Free Web NovelChapter 32: Chapter 32 Upgrade
Xue Yao stared at the blue screen for a long while, her brows slowly knitting together. The inventory was filled with weapons of all kinds, yet the more she looked at them, the more confused she became.
"So if I upgrade all of these..." She pointed at the list of weapons. "...I’ll become stronger?"
Tian Lan looked at her as though she had just asked the most ridiculous question in existence. The little spirit slowly folded her arms across her chest before shaking her head. [No.]
"...No?" Xue Yao repeated.
[Weapons are weapons. Cultivation is cultivation. They are two completely different things.]
Xue Yao frowned even deeper. She looked back at the inventory, then at Tian Lan, before looking at the inventory again. "Then what’s the point of upgrading them?"
Tian Lan let out a long sigh, the kind a teacher would make after realizing her student had learned absolutely nothing. [Host, Beast Tamers do not cultivate the same way ordinary cultivators do.]
That immediately caught Xue Yao’s attention. "What do you mean?"
With a gentle wave of her hand, the inventory disappeared. Another blue screen unfolded before them, but this one was completely different.
At the very top were two large headings.
[Host Cultivation]
[Equipment Grade]
Xue Yao instinctively compared the two. "So... there are two systems?"
[Correct.]
Tian Lan floated closer to the screen and tapped the first heading. [Ordinary cultivators temper their bodies before learning to control spiritual weapons.]
She then tapped the second heading. [Beast Tamers temper both themselves and their equipment. Neither path can be neglected.]
Xue Yao nodded slowly, beginning to understand. "So even if my weapon becomes stronger, it doesn’t mean I become stronger?"
[Exactly.]
"And if I become stronger?"
[Your weapon will not automatically improve either.]
"..."
"So they’re completely separate."
Tian Lan smiled with satisfaction. [Host finally understands.]
Another section of the screen slowly unfolded.
[Host Cultivation:
Realm: {Mortal}
Strength: {Mortal}
Stamina: {Mortal}
Spirit: {Mortal}
Cooking:{???}
{Beast Taming: {Beginner}
Tracking skills: {Mortal}
Combat skills: {Mortal}
Language: {intermediate}]
Xue Yao blinked several times. "I... have my own status panel?"
[Naturally.]
Her gaze slowly drifted downward before stopping on the word Mortal.
"So all I have been doing didn’t count?"
Tian Lan nodded matter-of-factly. [Host has never officially stepped onto the path of cultivation.]
A complicated expression appeared on Xue Yao’s face.
All this time she had been carrying magical weapons, taming beasts, and completing missions...yet she was still an ordinary person.
Then another question suddenly surfaced in her mind. "If I’m still a mortal..." she asked. "Then how do I become a Beast Tamer?"
Tian Lan raised a finger with a lopsided smile. [Coins.]
Another screen unfolded beneath the first.
[{Strength → Beginner: 500 Coins}
{Stamina → Beginner: 500 Coins}
{Spirit → Beginner: 500 Coins}
{Tracking → Beginner: 300 Coins}
{Fighting → Beginner: 500 Coins}]
Xue Yao’s eyes widened. "Why is it so expensive?"
She immediately looked toward her inventory. "And beast cores upgrade weapons?"
[Correct.]
[Gemstones are also required once equipment reaches higher grades.]
Xue Yao rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "I think I understand now."
She paused before another thought crossed her mind. "What are the cultivation realms?"
Without hesitation, Tian Lan swiped her hand across the screen.
Another list appeared.
[Beast Tamer Cultivation Realms:
Mortal, Spirit Initiate, Beast Disciple, Beast Master, Beast Lord, Beast King, Beast Emperor, Beast Saint, and Beast Sovereign Realm]
[And each major realm is divided into four minor stages: Early Stage, Middle Stage, Late Stage, and Peak Stage.]
Before Xue Yao could even finish memorising them, another list appeared beside it.
[Equipment Grades are divided into Low Grade, Medium Grade, High Grade, Spirit Grade, Earth Grade, Heaven Grade, Saint Grade, and Divine Grade.]
"So weapons have their own ranks as well..."
Tian Lan nodded. [Yes, but a Beast Tamer’s cultivation determines how much of a weapon’s power they can use.]
[A Host may possess a Heaven Grade weapon while only being in the {Spirit Initiate Realm}, but Host will only be able to draw out a tiny fraction of its true power.]
[Some high-grade weapons may even reject a Host whose cultivation is too weak. As Host’s cultivation increases, more of the weapon’s abilities will gradually awaken.]
Xue Yao couldn’t help but marvel inwardly. ’So this is how Beast Tamers cultivate...’
Compared to ordinary cultivators, their path seemed far more complicated.
After a brief silence, she looked back at her own panel. "So what do I need to become a Spirit Initiate?"
The words on the screen immediately changed.
[Breakthrough Requirements]
[{Strength: Beginner}
{Stamina: Beginner}
{Spirit: Beginner}
{Beast Taming: Beginner}]
[Required Coins to upgrade a skill: 2,000]
Xue Yao’s lips slowly parted. "That is so expensive! Do you want to rip me off!!!" She held her head, feeling the throbbing headache... all her wealth was nothing.
Tian Lan merely shrugged her shoulders. [Host’s life is worth more than a few coins.]
Xue Yao rolled her eyes. "Easy for you to say. You don’t earn them." She sighed before looking at the list of weapons again. "The Beast Slaying Sword is out. I don’t know swordsmanship, and the Beast Severing Dagger isn’t any better.
The Beast Heart Pendant already works well enough, so there’s no point wasting resources on it. As for the Beast Taming Whistle and Sticky Trap..." She paused before shaking her head. "I don’t even have a beast worth taming yet."
Her eyes slowly drifted lower until they settled on the Sticky Smelly Socks and the Shadow Escape Talisman.
A mischievous smile gradually spread across her face. "Tian Lan, tell me something. What happens if every wolf in the White Moon Wolf Clan suddenly loses their sense of smell?"
Tian Lan blinked before answering honestly. [Chaos.]
"Exactly." Xue Yao nodded with satisfaction. ’And while they’re all running around in complete confusion, then I will beat them all up with my drumstick, before using the Shadow Escape Talisman to get as far away from this place as possible. If I can’t survive tonight...’ Her smile became even brighter. ’...then I’m dragging the entire White Moon Wolf Clan down with me.’
For some reason, Tian Lan suddenly felt something was off. She looked at Xue Yao for a long while before swallowing hard. [Host... I suddenly feel that you are more dangerous than the beasts.]
"I’ll take that as a compliment." Xue Yao rubbed her palms together excitedly before pointing at the screen. "Upgrade the Sticky Smelly Socks first."
The blue screen shimmered before a familiar chime echoed inside the prison.
[250 Level One Beast Cores and 10 Gemstones deducted.]
The shabby-looking socks slowly floated into the air as silver light wrapped around them. Strange runic patterns spread across the fabric while a faint green mist seeped out before disappearing again.
[Sticky Smelly Socks successfully upgraded.
Current Grade: {High Grade}
Skill Unlocked: {Olfactory Collapse Temporarily overwhelms the senses of nearby beasts, causing confusion, dizziness, and temporary loss of tracking ability.}]
Xue Yao’s eyes lit up. "Good. Very good." Without wasting another second, she pointed at another item. "Now upgrade the Shadow Escape Talisman."
The screen rippled once more.
[250 Level One Beast Cores and 5 Gemstones deducted.]
A yellow talisman slowly rose into the air as countless silver runes lit up across its surface before gradually sinking into the paper.
[Shadow Escape Talisman successfully upgraded.
Current Grade: {Medium Grade}
Skill Unlocked: {Shadow Blink}
Allows the Host to travel through nearby shadows within a short distance.
Distance: 1000 miles}]
Xue Yao looked at the remaining resources before clutching her chest dramatically. "My beast cores... my gemstones... they’re gone. I suddenly feel like my heart has been hollowed out."
Tian Lan glanced at the screen before nodding sympathetically. [Host is officially poor.]
"..."
Xue Yao took a deep breath before looking at her Host Panel again. "Forget it. If I’m already broke, I might as well go all the way. Upgrade my Strength, Stamina, Spirit, and Beast Taming."
The blue screen immediately responded.
[500 Coins deducted.]
[{Strength: Mortal → Beginner}]
[500 Coins deducted.]
[{Stamina: Mortal → Beginner}]
[500 Coins deducted.]
[{Spirit: Mortal → Beginner}]
[500 Coins deducted.]
[{Beast Taming: Beginner → Intermediate}]
A warm current suddenly surged through Xue Yao’s body. It flowed through every vein and muscle before gathering beneath her dantian. She instinctively closed her eyes as the fatigue weighing down her body gradually disappeared, replaced by an unfamiliar sense of lightness.
A crisp notification echoed inside her mind.
[Congratulations, Host has fulfilled the breakthrough requirements.
Current Cultivation: Spirit Initiate Realm — Early Stage]
At the same moment, the Beast Heart Pendant hanging around her neck emitted a faint crimson glow before returning to normal.
Xue Yao blinked in surprise and instinctively reached for it. "What was that?"
Before Tian Lan could answer, a series of heavy footsteps echoed from outside the prison.
Both of them turned toward the iron gate just as several wolf guards appeared in the corridor. Two female wolf maids stepped forward, and one of them unlocked the prison door.
"The Alpha has finished his preparations." Her gaze landed on Xue Yao, and her expression hardened slightly. "Please come with us."
Xue Yao instinctively swallowed. The moment she had been trying to avoid...had finally arrived.
