I'm Just a Beast Tamer

"This is Bone Spirit Cold Fire. It’s a very rare type of Spirit Fire, formed from the bones of a powerful expert that have been bathed in moonlight for a thousand years after death."

"Unfortunately, the skeleton that gave rise to this Bone Spirit Cold Fire was a bit too weak, which is why this Spirit Fire is only Tier 2."

"Bone Spirit Cold Fire leans toward yin and cold, and has miraculous effects in dispelling poisons. However, it’s not suitable for Artifact Refining, and there are no physicians in the sect with this need, which is why it has been stored in the Sect Treasure Vault all this time."

"See if it’s suitable for you. If not, we’ll just have to wait a while longer."

"In a little while, the sect should be able to harvest a few wisps of Earth Core Flowing Fire."

Yan Bocheng took out a jade bottle. After he opened it, a pale white, ethereal flame that gave off a cold, sinister feeling floated out.

"It’s perfect! Thank you, Elder Yan!"

Joy filled Jiang Zuo’s heart. He hadn’t expected to receive a Tier 2 Spirit Fire.

Tier 1 and Tier 2 Spirit Fires are the most common; anything Tier 3 or higher is exceptionally rare.

Jiang Zuo was already quite satisfied to be getting his hands on a Tier 2 Spirit Fire.

He hadn’t specified a tier, but who would refuse a higher one?

"I’ll give you these two Golden Larks as well."

Yan Bocheng then handed a Beast Bag to Jiang Zuo.

Jiang Zuo opened it to find two small, featherless birds inside. He had no idea what they would look like once they were grown.

Once released, the two little Golden Larks immediately started chirping, stumbling toward Jiang Zuo.

’This boy’s Beast Taming Talent is terrifying! It’s even this effective on birds that were only born a few days ago!’

Watching this scene, Yan Bocheng couldn’t help but marvel inwardly. His confidence that Jiang Zuo could figure out a way to tame the Golden Larks grew.

Yan Bocheng assumed Luo Taidong had already laid out Jiang Zuo’s Cultivation path before leaving, so he didn’t ask what Jiang Zuo planned to cultivate with the Bone Spirit Cold Fire.

He simply instructed Jiang Zuo to be careful during his Cultivation, warning him not to be rash and injure himself, and then departed.

Yan Bocheng also left behind a large bag of the Golden Larks’ usual food. After finding out what they liked to eat most, Jiang Zuo released Xiaoqing and Great Black, letting them look after the two little ones.

The Spiritual Qi on Taihao Peak was rich. Cultivating out in the open here was more effective than in the Spirit Garden.

Then, Jiang Zuo began refining and absorbing the Bone Spirit Cold Fire.

For a Cultivator at the Qi Cultivation Stage, refining and absorbing a Tier 2 Spirit Fire was normally an extremely difficult feat, even with the corresponding absorption method provided by the Nine Flames Reincarnation Technique.

This was because refining a Spirit Fire consumed a massive amount of Spiritual Power.

Spirit Fires, however, possess the ability to regenerate. As long as they aren’t extinguished, they can slowly draw upon the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi to recover what they’ve lost.

If one’s Spiritual Power was insufficient to refine it quickly, the process could take an incredibly long time.

Worse, if any accident interrupted the process, one would have to start all over from the beginning.

This was where Jiang Zuo’s immense, unparalleled Spiritual Power came into play. With a ceaseless supply of Spiritual Power fueling the refinement, the Nine Flames Reincarnation Technique completely absorbed the Bone Spirit Cold Fire in just one month.

Now, when Jiang Zuo circulated the Nine Flames Reincarnation Technique, a faint wheel of fire appeared behind him. The brightest wisp among them had become the pale white, ethereal flame—the Bone Spirit Cold Fire.

The Cultivation speed of his Nine Flames Reincarnation Technique skyrocketed as a result.

’Excellent! It seems the speed of the Nine Flames Reincarnation Technique is related to the number of Spirit Fires absorbed. If I absorb a few more, my Cultivation speed will be even faster!’

Jiang Zuo felt invigorated.

He recalled what Yan Bocheng had said.

In a little while, the sect would be able to obtain a few wisps of Earth Core Flowing Fire.

’That means the chances of a Spirit Fire being offered as a reward in the upcoming sect competition have increased dramatically.’

Jiang Zuo resumed his normal Cultivation routine.

The Spirit Beasts he was currently taming were two Golden Larks and two Cloud Rock Eagles.

In order to observe the Golden Larks, Jiang Zuo inevitably had to spend more time on Beast Taming.

On top of that, Jiang Zuo also had to cultivate Tier 1 Magic in preparation for transferring it to Xiaoqing.

As a result, he had even less time for his own Cultivation, and its speed dropped accordingly.

’I can have my Blood Qi Avatar handle observing the Golden Larks.’

Jiang Zuo quickly came up with a solution.

He possessed Divine Sense, so multitasking wasn’t an issue.

The Cultivation Techniques he was currently practicing didn’t require Divine Sense anyway.

When Jiang Zuo began practicing Magic, he discovered his learning speed was far beyond his expectations.

Originally, Jiang Zuo had planned to transfer the magic to Xiaoqing after reaching a basic level of proficiency, letting it make do with that.

But when he realized he could reach the Perfection stage in just three or four months by practicing only in his spare time, Jiang Zuo decided to wait and transfer it only after he’d mastered it completely.

Generally, Magic proficiency was divided into three stages: Minor Achievement, Great Success, and Perfection.

Reaching Minor Achievement revealed its initial power. At Great Success, its power increased significantly. And at Perfection, the magic’s power would multiply, with some powerful spells even gaining special effects.

For most Cultivators, simply reaching the Minor Achievement stage was a sign of talent. Reaching Great Success required an enormous amount of time.

As for reaching Perfection, even for a Tier 1 spell, it would take decades of practice on top of natural talent.

It was undoubtedly a thankless endeavor. With that much effort, one would be better off practicing a higher-tier spell.

After all, even a Tier 1 spell with multiplied power couldn’t compare to a Tier 2 spell.

’In terms of a single-element Spirit Body, I felt like its effectiveness was reduced by seventy percent. But my current speed of practicing magic doesn’t feel like I only have thirty percent of a Spirit Body’s effect. It’s just too fast.’

’Could this be because of the Five Elements Spirit Body?’

Jiang Zuo couldn’t help but wonder.

He had learned much about the common sense of Cultivation in the Scripture Pavilion, so he knew that his current speed of practicing magic had reached a world-shocking level.

Even the legendary Spirit Bodies couldn’t compare to him.

Unable to figure it out, and being one who was never inclined to overthink things, Jiang Zuo simply buried his head in his Cultivation.

「Three and a half months later.」

Jiang Zuo had cultivated the Tier 1 spell, Water Lock Chain, to the Perfection realm.

’Ability Transfer!’

Jiang Zuo called Xiaoqing over and used his ability transfer skill on it.

Several skill options immediately appeared before his eyes.

Jiang Zuo chose Water Lock Chain, and his head spun for a moment.

His lifespan was reduced by a hundred years, but that was a trivial price to pay.

Jiang Zuo was amazed to discover that he could no longer use the Water Lock Chain he had just perfected. The ability was completely gone.

Meanwhile, Xiaoqing happily opened its mouth, and a pale blue Water Lock Chain materialized out of thin air.

’This Venus Fish clan’s talent is really something else!’

Jiang Zuo couldn’t help but marvel.

After being transferred to Xiaoqing, the Water Lock Chain was still at the Perfection level; its power hadn’t been diminished in the slightest.

Jiang Zuo tried practicing Water Lock Chain again and found that he could, in fact, relearn it.

However, it was as if he had never practiced it before. His learning speed was the same as the first time, as though he had never even encountered the Water Lock Chain.

Having gained a basic understanding of what happened after an ability transfer, Jiang Zuo moved on to practicing other Tier 1 spells.

Jiang Zuo had three more spells planned for Xiaoqing: Water Arrow, Earth Spike, and Dust Mist.

Water Lock Chain was a binding spell, while Water Arrow and Earth Spike were for attacking.

Dust Mist, on the other hand, was for confusing opponents and onlookers.

When necessary, Jiang Zuo could pull some tricks under the cover of the Dust Mist.

「In the blink of an eye, another year passed.」

Jiang Zuo had since cultivated Water Arrow, Earth Spike, and Dust Mist to Perfection, transferring each one to Xiaoqing in turn.

Originally, Xiaoqing only knew how to use Cyan Light and a Cyan Spirit Shield.

Now, with four new spells, Xiaoqing’s combat options had greatly expanded.

Great Black watched with envy. Even though it was a Tier 2 Spirit Beast, it could still only use a single, pitiful fire-breathing spell.

However, Jiang Zuo had no time to deal with it, telling it to wait until he was free.

The two Golden Larks, having been raised by Jiang Zuo for over a year, had now grown into nimble little birds with strands of faint golden feathers.

They, along with the two Cloud Rock Eagles, had been raised by Xiaoqing and Great Black, and spent their days flitting about them.

After more than a year of taming and observation, Jiang Zuo felt he finally had a handle on how to raise Golden Larks.

Not one to waste time, Jiang Zuo immediately began setting aside time to write down his method for raising Golden Larks.

He wrote a little each day, planning to observe them for another half-year. Once he had figured everything out completely, he would make some slight revisions, and the mission would be complete.

「Another half-year passed.」

Jiang Zuo received a message from Cao Guangshan. It said that in six months, at the sect’s decennial grand competition, both the Dao Foundation Realm tournament and the Divine Body Realm tournament would feature a wisp of Earth Core Flowing Fire as a prize.

The difference was that the prize for the Dao Foundation Realm was a Tier 2 Earth Core Flowing Fire, while the Divine Body Realm’s was Tier 3.

’Just as I thought!’

Jiang Zuo wasn’t surprised by the news; he had suspected as much over a year ago.

’I need to finish writing the Golden Lark Taming Technique as soon as possible, then focus all my energy on preparing for the sect competition!’

Jiang Zuo made up his mind.

Fortunately, Jiang Zuo had recently grown accustomed to using his Blood Qi Avatar for daily chores. He tasked it with writing the Taming Technique.

Otherwise, his Cultivation speed would have inevitably slowed to a crawl.

’Finally, it’s finished!’

A little over two months later, Jiang Zuo flipped through the completed *Gold Threaded Lark Breeding Method*, feeling very satisfied.

Compared to the Cloud Rock Eagles, the Golden Larks were far more complex and difficult to tame.

The biggest challenge with Golden Larks was that they never truly became tame.

If Jiang Zuo raised them himself, he wouldn’t need to worry about this.

But for ordinary people to be able to raise them, this problem had to be solved.

And Jiang Zuo had devised a solution.

The solution was to raise the Golden Larks from birth in a vast space that had been completely emptied of Spiritual Qi.

Then, all their favorite food had to be "baptized" with the breeder’s own pure Spiritual Power.

Golden Larks are extremely sensitive to things like auras. After being fed this way for over half a year from birth, they would become completely familiar with their breeder’s aura. They would come to believe that the Spiritual Power from this aura was beneficial and could be trusted.

This way, barring any accidents, the Golden Larks would no longer fly away.

Of course, if someone other than the breeder tried to take and use the Golden Lark, the problem would persist.

But that wasn’t Jiang Zuo’s problem, nor did he have a solution for it.

If that problem could be solved, the Golden Larks would lose their innate ability to sense danger.

"So soon?"

Jiang Zuo delivered the Golden Lark’s Taming Technique to Yan Bocheng.

Yan Bocheng was both shocked and delighted to receive it.