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  Xiao Feng stumbled backwards before his instincts kicked in and he managed to prevent himself from falling. His gaze met Liulian’s, her ruby-red eyes intensely staring into his own, before he pulled away to face Beast Master Zen.

  “Not what you expected, I presume?” Beast Master Zen asked, as he stood next to his umbral fang, Liulian.

  “That was…,” Xiao Feng trailed off as he searched for the words to describe the experience he had just borne witness to, taking in a sharp breath of air as he recalled the ethereal experience. In what Beast Master Zen had called the Realm of Yul, Xiao Feng had experienced a reality where one’s sense of being was laid bare, an existence that had no place for falsehoods or deceit, no possibility of lies and trickery, leaving behind only the truth in all its weight. “...beautiful,” he concluded, unable to stop himself from speaking his true thoughts even though it might not have been the words his predecessor would’ve chosen.

  A throaty laugh escaped Beast Master Zen as he regarded Xiao Feng with an amused expression before replying, “It is heartening that you believe so. That is not a statement most cultivators would agree with, after all.”

  Oops, Xiao Feng thought, as he tried his best to keep his expression blank. He wondered where he had messed up, but nothing in his predecessor’s memories could shed a light. Be it a true bond, umbral fangs, a Tier 4 spiritual beast, the mysterious Realm of Yul or even a particularly jovial Beast Master, his predecessor knew next to nothing about all of them.

  “Why?” Xiao Feng finally asked, before the silence could stretch out into an awkward one. Jovial the Beast Master might be, but he was nothing if not perceptive. After all, he had been the one to discover the site of the umbral fang epic battle with the elephantine spiritual beast and from there, he had managed to track down Liulian to a small cave despite her darkness Qi smothering her core and shielding her from observation by a cultivator. Lying to him at this stage would do him no good, so he just had to own up to his feelings.

  “You felt it, did you not? The Realm of Yul,” The Beast Master rhetorically asked before continuing, “The longer you roam the continent of Tian, the more clearly you will come to realize the similarities between the world of beasts and the world of cultivation. Be it martial cultivator or alchemist, it is ultimately their strength or their personal prowess that decides the pecking order, much like how the strongest amongst a pack of umbral fangs is chosen to lead it. Grand Alchemist Xin Wu did not reach that designation without proving his mettle and in doing so, did the cultivators of the Azure Lotus a great favour, the same way your Elders would not have been granted such prestige without proving themselves in battle.”

  Xiao Feng nodded along, even though he was yet to see the point Beast Master Zen was trying to make. He only hoped that he would not be called upon to elucidate upon it.

  “A true bond is, at its very essence, a bond of equals. How many cultivators would be willing to subject themselves to the Realm of Yul? The strongest amongst us have gotten to that stage by the might of their ambition, skill and more often than not, their ruthlessness. They can lie to others, they can even lie to themselves, but they cannot lie in the Realm of Yul. Those with an impure heart cannot conceal it and those untainted by such greed often do not possess the strength to acquire a beast egg, let alone confront a spiritual beast. Do you remember the words?” Beast Master Zen asked, as Xiao Feng hung onto his every word out of his thirst for knowledge.

  “Vyn kareth se tyn kareth,” Xiao Feng repeated the first line of the true bond, though his own pronunciation seemed broken compared to what he recalled.

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  “My blood is your blood,” Beast Master Zen nodded, before continuing, “It means that you will bleed for your bonded beast before you allow a single drop of her blood to be spilled.”

  Xiao Feng’s eyes widened in realization as he understood the gravity of the true bond, of the oath concealed within those words.

  “Indeed,” Beast Master Zen nodded upon seeing the realization in Xiao Feng’s eyes. “You will not allow for her flesh to be broken before your own is sundered. But most important of all is the final line, the real essence of the true bond.

  “Vyn velour se tyn velour,” Xiao Feng solemnly recalled, certain that he did not understand the true gravity of them yet.

  “My soul is your soul, a declaration made in the Realm of Yul, where souls intersect. Do you understand the weight of those words?” Beast Master Zen asked, his expression intense as he pinned him down with his gaze.

  Xiao Feng’s mouth went dry as he shook his head.

  “Blood, flesh and soul are the three ingredients that make both man and beast. To offer all three, but most of all the third, the soul, is to create a bond between man and beast, a tether that loops around both our souls. If Liulian were to die tomorrow, my own core would crack if not shatter entirely. If I were to pass on before her, it would be her beast core that suffers a similar fate. But there is more to the bond,” Beast Master Zen paused, his lips curling up as he witnessed the shock that flitted across Xiao Feng’s expression, before he continued.

  “The strength of my soul, the vitality of my blood and flesh as a Core Formation cultivator strengthen her own, for I am the longer lived amongst us two. As such, Liulian too will enjoy a life longer than most of her kind. The bond also allows us to communicate telepathically, to share certain senses even. It would take a great deal of concentration, but I could see through her eyes if I wished to.”

  “Liulian is the only one you share a true bond with, isn’t she?” Xiao Feng finally asked, making the observation out of his own lived experiences instead of his predecessor’s memories.

  Beast Master Zen’s jovial smile only grew wider before he answered with a nod, “Astute. Do you understand now, why most cultivators would not look favourably upon a true bond?”

  Xiao Feng slowly nodded, taking a moment to compose himself before he answered, “It is easy to say the words. But to actually mean them, that is another matter entirely. Though Liulian’s memories, I witnessed the Realm of Yul and I could tell that there was not a single lie to be found. Had you hesitated in the slightest, had you tried to conceal your intentions or not meant for a bond of equals to form, had you sought to exploit Liulian’s strength for your own purposes, the bond would not have taken root.

  “Correct,” Beast Master Zen nodded, a melancholic sigh escaping his lips. “That is why there are few worthy of the title of Beast Tamer and fewer still that know what it means to become one.”

  “I… when I touched Liulian with my soul, was that the Realm of Yul?” Xiao Feng asked, for the idea confused him.

  “No,” Beast Master Zen softly replied. “You reached out to Liulian with your soul and she let you glimpse upon a set of memories she wished you to see. The Realm of Yul requires both parties to lower the defenses ensconcing their soul and lay themselves bare before they can enter it.”

  “I see,” Xiao Feng nodded in understanding. Then he hesitated, before asking, “What happens if you try and enter a true bond and fail?”

  Beast Master Zen hummed in thought, examining him with a keen eye as he answered, “Then you are fated to earn a friend at most, never a companion. The minds of mortals are malleable, but for those who have stood before heavenly tribulation carry a willpower that is born out of understanding who they are. I would not say it impossible, but it would be exceedingly difficult.”

  Xiao Feng hesitated again, but he decided he was in too deep for there to be any point to dancing around the matter, “This information is more valuable than I think, isn’t it?”

  Beast Master Zen erupted into roaring laughter, requiring more than a few moments to calm himself, “Given that I have just revealed my greatest weakness, I would hope so. The question is, is it valuable enough to satiate my own curiosity?”

  Xiao Feng only needed a moment to realize what Beast Master Zen was talking about.

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