Nine Astra Skies
Chapter 65: Stormphantom Panther

Little Tanuki’s pointy ears twitched. It seemed like it was trying to say something.

Ah. Ye Chen understood the message. He split a portion of his Celestial Body into Psyche and inserted it into the tiger’s Psyche. As long as Ye Chen willed for it, the Psyche would explode and crush the tiger’s Psyche, killing it.

After placing Ye Chen’s Psyche into the tiger’s Psyche, Ye Chen recalled its Astral Body. Now, Ye Chen could transmit his thoughts to the tiger as if he had one.

Huff. Ye Chen took a deep breath. It was all over now. He looked ahead, the headstrong Scarlet Sky Tiger was now laying on the ground on all fours, its tail erected and wagging rhythmically.

Little Tanuki’s fur coat turned a bright shade of red. It was shy again.

“Little Tanuki, how many beasts can I tame?” Ye Chen found the act of enslaving a beast rather easy. All it took was a Psyche.

Little Tanuki held out five fingers from its right claw.

“Five? That’s cool.” Ye Chen smiled.

Little Tanuki shook its head and waved its claws once more, the five fingers moving.

“One?” Ye Chen was confused.

Again, Little Tanuki shook its head and continue to show its fat fingers.

“Two? Three?” Ye Chen asked. Little Tanuki nodded when Ye Chen arrived at three. Looking at its fat fingers, Ye Chen understood what it meant. Every time Little Tanuki wanted to indicate a three with its fingers, its fat fingers would not come together, hence the confusion. Ye Chen found it a little amusing.

“I guess three is better than nothing,” Ye Chen exclaimed. The Ye Castle was going to get three rank nine guardians, of course, he would be happy.

Ye Chen walked ahead and patted the Scarlet Sky Tiger on the back. The tiger was pretty built and massive. It was incapable of cultivating Celestial Chi but its physical prowess alone was as strong as a rank nine combatant who could form a protective Celestial Chi barrier around them. Plus, the tiger struck with fire elemental attacks.

“Scarlet Sky Tiger’s a long name. What should we call you?” Ye Chen thought about a simple name. “Let’s call you Fluffy One from now on.”

The tiger was extremely obedient. To it, Ye Chen was akin to a powerful Celestial Beast. If it ever dared go against his words, it would be in huge trouble. Besides, it was aware of the Psyche Ye Chen imprinted in its mind. If it Ye Chen ever decided to detonate the Psyche, it would die.

Beasts did not display a complex mind as humans did. To it, Ye Chen was its owner, simple as that.

“Little Tanuki, let’s look for a second Celestial Beast.” Ye Chen was excited. With the tanuki resting on his shoulders, Ye Chen dashed across the mountains while the tiger followed closely behind.

After scouting Lianyun Mountains for close to two hours, they barely found a rank nine Celestial Beast. There were a few top rank eight creatures but with a rank nine tiger on their side, it was pointless to get a rank eight beast. After all, Ye Chen was only limited to three beasts.

Soon, the sun would rise. Ye Chen decided that he would save the search for another time. While Ye Chen ran for the Ye Castle, he used his Astral Body to scan the surroundings. Just then, a yellow shadow appeared in the brush up ahead. Ye Chen used his Astral Body to lock on the shadow. To his surprise, it was a rank nine Stormphantom Panther! The Stormphantom Panther, as its name suggested, was swift and capable of spouting thunder elemental attacks. The last time a rank eight Stormphantom Panther attacked the castle, a few of their men were heavily wounded until his father had personally defeated it. Neither of the men had the thought of capturing or killing it. Instead, they set it free.

The panther, who was on the hunt for a rank seven beast, could not outrun Ye Chen’s Astral Body. After being enslaved by Ye Chen’s Astral Body, like the Scarlet Sky Tiger, it remained still on all fours.

Ye Chen leaped and landed next to the panther. He looked at the panther and smiled, a playful streak showing on his face. “You’ve been recruited by the Beast King! From now on, you’ll be able to eat and drink well!” Ye Chen had no idea if the Beast King was a thing but there was no harm in using it.

“Let’s call you Fluffy Two. In time, I’ll get you guys a Fluffy Three too!”

After subduing the panther, Ye Chen checked the color of the sky. Dawn was approaching. It was time for him to head back home. He wondered if it would be a good idea to let Fluffy One and Fluffy Two remain in the jungle or to take them home. When it was time for him to depart for the city, the clan would need a guardian too. Maybe Ye Chen could leave them at the castle and allow the two to assimilate with the people.

Ye Chen looked at the two and deepened his voice. “The King shall now take you to the Ye Castle. The castle is my home. If any of you decide to harm the castle’s denizens, I should grill the both of you to eat!”

Both the Stormphantom Panther and the Scarlet Sky Tiger were rank nine beasts who understood a little human language. Hearing Ye Chen’s words, they groaned and purred softly as if heeding his orders.

“Don’t even think about scaring them either. When I’m gone, you’re to protect the members of the clan, you got it?” Ye Chen patted Fluffy One and Fluffy Two’s back. “Come on, to the castle!”

Ye Chen was exhilarated. He had just captured two rank nine beasts. This was the equivalent to having two rank nine combatants by their side!

The first light of dawn greeted the castle walls. The few members who were patrolling the wall looked far ahead and detected a Scarlet Sky Tiger and a Stormphantom Panther.

Ding ding ding. The castle bells went off.

“Quick, inform the chief that beasts have appeared!”

The men quickly gathered around. Ye Changxuan and Ye Zhantian rushed out. After spending the night nursing his health, Ye Changxuan had managed to recover from his minor injuries. Ye Zhantian also regained five-ninths of his power over the night with the help of the pills.

“Can anyone see what beast is it?” Ye Zhantian queried the rest.

“From afar, it looks like it’s a Scarlet Sky Tiger and a Stormphantom Panther. Judging by their size, they seem like rank nine beasts!”

Ye Changxuan and Ye Zhantian took a deep breath. They were both astonished. A rank nine Scarlet Sky Tiger was as strong as a rank nine combatant. With a rank nine Stormphantom Panther on the side, things were about to get difficult.

“Both the Scarlet Sky Tiger and the Stormphantom Panther don’t usually associate with one another. Why would they be together?” Ye Changxuan was curious. This was all too strange.