Apocalypse: Grinding EXP through Hunting

’This kid’s got something.’

Elder Li and Vice Gang Leader Zhao exchanged a look, the same thought flashing through their minds.

Master Zhang panicked.

His earlier leisurely demeanor was gone. He fumbled frantically, pulling out one oil-paper packet after another from his robes.

Tang Wen continuously calmed the Water Spirit, telling it not to be eager to leave its cage, while secretly cheering on his opponent:

’Hurry up!’

’Tame it faster!’

’Just skip all the complicated steps!’

’You’re not some no-name Beast Tamer, you’re a Half-step Master...’

He managed to stall for a good ten-plus minutes.

Suddenly, the female Water Spirit, who was carrying a young one, awoke from her sleep. Her eyes were filled with worry as she looked at her mate and child.

She let out a series of low roars.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The female Water Spirit began kicking the cage.

Her mood turned violent.

’Not good!’

Tang Wen frowned. ’These guys clearly knew the female Water Spirit shouldn’t be agitated, so why did they bring her here?’

"HISS HISS."

The male Water Spirit turned its head and communicated with the female.

’We’re screwed!’

’The fact that the male Water Spirit has been tamed can’t be hidden anymore.’

Sure enough,

the next moment, the male Water Spirit turned its head to look at Tang Wen. It gripped the bars, shaking them gently, and made a low, gentle sound.

It looked just like a large dog begging for food from the master who had raised it for over a decade.

In fact, the meaning it was trying to convey was more or less the same.

It wanted its master, Tang Wen, to open its cage so it could go over and check on the female Water Spirit.

"This...?"

Everyone present had been watching Tang Wen’s every move.

They had all witnessed the male Water Spirit’s transformation.

’Stalling for time... can’t stall any longer.’

Tang Wen sighed silently. On the other side, Master Zhang had just barely reached the step of getting the Little Water Spirit to eat.

He was still at least half a day away from taming it.

’Forget it.’

’I hope they don’t find this too ridiculous.’

Tang Wen turned and said, "Vice Gang Leader Zhao, Elder Li, I think... um, what I mean is, I’ve completed the taming."

What?

The Boat Gang couldn’t accept it.

"Are you kidding me?"

"It’s only been a few minutes!"

"Not even half an hour."

"For real? If you’ve got the guts, let it out and let’s see!"

"That’s right, let it out and let’s see!"

They frowned and started shouting jeers.

The silver they’d thought was in their grasp had just flown away. Who could stand that?

The members of the Black Water Gang, naturally, looked overjoyed.

The reversal had come too quickly.

Most of them didn’t quite dare to believe it, unsure if Tang Wen had actually finished the taming or not.

For a moment, no one said a word.

’Let it out? Fine, I’ll let it out!’

Tang Wen shook his head.

The Brass Key opened the lock on the outside of the cage. Then, with a CREAK, he pulled the cage door open.

The male Water Spirit immediately ran out. Like a pet dog released from its kennel, it showed no fear and ran straight toward the female Water Spirit.

The Martial Artists guarding the cages nearby all retreated, widening their defensive circle.

They weren’t afraid of the Water Spirits, but they were worried they might escape.

Tang Wen walked up to the female Water Spirit’s cage. After two uses of [Spiritual Soothing], the female’s hostility vanished completely.

He dawdled there for a while.

Turning his head, he saw the cage in front of Master Zhang, where the half-grown male Water Spirit was eating heartily.

Master Zhang was still maintaining his composure. Regardless of what was happening around him, as long as the Elder and the Vice Gang Leader didn’t declare Tang Wen the winner,

he would ignore everything else and focus on taming the Water Spirit before him.

"Eat, eat, eat! Hurry up and eat!"

"When you finish this, I’ve got more right here."

"..."

He muttered on and on.

The hand holding the food also reached tentatively into the cage,

wanting to touch the half-grown male Water Spirit’s fur.

His sneaky, outstretched hand happened to be spotted by the female Water Spirit.

"HISS HISS!"

The mother was fiercely protective of her young.

The male Water Spirit also turned its head and let out a sharp roar at its child.

"HISS!"

The half-grown Water Spirit immediately shot up, chirping at its parents.

It was unclear what they communicated, but it then whipped its head around to look at Master Zhang, its expression turning completely savage.

Unwilling to give up, Master Zhang continued trying to cozy up to it.

But the half-grown Water Spirit had completely turned on him.

It roared and shrieked at him.

It even knocked the food he offered to the ground.

Seeing this, Tang Wen commanded, "Alright, go on. Tell your child not to be afraid. No one will bully it anymore. Your family is safe now."

"Hiss."

The male Water Spirit gave an excited cry, walked over to the other cage, and first bared its teeth at Master Zhang.

Only then did it reach its paw inside and pat the half-grown Water Spirit’s head.

The crowd fell silent.

The situation could not be more obvious.

Master Zhang’s face was deathly pale, as if he had just lost his parents.

He couldn’t understand.

He hadn’t seen Tang Wen use any powerful techniques, so how had he tamed it so quickly?

’Could the Black Water Gang have cheated?’

But...

The three Water Spirits had been transported here together by men from both the Black Water Gang and the Boat Gang early this morning.

Even if the Black Water Gang wanted to cheat, they had neither the time nor the opportunity to arrange it.

*Ahem!*

Elder Li cleared his throat, drawing everyone’s attention.

"It seems the winner has been decided."

The Boat Gang’s Vice Gang Leader looked at Tang Wen. "Impressive for one so young! Well then, there’s a pool up ahead. Let’s go test it out!"

The male Water Spirit seemed obedient, but the required tests still had to be performed.

Tang Wen led the male Water Spirit, while the others followed behind with the other two Water Spirits.

They rounded a corner and arrived in front of a lotus pond.

The pond was half-dry, the water only reaching about halfway up the walls. The lotus flowers in the pond had not all withered yet, and seed pods had already grown.

Tang Wen pointed at the flowers and leaves in the pond. "Go down, gather the lotus pods, and try not to damage the flowers."

Without the slightest hesitation, the male Water Spirit slipped into the water from the bank, deftly avoiding the lotus flowers and leaves, and efficiently gathered several dozen seed pods.

Elder Li, Vice Gang Leader Zhao, and the others all turned to look at the men from the Boat Gang.

This time, the Boat Gang’s Vice Gang Leader had nothing more to say. He could only dryly spit out two words: "Not bad."

The Boat Gang accepted their loss without much fuss.

Their Elder snorted.

"Fine, you win. You’ll take the lead on the salvage operation this time. Brothers, let’s move out!"

The men from the Boat Gang left, cursing under their breath. Master Zhang, looking completely dejected, trailed at the very back.

He kept looking back at Tang Wen as he walked, muttering something to himself.

"Good kid! Well done!"

"Hahahaha, Brother Tang Wen, you really made us proud today!"

"Not only did you make us proud, you earned us a lot of silver."

"..."

The men of the Black Water Gang were all beaming with joy. They took turns coming over to slap Tang Wen on the shoulder and back.

The earlier gloom was completely swept away; they were grinning from ear to ear.

’A windfall!’

’We were sure we were going to lose, but who would have thought this kid, Tang Wen, who doesn’t look like much...’

’...would show his stuff on the field and take down even the renowned Master Zhang!’

"Two-to-one odds, hahaha! Those guys from the Boat Gang will have to tighten their belts for the next few days!"

"They won’t just be tightening their belts, they’ll have to watch their crotches too!"

"HAHAHAHAHA!"

The laughter was full of crude humor.

You could tell from their smiles how they were going to spend their money.

"Yours!"

Wu Hao walked over and handed the thickest stack of silver notes to Tang Wen.

Everyone divided up the money with wide smiles.

Any ill feelings they had towards Tang Wen were carried away by the sight of the snow-white silver notes.

"Let’s go! We’ll talk more back at the gang’s headquarters."

The group left together, talking and laughing, overjoyed.

But inside, Tang Wen didn’t feel as relaxed as he looked.

The three Water Spirits were taken back to the Black Water Gang headquarters.

"Well done. You didn’t disgrace our Black Water Gang."

As soon as they returned to the Main Altar, Vice Gang Leader Zhao approached Tang Wen and said, "However, one Water Spirit isn’t enough. Tame the half-grown one as well. Is an hour enough?"

’An hour?’

Tang Wen’s heart skipped a beat.

’That’s too short.’

’Just as I thought. My speed in taming the Water Spirit was too fast. Now I’m under suspicion.’

’Are they suspecting that I’m hiding my true level of Martial Arts and Beast Taming abilities?’