Beast Taming: The Beginning of Hatching an Ancient Dragon

Chapter 18: Troubles

After finding a suitable home for the Thorn Bear, it was already around one or two in the afternoon. Li Chang’an and Bai Wenshan returned to the vicinity of the spatial teleportation array, where many students had already returned with their desired spirit beasts. The valley was now filled with noise and vitality.

However, as soon as Li Chang’an laid out his sitting mat, took out his lunch, and released Mao Mao to eat, the noisy valley suddenly fell silent. Except for the Thorn Bear and the little rabbit, which were prepared, all the other spirit beasts chosen by the students were lying on the ground, trembling as if they had seen some terrifying demon king.

Bai Wenshan couldn’t help but curse, “Holy crap, when did you contract your initial spirit beast? Is that a dragon-type spirit beast? And you’ve already opened a beast taming space?”

Li Chang’an calmly fed the lava jelly to Mao Mao, took a bite of his sandwich, and said, “Your information is way out of date! Quite a few people already know that I’ve contracted a spirit beast.”

The surrounding students, upon hearing Li Chang’an’s complaint, felt their mouths go dry. They knew about it, but they hadn’t been beast tamers before and didn’t have spirit beasts. How could they have sensed the terrifying pressure Mao Mao exerted on ordinary spirit beasts?

At this stage, a dragon-type spirit beast that could exert such pressure on humans had to be at the level of a sub-dragon species. Ordinary dragon species only gained such majesty after reaching the monarch level. Mao Mao had been keeping its aura suppressed, so these people hadn’t felt anything—except for the spirit beasts.

Only now, through their contracted spirit beasts, did some students feel Mao Mao’s overwhelming presence.

Bai Wenshan gave Li Chang’an a deep look, swallowing the words that had been on the tip of his tongue. He also scrutinized the little rabbit Li Chang’an was holding a few times, and his earlier excitement about obtaining the Thorn Bear instantly dissipated. He was certain that this little rabbit was even more special than the Thorn Bear; otherwise, the usually picky Li Chang’an wouldn’t treasure it so much.

But as Li Chang’an had said earlier, what’s suitable is what’s best. Getting the Thorn Bear was already a stroke of luck for Bai Wenshan. There was no need to dwell on what-ifs.

So, Bai Wenshan pushed aside his distracting thoughts and chatted enthusiastically with Li Chang’an.

After finishing three servings of the lava meal, Mao Mao yawned and voluntarily returned to the beast taming space. It was still in its awakening period, so energy replenishment and plenty of sleep were essential.

As soon as Mao Mao disappeared, the surrounding small spirit beasts let out a collective sigh of relief. They glanced fearfully in Li Chang’an’s direction before running to their tamers, whimpering for comfort.

Some students looked utterly defeated. They had contracted large spirit beasts like the Thorn Bear, which, even in their awakening period, were not small. Rather than the spirit beasts seeking comfort in their arms, it was more like the spirit beasts were picking them up to use as tissues to wipe away tears.

Bai Wenshan asked curiously, “Old Li, haven’t you reached level 2 yet?”

Now it was Li Chang’an’s turn to look defeated. “Yeah, it’ll take another two months.”

Bai Wenshan was shocked. “That long?”

After opening a beast taming space, the transition from a level 1 to a level 2 beast tamer was usually quick—some took a week, while others took up to a month. Two months was indeed a bit long.

Li Chang’an said with a troubled expression, “My beast taming space is a bit too big.”

Bai Wenshan: “…”

He wished he could have that problem tomorrow.

Today was the day for contracting initial spirit beasts, and tomorrow the school would organize the official opening of the beast taming space.

A researcher who had just walked over heard Li Chang’an’s complaint and took a few deep breaths to calm his fluctuating emotions. As a master’s student from a top university, his perspective wasn’t as narrow as Bai Wenshan’s.

For a novice beast tamer to take two months to break through to level 2, the size of their beast taming space had to be at least 400 cubic meters. Over 80% of novices opened beast taming spaces smaller than 100 cubic meters. To be precise, the range was usually between 25 and 70 cubic meters, still far from 100.

Those who could open an initial beast taming space exceeding 100 cubic meters were considered talents worth nurturing, making up about 15% of the population. Less than 5% were prodigies who could exceed 200 cubic meters. And a very small handful of freaks could open an initial beast taming space surpassing 300 cubic meters.

Unfortunately, he had just encountered one of Donghuang Kingdom’s freaks complaining about his talent. Only those who had been through the trials of adulthood could understand the complexity of this situation.

So, to balance his own emotions, the researcher sent a message to his research institute’s group chat.

“Old Monk Uses Coolness” has been muted by the administrator “Full-Time Housewife” for 72 hours.

The researcher smiled contentedly, put away his phone, and walked briskly toward the spatial array. He gathered the students and sent them back to the research institute.

Li Mingxuan sat in his office, having unexpectedly learned a piece of gossip about his son. Half of his face was immersed in shadow, making the other half appear particularly gloomy.

Thud! Thud~! Thud! The darkness seemed to be consuming him.

…

Li Mingxuan sighed and said to someone behind him, “Xiao Lin, stop playing music while I’m thinking. And open the curtains. The office is already stuffy, and with them closed, it’s even worse.”

A humanoid spirit beast wearing an apron and headphones covered its mouth to stifle a laugh, turned off the stereo, and opened the tightly drawn curtains. The afternoon summer sunlight streamed into the stuffy office.

This was a rare soul-type spirit beast, the Melodic Muse.

“Na Na? (Is this about Xiao An?)”

Li Mingxuan rubbed his temples, looking weary as he replied, “Partly. I just found out why Xiao An came to ask about auxiliary potions a while ago.”

The Melodic Muse gently massaged Li Mingxuan’s temples and asked, “Na? (What’s wrong?)”

“Xiao An needs two months to advance to level 2 beast tamer, which means his initial beast taming space is at least 400 cubic meters.”

The Melodic Muse covered its mouth in surprise. “Na! (400 cubic meters?!)”

It understood what 400 cubic meters meant. Spirit beasts would not only live more comfortably in such a space, but the vast amount of energy or aura would also provide a better cultivation environment. Additionally, a large beast taming space meant that Xiao An could later learn some spatial-type beast taming abilities, greatly enhancing his strength and survivability.

From what it had heard from its predecessors, Li Mingxuan’s initial beast taming space was only 230 cubic meters, yet he had already been taken under the wing of a powerful mentor. With Xiao An surpassing him by almost double, what kind of future awaited him?

Come to think of it, it had been a while since it last saw Xiao An.

The Melodic Muse’s eyes softened. Compared to Li Mingxuan and Mu Qingqing, it had been the one who had spent the most time with Li Chang’an. With both parents busy with work, it had been taking care of Li Chang’an since elementary school.

Li Mingxuan patted the Melodic Muse’s arm and said softly, “Once we get through this period, you’ll be able to see Xiao An again. He’ll surely be surprised.”

The Melodic Muse, thinking of the future scene, let out a clear, melodious laugh.

Meanwhile, Li Chang’an returned to the research institute, familiarly moving tables and chairs from the neighboring lab to sit with a few teachers and quietly watch the show.

The first task for these students returning from the ecological park was to sign soul contracts with their initial spirit beasts. There was no safer place than the ecological research institute for this. Even if something went wrong, the best doctors were here, and they were the closest.