96: Sickness and weakness are a lock

"It's nothing, just a small favor. We're all colleagues in the Association, so helping each other is only right."

He said this purely out of courtesy.

Upon hearing the word "colleagues," Chen Feng was stunned for a moment, then his expression shifted to one of sudden realization.

So, they were on the same side!

This Senior must be a big shot from one of the Association's departments, and he was out training his junior (Huang Shi).

No wonder!

No wonder he found that curly-haired white-haired guy so familiar.

He must have seen his elder at some Association meeting.

Having figured this out, the way Chen Feng looked at Huang Shi changed instantly.

His eyes were filled with undisguised envy.

To have such an unfathomable Senior personally taking him out for training—this white-haired kid was just too lucky.

Huang Shi felt his skin crawl under Chen Feng's sudden, intense gaze.

What's wrong with this guy?

Why is he looking at me like that all of a sudden?

It feels weird to be stared at like this by a grown man.

He subconsciously took a step back, putting some distance between himself and Chen Feng.

Chen Feng bowed and thanked Bai Ye again:

"Since the matter here has been taken over by you, Senior, we won't disturb you any further. We'll head back now to report the situation to our superiors."

With that said, he prepared to take his squad and make a quick escape.

He needed to rush back and report the news: "Association big shot takes junior out for training and incidentally suppresses three Lords."

As for the Lightning Lion King?

Just a trivial matter.

"Fine, you can go." Bai Ye waved his hand. Right now, he just wanted to get the business with the Refiner sorted out.

Upon receiving permission, Chen Feng acted as if he had been granted amnesty and immediately led his team to evacuate the trouble spot at top speed.

Before leaving, he took one last deep look at the bewildered Huang Shi.

Huang Shi: "?"

Is this guy crazy?

Once Chen Feng and his group were far away, the rocky area finally quieted down.

Huang Shi scratched his messy white curls, sauntered over to Bai Ye, and looked him up and down as if he were observing some rare animal.

"Kid, what exactly is your background?"

He really couldn't hold it in anymore.

"With your strength, you don't look like a Second-Tier Beast Tamer at all."

Taking down three Lords with his bare hands—in all his years, he had never seen such an outrageous Second-Tier Beast Tamer.

Could he have run into the Disciple of that physical-specialist Legendary Beast Tamer?

"I'm just a high school student."

Bai Ye glanced at him, toying with the camera in his hand.

"I've already completed the test, and the video has been recorded. Isn't it time for you to fulfill your promise?"

"Of course!"

Huang Shi was choked up for a second, then quickly nodded and bowed.

How could he dare to bring up any test now?

He even felt a bit of lingering fear; how had he dared to make things difficult for such a big shot over the phone?

What if this kid got unhappy and pummeled him just like the Thunder Light Lion...

Huang Shi shuddered, feeling phantom pains in his bones.

He cleared his throat, trying hard to look professional and striking an inscrutable pose.

"Ahem, since you've passed the test and proven your strength."

He acted profoundly, swaying left and right, which made the Lightning Lion King want to pounce on him and take a bite.

"Then there's no need for me to keep hiding it."

"Actually..."

He paused, seemingly waiting for Bai Ye to show a shocked expression.

"I am the Refiner you're looking for."

After saying this, he puffed out his chest, looking very smug.

Bai Ye just looked at him with an expression like he was looking at an idiot and gave a calm, "Oh."

"I already guessed that."

"..."

Huang Shi's expression froze on his face.

The clown turned out to be himself; was his behavior before that obvious?

"How did you guess?"

He asked, unwilling to give up.

"Is it hard to guess?"

Bai Ye retorted.

"You didn't even change your voice. Although it might have sounded a bit distorted on the phone, for me, I could tell it was you as soon as I heard it."

At the time, the only thing he wasn't sure about was that the Refiner might have had someone else answer the phone.

But when he discovered that Huang Shi was actually a Fourth-Tier Beast Tamer, he was certain.

Huang Shi opened his mouth, finding himself speechless.

It seemed that was indeed the logic.

Then, the sense of mystery he had carefully cultivated...

Oh no, he couldn't think about it too much. If he kept thinking, he'd just want to find a hole to crawl into.

"Alright, alright, enough nonsense."

Huang Shi waved his hand in embarrassment and anger, trying to use his loud voice to cover up his awkwardness.

"Since you already know, hurry up and bring out the beast pet that needs refining. Let me take a look first; the refining itself will have to wait until we get back."

Bai Ye stopped teasing him and brought over Xiao Lan and the two Phantom Cats, who had been waiting obediently.

"It's this one."

Bai Ye picked up Xiao Hei and handed it to Huang Shi.

Huang Shi took Xiao Hei, the laziness on his face vanishing without a trace, and observed Xiao Hei with unprecedented focus.

"Meow~"

Xiao Hei tilted its head, politely raised a small paw, and waved gently at Huang Shi, as if to say hello.

Looking at the seemingly ordinary little black cat in front of him, Huang Shi's brows furrowed tighter and tighter.

He extended a finger, a soft white light glowing at his fingertip, and gently tapped it on Xiao Hei's forehead.

As the white light merged, Xiao Hei's body trembled slightly, but it felt no discomfort; instead, it narrowed its eyes comfortably and purred.

Huang Shi was not as relaxed as Xiao Hei; his brows were knitted into a knot.

"Strange..."

He muttered to himself, his eyes filled with confusion.

"Is there a problem?" Bai Ye asked.

"A huge problem."

Huang Shi withdrew his finger, his expression becoming extremely serious: "This little cat's talent is not an ordinary Gray talent."

As an experienced Refiner, he had dealt with over a dozen Gray talents.

Most Gray talents were very simple to refine away.

But the Frail talent of Xiao Hei gave him a completely different feeling.

It was more like a... lock.

"This talent is a form of self-Seal derived from its own Bloodline to protect it."

Huang Shi took a deep breath and stated a conclusion that even surprised Bai Ye.

"However, it's not a big problem. It doesn't need this lock anymore. At most, it will just consume two extra refining attempts. Who knows, it might even turn this Gray talent into an even more terrifying one."

Huang Shi rubbed his chin, showing a somewhat troubled expression.

"Hehe, but since this will consume three of my refining attempts at once, could you... do me a small extra favor?"

He was practically drooling looking at Bai Ye's powerful physique. After searching for so long, he had finally pulled an SSR.

As long as he could get Bai Ye to go to that place with him, let alone three refining attempts, even if he used them all up at once, it would be worth it.