Chapter 294 - 279: A Great Boost in Reputation

Chapter 294: Chapter 279: A Great Boost in Reputation

Lu Tianyi stared at the two Spirit Beasts, each over ten meters tall. The big black dog, in particular, was glaring at him like a tiger, its ferocious expression promising to tear everything apart. A cold sweat was about to trickle down his back.

He had come here to win the championship and make a name for himself; he was truly unwilling to give up just like this.

But who could have known he would run into such a monster?

Two Tier 5 Spirit Beasts. And from the looks of it, both were quite obedient.

If they really fought, his Tier 5 puppet stood no chance of winning.

Lu Tianyi hadn’t wanted to use his Tier 5 puppet in the first place. He had only summoned it to intimidate Jiang Zuo into backing down.

Any action from a Tier 5 puppet resulted in an extraordinary amount of consumption.

And if it were damaged, Lu Tianyi’s losses would be even greater.

He was a Puppet Master, true, but he was still a long way from being able to craft a Tier 5 puppet.

He had acquired this Tier 5 puppet by chance.

Losing some Spirit Stones would have been a secondary concern.

He simply didn’t have the ability to craft a Tier 5 puppet himself.

"I... I forfeit!"

Seeing that Jiang Zuo was about to order an attack, Lu Tianyi could only grit his teeth and admit defeat.

"Coward! You’re giving up just like that?"

"Give me my money back! I bet on you to win!"

Hearing Lu Tianyi concede, some in the surrounding crowd of spectators couldn’t help but roar in anger.

In their eyes, even though Jiang Zuo had an extra Tier 5 Spirit Beast, no one could know the outcome without a proper fight.

"Gu Changqing wins!"

The judge, however, paid them no mind and made the announcement directly.

Yunyuan Immortal City held this tournament and gave out six boat tickets a year merely to build a good reputation for the Immortal City, while also adding some activity and liveliness.

As for who actually won, that was of no concern to the Immortal City.

"Thank you for the match."

Jiang Zuo said with a smile to the regretful-looking Lu Tianyi.

If he hadn’t run into him, Lu Tianyi would have had a high probability of taking first place in any other year.

The competition thus concluded. The number of Cultivators who had been watching was not small.

Although it didn’t end in a real fight, the match was still talked about with great relish by the city’s Cultivators.

After all, one Three Flowers Realm Cultivator possessed a Tier 5 puppet, while the other actually had two Tier 5 Spirit Beasts.

In previous years, such a thing was a rare sight indeed.

Jiang Zuo, the champion, in particular, became a sensation.

Tier 5 Spirit Beasts were already rare. Even if one was seen, it would usually belong to a great Cultivator at the Dao Fruit Realm, or perhaps even the Manifestation Realm.

A Three Flowers Realm Cultivator owning two Tier 5 Spirit Beasts at the same time was simply unheard of.

Many people suspected that Jiang Zuo possessed some kind of special ability.

When they looked into it, it turned out he really did.

Jiang Zuo was actually a Beast Taming Master and a Spirit Beast Doctor.

Not only could he help treat injuries and illnesses in Spirit Beasts, but most astonishingly, he could also help people tame them!

At this time, the few Cultivators—less than ten in total—who had sought Jiang Zuo’s help in taming their Spirit Beasts came forward, smugly boasting about their foresight.

Though their numbers were small, they truly existed.

Those less-than-ten people who had gone to Jiang Zuo actually all had minor backgrounds within Yunyuan Immortal City.

In their opinion, the reason so few people had sought him out was probably due to his exorbitant fees.

Helping to tame a single Tier 2 Spirit Beast cost 100,000 Spirit Stones, a price that the average Cultivator truly couldn’t afford.

But in the Cultivation Realm, there was no shortage of wealthy people.

Some people looked at the disobedient Spirit Beasts in their possession and started getting ideas about asking for Jiang Zuo’s help.

Some even entertained the thought of having Jiang Zuo help tame captured Demon Beasts.

Jiang Zuo didn’t know what these people were thinking specifically, but after the competition ended, he had already begun to steadily receive a large amount of Beast Taming Reputation.

However, at this moment, Jiang Zuo was busy visiting the five casinos to collect his winnings.

Five casinos, and each one had to pay him roughly two million Spirit Stones!

In total, he had won ten million in one go!

The five casinos were all fairly well-known in the city. Although they had to pay out two million to a single person, Jiang Zuo’s championship meant a dark horse had emerged.

Aside from the bets on Jiang Zuo, basically all other bets were lost.

When all was said and done, they had actually won quite a bit.

Without much effort, Jiang Zuo smoothly collected ten million low-grade Spirit Stones from the five casinos, his wealth skyrocketing!

’The consumption for opening the Time Cultivation Tower at 100x cultivation speed is too terrifying,’ Jiang Zuo thought. ’But if I lower it a bit and don’t open it to 100x, it might be possible to maintain a balance between income and expenses.’

’If I only open it to 90x speed, one Spirit Beast on the ninth floor would only consume one thousand low-grade Spirit Stones a day. That comes out to just 360,000 a year.’

’If I stuff Great Black, Xiaoqing, the Fire Phoenix, and the golden giant wolf all in there, it would still be less than two million a year.’

’The premise is that the Beast Taming business goes smoothly. Otherwise, trying to earn two million in a year really won’t be easy.’

As for other Spirit Beasts, Jiang Zuo planned to just raise them casually. Unless their talent was exceptionally outstanding, he didn’t have enough Spirit Stones to raise them properly.

Besides Great Black, Xiaoqing, and the others, Jiang Zuo also planned to use the Time Cultivation Tower to raise young Spirit Beasts.

After settling down in Yunyuan Immortal City, Jiang Zuo prepared to calm his mind and focus on raising Spirit Beasts.

Previously, raising a batch of Spirit Beasts would take three to five years.

But with the Time Cultivation Tower, this time could be shortened to within a year.

Unlike in the past, Jiang Zuo now only needed to build a bond and familiarize himself with the newborn Spirit Beasts. As for training, he could just toss them into the Spirit Garden, where other Spirit Beasts would help. He barely had to lift a finger himself.

Right now, Jiang Zuo was preparing to raise a Star Dust Bird. He had been coveting the Star Dust Bird’s Racial Talent Ability for a long time.

Jiang Zuo returned to his residence with his huge sum of Spirit Stones, only to find someone already waiting for him.

Jiang Zuo was no longer staying at an inn but had rented a small house in the Outer City.

The house wasn’t large, but it was kept very clean.

Waiting for Jiang Zuo was a pair of Cultivators, a man and a woman. Both were at the Three Flowers Realm, and their clothes looked quite expensive, marking them as wealthy individuals.

"Master Gu, I’ve heard you can help people tame Spirit Beasts. I was wondering, is a Tier 4 Spirit Beast possible?"

Jiang Zuo invited the two inside, and the male Cultivator got straight to the point.

"It is, but the fee isn’t cheap."

"For a Tier 4 Spirit Beast, it will cost around one million Spirit Stones, and it will take one to two years."

Jiang Zuo didn’t waste any words either.

"One million for a little over a year? Master Gu, isn’t that fee a bit too expensive?"

The female Cultivator frowned upon hearing this.

"You’re mistaken, Fellow Daoist."

"Taming a Tier 4 Spirit Beast requires a great deal of my effort. For that entire year, I’ll have basically no time for my own Cultivation."

"It’s equivalent to me trading my Cultivation progress for some Spirit Stones. A high fee is, naturally, necessary."

"Besides, if you feel that taming it in just over a year is too fast, you could also leave the Spirit Beast with me and come back for it in ten years or so. That’s also an option."

Jiang Zuo shook his head, then added with a light chuckle.

"Please forgive my companion’s words. I have no objection to the fee. I was just wondering how we would settle the payment?"

The male Cultivator waved his hand, stopping the female Cultivator from saying more, and asked politely.

"We’ll sign a contract. I’ll take two years at most, and I’ll only collect payment after the Spirit Beast is tamed."

"Good. But Master Gu, when you’re taming the Spirit Beast, you won’t use violent methods to force its temporary submission, will you?"

The male Cultivator asked, seeking confirmation with a hint of unease.

"Rest assured. If you find any trace of abuse on your Spirit Beast when the time comes, I will compensate you tenfold."

"I’ll be moving to the Inner City soon. If you’re worried, you can come by anytime to check on the Spirit Beast’s condition."

Jiang Zuo said with assurance.

Hearing this, the male Cultivator relaxed and, under Jiang Zuo’s gaze, summoned a leopard with dark red fur.

"This is a Blood Patterned Leopard. At Tier 3, it was still very docile."

"Later, to help it advance to Tier 4, I had it consume a certain type of Essence Blood."

"Although it broke through successfully, its temperament has become more and more violent, and it’s grown increasingly disobedient."

"If I let it out in a crowded place, it will even attack other Cultivators."

The male Cultivator said with a sigh.

After the Blood Patterned Leopard was released, its eyes filled with a fierce light, and it let out a low growl.

As usual, its gaze swept around, looking for a target to attack.

It quickly spotted Jiang Zuo, and then its gaze froze.

Seeing Jiang Zuo beckoning to it, it hesitated for a moment before walking over and licking his palm.

The male and female Cultivators were utterly shocked by this scene.

This Blood Patterned Leopard was at the point where it would barely even listen to their commands.

And now, after meeting Jiang Zuo for the first time, it had become so docile?

’Is this the power of a Beast Taming Master?’

’Unbelievably terrifying!’

The pair had originally come with the mindset of just giving it a try, but after witnessing this scene, they were completely put at ease.

The two of them readily signed a contract with Jiang Zuo and left the Blood Patterned Leopard behind.

In the following days, more people came one after another, seeking Jiang Zuo’s help to tame their Spirit Beasts.

Jiang Zuo planned to only help tame three Tier 4 Spirit Beasts simultaneously every one to two years.

The three slots were quickly filled.

Anyone else who wanted Jiang Zuo’s help would just have to come back later.

Taking on more orders was not a problem for Jiang Zuo at all.

But while that would earn him more money in the short term, it wasn’t a good thing in the long run.

Jiang Zuo planned to live in Yunyuan Immortal City for a long time; he wanted to run a long-term, sustainable business.

Jiang Zuo then rented a rather spacious house in the Inner City, large enough to let the Tier 4 Spirit Beasts out to move around.

However, because the location was relatively remote, the rent wasn’t too expensive.

Within Yunyuan Immortal City, many Cultivators now knew about Jiang Zuo.

But many still held doubts about his ability to tame Tier 4 Spirit Beasts and were waiting to see what would happen.

「A little over a year passed in a flash.」

The Cultivator couple who had first approached Jiang Zuo received a message from him and came to his new residence.

A Blood Patterned Leopard with glossy, smooth fur, looking noticeably more robust than it had a year ago, appeared before them.

What surprised them even more was that the Blood Patterned Leopard’s gaze was completely devoid of its previous violent aura, replaced by an expression of extreme docility.

Upon seeing the two of them, the Blood Patterned Leopard took the initiative to approach and lick their palms.

At Jiang Zuo’s signal, the couple tried giving it a few commands. The Blood Patterned Leopard not only understood them perfectly but also carried them out faithfully one by one.

It was even more obedient than when it had been at Tier 3!

"Excellent, excellent! Thank you so much, Master Gu!"

The couple said, overcome with excitement and immense gratitude.

Jiang Zuo smiled but said nothing.

He had actually put in quite a bit of effort to tame this Blood Patterned Leopard to such a degree.

The Blood Patterned Leopard’s main problem came from the foreign blood within its body.

Jiang Zuo had located the problematic blood, refined it away, and only then was the Blood Patterned Leopard able to regain its clarity.

Otherwise, no amount of training could have made it turn out like this.

The couple happily paid the one million Spirit Stone fee and joyfully took the Blood Patterned Leopard with them.

This pair also came from a large family within the Immortal City, and many people knew about the problem with their Blood Patterned Leopard.

When the tamed Blood Patterned Leopard reappeared before them, everyone who saw it was stunned.

In less than a day, Jiang Zuo’s name as a Beast Taming Master spread like wildfire.

The number of people coming to Jiang Zuo for help taming their Spirit Beasts suddenly skyrocketed.

In the eyes of many, trading one million low-grade Spirit Stones for an obedient Tier 4 Spirit Beast was more than worth it.