I can understand what the furry creatures are saying, and I've become the number one beast tame

Chapter 267 Monster Behavior

"Ordinary spirit beast meat exchanged by the sect."

Nan Ran touched her nose: "My big cat's snacks..."

Big cat?

At first, I thought "big cat" referred to a pet-type monster.

Only later did it dawn on me—"The big cat you're talking about, could it be the Flame Lion?"

The fact that Nan Ran had contracted a Flaming Lion was no secret within the Beast Taming Sect.

Especially those in the outer sect, almost everyone was envious.

Every now and then I hear people talking about it.

Many even wanted to befriend Nan Ran, but since Nan Ran never appeared in the outer sect, they had no way to get close to him.

However, judging from the familiarity between Huiyao and Nanran during their conversation, the two must have a very good relationship.

She vaguely remembered that Huiyao and the others had formed a team with Nanran, which was why they were able to successfully advance to the outer sect disciples.

At the time, many people mocked the group for using connections, saying that their true colors would be revealed during the assessment and they would be eliminated and reduced to registered disciples.

However, during this period, Huiyao and the others improved their strength rapidly, and their assessment results were basically all excellent, which greatly embarrassed everyone. As a result, such doubts gradually disappeared.

Nan Ran figured that everyone already knew about his contract with the Flaming Lion, so he naturally wouldn't deny it.

He nodded, without saying anything more.

Feng Chun, being sensible, didn't ask any more questions.

However, she clearly took Nan Ran's words to heart.

Therefore, after arriving at the sect's dining hall, Fengchun specially ordered a lot of food that carnivorous monsters liked.

The mud horse was indeed very happy to see the meat.

Completely unlike his usual anorexia, he practically buried his head in the bowls of meat and vegetables, devouring them in a flash.

wuniang～wuniang～

delicious.

but--

It's still not as good as the meat strips Nanran gave me.

The mud horse beast couldn't help but raise its head and look at Nan Ran.

They watched longingly.

It's obvious she's still thinking about the meat strips she ate this morning.

Nan Ran's attention had long since flown off to who-knows-where.

She was sighing.

In this era, we can still see some traces of her past life.

For example, the cafeteria...

It's similar to the university cafeteria in my previous life.

There are many stalls scattered around.

The disciples can order whatever they want to eat and then pay the bill using sect contribution points.

but……

The prices here are anything but cheap.

A simple stir-fried Qingling vegetable dish costs fifty sect contribution points!

That's equivalent to the reward for a small task!

Even completing a simple sect mission might not earn you fifty sect contribution points.

Not to mention the meat and vegetables.

A meatball that's smaller than her fist costs three hundred sect contribution points!
Not to mention the even more precious ingredients.

Feng Chun was quite generous to his pet, ordering several meat dishes and spending a full three thousand sect contribution points.

Nan Ran only ordered one meat dish and one vegetable dish, but it still cost him 500 sect contribution points.

The price was truly astonishing to her.

The registration fee for participating in a sect assessment, plus the cost of a meal!
However, many outer disciples struggle to even afford the registration fee for the regular assessments.

"Who usually comes to this cafeteria?"

Nan Ran seriously doubted whether ordinary outer disciples could afford meals at this price.
Feng Chun was taken aback: "The ingredients here are rather ordinary; it's usually the older disciples from the outer sect who patronize this place."

Aside from the initial reward of 200 sect contribution points for each new disciple upon promotion, they rarely have any extra sect contribution points. Once they understand the survival rules of the outer sect and the uses of their sect contribution points, few dare to squander them recklessly.

Not to mention people coming to the cafeteria to eat just to satisfy their appetites.

Most people prefer fasting.

Inner disciples have their own private dining hall, where the ingredients are said to be of much higher quality than those here.

Outer disciples are not qualified to go.

Even if we went, we couldn't afford to order a single dish.

I heard that even the cheapest dish of spirit rice in the inner sect canteen costs at least five thousand sect contribution points.

There, flower contribution points flowed like water.

I feel a bit nervous during the spring.

To be honest, the quality of the ingredients here isn't very good. Does Nanran think that she's being negligent?

But this was already the best meal she could afford.

She had accumulated over three thousand sect contribution points over two whole years.

"Junior Sister Nanran, do you think... this place is not good?"

Feng Chun had heard of Nan Ran to some extent and knew that she was wealthy, so she probably rarely ate at such a cheap canteen.

Looking again at the meat and vegetables, most of which had ended up in the bellies of their own pets, they felt even more embarrassed.

I promised to treat them to a meal, but it seems like they barely ate anything.

That was indeed a serious neglect.

"It's nothing, I'm just curious because it's my first time here."

It feels like they're robbing us. They could just take the sect contribution points, but instead they give us two bites of food.

The food didn't taste very good...

It's not as good as Senior Sister Huiyao's cooking!
However, there was really no need to say the following.

It was someone else's invitation, after all.

It would be impolite to pour cold water on someone's enthusiasm.

Feng Chun breathed a sigh of relief, but soon realized that Nan Ran probably really had never been to the outer sect...

However, to be able to contract with the Fiery Lion, one only needs to accumulate enough experience, participate in the inner sect promotion assessment, and become an inner sect disciple.

There's really no need to learn these low-level techniques in the outer sect.

Feng Chun realized that she couldn't see through Nan Ran's cultivation level, which meant that Nan Ran's cultivation level was much higher than hers.

He can contract the Flaming Lion and knows the correct way to raise the Mud Horse Beast... He must have already learned advanced techniques and knowledge that are only taught in the inner sect, right?
Feng Chun's eyes held a hint of envy, but also a greater sense of determination.

She also wants to work hard to enter the inner circle!

Nan Ran felt that the way this child looked at her seemed a little different.

After Feng Chun made up her mind, she put on an even bigger smile and asked Nan Ran if she wanted to order two more dishes.

The first step to entering the inner circle: Cling tightly to the powerful figure right in front of you!

After all, Nan Ran is the only one she knows who knows how to raise mud horse beasts!

If she could successfully raise the Mud Horse Beast, and gain the strength and power to back it up, her chances of becoming an inner disciple would naturally increase. Nan Ran was unaware of what she was thinking; she only felt that Feng Chun's gaze towards her was like that of a hungry wolf eyeing its prey.

She smiled and politely declined, saying, "I'm full."

Feng Chun naturally wouldn't force it, and even breathed a slight sigh of relief.

She didn't have many sect contribution points left.

but--

[Chirp!] People! More!

The mud horse beast, having just tasted meat, was clearly not full.

It chirped a few times at Fengchun.

Feng Chun didn't understand its meaning, but just as usual, she lovingly patted its head.

[Chirp!] So much meat! So much meat!
The mud horse neighed a few times, but Feng Chun just patted its head reassuringly. It immediately understood that it couldn't be relied on.

Thinking back to the days when he ate chaff and wild vegetables, the mud horse suddenly felt hopeless about his life.

If you've never tasted meat, that's fine.

He'll live a muddled life, and it won't be long before he's raised to death by Fengchun.

Perhaps it will never know the reason why it was tormented and why it resisted eating grass until it died.

It's instinct!
They are carnivores, with a craving for fresh blood and raw meat!

Of course, cooked food is fine too.

Mud Horse Beast couldn't help but reminisce about the few strips of meat Nan Ran had given him.

It's delicious. After chewing it carefully, a salty taste spreads in your mouth.

When the salty taste dissipated, it felt like the whole beast had regained its strength!

My limbs are no longer as soft and limp as before.

That was a long-lost feeling of power!
The mud horse immediately turned its gaze to Nan Ran: [Chirp!]
people!
meat!
It wants to eat that dark strip of meat!

It tastes better than what we just ate!
After eating these things, I only regained a little bit of strength!
But those meat strips were different!
The meat strips restored so much of its strength!
[Chirp!] Human, meat! Give me meat! Every single piece!
[Chirp chirp!]
The mud horse roared louder and louder, immediately attracting the attention of many people.

Feng Chun blushed with embarrassment, like a helpless parent facing a naughty child but unable to bring themselves to discipline them: "Stop yelling..."

"Stop calling me 'sweetie'... What do you want? Tell me, okay?"

"Do you want to go back?"

"Are you scared because there are too many people?"

"Shall I take you back now?"

Based on his "experience" and the beast-taming theory he had learned, Feng Chun quickly determined that the mud horse beast was stressed due to too many people.

She looked at Nan Ran with great embarrassment: "I'm so sorry, Junior Sister Nan Ran, I'm really sorry. I was originally planning to show you around the outer sect and let you get used to the environment, but the Mud Horse Beast is afraid of people and seems to be a bit stressed right now. I need to take it back to calm it down..."

Nan Ran pointed at the mud-horse beast that was cursing and swearing as it asked her for meat strips.

"It's reacting to stress?"

Feng Chun nodded, feeling increasingly embarrassed as more and more eyes turned towards her.

Nan Ran was speechless for a moment.

I glanced at the mud horse beast that was protesting vehemently.

This is not a stress response at all.

...They were clearly starving.

“It didn’t react to the stress.” Nan Ran hesitated for a moment before saying, “And there’s no need to comfort it.”

She wasn't quite sure what "appeasement" meant here.

But this little chirping creature definitely doesn't need to be soothed.

If we really need to appease them, then maybe only meat strips will do.

"Huh?" Feng Chun was stunned.

Not stress?

But these symptoms—unexplained irritability, yelling, and aggressive tendencies—are clearly signs of stress!

Why did Junior Sister Nanran say this wasn't a stress response?

Nan Ran took a deep breath, looked at the mud horse beast, and said in a deep voice, "Shut up!"

[Chirp!] No, no! I want meat! Give me meat!

What a naughty child!

"Otherwise, I won't let you eat meat strips," Nan Ran threatened softly.

[...] Chu~ Okay, okay~

Looking at the mud horse beast that had suddenly quieted down and even sat obediently, Fengchun blinked, somewhat questioning her life.

"Junior Sister Nanran, this? You—" can communicate with demonic beasts?
Feng Chun stared in astonishment, mouth agape, momentarily speechless.

Nan Ran presented the reason she had already prepared.

"By observing changes in a monster's behavior and voice, one can roughly determine its current mental state, which is the basic knowledge of monster behavior."

"It's also a required course for beast tamers to learn beast language, understand the needs of monsters, and achieve basic communication with them!"

It's unrealistic to say she completely doesn't understand animal language. Fortunately, this world does have a study of animal behavior, and skilled beast tamers can communicate with animals in a simple way, rather than relying entirely on force to form a contract.

Therefore, her reasoning is quite reasonable.

However, the study of monster behavior is very difficult.

The outer disciples will certainly learn, but it's all basic theory, and it might even be the kind that's rather rigid, which can only be considered a basic introduction.

Once you enter the inner circle, you will learn more profound knowledge.

It even involves correcting and expanding upon the basic understanding of those outside the sect.

Just like most people, when they were young, they might have learned to steal light by chiseling a hole in the wall, taking it as a model of diligence and studiousness. But when they grew up, they realized that... stealing light when they were young meant evading taxes when they grew up!
For example, when we were young, we learned the saying "Who knows that every grain on the plate is the result of hard work?" This was meant to teach people to cherish food. However, the person who said this was actually a corrupt official who preyed on the people!

For example, when I was a child, I often saw various public service advertisements that said things like "no buying, no killing" and "it's wrong to eat shark fin and tiger bone." In reality, many people will never see these things in their entire lives.

The basic knowledge of the outer sect is much like the difference between the in-depth knowledge of the inner sect and the knowledge of the outer sect, much like the difference between childhood cognition and adult cognition.

Feng Chun's eyes lit up immediately!
Monster Behavior!
She had certainly heard of this course before.

There is a course in the outer sect called the Basic Theory of Monster Behavior.

The elder in charge of teaching often said, "You only need to have a general understanding of these theoretical knowledge. The official name of this course is Monster Behavior Science, which is a very profound and complex subject. You can't access it yet. It's an advanced technique that you can only learn after you enter the inner sect and become an elite disciple!"

Junior Sister Nanran has not appeared in the outer sect, which is definitely not because she has already learned the knowledge of the inner sect!

No wonder he was able to contract a high-level demon beast like the Flaming Lion!

Nan Ran was completely unaware that the rumors about her had gradually changed from "a useless member of the sect," "a bottom-ranked student," and "someone who couldn't even memorize the complete monster encyclopedia" to "a genius who could self-study elite inner sect subjects."

If she knew, she would definitely think that, indeed, wherever there are people, rumors will silently breed, spread widely, be believed by people, and eventually be taken as fact.

Today they might say you're a genius, tomorrow they might say you're a fool.

Truth and falsehood can be easily confused; one can make up whatever one wants just by talking.

Even without any real evidence, as long as many people say it, countless people will naturally believe it to be true.

Humans are such adorable yet detestable creatures!
After learning that Nan Ran understood the behavior of demon beasts, Feng Chun looked at her with even more admiration and envy.

"That mud horse beast was just—" hungry?
You've eaten so much meat, are you still hungry? Do you want more meat?

Feng Chun looked at the mud horse beast with a pang of heartache, and at the same time felt a pang of heartache for herself.

I feel sorry for Mud Horse Beast; it probably hasn't had a proper meal since it started following her.

She felt sorry for herself—it seemed she simply couldn't afford to raise such a meat-eating monster.

If she can't even meet her basic dietary needs, how can she possibly successfully raise a mud horse beast?