The black wolf hesitated. It gazed behind him at the gates to the underground taming grounds. It spent its last month inside one of the cages and it definitely wasn't the best time of its life.
Who would choose being locked inside a cage over freedom?
The wolf then gazed at the pill and the partner that was chosen for it. The youngster looked at him with hope as he stood up, extending his hand as well.
"Bolo…? Will you be my partner?"
His question seemed to be that one last string that made up the wolf's mind. It stepped forward, limping towards Yiren and extended its tongue, eating the pill.
Bam!
Spirit Qi momentarily burst out from the wolf as the wounds healed in a blink.
It wasn't the end though. The wolf began to cultivate, using the momentum from the Spirit Qi gained.
Awuuu!
"It's breaking through!" Someone called out from the crowd.
The black wolf howled as it began to grow in size, its fur becoming more sharp and spiky with a red tint to it. The transformation only lasted a few moments but the pressure it emanated at least doubled.
"Bolo!" the youngster called out excitedly, wanting to rush over to the wolf but Yiren stopped him, gazing into the wolf's eyes.
"Do you think you can break through so fast alone? Only by partnering with a human will you truly awaken your true potential," Yiren called out and finally stepped back to join the little girl, leaving the youngster alone with the wolf.
They stared at each other for a second before the wolf approached him, giving the boy a lick on his face.
"Bolo!"
The youngster shouted the wolf's name as it dove to hug him, embracing its massive neck. This time the wolf didn't scheme to kill him but instead cuddled back. At least for one person, that evening ended well but Yiren couldn't guarantee it for others.
Yiren was just warming up with her scolding.
She embraced the little girl and teleported above the Arena, gazing at the people gathered around the net. Due to the commotion, the crowd grew a few times in size compared to before.
"I'm disappointed in you, elders of this village. I thought I taught you better," Yiren called out sternly, fully embracing the figure of the Goddess. "Spirit Beasts are our friends and partners. Stop thinking so lowly of them. They are not brainless and they have feelings too. As they grow, their intellect follows, sometimes even exceeding Humanoid Races. If only you give them the chance to understand and talk to them, the bonds you create would be much stronger."
"It's all my fault," The Village Leader admitted. "The wolf didn't show signs of being an alpha. He was aggressive but I figured it's a natural behavior. Later he started behaving calmly so I thought—"
Yiren cut him off as she pointed out, "Exactly, that's your mistake. You thought. When it comes to taming, you have to feel it. If the beast is tamed, it will show it through actions. Blindly assuming they are without event talking with it will only lead to catastrophe and death."
"Yes, Goddess," the Village Leader accepted with a bow. "We will be careful in the future and more direct with our taming."
Yiren finally landed within the crowd after her speech and added, "Just in case anyone misunderstands, I don't condone beating beasts. Even in this special case, I restrained myself. My intention was not to hurt it but give the wolf wake-up call, stimulating it with a bit of pain. Without the connection of the pain with the correct dialog, this method won't work so don't try this at home."
"Miss Goddess is amazing!" the little girl called out as she gave Yiren a kiss. "Thank you for saving my brother."
She seemed to understand it was time to separate so she hopped down from Yiren's embrace and ran off to her parents after wishing Yiren the best.
"Good luck on tomorrow's mission, Miss Goddess!"
Yiren couldn't help but smile brightly as she watched the little girl hop away. When Lisa came over and they began flying back to the Village Leader mansion, Yiren muttered happily, "Kids are so fun. I want to have my own in the future…"
"Well, you will have to ask Xuefeng about it," Lisa suggested.
"No need," Yiren shook her head. "When the time comes, I will tie Xuefeng to the bed and do it myself, hehe."
Yiren's giggle gave Lisa chills.
"The more time I spend with you, the more you remind me of Nuwa. I wonder if you become just like her when you grow up," Lisa thought out loud to which Yiren giggled even more.
"Haha, I don't think so. Compared to my mom I have a long way to go. If it was her, that wolf would be beaten into a pulp, forced to beg for mercy. I don't think mom has the time to be a beast tamer though. She is too busy bullying humans to bother with beasts."
"Trueeeeeee," Lisa nodded eagerly. "I will pray for the souls that suffered since she entered the Heaven Realm."
"Aaaaa! I can't do this anymore! I need to go out!"
After continuous hours of Qi refining, Nuwa was done, too bored to carry on. Patient Cultivation definitely wasn't for her. She wanted action! What normal person could sit in one place for hours and do the same thing over and over again?!
"Wu! Are you coming with me?" Nuwa called out as she hugged Wu from behind, stopping her from refining another Upgrade Fragment.
"Where do you want to go?" Wu asked calmly as she opened her eyes.
"Let's go roam the city and play around!" Nuwa proposed immediately.
"Isn't the Celebration Party going to start any time soon? It's already after sunset. My grandpa will be really mad if we are late," Wu pointed out before suddenly changing her mind. "Never mind, I'm down. What's the better method to piss off my grandpa other than being late to his stupid party."
"Yes! I love you!" Nuwa exclaimed happily and pulled Wu out of the bed, storming outside their mansion.
"Yes, Misses? Is there something we can help you with?" The guards asked as he informed, "The Celebration Party will start in an hour. Someone will come soon to prepare your dresses for it. President Wu will also personally come over to take you to the venue."
"Are you done?" Nuwa questioned annoyed as she walked past the guards with Wu following closely in tow. "We are going to roam around the city. We will surely come back before the party starts. Don't worry."
Swoosh!
The guards blinked past them, appearing in the front with their arms spread wide.
"Miss Wu, please don't do this to us! We were ordered to keep you in the mansion before the Party starts. We already broke the rules by letting you roam around the Trade Union territory. Please, stay inside else we will be punished," the guards begged yet Wu wasn't moved at all.
"I know it's your job, but who do you think I am? A prisoner? We are free to do whatever we want and no one will tell me otherwise, even my grandpa," Wu replied sternly, already done with those limitations. "Block my way one more time and we will talk differently."
The duo overtook the guards, yet they blocked them once again.
"Miss Wu, please! We begging you!" The guards pleaded but they were ignored.
"Nuwa," Wu called out calmly to which Nuwa nodded with a playful smile. "With pleasure."
'Unauthorized use of violence. First warning. Please cease fighting.'
Just as the robotic notification arrived in her mind, the two guards got frozen stiff, unable to move a finger.
Wu didn't wait either. Earth Qi burst out from her legs into the ground and began wrapping around the two guards. In seconds, they become statues, covered with a thick layer of earth. Both posed like a letter 'T' with their eyes panicked.
"I told you not to block me again," Wu muttered as she approached them and placed her hand on top of the statues. Silvery Metal Qi covered her palm and then she created another layer around them, made fully of heavy metal.
Even if they had the power to escape, it would take them some time.
"I will be fined if I hold them longer. Let's go," Nuwa called out happily as she embraced Wu's shoulder. "The world outside this jail is waiting for us!"
"Miss Wu, don't leave us like this!"
"Miss Wu, noooo! Mercy!"
"Miss Wu—"
The guards' cries grew quieter the further they walked away until they couldn't hear them anymore.
"Hehe, hopefully your grandpa doesn't find out we are gone any time soon else he might turn the Capital upside-down just to find us," Nuwa commented playfully, ready to do just that.
"Where are we even going?" Wu questioned curiously only to get an obvious answer she could have expected.
"To the bar!"
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