Chapter 264: Beating the Beast Taming Method

The spirit beasts in the Beast Hall are all tamed by beast tamers outside and brought back. Even if they aren't strictly personal property, they are treated as such. Some beast tamers feel as strongly about their spirit beasts as they do about their wives. For this guy to ask to borrow an already-tamed beast was like asking to "borrow" someone's wife for fun. Everyone stared at him as if he were an idiot.

Miss Mo Yu was so enraged she almost died on the spot.

Borrow a tamed beast to train? What was he thinking?

Taming a wild, untamed beast is completely different from taming one that already has an owner. The difficulty of training the latter would increase many times over.

Although the Azure Eagle Beast was only partially tamed, it had been with her for seven or eight days. She had promised it many strict conditions, and they had spent every day together, forming a deep bond. Its loyalty level had already reached 30, not far from the 31 required for complete taming.

Furthermore, this Azure Eagle Beast was notoriously proud and disliked human company. Her success in taming it had largely been due to a stroke of luck. Yet, facing such a creature, this young man actually said he wanted to borrow it to train... Did he think this was a game?

The intense frustration made her feel like tearing her hair out. She had just been astonished by his incredibly solid grasp of basic knowledge, thinking him a beast-taming genius, but then he opened his mouth and uttered something completely amateurish.

Borrow a beast? What was he talking about? She'd never heard of anyone "borrowing" a spirit beast before! It was as absurd as borrowing someone's wife to play with!

Her eyes narrowed, and she let out a cold laugh. Just as she was about to teach him a lesson and tell him to stop dreaming, Zhu Jinhuang approached her and spoke in a low voice.

"Miss Mo Yu," he said, "I don't think there's any harm in lending him the Azure Eagle Beast to tame!"

"What did you say?" Her eyes narrowed as she looked at him, as if any wrong answer would cause her to immediately erupt in anger.

Zhu Jinhuang sneered. "You've already tamed the Azure Eagle Beast, and its loyalty is at 30. It's absolutely impossible for him to tame it! Isn't this guy arrogant and smug? Let him try. Once he fails, we'll see what face he has left to keep up his act!"

"Exactly," Zhou Xuan added. "A beast that already has an owner is almost impossible to re-tame, even for a two-star peak beast tamer like Hall Master Feng. This guy isn't even a beast tamer, yet he's spouting such nonsense. What a joke!"

"This..." Miss Mo Yu hesitated upon hearing their words, then nodded.

They were right. It was almost impossible for someone else to tame a beast that had already recognized an owner. Since this guy didn't know what was good for him, letting him make a fool of himself was no big deal.

With that thought, she let out a cold hmph and looked over. "You want to borrow it? My Azure Eagle Beast is right here. If you can tame it, it's yours."

"Really?" Zhang Xuan had only said it casually, not expecting her to agree. His eyes lit up, and he turned to Hall Master Feng and the others. "If I tame this Azure Eagle Beast, does that count as passing?"

"This... yes, that would count as passing!" Hall Master Feng and the others nodded, their faces filled with confusion.

Just moments ago, this guy had shown quick wit and profound knowledge when answering basic questions, so why did he suddenly seem to know nothing about beast taming? The Azure Eagle Beast looked at Miss Mo Yu with deep affection; it was clear that complete taming was just a matter of time. For him to try and tame it... wasn't that just asking for trouble? It would likely take more time than finding a wild beast.

"That's good!" After half a day of rest, Zhang Xuan's physical and mental state had largely recovered. He smiled and took a few steps towards the Azure Eagle Beast.

"Little Eagle, your master has lent you to me. Hurry up and submit!"

"Chirp!" As a spirit beast that had reached the Tongxuan realm, it could already understand human speech. Hearing this, the Azure Eagle Beast immediately flew into a rage.

This was a blatant provocation! Others brought delicious food, fun items, and treasures when taming beasts. But this guy? He just strolled over, empty-handed and with a casual shrug. And the most crucial thing was... what kind of attitude was that? As if its submission was a blessing accumulated over several lifetimes... Bah!

In an instant, the enraged Azure Eagle Beast violently flapped its massive wings, striking out at Zhang Xuan. *Whoosh!* The wind howled fiercely. Its hard wings and feathers combined, slicing through the air like sharp blades, producing a mournful wail.

This creature was a Tongxuan realm spirit beast, with battle power superior to ordinary Tongxuan realm experts. Where its wings swept, the air seemed to be sliced apart. Everyone's expression changed, and they involuntarily retreated. Even a mere gust of wind generated by it, let alone a direct attack, was more than any Pixue realm individual could withstand.

As the crowd retreated, Zhang Xuan remained calm, showing no tension. He swayed slightly, reappearing seven or eight meters away, just out of reach of the attack.

*Crack!* The hard bluestone ground, struck by the wing, developed a crack over ten meters long. These bluestones had been specially purchased by the Beast Hall from White Jade City at great expense and were incredibly hard. Even a peak Pixue realm expert smashing them with a fist might not leave a mark, yet the Azure Eagle Beast's casual sweep created such a massive crack, demonstrating its immense power.

"So strong..." Yun Tao and the others all turned pale. If it had been them, they would surely have been too slow to dodge and would have been instantly crushed to death.

"If you attack again, I won't be so polite!" Unlike the panic of the onlookers, Zhang Xuan frowned, showing a hint of displeasure.

"Chirp!" Hearing this and seeing his expression, the Azure Eagle Beast became even more enraged. It flapped its wings, soared into the air, and raised its talons, slashing downwards.

The Azure Eagle Beast had only two formidable moves: first, a horizontal wing sweep, and second, a steel-talon rend. The second move was clearly more powerful than the first. Delivered from above and carrying the force of its flight, it could even cause a half-step Zongshi realm expert, if unprepared, to suffer heavy losses.

"He's just asking for it, letting him show off!" "He dared to provoke an Azure Eagle Beast; he deserves whatever he gets!" Seeing this, Zhu Jinhuang, Zhou Xuan, and the others sneered. The Azure Eagle Beast's mighty attack was something even their strongest guards couldn't withstand. He didn't believe this young man, who looked to be under twenty, could possibly stand up to it.

"Once caught, even without tearing, he'd be skinned alive!" "The Azure Eagle Beast is incredibly powerful. With this move, it can exert over 500 ding of force, comparable to a half-step Zongshi. The only way to survive is to dodge!"

No one else had expected the young man to provoke such hostility, making the Azure Eagle Beast unleash its most powerful steel-talon rend after just two sentences. They all watched nervously. There were countless instances of beast tamers failing to tame spirit beasts and being killed by them. However, no one had ever heard of a candidate being killed by a spirit beast during a beast tamer's examination at the Beast Hall.

Just as everyone was counting Zhang Xuan out, his calm voice rang out again. "Since you don't know what's good for you, then I won't hold back!"

As he spoke, he didn't dodge. Instead, he clenched his fist and directly met the beast's talons.

"Huh?" Everyone shivered. The Azure Eagle Beast's talons could easily crush steel, yet he was meeting them directly with his bare fist...

Before their shock could subside, his fist and the talons collided. Everyone expected his hand bones to shatter and him to be severely injured. Instead, the arrogant Azure Eagle Beast, descending from the sky, let out a shriek. It seemed to have been struck by a mountain, losing control of its direction, and plunged from the air. It crashed heavily onto the ground, its steel-ripping talons twisted into a knot.

"Huh?" The others gasped again. It was the same exclamation, but the first "huh" was from fear, and the second was from shock. Their emotions were like a rollercoaster; the excitement they had just experienced was greater than when they captured spirit beasts.

"Weren't you very arrogant just now?" However... before their shock could fade, Zhang Xuan, who had just punched the Azure Eagle Beast out of the sky, was already in front of it, delivering a kick.

Before the Azure Eagle Beast could react, it was sent flying sideways, crashing heavily into a pillar in the room and convulsing. The force of his kick definitely exceeded 600 ding. Even with its strong defense, the beast couldn't resist it at all.

"You dared to attack me? You must have a death wish!" Unsatisfied with one kick, Zhang Xuan stepped forward and delivered another.

The Azure Eagle Beast flew backward again, no longer looking as proud and imposing as before. Instead, it resembled a drenched chicken. If not for a spirit beast's strong defense, those two blows would have been nearly fatal.

"Stop!" Miss Mo Yu's pretty face flushed with anger. This was her spirit beast. If he couldn't tame it, he shouldn't try. If he kept hitting it like this, it might be crippled even if it survived. She didn't want the beast she had worked so hard to tame to die here.

"Don't worry, Miss Mo Yu," Yun Tao quickly said as he approached. "This should be Senior Zhang Xuan's 'Beating Beast-Taming Method'!"

"Beating Beast-Taming Method?"

"I named it myself," Yun Tao replied, his eyes filled with admiration. "Every time Senior Zhang Xuan tames a beast, he gives it a good beating. It seems this time is no exception! As expected of Senior Zhang Xuan, his beast-taming methods are truly extraordinary! This is one of the most difficult Tongxuan realm spirit beasts to tame. Others bring delicious food and valuable medicines to win it over, but you just beat it without mercy... You can't help but admire him!"

"Can that really tame it? I'm afraid it'll only make the Azure Eagle Beast more resentful!" Miss Mo Yu narrowed her eyes. She had read almost all the books in the library and had never heard of a "Beating Beast-Taming Method"! Doing this would only make a spirit beast more hateful; how could it possibly be tamed?

"The Azure Eagle Beast is one of the more prominent flying spirit beasts, known for its untamed and proud nature. Treating it as an equal might earn you a second glance, but trying to tame it by savagely beating it is no different from dreaming..." Miss Mo Yu flicked her sleeve and hmphed. Before she could finish speaking, her body suddenly stiffened, and her eyes widened. "Huh? This... what's happening?"

The Azure Eagle Beast, which had just been fiercely hostile towards Zhang Xuan, struggled to its feet. With an ingratiating expression, it nudged its head against him, like a pug, its eyes full of fawning adoration. It was... the spirit beast's voluntary submission!