Chapter 11

The purple-feathered thunder eagle carried the two of them through the air over two hundred meters high, and Cang Luo turned his head to glance at the ground.

Estimating the combined area of the inner and outer sect grounds of Xuantian Sect amounted to over six thousand mu, comparable to Huada, one of China’s top universities, not even counting the Xuantian Town under its jurisdiction.

A sudden gust of wind struck, forcing the purple-feathered thunder eagle to veer sideways, making Cang Luo tighten his arms around Xuan Qingqing.

“Cang younger brother, you—you’re holding me too tightly... It’s fine, we won’t fall.” Xuan Qingqing blushed.

Unfortunately, no matter how much Xuan Qingqing reassured him, Cang Luo refused to loosen his grip—partly from genuine fear, partly because why pass up free tofu?

Cang Luo breathed in Xuan Qingqing’s youthful scent, feeling exhilarated and intoxicated.

Seeing that Cang Luo’s fear seemed genuine, Xuan Qingqing, to mask her own embarrassment, began explaining to him about beast beasts.

On the Yuanwu Continent, beast beasts, like human cultivators, are divided into ten ranks, but they lack titles such as Wu Huang or Wu Di.

Instead, they are simply called Rank One Beast Beast, Rank Two Beast Beast, Rank Three Beast Beast...

Rank One Beast Beasts correspond to human Warriors; Rank Nine Beast Beasts correspond to Wu Di.

Rank Ten Beast Beasts are called Sacred Beasts, corresponding to human Wu Sheng.

Every cultivator can subdue at least one beast beast matching their own cultivation level as their beast companion.

That is, Warriors can only subdue Rank One Beast Beasts, and Wu Wang can subdue at most Rank Seven Beast Beasts.

But there is one exception: beast beast cubs. Since newborn cubs have not yet formed a beast core, any cultivator, regardless of level, can subdue them.

Xuan Qingqing’s Rank Eight beast beast, the purple-feathered thunder eagle, was precisely such a case—it was a gift from her great-grandfather, Xuan Qiankun, on her fourteenth birthday.

More than two years have passed, yet the purple-feathered thunder eagle remains in its juvenile stage—such is the nature of high-rank beast beasts.

The higher the rank, the slower the growth, yet their power can effortlessly crush lower-rank beast beasts of the same age.

Also, theoretically, a cultivator can subdue multiple beast beasts, but most cultivators will only ever subdue one in their lifetime.

Because subduing a beast beast requires sacrificing one of the cultivator’s organs or a limb.

It could be an eye, a nose, a hand, or a kidney...

Yet, the vast majority of cultivators are unwilling to sacrifice these organs to subdue an additional beast companion.

Fortunately, the human body contains an organ with almost no function—the appendix—which is perfectly suited as a sacrifice for subduing beast beasts.

Thus, most cultivators own only one beast companion, which resides in the beast companion space within the master’s dantian during non-combat states.

The beast companion grows alongside its master: if a Rank One Beast Beast is subdued by a cultivator, when the master reaches Wu Sheng cultivation, the beast companion will attain power comparable to a Sacred Beast.

After hearing this, Cang Luo nodded, finding the beast companions of the Yuanwu Continent somewhat like Pokémon—interesting.

Subduing beast beasts, training them, fighting alongside them.

By the way, now that the two worlds are connected, could Earth develop competitions similar to Pokémon?

Even an entire industry chain centered around beast beasts? Cang Luo envisioned such a scene.

One year later on Earth, the two worlds connected, Earth’s cultivators summoning beast beasts to battle.

Solo battles, 5v5 team battles, Hundred Beasts War...

Powerful beast tamers open fighting arenas, accepting challenges from cultivators...

Officially organized tournaments at various levels: Eastern Region, Western Region, World Championship...

Thinking of these, Cang Luo became instantly excited—this was his advantage: he could begin training his beast companion a full year ahead.

Cang Luo said happily, “Senior Sister Qingqing, can I subdue a beast beast? Where do I go to catch one?”

Xuan Qingqing whispered, “Cang younger brother, any cultivator can subdue a beast beast. I’ll take you to the Beast Beast Forest to capture one, but only after your cultivation reaches Wu Jiang.”

“Why? Isn’t a Warrior enough to subdue a beast beast?”

Xuan Qingqing patiently explained, “Because summoning a beast companion consumes considerable yuan energy. Warriors have too little yuan energy—after one summon, they have none left for battle.

Also, Rank One Beast Beasts are relatively weak. Most Yuanwu Continent cultivators wait until they reach Wu Jiang or Wu Shi before deciding to subdue a beast beast.”

“I see!” Cang Luo nodded, accepting Xuan Qingqing’s advice and deciding to wait until he reached Wu Jiang before subduing a beast beast.

As they spoke, the purple-feathered thunder eagle landed before a square at the outer sect of Xuantian Sect, filled with pavilions, terraces, and towers.

This was the headquarters of the outer sect’s administrative offices—each of Xuantian Sect’s inner and outer sects had seven administrative offices.

The Office of Affairs managed sect disciples and stewards.

The Enforcement Office guarded the sect and enforced its rules.

The Elixir Office manufactured and sold elixirs.

The Technique Office collected and sold cultivation techniques.

The Weaponry Office forged and sold weapons and treasure artifacts.

The Mission Office accepted and issued tasks.

And the Precious Treasury managed the sect’s finances and sold various goods.

The heads of these seven offices were all Elders with cultivation at Wu Wang Seventh Layer or higher, called Office Elders, whose authority and power far surpassed that of the Teaching Elders who instructed inner sect disciples.

Most Teaching Elders had cultivation below Wu Wang Sixth Layer, with a few at the peak of Wu Zun.

Among them, the Enforcement Office had two Office Elders, known as the Left and Right Protectors of the Sect, whose strength ranked just below the Sect Master, Deputy Sect Master, and the four Great Elders; the other six offices each had only one Office Elder.

Below the Office Elders were Office Stewards with cultivation ranging from Wu Shi to Wu Zong, responsible for daily operations.

Inner sect Office Stewards were personally selected by the Office Elders; outer sect Office Stewards were chosen by the inner sect offices themselves. Together, there were about five hundred inner and outer sect Office Stewards.

In addition, there were eighteen hundred ordinary stewards, managed by the Inner Sect Office of Affairs.

Among them, twelve hundred managed ten thousand outer sect disciples and ten thousand laborer disciples; the remaining six hundred handled various affairs across both inner and outer sects...

“We’ve arrived. Sigh.”

Cang Luo sighed softly and reluctantly released his hold on Xuan Qingqing, leaping off the purple-feathered thunder eagle’s back.

As soon as he landed, he noticed over two hundred outer sect disciples in green robes staring at him.

Some were merely passing by, but most had come here to handle matters—collecting tasks, purchasing elixirs, and so on.

One disciple whispered, “Who is this guy? Why is he sitting behind Senior Sister Qingqing?”

“Could he be her lover?”

“Impossible! Everyone knows Senior Sister Qingqing admires the True Disciple Bai Jianfeng—how could she be interested in this trash?”

“True enough. Probably just a relative or acquaintance...”

Cang Luo might not have heard the disciples’ murmurs, but Xuan Qingqing, with her Wu Shi cultivation, heard every word clearly.

She feared they would notice her embarrassment and was even more worried that her beloved Senior Brother Bai would find out, so she snapped, “Why are you all loitering here instead of cultivating?”

Instantly, the disciples scattered, each returning to their duties—they dared not offend the Sect Master’s daughter.

Xuan Qingqing snorted, then leapt down from the purple-feathered thunder eagle.

Her right hand flickered with silver light again, and the talisman reappeared—but this time, it was not for summoning, but for recall.

“Azi, go back.”

“Lii...” The purple-feathered thunder eagle let out a soft cry in response to its master’s command, nuzzled her cheek, then stepped toward the talisman.

As it neared the talisman, its form shrank gradually, then leapt lightly into it, vanishing before Xuan Qingqing and Cang Luo—and the talisman vanished with it.

Xuan Qingqing pointed to the Office of Affairs’ entrance and said, “Cang younger brother, let’s go in.”

“Hmm...”

Cang Luo mechanically followed behind Xuan Qingqing, wondering: had he just heard someone say Senior Sister Qingqing admired someone?

Cang Luo followed Xuan Qingqing into the outer sect Office of Affairs to complete his enrollment, unaware that in a nearby alley, a pair of eyes filled with malice were fixed on him—watching him enter the office.

“Damn bastard, how dare you... how dare you hold Senior Sister Qingqing...”

The man whispering furiously was Li Haoran, the inner sect elite disciple who had been with Xuan Qingqing yesterday.

He had planned to invite her to the Beast Beast Forest for a mission—though the mission was merely an excuse to create private time together.

But Cang Luo had ruined this rare opportunity—how could he not be furious?

Li Haoran adored Xuan Qingqing; seeing Cang Luo’s closeness to her, jealousy flared instantly.

He secretly resolved to tear Cang Luo into pieces, but first he needed to investigate Cang Luo’s identity.

After all, he was brought back by the Sect Master and was close to Xuan Qingqing—he had to take this seriously.

Though every year, many homeless beggars were brought back to Xuantian Sect by kindhearted Elders—those with cultivation potential became disciples, others were assigned to Xuantian Town to learn a trade for survival.

Of course, such a minor investigation didn’t require his personal involvement—he had countless followers who would eagerly serve him at a single command.

For he was an inner sect elite disciple, and the youngest among Xuantian Sect’s top one hundred elite disciples.

At just seventeen, his cultivation had reached Wu Ling First Layer, signifying power, prestige, and extraordinary future potential.

Rumors even said an Elder intended to take him as a True Disciple, but due to his humble origins, the decision had been delayed.

This rumor only deepened Li Haoran’s hatred for disciples with “special backgrounds,” and he now categorized Cang Luo among them...