"Lin Tian, what do you mean by that?"
The moment those words left his mouth, the disciple's expression changed abruptly, a flicker of alarm flashing through his eyes, followed by unmistakable apprehension.
Back when Lin Tian had first entered the sect, he had already displayed astonishing talent in beast taming. Although he had not appeared on Beast Peak for quite some time, stories about him had never ceased to circulate there. Many disciples even speculated whether his current mastery of beast taming had already surpassed that of the top outer disciple of Beast Peak. Now, with Lin Tian uttering such words, it was only natural that unease crept into his heart.
"It's very simple."
Without wasting another word, Lin Tian cast a glance at Saiban. The instant Saiban received the signal, his body expanded dramatically, swelling to the size of a white tiger. A terrifying aura surged forth, pressing down like a mountain.
Although Saiban's cultivation was not particularly high, his bloodline was exceptionally pure. Otherwise, he would never have been able, with such cultivation alone, to sire offspring with Elder Dao Yi's spirit beast.
The spirit beasts owned by these disciples before him were indeed far stronger than three-tailed spirit cats. Yet at the end of the day, spirit beasts at the Qi Refining stage possessed inherently limited bloodline ranks. The moment they sensed Saiban's overwhelming pressure, the three feline spirit beasts began to tremble uncontrollably.
"Lin Tian, what exactly are you trying to do?"
By now, the outer disciple was utterly panicked. He could not fathom Lin Tian's intentions, and what made matters worse was that Saiban's aura had completely robbed his spirit beast of its fighting capability. Relying on his own strength alone, he stood no chance against Lin Tian.
At this point, he could do nothing at all. As Lin Tian advanced step by step, chaos filled his mind. The same dread was mirrored on the faces of the two outer disciples standing behind him.
Just then, a small, delicate bottle appeared in Lin Tian's hand. He stopped in front of the disciple's spirit beast, a faint smile curling at the corner of his lips.
"Are you willing to become my spirit beast?"
The disciple was utterly dumbfounded. When he had heard Lin Tian's earlier words, he had wondered what outrageous act Lin Tian was about to commit. He never imagined that Lin Tian would simply turn to his spirit beast and ask such a question.
"Lin Tian, are you out of your mind?" the disciple burst out laughing. "I've already signed a contract with this spirit beast. Do you really think it could still become yours?"
Even the two disciples behind him could not help but laugh aloud. In their eyes, Lin Tian's actions were nothing short of idiotic.
"Oh? Is that so?"
Lin Tian let out a cold chuckle and lifted the lid of the jade bottle in his hand. The instant it was opened, the spirit beast before him became visibly agitated. Even Saiban's oppressive aura seemed to lose much of its effect on it.
"Lin Tian, what did you do?" the disciple cried out in alarm, sensing the sudden excitement of his spirit beast. The two disciples behind him were equally shaken, for they too could clearly feel their own spirit beasts responding in the same way.
"Break your contract with him, and this bottle is yours," Lin Tian said calmly, a faint smile on his lips.
The moment those words were spoken, a dazzling light erupted from the spirit beast's body. At that instant, the outer disciple was completely thrown into panic.
Under normal circumstances, the contracts signed between Beast Peak outer disciples and their spirit beasts were equal contracts. That meant the spirit beast obeyed its master, but the master also had to bear a corresponding cost. Such contracts placed no absolute restraint on either party—both sides could choose to dissolve them at will. Although breaking the contract would result in backlash, compared to the spirit liquid in that bottle, such backlash was utterly negligible.
"Lin Tian, stop right now!"
When he saw a spirit mark forming on his spirit beast, the disciple finally lost all composure. Countless resources and immeasurable effort had gone into subduing this Nether Spirit Cat. Yet now, with just a single sentence from Lin Tian, it was preparing to sever its contract with him. This was something he simply could not accept.
But before his words had fully fallen, the spirit mark on the beast shattered instantly. The connection between him and his spirit beast was completely severed. What left him utterly stunned was that, after breaking its contract with him, the spirit beast immediately took the initiative to form a new contract with Lin Tian—and it was a master–servant contract.
"Now, it doesn't seem to be your spirit beast anymore," Lin Tian said coldly as he turned back to look at the outer disciple.
Had this disciple not been so greedy, Lin Tian might have considered offering some compensation. But since the man had clearly intended to extort him without restraint, Lin Tian had no intention of showing mercy. He followed exactly the method Elder Dao Yi had mentioned earlier and directly took the spirit beast for himself. With the number of points he currently possessed, acquiring a few more spirit beasts was hardly an issue.
Hearing Lin Tian's words, the outer disciple was grinding his teeth in hatred. He had never imagined that things would end like this. Not only had he failed to extract any compensation from Lin Tian, but he had even lost his own spirit beast in the process. It was a complete loss—losing both the wife and the troops.
"And what about you two?" Lin Tian asked, casting a glance at the two disciples behind him.
They did not hesitate for even a moment. Grabbing their spirit beasts, they fled in a panic. The fate of the man before them was more than enough of a warning. If they stayed any longer, they feared their own spirit beasts would be taken as well.
"What, you're still not leaving?"
After watching them disappear, Lin Tian turned his gaze back to the remaining outer disciple.
At that very moment, however, the disciple suddenly dropped to his knees.
"Hey—what are you doing?"
Lin Tian was completely stunned by the sight, utterly unprepared for such a turn of events.