The next day, early morning.

Yuan Ming arrived at the Fire Workshop early, and the task of selecting and refining materials was not difficult for him. On the contrary, he was skilled at identifying materials and sifting through rubble and quickly completed all his assigned tasks.

Without wasting time to rest, he picked up the casting hammer once more and started the tedious yet challenging activity of refining the embryo. However, despite his hard work, progress was not going smoothly.

Despite this, he did not get too discouraged. After completing his tasks for the day and having lunch at the Dining Hall, he headed straight to the Beast Taming Hall.

Yuan Ming now knew that among the three peaks within the Sect, the shortest one on the southeast side belonged to the Refining Furnace Hall—Second Cave Master's territory—mainly responsible for cultivating Spiritual Medicine and refining elixirs.

The central peak, needless to say, was where the Fire Refining Hall managed by the Three Cave Masters was located, responsible for Artifact Refining for the Sect.

And the tallest peak on the northeast side was where the Great Cave Master's Beast Taming Hall was situated, also the Sect's most powerful and highest-ranking hall.

Since he did not have his own spirit beast, Yuan Ming could only rely on his legs to travel. By the time he arrived at the territory of the Beast Taming Hall, two hours had already passed.

The situation at the Beast Taming Hall was completely different from the Fire Refining Hall.

Its buildings were widely distributed across the entire peak, with a circular reception hall located at the foot of the mountain.

As soon as Yuan Ming entered, he was greeted by a burly disciple with black tattoos on his face, who came walking towards him.

"Hehe, junior brother looks new here, just joined recently, right?" the disciple said with a smile.

Caught off guard by this sudden enthusiasm, Yuan Ming could only nod in response.

"Junior brother, don't feel restrained here in the Beast Taming Hall. Our services are for all the fellow disciples in the Sect, and our prices are very fair. We can fulfill all your needs! I wonder if junior brother is here to rent or to buy a spirit beast? I can give you a good introduction," the round-faced disciple said with an even broader smile.

Yuan Ming was startled by the mention of business, no wonder the reception was so warm.

"Senior brother is mistaken; I'm here on a task from the Execution Hall to learn the basics of spirit beast breeding," Yuan Ming replied with a smile and a shake of his head.

The round-faced disciple was taken aback, and his smile gradually faded. His tone became somewhat listless:

"Oh, is that so? You've taken on a task, then do you have the authorization from the Execution Hall?"

Yuan Ming had prepared in advance and took out his authorization, handing it over.

The round-faced disciple took it carelessly, looked at it, and frowned: "How come it only has the Execution Hall's Seal but no elder's signature?"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Ming's eyebrows furrowed. He had confirmed repeatedly with the deacon of the Execution Hall that the signed authorization with the Seal was sufficient. It was clear the other party was making things difficult for him.

"Go back and get the signature, then come back," the round-faced disciple said as he tossed the authorization back to Yuan Ming, about to turn away.

Just then, a figure entered the hall and immediately approached Yuan Ming upon seeing him.

"Yo, isn't this... Junior Brother Yuan Ming?"

Looking over, Yuan Ming recognized the disciple who had taken care of Huo Chan'er yesterday.

"Lei Gong, brother, what a coincidence to meet you here," Yuan Ming greeted with a smile and a salute.

"Junior Brother Yuan is here, so it seems you have made up your mind to challenge yourself, haven't you?" Lei Gong walked up to Yuan Ming, glanced at the authorization in his hand, recognized it instantly, and said with a smile.

"Ahem, Lei Gong brother, so you know each other..." the round-faced disciple said with a forced smile.

Lei Gong noted his change in expression and knew the man was making things difficult again. He waved his hand and said:

"I'll take Junior Brother Yuan Ming into the mountain, no need for you to worry about this. Go on with your work."

"Alright then." The round-faced disciple no longer mentioned the signature and immediately turned to leave.

"Junior Brother Yuan Ming, follow me," Lei Gong said as he led Yuan Ming through the hall and out the back door.

Once outside of the mountain gate hall, Yuan Ming came to a wide plaza and immediately saw a massive circular building constructed of strip stones, which appeared very sturdy.

Seeing Yuan Ming's curious gaze, Lei Gong offered an explanation: "This is the Beast Fighting Arena, where Sect disciples can bring their spirit beasts to compete. Victors can earn a substantial reward in contribution points."

"When are the fights usually held, and can we watch?" Yuan Ming asked, his interest piqued.

"Usually there's one every month, with a varying number of matches depending on the number of participants. Elder disciples who are not competing can also watch, but there's an admission fee of ten contribution points," Lei Gong explained.

"So it's not free..." Yuan Ming thought to himself. The most up-to-date version is on *.

"Speaking of which, the fights are always very lively! Spectators can also place bets based on their own judgment, and if the side they bet on wins, they can earn contribution point rewards based on the odds," Lei Gong said with some excitement.

"Is that even possible?"

While Yuan Ming said this, he thought to himself, "Isn't this just gambling? It seems that cultivators are no different from mortals in this aspect."

As they spoke, they bypassed the Beast Fighting Arena and began walking up the mountain path towards the peak.

Thick trees lined the path, among which various buildings of different sizes and specifications were hidden. Their number was multiples greater than that of the Fire Refining Hall, and various roars of beasts could vaguely be heard.

When they reached an open square halfway up the mountain, Lei Gong stopped and warned Yuan Ming:

"The Beast Garden up ahead is the place where disciples from other halls come to study Beast Taming for official business. I'll take you there to register with the Deacon Elder in a moment. Once you're finished studying, return along the same path and don't wander around. Our Beast Taming Hall has many rules and strict hierarchy, especially the area above the middle of the mountain—that is the territory of Inner Sect Disciples, and is generally off-limits."

"Thank you, Senior Brother, I will remember that," Yuan Ming nodded and said.

With that, the two of them arrived at a sizeable courtyard and entered the great hall at the forefront.

The Deacon Elder in charge here was a slender, middle-aged man with a neatly-trimmed beard shaped like the character for "eight." Seeing Lei Gong bring a stranger, he asked, "Lei Gong is here, ah, is this person next to you a disciple from the Fire Refining Hall?"

"Disciple pays his respects to Deacon Mo Lu. I am here to learn about spirit beast breeding and am here to observe and learn," Yuan Ming said, handing over the signed document.

"A disciple eager to learn is always welcome! Come over here and register, and hand over five contribution points," said the bearded Deacon, glancing at him before nodding.

Yuan Ming frowned upon hearing this.

He had received a clear reply from the Execution Hall Deacon that observing and learning about spirit beast breeding for official business did not require a fee, as it was a baseline benefit of being part of a Beast Taming Sect.

"Any problems, Junior Brother Yuan?" the bearded Deacon asked, seeing Yuan Ming standing without moving, his brows knitting together.

Naturally, Yuan Ming didn't have any contribution points, and he couldn't conjure any in the moment. Just as he was about to give up and leave, Lei Gong took out his own Registered Disciple waist card and handed it to Mo Lu:

"Deacon Mo Lu, this Junior Brother is new and doesn't understand the rules. Please deduct it from my contribution points."

"If he doesn't understand the rules, you should teach him properly. Lucky for you, I am easy to talk to. Others wouldn't be so lenient," Deacon Mo Lu's expression softened somewhat.

He took the waist card, pressed it against his own, and with a flash of light in his palm, he immediately handed it back to Lei Gong, then turned and walked towards the doorway behind him.

"Thank you, Senior Brother. I will definitely repay you later," Yuan Ming sincerely thanked Lei Gong.

"It's a trifle, not worth mentioning! If you hadn't helped out yesterday, the Fire Mink of the Third Cave Master would have had issues, and I would have been in big trouble," Lei Gong waved his hand dismissively and said in a low voice.

Just as the two were about to cross the threshold, they suddenly heard a loud shout from behind: "Stop right there."

Yuan Ming's brow furrowed, and he silently cursed his bad luck.

Lei Gong, not understanding what was happening, turned around and saw who it was, his expression subtly changing as he quickly bowed with fists clasped: "Senior Brother Kun Tu, is there something wrong?"

Kun Tu ignored his question, his gaze scanning over Yuan Ming with a teasing look.

Yuan Ming turned to face Kun Tu, meeting his gaze without any sign of avoidance.

He had thought that with the sect being so large, it was unlikely to run into this person by chance, but as fate would have it, the saying "misfortune seldom comes alone" seemed true.

However, to his surprise, Kun Tu was followed by several others. Most were brown-nosers, but among them stood Wulu, who wore clothes that bore no mark of the Beast Taming Hall and carried no Disciple waist card—it was undoubtedly Wulu.

Wulu merely watched him with a slight smile, no malice in his eyes, and made no move to greet him.

"I thought the Third Cave Master took you back for some important use. What's this, you've become a runner to our Beast Taming Hall territory?" Kun Tu's gaze was provocative as he looked at Yuan Ming.

"Senior Brother Kun Tu, he..." Before Lei Gong could finish, Kun Tu glared at him, instantly silencing him.

Deacon Mo Lu, who had just reached the back doorway, also stopped and turned to look. When he saw that it was Kun Tu, the corners of his mustache quivered, and immediately he plastered on a smile, hurrying forward a few steps to greet Kun Tu: "Senior Brother Kun Tu, what brings you here?"

"Mo Lu, since when did the Beast Taming Hall become so lax that any Tom, Dick, or Harry could enter? What if we lose some precious spirit beasts? If being a deacon has become too burdensome for you, I wouldn't mind suggesting to the Master to let you focus on your cultivation," Kun Tu said, glancing at Mo Lu.

"Ah ha, what are you saying, Senior Brother Kun Tu! Just now I was thinking this kid looked suspicious—hardly the sort to belong here. I was about to kick him out when you showed up. Hey, I'm talking to you, do you think this place is for you to just walk into? Get out!" After toadying up to Kun Tu, Mo Lu immediately turned to Yuan Ming with a stern face and scolded him.

From Lei Gong's change in expression when he saw Kun Tu, Yuan Ming realized that Kun Tu, although a newly-promoted Inner Sect Disciple, already held significant status within the Beast Taming Hall. His study today was doomed to fail, and forcing himself to stay would not bring any advantage but might make him a target for slander.

He wanted to thank Lei Gong, but fearing he might bring Lei Gong unnecessary trouble, he said nothing and turned to walk out of the hall.

"Stop, did I say you could leave?" Kun Tu, seeing Yuan Ming ignoring him, grew even more incensed and shouted loudly.

The two brown-nosers following him instantly moved, blocking Yuan Ming's path, one on the left and one on the right.