Beast Taming: Starting From Zero

The Thunder Swiftbird, a General-level beast.

Its lightning-fast speed ranks among the top three flying beasts of the same tier in the Yuhua region.

With well-developed thigh muscles, agility, and a sleek appearance, it’s the dream of many beast tamers.

Qiao Sang stared in shock at the Thunder Swiftbird before her, now in a pitiful state.

If not for its recognizable form, she would never have believed that this was once the king of General-level flying beasts.

Her body tensed up instinctively.

Undoubtedly, such a beast, which should never have appeared on Huangming Mountain, was also worth 5 million.

Qiao Sang silently watched the two beasts in front of her, her face expressionless.

Only her clenched fists betrayed her tension.

If these weren’t the beasts of a wanted criminal, but rather a regular beast tamer’s companions, she might have even taken a photo for memory.

But now, all she felt was an unprecedented sense of danger.

This made her realize that the world was far more perilous than she had imagined.

The Thunder Swiftbird, from a distance, immediately spotted the unfamiliar person.

It paused for a moment as it looked at the posture of the Fire Fang Dog, then a strange excitement surged within.

Was it an illusion, or did the Thunder Swiftbird seem to limp toward them even slower, as if its injuries had suddenly worsened?

Dragging its battered body, the Thunder Swiftbird came to the side of the Stone Helm Spirit, casting a sharp, disapproving glance at the Fire Fang Dog.

"Helm!"

"Helm!"

The Stone Helm Spirit quickly stepped forward to explain everything that had just happened.

"Thunder Swift!"

The Thunder Swiftbird feigned anger, flapping its wings, but halfway up, it winced in pain.

Out of the corner of its eye, it saw its bare, featherless left wing, and the anger that had been just an act suddenly became genuine.

"Thunder Swift!"

The Thunder Swiftbird turned and screeched at the Fire Fang Dog, ready to charge.

"Helm!" The Stone Helm Spirit, startled, quickly stepped in front of the Thunder Swiftbird.

"Thunder Swift! Thunder Swift!"

The Thunder Swiftbird was seething with rage, but its claws stayed firmly planted, not advancing a single step.

Qiao Sang watched the tug-of-war between the two beasts with a strange expression.

It was clear that the Stone Helm Spirit was genuinely worried, but the Thunder Swiftbird? It seemed fake.

A General-level Thunder Swiftbird—if it really wanted to attack the Yabao, even with its injured legs and wings, it should still be able to move faster than the Yabao’s bite.

But what about its lightning skills? Were they just for show?

Was it worried about accidentally hitting its own tamer with the lightning?

Qiao Sang's thoughts raced, and suddenly she called out, "Yabao!"

Their time together had undoubtedly built a strong bond between Yabai and Qiao Sang.

Hearing his tamer’s voice, Yabao opened his mouth slightly, preparing to bite the man’s neck.

"Helm!!!"

The Stone-Helmed Spirit let out an earth-shattering cry of sorrow.

The Thunder Swiftbird, however, stopped and excitedly watched the Fire Fang Dog.

The flames on the Fire Fang Dog's sharp teeth were just millimeters away from the man’s neck when they abruptly stopped.

The Stone Helm Spirit let out a sigh of relief.

But the Thunder Swiftbird looked disappointed, then resumed screeching angrily at the Fire Fang Dog, while the Stone Helm Spirit quickly stepped in front of it again.

Watching the contrasting reactions of the two beasts, Qiao Sang finally understood, the Thunder Swiftbird wasn’t truly angry; it was trying to provoke the Yabao into actually biting down.

Not every beast and tamer shared the bond of family or partnership.

Some tamers merely treated their beasts as tools for making money, exploiting them mercilessly.

If a low-level tamer didn't have a strong enough bond with their beast, the beast might grow discontent.

In such cases, temperamental beasts might even choose to suffer a backlash to break their contract.

But high-level tamers, with more developed mental faculties and stronger Beast Codex, made it impossible for their beasts to break free of their contracts, even if they suffered a backlash.

Once a tamer awakened their Beast Tome to three pages, reaching D-level—the beast they contracted could no longer break the bond on its own.

Unless, of course, the beast’s level was far higher than the tamer’s, but that never happened.

High-level beasts that hadn’t been contracted almost exclusively lived in secret realms.  

Their minds were already highly developed, and without overwhelming force, no human could contract them.

Only tamers stronger than these beasts could form a contract.

But even if contracted through sheer strength, such beasts wouldn’t necessarily obey.

That’s why most tamers, even at A-level, preferred to contract low-level beasts in their initial forms and raise them slowly.

However, some people thought differently.

They would risk contracting high-level beasts to quickly enhance their power.

Qiao Sang suspected that the man worth 5 million was one of those people.

The behavior of the Thunder Swiftbird and the Stone Helm Spirit was clearly different.

If the Stone Helm Spirit had been contracted when it was still a low-level beast, and the Thunder Swiftbird had been contracted after it had already reached a high level, it would explain everything.

The Thunder Swiftbird, even if it wanted to suffer backlash, couldn’t break its contract.

Under the influence of the contract, it couldn’t harm its tamer either. So, it sought to have someone else do the job, hoping the contract would then dissolve on its own.

Qiao Sang felt much more at ease after figuring it out.

Looking up at the two beasts still tussling, she said, "You two better not fight. If you scare me, I’ll have the Yabao bite your tamer’s neck off."

The Thunder Swiftbird froze at her words, then immediately put on an angry posture, ready to charge again.

"Helm!"

The Stone-Helmed Spirit once again blocked its path.

This time, the Thunder Swiftbird made a different move.

It tilted its head back and let out a long screech, and in an instant, a bolt of lightning descended from the sky, striking the spot where the Stone Helm Spirit stood.

The Stone Helm Spirit was startled and quickly vanished from sight.

The next second, the lightning struck the ground where the Stone Helm Spirit had been, leaving a deep crater.

The Stone Helm Spirit reappeared behind the Thunder Swiftbird.

"Helm!"

"Helm!"

It furiously scolded the Thunder Swiftbird.

Their master had explicitly forbidden the Thunder Swiftbird from using its skills on the mountain. The sudden appearance of lightning would draw attention to their location.

Besides, how could the Thunder Swiftbird attack so soon after that human had just spoken such words?

It had to be deliberate!

Despite its anger, the Stone Helm Spirit didn’t retaliate.

The Thunder Swiftbird’s eyes darted toward Qiao Sang’s position. It raised its one remaining feathered wing and swung it downward.

Instantly, a lightning orb about 20 centimeters in diameter formed.

Qiao Sang's eyelid twitched. Without hesitation, she turned and dashed toward the man, using him as a human shield.

The Thunder Swiftbird’s mouth twitched, and it redirected the lightning orb toward the Stone Helm Spirit.

"Helm!!"

The sudden shift in direction caught the Stone Helm Spirit off guard, and it took the full force of the hit.

Even though the Thunder Swiftbird was only a fraction of its former strength, the power of its lightning element was still formidable. The Stone Helm Spirit’s helmet cracked.

"Helm!!!"

The Stone Helm Spirit touched the crack and let out a heart-wrenching scream.

Furious, it glared at the Thunder Swiftbird, extending its right claw as a dark shadow orb formed in its grasp.

"Helm!"

"Thunder Swift!"

Watching the two figures recklessly unleashing their powers, Qiao Sang sighed.

Beasts without their tamers were truly a chaotic mess…