Chapter Five: The Spirit Beast Garden

Special Building: Spirit Beast Garden
Grade: First Grade—can house five first-grade spirit beasts, three second-grade spirit beasts
Current Number of Spirit Beasts: None
Function: Rearing spirit beasts, promoting their advancement in rank
Additional Feature: Increases spirit beast advancement speed by 0.5%, assists in evolving wild beasts into spirit beasts

As Jiang Yan had anticipated, the first-grade Spirit Beast Garden could accelerate the advancement speed of spirit beasts. Though a 0.5% boost was not particularly striking, it was better than nothing; when the garden was upgraded, the spiritual energy enhancement would become more pronounced. The ability to assist wild beasts in evolving into spirit beasts was where Jiang Yan’s advantage as the garden’s owner truly shone. With this feature, he could, in the future, use the Spirit Beast Garden to domesticate a vast number of low-grade spirit beasts, supporting Mount Hua’s early development. However, with a capacity of only five first-grade and three second-grade spirit beasts—eight in total—it was rather limited.

“Senior Brother Sect Leader, why has a courtyard appeared here?” a puzzled inquiry came from behind Jiang Yan.

Turning, Jiang Yan saw Tang Wan, dressed in white, already awake and standing gracefully behind him. Unbeknownst to him, dawn had broken—he had spent the entire night completing two construction tasks. Seeing Jiang Yan standing outside the Spirit Beast Garden, Tang Wan, curious about the new addition that had appeared overnight, asked her question.

“What a beautiful dog!” Yunying’s delighted exclamation came from within the Spirit Beast Garden. Having woken with Tang Wan and noticing the new garden outside, Yunying, her curiosity piqued, slipped inside, only to spot the snowy-white Howling Sky Dog rolling about. Overjoyed, she stretched out her delicate hand to grab the dog.

“Howl... achoo...” came the Howling Sky Dog’s aggrieved whine. Just as it was about to get angry at Yunying’s grasp, Jiang Yan’s command came through their spiritual connection, and the helpless Howling Sky Dog allowed itself to be scooped up and carried out of the garden.

“Senior Sister, Senior Sister, look at this lovely white puppy!” Yunying said, presenting the dog to Tang Wan as if it were a precious treasure.

A look of surprise bloomed across Tang Wan’s delicate face. She was amazed by the adorable little dog and, unable to resist, reached out to stroke the Howling Sky Dog’s soft white fur.

Jiang Yan also reached out to pat the Howling Sky Dog, smiling as he said to Tang Wan, “Junior Sister Wan, this little dog is a first-grade high-level spirit beast—Howling Sky Dog.”

“First-grade high-level!” Tang Wan’s hand froze in mid-pet. This dog was actually a first-grade high-level spirit beast!

“A first-grade high-level spirit beast!”

“A spirit beast!”

Two exclamations of astonishment echoed from the ancestral hall. Mu Yun and Nanmen Luo, having overheard Jiang Yan, stepped out, unable to hide their surprise.

Seeing the two, Jiang Yan smiled enigmatically. “It’s just a first-grade high-level spirit beast. No need for such a fuss. In the future, to bring glory to Mount Hua in Linqing Prefecture, our sect will surely possess many higher-grade spirit beasts. Junior Sister Wan, Junior Brother Mu, Junior Brother Nan, do you have the confidence to follow me, Jiang Yan, and make Mount Hua flourish?”

At his words, determination appeared on the faces of Tang Wan, Nanmen Luo, and Mu Yun. In unison, they replied, “We do!”

...

Noticing the new courtyard before the gate, the remarkably unattractive Nanmen Luo couldn’t help but ask in confusion, “Senior Brother Sect Leader, why is there a new garden here?”

“This is our sect’s Spirit Beast Garden, where we’ll raise our spirit beasts. From now on, all our spirit beasts will be cultivated here. The Howling Sky Dog will reside here as well,” Jiang Yan explained to his junior brothers and sisters.

“Spirit Beast Garden?” Tang Wan looked up in astonishment at the courtyard, enclosed by worn pillars and blue stone, unable to believe their sect now possessed such a place. Though the garden itself looked dilapidated...

Nanmen Luo was also surprised, squinting as he scrutinized the garden before him; Mu Yun, meanwhile, rolled his plump body over to pat the wall and wooden fence, then began calculating the garden’s construction cost on his fingers; only Yunying remained cheerful, playing with the snowy-white Howling Sky Dog, who whined pitifully in her embrace.

“Ding, Spirit Beast Garden construction task complete. Reward: ten spirit stones, one blueprint for a Small Spirit Gathering Array.” The sect leader system announced the rewards—again, ten spirit stones and a useful blueprint.

Jiang Yan’s consciousness connected to the Sect Leader’s Signet, where the Spirit Gathering Array blueprint lay quietly. The function of the array was displayed on the translucent information screen:

Small Spirit Gathering Array: Slightly increases the spiritual energy concentration in the air. When combined with the construction of a sect’s training ground, it can be autonomously triggered via the Six-Star Platform, raising the spiritual energy concentration within the training ground by five percent.

A five percent increase in spiritual energy concentration—this was a powerful effect, especially for a Small Spirit Gathering Array. If, in the future, they acquired medium or large arrays, the training ground’s spiritual energy concentration... Jiang Yan decided: the array would be installed in the training ground.

“Senior Brother, is the Spirit Beast Garden really worth so little? By my reckoning, aside from the spirit stone on the gate and the bronze mirror on the doorpost, the garden’s only worth about a spirit stone and five taels of silver. Can this place really raise spirit beasts?” Mu Yun had been counting on his fingers for some time, his round face filled with doubt. According to what he’d heard from their master, a spirit beast was worth no less than several hundred or thousand spirit stones. How could this shabby garden, worth so little, possibly house spirit beasts? Still, the eldest brother was rarely wrong, so Mu Yun remained puzzled.

Tang Wan, having stared at the garden for a while, interrupted Mu Yun, “Junior Brother, the true value of this Spirit Beast Garden is not in what you mentioned, but rather in the array formed by those blue stones. Though I don’t know exactly what array it is, since Senior Brother Sect Leader says this is the Spirit Beast Garden, the value of the array surely far exceeds that of some spirit beasts.”

Mu Yun was taken aback—he had indeed overlooked the value of the array. The stones and pillars might be worthless, but the array’s value was incalculable. Nanmen Luo, by now, had shifted his attention away from the garden and, together with Yunying, was playing with the Howling Sky Dog. Since the Sect Leader said this was the Spirit Beast Garden and could raise spirit beasts, Nanmen Luo chose to believe him outright. As for the garden’s worth or its capacity, he cared little.

“Achoo...” The Howling Sky Dog, teased by the two, was nearly driven to fury. He was a dignified first-grade high-level spirit beast—being teased by a beautiful girl was one thing, but now this ugly kid, too...

“Sect Leader, breakfast is ready.” It was Aunt Wu, who had finished preparing the meal and came to ask Jiang Yan if they should begin.

As it happened, Jiang Yan was also hungry. A night without sleep and all the running up and down the mountain had left him famished. He called everyone over, and the disciples of Mount Hua filed into the main hall to start breakfast.

The Howling Sky Dog raised his snowy little head, staring gloomily at Jiang Yan, who was deftly wielding his chopsticks at the table, while reluctantly swallowing the spoonful of thin porridge Yunying had just fed him. After swallowing, the Howling Sky Dog wailed inwardly, “I am a dignified first-grade high-level spirit beast—I don’t drink porridge! I want steamed buns...”