Chapter 70: A Fine Beast for a Dear Friend

She sat cross-legged and entered a state of regulated breathing, following the method Yusha had taught her. Gathering her focus, she activated the scroll within her dantian and gently extended a thread of her spiritual power to touch the Overturning River Crocodile. Before long, she could sense its obedience to her will…

Shen Duo opened her eyes. Under the pure white moonlight, her bright gaze was dazzling. Rising to her feet, she turned to Feng Jun, who was still stunned beside her, and said, "Feng Jun, try to see if you can form a spirit beast contract with it!" There was a trace of tension and excitement in her voice.

Feng Jun snapped back to his senses at her words, his mouth agape in astonishment. "That… that’s it?"

Good heavens, was this not a little too miraculous? Was Shen Duo playing a joke on her?

Half in disbelief, Feng Jun attempted to forge a spirit beast contract with the Overturning River Crocodile. The creature offered not the least resistance—it went astonishingly smoothly. Twin beams of silvery light flashed beneath both the crocodile and Feng Jun, forming intricate and beautiful pentagram patterns.

When the radiance faded, Feng Jun could sense a faint connection between his mind and the beast’s. Under the contract’s glow, the crocodile’s grave wounds had all but healed. It was now officially Feng Jun’s spirit beast!

“It… it really worked!” The shock Shen Duo had brought him was overwhelming; Feng Jun could scarcely believe it.

Yusha gave a smug little harrumph. Shen Duo was equally delighted; this was, after all, her first time attempting to tame a spirit beast.

“Little Duo, how do you feel? Are you exhausted in mind or body?” Feng Jun, after his initial euphoria, suddenly asked with concern.

In his experience, the beast tamers maintained in the main cities of their clan found taming spirit beasts extremely draining—both mentally and in terms of spiritual energy. After a successful taming, they were often left weak, needing a fortnight or more to recover, sometimes even relying on rare treasures to regain their strength.

Shen Duo looked at him with clear, limpid eyes and shook her head earnestly. She felt not the least discomfort; on the contrary, her spiritual power seemed stronger than ever, the white glow from the scroll in her dantian shone even brighter, and her whole body felt wonderful. The sensation was familiar—almost like… almost like advancing to a higher level!

The realization startled her. She summoned sword energy to her right hand, and now the green aura was deep and vibrant, no longer pale, richer even than when she had subdued the crocodile. Clearly, her power had grown!

Could it be that taming spirit beasts helped her level up?

Sensing her thoughts, Yusha explained, “Little Duo, the Sacred Radiance energy is one with you. When you use it to tame a spirit beast, if the beast is stronger than you, the energy intervenes to harmonize your spiritual resonance with the beast’s. In this process, your own power is naturally influenced and enhanced by the beast’s strength.”

So, if she tamed a low-grade spirit beast, would her own strength decrease?

“No, that wouldn’t happen. Low-grade beasts have weak spiritual power, so you can control them directly through the Sacred Radiance without affecting your own spiritual resonance. Thus, you’re not impacted, but you also gain nothing.”

In other words, the influence was one-way only.

Yusha, with her inherited ancient memories, was practically an encyclopaedia.

This explanation finally put Shen Duo at ease.

Feng Jun could only smile wryly. When they first met, she had been an inexperienced, low-ranking sword spirit. In less than half a month, Shen Duo had become a master beast tamer! And he, reputed to be the continent's greatest genius, seemed utterly insignificant by comparison. Truly, there is always someone greater out there.

“To think that taming a holy spirit beast is so effortlessly easy for you…” Feng Jun shook his head in resignation, feeling numb from the blow of her extraordinary abilities.

Shen Duo scratched her head and told him, with some “regret,” “I don’t think sacred spirit beasts are anywhere close to the limits of my abilities. If we encounter a divine beast next time, shall I give it a try?”

Even someone as resilient as Feng Jun was nearly driven to spitting blood by her offhand remark. Regular beast tamers would be drained half to death taming just one spirit beast—sometimes risking their very lives. Yet, for her, it was effortless. She was not only unaffected but actually benefited from it. Truly, comparison is the thief of joy.

“Could it be that you are an imperial beast tamer?” Imperial beast tamers existed only among ancient soulmasters; after millennia of change, they had become nothing but legend, their stories preserved only in historical texts.

“Well… I can’t say for sure yet, since I haven’t tried,” Shen Duo replied with genuine humility.

Feng Jun shook his head wordlessly. Even if she had not reached the level of an imperial beast tamer, she was at least among the continent’s most elite. At this rate, her future was bound to be extraordinary. There was no point comparing himself to someone whose strength grew faster than a spirit eagle could fly—it was simply demoralizing.

Having strained their nerves all night to capture the Overturning River Crocodile, Shen Duo and Feng Jun exchanged goodnights, determined to rest and recover, leaving any further plans for the morning.

Shen Duo crawled into her tent, found a comfortable position, and lay down. Gentle moonlight filtered through the tent’s seams. In the tranquil night, the calls of low-grade spirit beasts—golden crickets and nightingales—echoed from the purple reed forest, drifting through the air…

She pulled the tent flap open a little, and a great round moon filled her vision. The moon here was much larger than on Earth, and unlike Earth’s, which was faintly shadowed, this one was pure, flawless, hanging peacefully in the sky. Together with the glittering stars, it made for a breathtaking nocturnal tableau.

Suddenly, she remembered the days when she served in the A City military unit. During wilderness survival training, old Sergeant Yuan Hong would gather them around the campfire to sing military songs. The girls would sing until their voices went hoarse, and the next day, Yuan Hong would hand out throat lozenges to each of them.

A faint smile touched Shen Duo’s lips. Those memories were as vivid as if they had happened yesterday, yet in the blink of an eye, she was living in another world… with no way back.

She took a deep breath, and as shadow and reality merged, she reminded herself that although she missed her former life of simple fervor, she had to face reality. The hatred and emotion seared into her consciousness were a constant reminder that she was no longer the policewoman Shen Duo of old. Since heaven had given her life anew, she would not waste it—she would live even more brilliantly.

Her thoughts gradually blurred as her body’s fatigue finally overcame her mind’s clarity, and she slipped into a deep sleep…

Tonight’s events had awakened in Ben Yi a keen awareness of his own inadequacy. He had failed to subdue even a mere Overturning River Crocodile. Frustrated, a fierce desire to grow stronger burst forth within him. Before Shen Duo even fell asleep, he was already off, clutching a vial of concentrated spiritual energy elixir, training hard into the night.