Chapter 46:Your Intelligence Is a Problem

The beast was covered from head to toe in crimson scales. It resembled a cheetah, but was a good thirty percent larger than an ordinary tiger. Dark-red patterns, like flowing lava, ran between the gaps in its scales, and every breath it exhaled carried a wave of scorching heat.

Zhuang Lili lowered her voice, her face paling. "Wasn’t it supposed to have only just broken through to the second rank? This... holding a late-stage second-rank demonic beast with this Beast-Trapping Formation is indeed a little too much."

The Crimson-Scaled Beast looked left and right, its nostrils twitching. Before long, it was drawn to the beast-luring incense burning in the middle of the clearing and stepped into the formation’s range.

Buzz—

A low hum rang out.

The Beast-Trapping Formation activated instantly.

The formation flags lit up at the same time. A pale cyan barrier surged from the ground, forming a cage that trapped the Crimson-Scaled Beast in the center.

The beast turned and tried to flee, but all four legs felt as though they had sunk into a swamp. Every step took tremendous effort, leaving it with no choice but to let out an angry growl.

"It worked!"

The young man surnamed Duan was ecstatic. He strode out from behind the bushes, his face filled with barely contained excitement.

"A late-stage second-rank! This time, I might be able to advance straight to a three-star beast tamer!"

The other four members of the Beast Tamer Association emerged as well.

Seeing this, Qi Tian also sauntered out from behind the trees. He folded his arms and stood to one side, looking every bit like someone who had nothing better to do than watch the show.

When he saw the other three following behind him, Qi Tian turned and asked, "For the beast tamer examination, is capturing a demonic beast all it takes?"

Chen Er shook his head. "No. Capturing it yourself is only the first step. After that, you have to make it completely submit to you, or willingly pledge its allegiance. Only then do you actually pass the examination."

Qi Tian looked toward the young man surnamed Duan, who was staring at the beast with feverish excitement.

"That guy is only at the ninth layer of Qi Condensation. Getting a late-stage second-rank demonic beast to serve him? That seems unlikely."

Zhuang Lili spoke before Chen Er could answer.

"Not necessarily. It doesn’t always depend on cultivation level. Take Elder Ma from our Beast Hall, for example. Back then, it took him an entire year to tame his Flame Lion. He spent all that time building a bond with it and constantly feeding it cultivation resources. In the end, the beast willingly agreed to serve him."

Qi Tian nodded, then asked, "What if... you tame it by force?"

"What do you mean?" Zhuang Lili blinked.

Qi Tian smiled.

"Beat it until it submits."

"..."

The three of them fell silent at the same time.

The corner of Chen Er’s mouth twitched.

"It’s possible, but a beast tamed that way usually won’t have very high loyalty. It could turn on you at any time. And the examination has a loyalty requirement too. If its loyalty score is below fifty, you fail."

"Oh."

Qi Tian turned his head back toward the center of the clearing.

One of the Beast Tamer Association disciples had already taken out a bronze incense burner about the size of a palm.

He lifted the lid, and a cloud of grayish-white smoke immediately poured out. Guided by spiritual energy, it slowly drifted into the Beast-Trapping Formation and quickly spread around the Crimson-Scaled Beast.

The beast twitched its nose.

The next moment, it sneezed.

"Roar!"

A deafening roar suddenly erupted.

The Crimson-Scaled Beast’s eyes turned blood-red. Its already violent aura instantly became even more ferocious. It slammed one claw heavily into the ground—

Boom!

The formation’s pale cyan barrier rippled violently like the surface of water. Every formation flag trembled at once, emitting an ominous hum as though they were being pushed beyond their limits.

"Senior Brother Duan, the Bewitching Smoke isn’t working!"

"It seems to have regained its ability to move as well."

The young man surnamed Duan went deathly pale and shouted sharply, "Spirit-Binding Ropes! Quick!"

Several pitch-black ropes shot out in response, their spiritual light flashing as they wrapped toward the Crimson-Scaled Beast’s limbs and neck.

But the beast merely shook its body.

Its scales suddenly stood on end.

A series of sharp metallic sounds rang out as the tough ropes snapped apart inch by inch, scattering across the ground!

The Crimson-Scaled Beast became even more enraged.

Boom!

It slammed into the pale cyan barrier.

Crack.

A fissure appeared across the barrier.

"Senior Brother Duan, the formation won’t hold much longer. Should we retreat?" one of the Beast Tamer Association disciples shouted urgently.

Duan knew very well that if a thoroughly enraged late-stage second-rank demonic beast broke out of the formation, it could easily kill everyone present.

But he gritted his teeth.

"No retreat!"

He suddenly turned toward Qi Tian and the others and shouted, "Do you have any ideas? At most, we’ll split the reward evenly."

Zhuang Lili glanced at the increasingly cracked barrier.

"I can reinforce the formation, but... it won’t hold for long."

"Reinforce it first!" Duan ordered sharply. "Everyone, attack together! Take turns and wear it down until it’s exhausted!"

Just then, Qi Tian calmly spoke up.

"Too late."

"What did you say?"

Before Duan could finish speaking—

BOOM!

The Crimson-Scaled Beast slammed into the formation barrier again.

The pale cyan barrier shattered with a deafening crash!

Formation flags flew in every direction, and the Crimson-Scaled Beast was no longer restrained by anything.

"Run!!"

Someone let out a desperate scream.

Everyone was scared out of their wits. They turned and fled for their lives with everything they had.

In the blink of an eye, the clearing was empty.

Only the enraged Crimson-Scaled Beast remained...

And Qi Tian.

The Crimson-Scaled Beast stared at Qi Tian, two streams of scorching white vapor pouring from its nostrils. Then, with heavy steps, it began walking toward him, one step at a time.

Qi Tian stood where he was without moving an inch.

As the beast drew closer, there wasn’t even a trace of tension on his face.

"Shouldn’t you be chasing after the people who attacked you just now?"

The Crimson-Scaled Beast bared its fangs and took another step forward.

Qi Tian suddenly laughed.

"Heh."

He shook his head lightly.

"Looks like your intelligence really is a problem."