Stop hitting me, I admit I am the Crimson Tiger.

Falling Cloud Valley. Outer Sect.

The night was as dark as ink, with faint starlight.

On the gentle, low hillside, spacious and luxurious Spirit Beast enclosures were arranged in rows.

These enclosures were all guarded by independent Restrictions and equipped with specialized Spirit Gathering Formations. The environment was beautiful and the Spiritual Qi was dense; the living conditions were countless times better than the simple wooden shacks where the Utility Disciples lived.

More than a dozen Spirit Beasts lived within these enclosures, most of which were Spirit Pets adopted by Elders and deacons.

According to the rules of Falling Cloud Valley, these Spirit Pets could not be brought into the Inner Sect; instead, a specific area in the Outer Sect was designated for their centralized keeping.

For the Utility Disciples, serving these high-status Spirit Pets was definitely a bitter chore that they wished to avoid at all costs.

Not only did they have to handle the feeding of the Spirit Beasts, but they were also responsible for cleaning up their filth. If they were not careful, they risked being attacked by the Spirit Beasts, and injuries were a common occurrence.

Most of these Spirit Beasts were the favored pets of the high-level Elders within Falling Cloud Valley. Relying on their deep backgrounds, they were all extremely arrogant and had bad tempers, not putting ordinary Disciples in their eyes at all.

At this moment, inside one of the beast enclosures, a massive, multi-colored tiger, several zhang in size and covered in dark black patterns, was lying on the ground fast asleep, puffing out hot air from its nostrils.

Suddenly, the Formation outside the beast enclosure rippled with light and silently cracked open a gap, allowing a black-clad, masked figure to slip in from outside.

"Task target found!"

Upon seeing the giant tiger ahead, the black-clad figure's eyes, exposed outside the mask, lit up fiercely, and a curve of excitement hooked at the corner of his mouth.

It was as if a hunter had finally found his prey, and he stepped forward impatiently.

"Roar—"

The sudden movement caused the giant tiger to instantly open its eyes. It glared at the black-clad figure with great dissatisfaction. "You blind fellow, how dare you disturb your Tiger Grandfather's rest? Are you tired of living?"

This black tiger in the Foundation Establishment Realm had already developed intelligence and could speak human language.

"Get lost! Otherwise, I, Tiger Lord, will swallow you alive!"

It thought it was just some foolish Utility Disciple coming to disturb its sleep, so it couldn't even be bothered to lift an eyelid, its tone extremely arrogant.

"You are the Spirit Pet of Elder Xu from the Inner Sect, the Crimson Flame Tiger, right?"

The black-clad figure did not seem angry, nor was he in a hurry to make a move; instead, he walked toward the black tiger with leisurely steps.

"Wrong! You don't even know me, Tiger Lord, so you are definitely not a Utility Disciple from here!"

Seeing this, the giant tiger became alert instantly. Its massive body stood up from the ground, its fur standing on end, and it stared at the opponent, baring its fangs and brandishing its claws.

"How dare you trespass on Tiger Lord's territory! Tiger Lord will not spare you today!"

As it spoke, a cloud of black mist suddenly rose around the giant tiger. Waving its sharp claws, it pounced toward the black-clad figure with a fierce Aura.

The next moment.

Bang!

Before it could even fully launch its attack, an unadorned fist smashed into its massive head. The black tiger instantly felt dizzy, its limbs went weak, and it collapsed heavily to the ground.

Then, the black-clad figure closed in and proceeded to beat it up...

A few breaths later.

"Wuwuwu! Stop hitting me! I surrender! I was wrong! Please, I beg you, spare me..."

The black tiger whimpered, clutching its head with both paws, crying and begging for mercy.

"I am not the Crimson Flame Tiger, I am the Black Fiend Tiger, the Spirit Pet of Elder Yang from the Inner Sect!"

The black-clad figure was stunned upon hearing this, and then sneered with a face full of disdain.

"You mongrel beast, you still dare to lie to me? It seems I haven't beaten you into submission yet!"

As he spoke, he gave the black tiger another round of beating.

"I am not lying to you, I really am the Black Fiend Tiger!"

"Hmph! Still making excuses!"

The black-clad figure clearly did not believe it.

Bang bang bang bang bang!

"Don't, stop hitting me! I submit, I really submit, I admit that I am the Crimson Flame Tiger, is that okay..."

Upon hearing this, Qi Yuan, who had taken the Incarnation of the black-clad figure, stopped his fists and feet, let out a light sigh, and secretly thought to himself: It seems this Crimson Flame Tiger has been tamed by me; the task should be considered complete, right?

Thinking of this, he moved his mind and called out the task list:

"Because you have no backing in the sect, you were assigned to the Spirit Beast Peak, the most bitter and tiring place, to work as a Utility Disciple, responsible for feeding the Spirit Pet of Inner Sect Elder Xu Zhou, the Crimson Flame Tiger."

"The Crimson Flame Tiger is a Foundation Establishment Realm Spirit Beast, always unruly, having injured people many times, and it treats you with all sorts of difficulties and harsh words, seriously threatening your career as a Utility Disciple."

"Task Goal: Please, Host, use your own efforts to educate the Crimson Flame Tiger and make it become tame."

"Task Difficulty: Four Stars (Difficult)."

"Task Reward: 400 Counterattack Points, one supreme grade spirit nurturing pill, 500 Low-Grade Spirit Stone, obtain Talent [Myriad Spirits Affinity] (The favorability of all non-human creatures toward the Host increases)."

Looking at the black tiger shivering in the corner, having been completely beaten into submission, Qi Yuan could not help but twitch the corner of his mouth.

Perhaps because of the change in the world line, he was not assigned to the Spirit Beast Peak but went to the Herb Garden instead.

Since he did not have the identity of a Spirit Beast Peak Utility Disciple, if he wanted to "educate" a Spirit Beast kept in the Spirit Beast Peak, he could only do it secretly in the dead of night...

Of course, there are many ways to tame a Spirit Beast. Besides using love and patience to influence them, fists and feet are also a good way, and they are faster to take effect.

Qi Yuan thought silently. However, after a while, there was still no notification sound that the task was completed.

He frowned slightly and glanced at the black tiger in the corner. "Are you still not convinced?"

The black tiger shuddered violently upon hearing this, shaking its tiger head like a rattle-drum.

"Big Brother, I... er no, this small one really submits!"

Seeing that the other party's expression did not seem fake, Qi Yuan's eyelids twitched, and a sense of ominous premonition suddenly arose in his heart. He hurriedly asked, "What did you say your name was just now?"

Hearing this, the black tiger was on the verge of tears and wailed, "Don't, I was really wrong. I will be whatever name you want me to be. You can even call me Gou Dan..."

Qi Yuan's expression sank, and his tone softened a bit. "As long as you tell the truth, I won't hit you."

The black tiger was confused, but still bit the bullet and said, "I, I am called... called... Black Fiend Tiger, the Spirit Pet of Inner Sect Elder Yang. The Crimson Flame Tiger lives next door to me..."

Damn!!!

He really found the wrong tiger.

Do the Elders of Falling Cloud Valley have a disease? Why do they raise so many tigers for nothing!

Qi Yuan's expression froze, and he wished he could give this guy a few more slaps. "Why didn't you say so earlier?"

Black Fiend Tiger: "??????"

...

After threatening the Black Fiend Tiger again to make sure it didn't talk nonsense, Qi Yuan flashed his figure and slipped into the beast enclosure next door.

Not long after.

"Ding! Congratulations to the Host for completing the task: Educate the Crimson Flame Tiger. Reward: 400 Counterattack Points, one supreme grade spirit nurturing pill, 500 Low-Grade Spirit Stone, obtain Talent [Myriad Spirits Affinity]"