Chapter 3895 — The Spirit Beast Trial

In the cultivation world of Cloud Terrace Island, spirit beasts as pets had always been extremely commonplace. Any cultivator of even modest means and background was bound to have a spirit pet at his side—and one need look no further than Miss Shangguan's little Curly Bear for a living example.

The new disciples present had long been green with envy over this. Yet for one thing, their own strength was paltry; for another, they had no spare spirit jade to feed and maintain a spirit pet. They could not even satisfy the most basic precondition for subduing one—the spirit pet talisman—so for the time being, they could only dream.

The spirit pet talisman was the most common and reliable means of subduing a spirit beast on Cloud Terrace Island, but the prices were far from low. Even the lowest-grade talisman was marked at a hundred spirit jade or more in the market stalls; apart from the second-generation cultivators of the Soaring Sky Pavilion, no new disciple could afford one.

Pausing a moment, Hu Yunfeng went on: "This spirit beast trial will last one month, and the site is again the outer reaches of the rear mountain. Before you set out, each of you will be issued one low-grade spirit pet talisman. One month from today, we will gather and tally your scores. As for the specific scoring method and a few matters to note, Steward Meng Jueming will explain them to you in detail."

Watching Meng Jueming stride briskly onto the platform to stand beside Hu Yunfeng, the new disciples were all baffled. The man was nothing but a new-disciple steward of the Azure Cloud Pavilion, while those present included every new disciple of the Three-Tier Pavilion. What sense did it make to have him give the briefing?

Even if Pavilion Master Hu Yunfeng did not deliver it himself, there was still Vice Pavilion Master Feng Song; failing that, sending Kang Zhaoming, the new-disciple deacon, up to speak would have been more reasonable than Meng Jueming.

But Wei Zhao and the others knew exactly what was going on. Meng Jueming's promotion to third vice pavilion master of the Welcome Pavilion was already a settled matter, and Hu Yunfeng was plainly doing him a favor by letting him show his face and build up his authority beforehand.

"No wonder this thing dressed himself up so prim and proper today—like a duck strutting out to be sold. So this was the setup all along!" Qiao Hongcai curled his lip at Wei Zhao and the others with a strange look on his face.

Wei Zhao nodded. "I'd say he saw how badly we've been squeezing Meng Jueming these past couple of days, so he's seizing the chance to let him salvage a bit of face. Otherwise, even once he takes the third vice pavilion master's seat, he'd still be covered in dust."

"Ah, when I think about how Senior Brother Lu was pushed out by that man, I get uneasy. If he really settles into the third vice pavilion master's position, I fear he'll be even more overbearing in the days to come," the aggrieved senior brother said with a sigh.

Wei Zhao clapped him on the shoulder and consoled him with a smile. "No need to be so gloomy, Senior Brother Ku. Fortune's wheel turns—who's to say who'll be strutting and who'll be eating dirt when the time comes? We'll just wait and see."

Taking the stage, Meng Jueming cleared his throat and then announced with a solemn face: "The scoring for this spirit beast trial is divided into two parts. First, points for the spirit beast's rank; second, points for the spirit beast's combat strength. The sum of the two is your final score for this stage."

Watching Meng Jueming put on his pompous airs, the crowd below could not help but feel a wave of disgust. But bound as they were by their own interests, they could only swallow it and keep listening.

The so-called rank points depended on the rank of the spirit pet each new disciple captured, with a different score for each rank: five points for the rankless, ten for the yellow rank, fifteen for the mystic rank, twenty for the earth rank, and twenty-five for the heaven rank.

As for anything above the heaven rank, that was out of the question—the low-grade spirit pet talismans the Welcome Pavilion issued could at most subdue a spirit beast at the peak of the heaven rank. For beasts at the Foundation Establishment level, an intermediate talisman was required; a low-grade one simply could not guarantee the effect.

The combat strength points, meanwhile, came from pitting the spirit pets the new disciples had subdued against one another. The rules here were entirely different from the new disciple challenger tournament—it was a simpler, more straightforward single-round elimination format.

The new disciples of the Three-Tier Pavilion drew lots among themselves to decide their matchups. Each round won earned ten spirit beast combat strength points, and the loser was eliminated.

The maximum for rank points was twenty-five, and the maximum for combat strength points was forty. Added together, that gave the theoretical maximum for the spirit beast trial: sixty-five points.

Compared with the previous four stages, this theoretical total was not especially high, but for the new disciples this stage was unquestionably the most practical and most enticing of them all. Even setting the points aside, they could at least walk away with a spirit pet for free—why would anyone pass that up?

Having explained the scoring rules, Meng Jueming offered a final reminder: "New disciples all, since this trial takes place in the outer reaches of the rear mountain, everything must follow the rules of the Rear Mountain Hall. Whatever you do, don't do anything foolish like touching the restrictions. And the rear mountain is strictly off-limits to casual entry or exit—you are no exception. So although this spirit beast trial gives you a full month, if you come out midway, that means you've voluntarily abandoned whatever chances remain, and you will not be permitted back in."

At these words, the new disciples immediately broke into discussion. Even Wei Zhao narrowed his eyes slightly. A full month allotted, yet no coming and going as one pleased—now that was an interesting arrangement.

A whole month, yet only one low-grade spirit pet talisman; once that one chance was spent, it was gone. So the new disciples would naturally choose to look around a while longer—after all, fine steel should be spent on the blade's edge. If they rashly wasted it on some inferior spirit beast, would that not be a waste?

Yet after hearing Meng Jueming out, the new disciples had no choice but to readjust their plans.

The rear mountain was crawling with fierce beasts. Even the outer reaches were treacherous at every turn, as the new disciples had learned firsthand during the last new disciple trial.

In a place like that, almost no one could get a proper rest. Stay too long and run yourself ragged, and when the time came, never mind capturing a spirit pet—you might well leave your little life behind on that mountain.

And so, between risk and reward, every new disciple would have to weigh things carefully.

Whether to grab any spirit pet at hand and hurry out, or to risk life and limb for a few more rounds of searching—this was the dilemma every new disciple faced. With luck, a windfall might drop from the heavens; without it, their life might be in peril.

"Very well, the rules and precautions have all been made clear. If there are no questions, new disciples, come up and collect your spirit pet talismans and prepare to set out," Hu Yunfeng announced.

Moments later, a dozen or so flying spirit beasts rose into the air from the plaza of the Rear Mountain Hall. Just as in the last new disciple trial, they would drop the new disciples of the Three-Tier Pavilion in three opposite directions across the outer reaches of the rear mountain. (To be continued...)

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