Chapter 674
Chapter 674 - 654: Soul Awakening
1,537 words
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8 min read
Each profession, or path, usually has a very special core ability, which often comes very early, even mostly at the beginning.
Just like the Runners’ Shrink Land, Tamers’ Turning Stone into Iron, Gardeners’ Life Perception, etc., but as they go further on a professional path, they will naturally acquire more abilities, even entirely alternative abilities.
Runners will have higher-level spatial abilities, Tamers’ "Changing" abilities are no longer limited to turning stones into iron or steel, Gardeners can even awaken the ability to forcibly control and manipulate life ... But there is one profession that relies on a single ability from beginning to end, even when they reach the God Realm, they still rely on that basic ability they master at the first-tier.
"Spirit Awakening..."
Meow and Hua Xueyi were so tired that they could hardly lift their hands, but they could only continue to use the Spirit Awakening Skill on the wolf beast in front of them.
The brilliance disappeared in a flash, as if there were no traces left, while the restrained wolf beast in front of them was still ferocious after a brief moment of confusion.
If it wasn’t for Xue En and his team holding them down, they might have already attacked and bitten everyone.
𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖
More than thirty little wolf beasts went through one round of spirit awakening, and the two novice Beast Tamers were exhausted ... this was not because Lu Ping’an was stingy, but because taming a beast and awakening its spirit would create a deep connection with the Beast Tamer, which in some sense would be considered private property. Lu Ping’an couldn’t just hand it over to untrustworthy outsiders, and also...
"Spirit Awakening is quite special. It doesn’t matter who uses it. The key is not who is awakening their spirits but who is...accepting the Spirit Awakening."
These wild wolf-like beasts, most of them cubs, were gathered by Lu Ping’an’s group after visiting several wolf dens. The reason for choosing these dog-like creatures was because the giant cat said that dogs were the easiest to tame and most loyal, making them suitable for novice Beast Tamers to train... At the time, Meow’s expression was very strange as if she was somewhat unhappy and annoyed, but didn’t know what to say.
"Obviously, Meow is the best meow, the cutest and most loyal meow. What’s so good about silly dogs meow!"
Lu Ping’an heard her whisper and almost laughed out loud on the spot.
Calling the wolf beasts "dog-like" is quite a stretch, after all, normal wolf beasts don’t have four eyes. It’s just that their sharp teeth, pointed ears, and four-limbed structure somewhat resemble dogs.
But the abilities of professionals are often developed freely by their own understanding. You say it’s a dog, and sometimes it really becomes a dog...cough, at least in the early stages, it gives the newcomers some encouragement in the metaphysical realm, and it’s somewhat useful.
"Is this enough?" Xue En touched his head, barely knowing anything about Beast Tamers, and looked curious.
While talking, he had one hanging from his arm and another wrapped around his leg, but he could still make time to give the dog head an interested pat.
"Woof woof!" The beasts were still furiously biting at the panda-man in front of them, but he could only pat their heads affectionately.
For some reason, he seemed to be particularly "liked" by the wild beasts. Fortunately, he was thick-skinned and tough, making it difficult for ordinary beasts to break through his defenses.
"...This is just the beginning. The first wave is selecting the right kind of beast. Animals have spirituality, but the degree of spirituality varies. Some grow quickly under the influence of the Spirit Awakening Skill, while others barely react..."
Not all wild beasts can be tamed. After the first round of spirit awakening, Beast Tamers observe the progress of their intelligence and then eliminate those with slow progress.
Generally speaking, it is quite normal to let go of eight or nine out of ten after the first round.
As for how to test specifically, Beast Tamers have a complete set of systems, which involves using food to lure animals through a maze, testing their progress in intelligence.
"Huh? Sixty percent of them passed the first round?"
"Sounds like it’s not bad..."
"More than just not bad, it means that the creatures in this world have strong spirituality, making it a treasure land for Beast Tamers!"
Most people in the Beast Tamer profession have many misconceptions about it, thinking that they only need to tame some Demons to form combat power.
In fact, ninety percent of Beast Tamers start with taming "wild beasts," those pure animals without any pollution.
Demonizing animals, nurturing animals, allowing animals to grow alongside oneself, this "cultivation school" is one of the main branches of this profession...
Another branch is to prioritize the cultivation of innate groups as much as possible, starting from the beginning of the race.
"You say I’m the ’selective breeding school’? Heh, you’re silly. As a high-level Beast Tamer, one must excel in both aspects, with just a slight preference." Meow said so, even though she indeed leans towards innate breeding, her ability in cultivation is also unquestionable.
Spirituality is an animal’s innate attribute. After being soul awakened, it becomes extremely obvious.
Spirituality includes increased wisdom and inspiration. Even if it’s just an increase in cunning during battle, it counts as an improvement... Recognizing the evolution and growth in various aspects of a creature is quite easy.
The Spirit Awakening Skill is never a magic trick to turn stone into gold. It merely awakens the dormant potential in a life form. When the first batch of bred creatures on this planet demonstrated their astonishing adaptability to the Spirit Awakening Skill, even Meow was amazed.
Perhaps, this is the innate advantage of the primitive world.
For a Beast Tamer of her level, talent abilities, combat instincts, and foreign genes could all be obtained. But this innate spirituality is the most difficult primitive seed to obtain.
"Maybe, we can build a long-term breeding base here. Specifically for breeding."
The success of the first large-scale soul awakening enhances the efficiency of nurturing, making the cost reduction very obvious.
According to the Beast Tamer’s common sense, normally, if one out of ten survives the first screening, then the second and third screenings may maintain this rate of elimination. After three basic rounds of elimination, the cost will climb exponentially.
If half of them survive the first screening, it means their seed quality is far above average, suggesting that the elimination rate in subsequent tests will be drastically reduced. As a result, the rate of successful training will be much higher than ordinary beasts.
With multiplication and division, the cost difference could be a hundred or even a thousand times... And costs are something that professionals in reality must always keep an eye on.
An animal unable to be soul awakened and trained has innate limits no matter how potential they have.
"It’s a pity there isn’t enough time; otherwise, I wouldn’t mind training a third generation, mixing some strong combat bloodlines, and producing some quality breeds."
Meow regretted that the current conditions weren’t enough for her to slowly cultivate good breeds with various techniques and she had to make do with what was available.
Dogs were domesticated from wolves. Since Beast Tamers can make wild animals more docile, they can also make them more ferocious.
This is not simply a matter of whips and candies, but more of genetic selection. Even in Lu Ping’an’s previous world, some people had conducted animal training experiments. They used foxes as experimental subjects, selected individuals who were close to humans for breeding, and after dozens of generations, they obtained fox breeds that were very close to humans.
Those foxes would proactively approach humans and try to please them, sharing many similarities in behavior with domestic dogs.
Some animals can be tamed, while others will remain wild no matter what. Of course, this only applies to ordinary humans; high-level Beast Tamers have various means up their sleeves.
In the hands of high-level Beast Tamers, the parents don’t even have to be of the same species. The potential of the "babies" they can produce is quite frightening. It’s simply not difficult to slightly lower potential and increase loyalty with their genetic seeds.
Obviously, Beast Tamers are much like Gardeners, both being time-consuming and late-game professions.
Compared to ordinary Beast Tamers, Lu Ping’an, who carries his own "zoo"... Meow’s team started running halfway through the race.
But now, even though she is deeply moved by the spirituality of the creatures in this world, she has to postpone all plans and prioritize training for immediate combat power.
"Don’t give up on the eliminated beasts. Directly demonize them; they will make excellent soldiers. Of course, as a prerequisite to controlling them, we need to raise a powerful Beast King first."
Looking at the dozens of wolf beasts fighting in front of her, Meow was full of expectation.
— End of Chapter 674 —