Celestial Beast Taming

Chapter 493: Chapter 279: Zhong Ling and Shen Xuan’s Evolution

At the moment, Zhong Ling and Shen Xuan were both at the residence before their departure for the Divine Origin Slaughter Secret Realm.

Zhong Yi planned to give them the two Soul Taming Seeds he had been saving so they could absorb them.

Once they absorbed the Soul Taming Seeds, they would be able to participate in the Soul Fighting Ranking Competition.

They would each gain two brand new Guardian Beast Master Talents, certain to boost their combat power.

Zhong Yi called the two of them to the activity room.

Zhong Ling was the first to arrive, an Undead-transformed Luminous Beauty Butterfly perched on her shoulder.

Zhong Ling adored the Luminous Beauty Butterfly.

Ever since contracting it through her Reincarnation Nether Butterfly’s Rule Authority, Eternal Life of the Fallen Crown, she had always treated the creature like an accessory.

Zhong Ling didn’t know why Zhong Yi had called for her, and she obediently sat in the chair opposite him.

Just as Zhong Ling was about to ask Zhong Yi if she could borrow Lan Po to cuddle for a bit, Shen Xuan pushed open the door to the activity room.

Zhong Yi saw that Shen Xuan’s face was deathly pale, his normally ruddy lips completely drained of color.

Seeing this, Zhong Yi’s brow furrowed at once.

’Shen Xuan’s appearance indicates he has been seriously injured.’

Zhong Yi immediately summoned the Resurrection Celestial Lord. He had it cast a Recovery Enlightenment on Shen Xuan, using the opportunity to assess his injuries.

Shen Xuan’s internal organs were slightly displaced, and four of his ribs had hairline fractures.

’Shen Xuan must have been out of the Second Level Secret Realm for a few days now.’

’Even though I haven’t been here for the past few days, as a Celestial Destiny Seeker, Shen Xuan must have received excellent medical care.’

Having ascertained the severity of Shen Xuan’s injuries, Zhong Yi had the Resurrection Celestial Lord implant a Core of Resurgence into Shen Xuan’s body.

The injuries to Shen Xuan’s internal organs and ribs immediately healed completely.

However, Shen Xuan had overdrawn his Life Force while already in a weakened state and would need at least half a month of recuperation to fully restore his Primordial Qi.

"Ah Xuan, you, Xiaoya, and Guoguo were exploring the Swamp Crocodile Secret Realm. Did something dangerous happen in the Second Level realm?"

This was the first time Zhong Ling had seen Shen Xuan in days; he had been holed up in the Star Frost Tower.

Zhong Ling had heard from Sun Ya and He Guoguo, upon their return from the Swamp Crocodile Secret Realm, that Shen Xuan was hurt. She had made a point to call and ask about his condition, but he had insisted it was just a minor injury.

’Looking at Shen Xuan’s face now, this is clearly no minor injury.’

"Ah Xuan, now you’re even lying to me about getting hurt? Do you not consider me family anymore?"

Hearing this, Shen Xuan gave Zhong Ling an embarrassed smile.

In order to defeat the leader creature in the Swamp Crocodile Secret Realm and obtain the Divine Origin Value and the Heart of the Secret Realm, Shen Xuan had paid a heavy price. His Prism Golem was grievously wounded and had nearly died in the Second Level Swamp Crocodile Secret Realm.

Before, when he explored Secret Realms with Zhong Yi, whether it was a First Level or Second Level Secret Realm, Shen Xuan had always found it incredibly simple.

But this time, taking the lead with Sun Ya and He Guoguo, Shen Xuan felt immense pressure.

That final, massive, nearly twenty-meter-long crocodile leader Demon in particular had forced Shen Xuan to confront his own weaknesses.

Even with the Prism Golem, Shen Xuan’s defenses were still lacking.

"Xiaolingdang, how could I not consider you family?"

"I just didn’t want you to worry. I even specifically told Xiaoya and Guoguo not to tell you about my injuries."

"I knew it wasn’t life-threatening, and I’ve been receiving treatment from a Guardian Beast Master for the past few days."

"The Healer said I’d be fully recovered after another month or two of rest."

Zhong Yi said to Shen Xuan, his tone exceptionally serious.

"Ah Xuan, don’t hide your injuries in the future."

"The moment you’re injured, you need to tell someone immediately, even if I’m not here."

With that, Zhong Yi had the Resurrection Celestial Lord engrave a Life Healing Totem onto both Zhong Ling and Shen Xuan.

From now on, if Zhong Ling or Shen Xuan were injured, the Energy within the totems would automatically begin to heal them.

The totems engraved on their bodies would not disappear until all the Energy within them was consumed.

Looking at Zhong Ling and Shen Xuan sitting before him, Zhong Yi felt like a father watching his son and daughter grow up.

"Do you two know why I told you not to rush into the Soul Fighting Ranking Competition?"

Hearing Zhong Yi’s question, Zhong Ling and Shen Xuan both shook their heads.

Zhong Ling had already provided her Soul Vein Mother Butterfly with an elite Butterfly Legion and was eager to test her might on the Virtual Source Network.

For one, she needed to fight opponents of equal strength to improve her crowd control and command abilities.

For another, she wanted to prove herself and find out how she measured up against the prodigies from other worlds.

The prodigies from outside the Guardian Beast World were a complete unknown to Zhong Ling.

The Soul Fighting Ranking Competition was her way of learning about those other worlds.

Shen Xuan, on the other hand, even after contracting the Mire Poison Rain Moss, was far less eager for the competition than Zhong Ling, especially after Zhong Yi had described its difficulty.

Shen Xuan was terrified of being unable to defeat his fifth-round opponent and disappointing Zhong Yi.

Shen Xuan held himself to an extremely high standard, and this, combined with Zhong Ling’s sudden rise, had made him increasingly insecure.

At Starlight Academy, Shen Xuan was a Celestial Destiny Seeker with SS Level potential whom everyone admired and envied.

But compared to Zhong Ling and Zhong Yi, Shen Xuan didn’t feel that his status as a Celestial Destiny Seeker with SS Level potential was anything special.

Zhong Yi could see Zhong Ling’s exceptional confidence and Shen Xuan’s lack thereof.

Despite this, Zhong Yi didn’t deliberately try to counsel either of them.

Zhong Ling’s confidence was well-earned; she had every right to feel that way.

’Once she enters the Soul of Battle duels and runs into a powerful opponent—or even suffers a defeat or two—her mindset will correct itself.’

The same was true for Shen Xuan.

His defensive shortcomings were Shen Xuan’s weakness, a fact Zhong Yi was well aware of.

He had chosen the Prism Golem for Shen Xuan specifically to bolster his defensive capabilities.

However, it wasn’t feasible for all of Shen Xuan’s future Guardian Beasts to be focused on defense.

For the time being, Zhong Yi couldn’t think of a good way to improve Shen Xuan’s defense.

If Shen Xuan couldn’t find a way to bolster his defenses again, it would be difficult for him to achieve the same level of success as Zhong Ling in solo combat, whether in the Soul Fighting Ranking Competition or while exploring Second Level Secret Realms.

"The reason I made you wait was because I wanted to give you something."

With that, Zhong Yi handed a Soul Taming Seed to each of them.

"Eat this. You’ll each gain a new Guardian Beast Master Talent and become much stronger."

Hearing Zhong Yi’s words, both Zhong Ling and Shen Xuan—who had already learned all the common knowledge of the Guardian Beast World at Starlight Academy—gaped in shock.

Staring at the gold and blue Soul Taming Seeds in their hands, they were utterly astonished.

As far as Zhong Ling and Shen Xuan knew, Guardian Beast Master Talents were innate.

A Guardian Beast Master’s Talents were inextricably linked to their potential.

They had never heard of a treasure that could grant a Guardian Beast Master a new Talent.

And yet, neither of them doubted Zhong Yi’s words for a second.

After they swallowed the Soul Taming Seeds, Zhong Ling and Shen Xuan felt the Soul Power within their Soul Bases suddenly surge. It was a sensation just like the moment their Soul Bases had first awakened.

In Zhong Ling’s Soul Base, a vast, chaotic space appeared.

As her Lifebound Guardian Beast, the Reincarnation Nether Butterfly, danced through the air, Zhong Ling was gradually able to make out the features of this chaotic space.

Within this space were two giant cocoons.

These two massive cocoons pulsed gently, creating a strange resonance with her contracted Soul Vein Mother Butterfly.

Everything in Shen Xuan’s Soul Base seemed normal. From the Poison Pool where the Order Beast, the Mother of Ten Thousand Erosions, resided, jets of venomous sludge periodically erupted, corroding everything they touched.

Toxins pervaded the space, occasionally bursting in small explosions.

Yet Shen Xuan discovered that with each toxic explosion, a formless, intangible mass of Energy enveloped the Mother of Ten Thousand Erosions.

The moment he sensed his new Guardian Beast Master Talent, Shen Xuan’s eyes snapped open, gleaming with excitement.