Legendary Beast Cultivator

"Lin Yuan... Step into the arena!"

The training hall fell dead silent the moment Gu Yanluo called out Lin Yuan. The entire hall instinctively turned their heads toward Lin Yuan. The atmosphere instantly turned anxious, every eye locked onto him as the most anticipated battle awaited.

Lin Yuan remained utterly unfazed. He stood calmly, leisurely dusting the corners of his robe before marching toward the circular arena. His expression didn’t even have a flicker of nervousness; his footsteps tapped with a steady, rhythmic sound that echoed softly against the stone floor.

"Hahaha... finally," Chen Ming muttered, rubbing his palms together in anticipation. "I’ve been waiting to see what this bastard is capable of in defense. He is always a ruthless offender."

Even Xiao Yanrui, whose nature usually made him indifferent to the disciples around him, darted his gaze to see Lin Yuan’s movements.

With a heavy groan, the mechanical guardians parted, creating a narrow gap. Lin Yuan stepped through without hesitation along with Gu Yanluo.

Gu Yanluo approached, holding the same strip of dark black silk. "You know the rules."

"I do," Lin Yuan replied softly, nodding his head.

The black cloth was wrapped around his eyes, obscuring him into the darkness. Gu Yanluo tightened the knot, took a few measured steps backward, analysing Lin Yuan intently.

But something was wrong. Unlike every disciple who had entered the arena before him, Lin Yuan didn’t summon his Core Beast.

"Are you not calling your turtle?" Gu Yanluo’s face twitched in confusion.

"There is no need for it to come out," Lin Yuan’s lips curled into a faint, cunning smile.

’Huh? Over confidence? I wish the guardians would kill you!’ Gu Yanluo thought, clicking his tongue inwardly.

Whispers immediately broke out among the spectators outside the ring.

"What is he playing at?" Chen Yu Ming whispered, her face twitching with a frantic expression. "Is he planning to rely on his own senses?"

Gu Yanluo said nothing more and the entrance instantly sealed behind him with a loud sound after Gu Yanluo stepped away from the arena. He snapped his fingers.

Instantly, the crimson eyes of the ten mechanical guardians shimmered in the dimming light.

The first guardian lunged forward, its training staff descended through the air as it swept toward Lin Yuan’s shoulder.

Before the disciples could even understand the movement, Lin Yuan casually pivoted his body, moving a mere half-step to the side. The staff slammed vehemently on the ground.

Immediately, a second guardian struck from his blind spot.

Then immediately the Turtle Ring shimmered, and the calm voice of the turtle beast echoed into Lin Yuan’s consciousness. ’Three steps ahead.’

Lin Yuan obeyed without a shred of hesitation. A heavy iron fist slammed abruptly into the ground he had been in a second prior.

’Lower your stance,’ the turtle beast bellowed, its voice booming in his brain.

Lin Yuan bent his knees in a smooth motion. A devastating strike swept past, a few inches above his head.

There was no delay in his movements, no waste usage of his beast essence. Every single dodge looked seamless, and outside the ring, the disciples watched with wide, disbelieving eyes.

"How can he do this..." Ying Yue murmured, her voice filled with awe.

The battle intensified as minutes slowly passed. The attacks from the mechanical guardians increased with great precision. They began striking vehemently, rushing from the sides that a human being can’t even make a guess.

But, Lin Yuan moved through the circular arena like a ghost. He wasted no energy, never stumbled, and panicked. Within his mind, the Turtle’s guides remained precise.

’Forward.’

’Left.’

’Halt.’

’Now, crouch.’

A single word was all it took. Each instruction arrived before the required moment. To the spectators, it looked as though Lin Yuan possessed an unnatural vision of god, moving out of harm’s way long before the guardians even strike with their weapons.

"Wha... what kind of sorcery is this?" Chen Ming muttered frenziedly, trying to understand what was happening. "There isn’t even a beast in the arena!"

"With those brutal guardians active, it should be impossible for his regular senses to detect those movements," Lian Nichang frowned, sweat dripping from his temples.

Suddenly, a guardian thrust its wooden staff straight toward his chest with an immense speed. Lin Yuan simply leaned back at a slight angle. The staff passed above his torso, leaving barely a small space between them.

A collective gasp swirled through the training hall.

"That was too close! It almost took him down!"

"No," Xiao Lanxue corrected the words of Huo Ren, her eyes gleaming with a mixture of shock and admiration. "It almost didn’t touch him. He knew where it would stop exactly."

The mechanical guardians pushed their pace to the limit, their metallic footsteps creating thunderous sounds in the training hall. But Lin Yuan’s breathing remained calm, his face under the blindfold a serene expression.

Inside the ring, the Turtle chuckled softly. ’Good. Do not chase the attacks. Simply dodge from the place where they are destined to arrive.’

Lin Yuan followed the commands properly. Slowly, the atmosphere in the arena shifted from a chaotic battle to something profoundly calm. The whispers died down, and the disciples had stopped analyzing; they were simply mesmerized by Lin Yuan’s graceful display. Watching Lin Yuan moving in the arena felt less like watching a brutal trial and more like watching a stream of water flow around jagged rocks.

When the ten minutes finally passed, the final guardian abruptly lowered its weapon. The crimson fire in their mechanical eyes slowly dimmed, and with a few back steps, every guardian retreated to its starting position.

An eerie silence took over the hall. Not even a single strike had landed on Lin Yuan. Gu Yanluo entered the ring instantly, his face filled with grim anger. Without a word, he reached out and untied the black silk cloth.

Lin Yuan slowly opened his eyes, squinting against the light.

Gu Yanluo checked the cloth for flaws, glanced at the state of the arena, and then stared into Lin Yuan’s eyes.

"...How?" Gu Yanluo frowned, his voice shivering in utter disbelief.

The disciples leaned in, hanging on every word.

"I tied the blindfold myself," Gu Yanluo continued, his voice tightening. "The mechanical guardians attacked perfectly, and with great efficiency. So tell me... how did you avoid every attack?"

Lin Yuan looked down at the simple turtle ring on his finger shimmered once before diminishing, a warm smile touching his lips.

"My Core Beast is a Turtle," Lin Yuan replied with a smile on his face. "It has always preferred peace. I didn’t want to drag it out into the arena just to risk it being struck by mechanical guardians."

He gently tapped the metal of the ring. "It simply acted as my eyes from within the ring. That was more than enough."

The hall fell frozen and petrified in silence. A moment later, a burst of voices shattered the silence.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!"

"They communicated through their mind?!"

"How the fuck even that possible?"

"How can a beast do telepathy from inside a spatial tool?"

"Just how terrifyingly deep is their bond?"

Even Xiao Yanrui’s calm and unbothered face twitched with genuine surprise. Gu Yanluo remained still for a long time, understanding the sheer absurdity of the achievement. Finally, a long, slow breath escaped from his mouth.

"A truly remarkable display of trust and bond," he announced, darting his head toward the gathered disciples. "Today’s lesson was never truly about testing your eyesight or your reflexes. It was about testing the depth of your connection with your companion. And..."

He paused and looked back at Lin Yuan, his eyes filled with profoundness. "Lin Yuan had proven the strength of the magnificent bond between a tamer and their core beast."

Lin Yuan cupped his fists, bowing slightly. "Thank you for the praise, Master."

Gu Yanluo nodded, pausing for a brief moment to let the tension out before making the final declaration.

"Your evaluation is one hundred percent!"

The words boomed across the hall like a ringing bell. No one spoke up to protest, because they had just witnessed a miracle from an arrogant boy.

A few moments later, the disciples assembled in a line before Gu Yanluo at the center of the training hall.

"The Guardian Instinct Trial is officially concluded," Gu Yanluo boasted, his hands folding behind his back. "Many of you have shown great promise today. Remember to nurture that bond more; a beast is not a tool, it is a part of your soul."

With a flick of his wrist, he produced three carved wooden boxes from his storage pouch.

"The highest evaluations belong to three individuals, and they are the winners of this trial." Gu Yanluo announced, opening the first box. "They deserve great rewards!"

In the first box, there was a shining fruit, with a size of a fist, its skin etched with natural, swirling patterns that throbbed with an abundant beast energy. The air in the hall immediately grew heavy with the presence of pure energy. It was the High tier food – Golden Spirit Fruit.

"Lin Yuan," Gu Yanluo said, presenting the box to him. "This is a Golden Spirit Fruit. It holds immense energy. Do not feed it to your turtle right now; an uncommon beast at its current stage cannot handle this level of energy. Save it for when your aperture breaks through to the Core Beast Realm, though I suggest waiting until it reaches an even higher tier."

Lin Yuan nodded, accepting the prize respectfully. "Understood. Thank you, Master."

He carefully placed the box into his storage bag.

Gu Yanluo opened the second box, revealing a lotus that shimmered like moonlight lingering on a calm river. "Chen Ming. This River Lotus will stabilize your Beast Essence efficiently during your upcoming cultivation breakthroughs."

Chen Ming stepped forward, his excitement bursting out. "Thank you, Master!"

Finally, Gu Yanluo opened the last box, revealing a blue fruit in a gentle, swirling mist. "Teng Haoran. This Blue Essence Fruit is your reward!"

Teng Haoran bowed before taking the reward.

Gu Yanluo looked at his students one last time. "The trial ends here. Always remember: a powerful beast does not make a powerful cultivator. A powerful bond creates the powerful beast and cultivator."

The disciples bowed, their voices echoing through the rafters. "Thank you for your guidance, Master!"

As they walked out of the training hall, a gentle afternoon breeze swept through the courtyard, rustling the rare dry leaves wavered from the Dan Zhenren’s nearby medicinal garden. They left with a newfound understanding of the path.