Chapter 655: Mister Bai's Gift

The so-called Ring of Loyalty was a miraculous artifact personally crafted by Sovereign Tapir Tertius, resembling a circular doorway emitting blue light.

For a demonic beast, passing through it took only an instant in the real world. Yet in that fleeting moment, they would experience countless vivid illusions indistinguishable from reality.

The loyalty test, naturally, was meant to determine whether a demonic beast would harm its master under various extreme circumstances.

Forging this Ring of Loyalty was no simple task, and in their haste, the Beast Taming Sect had only managed to produce a single one. The test itself didn't take much time to complete, but the sect had far too many demonic beasts to process. There weren't just the lifebound beasts of the disciples, but also a vast horde of masterless creatures used for manual labor, tending spiritual fields and guarding the sect.

Though they were called "masterless," every single one of these beasts was enslaved by the Beast Taming Sect.

The tool used to control them was the sect's supreme treasure, the Myriad Beasts Revolving Wheel. It was said that the images of nearly every demonic beast under heaven were carved upon this wheel, and that even newly born species would appear on its surface after a short time.

When a demonic beast was born, one could brand its soul onto the Revolving Wheel. From that moment on, the beast would be bound to the wheel's control for life after life.

Legend had it that this supreme treasure was originally brought out from the Sacred Beast Mountain by Sovereign Tapir Tertius himself, who then bestowed it upon the sect's founding ancestor, Wan Shiyong. It was from the Myriad Beasts Revolving Wheel that Wan Shiyong had comprehended the Beast Taming True Art.

However, for all its bizarre and incredible powers, the Revolving Wheel had many fatal flaws. It could only be used on newborn beasts, and any demonic beast whose soul had been branded onto it suffered constantly from the wheel's torment. Because of this, their intelligence never fully developed, leaving them fit only for simple tasks.

When it came to fighting alongside tamed beasts, what mattered most was the synergy between man and beast. That was what enabled a tamer to command them like his own limbs and draw out their full combat potential. In battles between cultivators of equal rank, every single detail could decide the outcome, and a dull-witted beast under one's control was almost like fighting with one arm crippled.

This was precisely why Beast Taming Sect cultivators used the Beast Taming True Art to carefully nurture their lifebound spirit beasts from a young age, and why they would never consider directly selecting beasts already bound to the Myriad Beasts Revolving Wheel.

This was also what put the sect in such a bind when the calamity of the Exclusivity of Techniques descended upon them.

Fortunately, the evacuation was personally overseen by Sovereign Tapir Tertius. In the presence of that white-haired, long-eyebrowed elder, neither man nor beast dared to be unruly, and the Ring of Loyalty testing proceeded in orderly fashion.

By the end of the first day, only a small fraction of the demonic beasts had been processed, meaning the selection would take roughly half a month to complete. Those who passed embraced their masters, weeping tears of joy, and boarded the Myriad Beasts Ark ahead of the others.

Before long, this flying artifact would carry them out of the Xuanhuang World to seek refuge in some unknown minor world.

But for those who failed the test, no matter how deep their attachment, they were forcibly separated from their masters. It was said these beasts would be temporarily detained together and set free once the entire Beast Taming Sect had safely evacuated.

The testing continued into the seventh day.

That evening, Xu Ke, who had been missing all day, suddenly rushed to find Li Fan, his face a mask of panic.

"Little Hei, something terrible has happened. You need to get out of here, now."

Li Fan, who had been meditating with his eyes closed, practicing the Creation Forge Technique, opened one eye, glanced at the other boy, and remained utterly unmoved.

Xu Ke pressed on. "I'm not joking this time. If you stay, you'll die. Forget about me. Just slip away from the Beast Taming Sect in secret."

Li Fan opened his mouth wide and yawned.

Xu Ke's panic turned to desperation. "Little Hei, are you even listening to me? I just heard from Senior Brother Lu Ya—"

"That the demonic beasts who don't pass the test won't be set free as promised. They'll all be executed instead. Right?" Li Fan cut him off.

Xu Ke froze. "You... how did you know?

"Don't tell me you were eavesdropping on us?" Surprise flickered across Xu Ke's face.

Li Fan raised his head, a look of utter disdain on his face. "Even someone with claws for brains could figure that out. Why would I need to eavesdrop?

"And let's not even mention how many of the sect's secrets these beasts already know. The evacuation of the Xuanhuang World is a matter of life and death for the Beast Taming Sect. If word got out, who could guarantee these beasts wouldn't hunt their masters down in the minor worlds? With nowhere left to run, it would spell the end of the entire sect!

"And that Sovereign Tapir Tertius? He's no saint with a soft heart. The man gave humanity the very method to enslave his own kind..." Li Fan's eyes glinted with a dangerous light.

"In short, these demonic beasts all have to die." Li Fan's voice was cold as steel.

It was a long moment before Xu Ke could shake off his stupor. He stared at Li Fan, wide-eyed. "Since you've figured it all out, Little Hei, why are you so calm? Aren't you afraid?"

Li Fan puffed out his chest, fixing Xu Ke with a piercing stare. "Ridiculous. Afraid of what? That I might not pass that stupid Ring of Loyalty test? Do you have so little faith in me?"

Cowed by Li Fan's sudden intensity, Xu Ke couldn't even meet his eyes. He stammered, "That's... that's not what I mean. Nothing is absolute... what if..."

With a flap of his wings, Li Fan flew up and landed a sharp scratch directly on top of Xu Ke's head. "No what ifs!"

His tone brooked no argument.

Xu Ke opened his mouth, then closed it. Despite his burning anxiety, he knew this strange bird's stubborn temper all too well, and he finally gave up trying to persuade him.

After three days of restless waiting, the day of Little Hei's test finally arrived.

Under Xu Ke's nervous gaze, Li Fan walked into the Ring of Loyalty.

For a single, breathless moment, time itself seemed to freeze.

Then the Ring of Loyalty suddenly burst into a gentle blue light... the unmistakable sign of a pass!

"Ah! Little Hei, you're amazing!" Xu Ke shrieked, lunging forward to grab Li Fan in a crushing hug. Li Fan repelled him with a ruthless claw to the face.

"Test passed. Next." Lu Ya cast a slightly surprised glance at Li Fan before announcing this.

Five days later, all the demonic beasts of the Beast Taming Sect had completed the Ring of Loyalty test. The Myriad Beasts Ark was packed to the brim, about to set sail for a new, unknown home.

"Senior Brother Lu Ya, you're not coming?" On the deck, Xu Ke tilted his head, looking at Lu Ya, who stood at the prow of the ship.

Lu Ya reached out and ruffled Xu Ke's hair. "Some of us have to stay behind. We need to give the Ten Immortal Dao Sects face, you know. If we don't even make the gesture of staying, it might provoke them, and that wouldn't end well."

Xu Ke nodded, not fully understanding but trusting his senior brother's words.

"Go on, then. The future of the Beast Taming Sect rests on your shoulders."

Lu Ya tied a red cord around Xu Ke's right wrist, a flicker of reluctance in his eyes as he spoke.

"Wow, this is the red cord Mister Bai wove!" Xu Ke recognized its origins at once from the unique knotting pattern.

Back in the days of the ruined temple in Ningyuan City, whenever a child fell ill and was healed by Mister Bai, the man would always tie such a red cord around their wrist, a charm for safety and peace in the years to come.

Xu Ke lifted his hand, holding the red cord before his eyes, examining it over and over.

Li Fan stared at the cord as well, an unspeakable feeling rising in his chest.

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