I Tame Beasts by Feeding

Long after Yu Changsheng had walked away, figures began to slowly emerge one by one. Their faces were grave as they gazed into the distance where he had disappeared, a look of profound fear in their eyes.

"Those three people just now... the one who died first, I think that was the Sword Cultivator... Ling Anran?"

"Among all the Loose Cultivators around here, he was considered the strongest. He had quite a reputation in these parts."

"And besides him, the one with the saber seemed to be Yang Bin Hong, right? He wielded that Blood Slaughter Saber of his with incredible power. A Foundation Establishment Second Layer Cultivation was not to be underestimated."

"As for that last Cultivator in black, even if he seemed a little weak, he was still a Foundation Establishment Cultivator! Three Foundation Establishment Cultivators ganged up on one person, and yet... he killed them all in return?!"

The group was stunned, staring at one another. They all saw the shock in each other’s eyes—and the terror hiding just beneath it.

"He looks so young... for his strength to be this terrifying, are you kidding me? Then what does that make me?"

One person gasped, his expression turning bleak.

Others secretly clenched their fists, a look of reverence in their eyes.

"Are Beast Masters all this terrifying these days? I remember him. Patriarch Tang made a point to meet with him at the foot of the mountain earlier. I think his name is Yu Changsheng? To be this powerful... no wonder Patriarch Tang took him so seriously."

"Looks like things are about to get lively on Red Lake Mountain again. The three great families are in for a real headache. An opponent this strong... and I got the feeling he killed those three from Foundation Establishment like it was nothing..."

As the crowd murmured amongst themselves, filled with a mixture of emotions, they all came to one silent agreement: they would not be foolish enough to provoke Yu Changsheng.

But aside from them, the person who was most shocked was, without a doubt, Yu Changao.

He followed behind Yu Changsheng, his eyes filled with awe as he watched him. A complex expression flashed across his face, gone in an instant.

When those three Foundation Establishment Cultivators had appeared, he had been ready to give up in despair. But what happened next... that was something Yu Changao would likely never forget for the rest of his life.

"Changsheng, you... you’ve already reached Foundation Establishment?"

After a long pause, Yu Changao finally asked, though he still seemed hesitant.

"Yeah. I just got lucky and broke through a while ago."

Yu Changsheng nodded, his expression calm, showing no hint of pride or any other emotion.

"Got lucky?"

Yu Changao gave a bitter, wry smile and shook his head.

"There’s no need to be modest. Reaching Foundation Establishment at your age... our Yu Family has finally produced a true prodigy."

A smile touched Yu Changao’s lips as he spoke.

Every young man dreams of being a hero, of being the one who shines brightest in a crowd, and Yu Changao was no exception. He wasn’t even that much older than Yu Changsheng.

He used to think that Yu Changsheng, a mere servant disciple of the Wanxiang Sect, had no future to speak of. Yet, in just over a year, he was the one who had been left in the dust.

But after the battle just now, his opinion of Yu Changsheng had been completely overturned. The combat power Yu Changsheng had displayed was enough to make him despair; the gap between them was no longer something that could be closed with mere hard work.

Now, as Yu Changao looked at Yu Changsheng, there was more than just reverence in his eyes; there was also a hint of fear and distance.

Yu Changsheng saw all this, but there was little he could do about it. He sighed quietly to himself before smiling and patting Yu Changao’s shoulder. He said with a chuckle,

"Why so formal? The Yu Family has you, not just me. If you need anything for your Cultivation in the future, just let me know. It would be good to have someone to share the pressure with."

"Okay." Yu Changao nodded, not saying much else.

"But... Changsheng, since you killed three Foundation Establishment Cultivators, will there be trouble later? It’s just so strange. We have no history with them, no grudges. Why would they go to such lengths to attack us?"

Yu Changao was puzzled, unable to comprehend it. ’What kind of deep-seated hatred would warrant deploying three Foundation Establishment Cultivators?’ he wondered.

"It’s fine. Two of them were just Loose Cultivators. Killing them is no great loss, and they don’t have any powerful backing. They were just hired for a price. A shame, really. Their employer lost both the money and the men."

Yu Changsheng shook his head and said faintly,

"As for the other one, while he is a bit of a nuisance, even if he hadn’t come looking for me, I would have sought him out to settle the score. Some grudges are best settled for good."

"After all, you never know when someone like that might stab you in the back. That would be real trouble, and it’s impossible to guard against."

As he spoke, Yu Changsheng’s eyes narrowed, a cold glint building within them.

"I see." Yu Changao nodded, his expression thoughtful as he put the pieces together. "Are you saying they were sent by the Tang Family?"

"Yes." Yu Changsheng nodded, his expression unreadable.

"As far as I know, the Tang Family has three Foundation Establishment Cultivators in total, including the Patriarch, Tang He. Tang He is at Mid-stage Foundation Establishment, while the other two are at the early stage. You just killed one, so that leaves two... That shouldn’t be a problem, right?"

Yu Changao sounded worried. After all, the gap between Mid-stage and Early-stage Foundation Establishment was immense. This was especially true for Tang He, who was rumored to have reached the Foundation Establishment Fifth Layer, making his combat strength unfathomable.

"It matters not. I’ll just kill them."

Yu Changsheng wasn’t concerned. ’If the Tang Family had thrown everything they had at me from the start,’ he thought, ’I really would have had to lay low for a while.’

’But now, with only Tang He and one early-stage Cultivator left, what was there to fear?’

’I’ll just kill them...’

Yu Changao took a deep breath, his eyes shining. He couldn’t help but be stirred by the sheer heroic spirit in those words.

He looked at Yu Changsheng, his heart filled with even greater admiration. Now he finally understood how Yu Changsheng had managed to reach such heights.

’So this is his mindset...’

Yu Changao muttered to himself. After letting out a breath, he thought for a moment and asked,

"In that case, what’s our next move? Red Lake Mountain is massive, so finding traces of the Cyan Luo Beast won’t be easy. Should we split up to cover more ground faster?"

His reasoning was simple: two people searching separately could cover a larger area and do so much more quickly than one.

"No need."

Yu Changsheng shook his head. He glanced around and extended his Divine Sense, confirming that no one was following them. He then blasted a cave into the mountainside, walked inside, and used the displaced rubble to seal the entrance, erasing all traces to camouflage their location.

"Stand watch for me."

After giving the instruction, Yu Changsheng sat down cross-legged. He slowly regulated his breathing, his mind sinking into a state of clear emptiness.

"Alright."

Yu Changao nodded. Although he wasn’t sure what Yu Changsheng intended to do, he roused his spirits and stood guard nearby.

Meanwhile, Yu Changsheng slowly closed his eyes. His breathing grew steady and rhythmic, his mind became clear and empty, and all signs of his qi and blood vanished. The Ten Thousand Spirits Technique began to slowly circulate within him. Streams of invisible energy began to surge toward him from all directions...