Celestial Beast Taming

Wen Tao and Guo Xing were on good terms, but certainly not close enough for Guo Xing to offend Ju Jiasu and the Five-finger Peak Creator, Cao Xing’an, on his behalf.

Guo Xing’s words were a clear signal.

’Guo Xing is planning to leave Longya City!’

’He’s trying to sound me out, to see if Starlight City would be a good place to go.’

’Otherwise, even if he wanted to leave Longya City, he wouldn’t have needed to say so much to me.’

If Guo Xing already had conflicts with Longya City and wanted to leave, Wen Tao would naturally welcome him becoming a Celestial Destiny Seeker for Starlight City.

Gaining another Celestial Destiny Seeker was a huge boon for Starlight City.

Guo Xing’s potential as a Celestial Destiny Seeker was rated S-level, but his Order Beast’s paralysis Rule was an extremely potent form of control.

When coordinating with other Celestial Destiny Seekers in battle, he could immobilize at least two targets of comparable strength.

’The thing is, on this trip to Longya City, Zhong Yi wants to take Tao En, the former Five-finger Peak Creator.’

’Taking a Celestial Destiny Seeker on top of that would be like sucking the marrow from Longya City’s bones.’

’Snatching away decades of Longya City’s foundation in one fell swoop… this matter would probably escalate all the way to the Royal Court.’

When Wen Tao didn’t respond for a moment, Guo Xing, on the other end of the line, gave an awkward chuckle.

”Hey now, I’m willing to offend Ju Jiasu and Cao Xing’an for you, and you’re not even a little touched?”

”If I ever really did leave Longya City and came to you in Starlight City, you wouldn’t turn me away, would you?”

Guo Xing’s words pulled Wen Tao from his thoughts.

”Old Guo, if you want to come to Starlight City, I’d be thrilled, of course.”

”But leaving a city is a huge deal. You have to think it over very carefully.”

”If you do decide, then when I leave Longya City, why not take the opportunity to come back to Starlight City with me?”

”You enjoy mentoring young people, don’t you? Starlight Academy is looking for a vice principal, and I think you’d be the perfect fit.”

When Guo Xing said all this to Wen Tao, it wasn’t because he had already decided to leave Longya City.

Rather, Ju Jiasu’s words from last night had made Guo Xing feel that ever since the Dragon Emperor’s departure, the relationships among Longya City’s Celestial Destiny Seekers had been steadily deteriorating.

The only other Celestial Destiny Seekers from his generation were Ju Jiasu and Jiao Donghai.

Ju Jiasu had always been arrogant toward him and treated Jiao Donghai practically like a Servant.

Jiao Donghai was infatuated with Ju Jiasu, but she treated him like a dog.

Not only did Jiao Donghai not mind, he actually seemed to enjoy it.

Guo Xing didn’t like Ju Jiasu, nor did he share Jiao Donghai’s perverse tendencies.

On top of that, Cao Xing’an, the Five-finger Peak Creator, was always trying to meddle in the Celestial Destiny Seekers’ affairs.

Cao Xing’an had attended the last few internal gatherings of Longya City’s Celestial Destiny Seekers.

In other Heroic Cities, even a Six-finger Creator would address a Celestial Destiny Seeker as ’Lord’ out of basic courtesy.

But Cao Xing’an addressed him, Jiao Donghai, and the younger generation of Celestial Destiny Seekers in Longya City directly by their full names.

This made Guo Xing extremely uncomfortable, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Guo Xing considered Wen Tao a trustworthy person who never gossiped.

That’s why Guo Xing had spoken out, partly to vent and partly to test the waters.

He never imagined Wen Tao would directly invite him to join Starlight City.

He even promised that upon joining, Guo Xing could become the vice principal of Starlight Academy.

Longya City, or rather, every Heroic City in the Xin Xia Alliance, had a school similar to Starlight Academy.

These schools were cradles for nurturing Celestial Destiny Seekers and for selecting members for their six-person squads.

Longya Academy in Longya City was run by two veteran Celestial Destiny Seekers, and their collusion with the various Noble Families was rampant.

Just as Wen Tao had said, Guo Xing truly enjoyed being a teacher and mentoring the youth.

He loved the feeling of helping young people achieve a brighter future.

If Starlight City could really offer him such a position, and considering his current situation in Longya City… Guo Xing, who had nothing tying him down, was seriously tempted!

”Ah Tao, can I take your words seriously?”

On the other end of the line, Wen Tao’s lips curled into a smile, but his tone turned serious as he sweetened the deal.

”If you’re really prepared to leave Longya City, I can ask Lord Star Emperor to personally make a trip to meet with you.”

”You might not trust my promise, but you can certainly trust one from the Star Emperor.”

”Besides having Lord Star Emperor in charge, this year Starlight City has also gained a healing-type Celestial Destiny Seeker with SSS Level potential and a Combat-type Celestial Destiny Seeker with SS Level potential. Our future is bright.”

”I remember the last time I was in Longya City, your Order Beast was injured. You spent nearly two years scrambling and paid a hefty price just to help it recover.”

”Come to Starlight City, and if your Order Beast or other contracted Guardian Beasts get injured again, they can be healed with no trouble at all.”

”Not long ago, my Biluo Spring Dragon’s Origin was damaged. It was severely injured one day and healed by the next!”

Poaching a Celestial Destiny Seeker from another Heroic City was considered highly unethical, and Wen Tao had never intended to do so.

But since Guo Xing had brought it up himself, Wen Tao decided to stop holding back.

For a city to attract a Celestial Destiny Seeker, it wasn’t about sentiment; it was about a binding of mutual interests.

Wen Tao laid out all the benefits, sweetening the pot with each point.

As long as Guo Xing was even considering leaving Longya City, Wen Tao was confident that he wouldn’t refuse the offer outright, even if he couldn’t make a decision right away.

Things went just as Wen Tao had predicted. After a long pause, Guo Xing finally spoke, his voice strained.

”Ah Tao… leaving Longya City to join Starlight City would be a major turning point in my life. I need to think about it very carefully.”

”If I’m fortunate enough to meet Lord Star Emperor, I’d like to have a proper discussion with him.”

As the words left his mouth, Guo Xing felt a little dazed.

’I just wanted to vent to Wen Tao. How did this suddenly turn into me negotiating terms with Starlight City?’

”No problem. I’m sure Lord Star Emperor will be more than willing to speak with you.”

”I was worried that you joining us for the Dragon Soaring Association would cause trouble for you. But since we’ve cleared the air, let’s meet at the entrance to Waking Dragon Creek Valley in half an hour.”

With that, Wen Tao hung up and turned to Zhong Yi.

”Xiaoyi, I’ve noticed that ever since you awakened as a Celestial Destiny Seeker, Starlight City’s fortunes have taken a turn for the better.”

”This time, thanks to the opportunity presented by Star Night’s visit, our Starlight City will very likely gain another Celestial Destiny Seeker.”

From Wen Tao’s perspective, if Zhong Yi hadn’t wanted to recruit Tao En, they wouldn’t have even made this trip to Longya City.

And if that were the case, even if Guo Xing had wanted to leave Longya City, he wouldn’t necessarily have chosen to join Starlight City.

Zhong Yi had been able to faintly hear Guo Xing’s voice over the phone.

Zhong Yi was indeed a little surprised that Guo Xing would choose to leave Longya City.

But if the atmosphere among Longya City’s Celestial Destiny Seekers was really as Guo Xing described, with Cao Xing’an—who wasn’t even a Celestial Destiny Seeker—trying to leverage his status as a Five-finger Peak Creator to gain influence over them, it was natural that a Celestial Destiny Seeker like Guo Xing, who had no deep roots in Longya City, would want to leave.

If he were in Guo Xing’s shoes, Zhong Yi wouldn’t want to be in such an environment either.

’Wen Tao was trying to win over Guo Xing with every word he said.’

’Mentioning the Star Emperor was a way to give Guo Xing more confidence in joining Starlight City.’

’He even used my and Shen Xuan’s potential as a bargaining chip to recruit Guo Xing.’

’Whether Guo Xing ultimately leaves Longya City to join Starlight City is his own choice. It’s also a choice for Starlight City to make.’

’Accepting a Celestial Destiny Seeker from another city means creating friction with them.’

Zhong Yi wasn’t concerned about whether Guo Xing would successfully join Starlight City.

All that mattered was that Tao En ultimately came with him to Starlight City and joined his faction.

The Guardian Beast Vehicle drove on, getting closer and closer to Waking Dragon Creek Valley.

The cries of Dragon Species Guardian Beasts grew more frequent and resonant in Zhong Yi’s ears.