The arena was a cauldron of simmering disbelief. The handful of disciples who had failed the second trial shuffled away, their faces a mixture of shame and confusion, unable to comprehend how they had been bested by a fish-feeder. Though they didn't want to accept it, the results were clear for all to see, they were inwardly impressed and sad at the same time.
Only five participants remained: Li Yu, Li Jie, and three other senior outer disciples who had passed through a combination of patience and brute luck. Those in the crowd with their earlier mockery were now quiet. They were waiting to see if this boy could go all the way. Some even started making bets, a small side game to pass the time. They had come expecting a joke and were instead witnessing a mystery.
Li Jie was surprised and angry at the results. He was supposed to shine today and yet the spotlight had been stolen by this kid he thought was a nobody back in the village and in this sect. All eyes were on Li Yu instead of him.
Elder Zhao cleared his throat, his cheerful demeanor now tinged with a profound seriousness as he looked at the small, dripping boy who had upended the entire examination. He exchanged a glance with the other elders before stepping forward to address the final five.
"You have all shown a measure of affinity," he announced, his voice carrying a new weight. "But the path of a beast tamer is not merely about calming the timid or luring the shy. It is also about commanding the respect of the proud and the powerful. The final trial will determine if you possess the will and the spirit to stand before a true predator and not be found wanting. This is The Trial of Submission!"
He gestured towards the center of the arena where a large iron-barred cage was being wheeled out by a team of inner disciples. The cage was covered with a thick black cloth but a low growl from within sent a shiver of apprehension through the crowd. The air grew heavy with a palpable aura of primal fury.
"Inside this cage," Elder Zhao continued, his voice grim, "is a Rank 3 Spirit Beast known as a Crimson-Gill Marsh-Drake. Its power is equivalent to a cultivator at the Eighth Stage of the Body Tempering Realm. It is a creature of immense pride and violent temper. Your task is simple: you will enter the arena and the drake will be released."
"You must make it bow its head in a gesture of submission. You may use any method you deem fit, short of permanently injuring the beast. Succeed, and you will have a place in our Beast Taming Hall. Fail… and try not to be eaten." The last part was just to scare them, the elders were ready to act to save anyone.
It had its intended effect, a wave of fear washed over Li Yu and the remaining disciples. A Rank 3 Spirit Beast! This was a creature far beyond their ability to handle. This wasn't a test; it was a death sentence.
The first disciple, a brawny youth at the Sixth Stage of Body Tempering, stepped forward, his face pale but determined. The cage was opened, and the Marsh-Drake stalked out. It was a fearsome creature, the size of a large wolf, with a low-slung, reptilian body covered in thick, dark green scales. A vibrant, crimson-red frill flared around its neck and its eyes burned with malevolent intelligence. It was a creature of both land and water, its webbed feet ending in sharp talons.
The disciple roared and released his martial spirit, a Stone-Fisted Ape. He tried to intimidate the drake but the beast merely hissed, its crimson gills flaring. It lunged, a blur of green fury. The disciple barely had time to throw up his arms before he was sent flying, his body crashing against the arena wall. He lay groaning, his arm clearly broken. He had failed.
The next two disciples were a mix of results. One tried a soothing technique that was actually effective and made the beast turn around and leave him alone. It didn't bow its head but the elders say the results were nearly the same, the beast had backed off and respected him. The other was simply paralyzed by fear and forfeited immediately.
Now, only Li Jie and Li Yu remained.
Li Jie strode into the arena, his face a mask of grim determination. This was his last chance to reclaim his pride and get the spotlight back on himself. "A turtle might be slow," he growled, "but it is the master of defense! Your aggression is useless against me!"
He stomped his foot, and a brilliant green light erupted. His snapping turtle spirit manifested, not as an ethereal image, but as a semi-corporeal shield of emerald light that enveloped him. The Marsh-Drake watched him, its head cocked, a look of reptilian contempt in its eyes. It seemed to find his posturing amusing.
Li Jie began to slowly advance, hoping to wear the drake down with his superior defense. The drake, however, had no intention of playing his game. With a flick of its powerful tail, it sent a shower of sharp, hardened pebbles flying at Li Jie.
The stones pelted his light shield, causing it to flicker. While he was distracted, the drake lunged, not at his front, but at his side, its claws raking across the shield. The light construct shattered, and Li Jie was sent tumbling. The drake stood over him, its jaws dripping with acidic saliva, and let out a triumphant roar.
Defeated and humiliated, Li Jie scrambled out of the arena. He quickly left the area after getting out, too ashamed to stay any longer.
A heavy silence descended. All eyes turned to the last participant. The small, eleven-year-old boy who had somehow made it to the final round. Even though he passed the first two rounds, no one believed he could succeed. They only wondered how quickly he would be torn apart. Some were hoping he would make it but they didn't have faith in it.
Li Yu walked calmly into the center of the arena. The Marsh-Drake turned its fiery gaze upon him, a low growl rumbling in its chest. It was agitated, its victory over the others having stoked its aggressive instincts.
Li Yu did not release an aura. He did not prepare a defensive stance. He simply stood and looked at the beast. And for the first time, he opened the floodgates of his spiritual sense. He was incredibly lucky that the beast chosen today was one of an aquatic bloodline.
The Marsh-Drake was a creature of both land and water, a beast with an ancient aquatic bloodline, he could connect with it directly. He plunged his consciousness into its mind and was met with a storm of pride, rage, and a deep-seated territorial imperative. It saw him as a challenger, an intruder to be destroyed.
But beneath the storm, Li Yu felt something else. A flicker of loneliness. A deep-seated desire for a connection with a being that could understand its own primal nobility. It was a creature of a proud and ancient lineage, trapped in a world of what it thought were lesser beings.
He did not try to dominate its will. He did not try to soothe its anger. He simply… responded. He sent a single, clear thought through their spiritual link, a feeling more than a word: I understand you.
The drake's growl faltered, a flicker of confusion in its intelligent eyes. It had expected a challenge, but this was something else entirely.
Then, Li Yu took it a step further. He focused his will and behind him, the air shimmered. The blood-red Koi materialized, floating silently in the air. It had grown again, now nearly two feet long, and the golden thread along its spine shone with a faint but distinct light.
The moment the Marsh-Drake saw the Koi, its entire demeanor changed. The aggression in its eyes was replaced by shock. Li Yu's spirit was not powerful in a combative sense but its life force, its very essence, seemed to be on a completely different plane of existence.
To the Marsh-Drake, it was like a common soldier suddenly standing in the presence of an emperor. The ancient, aquatic bloodline deep within the drake screamed at it, a primal command to show respect to a being of a higher order.
Li Yu sent another thought, a gentle but firm projection of his own will..
The Crimson-Gill Marsh-Drake, the proud and tough to tame Rank 3 Spirit Beast that had effortlessly defeated the best of the outer sect, lowered its head. It bent its thick, scaly front legs and bowed. Its snout touching the dusty floor of the arena in a gesture of unconditional submission. It was not the bow of a defeated foe but the obeisance of a subject to its rightful sovereign.
Then, the crowd erupted. Shouts of disbelief, of shock, of pure, unadulterated awe filled the air.
On the high platform, Elder Zhao was surprised and the severe-faced elder was stroking his goatee in a state of stunned contemplation.
Elder Ning stood up, her face impassive but her eyes blazed with a fire that seemed to light up the entire arena. She descended from the platform, her robes billowing around her, and walked until she stood before Li Yu. The Marsh-Drake remained bowed, not daring to move in her presence without Li Yu's permission.
She looked from the submissive drake to the quiet boy, and finally to the ethereal red Koi floating behind him.
"What is your name?" she asked, her voice clear and carrying across the silent arena.
"Li Yu," he replied, his voice steady.
"Li Yu," she repeated, a hint of a smile finally gracing her lips."
She placed a hand on Li Yu's shoulder. "From this day forward, you are no longer a menial laborer. You are my, Ning Yue's, personal disciple. You will have the full rights and resources of a core disciple of the Green Mountain Sect."
The declaration struck the crowd like a bolt of lightning. A personal disciple of an elder! It was a status that even the most talented inner disciples dreamed of.
Li Yu felt a wave of dizziness. He looked at the powerful woman before him and then at the bowed head of the drake. He took a deep breath and kowtowed.
"This disciple, Li Yu, greets Master."
His voice was not loud, but it echoed like thunder in the silent arena. The fish-feeder was no more. A new path, one filled with unimaginable opportunity and untold danger, had just begun.