Chapter 95: Modifying Magical Beasts – Refining the Best into the Worst

With the match concluded, the spectators who had placed bets lingered behind, reactions mixed with joy and disappointment.

Bets on the Silver Crane and Gong Yu had been split evenly. Though the Silver Crane’s master had lost to Gong Yu several times in a row, many still stood by him.

“Hah, serves you right for betting so much on him. Lost everything now, didn’t you?”

“What do you know? Even if he loses another hundred times, I’ll still bet on him the hundred and first time.”

“Idiot. That freakish Silver Crane thing is disgusting just to look at. Who in their right mind would come up with modifying magical beasts? His so-called spirit pets aren’t pets anymore—they’re stitched-up corpses, more like.”

Lian Mu was on her way to the masked registration official to sign up for tomorrow’s match when she overheard two people talking as they exited Match Arena No. 32. She couldn’t help but eavesdrop a bit longer.

After arriving at the official’s side and handing over her jade token, she discovered that Linghu Meng had already issued a challenge to her, which she accepted.

The masked official handed her a tag. “You two will be in Match Arena No. 10 of the Ninth Tier. Be on time—if you miss it, your deposit will be forfeited. Once that’s gone, you can’t register again for the rest of this tournament phase.”

“Thank you,” Lian Mu replied. She didn’t really care about the deposit—she hadn’t paid it herself. All she wanted was to place well and win a chance at the betting stones.

She recalled the conversation she’d overheard and asked, “Is the Silver Crane considered a big name in this arena?”

“More or less,” the official said, lazily resting his chin on his hand. “No harm in telling you. Anyone who’s been around here long enough knows about him and Gong Yu.”

“That guy—every single one of his spirit pets is called the Silver Crane. They’re all modified magical beasts, not traditional, intact ones like Gong Yu uses. Right now, modified beasts are a rising trend among spirit pets, and the Silver Crane has plenty of followers.”

Lian Mu asked, “Modified magical beasts? I’ve never heard of that. How does one modify a beast?”

“No idea. The Silver Crane came up with it himself. But we do have quite a few modified beasts around here—lots of folks trying to copy him.”

The official glanced at her curiously. “If I’m not mistaken, you’re new here. Don’t tell me you’re thinking of copying his method too?”

“No,” Lian Mu said. “I’m an artifact refiner. This kind of modification method is novel. I’m thinking of integrating it into my refining process.”

She recalled how strange the corpse of that water beast felt earlier. The way its parts were pieced together reminded her of the sword she’d brought back from the Sword Pavilion—it was the same sense of perfect fusion between components of different grades.

The water beast was a patchwork of body parts, while the sword was a fusion of materials—but in essence, both used components from magical beasts.

The official raised a brow. “What a coincidence. I’ve heard the Silver Crane’s an artifact refiner too—and a high-grade spiritual root cultivator.”

“And Gong Yu? Is he high-grade too?” Lian Mu asked. She was curious about what kind of person could control such a violent flame beast.

“Gong Yu… He has four spiritual roots,” the official said. “Only counts as half a cultivator. In terms of spiritual roots, he can’t match the Silver Crane. But the beast he raised is incredibly strong. Rumor has it, he bound it with a life-and-death contract to force its submission.”

Lian Mu thought of the flame tattoo on Gong Yu’s neck. It really wasn’t normal.

Gong Yu had indeed climbed to the top of the spirit pet rankings with that flame beast, but Lian Mu couldn’t shake the feeling that it was dangerous. If it ever broke free of his control, it would definitely injure others.

As if sensing her concerns, the official added, “Don’t worry. As long as he’s within Feihai Pavilion, nothing will go wrong. If that flame beast acts up, the Pavilion will kill it on the spot.”

—Given the life-and-death contract, killing the beast would mean killing Gong Yu as well.

Lian Mu was silent for a moment, then left without another word.

She wanted to see for herself what a modified magical beast looked like, so she followed the directions to a nearby spirit pet shop.

The shop was just outside the arena and mostly frequented by lower-ranked beastmasters who didn’t have the means to obtain unique pets. They had to settle for common types.

Modified magical beasts were rare, and most were kept in eggs. The ones available for casual selection were mostly ordinary spirit creatures—birds, snakes, insects, or beasts with spiritual energy but no sentience.

Lian Mu arrived just as a wealthy beastmaster entered, looking to replace a spirit pet lost in a match. He immediately chose a magical beast egg.

“I want this one!”

“That golden beast egg is two hundred thousand spirit stones. Another hundred thousand for modifications.”

Hearing the price made Lian Mu’s brow twitch. She studied the chosen egg—it was smaller than a human head, with weak spiritual energy. Clearly the runt abandoned in its nest.

Lian Mu: “…”

Is money really this easy to make now?

If she’d known magical beast eggs sold for that much, she would’ve grabbed a whole nestful from the Pangu Illusion Realm.

The thought of all that missed profit made her heart ache. She kept watching as the customer paid, and the shopkeeper retrieved the egg—only to immediately crack it open with a knife.

“What kind of modification do you want?”

“Add a pair of Wind Beast wings, Earth Beast claws, and Flame Beast eyes.”

Lian Mu watched curiously. She couldn’t imagine how magical beasts were physically stitched together.

The shopkeeper drew a curtain, hiding the process, so she waited to see the result.

These eggs barely had any life in them—so much so that even Green Bean showed no interest, slumping in place.

Eventually, the shopkeeper emerged, holding a freshly hatched magical beast like a chick. Lian Mu froze.

“…”

The creature before her was worlds apart from the Silver Crane she’d seen earlier. Despite being made from high-quality parts, the end result was… indescribable.

It was the embodiment of “refining the best into the worst.”

One glance was enough for Lian Mu to give up on learning from this shopkeeper. Clearly, the real secrets of modifying magical beasts lay in the hands of the Silver Crane himself.

She shelved the thought for now—it was getting late. She’d already spent two hours inside Feihai Pavilion. Time to head back.

Lian Mu left the pet shop and walked toward the Pavilion’s teleportation gate.

Green Bean, perched on her shoulder, suddenly stirred and opened its eyes, peering in a certain direction.

It stared for a long time. When it saw no reaction from the other side, it relaxed and shifted back into place.

In the distance, a figure in the shadows of an alley quietly retreated.

…

…

“She brought that scorpion into the arena’s promotion trials?”

In an elegant room, the air swirled with incense, and candlelight flickered. Only two people were present. One stood by the window, gazing at the brightly lit Feihai Street in the distance.

“Yes,” said Bai Lingque, handing over a name roster. She lowered her head, expressionless. “Our people were a step too late. She had already registered by the time we found her.”

Bai Lingque lifted her head and said, “Pavilion Master, perhaps we should…”

“…Forget it.” Bai Su waved a hand, her black hair swaying with the wind, her expression weary.

“Judging by her behavior, she likely doesn’t know anything about that scorpion. She probably just missed our people by chance.”

Bai Lingque frowned. “Pavilion Master, didn’t you say that once she came, we should seize her—willing or not?”

Bai Su shut the window, walked to the desk, and sat down. She said slowly, “The arena is one of Feihai Pavilion’s most public faces. Since she’s already signed up for the promotion trial, she’s bound to that scorpion until it ends. That’s the rule. As the Pavilion Master, I can’t publicly disgrace my own arena.”

“What if that scorpion dies halfway through? All your efforts these past few days would have been in vain, wouldn’t they?”

“It won’t die.” Bai Su’s gaze suddenly darkened, as if recalling something. “…It’s survived so many trials with its previous master, couldn’t be killed by all the hardships it went through. How could a mere beast arena bring it down?”

Bai Lingque fell silent for a moment, then said, “…Actually, I’ve always wondered why it chose to follow her.”

“That sword cultivator is no ordinary person,” Bai Su tightened her fingers on the table. “When it chose that person, who could have predicted it? Looking back now, its taste is quite discerning.”

Bai Lingque suddenly knelt on the ground. “Please, Pavilion Master, calm down.”

Bai Su collected herself, returning to her usual gentle smile, and said lightly, “No need to be nervous, I’m not angry. I’m just a little bothered thinking about some matters from the other day.”

She poured a cup of tea and handed it to Bai Lingque. “You’ve worked hard these days. From now on, I’ll handle things personally and keep an eye on her.”

With that, Bai Su stood up and left.