Chapter 23: Mo Yanxue's DoubtsThe Cangback Eagle was incredibly proud. After spending more than half a month with it, they knew this very well.
At the slightest displeasure, it would go on a hunger strike. If it showed any sign of being tamed, it would find a way to kill itself. Adviser Liao and Yu Longqing even thought it was impossible to succeed in this lifetime. Yet, after Zhang Xuan gave it a beating, it voluntarily offered its soul.
What the heck... Was taming beasts really this simple?
Adviser Liao, who was about to humiliate Zhang Xuan, found his words stuck in his throat, his face turning red with embarrassment.
The more he had babbled earlier, the more awkward he felt now.
To persuade the City Lord, he had used countless methods, almost causing both the man and the eagle to die. In the end, it was all for nothing. On the contrary, after a single beating, it took less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea for this beast to become obedient and submissive.
Was there really such a big difference between people?
"Great! You submit!"
Ignoring everyone's astonishment, Zhang Xuan smiled slightly. "City Lord, quickly come and accept the blood essence. That way, you can control it."
As he had previously speculated, as long as he was willing to burn the new world, the "Beating Taming Method" could also be used in this Source World to make source beasts submit.
This way, there was no need to kill the beast before awakening its spirit, saving a lot of trouble.
However, to tame the beast, not only had he consumed a mountain spanning over a hundred thousand miles, but he had also burned seven or eight hundred books filled with Heaven's Fate Energy from the academy to "see" the Cangback Eagle's flaws.
The Library of Heaven's Path now operated like a precise machine that required fuel—Heaven's Fate Energy!
As for how he managed to defeat the beast... The Cangback Eagle had been starved for over half a month. Coupled with crashing into the iron frame, it was nearly dead. Using his burning power to deal with it was easy. S~ᴇaʀᴄh the NøvᴇlFirᴇ(.)nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.
"Alright!"
Hearing the young man's words, Yu Longqing knew it wasn't the time to be shocked. Without hesitation, he hurriedly approached, bit his finger, and pointed at the blood essence floating in the air.
Once the two drops of blood touched, the Cangback Eagle's soul power would enter his body, becoming his beast pet forever.
Just as Yu Longqing's finger was about to touch the Cangback Eagle's blood essence, the latter suddenly lifted its head and swallowed the blood back into its abdomen. It then hugged the iron pillar with its wings and started banging its head against it.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The sound echoed like a bell, and in the blink of an eye, its head was bleeding again. It seemed to feel humiliated once more, desperate to die, refusing to be stopped by anyone.
"???" Yu Longqing's mouth twitched, and his eyelids involuntarily trembled.
‘You mean... Zhang Xuan can accept your blood, but I can't?’
‘I am the City Lord, a super-strong Source Pool Eighth Grade expert, coming to bond with you, and you ignore me. But you plan to submit to a groom who beat you... Are you really that despicable?’
Feeling utterly frustrated, he saw the young man ahead also reacting. Full of displeasure, Zhang Xuan slapped the eagle's face. "Are you serious?"
Zhang Xuan then grabbed the Cangback Eagle by the neck and punched its head. "Spit out the blood essence and form a master-servant contract with the City Lord, or I'll cook you with mushrooms right now."
"Chirp~~" The Cangback Eagle looked aggrieved, like an abused child, and pitifully chirped twice. Reluctantly, it spat out the blood essence again, which merged with the blood from Yu Longqing's fingertip.
Instantly, the City Lord felt a connection, realizing he could now communicate and bond with the beast.
"I-it is tamed already?" City Lord Yu couldn't believe his eyes and stared in astonishment at the young man.
"What? It's not done yet?" Hearing his question, Zhang Xuan thought the Cangback Eagle was slacking off. His expression darkened, and he slapped the eagle again. "Still trying to play tricks?"
"Chirp! Chirp~~" The Cangback Eagle, almost speaking in its panic, looked aggrieved and on the verge of tears.
"No, it's already submissive..." Startled by Zhang Xuan's swift action, Yu Longqing quickly waved his hand. "I was just curious about your taming method..."
"Submission is all that matters." Zhang Xuan finally sighed in relief.
"We struggled with it for over half a month without success, but you tamed it with just a beating. How did you do it?" City Lord Yu couldn't hold back his curiosity any longer.
Not only was he curious, but everyone else in the room also perked up their ears, looking puzzled. Especially Adviser Liao, who was intensely focused, afraid of missing any detail.
"Actually, I already told the young lady that I have a natural affinity that makes source beasts feel close to me... It should be considered a talent!" Zhang Xuan repeated the reason he had given earlier.
Yu Longqing and Adviser Liao exchanged glances, both twitching their mouths. ‘Natural affinity? All we saw was you beating it up…’
However, without this explanation, it was hard to understand why the proud Cangback Eagle, beaten and humiliated, would still obediently submit and even take pride in its submission.
"Adviser Liao, isn't it time to fulfill your promise?" Zhang Xuan quickly looked at Liao Shiquan, worried he might ask more questions.
"Well..." Adviser Liao felt his face burn with embarrassment and awkwardly looked towards Yu Longqing.
He had thought Zhang Xuan was arrogant and disrespectful, only to find out that he himself was the fool...
"It's just a method to search for and establish a Source Pool, very simple. I'll arrange for someone to take you there now." Yu Longqing smiled, breaking the awkwardness.
If he had been worried before that Zhang Xuan might be a spy stealing the City Lord's secret library, those fears were now gone. The talent Zhang Xuan showed in beast taming alone would make him valuable anywhere, possibly even becoming a guest elder. Someone like him wouldn't go to great lengths just to steal some basic Source Pool techniques.
"Thank you, City Lord..." Hearing his agreement, Zhang Xuan sighed in relief.
He had been willing to burn the new world just to gather techniques and practice quickly. Now, it was finally time to reap the rewards.
"Zhang Xuan, here are the 196 source coins I promised you..." Yu Xiaoyu approached, rummaging for a while before pulling out a pile of coins.
"Thanks!" Zhang Xuan grinned and accepted them with a satisfied expression.
"Xiaoyu, what's this?" City Lord Yu asked, puzzled.
"This is the payment I promised him for helping tame the Cangback Eagle..." Yu Xiaoyu nodded.
‘Helping to tame a source beast... for just 196 source coins? And in small change?’ Adviser Liao's mouth twitched, feeling even more embarrassed.
They had spent more than ten thousand source coins trying to tame the eagle over the past half month, achieving nothing and almost driving it to suicide. Yet, Zhang Xuan succeeded in no time and only charged 196 coins. The stark contrast made Adviser Liao feel deeply ashamed, wanting to disappear on the spot.
‘Such a powerful person, and I actually doubted him... How shameful.’
"Wait a minute, if taming a source beast is as easy as giving it a beating, then... why did Su Shang Horse have a gash on its belly and end up dead?" At this moment, Mo Yanxue, unable to contain her doubts any longer, voiced her question from a distance.