Genius Beast Taming: Starting from Awakening an S-Rank Talent

As Zhou Heng listened to Yan Haosen's endless flattery, his deep gaze fell upon him, carrying a scrutinizing intent.

Yan Haosen kept his eyes straight ahead, a submissive smile on his face, allowing Zhou Heng to scrutinize him.

Zhou Heng quickly withdrew his gaze, a half-smile playing on his lips, his words carrying a hidden meaning: "Yan Haosen, I've heard my father mention you before. I remember your father, Yan Yunguang, and my father were classmates and close friends back then, so you and I can be considered family friends."

It's not accurate to say that Zhou's father and Yan Haosen's father, Yan Yunguang, were good friends; they were more like a pair of frenemy friends.

Yan Haosen's face lit up with surprise, and he lowered his posture even further: "It is an honor for my father and Haosen to have the Young Alliance Leader and the Special Envoy remember us so well."

Just then, Feng Zhong personally brought in a tea tray and placed three cups of fragrant spiritual tea on the jade table beside him.

Zhou Heng, who had been sitting in the main seat without getting up, waved to the two still standing and said casually, "Don't stand there, sit down and let's talk!"

"Thank you for the seats, Young Alliance Leader." Yan Haosen and Wei Qingwen thanked him again before sitting down below Zhou Heng.

The two men stood upright, lightly touching the chairs, revealing their heartfelt respect for Zhou Heng, this unparalleled genius.

The courtyard was filled with the aroma of tea, but the atmosphere was quite different because of the four shrunken beasts that accompanied Zhou Heng.

Yan Haosen could hardly take his eyes off them, especially the Star Devouring Kunpeng, whose vast energy was still palpable even after it had concealed its aura.

His eyes held a mixture of amazement and undisguised envy as he asked, as if seeking confirmation, "Young Alliance Leader, is this the Star-Devouring Kunpeng of superior mythical quality?"

Zhou Heng picked up his teacup: "Not bad."

Yan Haosen's gaze intensified as he carefully examined the Star-Devouring Kunpeng, which appeared rather endearing in its divine Kun form. He continued, "Young Alliance Leader, I've heard that the Star-Devouring Kunpeng possesses two distinct forms. This one, I presume, is the divine Kun form used to accumulate power and increase its level?"

Zhou Heng looked up at him, nodded, and said, "You are quite knowledgeable."

Yan Haosen quickly lowered his head humbly: "Young Alliance Leader, you flatter me. My knowledge is nothing at all. I only heard my grandfather mention it a few times by chance. I dare not accept such praise."

"Oh?"

Zhou Heng showed some interest: "What else did Elder Yan say?"

Yan Haosen's spirits lifted, and he tried hard to recall: "Grandpa once said that the Devouring Star Kunpeng usually exists in the form of the Divine Kun, which is best at absorbing and expelling energy and is of great benefit to leveling up. When fighting with all its might, it will transform into the Heavenly Peng form, which is incredibly fast and powerful, often able to defeat the enemy with a single blow, making it incomparably strong."

Zhou Heng reached out and scratched the rounded chin of the Star-Devouring Kunpeng, nodding in agreement: "What Elder Yan said is correct."

Looking at Zhou Heng's youthful face, Yan Haosen couldn't help but sigh, "Young Alliance Leader, you are so young, yet you have already managed to contract a beast of superior mythical quality. It is truly enviable."

Zhou Heng's lips curled up as he looked calmly at Yan Haosen: "Your Fire Phoenix Yan family's renowned Cangwu Emperor also has a main beast of superior mythical quality. As a direct descendant of the Yan family, you may have the opportunity to cultivate your beast to mythical quality in the future, so there's no need to envy me."

"How can these be the same?"

Yan Haosen's face showed a look of frustration, and his tone carried a hint of realistic helplessness: "Although our Fire Phoenix Yan family has a profound foundation, in this generation, only Ancestor Cangwu's tamed beast is of superior mythical quality. As for me, my main tamed beast is currently only a lower-level overlord-quality Black Flame Nether Phoenix. And I myself am only an S-level talent. Such talent might be considered a prodigy in a small family, but in a large or top family like ours, it can only be considered a pillar at best. Let alone mythical quality, even if I wanted to cultivate my tamed beast to superior overlord quality, the road ahead would be fraught with difficulties, and the family resources would not be poured into me alone."

Even members of aristocratic families have to put a lot of effort into training high-level beast tamers.

Not everyone can get the full support of two powerful families like Zhou Heng.

Even for people like Zhou Heng's grandparents and maternal grandparents, it was very difficult to evolve their beasts to the superior overlord quality before the age of one hundred, because their grandparents and maternal grandparents also encountered special opportunities.

If it weren't for the chaos caused by the Dragon Cult more than fifty years ago, which resulted in the Zhou and Li families losing too many seventh-tier feudal beast tamers, the families wouldn't have invested so many resources in them to help them quickly advance to the seventh-tier feudal beast tamer level, just to save face.

Zhou Heng looked at Yan Haosen and encouraged him, "The difficulty of cultivating mythical-quality beasts is indeed beyond imagination, but with your talent and family background, you definitely have a chance if you aim to become a superior overlord."

Yan Haosen shook his head, his smile growing even more bitter: "I'm not afraid of being laughed at by the young alliance leader, but within the family, I'm not the only direct descendant under forty with S-rank talent. My grandfather's grandchildren are numerous as well. Although the Fire Phoenix Yan family is a top-tier family with countless resources, we also value fairness and impartiality. We won't, and can't, place all our hopes and resources on me alone. After all, the future achievements of an S-rank talent are ultimately limited. Becoming a seventh-tier feudal lord beast tamer is enough for me to spend my entire life climbing."

An S-rank talent can indeed advance to the eighth-tier Monarch Beastmaster, but it must be paired with a Mythical Beastmaster.

Among the thirty-odd eighth-tier king-level beast tamers of our time, only the Kunling King of the Qiongqi Meng family possesses S-level talent.

Zhou Heng turned his gaze to Wei Qingwen, who had been listening quietly to the side: "Haosen, perhaps you're too caught up in the situation to see the whole picture. Top families are top families after all; their foundation is something many families can't match. Why don't you consider this: if you and Qingwen were to switch places, would you be willing?"

Upon hearing Zhou Heng mention him, Wei Qingwen immediately chimed in, "Young Alliance Leader is absolutely right! Haosen, although I am the only S-rank talent the White Horse Wei family has had in nearly forty years, and I have received the family's unwavering support, the size of our White Horse Wei family is what it is. Even if the entire clan were to support me, the resources we could provide would be far less than yours. Although you haven't contracted a high-level mythical-quality beast like the Young Alliance Leader, you have at least contracted a low-level overlord-quality beast, while my main beast is merely a high-level diamond-quality Wind-Riding Pegasus."

After listening to Wei Qingwen's words and seeing his calm yet helpless expression, Yan Haosen felt a significant reduction in the huge sense of loss he felt compared to Zhou Heng, and even felt a sense of comfort that he was neither as good as the best nor as bad as the worst.

He patted Wei Qingwen on the shoulder, his tone quite familiar: "Qingwen, you don't need to be discouraged. With your talent and hard work, you will eventually be able to evolve the Wind-Riding Heavenly Horse into a Overlord-level beast."

Wei Qingwen nodded to Yan Haosen, then looked at Zhou Heng with gratitude, his face sincere: "The young alliance leader encouraged me in the same way before."