Chapter 244: Punishment

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: - -

"Ancient beast?"

Everyone's expression changed immediately.

There are many different kinds of savage beasts, and ancient beasts possess the strongest bloodline of them all.

Along with their maturing, the blood within their body awakens and their strength grows.

There is no beast tamer in the world who doesn’t take pride in taming an ancient beast. That is because along with the rise in the tamed beast's strength, the owner, through the connection created via the contract, would find his cultivation raised as well.

However, such savage beasts are extremely rare, to the point that they are almost extinct. Countless beast tamers have traveled through the mountains, scaled various mountains, and investigated the innumerable legends and folklores of the world, but even so, they had been unable to find any trace of ancient beasts.

Yet, one had appeared right here, and it had been tamed by... Yun Tao?

"That's impossible! Even if this fellow isn't a Bone Bird, it is impossible for it to be an ancient beast. They are already extinct..."

Beast Tamer Hong was the first one to question Zhang Xuan's words.

Even though the others didn't say anything, they shared his thoughts. They couldn't believe that the strange bird is an ancient beast.

"The ancient bloodline has ceased to exist. Even if there are still ancient beasts out there, they must have attained the level of spirit beasts. How can it be an ordinary savage beast?"

Zhu Jinhuang couldn't help but harrumph, "Even if you wish to escape from punishment, you shouldn't spout lies."

"You say that this strange bird is an ancient beast? What a joke! My Tiger Head Beast must be a primordial beast then!" Zhou Xuan sneered.

Primordial beasts are even more incredible than ancient beasts, and were naturally much rarer as well.

They weren't the only ones acting like that. Even Yun Tao's lips twitched upon hearing those words and he nearly fainted.

It is just a gluttonous and vindictive bird, how can it be related to the ancient beasts in any way?

One must know that this is the Beast Hall. If Zhang Xuan's words were to be proven false, he would be in deep trouble.

"Hehe!" Zhang Xuan chuckled. "If I'm not wrong, the Beast Hall should have a way to ascertain bloodline, right? It doesn't matter if you don't believe my words. We'll know the answer once we give it a quick check."

Since it is an ancient beast, its bloodline comes from the ancient times and possesses unique powers. Thus, it isn’t difficult to conduct a test.

"This..."

Hall Master Feng, Beast Tamer Hong, and the others glanced at each other and nodded their heads simultaneously.

If this strange bird is truly an ancient beast, then this would be a groundbreaking affair for the Beast Hall.

It has been more than a thousand years since the establishment of this branch, but there hasn't been a single beast tamer who had tamed an ancient beast.

"Legend has it that during ancient times, the spiritual energy in the air was violent and harsh. It is far from the gentle spiritual energy in the air now. Even though it was easier to cultivate then, it caused the blood of the savage beasts to contain destructive powers, and the blood would billow as though boiling water. If the strange bird is truly an ancient beast, other savage beasts would surely be unable to withstand the might of a single drop of its blood..."

After a momentary pause, Hall Master Feng said.

The bloodline of ancient beasts is pure and searing. It is completely different from that of the savage beasts existing now. Mostly, just a drop of the blood of an ancient beast can cause the entire bloodstream of a savage beast to boil and burn it to death.

Thus, it isn't too difficult to check verify an ancient bloodline.

After passing down some instructions to an apprentice, the apprentice walked out and he came back in with a savage beast not before long.

It was around the size of a hare, and its entire body was white. It was somewhat similar to the Pill Sample Beast of the Apothecary Guild, just that it was slightly larger.

That is the savage beast used by the Beast Hall to experiment all kinds of medicine and food.

"Here!"

Zhang Xuan tapped softly and a droplet of blood emerged from the body of the strange bird. With a light flick, it flew toward Hall Master Feng.

Grabbing it with his hands, Hall Master Feng swiftly enveloped it with his zhenqi before placing it into the mouth of the savage beast.

Sssssss!

It was as though water was thrown into a pot of burning oil, a sizzling sound echoed in the room. Soon, the savage beast turned completely red and it squirmed about the floor in agony. Then, it ceased to move. It was dead.

Clearly, it was burned to death by the overwhelmingly powerful bloodline.

"This..."

Upon witnessing this, Hall Master Feng and the others narrowed their eyes.

Only the ancient bloodline possesses such might.

Silence!

The entire room turned deathly silent.

Even the most foolish of those here could tell that the young man was right. The unimpressive strange bird before them was indeed an ancient beast.

It might be small, but it was dozens of times more valuable than the savage beasts Zhou Xuan and Zhu Jinhuang had tamed just because of its ancient bloodline.

The two shouldn’t even be compared to it, it was just like comparing diamond and dirt.

"Did I just mock an ancient beast?"

Zhu Jinhuang and Zhou Xuan's mouth twitched. They felt as though their faces had been slapped, and they were on the verge of tears.

That was a savage beast, an existence that would cause an uproar in the Beast Hall! Yet, they insulted it as though it was worth nothing...

To be unable to recognize an ancient beast, how shameless was it for them to have called themselves beast tamers?

If word were to spread out, they would become laughingstocks. Even if they do become official beast tamers, this piece of history would follow them no matter where they go.

While the others were focused on the Ancient Lightning Cloud Sparrow, Mo Yu xiaojie's eyes were fixated on the young man. Her expression was grim.

Even Hall Master Feng and the others failed to recognize the true identity of the bird, yet this fellow was able identify it. Furthermore, before three great Zongshis, he was able to speak calmly without fear... Where in the world did he come from?

Is it possible for such an incredible figure to hail from a small and remote kingdom like Tianxuan Kingdom?

"Did I... actually judge Yun Tao, who tamed an ancient beast, with a fail?"

Beast Tamer Hong's face paled. In an instant, he seemed to have aged a decade.

This is an ancient beast! Something which countless beast tamers dream of, but are unable to tame!

Not only are they rare, they possess great intelligence as well. As such, they don’t submit to anyone easily... Given his own taming skills, it would be hard for him to successfully tame an ancient beast even if he met one. On the other hand, Yun Tao had managed to tame one, but he failed him and even demanded him to get out...

Ignoring everyone's shock, Zhang Xuan stepped forward and said.

"Ancient Lightning Cloud Sparrow possesses the ability to absorb lightning to awaken its bloodline. While this ancient sparrow is similar to the Bone Bird in many ways, there are also many differences. Due to the omnivorous nature of the Bone Bird, its eyes are cloudy. On the other hand, the ancient sparrow's eyes pierces straight into one's soul. Even though it isn't obvious, if one pays careful attention, the difference can be seen."

"Next, the claws. Putting aside the red dot at the center, the claws of the ancient sparrow are hard and sharp, allowing it to tear through the average weapons easily, needless to say, human flesh. Beast Tamer Hong said that it doesn't possess high combative abilities, but that is because it is still young and doesn't know how to use them. The moment it learns to to utilize these, it would be able to tear even Tongxuan realm experts into two easily.

"Of course, these two characteristics aren't too obvious. It is difficult for the average beast tamer to spot them."

At this point, Zhang Xuan paused for a moment and calmly pointed to the head of the Ancient Lightning Cloud Sparrow, "The greatest distinguishing trait is its red crown. Even though it isn't large, it is clearly a symbolism of 'sovereignty'. With this crown, even those who don't know anything about beast taming will know that this bird is anything but simple, and that it isn't something that an ordinary wild animal like the Bone Bird can compare up to! To fail to spot such an obvious distinguishing characteristic, and claim that Yun Tao is wrong and fail him..."

At this point, Zhang Xuan gazed coldly at him, "Beast Tamer Hong, is this how you assess savage beasts?"

"I..."

Beast Tamer Hong's face paled. Under Zhang Xuan's gaze, he couldn't help but step back.

"What gave you the confidence to immediately deem Yun Tao to have failed, and ask him to scram?"

Zhang Xuan continued to utter harshly.

Deng deng deng!

Under the sharp words of the other party, Beast Tamer Hong seemed to have lost all of his courage and retreated once more.

A book on the Ancient Lightning Cloud Sparrow was compiled after Zhang Xuan knocked it out. As there was a detailed introduction on the ancient beast within the book, Zhang Xuan knew about these facts long ago.

If the examiner were to assess Yun Tao's tamed beast seriously, Zhang Xuan wouldn't have hidden the matter.

However... After Zhang Xuan pointed out his mistake, he went so far as to emanate his zhenqi and summon his tamed beast, wanting to get rough with Zhang Xuan!

As Zhang Xuan was a Tongxuan realm pinnacle cultivator, he didn’t need to fear the other party's intimidation. However, if his cultivation was any lower, he would have suffered a severe injury from the other party's actions.

Since the other party was treating him in such a manner, there was no reason for Zhang Xuan to treat him kindly either.

"It's my negligence..."

Beast Tamer Hong's complexion was awful.

The other party's words were completely true. Even if he wanted to refute his words, there was nothing he could say.

"As an examiner, you judged Yun Tao by your emotions, failing to maintain impartiality. Your actions nearly caused a talented beast tamer who tamed an ancient beast to be buried in dirt!"

Zhang Xuan flung his sleeves, "Is this how the Beast Hall operate? If so, am I mistaken in saying that the beast tamers are useless fools?"

"I..."

Facing the other party's questions, Beast Tamer Hong trembled in agitation, but he wasn't able to say anything at all.

When he first heard the other party's words, he was so furious that he felt he could explode. However, after knowing that he nearly sent away a talented beast tamer who tamed an ancient beast, he could only silently accept the other party's criticisms.

The main point of the beast tamer examination was to recruit new talents for the Beast Hall. To send away a genius like that is a violation of the rules of the Beast Hall.

"Please calm down. There are innumerable species of ancient beasts, and the information on eighty to ninety percent of them had disappeared along with time. Even the Beast Hall can't possibly have a comprehensive list on all of them. It is natural for such mistakes to occur!"

Hall Master Feng walked up with a smile, "How about this, since it's our Beast Hall's fault, we won't shirk responsibility. We'll give Yun Tao another shot at the assessment! As for Beast Tamer Hong, due to his negligence, he will be sent to the Beast Forest to raise savage beasts, and for three years, he's not to step out from the place!"

After saying those words, he turned to look at Beast Tamer Hong and asked, "Beast Tamer Hong, do you accept your punishment?"

"I am willing to accept my punishment!" Beast Tamer Hong bowed, disconsolate.

"To send Beast Tamer Hong to the Beast Forest for three years just because of that? Furthermore, not to step out from that place?"

"Isn't that... too harsh?"

"The Beast Forest is a place where savage beasts are raised, and it is similar to a pig sty. Normally, only apprentices would visit there. For the 1-star pinnacle Beast Tamer Hong to stay there for three years, that's truly a harsh punishment!"

...

Upon hearing those words, everyone was stunned. Then, they turned to look at Zhang Xuan in fear.

That was Beast Tamer Hong! Other than the three 2-star beast tamers, he was the most prestigious beast tamer in the Beast Hall. Yet, with just words, that lad managed to get him exiled to the lowly Beast Forest to do menial labor, not to leave the place for three years. His abilities and means are truly fearsome!

While everyone was staring at Zhang Xuan fearfully, Zhang Xuan secretly sent a telepathic message to Shen Bi Ru.

"That... What kind of place is the Beast Forest? Is that fellow's punishment harsh?"

"..." Shen Bi Ru widened her eyes, and her face was distorted in her frenzy.

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