Under One Person: Rebuilding the Glory of the Beast Master

"Owner!"

The moment those two words left his mouth, Xuanhei felt his worldview about tortoise life crumbling.

"You—what did you do to me?!" Xuanhei's voice changed tone. Although it still had that old voice, the ending tone rose uncontrollably, carrying a kind of intimacy that even it found unfamiliar.

It wanted to retreat and shrink back into its shell, to keep its distance from Zeng Su, but its body wouldn't obey its commands.

No, it's not that it's disobedient. Every cell, every wisp of energy, every bone in its body is telling it: the person standing before you is your master. Obey him, be close to him, protect him—this is something deeper than instinct, an imprint etched into your blood and the meaning of life.

"This is a beast taming contract." Zeng Su leaned against a rock, his face pale but his smile bright. "Since you've agreed to be my beast tamer, the contract must naturally be fulfilled. However, the contents of this contract may be a little different from what you expect."

"What do you mean 'not quite the same'?!" Xuan Hei's voice rose, "You little—Master, how could you—"

It cursed again, but as soon as the words "little baby" were about to come out, a strong sense of unease surged through its body, as if an invisible hand had twisted its soul, forcibly twisting the following words into "master".

Xuanhei fell completely silent.

In fact, it didn't know what beast taming meant. It thought that it only needed to do things for Zeng Su according to its own will. In essence, it was still itself, doing whatever it wanted and leaving whenever it wanted.

Once it truly escapes this predicament, the sky's the limit, and the sea is wide enough for birds to fly freely. It can simply leave then. But the reality is completely different from what it imagined.

The relationship between a Beastmaster and a Beast Tamer can be as close as family, but ultimately it is a subordinate relationship. Otherwise, if the Beast Tamer disobeys during battle, the Beastmaster might as well just wait to die.

Furthermore, no other beast master can subdue and establish contracts with beasts simply by initially fusing Qi like Zeng Su.

Xuanhei has now become Zeng Su's tamed beast, and this cannot be changed unless Zeng Su is willing to unilaterally terminate the contract.

"Hmph!" Bai Jiahei swished its tail and walked to Xuanhei's side, nudging the turtle's shell with its nose and letting out a comforting hum. It meant: Don't be sad, being your master's beast is great, your master treats me very well.

Xuanhei ignored Baijiahei's accusations; it now felt like the sky was about to collapse.

Zeng Su rested for a while and felt that his strength had recovered somewhat. He stood up from the rock and walked to Xuan Hei, where he squatted down.

"Senior Xuan," he didn't call him "Xuan Hei," nor did he use a commanding tone, "I know you're uncomfortable. You've lived in the Qi Bureau for hundreds of years, free and unrestrained. Now, suddenly you have a 'master,' no one would be happy in that situation."

Dark eyes peered at him through the crack in the shell, saying nothing.

"But I promise you three things," Zeng Su held up three fingers. "First, I will not use the contract to force you to do anything against your will. Second, I will not restrict your freedom; you can go wherever you want, as long as you don't leave the area I can sense. Third, I really can get you out of this aura; I'm not lying to you."

The last sentence made Xuanhei's dark eyes light up.

But soon, that little light dimmed.

"You mean..." Xuanhei's voice was muffled, "that once I leave this aura, the contract can be dissolved?"

Zeng Su was silent for a moment, then shook his head: "No."

Now that Xuanhei has become his tamed beast, how could he possibly give up? He was unwilling to waste so much effort just to rescue Xuanhei.

There must be a reward for every effort; Xuanhei's attempt to get something for nothing is impossible.

"But I can assure you," Zeng Su said gently, "that when you are able to leave this place, you will not regret your choice today."

After a long silence, Xuanhei finally spoke.

"It's come to this, old... what else can I say?" Its tone was filled with helplessness and resignation, but strangely, there was also a hint of... relief?

It didn't even realize that this aura had trapped it for hundreds of years, trapping not only its body but also its heart. Alone, this turtle guarded the pool, day after day, year after year, without companions, without anyone to speak to.

People from the Trinity Sect come occasionally, but this "occasionally" is measured in decades.

Now that it has become Zeng Su's tamed beast, it has become an anchor point in his life, filling his lonely and empty heart.

"Master." This time, Xuanhei did not struggle anymore. Although the two words came out of its mouth with some awkwardness, they were no longer filled with such strong resistance.

This is exactly what Zeng Su was waiting for.

He took a deep breath and brought up the Unlimited Evolution panel. After the contract was completed, the dark data unfolded completely before his eyes, without any more question marks.

【Black】

【Species: Hybrid of Black Water Turtle/Fire Turtle/Rock Turtle/Wooden Turtle/Golden Turtle (Ancient Different Bloodline)】

[Current Evolution Stage: Beast (Beginner)]

[Potential Rating: D+]

[Special Attribute: Yin Yang and Five Elements]

【ability:

Five Elements Cycle (Sealed): The five elements within the body form a self-circulating bloodline, capable of absorbing the spiritual energy of the five elements from heaven and earth to nourish itself. Currently, the source of spiritual energy depends on the surrounding environment; once separated from this environment, the Five Elements Cycle will become uncontrollable, causing severe damage to the bloodline.

Xuan Shui Power: Manipulates water-attribute Qi, capable of condensing water arrows, water shields, water prisons, etc. Its power is directly proportional to the amount of Qi consumed.

Breath of Fire: High-temperature flames are exhaled from the mouth and nose, and the temperature of the flames increases with the amount of Qi.

Rock-Solid Body: Converts one's own Qi into Earth attribute to enhance defense, increasing the tortoise shell's defense by 500% and resisting most physical and magical attacks. Duration is related to Qi consumption.

Vitality of Azure Wood: Mobilizes wood-attribute Qi to repair injuries to oneself or others; the effect is directly proportional to the amount of Qi present. It has an additional purifying effect on abnormal statuses such as poison and curses.

Gilded Sharpness: By concentrating Qi in the claws, tail, and mouth, the attack power is increased by 300% under the enhancement of metallic Qi, capable of tearing through most defenses.

Zeng Su stared at the lines of ability descriptions on the panel, his breathing quickening. This was simply too powerful.

This tortoise possesses all five elements: the power of dark water, the breath of fire, the body of solid rock, the vitality of ancient wood, and the sharpness of gilded metal—it has everything for offense, defense, control, support, and healing.

And this is only the state it is in when it is trapped in the Qi Formation.

Zeng Su dared not imagine how powerful it would become after it broke free from the aura and its bloodline evolved.

After White and Black evolve into Ironfur Boar, they only have three abilities: Ironfur Kill, Thick Hide, and Brute Force. Although each ability is useful, the difference becomes apparent when compared to Black.

It's not that white plus black is no good, but that Xuanhei's starting point is too high. Being born as a strange beast and having a hybrid of ancient and exotic bloodlines, these two factors alone are enough to give it a head start over most beasts.

But Zeng Su also noticed the small characters in the text—"Five Elements Revolve" followed by the character "Sealed".

He could roughly guess what the word "sealed" meant.

The power of the Five Elements is very strong, but Xuanhei cannot balance the Five Elements. He can only passively maintain the rotation of the Five Elements by relying on the Qi Formation. Once he leaves this Qi Formation, the Five Elements will be reversed and chaotic, and the final result will naturally be death.

"Master, what are you looking at?" A dark voice pulled him back to reality.

Zeng Su came to his senses and found that Xuanhei had completely poked its head out of its shell and was looking at him with a hint of curiosity in its beady green eyes.

"Let's see what you're capable of," Zeng Su said truthfully. "You're even more capable than I thought."

Xuanhei snorted, his arrogant tone returning: "Of course, old...I—"

He stopped abruptly halfway through his sentence because Baijiahei was nudging its shell with its nose, causing it to stumble forward two steps.

"What are you doing now, you idiot?"

Bai Jiahei snorted and pointed at Zeng Su with his nose, meaning "Listen to your master and don't interrupt."

Xuanhei opened its mouth as if to refute, but seeing Zeng Su staring intently at the empty air in front of it, it realized that Zeng Su was simply staring blankly into the air. So it kept its mouth shut.

When you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head!

Lu Jin, standing beside him, was in the same boat. He didn't know what to say. All he knew now was that this talking tortoise had become his junior brother's tamed beast.

He had no idea what had happened to make it like this! Moreover, this tortoise had seen the patriarch of the Trinity Sect, which made him feel very unreal.

Although he didn't understand the methods of the Beast Master, he could tell from what was happening that his junior brother was very strong, extremely strong.

He had tried to comfort his junior brother when he heard that he couldn't cultivate the Reverse Life Triple Stage. But now it seems that his junior brother has only lost one method, not the Reverse Life Triple Stage.

However, Lu Jin had no intention of investigating Zeng Su's methods. To him, Zeng Su was his junior brother, someone as close as family, and he didn't need to care about anything else.

The title of "a life without flaws" is not something that can be easily bestowed upon someone.

Zeng Su's eyes were still fixed on the panel.

[Evolutionary Path]

【Route 1: Five Elements Returning to Origin Turtle (A) - Conditions: Target age ≥ 500 years old, guide the Five Elements spiritual energy to circulate 5000 times using specific methods, sleep for 10 years in a spiritual land with all five elements present (0/3), consume 1000 Five Elements spiritual materials, and feed (Five Elements Returning to Origin Feed)】

【Route Two: Yin-Yang Mystic Turtle (B+) - Conditions: Target age ≥ 500 years old, maintain the balance of the five elements within the body with Qi daily for 10 years, endure 100 heavenly lightning temperings, consume 1000 Yang spirits and 1000 Yin spirits, and be fed (Yin-Yang Harmonizing Feed)】

【Route 3: Five Sacred Mountains Spirit Turtle (B) - Conditions: Target age ≥ 500 years old, withstands 1000 powerful attacks with its own body, strengthens its shell with Qi daily for 1000 days, consumes 100 of each of the five elements' spiritual materials, and is fed (Mountain Shell Feed)】

【Route 4: Spirit Turtle (C) - Conditions: Target age ≥ 300, condense the five elements of bloodline into one using a special method, use your own essence blood to enhance it 100 times, consume 100 pieces of spirit jade, and feed it (spirit-enhancing food)】

【Route 5: Yin Spirit Turtle (C-) - Requirements: Target age ≥ 100, shed the shell using special methods to achieve the form of a Yin spirit, condense the Yin body in an extremely Yin place, absorb 50 strands of evil energy, and feed it (Soul Fire Food)】

There are a total of 5 evolution paths, with the strongest one reaching level A. This is several levels higher than the white and black dragon blood pig evolution path, and there is a huge gap between level A and level B.

However, Zeng Su was completely baffled by the conditions required for evolution.

"Are these conditions truly achievable?"

He felt that the evolutionary path was just laid out for him to see, and that it was impossible to complete. In any case, he really couldn't think of any way to meet the evolutionary conditions.

Therefore, he directly removed the A-grade Five Elements Returning Origin Turtle and the B-grade Yin Yang Mystic Spirit Turtle, not only because the evolution conditions were too difficult to meet, but also because the time required was too long.

He needs strength now and can't wait that long.

Furthermore, Xuanhei can't only undergo this one evolution. The first priority is to evolve once more so that Xuanhei can break free from the Qi Formation.

So we can only look to the future. The evolution conditions for the B-grade Five Sacred Mountains Spirit Turtle might actually be met, but it would require a lot of time and effort to collect resources.

However, spiritual materials that possess all five elements are probably extremely rare in the world, so we won't consider them for now.

As for the final C-level Yinling Turtle, he clicked on it, looked at the evolution conditions, and then immediately abandoned it without the slightest hesitation.

Because this Yin Spirit Turtle actually wants Xuan Hei to die first, requiring him to abandon his physical body and bloodline to achieve another Yin body state, and there is a chance that he will die directly, which is unacceptable.

Furthermore, this Yin Spirit Turtle removed Xuan Hei's most powerful Five Elements bloodline, which is simply throwing away the watermelon to pick up a sesame seed.

So only the Elf Turtle is left. He feels that this evolutionary path is the most suitable. The Elf Turtle will unify the five elements of bloodline. Doing so will give up some of the powerful power of the five elements' rotation, but it may allow Xuanhei to break free from the Qi Formation as soon as possible.

Furthermore, the Turtle has a very special ability—fusion.

Simply put, the turtle spirit can merge into his body, allowing him to use the turtle spirit's power. This is practically a beast taming technique tailor-made for a beast master.

Moreover, the evolution conditions required for the Pokémon Turtle are not too demanding, and its potential has reached C-level.

"All things considered, the Tortoise is the best evolutionary path."

After confirming the details, he breathed a sigh of relief and a bright smile appeared on his face. This trip deep into Mount Taimu had been incredibly fruitful.

"Master... Master, what are you looking at?" Xuanhei finally couldn't help but ask again.

It really had no idea what Zeng Su was looking at. There was nothing around, yet Zeng Su's expression was sometimes serious, sometimes doubtful, and now he was smiling.

This really puzzled the turtle.

Zeng Su snapped out of his daze and closed the system panel.

"I'm thinking about how to get you out of this awkward situation," he said.

His dark eyes lit up for a moment, but he quickly returned to his half-dead state: "Your ability... really works?"

"Of course it will work, I already have a method." Zeng Su squatted down and placed his palm on the black back armor. "But before that, I need to figure out your current situation."

However, before his Qi could be transferred into Xuanhei's body, he suddenly felt that everything in front of him had turned dark and his consciousness had stopped.

Zeng Su fainted.

The process of forming a contract with Xuan Hei had pushed his body and mind to their limits, and his Qi was completely depleted. The fact that he had been able to persist until now was a testament to his unwavering will.

However, willpower does not mean that the body can still hold on; coma is the body's self-protection mechanism.