Chapter 28: Chapter 27: Creator and Soul Finger
Screeches of pain echoed one after another!
The wings of the Shattered Blade Butterflies—First Level, Unranked Mortal Beasts—were sharp enough, but they didn’t possess much strength.
A single charge merely carved nineteen bowl-sized chunks of flesh from the two Horned Demons.
After the Shattered Blade Butterflies attacked, the two Horned Demons raised their forelimbs and swiped at them, forcing the butterflies to activate their innate Skill: Unsheathing.
The struck Shattered Blade Butterflies seemed to split, each one transforming into more than ten smaller versions of itself.
Like a shower of arrows, these smaller butterflies launched another ferocious assault on the two adult Horned Demons.
A Mortal Beast Level Shattered Blade Butterfly could only use Unsheathing to split once during a battle.
However, as their Tier increased, each advancement would allow a Shattered Blade Butterfly to use Unsheathing one additional time.
It was precisely because of the Unsheathing Skill that Zhong Yi had chosen the Shattered Blade Butterflies to be the Guardian Beasts unilaterally controlled by the Soul Vein Mother Butterfly.
Nineteen Shattered Blade Butterflies using the Unsheathing Skill transformed into over 300 individuals. A dazzling storm of blades zipped fiercely between the two Horned Demons.
In less than a minute, they had practically stripped the two adult Horned Demons down to complete skeletons.
Although a few scraps of flesh still clung to the skeletons, if a restaurant owner tried to make soup with them, customers would undoubtedly complain about the lack of meat.
This was Zhong Ling’s first battle, and she stared wide-eyed, completely stunned by the scene before her.
Clearly, Zhong Ling had no real grasp of her own strength. She never imagined the Shattered Blade Butterflies could unleash such astonishing power in a fight.
"Young Master... I’m this powerful? I just took down those two huge things!"
Zhong Ling had grown up in the Guardian Beast Shop. As an employee, she had dismantled countless Guardian Beast Remains.
Although the scene before her was shocking, it didn’t affect Zhong Ling much.
But as Zhong Yi watched the flesh fly and smelled the stench of blood wafting past, his stomach churned.
Zhong Yi forcefully suppressed the wave of nausea, managing to keep himself from vomiting.
Zhong Yi was well aware that such scenes were commonplace for Guardian Beast Masters.
If he hadn’t been strong enough and had been caught as food, the scene of being torn limb from limb by the Horned Demons wouldn’t have been any prettier than this spectacle of flensing blades.
After the two Horned Demons died, a surge of Energy flowed into the nineteen Shattered Blade Butterflies that had participated in the attack.
However, this Energy was split evenly among the nineteen Shattered Blade Butterflies, and it wasn’t enough to raise their Level.
Zhong Yi said, his face a little pale.
"Xiaolingdang, you’re very strong now, and you’re only going to get stronger."
Ever since learning about Zhong Ling’s Lifebound Guardian Beast and Beastmaster Talent, Zhong Yi had been thoroughly convinced of her potential.
Otherwise, even if he had decided to nurture her talent, he would never have invited her to be his partner in exploring Secret Realms.
Back in the Zhenchong Commerce Association’s lounge, Zhong Yi had only used Flowing Soul Soil on the Soul Vein Mother Butterfly. This was because the roots of his Soul-Controlling Flower didn’t produce Flowing Soul Soil very quickly.
Using Flowing Soul Soil as a medium to evolve so many Shattered Blade Butterflies would consume a massive amount of it.
Zhong Yi saw no need to waste Flowing Soul Soil on these easily replaceable Shattered Blade Butterflies. The return on investment was simply too low!
"Xiaolingdang, once we’re out of this Secret Realm, I plan to recruit a Creator."
"I’ll have the Creator I recruit help you raise your Shattered Blade Butterflies. We’ll get them all to Bronze Quality while they’re still at the Mortal Beast Level."
"If we’re lucky, some of them should evolve into Blade Butterflies."
The Blade Butterfly is the evolved form of the Shattered Blade Butterfly. Not only are its wings sharper,
but its innate racial Skill, Unsheathing, also gains an Armor-Piercing effect upon Evolution.
If a Mortal Beast Level, Bronze Quality Blade Butterfly had attacked these two adult Horned Demons, even their bones would have been shredded by its wings.
Hearing Zhong Yi praise her and affirm her Talent, a brilliant smile spread across Zhong Ling’s face.
But upon hearing that Zhong Yi wanted to hire a Creator, Zhong Ling couldn’t help but ask,
"Young Master, those Creators are all so arrogant. Can we really recruit one?"
Zhong Yi nodded at Zhong Ling with great certainty.
"We won’t even have to look for them. When the time is right, Creators will likely come knocking on our door."
The Creator is a special profession. When some Guardian Beast Masters awaken their Soul Base, it shows a greater-than-average control over Soul Power.
These individuals are considered to have the Talent to become Creators.
This fine control over Soul Power, provided by the Soul Base, allows them to achieve a more complete and layered fusion of different ingredients when they use their Soul Power to concoct Potions.
There are actually quite a few amateur Creators who can concoct Potions.
However, true Creators—those who can condense Soul Power into a Soul Finger—are the rarest of all professions in the Guardian Beast World.
A Creator who can condense a Soul Finger will be fought over by all the major powers!
Creators possess powerful soul-manipulation abilities, but they don’t necessarily have great Beastmaster Talent.
’Creators are a bit like the research scientists from my past life,’ Zhong Yi mused. To succeed, they have to pour all their effort into studying how to properly concoct Potions.
Talent is important, of course, but without a dedicated spirit of research, it’s difficult for a Creator to accomplish much.
It’s always been hard to have the best of both worlds. One usually has to choose between increasing their own combat strength and honing their craft as a Creator.
Greedily choosing both will only lead to mediocrity in each.
However, in the Guardian Beast World, the only thing you can truly rely on to survive is personal strength.
For all these reasons, Creators were often willing to align themselves with a powerful individual, gaining protection in exchange for their services.
Never mind the fact that Zhong Yi was a Celestial Destiny Seeker. Even a Guardian Beast Master like Zhong Ling, with potential worthy of an A+ Level rating, would likely have Creators seeking her out if she revealed her abilities.
Accompanying a gifted genius as they grew was often a better way for a Creator to get what they wanted than simply attaching themselves to an established powerhouse.
In truth, Zhong Yi’s own Soul Base had a decent talent for soul control, but it would be nearly impossible for him to become a Creator capable of condensing a Soul Finger within ten years.
However, thanks to his Flowing Soul Soil, Zhong Yi’s current proficiency as a Creator was already far superior to that of any Creator below the Three-finger level.
The moment the two adult Horned Demons died, the Soul-Controlling Flower began eagerly conveying its emotions to Zhong Yi. There was a sense of pleading, almost like a child wheedling for a treat.
The Soul-Controlling Flower felt like a little girl who had just spotted her favorite snack, looking up at her mother with pleading eyes, silently asking if she could have it.
The Soul-Controlling Flower’s desire to feed had only appeared at the exact moment the two adult Horned Demons’ lives ended.
This taught Zhong Yi something new: the Soul-Controlling Flower could only absorb Life and Soul Energy from a target after it was already dead.
