Versatile Sword Cultivator

Chapter 51 – Spirit Beast Park

"Kid, I'm not unreasonable. You saved my granddaughter, so I should thank you. Come with me!"

Elder Tianyuan's face was full of displeasure as he turned and walked away.

"Junior brother, hurry up and follow him. My grandpa will definitely give you a Spirit Beast as a reward. Go and get it," Nangong Yue urged.

Lin Jichen's eyes lit up at the mention of a Spirit Beast. How could he miss such a good opportunity?

He immediately quickened his pace, moving as fast as an elderly person hearing about free eggs at the supermarket.

Following Elder Tianyuan, Lin Jichen realized that the place he had been sleeping was actually someone else's home.

They walked all the way to the back mountain.

The back mountain was a lush garden, covering nearly three-quarters of the entire mountain.

A plaque hung outside the garden, reading: Spirit Beast Garden!

The garden was filled with numerous Spirit Beasts, too many to count.

Many Sword Sect disciples were busy inside, some feeding the Spirit Beasts, some cleaning the garden, some counting numbers, and even some taking care of the young ones.

It was like a zoo in the Xianxia world.

Each Spirit Beast had its own territory, ensuring that different species wouldn't fight each other.

The entire garden seemed to be enhanced by a special formation, adjusting the climate, temperature, and even humidity for different Spirit Beasts.

Every Spirit Beast lived comfortably in the garden.

Lin Jichen recognized many of the Spirit Beasts.

There were snow-white Snow Mountain Ferrets, red-furred Crimson Monkeys, Fire Python Bulls that looked like a cross between a cow and a python, and Winged Boars that resembled wild boars with wings, among others.

However, these Spirit Beasts were all low-tier, mostly at the Qi Refining Realm, and couldn't be considered rare.

"Greetings, Elder!"

Seeing Elder Tianyuan, the disciples respectfully saluted.

"Mm."

Elder Tianyuan nodded casually, then turned to look at Lin Jichen, who was dazzled by the Spirit Beast Garden. A hint of pride appeared on his face.

"Kid, how do you like my Spirit Beast Garden? It's not much worse than the Beast Taming Sect, right?"

Lin Jichen smiled and nodded. "Elder, your Spirit Beast Garden is indeed impressive."

Unexpectedly, Elder Tianyuan was not satisfied with this answer.

"Just impressive? Have you seen a better beast garden than this?"

Lin Jichen was speechless. This old man's competitive spirit was really strong.

"Uh, I once visited the Beast Taming Sect. Their garden has many more species than yours."

"Pah! Those guys at the Beast Taming Sect raise all sorts of things, relying only on quantity. My garden is famous for its quality! What can they compare with me?" Elder Tianyuan retorted.

Lin Jichen smiled wryly and honestly commented, "But the Beast Taming Sect's Spirit Beasts aren't just at the Qi Refining Realm. They have all levels of strength. I heard their Sect Master even raises a Divine Transformation Realm Exotic Beast, a Poverty-stricken Beast, with unmatched power."

"To be honest, Elder, it seems like your garden doesn't even have a single Foundation Establishment Realm Spirit Beast."

Elder Tianyuan's white eyebrows shot up, forming a straight line.

"You brat, daring to look down on me! Who said I only raise Qi Refining Realm Spirit Beasts? The outer area is all Qi Refining Realm. The further in you go, the stronger the Spirit Beasts!"

With that, Elder Tianyuan grabbed Lin Jichen's sleeve and walked deeper into the Spirit Beast Garden.

If he didn't prove himself today, he wouldn't be able to sleep at night.

Being looked down upon by a kid, how could he tolerate it?

Lin Jichen was dragged through the outer area of the Spirit Beast Garden. Sure enough, the further in they went, the stronger the Spirit Beasts became, ranging from Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Crystal Formation, Golden Elixir, to Gathering Spirit.

"The higher-level ones, I won't show you. Their mere presence could crush you to death. So, do you believe me now?" Elder Tianyuan said proudly.

Lin Jichen casually asked, "Are there any Divine Transformation Realm Spirit Beasts back there?"

Elder Tianyuan's expression froze, just as he was about to lie.

Unexpectedly, Nangong Yue interjected, "Junior brother, don't believe my grandpa. The highest level Spirit Beast here is only at the Gathering Spirit Realm. He just doesn't want you to laugh at him."

Elder Tianyuan's old face twitched, especially seeing Lin Jichen's amused expression, making him feel utterly embarrassed.

"Alright, I have other matters to attend to. Pick a Spirit Beast and get out!" Elder Tianyuan was clearly frustrated.

"Pick a Spirit Beast? Even a Gathering Spirit Realm one?" Lin Jichen thought his luck was too good to be true.

"Pah! You greedy brat, even if I gave you a Gathering Spirit Realm Spirit Beast, could you tame it? Be careful, it might kill you with a sneeze!"

Elder Tianyuan was furious. This kid was too audacious.

First, he had designs on his granddaughter, and now he wanted his high-level Spirit Beasts. If it weren't for his granddaughter, he would have beaten this kid up.

"So, what level can I choose?"

Lin Jichen didn't mind being scolded. As long as he got something good, a few harsh words wouldn't hurt him.

"Of course, one that matches your strength, so you can control and tame it."

Elder Tianyuan replied stiffly.

"In that case, I'll check out the Foundation Establishment Realm Spirit Beasts." Lin Jichen turned to leave.

Elder Tianyuan called him back.

"Did you not hear me? I said pick one that matches your strength. You're at the Qi Refining Realm, so pick a Qi Refining Realm Spirit Beast, got it?"

"But my strength is higher than the Qi Refining Realm. You said to pick one that matches my strength, right?" Lin Jichen replied matter-of-factly.

Elder Tianyuan was about to refuse when his granddaughter once again stood against him.

"I can vouch for it. Junior brother's strength is definitely above the Qi Refining Realm. He personally killed a mid-Foundation Establishment Ghost Mother Blood Baby. I saw it with my own eyes. So he should pick a Foundation Establishment Realm Spirit Beast!"

Elder Tianyuan was momentarily speechless, feeling bitter but unable to argue.

"Fine, fine, pick one and leave!"

Lin Jichen and Nangong Yue exchanged a smile and ran towards the Foundation Establishment Realm Spirit Beast area, leaving Elder Tianyuan behind.

"Junior brother, how about that one? It's an Ironback Azure Wolf, early Foundation Establishment Realm, good as both a pet and a mount!"

"And that one, a Treasure Moon Spirit Monkey, mid-Foundation Establishment Realm, strong in both attack and speed."

"Oh, look at that! A Purple Gold Tail Flame Snake, perfect for ambushes!"

"And..."

Nangong Yue enthusiastically introduced the Spirit Beasts to Lin Jichen, wishing she could give them all to him.

Elder Tianyuan listened, growing more and more frustrated. Initially, he only planned to give Lin Jichen a low-tier Qi Refining Realm Spirit Beast to get rid of him.

Who would have thought he'd end up giving a Foundation Establishment Realm one? What a loss!

Compared to the Spirit Beasts, he now feared losing his granddaughter even more. He would never allow it!

This kid was just at the Qi Refining Realm. How could he be worthy of his precious granddaughter? Even if he was a Sect Master's disciple, so what?

A pretty boy who got in through connections, hmph!

Elder Tianyuan thought, hurry up and pick one, then get lost, so I don't have to see you anymore.

Lin Jichen was also selecting from the Spirit Beasts.

Although this Spirit Beast Garden didn't have as many species as the Beast Taming Sect, Elder Tianyuan wasn't lying about one thing: these Spirit Beasts were indeed top-notch.

Lin Jichen was dazzled by the choices, unsure of what to pick.

Just then, a small beast caught his eye. Its fur was black and white, round and chubby, looking adorable.

It resembled China's national treasure, the panda!

But in the Xianxia world, it wasn't called a panda; it was called an Iron-Eating Beast.

A genuine Spirit Beast, in ancient legends, it was said to be the mount of Chiyou!

Although Chiyou was ultimately defeated, it probably wasn't the Iron-Eating Beast's fault... right?