The attendant didn’t even look up from his ledger. "Three hundred low-grade spirit coins. Pay first, then we’ll key your destination."
Tian Lei’s expression didn’t change, but inwardly he sighed. He reached into his pouch, feeling the meager handful of coins he’d taken from the bandit earlier. Barely thirty.
Ten times too little, he thought grimly.
With no other choice, he left the array platform and headed out of the city gates before dawn. The guards barely gave him a second glance—the dusty traveler with a calm expression and sharp golden eyes seemed just another wanderer passing through.
The road stretched endlessly ahead, winding between cliffs and sparse forests. Misty Leaf City lay far to the east, nearly three provinces away. Walking would take weeks.
But Tian Lei didn’t seem troubled. "I’ve walked farther before," he murmured to himself, pulling his cloak tighter.
For three days, he traveled steadily, avoiding towns where tolls or patrols might slow him down. It wasn’t until the fourth morning that trouble found him.
In a narrow mountain pass, three rough-looking men stepped out from behind the rocks. Each carried crude weapons and smirked with the confidence of habitual predators.
"Well, look what we have here," the leader sneered. "A lone traveler with a fine coat. Hand it over—and your coin too—and maybe we’ll let you keep your boots."
Tian Lei sighed softly. "I’m really not in the mood for this."
The leader sneered, cracking his knuckles. "Not in the mood? Then you’ll die in a bad one."
At his gesture, the three men stepped back, their eyes flickering faintly with spiritual light. A ripple spread through the air behind them—three beasts manifesting from their spirit marks.
The first, a one-eyed wolf—gray-furred and scar-riddled—growled low, its fangs catching dull glints of metal. The second, a black-scaled lizard, pulsed faintly with crimson veins that shimmered like liquid fire. The third—a squat ox-beast with stony hide and stubby horns—snorted, sending small tremors rippling through the rocky ground.
Mortal-grade beasts. Three to four stars at best. Nothing worth remembering.
In this world, beast tamers formed contracts with creatures of power, their strength measured in five primary tiers—Mortal, Spirit, Earth, Heaven, and then... something beyond that, a stage Tian Lei didn’t yet know. Each of these major ranks was further divided into ten sub-stages, from one star to ten stars.
Tian Lei, however, merely stood there—hands loose, gaze calm. His golden eyes reflected the faint light like molten metal. Deep within him, the Arcane Soul Mark—the legacy of a Magus King—stirred softly, its vast power slumbering beneath the surface. Though his cultivation was practically zero in this trial world, his magical foundation remained untouched.
The trial world could not sense magic. It didn’t even seem to recognize its existence.
This world doesn’t understand true mana, he thought. Good. It’ll make blending in easier.
When the one-eyed wolf lunged, Tian Lei moved with effortless precision. His fingers traced a small arc through the air, leaving behind a faint golden shimmer.
A sharp clang rang out—like a sword drawn from its sheath. From that golden trail, a spectral blade of condensed metal essence shot forward, cleaving the wolf cleanly in two before fading into radiant motes.
The bandits froze—then screamed. Blood erupted from their mouths, eyes, and ears. In this world, a beast’s life was directly bound to its master’s Dantian. When the beast perished, the tamer’s spiritual core collapsed along with it. Death or crippling injury was inevitable.
Before they could even beg for mercy, Tian Lei flicked his wrist. Dozens of golden orbs appeared around him, humming faintly as they spun in perfect harmony. Each pulse carried dense metallic energy, sharp and heavy as divine iron.
They burst outward like a storm of light.
The lizard’s scales shattered. The ox-beast’s stony head cracked like porcelain. Both creatures disintegrated into shimmering dust.
The three men staggered, bloodied and terrified. "E–Elemental powers?!" one gasped. "No... he’s bonded with a Gold-series beast! A Sun-Class!"
Tian Lei said nothing. Let them think that. In a world where magic didn’t exist, it was safer to pose as an Elemental Beast Tamer, channeling "his beast’s" power through himself.
He stood silently as the golden glow dimmed, the mountain pass once more sinking into quiet. Then, with calm indifference, he lowered his hand.
The bandits turned to flee—but before their second step, a soft ripple of gold shimmered through the air. When it faded, nothing remained but dust carried by the morning wind.
Tian Lei exhaled softly, brushing off his hands. "Mortal beasts, three-star strength. Hardly worth using Tier I spells," he muttered.
He passed through the clearing, collecting the scattered pouches they’d dropped—some spirit coins, a few cracked beast cores. "Enough for the next city gate toll," he murmured.
He paused for a moment, reflecting. "He said... Sun-Class beasts. Good." Tian Lei nodded slightly. "It’s fortunate I chose to focus on a single element."
In this world, beast quality wasn’t measured by cultivation or lineage, but by celestial rank—Moon, Sun, and Star, with ten sub-levels each. Moon beasts were the weakest potential; Star beasts stood at the pinnacle. His chosen disguise—an elemental of the Sun poetentail elemntal beast, aligned with metal—was believable enough. Not too strong to draw suspicion, yet not so weak to invite ridicule.
"The elemental types fall in the Sun category," he mused aloud, "so it’s natural they’d mistake me for one of their kind."
As he continued walking, the day stretched long before him. He hunted some wild game along the way, eating simply under the shade of withered trees. A few days later, as he followed the winding road toward the east, a cart stopped beside him.
A middle-aged driver leaned out, reins in hand. "You heading to Misty Leaf City, young man?"
Tian Lei inclined his head. "I am."
"Then hop on," the driver grinned. "Only five silver coins from here."
Tian Lei nodded, flipping him five silver coins before climbing aboard. The cart creaked into motion, the wheels crunching softly over gravel.
Other passengers filled the seats—some chatting, others quiet. A few spirit beasts trotted alongside their owners, harnessed or curled at their feet. A young woman beside him stroked a small fox-like beast resting on her lap, its fur faintly glowing with frost.
Tian Lei leaned back, watching quietly as the cart rolled toward the horizon.