I'm Just a Beast Tamer

Chapter 14: Chapter 14: The Feeling of Growing Stronger

’I wonder how I compare to a Martial Artist who has reached Great Success in Skin Refining.’

Jiang Zuo thought to himself as he felt the surge of power within his body.

There was a martial arts dojo in Red Fox Town that taught Martial Arts.

At first, Jiang Zuo had also considered practicing Martial Arts.

But after learning how Martial Artists cultivated, he gave up on the idea.

In this world, for a Martial Artist to achieve success in their Cultivation, they could only progress from the outside in.

Skin Refining, Muscle Training, Bone Refining—it was a gradual, step-by-step process.

The idea of mastering some peerless Martial Arts with a supreme Inner Power Heart Method, becoming an Inner Martial Arts Master overnight, and sweeping through the world like in those wuxia novels...

That kind of thing didn’t exist in this world.

It wasn’t that there were no shortcuts.

Using certain Treasures of Heaven and Earth as aids could greatly shorten the process of practicing Martial Arts.

But such rare consumables were simply impossible to obtain through normal means.

If an ordinary person wanted to practice Martial Arts, they could only endure the long, slow grind.

Take Skin Refining, for example.

Skin Refining required daily practice of the corresponding Body Cultivation Technique, having one’s skin beaten, and then soaking in a specific medicinal bath.

This had to be done day after day, with constant perseverance, starting from a single patch of skin until the skin of the entire body was trained to be as tough as cowhide. Only then was Skin Refining considered to be at the stage of Great Success.

Just by cultivating at an ordinary dojo, without good Body Cultivation Techniques and medicinal bath formulas, it would take at least several years to achieve.

The process was extremely arduous. Setting aside the Cultivation Technique, the medicinal herbs for the baths were also incredibly expensive and not something an ordinary person could afford.

And even then, it all depended on whether you had a talent for Martial Arts.

If your Physique was poor and your body’s absorption of the medicinal bath was weak, you could struggle for years and still never reach the Great Success realm.

When a Martial Artist who had reached Great Success in Skin Refining tensed their body, their skin could become as tough as cowhide.

An ordinary person who had never practiced Martial Arts could punch them with all their might, and at most, it would only slightly redden the skin.

Bare-handed, a Skin Refining Martial Artist could already crush an ordinary person with ease.

The process of Muscle Training was similar to Skin Refining.

One had to cultivate each muscle group on the body until they were trained to be as solid as a mountain. Only then was the Cultivation considered successful.

A Martial Artist whose muscles were as solid as a mountain would experience a massive surge in strength.

In the eyes of an ordinary person, they were already a human-shaped weapon. A single punch to a normal person’s head could make it explode.

But the Cultivation of a Muscle Training Martial Artist was even more difficult and time-consuming.

All in all, being a Martial Artist was an extremely expensive and time-consuming profession. Ordinary people simply weren’t qualified to practice Martial Arts.

Jiang Zuo could earn the money needed for Martial Arts.

But Beast Taming also required a lot of time. Between Martial Arts and Beast Taming, Jiang Zuo could only choose one.

Thinking of the future, Jiang Zuo also had to juggle some other side jobs.

The choice didn’t even require a second thought.

Besides, after becoming a Martial Artist, if anything happened, Jiang Zuo would inevitably become a target.

Jiang Zuo just wanted to lie low and develop quietly, so it was even more unlikely that he would choose to practice Martial Arts.

Since he didn’t practice Martial Arts, he didn’t have much contact with Martial Artists either.

As for the specific strength of Martial Artists at each realm, Jiang Zuo naturally had no way of knowing.

But judging from what he had heard, he was now no weaker than a Martial Artist who had reached Great Success in Skin Refining!

...

Having gone without water for two days, the vegetables planted in the ground had wilted considerably, looking languid and listless.

A lot of new weeds had also sprouted.

Like an old farmer, Jiang Zuo bent over to pull weeds and water the plants.

Great Black wasn’t idle either, diligently grabbing the pulled weeds in his mouth and dragging them away.

It was already quite late when he arrived, so by the time Jiang Zuo finished, it didn’t take long for the sky to approach dusk.

After a quick cleanup, Jiang Zuo called for Great Black to wrap things up.

On the way back, Jiang Zuo planned to take a detour to the street market to buy some groceries before heading home.

Buying groceries was secondary. The street market was more crowded, and there were more wealthy people there.

He had encountered many people on his way there, but the rate of gaining Beast Taming Reputation wasn’t very high.

Jiang Zuo had just analyzed the situation and realized that to get more Beast Taming Reputation, he needed to rely on the wealthier folks.

The logic was simple.

Most common people didn’t have much spare money at home.

Although they worried about being robbed, they didn’t worry to the same extent as the rich.

Their circumstances were different, so their opinion of Jiang Zuo and his big black dog wasn’t something they gave much thought to.

For some people, they might even secretly rejoice and applaud when a wealthy family was robbed.

Jiang Zuo’s analysis wasn’t for nothing.

Sure enough, after Jiang Zuo led Great Black around the street market a few times, his Beast Taming Reputation surged like a rising tide, increasing rapidly.

In just over an hour, he had actually gained more than three hundred Beast Taming Reputation.

It nearly surpassed the total amount he had gained before.

"Beast Taming Reputation: 352!"

After returning home, his Beast Taming Reputation was still increasing slowly.

By nine o’clock at night, after Jiang Zuo finished his other tasks, even though he had already spent 300 points on his attributes, his reputation had reached a new high.

’System, add my points!’

After a moment of thought, Jiang Zuo spent another 300 reputation points, adding 30 points to his Strength.

His Strength attribute instantly broke through 50 points, reaching 55.7!

Jiang Zuo immediately felt an endless power welling up inside him, an energy that felt like it had to be unleashed.

There was a piece of wood at his feet. Jiang Zuo picked it up and squeezed it hard.

Since he didn’t usually exercise deliberately, Jiang Zuo’s body looked no different from an ordinary person’s.

But as he exerted his strength now, faint muscles suddenly bulged on his arm.

CRACK!

With a muffled snap, the piece of wood in Jiang Zuo’s hand shattered, sending splinters flying everywhere.

Great Black, who was lying on the ground nearby, was startled. He shot up and stared at Jiang Zuo with a look of shock and confusion.

’This is power!’

Jiang Zuo’s heart surged with emotion as he looked at the splinters in his hand.

’Finally, I feel a little bit stronger!’

Immediately after, Jiang Zuo was hit by an overwhelming sense of hunger.

His Strength had more than doubled, rocketing from 25.7 to 55.7. As his attributes surged, his body gave the most direct feedback possible.

Jiang Zuo hurriedly started cooking again. Then, like a bottomless pit, he ate and drank ravenously for over half an hour before the hunger finally subsided.

Great Black watched from the side, drooling. But the dog had already eaten his fill for dinner, and Jiang Zuo could barely eat enough for himself, so he paid him no mind.

"Phew... looks like my appetite is going to increase a lot from now on."

Jiang Zuo patted his stomach.

Martial Artists not only spent money on practicing Martial Arts but also spent a fortune on daily food and drink.

Jiang Zuo didn’t practice Martial Arts, but with a mortal body possessing strength comparable to a Martial Artist’s, his body would naturally have the same level of consumption.

His Strength attribute had soared, but the attribute panel itself remained unchanged.

His Beast Taming Reputation was down to just 52 points, but Jiang Zuo wasn’t too concerned.

Not only could he continue to gain more Beast Taming Reputation in the coming days, but even if it became as difficult to obtain as before, Jiang Zuo wouldn’t have hoarded several hundred points without using them.

For him, becoming stronger right now was the most important thing.

For the past decade, what Jiang Zuo feared most wasn’t offending people. It was being caught in the aftershock of some unknown power while walking down the street and ending up as a random corpse on the ground.

Never mind Cultivators; even a battle between High Tier Martial Artists could lead to that outcome.

Now, after splurging on his stats, he finally had a bit of power to protect himself, enough to keep him from dying so casually.

Otherwise, hoarding a huge amount of Beast Taming Reputation just to die suddenly would be a real joke.

...

His strength had soared, and the thief had been caught.

But Jiang Zuo still did the same as yesterday: setting up traps and sleeping under the bed.

While Great Black was still around to help keep watch, Jiang Zuo wanted to master the Porcupine Beast Pattern as soon as possible.

The thief had just been captured, so even if there were other accomplices, it was unlikely they would make a move now.

Still, one could never be too careful.

The swimming tadpole-like script reappeared before his eyes, and Jiang Zuo focused his gaze on it.

As expected, even though he had grown much stronger, Jiang Zuo still found it difficult to withstand the profound Beast Pattern.

Once again, his vision went black, and he fell into a deep sleep.

4:00 AM.

’Although my Spiritual Power is still heavily drained, with so many points added to my Physique Attribute, my recovery speed is clearly much faster. I also managed to memorize more of the Beast Pattern last night than the previous two times!’

Jiang Zuo woke up, sat on the edge of his bed, and carefully recalled the feeling.

All in all, it was good news.

His Spiritual Power hadn’t strengthened much, but his recovery speed had improved, and the number of Beast Pattern symbols he could remember had increased.

In sharp contrast to yesterday, Jiang Zuo’s meat buns sold out early today. Moreover, the people who came to buy them even brought him a small wave of reputation.

...

「For the next few days.」

Jiang Zuo’s life didn’t change much compared to before.

He spent his days selling meat buns, training Great Black, working as a blacksmith, farming outside the town, and squeezing in time to study the Beast Pattern.

However, the time he spent on smithing and farming was greatly reduced.

Most of his time was spent finding ways to show himself and Great Black in public.

The amount of Beast Taming Reputation he gained couldn’t compare to the first day, but the harvest after a few days was still considerable.

A week passed by quietly.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!