Chapter 598: with translation of chapter title

Everyone already had an answer in their heart, at least to some extent.

"Dean, I failed," Duan Yu said to Dean Li.

Dean Li nodded and did not press the matter.

He actually didn't have much hope for Duan Yu. Although Duan Yu's Beast Taming ability was strong, the opponent was still an Azure Dragon!

Everyone at the Academy found it somewhat hard to accept.

If Duan Yu couldn't tame that Spirit Beast, who else could?

"Dean Li, perhaps we could let Instructor Ye try."

Wu Shushan whispered into Dean Li's ear.

Instructor Ye?

Dean Li looked at Wu Shushan with puzzlement.

Wu Shushan nodded at him and explained, "Instructor Ye, she is also a Beast Tamer."

What?

Dean Li showed a surprised expression. However, his astonishment was not at Ye Qingran's identity, but at Wu Shushan's reaction, which seemed full of confidence in Ye Qingran's Beast Tamer skill.

Could it be that Ye Qingran's Beast Taming ability far surpasses Duan Yu's?

"Instructor Ye, could you step in and give it a try?"

Dean Li's voice reached every ear in the Academy, and they reacted in various ways.

"Isn't Instructor Ye an Alchemist? Since when did she become a Beast Tamer?"

"Dean Li, are you mistaken? Instructor Ye is not a Beast Tamer!"

The crowd expressed confusion.

Duan Yu, however, gazed deeply at Ye Qingran, unable to help recalling what happened on the day the Spirit Beast Horde attacked the Academy.

That day, she fainted—was it really because of Ye Qingran?

She was no longer so certain.

"Fine." Ye Qingran replied cheerfully.

Putting aside everything else, as a Beast Tamer she also wanted to try taming a Divine Beast.

The Azure Dragon is a rare Divine Beast; opportunities don't come often.

At least in recent years she had never encountered one.

Even back when she met a giant beast outside the capital of the Xuan Yuan Wang Chao, it couldn't compare to this Azure Dragon Divine Beast.

Seeing Ye Qingran agree, everyone at the Academy grew even more astonished.

They only knew Ye Qingran as an Alchemist and had never heard that she could Beast Tame.

Ye Qingran leapt upward, hovering in the void, a long wind whistling, lifting the hem of her ink‑black robe.

Already a city‑toppling beauty, she seemed like a goddess descended, peerless in elegance.

Duan Yu tilted her head slightly, watching that figure, her eyes filled with complexity.

Just from the way Ye Qingran transmitted her voice to help her escape danger earlier, she could guess that Ye Qingran truly was a Beast Tamer, and her skill was quite impressive.

Then, why did she strike at her that day in the Academy?

Was it truly to save her?

Duan Yu couldn't understand, pursing her red lips, her thoughts a whirl.

Ye Qingran stared at the Azure Dragon in the void, while her mind dwelled on other matters.

Duan Yu used Flute Taming, while she was accustomed to Qin Sound Taming, both having a similarly effective charm.

However, Beast Tamers who use instruments are rare.

Moreover, some of Duan Yu's styles were quite similar to hers.

Is this merely a coincidence?

Ye Qingran didn't overthink, earnestly probing the Azure Dragon's condition.

As she had said before, this Azure Dragon is indeed a Divine Beast, but it completely lacks the aura and strength of a mature Azure Dragon. It feels as if it were being forced to grow—its size appears large, yet it is insubstantial.

Nevertheless, it is undeniable that once the Azure Dragon is fully seized by Dead Qi and turns black, it will wield world‑destroying power.

In the crowd, Ling Xueyao looked at Ye Qingran with contempt in her eyes.

"I actually want to see how Ye Qingran will tame this Azure Dragon!"

She didn't think Ye Qingran possessed such strength. After all, Ye Qingran was already a Pill Emperor, and could not also be a powerful Beast Tamer. So Ye Qingran must be seeking attention.

When the time came, she would just muddle through, then tell everyone she failed. No one would say anything; after all Duan Yu had failed, Ye Qingran's failure would seem understandable.

Beside them, Nan Gong Han's expression was cold, his eyes toward Ye Qingran filled with chill.

"Whether she succeeds or not, her end will be the same!" Either way, it's death!

Ye Qingran took out a qin.

It was a very ordinary qin, not comparable to Lu Yunfeng's PhoenixTail Guqin.

Qin?

"Is this Ye Qingran's Beast Taming tool?"

"Why does it feel somewhat similar to Duan Yu's?"

Many people know little about Beast Taming, but they do know that Beast Tamers like Duan Yu who use instruments are few.

Moreover, Beast Tamers who use instruments are generally quite powerful.

So, Ye Qingran is also a Beast Tamer, and perhaps her skill is not mediocre?

When Nan Yan saw Duan Yu, she shamelessly slipped beside her, pretending to be very familiar with Duan Yu, drawing everyone's envy.

"Senior Sister Duan Yu, is Instructor Ye imitating you?"

Nan Yan pointed at the lute Ye Qingran was holding, a malicious curl forming at the corner of her lips.

Duan Yu ignored her, eyes fixed unblinking on the lute in Ye Qingran's hand, a surge of emotions like crashing waves flashing in their eyes.

Nan Yan didn't notice, and continued: "It must be like that. After all, I've never heard that Instructor Ye knows how to tame beasts."

After staring for a while, Duan Yu still gave no reply, and Nan Yan's face showed suspicion.

"Senior sister Duan Yu? Why aren't you speaking?"

Duan Yu still showed no reaction.

Nan Yan furrowed her brows, stepped forward, looked into Duan Yu's eyes, and found the strange light there terrifyingly intense.

"It's her? How could it be her!"

Her voice trembled slightly.

Nan Yan was left completely confused.

What is Duan Yu saying? Is she crazy?

No one knows how complicated Duan Yu's feelings are at this moment.

The lute before her was plain and simple, not a treasure, yet it had long been deeply etched in her mind.

Her gaze fixed on the lute in Ye Qingran's hand, and memories burst forth in her mind.

Back then, outside the capital of the Xuan Yuan Wang Chao in the Central Region, that goddess‑like master used this lute to subdue the giant beast!

She will never forget that lute.

And from that time onward, she switched to taming beasts with musical instruments.

How could Ye Qingran have that lute?

Duan Yu asked this question in her mind, then immediately gave herself an answer.

Because Ye Qingran is that master!

Similar stature, identical temperament, terrifyingly strong spirit power, and an identical lute…

All of it points to one fact.

Ye Qingran is that master, the person she has been searching for!

Duan Yu's mind was almost in a crash state.

All these years, she has regarded her as a life model and constantly sought her traces, never imagining their reunion would take this form.

That day the Academy was attacked by a Spirit Beast Horde; she boasted that no one on Beimingzhou could match her beast‑taming skill, and subconsciously thought Ye Qingran was deliberately interrupting her, causing her to be counter‑attacked into unconsciousness.

Now, having learned Ye Qingran's true identity, she thinks her former self was a colossal joke!

The master's beast‑taming prowess far surpasses hers, even worthy of being called unparalleled, so why would she envy such an ordinary person?

Thus, Ye Qingran's intervention at that time was truly to save her!

But what about her? How did she think of her?

Regret filled Duan Yu's chest.

As for Nan Yan…

Duan Yu turned her head, her gaze shooting toward Nan Yan.

Don't ask where Wan Anhao went; the system swallowed it!