59: Second-tier Beastmaster

Bai Ye let out a soft grunt, feeling as if his brain was about to be forcefully pried open.

It was too overbearing.

The power unleashed by the key in that instant was far more terrifying than he had imagined.

If it were any ordinary First-Tier Beast Tamer, they would likely have been blown apart the moment they came into contact with this energy, dead beyond a doubt.

If Bai Ye had truly sold this thing, he would likely have gained a mortal enemy.

Fortunately, Bai Ye was not an ordinary Beast Tamer.

Having absorbed Xiao Lan's base attributes multiple times, his Mental Energy was naturally overwhelmingly powerful.

The energy shockwave that could render a person foolish was completely within his capacity to withstand.

The incoming energy, like an invisible giant axe, forcefully cleaved a massive rift in his sea of Mental Energy.

"Open!"

Boom!

Under the combined effect of his will and the key's energy, the rift was abruptly widened, forming a brand-new, independent space.

The second beast taming space, creation complete.

Bai Ye felt his whole body relax, and he let out a heavy breath.

The newly created beast taming space was still unstable; its barriers were as thin as a layer of window paper.

The next second, a pure and gentle energy gushed out continuously from the [Key of Pioneering], which had already turned into points of light.

It rapidly reinforced the nascent space.

This process was not painful; instead, it felt as comfortable as soaking in a hot spring.

It was unknown how much time had passed, but that golden energy was finally exhausted.

A brand-new space, roughly the same size as the beast taming space where Xiao Lan was stored but currently empty, had completely stabilized.

From now on, he was a genuine Second-Tier Beast Tamer.

He looked inward at his sea of Mental Energy and saw two circular spaces emitting a soft glow, orbiting his Soul core like two satellites.

In one space, Xiao Lan was quietly rooted in the soil, still resting.

The other space was completely empty, waiting for its first resident.

"Whew..."

【Congratulations on successfully advancing to a Second-Tier Beast Tamer!】

The illustrated compendium's notification sound rang out at the right moment.

Bai Ye slowly opened his eyes, a flash of brilliance passing through his pupils.

He felt better than ever before.

He clenched his fist; hmm, the strength increase was too small to be felt at all.

As expected, the path of a normal Beast Tamer did not suit him; he had to pursue attribute stacking.

The two little kittens who had just been sleeping were awakened almost simultaneously by this fluctuation.

Xiao Hei opened her eyes in a daze, her obsidian-like pupils filled with a bit of post-sleep confusion.

She yawned, stuck out her pink tongue to lick her nose, and habitually wanted to nuzzle into Bai Ye's embrace.

Phantom Snow was much more alert.

She entered a defensive state almost instantly, her body slightly arched, and a low "woof-woof" sound emitted from her throat.

"Don't be nervous, little ones."

Bai Ye looked into the eyes of the two kittens, smiled, and decided to explain things to them.

Although Xiao Hei might not understand clearly, Phantom Snow could act as a translator.

"Phantom Snow, you should know that if we Beast Tamers want to contract more beast pets, we need to continuously raise our rank and open up new beast taming spaces, right?"

Bai Ye tried to convey his meaning to Phantom Snow in the simplest way possible.

"I am now a Second-Tier Beast Tamer."

A flash of surprise crossed Phantom Snow's eyes.

This meant that the keeper could contract another beast pet.

Her gaze subconsciously glanced at Xiao Hei, who was still confused, beside her.

"Meow?"

Phantom Snow was asking if he was going to contract Xiao Hei first, and Bai Ye understood her meaning quite easily.

"That's right."

Bai Ye nodded without hesitation.

He picked up the coquettish Xiao Hei and placed her in front of Phantom Snow.

First come, first served; this principle was very simple.

Xiao Hei seemed to sense the change in atmosphere; she stopped acting coquettish and lay quietly in Bai Ye's palm, looking at Phantom Snow.

There was no timidity in her eyes, but rather a natural sense of closeness.

After all, having spent so many days together, she had long regarded Phantom Snow as a companion.

Phantom Snow looked at this dark and Frail peer in front of her, then looked at Bai Ye's serious expression, and fell silent for a moment.

After a long while, Phantom Snow let out a soft huff from her nose, which counted as agreement.

She arrogantly turned her head away, no longer looking at Bai Ye and Xiao Hei, but the slightly swaying tip of her tail exposed her restless heart.

It wasn't jealousy; she just simply felt that with Bai Ye's potential, he could completely choose a better beast pet.

Xiao Hei could totally be raised as a pet cat; beast pet slots should be very precious for a Beast Tamer.

However, since this was the keeper's own choice, she would not interfere.

Anyway, she was the next one to be contracted; there were no more Demonic Beasts standing in her way.

"Then it's settled."

Bai Ye smiled; he knew Phantom Snow would agree.

He didn't know if this tsundere personality came from her noble talent or if it was her natural character.

Bai Ye let out a long sigh of relief and stood up from the ground.

"Now, it's your turn, Xiao Hei."

He gently placed Phantom Snow aside, then held Xiao Hei in his palm, his expression solemn.

"Are you ready? You're about to move into a new home."

"Meow!"

Xiao Hei also sensed Bai Ye's mood and nodded vigorously.

Bai Ye took a deep breath and began to guide the second beast taming space to establish a contract with Xiao Hei.

A pale blue circular magic array, more complex than the one used to contract Xiao Lan, unfolded beneath the man and the cat.

A soft light enveloped them, and the entire room was illuminated in a dreamlike blue.

A miraculous Mental Energy link was slowly being established between him and Xiao Hei in his palm.

The process was much smoother than he had imagined.

Xiao Hei had no resistance toward him at all, completely opening her heart to let his Mental Energy enter.

Bai Ye could feel the joy transmitted by Xiao Hei, which contained not a single trace of Impurities.

As long as he waited for the light of the magic array to completely envelop them, the contract would be complete.

Just at this critical moment.

Bai Ye's brows suddenly furrowed.

A weak but abnormally cold energy erupted from Xiao Hei's body without warning.

The energy was filled with an aura of decay, completely incompatible with the life-filled contract energy surrounding it.

It was Frail!

It actually came out to cause trouble at the critical moment of the contract.

The cold energy was like a drop of ink dripping into clear water, polluting the forming contract link at a speed visible to the naked eye.

It caused the stable magic array to fluctuate violently.

Bai Ye's expression changed, and he immediately mobilized his own energy.

He attempted to use his pure Grass-type energy to suppress the negative energy brought by [Frail].

But the [Frail] talent was like a maggot on a bone, tightly entangling the core of the contract.

"Meow..."

Xiao Hei also felt the abnormality in her body and let out a painful cry.

Her small body began to tremble uncontrollably.

The light of the contract magic array began to dim and even showed signs of collapse.

But the contract was already nearing its end; forcibly ending it would also cost Xiao Hei her life.

"Hold on, Xiao Hei, you must hold on!"

Bai Ye's heart was in his throat.

He tried his best to pour all his Grass-type and Undead System energy into the magic array to maintain the final link.