Beast Tamer Ascension

Chapter 15: Dragon Ascension Festival, Mechanized Bamboo Dragon

“Elder Yu, what brings you here?” The supervising senior brother immediately put down the miscellaneous book titled “My Sword Spirit Wife” with a nervous expression, looking at the elder.

Lin Jing also looked over; if he remembered correctly, Elder Yu was the elder in charge of outer sect affairs, and he was the authority in the outer sect.

“Ziran, what are you reading again?” Elder Yu frowned, extending his hand, and the supervising senior brother's book flew directly into Elder Yu’s hand.

“Elder! This book was created by Daoist Jian Qingfeng from the Heavenly Sword Sect; it contains profound principles of swordsmanship and is definitely not a useless book…” Before the supervising senior brother could finish, Elder Yu coldly snorted and put the book away.

“Reading miscellaneous books during work hours, I’ll fine you half a month’s worth of spirit stones.”

The supervising senior brother wore an expression as if his pet beast had died.

“Eek eek eek…” The Pine Leaf Mouse covered its mouth, stifling a laugh.

At this moment, Elder Yu's gaze turned toward the Pine Leaf Mouse… then to Lin Jing.

“Hmm?”

“You are Lin Jing?” After a glance, Elder Yu suddenly spoke.

“Reporting to Elder Yu, I am indeed Lin Jing.” Lin Jing was not surprised that an outer sect elder recognized him; Elder Mo had brought him back and surely had informed Elder Yu.

“Are you here to accept a mission?” Elder Yu asked.

Lin Jing nodded.

Elder Yu pondered for a moment and said, “It seems you haven’t found a suitable task yet. Do you want to accept a task that rewards spirit stones or a task that rewards sect contribution points?”

Lin Jing was taken aback; what did the outer sect elder mean…

Tailored to him?

“Reporting to the elder, I would like to take both.”

Elder Yu choked slightly and said, “I am here this time to issue a task.”

“With the Dragon Ascension Festival approaching, we need a large quantity of spirit bamboo to create mechanized beasts. Outer sect disciples who have wood-type contracted beasts can take on this task to go to Jin Zhu Yuan to harvest spirit bamboo in exchange for spirit stones and sect contribution points. Only one person can accept this task.”

“I see you have a Pine Leaf Mouse contracted; do you wish to accept this task?”

Huh?

The supervising senior brother and the other four outer sect disciples were dumbfounded, looking at the unfamiliar Lin Jing, speculating about his background.

Elder Yu's actions screamed favoritism and abuse of power!

Who on earth is this person!

“I am willing!” Although Lin Jing still didn’t fully understand what was happening, as an honest person, he couldn’t refuse the elder’s request.

“Ziran, note down the task. For every ten bamboo stalks harvested, there is a reward of one spirit stone, plus one point of sect contribution.” Elder Yu said, “Let this disciple take care of it.”

After saying that, he waved his sleeve and left the task hall.

Once Elder Yu departed, Ziran senior brother immediately looked at Lin Jing with admiration, saying, “Junior brother, congratulations! To be noticed by Elder Yu means your future is limitless.”

Lin Jing returned the gesture, “It’s just luck. But I don’t know, senior brother, what is this task about? Can you explain it to me?”

With no book to read, Ziran senior brother had free time to explain, “You should know about the Dragon Ascension Festival.”

This was one of the traditional festivals of the Tianyuan Ancient Kingdom. It is said that the founder of the Tianyuan Ancient Kingdom, the first ancient emperor, used true dragon secret techniques to transform the central mountain range of the Tianyuan continent. The mountains soared upward, transforming into a divine dragon that took on the responsibility of protecting the Tianyuan Ancient Kingdom.

This giant dragon was also a symbol of the kingdom’s fortune. It fell into a deep slumber in the earth, transforming into the dragon vein of fortune, protecting the ancient kingdom for generations. Whenever disasters that were hard to withstand occurred within the kingdom, it would awaken to suppress the calamities.

Over time, to commemorate the giant dragon formed from the mountains, the day of the dragon's birth became a traditional festival celebrated not only in the cultivation world but also by ordinary people.

Lin Jing didn’t expect that the Beast Taming Sect would also specifically celebrate this festival.

“The Beast Taming Sect celebrates the Dragon Ascension Festival every year, though it’s not a grand affair; we simply hold some small activities.”@@novelbin@@

“On the festival day, it’s also a great opportunity for disciples from the inner and outer sects to showcase themselves.”

“And in our Beast Taming Sect, during the Dragon Ascension Festival, there is a special event called ‘Dragon Struggles, Beast Fights.’”

“Disciples can send out their contracted beasts to challenge the ‘dragon’!”

“Of course, this dragon is not a true dragon; our Beast Taming Sect does not have a true dragon yet. This dragon refers to a mechanized dragon created using ‘mechanical arts.’”

“When Elder Yu was younger, he traveled the continent and learned the art of creating mechanized beasts from the myriad arts of cultivation!”

“This skill is still quite rare in our Beast Taming Sect.”

“Because of this talent, Elder Yu is responsible for the festival every year, and the task of harvesting spirit bamboo he issued is likely for the creation of the ‘mechanized bamboo dragon.’”

After Ziran senior brother finished speaking, one of the outer sect disciples present in the task hall said excitedly, “A mechanized bamboo dragon! It seems this year’s mechanized dragon will be wood attribute; my contracted beast is a Fire Spirit Sparrow, which has an attribute advantage.”

“This is valuable news; I can start researching how to deal with wood-type beasts now.” Another outer sect disciple said.

“Over the years, defeating the mechanized dragon has garnered substantial rewards—spirit stones, pills, magical treasures, and spells are all included. Thus, both inner and outer sect disciples are eager to try.” Ziran senior brother smiled and said, “However, the mechanized dragon… although it corresponds to the Qi Refining stage, its combat power won’t be overly exaggerated, but since it is crafted by a Golden Core elder, defeating it won’t be that easy.”

“Now I see.” Lin Jing understood and continued to ask, “May I ask, senior brother, is there anything particular about harvesting spirit bamboo?”

Although he had been working hard to learn various knowledge related to spiritual plants, his learning time was still short.

“Jin Zhu Yuan is a gorge located between two peaks on the northern slope of the Beast Taming Sect, where there is a sea of bamboo that produces spirit bamboo. If I’m not mistaken, this spirit bamboo must be harvested with an axe containing wood properties, or it will lose its characteristics.”

“Oh, using wood-type methods should yield the same effect. For instance, the Pine Leaf Mouse’s flying leaves technique; Elder Yu just mentioned that he assigned you this task because you have a Pine Leaf Mouse.” Ziran senior brother revealed an envious expression again.

“This task’s rewards are quite generous; even among tasks available to inner sect disciples, there are probably none as generous as this.”

“However…” He observed Lin Jing and the Pine Leaf Mouse.

“Your Pine Leaf Mouse is still at the third layer of Qi Refining, isn’t it? As far as I know, spirit bamboo is incredibly tough, and even if a mid-Qi Refining Pine Leaf Mouse uses the flying leaves technique, it may require several attempts to cut down a single stalk of spirit bamboo, making it quite laborious!”

“It might not be easy for it to use the flying leaves technique to cut the spirit bamboo.”

The supervising senior brother suddenly realized; that’s why Elder Yu was so generous.

He had been wondering if the rewards were too generous. It turned out Elder Yu believed that this junior brother’s strength wasn’t sufficient to harvest too many spirit bamboos, and if the main intent was to help him train his flying leaves technique, that made sense.