"The wolf won't stop pursuing you? That does sound a bit strange." Yang Gang said. Yang Gang and Yang Bin were in the living room. Yang Gang was on the couch with a thoughtful expression.
Yang Bin had finished giving his narration to him. Unlike Li Jing, Yang Gang wasn't livid, but Yang Bin still received an earful of scolding from him.
"Normally, when any magic beast is injured, it should stop fighting and try to tend its wounds. Demon beasts are no exception. Even if the wolf saw you as an easy prey, it should only try to scare you off, instead of giving such a long chase. The blood of a magic beast acts like a magnet and can attract many other beasts. The more it bleeds, the higher the chances of it being noticed, and when it does encounter another demon beast, the other demon beast would definitely try to kill it." Yang Gang continued.
"Why so?" Yang Bin asked.
"Because magic beasts can get stronger by devouring beast cores and blood essence." Yang Gang explained.
Yang Bin nodded in understanding. "Then dad, do you know any reasons why it would chase me like that?"
Yang Gang rubbed his chin and thought for a bit. "I doubt the wolf had a grudge against you, so it's either the wolf wasn't in its correct state of mind, or it was following commands."
"Following commands?" Yang Bin was puzzled. From what he learned, demon beasts were wild and untamable. They were ruled by their savage nature.
"Demon beasts tend to be unruly and unbridled, especially at the lower levels. They don't always have a harmonious relationship with other demon beasts of the same race, much less other races. Naturally, they won't submit to each other, but they aren't completely stupid. There are ways to make a demon beast bow its head." Yang Gang explained.
"The most common way is through force, simply beat it into submission. As long as there is a huge disparity of strength between the two parties, the weaker beast would stop resisting after a bit of pain. Of course this isn't the case with every beast; some would rather fight to the death than serve others. Not only that, this method is also rather dangerous. Since the demon beast is forcefully subjugated, it would always look for a chance to take revenge. There are countless incidents of a weaker demon beast killing and devouring a stronger demon beast when the stronger demon beast lowers its guard or becomes injured."
"Another way is convincing it through benefits. Although lower rank demon beasts aren't nearly as intelligent as humans, some are able to understand the rewards they'll reap if they serve a stronger demon beast. Rewards like safety and beast cores. This is much less risky but a lot more difficult, since one will need an extremely tempting treasure in order to make the beast submit."
After that, Yang Gang paused for a second. "The last method is through the use of techniques. A cultivator can use techniques to subdue a demon beast."
Yang Bin reeled in shock. "There are techniques that can subdue a demon beast?"
"Yes, cultivators that practice beast-subduing techniques are called beast cultivators. They are a completely separate branch of cultivation. They don't cultivate their qi, spirit, or body." Yang Gang replied.
"Then what do they cultivate?" Yang Bin asked in awe.
Yang Gang hesitated, then he shrugged helplessly, "I don't know either."
"Ah?" Yang Bin gawked. In his mind, he always thought that his father was omnipotent and all-knowing. But now, his perception of his father was shattered.
As if knowing his thoughts, Yang Gang frowned and scolded him. "Hey, beast cultivators are extremely rare. There are probably only about 100 beast cultivators in this entire world. Your chances of meeting one in your entire life is basically zero. If not for the fact that I've met one, I would have thought this was just a myth."
Yang Bin's eyes widened in surprise. "So rare?"
"Yes." Yang Gang nodded. "Back to the matter at hand, the wolf beast you fought was probably following orders from another beast. Since it was relentless, you were probably in the stronger beast's territory. As long as you don't venture there again, you should be fine."
"Alright." Yang Bin nodded. "Wait dad, you never told me never told me what rank demon beast is considered 'lower rank'."
Yang Gang smiled slightly, "Any demon beast under the fourth rank is considered a low rank demon beast."
Yang Bin's mouth dropped in shock. "So rank 3 demon beasts are considered low rank!? If that's the case, how strong would the middle rank and higher rank demon beasts be?"
"Heh, those are able to kill you with just their sneeze." Yang Gang said.
Yang Bin just stared back at him, his mouth agape with incredulity. In the past 10 minutes, he had been surprised over and over again.
Seeing his expression, Yang Gang chuckled. "The world is a big place. There are many things you don't know, but you don't need to worry about them. Just focus on getting stronger." He stood up. "Speaking of which, our village is going to hold a hunting event again in a week. Normally, it should have been held two months ago, but it was delayed. Before it starts, make sure you are at your strongest."
Hearing that, Yang Bin's eyes brightened.
Every year their clan would hold a hunting event to support the young talents. But only those that meet the requirements of the entrance exams are able to participate: 12 or younger and at least in the fifth rank of body tempering. Since he was only at the third rank two months ago, Yang Bin assumed that he didn't have the qualifications to participate, thus never heard any news about it. He never thought it was pushed back and pushed back so far.
The contestants can bring anything they want into the event: weapon, pills, and talismans; as long as it was within the limits: 1 weapon- inscribed or normal and 4 pills and talisman at the first rank or lower.
"I understand. I'll make sure I come back in first place." Yang Bin thumped his chest and declared.
Yang Gang gave him a strange look. You barely meet the qualifications, yet you expect to win first place?
"Alright, I'll hold you to it." Yang Gang carelessly waved his hand.
The hunting event was simple. The contestants enter a location designated for the event for the allocated time; it tends to be an uninhabited land in their territory. During that time, they will hunt beasts and gather herbs. At the end of the allotted time, the contestants will turn in what they have collected and receive points based on the quality and quantity of the collection. The higher the points, the higher the rank, which means greater rewards.
While stronger contestants usually have an advantage, this event doesn't just test the strength of the contestants. Luck and strategy is also involved.
While Yang Bin excitedly dashed away, Yang Gang continued to frown to himself. After a few seconds, Li Jing walked in and sat next to him.
"What are you thinking about?" Li Jing asked with a smile.
"This year's hunting event was delayed. In the past 10 years, it has only happened once, and that was because of an unforeseen incident." Yang Gang said.
Since the clan were sending their youths into the wilderness, the upper members of the clan needed to make sure the area was safe. They would scout out the land, and kill any beast that was too strong. After sweeping away the stronger beasts, they would place runes down that would prevent any beasts from entering or leaving. From then, the clan would routinely send adults to patrol the area up until the event.
During that year's hunting event, there was an early rank 4 Deep Cave Beetle hiding deep within the ground. Fortunately, in the week before the hunting event was opened, the grand elder of the clan decided to personally scan the terrain. Because of that, the Deep Cave Beetle was discovered. After a long battle by the elders and chief, the beetle finally died. After that incident, they delayed the hunting event by two weeks, making it the first time the event was delayed.
"But nothing out of the ordinary occurred during that hunting event. And if there was something wrong with this event, they probably would have canceled it." Li Jing pointed out.
Yang Gang thought for a second. "You're probably right. Our clan will not put our young talents at risk. But that event was only delayed for less than a month. This event was delayed for two months, I can't help but worry."
Li Jing leaned on him. "Don't wear yourself out of worry. No matter what happens, our children will be safe."
Yang Gang smiled. "Right. Even if it's a King, they won't be able to touch our children, as long as I'm here."