Rise of The Demon General

Chapter 345: Chapter 345. Beast Taming and Puppet Making

”You...!” Pai Kuan was about to slam the table again. There were already cracks from his previous two slams. He restrained himself before his hand left the table.

The elder seemed to have trouble thinking of something to say, so Amon continued speaking, ”Look. If your sect gets uneasy just because its position is challenged, perhaps it is time to take some retrospection. Maybe you have all been too comfortable sitting at the top, unchallenged. You have forgotten what it was like to put in an effort.”

”I’m not here for you to lecture me, boy,” Pai Kuan said through his gritted teeth.

Amon chuckled. ”And I am not here to embarrass you. Let me put it this way. I still desire to cooperate with your sect. For now, I still consider your sect to be a more suitable partner than Lei Clan. Whether you believe me or not, that’s your problem. Unlike before, I no longer have to prove myself to you.”

Pai Kuan’s face displayed a complex expression. He knew with Amon’s current status and power, he could no longer treat Amon as someone he could play with as he wished.

”I do not yet possess the influence to make good of my words to you in the past. You must deal with the power struggle against the Lei Clan yourself. That said, we can still benefit one another financially,” Amon said.

”What do you suggest?” Pai Kuan asked.

”I do not yet have an influence in this kingdom, but I have sufficient influence in this city. I can get you rare resources from this city and transport them to White Cloud City. You will have to buy them at normal price, though.”

”Hm...,” Pai Kuan thought about the arrangement. He looked around the place. Everyone on this floor still had their eyes on him.

”Very well then,” Pai Kuan said. With this trading pact, at least he could show his sect master that his past action of letting Amon go wasn’t all a waste. ”I hope this is the first step to what we agreed on in the past.”

”Sure. I will send someone to discuss the details with you,” Amon replied. He stood and left. Everyone else on this floor left with him.

”Damnit... He didn’t even say farewell. What does he take us for?” Pai Wang complained.

Pai Kuan sighed. ”Perhaps I should have just slain him in the past. The chance of doing that now seems to be too small.”

”Even with your cultivation level?” Pai Wang asked with a surprised tone.

”You might not notice it. I have been projecting my aura in his direction throughout our conversation, but he didn’t seem perturbed at all.”

Pai Wang found that hard to believe. If it was him, he wouldn’t have been able to move at all, much less talk fluently like Amon did.

”Let’s hope he truly means what he said. It is most likely he will soar higher very fast. Pai Wang, you need to make sure you don’t get in his bad books. Tell our other members in the Royal Academy to pay attention not to offend him as well.”

Considering Amon was the boss of the biggest faction in the academy, Pai Wang didn’t think this warning was necessary.

*

Amon had Gao Lan send someone to negotiate with Pai Kuan. Though he made it sound like he was doing a favor for Pai Kuan, he was doing this for his own sake as well.

Trading was always the most common way to profit. He had already built a regular trade route between Qishurg City and the capital where San Guo was based. Another trade route had presented itself, so why not make use of it? San Guo still had some connections in White Cloud City, but having White Cloud Sect as the trading partner was even better. He believed the additional profit from this trading would help his organization grow further.

Amon himself returned his focus to his study. As every student knew, entering the senior class introduced two more specialized jobs, beast-taming and puppet-making.

The basics of these two jobs were introduced in the first few theory classes.

Beast taming was pretty straightforward. It involved taming a spirit beast, either by force or affection, before forming a mental link with the beast. Using affection for beast taming provided the strongest mental link. However, this method required a lot of effort and time. One example was raising the spirit beast from infancy, like a pet. The connection born out of this method would make the tamed beast more obedient to the tamer’s every command.

The forceful method was a two-edged sword. The spirit beast could be beaten to submission before a mental link was forced on it. This was the fastest method. However, it could build up resentment, especially if the spirit beast was stronger than the tamer. If the resentment was too much, there was a chance it could sever the link and turn on the tamer.

As for puppet making, it was a technique to produce a battle puppet, like the ones used during the entrance exam. This battle puppet was constructed using a combination of smithing, engraving, and talisman application. Hence, one who wished to study this job needed to have knowledge from those three fields.

Because of this requirement, Amon chose not to delve into puppet-making. However, he still studied the basics to understand its mechanics. By understanding, it would help him deal with battle puppets if he happened to face one in the future.

After listening to the explanations of the two jobs in the theory classes, the students interested in learning further were directed to the specialization building. These students went to the section prohibited for them when they were still in their junior and freshman years.

Amon followed the group to the one teaching puppet-making first. There, they were given a demonstration on the construction of the most basic battle puppet. After the demonstration, they were each given an out-of-order battle puppet to analyze or deconstruct if they wished.

Amon didn’t hesitate. He took the battle puppet apart to study its internal parts. The other students were rather stumped by his decisiveness.

The teachers supervising the place were about to reprimand Amon for his recklessness, but when they noticed the way he dismantled the battle puppet, they changed their minds. This was because Amon didn’t dismantle the battle puppet thoughtlessly. It was done in a way experts like them would do.

”Have you dealt with battle puppets before?” One of the teachers asked him.

”If you mean fought and broke one. Yes, I have,” Amon answered.

That was not what the teacher meant, but Amon didn’t explain further. The reason he knew how to deconstruct the battle puppet the correct way was because of his knowledge of engineering from his previous life. Although he was mostly a soldier, he still had basic knowledge and experience of how to fix war tools, like guns, military jeeps, tanks, or even fighter planes.

This battle puppet was akin to robotics in his previous life, except it was not moved by gears or electronics. It was instead moved using the mystical aether of this cultivation world.

”You have a talent for puppet making. I suggest you spend more time here,” The teacher suggested.

Amon didn’t take the teacher’s offer. Though Amon had an advantage in engineering knowledge, he knew he still needed to excel in the three basic jobs required for constructing battle puppets. Otherwise, the battle puppets he made would be stuck in the low-tier grades. Mastering those three jobs took too long. He couldn’t afford it.

Amon spent a few days understanding and familiarizing himself with the basic battle puppet. After learning all he could, he left and didn’t look back.

The building he visited next was the one specialized for beast taming. He had been here before but was only allowed outside when he took the Jue Ape mission. Now that he was a senior student, he was allowed to enter.

Entering the gate, he came to a lobby where he had to register his admission. He was then given instructions about where to go. While he was on his way, he saw a familiar figure.

”I was wondering where you were when I didn’t see you with the first batch of senior students who came here! I was worried you have no interest in beast taming,” Ha Gild said.

”I checked out the puppet-making next door first,” Amon informed.

”Puppets? Pah! Those soulless things cannot be compared to spirit beasts,” Ha Gild spat. He didn’t bother to hide his disdain. ”Wait, you went there first before here. You are not thinking about focusing on that job than this, are you?”

”I am not focusing on puppet making. I am there simply to learn the basics. Now that I have, I come here to learn beast taming, which I wish to focus on.”

”Good lad!” Ha Gild clapped Amon’s back. ”Come! The other students have regular teachers teaching them. You, my boy, I will teach you myself!”