Chương 7: The Path to the Surface

The encounter with Li Jie was a stone dropped into the placid sea of Li Yu's existence, and the ripples continued to spread, fundamentally altering the currents of his ambition. The illusion of safety he had built in the shadows was shattered. Hiding was a temporary measure, a tactic to survive, not a long term strategy he had realized. It was not a strategy for living. True safety, he now understood with some clarity, was a fortress built of just enough status and most importantly strength.

A tower so high that the likes of Li Jie couldn't even cast a shadow upon its walls. His goal, once a simple desire to be strong enough to never be a victim again, had now crystallized. He needed to stop being just a menial laborer. He needed an official identity within the Green Mountain Sect. The Outer Sect Examination was a path barred to him but his gaze had now fixed upon the institution that governed his entire world: the Beast Taming Hall. He knew he couldn't simply walk up and declare his intentions.

He was a fish-feeder of little note, practically a ghost in the sect. He needed to get information, a map to navigate the treacherous sect hierarchy. And for that, he had only one potential resource: Uncle Wei. Over the next week, Li Yu carefully planned his approach. He performed his duties with his usual feigned clumsiness, all while observing the old man.

After the confrontation with Li Jie, he made sure Li Yu was never working alone when disciples came to collect their orders, standing nearby like a gnarled, watchful guardian. He couldn't do much but he did what he could for the boy, his intentions not fully clear. One evening, as they were the last two people left after storing tools in the main shed, Li Yu saw his chance. He looked up at the old man, his face a mask of childish curiosity and awe.

"Uncle Wei," he began, his voice soft.

"Those disciples from the Beast Taming Hall… are they very powerful?" Uncle Wei grunted, stacking a pile of nets.

"Powerful enough. They might not be the best fighters, but they can command demonic beasts to fight for them. A skilled beast tamer with a strong companion is a match for any three cultivators at the same level."

"How does one become a beast tamer?" Li Yu asked.

"Do they just have to be strong?" The old man paused, a flicker of understanding in his eyes. He knew this wasn't just idle curiosity. He looked around to ensure they were alone before speaking, his voice low.

"Strength is part of it, but it's not the most important thing. The Beast Taming Hall values affinity, skill and knowledge above all else."

"You can be at the peak of the Body Tempering Realm, but if a demonic beast wants to tear you to shreds, you're just a well-built meal. Affinity… it's a connection, a feeling. The ability to understand a beast without words. It's something you're born with and hard to teach, at least that's what I've heard." He glanced pointedly at Li Yu.

"Some people are just born with it." Li Yu's heart beat faster. He pressed on, his voice hesitant.

"Can… can a menial worker ever learn? Could I ever become a beast tamer?" Uncle Wei sighed, a long weary sound. He sat down on a wooden crate, his old bones creaking.

"Brat, you need to understand. In the sect, rules are iron. No that's not right, rules are iron for the weak. The strong can get away with bending them, sometimes even breaking the less important ones. Menial laborers are not disciples. We are the dirt that the sect is built upon. We aren't even given any cultivation arts and we are barred from all examinations because we are too weak to meet the standards. To go from a laborer to a disciple is harder than climbing to the heavens.

I have been here for fifty years and I have never seen it happen." Li Yu's face fell, the disappointment of learning such things genuine. The old man saw it and his expression softened.

"But," he continued, leaning forward, "the Beast Taming Hall is… different. They are a strange bunch, more concerned with their beasts than with rules and status. They hold an Aptitude Test once a year for any outer disciple who wishes to join their Hall. It's not about combat. It's about showcasing your affinity." He paused, his gaze intense.

"I have heard stories that if a non-disciple were to display enough talent that couldn't be ignored, an exception might be made. An elder might take them in as a personal apprentice. But brat, the talent would have to be able to move the elders enough to accept you." A spark ignited in the depths of Li Yu's eyes. A sliver of a chance. A path to the surface.

"Thank you, Uncle Wei," he said, bowing his head deeply. The old man just grunted and waved him off.

"Stop dreaming and get some rest. There's a mountain of Spirit Grass to chop in the morning." How could the old man not see what the boy's dreams were now? But that was simply wishful thinking. But Li Yu's mind was no longer on his chores. He now had a goal, a point of focus in the vast darkness. He had to display his "talent" at the Beast Taming Hall's Aptitude Test. He had to create a miracle. The next few months were a blur of intense, focused effort.

His days were spent performing his duties but with a new purpose. He wasn't just feeding fish; he was studying them. He used his unique spiritual sense to its absolute limit, delving into the minds of the aquatic beasts. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. He learned the subtle shift in a Spirit-Snouted Sturgeon's mood by the frequency of its gill movements.

He learned the complex social hierarchy of the Iron-Skinned Piranhas, identifying the alpha female by the sheer force of her predatory will. He learned the mating calls of the Jade-Gilled Perch, a series of low-frequency vibrations he could feel in the water. He was compiling a mental encyclopedia of knowledge that no book or teacher could ever provide. His nights were dedicated to relentless cultivation.

He pushed himself to the brink, absorbing the potent Qi from Lake Obsidian until his meridians ached and his dantian swelled. He was a man dying of thirst in the desert who had found an oasis and he drank with a desperate unyielding thirst. The power in his body grew, solidifying his foundation at the Sixth Stage of Body Tempering, slowly but surely pushing him towards the peak. The golden thread on his Koi spirit's spine became a fraction brighter, a sign of its continuing evolution.

He knew a simple display of knowledge wouldn't be enough. He needed to solve a problem that the disciples and even the elders of the Beast Taming Hall could not. He needed an opportunity. That opportunity arrived in the late autumn, three months before the Aptitude Test. It came in the form of the Spirit-Snouted Sturgeons. This particular batch of sturgeons was incredibly valuable, their snouts containing a cartilage that, when refined, could be used to create a high-grade paste for inscribing talismans.

They were also notoriously difficult to breed in captivity. The sect had spent a fortune acquiring a healthy breeding pair, but for months they had shown no interest in each other, remaining listless in their specially-prepared, isolated pond. Elder Ning, the Beast Taming Hall elder in charge of the aquatic division, was said to be very disappointed. She was a stern, no-nonsense woman whose cultivation was at the Foundation Establishment realm, a level of power Li Yu could barely comprehend.

Her disciples were at their wits' end, having tried everything from altering the water's temperature to feeding them rare, aphrodisiacal spirit herbs. Li Yu felt the sturgeons' problem as a deep, resonating boredom. They were healthy, well-fed, and safe. But their primal instincts were dormant. There was no trigger, no catalyst to spark their mating ritual. He extended his senses deep into their consciousness, searching for the missing piece. And he found it. It wasn't a taste or a temperature.

It was a sound, and a light. In their ancestral spawning grounds, a specific type of phosphorescent river stone, when struck by a strong current, would emit a low, humming vibration and a soft, blue-green glow. This combination of sound and light was the key. Now, he had to create the miracle. He saw this as his chance to get noticed and contribute to the beast hall. He couldn't just tell Uncle Wei another "story from his father." This was a problem that had stumped an elder.

The solution needed to appear accidental, a stroke of impossible luck. His plan was a bit risky. He spent a week searching the creeks around the Green Mountains until he found a handful of the correct phosphorescent stones. The next day, he got himself assigned to clean the scum from the edge of the sturgeons' pond. It was a task performed under the watchful eye of one of Elder Ning's own disciples. As he worked, he "accidentally" slipped.

With a cry of alarm, he stumbled, and the small pouch of stones tied to his belt "broke," spilling the glowing rocks into the pond.

"You clumsy fool!" the disciple barked.

"What did you drop in there? If you've contaminated the pond, Elder Ning will have your skin!"

"I'm sorry, Senior Brother! It was just some pretty rocks I found!" Li Yu cried, his face a picture of terror. The disciple didn't press him further after learning that it was just some rocks but before he could ask if Li Yu was okay, the sturgeons began to move. The two massive sturgeons, which had been lazily circling at the bottom of the pond, suddenly became animated. They swam towards the soft, glowing light of the stones. Then, Li Yu did the second part of his plan.

He "panicked" and tried to retrieve the stones, grabbing a long dredging pole and plunging it into the water near the rocks. He intentionally struck the stones with the pole, again and again. The scraping of the metal pole on the rocks created a deep, humming vibration that traveled through the water. Light and sound. The triggers needed. A change came over the sturgeons. A deep, instinctual energy awakened within them. The male began to circle the female, his massive body creating a powerful current.

The water swirled, striking the stones and creating the very vibration Li Yu had initiated. The mating ritual had begun. The disciple stared in disbelief. It was happening! The thing they tried for so long without success and it happened in front of his eyes. He was excited and ran off to give the news. News of the breakthrough spread like wildfire. Elder Ning herself arrived within the hour. She didn't speak to the disciple or to Li Yu.

She simply stood at the edge of the pond, her gaze watching the ancient dance of the sturgeons. Later that day, Li Yu was summoned. He stood trembling, not in his dirty work clothes but in a clean, new set of linen robes. He was in front of Elder Ning's main office of the Beast Taming Hall. Uncle Wei stood in a corner, his face pale and beaded with sweat, thinking they were in trouble. Elder Ning was a middle-aged woman with sharp, intelligent eyes that seemed to see right through him.

"The disciple on duty told me what happened," she said, her voice calm and even.

"He said you slipped and dropped some rocks into the pond. Rocks you just happened to find."

"Yes, Elder," Li Yu squeaked, his head bowed low.

"Show them to me." Li Yu produced another phosphorescent stone he had saved. Elder Ning took it, examining it closely. A flicker of deep understanding crossed her face.

"An accident," she mused, more to herself than to him.

"An accident that solved a problem my best disciples and I have been working on for six months." She placed the stone on her desk and looked at Li Yu, her sharp gaze softening ever so slightly.

"Tell me, boy. Do you like working with beasts?" Li Yu's heart hammered against his ribs. This was it, the slight chance he was hoping for.

"Yes, Elder. More than anything."

"I see." She was silent for a long moment.

"The annual Beast Taming Aptitude Test is in one month. Menial laborers are usually not permitted to participate due to their lack of strength and talent." Li Yu's heart sank.

"However," she continued, a small, almost imperceptible smile touching her lips, "I am making an exception. You will participate. I want to see if this 'luck' of yours is a one-time miracle, or something more." Uncle Wei was surprised as he stood in the corner. Li Yu felt a dizzying wave of relief and terror wash over him. He had done it. His plan had worked, now he had a chance.

"Thank you, Elder! I will not disappoint you!" he said, bowing so low his forehead nearly touched the floor.