending assassins. Why?

Yi Xian summoned another Lightning Sphere. “Would you like to find out how it feels to have every bone shattered?”

Xie Yu’s pupils shrank. “You’ve lost your mind. I’m your brother! If you kill me, the Xie family will destroy you.”

Brother? Yi Xian nearly laughed aloud. A brother who wished her dead? “Fine. Forfeit, and I’ll consider sparing you.”

His face turned red with humiliation. Yi Xian raised her hand, lightning flickering between her fingers, while Little Pony hovered above, ready to strike. “Shall we see who’s faster, you summoning your beast or me throwing this? I’d keep that hand still if I were you. My aim tends to waver.”

Xie Yu blanched and surrendered on the spot. Even as the referee dragged him out, he glared daggers at her, eyes filled with hatred.

Yi Xian gave him a mocking smile. “Thank you, Xie Yu. When I remembered nothing, you still helped me piece the past together.”

He froze in disbelief. “You—”

Yi Xian chuckled softly. “I’m starting to think it really wasn’t you who sent those assassins.”

Leaving him speechless, she straightened her back and walked off the arena with quiet grace.