I'm Just a Beast Tamer

Chapter 2: Chapter 2: Celestial Fox

After pouring a bowl of water for Great Black, Jiang Zuo went into the kitchen to prepare the pork for tomorrow’s meat buns.

The pork in this world was similar to the pork from the West back on Earth—it had a distinct, gamey stench.

Thanks to the tearful complaints of a classmate who had studied abroad, Jiang Zuo knew exactly how to get rid of the pork’s gamey smell.

Every morning, Jiang Zuo would rush to a nearby pork stall to pick out the best meat, then bring it back and soak it in cool well water.

He’d let it soak for two or three hours. After he finished selling his meat buns for the day, he’d pour out the bloody water, add flour, and knead the meat repeatedly before rinsing it clean.

Then, he would marinate it with a variety of prepared spices, lower it into the courtyard well on a wooden tray, and retrieve it in the evening. By then, the gamey smell would be completely gone.

The people of this world had their own methods for removing the smell, but they couldn’t eliminate it completely. Their techniques were no match for Jiang Zuo’s.

It was impossible for the other bun shops to copy Jiang Zuo’s meat buns.

With no gamey taste, enhanced by Jiang Zuo’s special spices, and generously filled with savory juices, the meat buns were something the townspeople couldn’t resist once they’d had a taste.

By the time Jiang Zuo finished preparing the pork, Great Black had long since finished its meat bun.

"Let’s go. Time to head out of town."

Jiang Zuo shouldered a hoe and called to Great Black.

After its prosperity faded, Red Fox Town was left with plenty of empty land. Many long-time residents could farm within the town’s limits without needing to go outside.

Jiang Zuo didn’t have that privilege, but his courtyard was quite large. It wasn’t impossible for him to farm there, as long as he planted a small plot.

In fact, Jiang Zuo was already growing some spice crops in his courtyard.

But he still cleared a patch of land for a vegetable garden outside of town.

It wasn’t because he loved farming or wanted to live some idyllic, pastoral life.

Nor was it because his past life as a 996 corporate drone had conditioned him to feel uncomfortable unless he was working himself to the bone.

In his previous life, he had often dreamed of just dropping everything, lying flat, letting it all rot, and just waiting to die.

But his strong sense of responsibility had always stopped him.

Ultimately, one night after working long overtime hours, he closed his eyes, and when he regained consciousness, he had been reborn in this world.

In this life, he was responsible for no one but himself. If he wanted to lie flat, he could lie flat. If he wanted to let things rot, he could let things rot. There was no need to overthink or worry about consequences.

If he could only be an ordinary person, Jiang Zuo would probably have adopted a "just enough money is fine" attitude and lived this new life as leisurely as possible.

But now that he was a Beast Tamer, not only was longevity within his grasp, but with the passage of time, he could also attain unimaginable Extraordinary Power.

Shattering the earth and stars, a single sword’s gleam chilling nineteen continents!

The heart-pounding scenes countless men had dreamed of were no longer distant fantasies for Jiang Zuo; they were now real possibilities.

But that was the future. For now, he needed to lie low and survive his weak early stages.

He foresaw that, during this period, he would need to change his identity every few years and start a new life in a different place.

Otherwise, a mere mortal who never died, or even aged, would likely attract the attention of Cultivators before long.

And to change identities naturally, he needed to master as many skills as possible to avoid revealing himself.

The most common people in this world were the peasants of the lower class. No matter the country, they were the most inconspicuous. When there were no better options, disguising himself as a peasant was the easiest way to blend into the crowd.

Right now, Jiang Zuo also needed a legitimate reason to leave town. If he wasn’t a farmer but was always heading out of town, he would easily draw unwanted attention.

Great Black bounded around Jiang Zuo, a seemingly endless bundle of energy.

Jiang Zuo casually picked up rocks from the roadside, periodically throwing them with all his might. Great Black would then dash off, retrieve the rock in its mouth, and bring it back.

In the eyes of the other townspeople, it looked like Jiang Zuo was just training Great Black.

And they weren’t wrong.

Although Jiang Zuo had the Beast Taming System, it wasn’t as simple as registering a Pet Beast with the system to passively raise it and gain attributes.

Jiang Zuo needed to train his Pet Beast to meet the various standards set by the system.

But that was only one aspect of it. In truth, Jiang Zuo was also practicing his own throwing technique and accuracy.

He planned to lie low, but he needed at least some means of self-defense. That way, when trouble came, he would still have options.

Otherwise, he would be nothing more than a coward hiding in his shell.

After deciding on his path, Jiang Zuo had been practicing diligently for years.

It was a matter of practice makes perfect. No matter how terrible you were at the start, as long as you practiced enough over a long period, you were bound to improve.

Jiang Zuo had gone from missing nine out of ten throws to now being able to hit larger targets with near-perfect accuracy.

With this skill alone, if he were in his past life, he could have quit his job, become a video content creator, and easily gotten a few hundred thousand followers. Supporting himself would have been no problem.

Besides the muscle memory formed through hard training, Jiang Zuo felt that the increase in his physical attributes also played a huge part.

Jiang Zuo could clearly feel that as his attributes had increased over the years, his hands had become steadier and steadier.

"Jiang Zuo, some hunters saw a big tiger near the western forest last night. Be careful, and don’t go into the woods."

Along the way, Jiang Zuo nodded in greeting to everyone he knew.

When he reached the town gate,

one of the guards saw Jiang Zuo and offered him that reminder.

He, as a gate guard, had no obligation to warn everyone, but Jiang Zuo would occasionally bring them some of the vegetables he grew. They didn’t want to see such a fine young man get eaten by a tiger.

"Got it. Thanks, Xu."

Jiang Zuo quickly thanked him, but couldn’t help a flicker of worry in his heart. ’That Little Red Fox... It won’t get caught and eaten by that big tiger, will it?’

The forest west of town was home to a fair number of wild beasts, and every year, there were incidents of them leaving the forest and harming people outside the town.

Besides their small size and agile movements, a Red Fox had no advantage against such beasts.

But Jiang Zuo’s worry was a bit unnecessary.

After leaving the town gate, the Little Red Fox had sprinted through the forest. Not a single beast dared to block its path; in fact, any that spotted it would shrink back in fear and keep their distance.

Long before Jiang Zuo even left the town, the Little Red Fox had already returned to Red Fox Valley.

Morning mist drifted through the valley, where many Red Foxes were leaping and tumbling, squeaking and chirping as they played.

At the deepest end of the valley was a cave. It had once been the Red Foxes’ favorite spot, and they often fought fiercely over it.

Now, however, the area before the cave was silent. The Red Foxes all consciously kept their distance from the entrance.

The Little Red Fox approached the cave entrance. Its bright black eyes peered inside before it walked in respectfully.

The light inside the cave quickly dimmed, but the Little Red Fox had only walked a short way before the path ahead suddenly brightened.

There, on the flat ground, lay a colossal, snow-white fox, curled up. It was seven or eight times the size of an ordinary fox.

What was even more extraordinary was its beautiful, silky, snow-white fur, which emitted a faint glow in the gloom. Even if there were no other light in the cave, it could be seen with perfect clarity.

The white fox’s eyes were closed, its head resting comfortably on its own large, snowy tail.

Hearing a sound, it sniffed the air, then slowly opened its eyes. A faint golden light shone from within them.

An intangible, subtle pressure filled the entire cave.

The Little Red Fox, however, showed no fear. Instead, it happily scampered forward and unwrapped the oiled paper containing the meat buns.

"Only three today, huh? It seems that human you’re trading with isn’t very generous. Probably a dishonest merchant. Hmm, little one, you should have one too. Don’t give them all to me."

Nothing the Red Foxes did in the valley escaped her notice. She knew the Little Red Fox had brought much more than usual to trade for the buns today.

Yet the Little Red Fox had only returned with three buns, which suggested the human was not a good person.

"SQUEAK! SQUEAK SQUEAK!"

The Little Red Fox heard this and quickly started squeaking.

"You already ate one? Hmm. Well, it seems that human has some conscience after all."

The snow-white fox nodded.

"Little one, although I’d like to give you something nice, doing so would only bring you harm. From now on, try to come to this cave less often. Especially after I’m gone. If you see any unfamiliar Demon Beasts, run as far away as you can, understand?"

Lowering its head, the white fox devoured a large meat bun in one bite, then reached out a paw and patted the Little Red Fox on the head.

She was a Celestial Fox who had escaped from the Demon Emperor’s territory. Everything on her carried the aura of the Celestial Fox Race. This place would sooner or later be found by the Demon Beasts sent by the Demon Emperor. The Little Red Fox was just an ordinary Mortal Beast; carrying anything she gave it would be a death sentence.

"SQUEAK!"

The Little Red Fox understood. It didn’t ask why, but simply bounced happily out of the cave.

Not long after the Little Red Fox left, another large white fox entered.

However, she was noticeably a size smaller than the snow-white fox, and her fur was dull, giving off an air of old age.

As she walked, the old fox transformed into an old woman leaning on a cane.

"Granny Mei, thank you for your hard work."

The white fox looked at the old woman and spoke softly.

During this time, Granny Mei had been keeping watch on the other side of the forest.

"It was nothing. Subai, you are the hope of our Celestial Fox Race. As long as you are safe, sacrificing these old bones of mine is a small price to pay."

Granny Mei shook her head, her eyes filled with an indescribable joy as she looked at the white fox that was glowing faintly.

Celestial Fox, the fox of heavenly destiny.

Among the Demonic Fox races, and indeed among all Demon Beasts, the Celestial Fox is the most special race.

All Celestial Foxes are born with a talent for Illusion Transformation.

And the Mutated Celestial Fox, which appears only once every few centuries, possesses the most unique talent in this world—the Transformations of Ten Thousand Races!

With just a bit of a bloodline medium from another race, a Mutated Celestial Fox can transform into a member of that corresponding race.

Only ten percent of their bloodline will remain from the Celestial Fox Race; the other ninety percent will come from the race they transformed into.

The Mutated Celestial Fox’s appearance will resemble the provider of the bloodline material, and they will also possess ninety percent of the provider’s Cultivation Talent.

Even more heaven-defying, after a Mutated Celestial Fox transforms and reaches a certain level of Cultivation, they can, at the cost of lowering their Cultivation by one major realm, ensure that their firstborn offspring will possess Cultivation Talent. The higher the Mutated Celestial Fox’s Cultivation, the better the offspring’s talent will be.

If the offspring of a Demon Emperor, who are already born with Cultivation Talent, were to be birthed by a Mutated Celestial Fox, their Cultivation Talent could reach a level rarely seen in the world.

Because of this heaven-defying talent, the Celestial Fox Race has been raised in captivity by the Demon Emperors for thousands of years.

For thousands of years, the Celestial Fox Race has dreamed of escaping their fate of being bred in captivity, but facing so many Demon Emperors, they have no power to resist.

Only after undergoing a racial transformation, gaining exceptional Cultivation Talent, and then cultivating to the state of bloodline regression to become a Three-tailed Celestial Fox, can a Mutated Celestial Fox possibly have the power to fight a Demon Emperor.

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