I'm Just a Beast Tamer

Jiang Zuo was already famous for his Beast Taming Talent, and quite a few people had long wanted to see him in person.

This time, Jiang Zuo was also participating in the Ten-Year Competition as a mere Level 3 Qi Cultivation disciple, which made even more people curious.

Everyone wanted to know how he could possibly win once he got on stage.

After all, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who would knowingly step onto the stage just to be embarrassed.

Especially someone with his reputation.

So, before the match began, a considerable number of Inner and Outer Disciples had gathered around Arena 15.

But before many of them could even get a clear look at Jiang Zuo, the match was already decided.

"Zong Tianpei is out of the ring! Zhou Yong wins!"

Liu Zhonggang announced in a loud voice, glancing at Jiang Zuo.

’A late-stage Tier 2 Spirit Beast. No wonder he dared to register for the competition.’

The grand competition certainly didn’t prohibit the use of Spirit Beasts. Being able to command a Spirit Beast was a skill in itself.

The Black Tortoise Dao Sect’s rules stipulated that Spirit Beasts could only be summoned after a match began, which already limited their effectiveness to some extent.

At the edge of the ring, an Inner Sect Disciple noticed the faint smile on Song Chongming’s lips. His eyes darted about for a moment before he spoke up.

"Song, how exactly did Junior Brother Zhou win? I hope you can enlighten us!"

Song Chongming glanced at the Inner Sect Disciple. ’This one is teachable,’ he thought.

"A Spirit Beast,"

Song Chongming said with a faint smile.

Song Chongming’s Cultivation was at the eighth level of the Dao Foundation, and he was one of the sixteen seeded contestants.

As soon as he spoke, the surrounding disciples had a sudden realization.

"So that’s how it was! No wonder!"

"He intentionally cast the Dust Mist to lull his opponent into a false sense of security, then used his Spirit Beast to attack while his opponent was off guard, knocking him out of the ring in one fell swoop!"

"But his opponent was at the sixth level of the Dao Foundation. A Tier 1 Spirit Beast couldn’t have done that, right?"

A wave of discussion broke out, and someone else immediately raised a doubt.

"It was a Tier 2 Spirit Beast!"

The disciples all looked toward Song Chongming, who added this at the perfect moment.

"A Tier 2 Spirit Beast! Junior Brother Zhou is truly worthy of his reputation!"

"I’d long heard that Junior Brother Zhou’s Beast Taming Talent was incredible, but I never expected him to be able to command a Tier 2 Spirit Beast at only Level 3 of Qi Cultivation!"

"You should have seen how Junior Brother Zhou raised his Cloud Rock Eagle. It was truly magnificent!"

Once they knew Jiang Zuo had won with a Tier 2 Spirit Beast, the surrounding disciples understood. A chorus of admiration rose up.

If it had been anyone else, they would surely be suspected of cheating.

But since it was Jiang Zuo on the stage, everyone simply marveled at his remarkable Beast Taming skill.

Before Jiang Zuo’s eyes, notifications for gaining Beast Taming Reputation began to appear, one after another, for the first time in a long while.

Not only that, but Jiang Zuo also noticed that the Beast Taming Reputation wasn’t increasing by one point at a time. Each notification granted at least five points, with some giving as many as ten.

’Gaining recognition from other Cultivators increases my Beast Taming Reputation by so much!’

Jiang Zuo’s spirits lifted.

Meanwhile, when Zong Tianpei learned he had actually lost to Jiang Zuo’s Spirit Beast, his expression darkened.

He never would have imagined that someone at Level 3 of Qi Cultivation could command a Tier 2 Spirit Beast.

However, he quickly regained his composure.

’Since I lost in the ring, I’ll just have to find another opportunity to make my move.’

The first round was completed in the morning. The second round would begin in the afternoon.

And after the second round, there would be a short break before the third round began immediately.

In other words, the preliminary matches for the Dao Foundation realm would be finished within a single day.

That afternoon, it was soon Jiang Zuo’s turn to enter the ring again.

Arena 15 was now surrounded by a crowd so dense it was impossible to get through.

"Do you all think Junior Brother Zhou can win again this time?"

"No way, right? His opponent in the second round is a senior brother at the seventh level of the Dao Foundation."

"He can’t win! This morning, Junior Brother Zhou only won because he caught his opponent off guard."

"Now that everyone knows he relies on his Spirit Beast, his opponent will definitely be prepared."

"No matter how strong Junior Brother Zhou’s Spirit Beast is, his own Cultivation is too low. All his opponent has to do is bypass the beast and attack him directly, and it’s over."

The disciples around the ring were all discussing animatedly.

Someone analyzed Jiang Zuo’s situation, and the surrounding disciples listened and nodded in agreement.

Junior Brother Zhou’s low Cultivation was his greatest weakness in the competition, and there was no effective way to counter it.

Even if he had some defensive measures, they could only delay the inevitable.

Cao Guangshan was in the crowd, listening to everyone’s analysis.

He immediately had Nie Qiuling quietly go to the Zhuang Family and place another bet on Jiang Zuo to win.

After Jiang Zuo won the first round, he and Nie Qiuling had won nearly five thousand low-grade Spirit Stones. Even if Jiang Zuo really lost in the second round, they wouldn’t take a loss.

"Begin!"

With Liu Zhonggang’s shout, the second-round match began.

This time, Jiang Zuo didn’t cast the Dust Mist Technique. He directly summoned Xiaoqing from his Beast Bag.

"So it’s a Spirit Turtle!"

"A late-stage Tier 2 Spirit Turtle! No wonder the last disciple was defeated in a single move!"

"Look, that senior brother is bypassing the Spirit Turtle and attacking Junior Brother Zhou directly!"

Just as everyone had predicted, Jiang Zuo’s opponent on the stage bypassed Xiaoqing and attacked Jiang Zuo directly.

Three fireballs shot toward Jiang Zuo from different directions.

𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"Shield!"

Jiang Zuo shouted.

Xiaoqing immediately enveloped Jiang Zuo in a Spirit Shield.

And then... the three fireballs slammed into the azure Spirit Shield but failed to cause the slightest ripple. Jiang Zuo was completely unharmed by the attack.

Just as the disciples were thinking that while the Spirit Turtle’s shield was strong, it surely wouldn’t last long under continuous assault...

They quickly discovered they were wrong. Dead wrong.

The senior brother at the seventh level of the Dao Foundation had to expend a great deal of effort to finally make the little azure shield waver.

Just as the Spirit Shield was about to break, the Spirit Turtle immediately replaced it with a brand new one.

And so, Jiang Zuo just hid behind the Spirit Shield, directing his Spirit Turtle to attack.

That senior brother was very experienced in combat. The Spirit Turtle’s reactions were always a bit slow, so it failed to hit him many times.

But in the end, the senior brother was still defeated.

The Spiritual Power in his body was almost completely depleted, leaving him with no choice but to reluctantly admit defeat.

If he hadn’t surrendered, he would have been hit by the Spirit Turtle’s Magic sooner or later.

The spectating disciples were all rendered speechless.

They had never imagined the battle would end like this.

From start to finish, Jiang Zuo hadn’t made a single move himself. He had only commanded his Spirit Turtle.

And just like that, he had worn down a senior brother with far superior Cultivation until his Spiritual Power was exhausted, forcing him to surrender.

Cao Guangshan and Nie Qiuling were grinning from ear to ear. The two of them had truly struck it rich.

Soon, evening arrived, and it was time for Jiang Zuo’s third-round match.

This time, even more people had gathered around the ring.

The story of how Jiang Zuo had won his afternoon match by only commanding his Spirit Beast, without making a single move himself, had spread far and wide.

Many disciples who originally had no interest in Jiang Zuo couldn’t help but rush over to see the spectacle for themselves.

"Junior Brother Zhou, I already have a way to break your little trick. If you don’t want to get hurt, you’d best surrender now!"

On the stage, Jiang Zuo’s opponent this time was another senior brother at the seventh level of the Dao Foundation.

But someone had already figured out a counter to Jiang Zuo’s Turtle Shield tactic.

The method was simple: wield a sharp Magical Artifact.

Instead of consuming Spiritual Power by casting Magic, one could attack with the Magical Artifact. That way, there would be no risk of exhausting one’s Spiritual Power.

On the contrary, Jiang Zuo and his Spirit Turtle would be the ones to have their Spiritual Power depleted quickly.

"Now how will Junior Brother Zhou deal with this?"

Seeing this, the interest of the spectating crowd was piqued.

With Jiang Zuo’s turtle strategy about to be broken, his defeat seemed all but inevitable.

When Cao Guangshan saw this, he wanted to bet on Jiang Zuo to win again.

Unfortunately, the match had already started, and it was too late to place another bet.

After Jiang Zuo won the second round in the afternoon, the odds for his third-round match had dropped extremely low, so Cao Guangshan hadn’t bothered to bet.

In the ring, Jiang Zuo was already engaged in battle with his opponent.

This senior brother had clearly prepared specifically for Jiang Zuo and practiced his strategy.

His movements were fluid and practiced as he fought Jiang Zuo.

Whenever he got close to Jiang Zuo and Xiaoqing, he would unleash a flurry of slashes with his Magical Artifact.

The moment he anticipated an attack from Xiaoqing, he would move to dodge.

Jiang Zuo didn’t want to reveal that he and Xiaoqing could communicate telepathically, so he continued to give verbal commands.

Because of this, nearly all of Xiaoqing’s attacks were dodged.

The one or two attacks that occasionally landed only struck the opponent’s Magic Shield.

The two fought like this for quite some time.

Almost everyone thought Jiang Zuo was going to lose.

The reason was simple: Jiang Zuo’s Spirit Turtle was expending far more energy than his opponent.

In the ring, the senior brother was once again about to shatter the Spirit Shield protecting Jiang Zuo.

"Dust Mist!"

At that moment, however, Jiang Zuo cast the Dust Mist Technique once more.

’Is it the Water Lock Chain next, or the Earth Spike? Or maybe Water Arrow?’

The senior brother sneered. He had anticipated this.

’So it’s the Water Lock Chain! Still trying to catch me, but unfortunately for you...’

Several Water Lock Chains materialized out of thin air within the Dust Mist.

The senior brother shook his head slightly and moved back to dodge.

But before he could even finish his thought, he instinctively sensed more Water Lock Chains appearing right where he was dodging. They instantly wrapped around him.

’What’s going on?’

Before he had time to figure it out, a massive Earth Spike shot up violently from the ground, launching him into the air.

When he landed, he was already outside the ring.

"Junior Brother Zhou won again!"

"What happened inside the Dust Mist?"

No one had expected that a simple Dust Mist would be enough to get the senior brother knocked out of the ring.

"Two sets of Water Lock Chains!"

"I get it! The senior brother on stage was careless. He didn’t expect Junior Brother Zhou to be able to use the Water Lock Chain as well!"

However, it wasn’t long before someone spotted the key detail.

Hearing this, everyone came to a realization.

"But Junior Brother Zhou can also use the Dust Mist Technique. Doesn’t that mean that at only Level 3 of Qi Cultivation, he’s already mastered both the Dust Mist and the Water Lock Chain spells?"

"It seems that in addition to his incredible Beast Taming Talent, Junior Brother Zhou’s talent for Cultivation Techniques is also extremely high!"

...

Jiang Zuo returned to Taihao Peak in high spirits.

The small sum he’d won from the bets was secondary. The greater harvest was, of course, the massive amount of Beast Taming Reputation he had gained.

In just one day, he had obtained more than four thousand Beast Taming Reputation points.

Even now, notifications for five or ten more Beast Taming Reputation points would pop up from time to time.

Hmm?

Jiang Zuo landed. In the instant his Divine Fragment was focused on his Beast Taming Reputation, he abruptly sensed a black light shooting up from the ground.

The black light was so fast that Jiang Zuo had no time to react before it struck his body.

"Die!"

Zong Tianpei said coldly.

Knowing how formidable Jiang Zuo’s Spirit Turtle was, he had come here to lie in ambush and had been waiting for quite some time.

He had received special training, allowing him to completely conceal his aura before striking. It was only at the moment of assassination that it would be revealed.

His assassination was undoubtedly a success, at least in terms of execution.

Jiang Zuo had no time to react and was stabbed squarely in the heart.

The heart was an absolute kill spot.

Unfortunately, Zong Tianpei suddenly discovered that the dagger in his hand felt like it had struck a piece of Indestructible steel.

He looked down in disbelief and saw Jiang Zuo staring back at him, his face completely calm.

His dagger was pressed against Jiang Zuo’s chest, yet he couldn’t see any armor or signs that any Magic had been used.

But the dagger had simply stopped, unable to advance another inch.