Volume One, Chapter 9: Choosing None

A flicker of joy rose in Ji Die’s heart as he took out another fruit.
“Do you want more?”
He’d heard that spirit beasts in the Qi Refining stage possessed intelligence comparable to a three-year-old child, but he wasn’t sure if this serpent could understand human speech.
Yet, at the sight of the fruit in his hand, the black serpent’s eyes shone with a distinctly human longing, and it immediately twisted its body, surging toward him.
Ji Die’s face darkened; he wasn’t certain the wooden partition could hold the beast back, and he instinctively stepped back.
Only when he heard the clinking of chains did he notice the iron ring clamped tightly around the end of the great serpent’s tail, an iron chain running from it deep into the ground.
The serpent thrashed and roared, desperately trying to lunge for the fruit, but it was all in vain. The chain held fast, binding it within its pen.
“Beast, you want to snatch it?” Ji Die regained his composure at the sight, sneering as he watched the creature’s futile struggle, and put the spirit-raising fruit away.
“Remember, I can give it to you, but you are not to take it by force. You can forget about this fruit for now—if you behave, perhaps you’ll be rewarded next time.”
With a calm glance, Ji Die left the beast, regardless of whether it understood him, and strode out of the shed.
He was intent on instilling an attitude in the serpent, making it understand who was master. Otherwise, no matter how many spirit-raising fruits he gave, the beast would never remember his kindness.
After all, the last disciple who tended it had lost an arm to the creature, despite feeding it daily. Its nature was clear enough.
To expect gratitude from it was hopeless, but perhaps he could use the fruit to make it obey.
Obedience would be rewarded with fruit!
Whether the beast was clever enough to understand, that remained to be seen.
“A long road ahead,” Ji Die mused as he left the shed, hands behind his head, not overly concerned.
After all, this was only his fourth day in the beast stables; he still had three more days to clean the serpent’s pen.
Would three days be enough to tame the creature, to lessen its hostility toward him?
Back in his quarters, Ji Die placed the leftover fruit he’d saved while feeding the serpent into the furnace and resumed his cultivation.
By afternoon, the spiritual energy within him had flowed closer to the creek, and he went out with a basket of fruit to feed the serpent again.
Once more, Ji Die offered a spirit-raising fruit, but the black serpent was as wild as ever—having tasted its sweetness, it tried to pounce for the fruit.

“Still haven’t learned your lesson. I told you, I can give it to you, but you can’t snatch it. If you want to eat, wait for me to grant it; try again, and you’ll have no fruit at all.” Ji Die sneered, put the fruit away, and left the shed.
This time, the black serpent gazed after him for a long while, a thoughtful, almost human look in its eyes.
Ji Die was unaware of this. As he stepped out of the shed, he suddenly saw someone approaching.
“Hey, new guy. I’ve got something to do later—go wash the beast in pen three for me.”
The speaker was a thin, gaunt man, another stable disciple, one who’d arrived before Ji Die.
“Tsk tsk, it’s Crane Song. I hear he’s in charge of the demon wolf—bad temperament, apparently just broke through to the third layer of Qi Refining. Gets vicious during bathing. Looks like he’s too scared to go in himself and wants to push the job onto the newcomer.”
“I wonder what the new guy will do? I think he’s only at Qi Refining layer one—can’t imagine he’d dare refuse.”
The commotion quickly drew the attention of the other stable boys, all eager for a spectacle.
They all saw through Crane Song’s excuse—he was just afraid and wanted to foist the job off on the newcomer. No one cared to intervene.
“Do a good job, don’t mess up!” Crane Song patted Ji Die’s shoulder with a smirk, unconcerned if others saw through his intentions.
After all, this boy at the first layer of Qi Refining wouldn’t dare refuse, even if he understood.
“I have my own cultivation to tend to; I don’t have time. Ask someone else.” Ji Die frowned at the commanding tone, his expression cold.
With his own cultivation, he could sense the other was only at the second layer of Qi Refining or so.
If it had been his first days here, he might have been wary. Now, he didn’t care at all and refused outright.
“What did you say?” Crane Song was taken aback by the blunt refusal, doubting his own ears.
A mere first-layer disciple dared refuse him?
“I said I have things to do and no time,” Ji Die repeated.
“The newcomer actually turned him down.”
“Tsk tsk, now this will be interesting!”
The other stable boys were astonished, even more eager to watch the drama unfold.
“You’d better think carefully before answering!” Crane Song finally heard him clearly. Noticing the mocking stares from the others, his face grew ugly with anger.
“So what if I won’t? You think you can force me?” Ji Die snorted, ignoring him, and walked past, heading back to his quarters.

“That’s not up to you. If you don’t want a beating, you’d better obey!” Crane Song’s face turned sinister, his hand shooting out for Ji Die’s shoulder—only for Ji Die to nimbly dodge back, frowning at him.
“You dare use force within the sect? Aren’t you afraid of punishment?”
“For something like this? As long as nobody dies, who will care?” Crane Song sneered, surprised at Ji Die’s evasion but still unconcerned, adding patronizingly, “I’ll give you one last chance. Are you going to wash the beast for me, or do I have to teach you a lesson first?”
“I choose neither,” Ji Die replied calmly.
“Hmph! Then today I’ll show you the rules—let you learn to respect your elders and the supremacy of strength!” Crane Song, furious, lunged at him, but Ji Die suddenly flickered aside, effortlessly dodging his attack.
“You’re quick, but—”
He didn’t finish. Suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen, his body curling like a shrimp as he flew back several paces, crashing heavily to the ground, his face twisted in disbelief.
“Impossible. How… how can you be so strong?”
His voice trembled with panic.
“Get lost, and don’t provoke me again.” Ji Die, perfectly calm, glanced down at him before leaving, not giving the man another thought.
Crane Song’s face turned from green to white as he watched Ji Die’s figure disappear out the door. Only then did he stagger to his feet, hatred burning in his eyes.
“Tsk tsk, Crane Song. Thought you could bully the new guy, and now you’ve been taught a lesson instead.” One of the disciples jeered, rubbing salt into his wound.
“But what level is this newcomer? Has he already broken through to the second layer?” The others were full of wonder.
Crane Song said nothing, his expression ugly.
He had never been so humiliated!
All because of that little wretch!
“Just you wait, brat. I won’t let you off!”