Under One Person: Rebuilding the Glory of the Beast Master

In the days that followed, Zeng Su divided his thoughts into three parts.

On Baijiahei's body, he diligently practiced the Hundred Refinements Technique every single day without fail.

He devoted himself to spiritual practice, including morning prayers, meditation, qi circulation, and reading, day after day without interruption.

The last piece of work, and the one he's been most focused on lately, is finding a new tamed beast.

He had circled the woods around the Trinity Gate several times. There were quite a few squirrels, rabbits, and pheasants, but their potential ratings were all below E. The potential rating for unlimited evolution ranges from E to S. If it's not E, then it doesn't even meet the basic conditions for unlimited evolution.

But this is the norm, because a beast tamer who can reach level E is already extraordinary.

After searching for many days in the woods around Sanyi Gate, I finally found an animal with a potential rating of E-. However, it turned out to be an old, toothless hare that could barely hop. It had no value for evolution and was not even worth using for breeding.

"Mount Taimu is so vast and a place of spiritual beauty; it's impossible that it doesn't have some good things." Zeng Su sat on a pine tree, his gaze passing over the fence of the animal enclosure and landing in the depths of the distant, layered mountains and forests.

Mount Taimu stretches for hundreds of miles, and the Sanyi Gate only occupies one of its main peaks. Most of the mountains and forests are still in their original state and rarely visited by people. Those are the places where good things are truly hidden.

"Baijiahei," he called out to Baijiahei, who was dozing under the pine tree.

Bai Jiahei opened one eye and lazily hummed.

Have you ever been to the back mountain?

Both Baijiahei opened their eyes, tilted their heads and thought for a moment, then shook their heads. For the past few months, they had mostly stayed within the gate, never venturing any further than the gate's archway.

"Starting tomorrow, you can go for a walk in the back mountain," Zeng Su said. "Smell around and see if there's anything unusual. Remember, don't go too far, and be back before dark."

Bai Jiahei blinked and let out a questioning hum – What are you looking for?

"Find—" Zeng Su thought for a moment, but couldn't quite explain what he was looking for. "Find something special that you think is special. Anything will do, something alive, something with Qi, something different from ordinary things."

Bai Jiahei nodded, rested its head back on its front hooves, and continued to doze off.

In its mind, it thought, "Since my master told me to go, I'll go!" Besides, it had been wanting to go to other places for a while, and it had already had its fill of exploring Sanyi Gate.

Zeng Su leaned against the pine trunk, closed his eyes, and pondered another problem in his mind.

He currently only has one beast, a white one and a black one. It's not that he can't contract more, but rather that he doesn't know how to feed it after contracting it.

Beastmasters' contracts with beasts are not simply a matter of signing a contract. Each beast requires its master to nurture it with their Qi, unblock its meridians, and cultivate a bond. The more beasts one tames, the greater the Qi consumption and the more energy required.

Baijiahei is already a mythical beast, and the Qi it feeds back is more than what you give it, so raising Baijiahei is not only not a loss, but also a gain.

If you were to raise a few ordinary beasts now, such as tigers or bears, they might seem powerful, but they would be of little use in the world of supernatural beings.

He also figured out that E-level represents Qi sensing, which is very difficult for animals. You know, Baijiahei was selected from hundreds of piglets in Zengjiazhuang. After growing up, he had the potential to reach E+ level. He had already found a treasure.

Finding a beast with even higher talent than Baijiahei is extremely difficult and requires exceptional luck.

"It may be difficult, but we have to give it a try." Zeng Su opened his eyes and jumped down from the tree.

The speckled chickens in the pen were startled by the noise of his landing and scattered in all directions. The dozen or so black pigs, however, remained calm, glanced at him, and then continued rooting in the soil.

Zeng Su walked to the middle of the black pig herd, squatted down, reached out and touched the head of the nearest black pig, while simultaneously channeling his Qi into its body.

The system panel unfolds before your eyes:

[Domesticable target detected: Pig]

[Breed: Local Pig]

[Current Evolution Stage: Mortal Beast]

[Potential Rating: None]

[Evolutionary Path: None (Potential too low to support evolution)]

Zeng Su withdrew his hand and sighed. Just like the ordinary pigs he had tested in Zengjiazhuang, they had no potential and no evolutionary path.

He tried several other black pigs and speckled chickens, but the result was the same: they had no potential and could not evolve.

The livestock in the pen were all ordinary breeds that Sanyimen bought from the village at the foot of the mountain, which were no match for the superior breeds that Zengjiazhuang had cultivated over the past hundred years.

"Junior Brother!"

At that moment, a voice came from outside the animal pen.

Zeng Su looked up and saw a young man in a white robe standing outside the fence waving at him.

"Senior Brother Lu Jin."

Zeng Su also waved to him.

The visitor was Lu Jin, and as one of the main characters in Under One Person, he naturally wanted to befriend him. Moreover, Lu Jin was an optimistic and cheerful person, and he had the best interpersonal relationships within the entire San Yi Sect. It only took a few greetings for him to establish a good relationship with him.

"Hello, junior brother!" Lu Jin said, casually tossing Zeng Su a bundle. "These are some snacks I bought, have a taste."

"Thank you, senior brother."

Zeng Su caught the bundle; both of them moved with practiced ease, clearly indicating that this wasn't Lu Jin's first time here.

The first thing Lu Jin did after jumping into the animal enclosure wasn't to look for Zeng Su, but to look around and then he saw Bai Jiahei sleeping soundly under a pine tree.

"Brother Bai!" Lu Jin called out, then ran to Bai Jiahei's side.

Baijiahei opened its sleepy eyes, glanced at Lu Jin, and then closed them again, its body arching further into the pine tree. It didn't want to talk to Lu Jin today.

Few in the Sanyi Sect still want to fight Bai Jiahei, but Lu Jin is different. He seeks out Bai Jiahei for a fight every day or two, and even if he loses badly and gets bruised and battered, he still enjoys it.

Lu Jincai truly embodies the saying, "Get up wherever you fall."

Bai Jiahei is actually willing to fight with Lu Jin; fighting and playing are things it enjoys. However, it doesn't want to fight today. It was exhausted from using the Hundred Refinement Technique to temper its body this morning and just wanted to sleep.

Lu Jin wasn't annoyed that Bai Jiahei was ignoring him. He took out a box of pastries from the bag he was carrying. These were pastries from Xingyuanzhai, and this small box alone was worth 10 silver dollars.

"Brother Bai, this is your favorite." Lu Jin squatted down in front of Bai Jiahei and took out a pastry from the box. A sweet and cloying aroma immediately filled the air.

Bai Jiahei's nose twitched twice, and his eyes, which had been closed, opened a crack. He glanced at the snack box in Lu Jin's hand, then closed them again.

But its ears twitched, and its body tilted slightly, moving half an inch toward Lu Jin.

This subtle change did not escape Lu Jin's notice. He chuckled, took a piece of osmanthus cake from the box, and waved it in front of Bai Jiahei's nose: "Brother Bai, smell this. It's freshly baked by Xingyuanzhai. I went down the mountain early this morning to queue up and buy it."

Bai Jiahei finally opened his eyes.

It glanced at the osmanthus cake, then at Lu Jin's beaming face, and slowly opened its mouth, as if to say, "Come on! Feed me."

Lu Jin stuffed the osmanthus cake into its mouth, and Bai Jiahei chewed it a couple of times before letting out a satisfied hum. It nudged Lu Jin's hand with its nose, meaning "one more piece."

"Yes, yes, yes, plenty." Lu Jin took out another piece, this time a mung bean cake.

And so, the man and the pig sat under the pine tree, sharing the box of pastries, one piece at a time. Bai Jiahei ate most of it, Lu Jin only tasted two small pieces, and the rest went into Bai Jiahei's stomach.

Zeng Su stood to the side watching this scene and couldn't help but shake his head.

When he first met Lu Jin, he never imagined that this "flawless" old man Lu was like this when he was young—to please a pig, he ran half an hour early in the morning to buy some snacks, and he was as happy as could be.

"Senior brother, if you keep doing this, you'll fatten up Baijiahei to a ball." Zeng Su walked over and sat down next to Lu Jin.

"Ball?" Lu Jin looked Bai Jiahei up and down, patted his muscular body a couple of times, and then said with a smile, "Junior brother, how could Brother Bai possibly get fat? If he does get fat, remember to share some meat with me. Eating Brother Bai's body would be better than any elixir."

Upon hearing this, Bai Jiahei perked up his ears and gave Lu Jin a wary look.

Lu Jin quickly waved his hand: "Brother Bai, don't misunderstand, that's not what I meant."

Bai Jia glared at him, turned his head away, and turned his back to him.

Lu Jin awkwardly touched his nose and turned to Zeng Su, saying, "Junior Brother, I just heard that you've been looking for a new tamed beast?"

Zeng Su nodded: "What's wrong?"

"I'm keeping an eye out for you." Lu Jin patted his chest. "I've been with the Sanyi Sect for so many years, I know Mount Taimu better than you do. Just tell me what kind you're looking for, and I'll find it for you."

Zeng Su thought for a moment, but he really didn't know how to describe what he wanted. He couldn't very well say, "I want a beast with a high potential rating," since Lu Jin couldn't see the system panel.

"It's...not ordinary." He said carefully, "Ordinary wild beasts won't work; it has to be something with a bit of spirituality, something that can sense Qi."

Lu Jin nodded thoughtfully: "I understand. It's a strange beast, then?"

Only Lu Jin would say that, because exotic beasts are rare and hard to come by, and there are probably only a few in the three northeastern provinces of China.

"It doesn't necessarily have to be a strange beast," Zeng Su said with a smile. "It just needs to have the potential to become a strange beast."

Lu Jin glanced at him and muttered, "You've got quite the nerve. One beast isn't enough, you want to raise another one?"

Zeng Su smiled but offered no explanation.

Lu Jin didn't press further, stood up, and dusted off his robe: "Alright, I'll keep an eye out for you. Mount Taimu is so big, there are plenty of strange and unusual things there, maybe we can find something good."

After he finished speaking, he squatted down again and patted Bai Jiahei's butt: "Brother Bai, I'm leaving now. I'll come see you again tomorrow."

Bai Jiahei snorted in response.

Lu Jin took two steps and then turned back: "By the way, junior brother, the sect leader wants you to go to Qingxu Hall after morning class tomorrow."

Zeng Su was slightly taken aback: "The sect leader is looking for me?"

"Yes, it's a message from Uncle-Master Si Chong." Lu Jin waved his hand. "He's probably asking about your cultivation progress. Don't be nervous."

Zeng Su nodded and watched Lu Jin's figure disappear at the end of the bamboo path.

Bai Jiahei nudged his hand with its nose and let out a questioning hum—What does the sect leader want with you?

Bai Jiahei had met Zuo Ruotong many times, but every time he saw Zuo Ruotong, he was terrified. It was a huge difference in their levels, and the more spiritual one was, the more terrifying it was.

"I don't know either." Zeng Su patted its head. "You'll find out when we get there."

The next morning, Zeng Su attended the morning class as usual.

The morning class was led by Master Si Chong, and the content was meditation and breath control.

Zeng Su closed his eyes and circulated the Qi in his body according to the route of the Beast Sensing Technique. The Qi with the texture of metal flowed slowly in his meridians and became more solid after more than three months of cultivation.

But it's still very "hard".

Zeng Su opened his eyes and glanced at a senior brother sitting next to him. His body was radiating a faint white light, which was a sign of the Qi-transformed skin manifestation of the first level of the Reverse Life Triple Stage.

This senior apprentice only started learning two months earlier than him, and now he's already firmly standing on the threshold of the first level of reverse rebirth, while he hasn't even touched the door yet.

To be honest, this feeling isn't pleasant.

But he didn't let these feelings bother him for long. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, and every path has its ups and downs; he didn't need to be number one on every track.

After the morning classes, Zeng Su walked along the stone steps towards Qingxu Hall at the top of the mountain.

The fog on Mount Taimu was very thick in the early morning. The ancient cypress trees on both sides of the stone steps were faintly visible in the fog, and the palaces and pavilions in the distance seemed to be floating above the sea of ​​clouds, just like a fairyland.

There aren't many people walking around on the mountain at this spot. Occasionally, one or two disciples would pass by and greet him warmly.

When he arrived at the entrance of Qingxu Hall, Zeng Su straightened his clothes, stood outside the door, and said loudly, "Disciple Zeng Su requests an audience with the sect leader."

"Come in." Zuo Ruotong's voice came from inside the hall, gentle and refined.

Zeng Su pushed open the door and went in.

Zuo Ruotong was not wearing his usual moon-white robe today, but instead wore a light blue long gown. His hair was casually tied back. He was sitting on a futon in front of the hall, with a pot of tea and two teacups on a small table in front of him.

"Sit down." Zuo Ruotong pointed to the futon opposite her.

Zeng Su sat down properly.

Zuo Ruotong picked up the teapot and poured a cup of tea into each of the two cups. The tea was clear and bright, and a delicate aroma filled the air.

"Try it." Zuo Ruotong picked up her cup and gently blew on it.

Zeng Su picked up the teacup with both hands and took a sip. The tea was slightly bitter at first, but then sweet, leaving him feeling inexplicably comfortable.

"Good tea," he said.

Zuo Ruotong smiled and said, "This is white tea from Mount Taimu. It's not anything particularly precious, but it's clean."

He put down his teacup and looked at Zeng Su: "Have you gotten used to living on the mountain for the past three months?"

"It's a habit." Zeng Su nodded. "My senior brothers and uncles take good care of their disciples."

Zuo Ruotong nodded slightly: "If there's anything inappropriate regarding your clothing, food, housing, or transportation, please feel free to speak up. You're young and at the age where you're still growing, so we can't skimp on your food, clothing, and other necessities."

"It's all suitable," Zeng Su said. "The arrangements within the sect are already quite appropriate."

Zuo Ruotong glanced at him, seemingly trying to determine whether he was telling the truth or just being polite.

After a moment, he nodded and changed the subject: "How's your practice of the Reverse Life Triple Stage coming along?"