Chapter 425 - 322: Becoming a Family (3)
Fang Qingyuan quickly said what was on his mind. After unleashing that strike, Bear Wind had indeed stopped, not pressing the attack. It seemed Fang Qingyuan’s words had struck a chord.
Seeing his opening, Fang Qingyuan immediately upped the ante:
"This way, you won’t have to relocate, and your descendants and kin won’t have to follow you on a death migration. This place will still be your territory. Nothing will change. The only difference will be in name only—to the outside world, we’ll announce that you’re my master’s Companion Beast."
Reputation wasn’t nearly as important to the Ancient Beasts of the Wilderness as it was to humans. Hearing the terms Fang Qingyuan laid out, Bear Wind had to admit he was tempted.
During the original wars of conquest, most Nascent Soul Ancient Beasts that humanity encountered would rather die than surrender. The main reason was that admitting defeat meant being forced to sign a grossly unequal contract. From that moment on, their lives would be in another’s hands, and they would never taste freedom again.
So why wouldn’t the Beast Taming Sect sign equitable treaties with these Nascent Soul Ancient Beasts?
Imagine you’re leading an army to besiege a city. The gates are breached, the enemy is cornered in the City Lord’s Mansion, and the entire city is yours for the taking. At that moment, your opponent proposes that you withdraw your army. In exchange, he’ll sign the peace treaty you offered before the war began, and your two sides will make amends. Would you agree?
The principle was the same. And from Bear Wind’s perspective, the terms Fang Qingyuan was now proposing were indeed the best he could hope for.
The connection through Jinbao was merely the catalyst that allowed them to talk. What truly swayed Bear Wind was Fang Qingyuan’s breakdown of the pros and cons.
"What’s more, you’ll be able to leave the Barbaric Wilderness and travel to the foot of Qingfeng Mountain to see Jinbao’s mother. Her physical body may be gone, but a wisp of her soul still survives. Don’t you want to go see her?"
At this, Fang Qingyuan threw down his final weight, and the scales of victory at last began to tip.
At the mention of Jinbao’s mother, Bear Wind plopped onto the ground and burst into a storm of tears.
Nascent Soul Ancient Beasts were simple by nature. Even with his remarkable intelligence, Bear Wind found it difficult to escape this truth.
After a moment, Bear Wind reined in his emotions. He first tried to comfort Jinbao, though with little success. Then, he pointed a finger at Fang Qingyuan. A stream of exceptionally pure Gold Spiritual Power instantly poured into Fang Qingyuan’s body, coursing through his meridians to heal the internal injuries he had just sustained.
After another moment, Bear Wind frowned and cut off the flow of Spiritual Power. He couldn’t help but wonder, ’How can this fellow’s body hold so much?’
Noticing the strange look on Bear Wind’s face, Fang Qingyuan quickly severed the connection channeling the energy to his Immortal Mansion. He then swallowed a Healing Holy Medicine and only then truly began to recover.
While Fang Qingyuan meditated, Bear Wind silently mulled things over. When Fang Qingyuan was finished, he spoke bluntly:
"You have a point. I might escape once, maybe twice, but can I keep running a third and a fourth time? If I continue to flee, sooner or later, I’ll either die at the hands of human Cultivators or be killed fighting other Nascent Soul Ancient Beasts for territory."
Seeing that Bear Wind had come around, Fang Qingyuan smiled in relief. ’The blow I took wasn’t for nothing.’
What was a little pain compared to the rewards to come? If the White Mountain People outside knew it was possible to acquire a Nascent Soul Ancient Beast, they would flock to the opportunity. Never mind just getting injured; sects would eagerly sacrifice ten thousand lives for such a chance.
As for why Lechuan had to be the one to form the contract with Bear Wind, it all came down to his status. In truth, Fang Qingyuan would have much preferred to lure Bear Wind to his own Qingyuan Sect. But it was obvious that having Bear Wind at the Qingyuan Sect would be useless, as it wouldn’t be enough to deter the Nascent Soul Cultivators of the Beast Taming Sect.
The Great Zhou’s rule of enfeoffment for three generations was also applied selectively. To the local forces of White Mountain, it was an ironclad law. But to the Nascent Soul Cultivators of the Beast Taming Sect, it was more of a flexible red line. As long as they didn’t go too far, would the people from the Great Zhou Academy really attack the Beast Taming Sect just to stand up for the Qingyuan Sect?
’Don’t be naive.’ The Cultivation Realm was nothing if not pragmatic. Fang Qingyuan himself had never believed that the protection of the Great Zhou Academy gave him a license to do whatever he pleased.
Now that they had a preliminary agreement to cooperate, the next step was to negotiate the details. Previously, Fang Qingyuan had worried about being seen with Bear Wind, fearing accusations of colluding with an Ancient Beast of the Wilderness and being a traitor to humanity. But now, he wasn’t worried in the slightest. ’Let them complain,’ he thought. ’I’m making a contribution to the overall strength of humanity.’
According to the statistics Fang Qingyuan had seen from the Beast Taming Sect, the total number of human Nascent Soul Cultivators was just over a thousand. The faction backing Lechuan, the Moon Peak lineage, had only seven—and that number included Huo Gan, who had long since vanished without a trace.
With Bear Wind’s addition, Lechuan’s future status would be completely transformed. Before, he could only listen to his Nascent Soul Uncles and diligently carry out any tasks they assigned. But now, with Bear Wind, Lechuan’s own voice would carry much more weight, and his backing would be far more substantial. The days when someone like Di Yuanpu could, with a single sentence, force Lechuan to surrender his position at the Southern Border Beast Taming Sect were gone for good.
The truth was, Lechuan already had a Nascent Soul Companion Beast. However, this beast’s seniority was far higher than Lechuan’s; it was the Le Family’s Clan Guardian Spirit Beast, and Lechuan had absolutely no authority over it.
Furthermore, according to Lechuan, this Nascent Soul Spirit Beast of the Le Family had refused to fight for them ever since its original master died. It simply remained on the Le Family’s mountain peak within the Beast Taming Sect, cultivating in seclusion.
When Fang Qingyuan had asked Lechuan what he thought of this situation, Lechuan had sighed, saying it was actually a good thing. The Nascent Soul Spirit Beast, out of respect for old ties, hadn’t pledged itself to another Nascent Soul Cultivator. As long as the beast was there, the Le Family would endure, even if Lechuan himself were to die outside. They could simply wait for the day another Nascent Soul Cultivator rose from their ranks to restore the family’s glory.