Chen Yuan decided to minimize mentioning his identity as a forest ranger in the future, to avoid having to meticulously explain why he didn't join a Beastmaster Academy and why he was so skilled without formal training.
Answering once or twice felt rewarding, but doing it repeatedly became tiresome.
But at this moment, both the Scarlet Flame Eagle and the Scarlet Flame Sun Eagle were on the ground, waiting for them to handle the situation.
Liu Jingyi, carrying the Scarlet Flame Eagle cub, accompanied by Liu Jinglan, tiptoed towards the Scarlet Flame Eagle and the Scarlet Flame Sun Eagle.
“Screech!”
Seeing the despicable fellows who stole their child daring to provoke them, the two creatures instantly flew into a rage, struggling to get up.
“Woof!”
“Chirp!”
Kele glanced sideways, its fiery gaze dismissive.
The two creatures immediately quieted down.
Liu Jingyi looked at the Scarlet Flame Eagle cub in her arms, took a deep breath, then turned her head and placed it in front of its parents: “It's yours now.”
After a pause, Liu Jingyi felt it necessary to explain: “We didn't intentionally kidnap it. We just found it alone and helpless, curled up in a small pit, cold and hungry. I felt sorry for it, so I gave it something to eat.”
“I didn't expect…”
“This child insisted on following me.” As she said this, Liu Jingyi's eyes reflected the events of last night, and a faint smile appeared on her face.
“I'll leave some food for you later. This child really likes it, but don't feed it too much at once, it's not good for its stomach.”
“Also, don't let it get all dirty all the time, it's not cute at all.”
“And…”
“That's it, you take it away. Be careful, don't lose it again.”
“Hmph, next time you won't meet such a kind person like me.”
After speaking, Liu Jingyi stood up, her back to the Scarlet Flame Eagle cub, her shoulders trembling slightly.
“Screech, screech~”
The Scarlet Flame Eagle and the Scarlet Flame Sun Eagle were immediately excited to see their lost Scarlet Flame Eagle cub return.
Liu Jingyi was right, it was indeed their fault for losing the child.
At that time, a despicable fellow tried to snatch the Scarlet Sun Wood. They all went out to fight, but when they came back, the little one was gone.
The panicked Scarlet Flame Eagle and Scarlet Flame Sun Eagle quickly began searching, suspecting that other pets or humans had kidnapped it, which led to what happened next.
Kele and Huahua exchanged a look, both retreating, making room for the reunited family.
However…
The Scarlet Flame Eagle cub stared intently at Liu Jingyi's back, its eyes shimmering, suddenly spreading its wings and wobbling onto her back.
The Scarlet Flame Eagle and the Scarlet Flame Sun Eagle were stunned.
“Screech~”
The Scarlet Flame Eagle cub looked at its parents and then pointed at Liu Jingyi with its wing.
“Screech!”
The Scarlet Flame Eagle was furious, trying to spread its wings and create a whirlwind, but was stopped by the Scarlet Flame Sun Eagle beside it.
“What's going on?” Liu Jinglan asked softly.
Chen Yuan's eyes flashed slightly, and he guessed: “It should be that the Scarlet Flame Eagle cub wants to go with your sister, but the Scarlet Flame Eagle doesn't allow it, and the Scarlet Flame Sun Eagle is persuading the Scarlet Flame Eagle to calm down.”
While the two were talking, Chang Yuhuan silently chose an angle and photographed the furious Scarlet Flame Eagle, the persuading Scarlet Flame Sun Eagle, Liu Jingyi, and the Scarlet Flame Eagle cub on her shoulder. Seeing the photo she took, she nodded with satisfaction.
“Screech, screech!”
“Screech!”
Under the gaze of Chen Yuan and the others, the Scarlet Flame Eagle and the Scarlet Flame Sun Eagle argued fiercely, their cries incessant, and there were even signs of a fight breaking out.
But after a long time, the Scarlet Flame Eagle gradually calmed down. It just stared deeply at the Scarlet Flame Eagle cub, then lowered its eyes.
“Did they agree?” Liu Jinglan asked.
“Probably.” Chen Yuan nodded.
Liu Jinglan looked puzzled: “So simple?”
“The Scarlet Flame Eagle cub can fly, which means it can leave its parents and survive on its own, and it can have its own thoughts.”
“And its parents don't seem to object to this.”
Liu Jinglan propped her cheek with one hand and sharply commented: “Just this point alone makes them more reasonable than many human parents.”
“Do you really want to come with me?” Liu Jingyi asked, excitedly staring at the Scarlet Flame Eagle cub, due to the sudden surprise.
“Screech~”
The Scarlet Flame Eagle cub affectionately rubbed her cheek.
Its actions represented its meaning.
“That's great!” Seeing this, Liu Jingyi clenched her right fist, then raised the Scarlet Flame Eagle cub high, her face excited, jumping up and down on the spot.
“The Scarlet Flame Eagle is going to come with me!”
“I can contract a pet beast too!”
Seeing this scene, smiles appeared on the faces of the three.
Chen Yuan couldn't help but exclaim: “The encounter between humans and pet beasts is truly wonderful.”
He raised his eyes to look at Huahua flying in the air and said softly: “If I hadn't worked at the wildlife rescue station back then, I wouldn't have met you.”
“Woof, woof, woof!”
Kele kept bouncing around Chen Yuan, its eyes filled with eagerness.
What about me?
What about me?
Chen Yuan squatted down, looked directly into those bright blue eyes, and smiled slightly: “If I hadn't chosen to return to the village after graduation, I wouldn't have met you.”
“Giggle~”
The Twin Flower Concubine also poked out a small head, looking at Chen Yuan with inquiring eyes.
Chen Yuan smiled and tapped its little head with his index finger: “If it weren't for that unlucky couple of Beastmasters, if it weren't for the mission issued by the association, I wouldn't have met you.”
Hearing these words, Chang Yuhuan felt emotional. She lowered her head to look at the Water Spirit Turtle lying beside her legs and smiled slightly: “If this little guy hadn't been lying on the fish tank and staring at me when I passed by the aquatic market half a year ago, I wouldn't have brought it home.”
Liu Jinglan turned her head to look at the Scarlet Flame Ox beside her, met a pair of calm, dark eyes, reached out and patted its head, and smiled: “If you hadn't shed tears when Grandpa wanted to sell you, I probably wouldn't have seen you.”
After a moment of emotion, Chen Yuan raised his eyes to look at the Scarlet Flame Eagle and the Scarlet Flame Sun Eagle, and then pointed to the Scarlet Sun Wood not far away: “I want to ask you something, do you know where else I can find this stuff?”
Despite the fierce battle earlier, after the misunderstanding was resolved, pet beasts were easier to talk to than most people.
“Screech~”
The Scarlet Flame Eagle seemed to still be immersed in the sadness of the Scarlet Flame Eagle cub's departure, and did not respond to Chen Yuan. Instead, the Scarlet Flame Sun Eagle raised its head, looked towards the summit of the mountain where flames were burning, and pointed there with its wing.
“Above the summit?”
Chen Yuan squinted his eyes and looked towards the summit. The red sun hung high in the sky, and hot air currents surged upwards from the summit, with towering flames reflected in his eyes.
Is this really the kind of place where spiritual plants exist?
Chen Yuan was a little suspicious that the Scarlet Flame Sun Eagle was deliberately deceiving him, but when he saw those sincere eyes, he fell into contemplation.
“How about… giving it a try?” Chen Yuan raised his eyes to look at Huahua.
Spark, naturally, agreed without hesitation. It spread its wings and soared into the sky, rapidly ascending and approaching the mountain peak.
Soon, Spark looked down and could clearly see clusters of flames burning, with immense heatwaves rising in bursts and crimson smoke swirling around.
It attempted to get closer, retracting its wings for a steady descent.
The surging heatwaves rushed towards it. Spark tried to navigate through the gaps, but the erratic and unpredictable waves made it difficult. Despite its caution, it was scorched by a burst of intense flame.
"Can this really work?" Chang Yuhuan asked, her face filled with worry as she looked up at Spark trying to penetrate the turbulent heatwaves.
Chen Yuan remained silent, his eyes fixed on Spark.
Flying through the raging heatwaves, occasionally struck by rising flames, Spark could clearly feel the burning pain, but it remained within tolerable limits.
As a Fire-attribute pet, its resistance to fire attacks was exceptional.
However, as time passed, the flames' impact on Spark became increasingly apparent. It began to feel the intense burning sensation in every part of its body, the pain spreading throughout.
At the same time,
Spark vaguely sensed itself growing stronger. Its physical attributes seemed to be enhanced by the continuous burning of the flames, and the flames it spewed from its mouth became even more powerful.
Torn between the intense burning sensation and the feeling of growing stronger, Spark felt momentarily lost.
Suddenly,
Spark looked down and saw faint, indistinct shapes deep within the heatwaves, resembling Fiery Sunwood.
"Chirp!"
Spark instantly became excited, enduring the burning sensation as it flew deeper.
However, the further it flew, the higher the temperature and the more violent the heatwaves became. Like fiery tongues licking the sky, clusters of flames surged towards Spark like madmen.
Endless pain washed over Spark. It frantically flapped its wings, trying to push through, but ultimately couldn't withstand the pain and was forced to retreat.
"Chirp!"
Regaining altitude, Spark gazed deeply at the surging heatwaves below before returning to Chen Yuan's side.
After recounting the events on the mountain peak to Chen Yuan, he waved his hand and carefully applied healing ointment to its body. "Don't say anything, just rest."
It was the first time he'd seen Spark suffer such severe injuries.
However, the scorched areas recovered at a visible rate. In no time, Spark was lively again.
Chen Yuan rested his chin on his hand, lost in thought. "These flames are strange."
If, as Spark described, the flames could both injure it and make it stronger, wouldn't that be a unique form of cultivation resource?
It would just require paying a price to grow stronger using this resource.
"I think it's very possible," Liu Jinglan said, snapping her fingers after hearing Chen Yuan's conjecture. "Let's test it out."
"Crimson Flame Ox, go up and give it a try."
"Moo ~"
Crimson Flame Ox nodded slightly, then rumbled forward, choosing a gentle slope to climb towards the mountain peak.
Under the watchful eyes of the group, Crimson Flame Ox quickly reached the summit and cautiously entered the area filled with surging heatwaves.
Before long,
Crimson Flame Ox, covered in burn marks, returned to the group. Liu Jinglan healed its injuries while asking about its experience.
"Crimson Flame Ox's feelings are similar to Flame Cloud Falcon's. It felt the pain of being burned, but also felt itself growing stronger," Liu Jinglan said.
In fact, during Crimson Flame Ox's trial, Chen Yuan directly opened Spark's data panel and found that its skill proficiency had noticeably increased compared to yesterday.
Clearly, this was thanks to being burned by the fire.
Wait.
Chen Yuan suddenly looked at Flameflame Carving and Flameflame Sun Carving, his face full of suspicion. "How were you able to rush in and find Fiery Sunwood?"
Flameflame Carving and Flameflame Sun Carving were weaker than Spark. How could they have rushed into the heatwaves and found Fiery Sunwood?
Flameflame Sun Carving spread its wings. "Screech, screech."
According to it, they had only been lucky enough to find a piece of Fiery Sunwood on the edge of the mountain peak, and hadn't ventured deep inside.
"I see." Chen Yuan nodded in understanding, then looked at Spark with a complex expression. "It seems that to obtain Fiery Sunwood, we must endure the trial of fire."
But this trial could also allow Spark to improve rapidly.
Wasn't this also a kind of tempering?
"Chirp ~"
Spark spread its wings, its gaze sharp and its aura soaring. Suddenly, it shot into the sky, its orange-yellow figure shimmering under the scorching sunlight, before diving into the endless heatwaves!
"Crimson Flame Ox, let's try too." Liu Jinglan patted Crimson Flame Ox's head, and the latter responded steadily before charging towards the mountain peak.
However, before long, Crimson Flame Ox returned again.
The time it persevered was far less than Spark's.
Watching Flame Cloud Falcon, who had disappeared into the heatwaves, Liu Jinglan inexplicably felt a sense of frustration deep down.
In terms of strength, Flame Cloud Falcon could easily defeat Flameflame Sun Carving, while Crimson Flame Ox struggled against Flameflame Carving.
In terms of time, Flame Cloud Falcon persevered much longer in the heatwaves than Crimson Flame Ox.
But this thought was fleeting. Liu Jinglan quickly grinned. "Who cares? There are so many Beast Tamers in the world. If I felt frustrated every time I met one,"
"Wouldn't I be exhausted to death?"
This time,
Spark persevered in the heatwaves for much longer than before. It danced in the raging flames, charging deeper.
The flames from all directions enveloped it, merging with the faint flame streams surging from its body. Spark's eyes became brighter and brighter, as if a cluster of flame was flickering in its pupils.
Continuing forward, it could already see Fiery Sunwood deep inside.
However, the raging fire continued to press in, and Spark ultimately couldn't withstand the pressure and was forced to retreat.
"Rest for a while, and we'll come back next time." Looking at Spark in front of him, Chen Yuan felt a pang of heartache.
Skill proficiency was still steadily increasing, but Spark looked truly miserable, covered in burn marks, even its usually neat feathers were slightly disheveled.
Fortunately, these injuries could be quickly healed with ointment.
"Awoo!"
Cola quickly stirred up a cool breeze, blowing away the heat from its big sister's body.
"Murmur ~"
Twin Flower Consort also wanted to help, but it hadn't mastered healing skills yet, and could only wave its petal-shaped hands, cheering Spark on.
"Chirp!!!!"
Soon,
Spark rallied, flying high into the air, its aura even more soaring, its eyes flashing with flames, its body surging with layers of fire, charging towards the surging heat!
