I'm Just a Beast Tamer

Jiang Zuo immediately opened his attribute panel to check the changes.

The increased limits for the Cultivation Beast Cage, Advanced Beast Cage, and the number of Pet Beasts in the Pet Beast Spirit Garden were all within Jiang Zuo’s expectations.

’But why do all the Beast Taming Skills I’ve obtained seem related to what I’ve been doing recently?’

He had never seen a skill, especially the Breeding Skill, be acquired directly at LV2.

’Could it be that my future actions will influence the Beast Taming Skills I can obtain?’

Judging by the description of a High-level Beast Tamer, that was indeed the case.

’But there are certainly some coincidences here. After all, as a Mid-level Beast Tamer, there’s a limit to what I can do at this stage.’

’Even if I had done nothing, I would have still received some Beast Taming Skills upon promoting to High-level Beast Tamer.’

’Take the Breeding ability, for example. Obtaining it directly at LV2 probably means I would have gotten the Breeding Skill when I promoted to High-level Beast Tamer regardless of whether I had researched breeding or not.’

’But because I had already conducted research, it was granted to me at LV2.’

’One piece of evidence is the "Famous Teacher" skill. I modified a Cultivation Technique for Great Black and guided him in cultivating the Blood God Skill. This was before I even started researching Breeding. During that process, I also raised a large number of accomplished Seated Mountain Eagles and even nurtured Seated Mountain Eagles to the Innate Martial Artist level.’

’In terms of the experience gained, the Famous Teacher skill couldn’t possibly be inferior to Breeding. If Breeding could be obtained at LV2, then Famous Teacher should have been as well.’

’But that’s not what happened.’

’This means that Breeding is a skill I would have obtained through a normal promotion anyway, and I was rewarded with an extra level for having researched it beforehand.’

’As for the Famous Teacher skill, if I had done nothing, I probably wouldn’t have received it at all.’

’The Commander Skill should be the same.’

’To sum it up, when my Beast Tamer level increases in the future, aside from the fixed skills I’m guaranteed to get, any extra rewards will depend on what I’ve been doing during that time!’

After careful analysis, Jiang Zuo reached a conclusion he felt was highly probable.

’In that case, I need to start thinking carefully about my future direction.’

Jiang Zuo thought.

Theoretically, the more things he did, the better.

But it wasn’t as if his Beast Tamer level-up would grant him a skill for every little thing he did. The rewards must have limits and specific focuses.

If his actions were too varied and unfocused, the rewards he received upon leveling up might not be what he wanted.

Therefore, he needed to choose a path and have a clear direction.

Once he decided on a direction, he could perform more actions related to it and as few unrelated ones as possible.

And looking at the 100,000 experience points required for the next level, Jiang Zuo knew there was no rush. It was fine to take his time.

Even if the rate at which he gained Beast Tamer experience increased significantly in the future, acquiring 100,000 experience points would still take a terrifyingly long time.

’The experiments with Scattering and Reincarnation for the Seated Mountain Eagles’ promotion to the Innate realm can come to a close for now.’

’Once the next batch of Seated Mountain Eagles returns, and I get my hands on a few more sets of sixth-layer fruits to cultivate the Blood Sea Creation Skill to Grandmaster Great Perfection, I can consider leaving this place to pursue new goals.’

’Right now, my most important task is to secure a method for awakening my Spirit Root when I promote to the Innate realm.’

’Such methods can’t be found in ordinary places. I currently have several options.’

’First, I could go to the Bu Family. They are the owners of the Blood God Skill and have existed in the Mortal Territory for an unknown number of years. They definitely have some secret knowledge related to awakening a Spirit Root.’

’The only thing to be wary of is that the Bu Family might be a trap.’

’However, it’s unlikely the Bu Family has any Dao Foundation level Cultivators. With my current strength, the danger of going there wouldn’t be very high. If I bring a batch of Innate Martial Artist level Seated Mountain Eagles with me... hmm, the risk can definitely be minimized.’

’The second option is to wait for the black fruits on the Mysterious Island to ripen.’

’Given the wondrous properties of these fruits, if I can obtain the black fruits from the six Divine Trees, I can almost guarantee I’ll awaken a Spirit Root when I break through to the Innate realm using the Blood Sea Creation Skill.’

’To do that, I’ll need to bring different Seated Mountain Eagles capable of reaching all six islands. Before I leave, I’ll have to promote them to Innate Martial Artists. The Pet Beast Spirit Garden now has fifteen slots. Subtracting Great Black and Xiaoqing leaves thirteen.’

’For the six islands, twelve Innate Seated Mountain Eagles should be enough. That should basically guarantee I can compete for the black fruits. Just in case, I can follow them in myself in my Ten Thousand Beasts Armor form if necessary.’

’Third, the Cyan Wood Secret Realm.’

’If I break through to the Innate realm in the Cyan Wood Secret Realm using the Life Essence Returning Skill, the chances of awakening a Spirit Root will also be very high, not much worse than with the Blood Sea Creation Skill.’

’But I still know nothing about the Cyan Wood Secret Realm. It’s a Cultivation Secret Realm, and with my current Cultivation level, facing the Cultivators inside would be quite dangerous.’

’I shouldn’t choose the Cyan Wood Secret Realm unless I’m forced to. It might be dangerous to enter. On the other hand, if I save it, I can use it as a refuge in the future if I’m in danger.’

’However, I can consider moving forward with my previous idea of finding a Cultivator to ask about the Cyan Wood Secret Realm.’

’The last option: the Nine Revolutions Returning Essence Skill.’

’As long as my speculations about the rules of the Heaven and Earth baptism during the promotion to the Innate realm aren’t completely wrong, the Nine Revolutions Returning Essence Skill will definitely help me awaken a Spirit Root.’

’But the Nine Revolutions Returning Essence Skill can only be one of my last resorts. If there are other methods, I should prioritize them.’

’After awakening my Spirit Root, I can freely use Scattering and Reincarnation to undergo multiple baptisms of Heaven and Earth, improving the quality of my physical body and Spirit Root.’

Jiang Zuo made a detailed summary of his current options and found that he had accumulated quite a few choices over the years.

All four options had varying degrees of feasibility for Jiang Zuo.

However, after further consideration, Jiang Zuo realized his choices in the short term were actually more limited.

He didn’t know when the black fruits would ripen, so the Blood Sea Creation Skill option could be ruled out first.

The Nine Revolutions Returning Essence Skill was his ultimate fallback, so it could also be set aside for now.

The danger of the Cyan Wood Secret Realm was unknown, so Jiang Zuo was unlikely to enter it anytime soon.

However, finding a Cultivator to ask for information was a viable action.

That left going to the Bu Family to learn about promoting to the Innate realm and awakening a Spirit Root as arguably his only option.

Therefore, after leaving this place, Jiang Zuo only had these two things to do in the near future.

Jiang Zuo could also choose to procrastinate, continuing to raise birds and fish on the island until the end of time.

However, without a breakthrough in his realm, his power couldn’t undergo a qualitative change. No matter how many Pet Beasts he raised, besides the guaranteed increase in lifespan, the improvement in his attributes would be very limited.

The limit of this kind of improvement was the Dao Foundation Cultivator level.

If he ever encountered a Cultivator stronger than the Dao Foundation realm, no matter how many ordinary Pet Beasts he raised in the Mortal Territory, he would only end up being instantly killed.

That said, it was unlikely he would encounter a Cultivator stronger than the Dao Foundation realm in the Mortal Territory.

But there was always a "what if," and the longer he waited, the greater the probability of that "what if" became.

The best way for Jiang Zuo to ensure his own safety was to awaken his Spirit Root as soon as possible and begin his Cultivation journey.

After all, he could raise Pet Beasts anywhere. Once he awakened his Spirit Root, he could discreetly tame and raise Pet Beasts in the Cultivation Realm while also greatly increasing his own strength.

Staying in the Mortal Territory and raising Pet Beasts for however long could never compare to the improvement and growth he could achieve in the Cultivation Realm.

...

Jiang Zuo began his final tasks on the island and also started making preparations to leave.

However, the time required to truly leave was not short.

This was because Jiang Zuo still needed to raise about ten more Innate Martial Artist level Seated Mountain Eagles.

On the Mysterious Island, one twelve-year cycle only produced five sets of fruits from the sixth layer.

In the current cycle, only Number One had been promoted to the Innate realm; the others were still Grandmasters.

Therefore, Jiang Zuo couldn’t obtain all the sixth-layer fruits in this cycle.

After this cycle ended, Jiang Zuo would have to wait another two cycles to gather enough of the required sixth-layer fruits.

This would take about thirty more years.

It was still a long time to wait.

「Several years passed in the blink of an eye.」

The twenty-fourth year of raising Iron Thorn Fish, the eightieth year of raising Seated Mountain Eagles.

Heaven rewards the diligent! Through your continuous raising of Iron Thorn Fish, their fish-type Underwater Breathing Technique racial talent has been strengthened. You have obtained the Iron Thorn Fish’s secondary racial talent: "Underwater Sensing!"

——Underwater Sensing: A secondary racial talent of the Iron Thorn Fish. By sensing vibrations in the water through their skin, they can perceive various minute events occurring underwater within a certain range.

...

Because he had been promoted to High-level Beast Tamer, the number of Cultivation Beast Cages had increased.

The speed at which he could raise Iron Thorn Fish had also increased considerably as a result.

In just twenty-four years, Jiang Zuo had managed to nurture the Iron Thorn Fish’s racial talent.

As a result, not only was the Underwater Breathing Technique strengthened, but he had also obtained a secondary racial talent.

This was a truly pleasant surprise.

Seeing this, Jiang Zuo decided to choose a type of "Cyan Feathered Seagull" from the island as his next nurturing target.

Cyan Feathered Seagulls didn’t have much combat power, but their flight speed was extremely fast, and their aerial maneuverability was also very strong.

He figured that after nurturing their racial talent, it would significantly enhance his Flying Technique.

In addition, Cyan Feathered Seagulls could also keenly sense changes in the weather.

If the secondary racial talent was related to sensing the weather, that would also be a rather good talent to have.

The diet of Cyan Feathered Seagulls consisted mainly of insects. Although they weren’t as easy to farm as sea fish, their appetite wasn’t large. As a Beast Tamer with a large amount of Heaven and Earth Primordial Power Ore on hand, Jiang Zuo could still cultivate high-quality insect food to shorten their nurturing cycle.