Li Yin was panicking inwardly when she suddenly heard Xia Erruo’s sharp scream.
“Oh no, the door to the quiet room is open! The little pups can’t run around outside! Quick, catch them and bring them back!”
She followed the sound and looked over. By the wide-open door stood two flustered Myriad Beasts Sect disciples. One was reaching out to grab a little bird flying unsteadily, while the other bent down to scoop up a small animal scurrying back and forth on the ground.
When they spotted Xia Erruo, they were sweating bullets. “Senior Sister Xia! They just got startled and aren’t listening to the imperial order!”
Xia Erruo pulled out a small bell—likely some kind of magic artifact—and shook it. It let out a crisp sound that wasn’t harsh on the ears.
“Stop! All of you, stop!” she scolded the rampaging spirit beasts.
Li Yin watched as a fluffy rat pup paused for a moment. But in the next second, it was spooked by the pouncing kitten and let out panicked squeaks as it darted everywhere, completely ignoring Xia Erruo.
The frantic rat pup scurried right up to her feet, with the orange kitten hot on its tail.
Li Yin had no idea what kind of spirit beast cubs they were. She reached out and interrupted the predator-prey chase.
To her surprise, the timid rat pup was one thing—it curled up trembling in the palm of her hand after she caught it. But even the seemingly mischievous kitten was easily caught. The little cat wasn’t big. It tilted its head and gazed up at her with crimson-gold vertical pupils.
Li Yin had thought it would struggle and had even braced herself for scratches. Instead, the kitten simply let out a soft meow, then rubbed its head against her before settling quietly in her arms.
Xia Erruo finished corralling the other spirit beasts and turned around. When she saw the scene, she looked both shocked and delighted. “Little Junior Sister! You really do have an affinity with our Myriad Beasts Sect. Copper Coin Rats and Golden Thread Cats rarely get close to the same person.”
Li Yin glanced down at the kitten’s affectionate posture and had a sudden thought. “Senior Sister Xia, have these spirit beasts awakened their intelligence yet?”
Xia Erruo replied, “Of course. Otherwise, how could they be spirit beasts? Though these cubs’ intelligence is probably only at the level of a two- or three-year-old human child.”
At those words, Li Yin reviewed her golden finger once more.
【Special Bonus: Max-Level Charm (All beings that have awakened intelligence cannot resist your charm. Their love at first sight for you is only natural. Duration: Permanent)……】
If that was the case, couldn’t this max-level charm pass for max-level affinity?
With her train of thought unlocked, Li Yin suddenly saw a bright path ahead.
Who could ever suspect that a max-level affinity beast tamer was actually a Joyous Union Dao demoness with max-level charm?
With this layer of cover, she relaxed a little and stopped staying so tense.
She cradled both cubs in the crook of her arm and used her free hand to smooth out their messy fur.
The dusky little Copper Coin Rat was tiny. It clutched her finger and squeaked twice. Meanwhile, the Golden Thread Cat kitten by her side showed no interest in chasing it anymore and simply meowed at Li Yin.
As she soothed them, she suddenly sensed an intense gaze she couldn’t ignore.
She glanced sideways. It was that Azure Profound Sect disciple with the red hair ribbon and high ponytail—Elder Shen’s disciple—staring straight at her.
His features were strikingly youthful and handsome. Both his face and attire carried the spirited air of a young man, making it impossible to guess his true age.
He had a tall build. Even in his slightly loose magic robe, his broad shoulders, narrow waist, and powerful frame were evident. He wasn’t scrawny at all.
Li Yin’s eyes flickered. In that instant, Elder Shen’s arrogant youthful demeanor from his younger days seemed to overlay perfectly onto his disciple.
The strong resemblance finally jogged her memory of Elder Shen’s name—the target of the fourth route.
Shen Ting’an, if she remembered right.
It was a nice name.
Li Yin snapped back to reality and realized the Azure Profound Sect disciple was still staring at her.
Oh no, had she been found out?
She desperately racked her brain for any suspicious actions she’d taken. Feeling guilty, she subconsciously flashed him a smile.
To her shock, the young man’s figure stiffened slightly before he started walking straight toward her.
Li Yin’s smile froze on her face.
She screamed internally, but the upward curve of her lips wouldn’t go away. She lowered her head, trying to look calm.
Nerves got the better of her, though. Her mind went blank, and all she could do was stroke the two cubs in her arms over and over in repetitive motions.
The cat and rat together weren’t stressing out, but she certainly was.
Just as the man closed in step by step, a tall, slender figure stepped out from the side and intercepted him halfway.
“Ji Little Dao Lord, what just happened? And… what are you doing now?” The man’s gentle tone carried a hint of puzzlement.
With the suspected crisis averted, Li Yin instantly silenced her inner screams.
Right then, Xia Erruo called out to her. “Little Junior Sister, everything’s packed up. Bring those two cubs in your arms back here. There are other spirit beasts around if you want to take a look…”
Li Yin crisply replied with an “Okay” and seized the chance to naturally turn away, cradling the two cubs as she left.
The quiet room for housing spirit beast cubs was spacious, with partitions dividing it into different areas. Various items were laid out atop them—from toys for teasing cats, dogs, and birds to all sorts of implements. It was a dazzling array at first glance.
Li Yin didn’t pay close attention. She was more focused on what had just happened.
“Who were those two?” she asked.
Xia Erruo recalled the earlier figures. “Oh, that was Elder Yaoguang and Ji Little Dao Lord. They’re on good terms, and Ji Little Dao Lord often drops by to chat with Elder Yaoguang.”
At that, Li Yin silently sorted through the pair’s cultivation realms in her mind.
The local cultivation realms went qi condensation, foundation establishment, golden core, nascent soul. Then came orifice exit and soul formation, whose experts were honored as dao lords. Finally, body integration, tribulation transcendence, and mahayana realms were honored as dao venerables.
In the game, anyone who reached body integration stage would be promoted to sect elder. That made their realms clear enough.
As she mentally tallied the realms, Xia Erruo sidled over with a “hehe” grin.
“Little Junior Sister, want to tame some beasts? These two little guys seem especially fond of you. New disciples can pick one or two spirit beasts based on affinity at entry. If you like them, you can take both.”
Li Yin came back to herself and processed her words. She looked down at the two small animals in her arms.
The rat pup tilted its head up, its beady black eyes glistening wetly as it gazed at her. The kitten did the same, its crimson-gold pupils round and pleading. It was enough to melt her heart.
Seeing how cute and well-behaved the little things were, Li Yin finally nodded. “Alright. Then they’re my tamed beasts now?”
Xia Erruo beamed from ear to ear and handed her a newbie welcome gift pack.
“Here’s a bottle of enlightenment powder, and a bottle of wisdom pills… This is a spirit beast box. The ones issued by the sect don’t have much space, but these kinds of spatial magic artifacts are never cheap. Little Junior Sister, be sure to keep it safe.”
Finally, she stuffed a palm-sized, square little box into Li Yin’s hands. It was engraved with the Myriad Beasts Sect’s turtle-shell pattern—much like the one hanging from Xia Erruo’s waist.
Once the pills and magic artifacts were handed over, Xia Erruo started pulling out jade slips one after another.
“This is the first volume of the Spirit Taming Art. This is the commentary for the first volume. This one is the notes for the auxiliary Spirit Capturing Method… This is the Myriad Beasts Atlas, this is the Record of Rare Exotic Beasts, and these two are must-reads for beginners…”
Staring at the pile of jade slips, Li Yin’s eyes went wide. She had a flashback to her school days, that first day of term when she had to stuff a mountain of books into her bag.
“So many?” she murmured.
Xia Erruo scratched her head. “It’s not that much, really. There’s actually more in the Scripture Pavilion—you’ll have to borrow copies yourself.”
Li Yin automatically translated “Scripture Pavilion” to “library” in her head. She set down the cat and rat, remembered the agony of cramming books into her bag back then, and stowed the jade slips one by one into the mustard seed pouch at her waist.
She was here to play men… no, to play a capture-the-targets game. Not to go to school.
Seeing her pack everything away, Xia Erruo added, “Oh, right, Little Junior Sister. Do you have a messaging artifact? I can send you a list of important books—all compiled by our seniors.”
“Thanks, Senior Sister Xia.” Thrilled at the prospect of shared resources, Li Yin happily pulled out her messaging treasure mirror.
After adding her as a contact via the messaging artifact, Li Yin received a spirit message from Xia Erruo: a book list.
Compared to that, her fingertip paused ever so slightly, though she showed no outward oddity.
Because right then, the game panel had suddenly popped up.
【Unlocked new identity】
【Identity: Personal disciple of the Demon Domain’s Jade Ecstasy Palace Jade Joy Palace Lord / Outer disciple of the Dao Sect’s Myriad Beasts Sect】
On the game panel, her identity had updated with the addition of her Dao Sect disciple title.
【Achievement Reward: Directed Random (1)】
Li Yin’s gaze sharpened as she glanced at the unfamiliar item. She bent down to stroke the spirit beast cubs at her feet, though she was actually leaning in to read the new item’s description.
Oblivious to her distraction, Xia Erruo reminded her, “Generally speaking, it’s best not to keep spirit beasts with conflicting attributes in the same spirit beast box. Like your cat and rat—if the Golden Thread Cat can’t suppress its instincts, it could end in tragedy…”
Li Yin gave a distracted response, stowed the more timid rat pup into the spirit beast box, and scooped up the kitten.
By then, the game panel’s explanation for the new item had already unfolded.
【Directed Random: In response to popular player demand, we’ve added this special item in the latest version. Achieve unlocks through gameplay to obtain…】
【Directed Random: The player may specify one judgment that is guaranteed to succeed, or designate the outcome value for one random roll.】
Li Yin scratched under the kitten’s chin, pondering how to use the new item amid its contented purring.
–
Up on deck, Ji Lingyao withdrew his gaze. In response to Yao Guanheng’s question, he answered with an ambiguous smile.
“…A demonic cultivator sneaked in, and my master happened to spot them. He ordered me to come help you investigate.”
He fiddled with the ornament at his waist. Beneath the black rhino sash dangled a string of feathers—a magic artifact commonly used to track demonic cultivators.
If the Pure Light Feathers detected demonic qi, they would turn from white to black. But right now, every single feather remained pristine and white.
Yao Guanheng paid no mind to the feathers’ color and simply shook his head slightly. “You startled one of our sect disciples. There’s no demonic cultivator here for you to find.”
Before his words finished, he received a voice transmission from the other man.
Ji Lingyao’s tone was teasing: 【Really? What about your young lord?】
Yao Guanheng replied with a serene, unruffled look: 【We haven’t linked up yet.】
With no anomalies in the feathers and no traces of demonic cultivators nearby, that so-called young lord had probably just hidden away.
Besides, with a Myriad Beasts Sect elder stating there were none, Ji Lingyao—as a mere Azure Profound Sect disciple—couldn’t exactly throw his weight around, no matter how close they were.
And so, Ji Lingyao said, “Is that so?” It was unclear if he believed him, but he figured he’d fulfilled his master’s orders regardless. With that, he turned to leave.
Even so, something still weighed on his mind.
“As long as they see you, they will willingly become your cauldron…”
The secret missive from Jade Ecstasy Palace suddenly resurfaced in his thoughts. Ji Lingyao told himself it was utterly impossible.
He would never submit to anyone. Sooner or later, he would break free of that damned slave mark.
Once he escaped the slave mark…
Yet his mind conjured up the earlier scene.
The girl was dressed simply, with a few strands of inky-black hair framing her face. It only made her seem all the more pure and radiant.
From within her pale cloak extended slender white fingers. She hooked the underside of the orange kitten’s chin, her glossy fingertips vanishing into its fur as she scratched its itch.
She had even smiled at him, it seemed.
…Was she a new disciple of Myriad Beasts Sect?
Ji Lingyao couldn’t help but think.