Pulling out two grade 2 Origin Crystals from his spatial ring, Xia Fei tossed one to Furball as he held onto the other and absorbed some of the energy.
“Last one. This is basically burning money; who knows how many planets I can have exchanged a single ton of Purple Hearts of Spirit for, yet it is no more than a month’s stipend here in the Law Realm, and it’s even not enough…” Xia Fei mumbled to himself.
Phantom said, “Nothing we can do about it, either. Who would know that the energy requirements here in the Law Realm could be so immense? Good thing that you’ll have thirty more crystals as a wage every month. Adding that to the twelve grade 2 Origin Crystals you’ll get every month as a level 2 Law Warrior, though those still aren’t enough, you can at least keep at a steady rate. Besides, you do still have two tons of raw ores in your spatial ring, and that can get you two hundred crystals which you can use first.”
Xia Fei nodded. Exchanging all the raw ores he had would last him for two months, but he had no idea how he could get his hands on more after the said two months.
Furball ate that grade 2 Origin Crystal happily and wiped his mouth; Xia Fei then returned his pet to his bosom and exited the dormitory.
The house, which was assigned to him, had not been tidied yet, so Xia Fei was still staying in the dormitory for the moment.
*Whoosh!*
Xia Fei rushed at high speeds and arrived at Roaring Tiger Park in a matter of minutes. Yu Sansui with his sinister face was waiting for him by the entrance. The man approached with a forced smile when he saw the new arrival. “Overseer Xia, I’m your deputy Yu Sansui. Welcome to your post here in Roaring Tiger Park.”
After exchanging pleasantries, Xia Fei looked out and sized up the exotic beast grounds within the ravine. The ravine was wide and long, with plenty of pine trees and mountain jujubes between the ravine walls. It was a cloistered space, with a small waterfall in the distance, giving a tranquil ambiance with the sound of flowing water in the backdrop, making it a prime location with its decent surroundings.
A dozen or so old-styled bungalows were lining up the ravine walls, looking like they had fallen into years of disrepair. There was a metal alloy fence, which locked out the ravine behind them, and the roars of exotic beasts could be heard from time to time. They were already agitated so early in the morning.
Yu Sansui called his other five employees over to meet their new overseer. Because the Roaring Tiger Park was not being valued too greatly, the less successful external warriors would often be sent here so that they could at least earn a living. Yu Sansui was the only one who had relations with the Yu family, but his post as overseer had unfortunately been snatched away by Xia Fei, so he was now just his deputy.
Perhaps it was because they all had insignificant positions in the family, the employees were all very courteous when they met Xia Fei, not at all minding his age or level. Yu Sansui was the only one who was smiling.
After meeting his employee, Xia Fei began to instruct them to carry on with their respective work. He was going to inspect the Roaring Tiger Park himself, and more importantly, he of course wanted to look up Furball’s identity in the archives. Xia Fei had been fretting over just what grade his exotic beast was for a long time, and he could hardly wait to learn about it.
“Overseer, I know that we shouldn’t bother you since this is just your first day on the job, but there’s something that your subordinates can’t handle, so I have to ask that you take care of things personally,” Yu Sansui said somberly.
The other employees understood that this was just a show. All of them knew very well what Yu Sansui was planning to get Xia Fei to do, and though none of them had any malicious intentions, they were also eager to see what Xia Fei was capable of, wondering if he could subdue those grand exotic beasts in their compound behind.
“Oh, what is it?” Xia Fei asked.
Yu Sansui frowned as he said glumly, “Roaring Tiger Park presently has seventeen exotic beasts being cared for. Our work is to raise and tame these beasts, but sadly, they are difficult to tame, hard to subdue. We have no problem feeding them, but they won’t listen to us at all.”
“Previously, Miss Qi from the family visited Roaring Tiger Park and had her eye on an exotic beast, the Four-eared Amber Cat. She insisted on taking it as her exclusive beast, so she requested the Roaring Tiger Park to tame it in three months.
“Tomorrow is the deadline, and Miss Qi will definitely come and collect it, but the Four-eared Amber Cat is still as wild as ever, biting anyone it sees. Miss Qi will definitely throw a tantrum if she can’t bring it back with her.”
Xia Fei furrowed his brows as he thought to himself, ‘Three months yet the cat remains untamed? Just what have these people been taking care of in the place? Tomorrow’s the date when someone will come and collect it, yet you’re only telling me now; aren’t you just deliberately making things difficult for me?’
Seeing how earnest Yu Sansui had told him this, Xia Fei did not bother asking any further but merely nodded. “Is that so? Bring me there to take a look.”
Yu Sansui of course agreed, leading Xia Fei toward the compound behind as he gleefully celebrated deep down, ‘HMPH! You really think that the Four-eared Amber Cat is just some little kitten or puppy? Now, it’s time for you to see for yourself what they truly are!’
A high metal fence divided the ravine, and behind was where all the beasts were reared. Due to the untamable nature of most beasts, they were all separated into cages, far apart from one another and at a corner of the park.
For some reason, all these exotic beasts stopped their roaring the moment XIa Fei stepped into the compound. They curled up in a corner, looking absolutely horrified and unsettled, shuddering incessantly. Even some of the braver beasts appeared to be a lot more docile, their eyes vigilant.
Yu Sansui was immensely surprised. He secretly eyed Xia Fei. In all his years working here in the Roaring Tiger Park, this was his first time seeing such a scene.
‘Could it be because of him?’ Yu Sansui wondered to himself.
“There are three grades of exotic beasts: Common, King, and God! Every exotic beast here in the Roaring Tiger Park is of the highest quality, with two being King beasts; the exotic beast Four-eared Amber Cat happens to be one of them. There’s also the Emerald-eyed Blazing Tiger, which was where the park got its name.” Yu Sansui gave a brief overview.
Xia Fei did not really care about it. None of these exotic beasts was comparable to Furball, and even those two stupid birds he had met before were incomparable to it.
There was a description of every exotic beast outside their cage, and Xia Fei browsed through with relative interest. There was a quality rank 9 exotic beast, the Three-tailed Ironback Lizard, which scurried off when it saw Xia Fei, hiding in a hole and only peering out its head. It seemed completely terrified.
The two stopped in front of a lone cage, and Yu Sansui introduced, “This here is the king of cats, the Four-eared Amber Cat. A rank 5 King beast, a rare top-tier exotic beast.”
Xia Fei peered into the cage, and all he saw were artificial rockery and trees, most likely adapted to the exotic beast’s habitat. A single skinny cat was resting on a tree, watching him with the slightest shudder, its amber eyes wild and erratic.
This one was much larger than domestic cats, looking almost like a leopard. It was just that this cat’s odor was unbearable; it had a greyish-white coat of fur which was pinched at its left and right, with several clumps of long uneven hair that grew on its head, and its tail was like a short pole. Its teeth were also all askew with short whiskers, looking very much like a brush used to scrub pots.
Xia Fei had seen plenty of cats, but he had not seen one as ugly as this thing here.
This was practically nature’s uncanny workmanship, actually able to create a cat that would be so hideous-looking.
Even a completely shaven house cat, which had been tossed into boiling water, would be regarded as a peerless beauty compared to this exotic beast.
It was as the saying went: ‘It isn’t your fault to look like that, but you’ll be at fault for going out and giving people a scare despite looking like that.’
Xia Fei was originally not at all disgusted by exotic beasts, but he could not help but reassess his perspective of them after seeing this kind of cat.
“This Miss Qi you spoke of is a little girl, right?”
“Yes, she is.”
“Are you sure that she likes this thing?” Xia Fei asked skeptically.
Yu Sansui did his best to remain composed as he replied, “Well… To each their own, I guess.”
Xia Fei was helpless. He simply could not imagine a little lady wanting a cat which would make people vomit just walking beside it or even play with such a beast. What a terrible image that would make.
‘Birds of a feather flock together; I doubt a lady who likes such a thing is pretty, either,’ Xia Fei thought to himself.
“Open up the cage; I’ll go in and get acquainted with this little cat.” Xia Fei gave the order as he pinched his nose. If not for the fact that it was part of the job, Xia Fei would be unwilling to touch this ugly thing even if he were beaten to death.
Yu Sansui gloated deep down. The several employees, who had been watching from afar, all sweated buckets for Xia Fei. The claws of this king of cats had taken the arms of two overseers before. One had his left arm bitten off, while the other his right. The violence and savagery that the cat had demonstrated was unprecedented.
After gingerly opening the cage, Yu Sansui hurriedly backed off.
Xia Fei had cultivated the Beast Spirit Codex before, so there were at least ten, if not a dozen King beasts, that had died by his hands. This wildcat barely registered in his eyes, not even sparing a second thought as he walked straight toward it.
*Clank!*
Yu Sansui quickly slammed the cage shut, his expression pale.
Xia Fei threw a withering glance over, wondering to himself, ‘Is there a need for such an overreaction? It’s just an ugly cat.’
Making his way to the tree, that Four-eared Amber Cat got up and arched its back, its hair standing on end. It kept trembling uncontrollably, and Xia Fei knew that this was what it looked like when afraid.
“Get down here!” Xia Fei snarled barbarically.
Any exotic beast that had reached the King grade was capable of communicating telepathically. This cat had no idea what Xia Fei was saying, but it knew that he was calling it over.
However, the immense terror that the Four-eared Amber cat was feeling had overwhelmed its mind. Furball was an unparalleled existence, and his scent could send King beasts crazy!
The strange cat yowled as if someone had trodden on its tail.
This one cry irritated Furball, all asleep in his bosom. The nap he took after a big meal was a form of enjoyment, so he of course could not stand any other exotic beast interrupting him.
*Rustle~*
Furball came out from Xia Fei’s bosom, stood up on Xia Fei’s shoulder, and stared daggers at that strange cat up on the tree.
Furball was enraged!
An ugly exotic beast dared to disturb his nap?
That was completely unforgivable!
*ROAR!*
He let out a low yet undeniably terror-inducing roar!
It was as if a level 19 hurricane had torn through the ravine!
Yu Sansui was extremely shocked! Even the five employees who were hiding far away all covered their ears in fright!
“Oh, my God! Just what in the world was that?”
“I was nearly scared to death! Even the king of tigers, the Emerald-eyed Blazing Tiger, is no match for that!
“I was so petrified my heart raced at over a thousand beats!”
This was the fury of the Holy beast, Shatterstar!
If even one who had cultivated the Law of Space could not resist it, what more of a wild cat?
*Splat!*
That king of cats, the Four-eared Amber Cat, experienced the very limit of fear!
Everyone saw as its two eyes rolled up and dropped down from the tree. Its four limbs were frozen in place, those four ears all perked up, not moving a muscle, as if it were a statue.
“Shatterstar!”
“H-Holy beast Shatterstar!”
“Heavens! Xia Fei’s exclusive beast is actually a legendary Holy beast!”
At the end of the day, they were all caretakers of Roaring Tiger Park, so they all had a discerning eye when it came to exotic beasts, able to recognize Furball for the deity that he was!
This was especially true for Yu Sansui, who probably wished he could just die there and then.
Using a King beast to scare Xia Fei? He probably could not even succeed in his wildest dream, since the man was someone who had a Holy beast as a pet!
*Slap slap!*
Before Yu Sansui could be any more surprised, an unbelievable scene unfolded before his eyes.
Xia Fei had given Furball two tight slaps in his anger.
“You lousy pet, how will I complete the assignment if you scare this little cat to death?!”
After taking the two slaps, Furball not only remained calm but also ingratiated himself to Xia Fei by acting pitiful, rubbing himself against his master, seemingly admitting his fault.
“Am I seeing things? Did he just hit a Holy beast?” An employee with a scruffy beard asked the comrade beside him, utterly stunned. Unfortunately, this other man was already completely dumbfounded by what he had just witnessed, so his mouth hung agape, unable to make a sound, let alone form a sentence.
Yu Sansui’s expression was ghastly, clutching his chest as he collapsed to the ground and kept mumbling, “T-That… is a h-h-Holy… Holy beast. Got hit…”
