Immortal through Beast Taming-Chapter 536 - 105: A Motley Crew of Demons
Two months later.
The much-anticipated Beast Taming Competition finally began.
The scene atop the Beast Taming Mountain was bustling with excitement.
All cultivators were waiting for a figure, none other than Lin Jing, who left countless legends in the Celestial Essence Continent a hundred years ago.
Although a hundred years had passed, Lin Jing remained at the Divinity Transformation stage, but none of the visitors dared to underestimate him.
A total of forty-one people participated in this Beast Taming Competition.
A rather impressive number.
After all, the entry threshold required at least Nascent Soul cultivation; only those at the Nascent Soul level could enter the Origin Realm.
Among these forty-one, twenty-four were from the Beast Taming Sect, while the remaining seventeen came from other factions.
These included participants from academies, sword sects, and Buddhist factions, essentially all streams of power had their own Beast Masters.
As for the Beast Taming Technique, it wasn’t a strictly confidential cultivation technique; after all, it was just the core technique of a third-rate sect previously guarded by a Nascent Soul cultivator, and it had long been widely leaked.
It’s worth mentioning that among these forty-one participants, there were as many as sixteen cultivators at the Divinity Transformation stage, which was quite formidable.
"The Beast Taming Dao is thriving," when Lin Jing arrived, Sect Leader Xu Xiaoyao, who was at the Void Profound stage, and Xu Qingyao, also at the Void Profound stage, gave him full respect, standing by his side with him as the focal point.
"Greetings, Supreme Elder!" At this moment, the elders and disciples of the Beast Taming Sect had completely changed their form of address for Lin Jing; given Lin Jing’s current cultivation and strength, he could claim the title of Saint Heir if he wished, and even the sect leader dared not call him otherwise.
Outside didn’t know this, but as Xu Qingyao’s adoptive father, Sect Leader Xu Xiaoyao understood well that Lin Jing now had the strength to annihilate those at the Asking stage.
Such strength, even though Lin Jing wasn’t of a high seniority, meant that within the Beast Taming Sect, only the never-had position of Supreme Elder suited him.
"Elder Lin, the contestants are all present," Sect Leader Xu informed, and Lin Jing nodded, spotting an unexpected figure among the participants.
He saw Yu Xun’Er and fell into deep thought. Why has she also come without consulting with me?
Lin Jing sensed that the Beast Taming Sect was being watched by many powerful beings, including Demon Emperors, Heaven-Reaching Tower Masters, Island Masters, and even the distant Second Ancient Emperor joining in the spectacle. He shook his head, wondering if Yu Xun’Er wasn’t afraid of exposure.
She must have a way to conceal herself.
No matter.
"In this Beast Taming Competition, we need to select eight people to enter the Origin Realm with me."
"To save time, I propose a tournament to determine the slots."
"I will use my judgment to pick eight whom I find relatively strong."
"These eight will stand on eight platforms, and the remaining thirty-three can challenge them. The winners will stay, the losers will withdraw, and ultimately, the eight remaining will accompany me to the Origin Realm."
After Lin Jing spoke, an Earth Attribute Demon Emperor Elder from the Beast Taming Sect immediately erected eight platforms atop eight peaks, grinning at Lin Jing.
"You, you, you..."
On the other side, under Lin Jing’s selection, the chosen eight flew to different mountain peaks.
The eight were Longevity Body Gu Qianqiu, Qiankun Immortal Body Wang Che, Longevity Body Yu Xun’Er, Thunder Fire Divine Body Qin Lei, Four Seasons Divine Body Fang Baihua, Twin Bodies Jiang Family siblings, Postnatal Demon God Body Zhang Mingren.
Lin Jing felt somewhat helpless; after all this, only Wang Che was an outsider, and even then, not entirely, as they had greeted each other beforehand as classmates.
Among the contestants, there were sixteen Divinity Transformation cultivators, and it wasn’t uncommon for those at the Nascent Soul stage to have pet beasts at the Divinity Transformation stage.
After Lin Jing selected what he thought were the strongest eight, some Divinity Transformation cultivators, though outwardly unchanged, clearly felt somewhat unconvinced inside.
However, they only objected to some of the selected; towards prodigies like "Qiankun Immortal Body Wang Che," they were very wary.
Why was this Immortal Body also mingling here?
Absolutely not to be challenged.
It’s said this guy has even defeated early-stage Void Profound.
"Let the challenges begin." As Lin Jing spoke, a Divinity Transformation prodigy immediately rose, in monk attire, looking at the unfamiliar Yu Xun’Er, saying, "This benefactor... may I seek your guidance?"
Secretly, Dao Hui, Buddha Son and other high-level Buddhist figures were observing. This monk was a Buddhist prodigy, midway through transitioning to the Beast Taming Dao, having contracted multiple Buddhist Holy Beasts, making his strength quite formidable. Yet Lin Jing did not favor him?
Perhaps not enough money sent, the Buddha Lord sighed.
A Divine Lion, White Elephant, Peacock, and Holy Pig, four full-fledged Demon Emperors serving under this Beast Taming monk, revealed the strong foundation that Buddhism vested in this cultivator.
However.
This unknown Yu Xun’Er immediately stunned everyone by summoning a clone identical to herself. This clone casually swatted down all four Holy Beasts and the monk himself from the mountain, turning them into pancakes.
"Contracting a clone as a pet beast shouldn’t violate the rules, right?" she spoke softly, astonishing the spectators, including the awe-struck Beast Taming Sect prodigies and elders.
"Who is this girl!" wondered the Second Ancient Emperor, secretly spying and sensing from Yu Xun’Er a familiar aura, yet unable to further perceive it.
"A contracted clone? Can the Beast Taming Technique achieve this?" The accompanying Buddhist mighty were baffled, wondering if this was truly within the Beast Taming Technique’s capabilities. Furthermore, even if plausible, how could this clone be so powerful?
Beside, Immortal Body Wang Che in disbelief thought, could the Beast Taming Technique be this playable? He had believed that after the Second Ancient Emperor improved it, contracting a Luck True Dragon was miraculous enough... but contracting a clone, how was it done?
Everyone gazed at Lin Jing.
"It doesn’t violate; it’s indeed the Beast Taming Technique," Lin Jing remarked casually, "The match continues."
Yu Xun’Er’s case appeared too unorthodox; those from the Cloud Sea Mountain Range’s Witch God Sect dared not challenge her. Initially, they planned to challenge the also non-Beast Taming Sect member Gu Qianqiu, out of respect for the sect, but seeing the monk’s precedent, decided against challenging such unknown figures.
Better to choose cautiously.
Having prepared thoroughly for this Beast Taming Competition, they rigorously investigated the sect’s prodigies, avoiding strong contenders like Thunder Fire Divine Body Qin Lei, Four Seasons Divine Body Fang Baihua, both with formidable constitutions and powerful pet beasts as Lin Jing’s, making them heavily groomed by the sect.
Twin Bodies Jiang Lin and Jiang Qi, although individually weaker, inherited Lin Jing’s Ice Soul Worms, best not to provoke. Rumor has it, during the Ancient Country era, they followed Lin Jing for some time, making their backgrounds potent.
After multiple considerations, Postnatal Demon God Body Zhang Mingren seemed the least formidable.
"Fight!" they charged at Zhang Mingren.
"Actually, it doesn’t matter who you choose," Lin Jing mused, noting the Witch God Sect Beast Taming cultivators allied with the Cloud Sea Ten Fierce were quite commendable. However, his chosen eight were like a dance of demons; even the seemingly most harmless postnatal constitution was, in fact, carefully cultivated by an otherworldly Asking Demon Emperor... An Asking Demon Emperor who could fail to secrete into the Immortal Realm and still survive couldn’t possibly lack distinct skills.
