Chapter 265: Didn't Pass?

This was the incredibly proud Green Eagle Beast. To tame it, I specifically climbed to the cloud-piercing mountaintop and personally slew a large serpent of the Aperture Opening realm to feed it for dinner. I even found snowmelt to bathe it...

Even so, this creature only agreed to come with her for the examination. It wasn't true submission.

And now, look! It bowed its head after just one beating...

Especially its expression—fawning and ingratiating. What the hell is this?

Mo Yu felt a tightness in her chest. She felt unwell all over.

This was her beast. It had already promised to submit, but now it was lying at someone else's feet, with a completely fawning expression. She was so frustrated she felt like she might suffer internal injuries.

Zhu Jinhuang and Zhou Xuan, who had just been full of confidence, now looked as if they had been slapped. Their faces were distorted, on the verge of tears.

It willingly submitted after one beating?

Were they mistaken?

"You two..."

While they were feeling depressed, they saw Miss Mo Yu's ice-cold face turn towards them. Her teeth gnashed. "You two were the ones who said... he couldn't tame it, weren't you?"

"I..."

Zhu Jinhuang and Zhou Xuan trembled simultaneously.

Just now, they had persuaded Miss Mo to let the Green Eagle Beast out, to let the other party try to tame it. They had thought it would make him look foolish, never in their wildest dreams expecting this outcome.

"Miss Mo, don't worry," Zhu Jinhuang quickly said, his mouth twitching. "I think the Green Eagle Beast was just beaten too hard and panicked, so it's deliberately showing weakness and begging for mercy. It will definitely retaliate later..."

"Yes, yes," Zhou Xuan added. "A beast of the Green Eagle Beast's caliber already possesses its own intelligence. It must have realized it's no match for this guy, so it's feigning weakness first, then it'll look for an opportunity to get revenge..."

However, before they could finish speaking, they heard a commotion from the crowd. They quickly looked over, only to see Zhang Xuan drop a bead of blood into the beast's throat.

The contract process had already been completed.

The Green Eagle Beast, now bound by the contract, lay contentedly in front of Zhang Xuan. Its head constantly rubbed against his clothes, like a lazy cat just fed. It was full of affection for its master.

"This is what you call deliberately begging for mercy and retaliating?"

Miss Mo Yu's face flushed with anger. She kicked out, sending the two men tumbling twice in a row.

Who has ever seen someone deliberately beg for mercy, only to willingly sign a contract?

Who has ever seen a beast seeking revenge wear this expression?

Miss Mo Yu felt her breathing quicken. Her lungs felt like they were about to explode.

Why did she ever trust these two fools and let them give the Green Eagle Beast to him to tame?

Now that the contract was signed, even if she wanted to reverse it, she couldn't.

Her heart was filled with anger, but also profound shock.

How on earth did he do it?

She had carefully watched the entire taming process just now: he provoked the Green Eagle Beast into a rage, then gave it a brutal beating. He stood in front of it and whispered something, then patted it a few times... After that, the Green Eagle Beast's attitude changed. Its previous rage turned into a mixture of fear and excitement. And then... it submitted!

Could it be...

Indeed!

It must have something to do with what he said!

Otherwise, how could its attitude have changed so quickly?

But... what exactly did he say that could make the Green Eagle Beast, which was furious and wanted to kill him, immediately change its attitude?

"See? Didn't I tell you?" Yun Tao laughed heartily. "This is Senior Zhang Xuan's method, the 'Beating Beast Taming Art.' Any beast, once beaten by him, will willingly submit!"

You doubted it just now, didn't you? Now you've seen it with your own eyes!

"He really just gave it a beating, and the Green Eagle Beast submitted..."

"That was Miss Mo Yu's beast! How is that possible?"

"I don't get it either. We've tried beating beasts before, and it always ended in failure. How did it submit after he just gave it a beating?"

Everyone else was also dumbfounded.

Especially the three beast tamers; each felt their heads spinning.

Using brute force on beasts, giving them a severe beating, wasn't unheard of among beast tamers. But... these actions not only failed to gain the beasts' submission, they often provoked extreme rage, leading them to starve themselves to death.

Such failed examples were common everywhere. Not to mention others, even they themselves had experienced them.

Precisely because of this, they hadn't quite believed Yun Tao when he spoke of it earlier. They never expected... it was actually true!

Zhang Xuan gave it a beating, and this beast truly submitted...

Is this still the proud, untamed Green Eagle Beast that soared through the skies?

Why does it look like a poodle now, so pathetically subservient?

Still unable to believe it, they saw Zhang Xuan, who had just finished signing the contract, walk over. "Hall Master Feng, two beast tamers, have I passed the test now?"

"Well..."

Hall Master Feng snapped back to reality. "Ahem, don't be in such a hurry. We need to test its loyalty to know if you've passed!"

Although it appeared the Green Eagle Beast had submitted, they still needed to test it. Firstly, for fairness. Secondly, they wanted to see if the Green Eagle Beast had truly submitted sincerely.

If it wasn't truly sincere, flying at high altitudes could be very dangerous.

"Go ahead and test it!"

Zhang Xuan looked unfazed.

He had absolute confidence in this Green Eagle Beast.

Of course, it wasn't simply that the creature submitted after a beating, as everyone else had perceived. When it attacked him, a book formed in his mind. After reading just one page, Zhang Xuan understood the creature's flaws. He then exploited these flaws. He casually said a few words, and then channeled his purest True Qi into the beast's body, helping to purify its bloodline. With a stick and a carrot, it would have been difficult for it not to submit.

His Heaven's Path True Qi had an immense effect and benefit for beast advancement. It could purify bloodlines in a short time. No beast could refuse it.

It was either be killed, or follow him and improve its strength...

Even the dumbest beast would make the correct choice.

Compared to bloodline advancement and increased strength, so-called delicacies and fawning were utterly insignificant and pathetic.

Beast Tamer Lu brought out the Heart-Questioning Crystal and began testing the Green Eagle Beast before them.

Zhou Xuan and Zhu Jinhuang had also gotten back to their feet and returned to Miss Mo Yu's side.

"Miss Mo Yu, don't worry. What if a contract was signed? The Green Eagle Beast submitted because it was beaten; its loyalty must be very low, 31 at most!"

"If it's only 31," Zhu Jinhuang continued, "Miss's loyalty was 30; it's not impossible to tame it back later!"

The two tried to comfort her.

Although complete taming was more profound than initial taming, the difference between 30 and 31 loyalty wasn't significant. In the future, if they appeased it well and prepared more good things, there was no guarantee the Green Eagle Beast wouldn't turn on him.

While beasts are often said to recognize only one master for life, this ideal isn't always true for beasts themselves. It's said that some powerful beast tamers can make a beast companion turn on its master with just a few words, even if a contract has been signed. There are also powerful beast tamers who can tame other people's beast companions. Besides, hadn't the Green Eagle Beast previously been tamed by Miss Mo Yu? How did it also turn on her? Since it could turn and join this Zhang Xuan, it wasn't impossible for it to turn again and rejoin them.

"31 at most?" Miss Mo Yu's anger had not yet subsided.

"Exactly, how much loyalty can taming achieved through beating yield? Does that even need thinking about...?" Zhu Jinhuang sneered. Before he finished speaking, he felt a tug on his arm.

"What's wrong?" Turning his head, he saw it was Zhou Xuan pulling him.

"Look..." Zhou Xuan's lips trembled.

Looking in the direction Zhou Xuan was pointing, Zhu Jinhuang only needed one glance. The words he wanted to say got stuck in his throat again. He felt like crying.

On the Heart-Questioning Crystal nearby, a line of text slowly appeared.

The Green Eagle Beast's loyalty to Zhang Xuan was displayed: 45!

Complete taming, the highest level...

Silence reigned.

Everyone around them gaped.

In fact, it wasn't just them who thought this way; others also believed that taming the Green Eagle Beast through beating and coercion would result in very low loyalty. But... no one had expected it to directly reach 45!

This was the highest possible loyalty for complete taming. Countless beast tamers, who ate, lived, and spent all their days with their beasts, couldn't achieve this... Yet he achieved it after just one beating...

Everyone felt their worldview had been completely overturned.

"I suppose this means I've passed, then!" Seeing the 45, Zhang Xuan was not surprised. He smiled slightly and looked at Hall Master Feng.

"First stage, theoretical examination: flawlessly completed all questions. Second stage: effortlessly tamed the Green Eagle Beast, and its loyalty reached 45..." Hall Master Feng nodded. "I now announce that Zhang Xuan has passed the examination and is officially a One-Star Beast Tamer!"

Seeing that he had passed the examination, Zhang Xuan nodded in satisfaction.

With the identity of a beast tamer, he could now ride flying beasts for free...

"Wait a moment..."

No sooner had Hall Master Feng's words fallen than a voice called out.

"What is it, Beast Tamer Mo?" Hall Master Feng looked over.

The speaker was indeed Miss Mo Yu, who was standing to the side. She was now a formal beast tamer, so calling her 'Beast Tamer Mo' was a sign of respect.

"I object," Miss Mo Yu said, stepping forward. "I believe he hasn't passed the examination and isn't qualified to become a formal beast tamer!"

"Oh?" Hall Master Feng frowned.

"To qualify as a beast tamer, one must tame a beast stronger than oneself," Miss Mo Yu gave a cold laugh. "Although Zhang Xuan didn't reveal his exact cultivation level just now, his ability to easily defeat the Green Eagle Beast shows that his strength is definitely superior to it. He has likely reached the peak of the Tongxuan realm! In other words... even though he tamed the Green Eagle Beast, he merely tamed a beast weaker than himself. He should not pass!"

"This..." Hearing this, Hall Master Feng hesitated.

It was true.

To pass the beast tamer examination, one had to tame a beast stronger than oneself. Zhou Xuan, Zhu Jinhuang, Yun Tao, and others had all adhered to this rule. As for Zhang Xuan, he had primarily used physical strength in the fight just now, and hadn't revealed his full cultivation. But being able to easily defeat the Green Eagle Beast certainly meant he was stronger than it... According to normal procedures, he wasn't qualified to become a formal beast tamer.

"You're saying... if I tame a beast weaker than myself, I can't become a formal beast tamer?" Zhang Xuan looked over.

"Yes!" Mo Yu coldly snorted.

"Then what if... this Green Eagle Beast wasn't of the Tongxuan realm, but Half-Grandmaster realm?" Zhang Xuan asked. "Would I have passed then?"

"Naturally!" Mo Yu nodded. Although she didn't know Zhang Xuan's exact strength, she knew he definitely hadn't reached the Half-Grandmaster realm.

"Good then..."

Nodding, Zhang Xuan turned to look at the Green Eagle Beast nearby. "Alright, it's your turn!"

Screech!

With a screech, the Green Eagle Beast's massive body suddenly began to rise rapidly, a powerful surge of energy instantly erupting within it.