Infinite Professions-Chapter 58 - 53: Establishing a Foothold

Emperor Sand Beast, Xingyi Spirit Master, and King of All Beasts.

These are Shen Hex’s Tier Three choices.

Which to choose?

The Emperor Sand Beast needs no explanation, it is an advanced version of the King of the Sand Beast. Its greatest feature is that when all contracted spirit beasts are Sand Beasts, the contract limit is increased a hundredfold.

That’s right, this is the biggest feature of the Emperor Sand Beast, or rather its most dominant professional characteristic.

As everyone knows, the number of spirit beasts a Spirit Control Master can contract is limited. Unless one practices advanced Spirit Control Secret Techniques or consumes high-tier spirit-controlling potions, an Upper-level Spirit Master can only contract three upper-level spirit beasts, while a Spirit-level Spirit Master is slightly better, but still won’t exceed ten.

The number of contracted spirit beasts not only determines the strength of a Spirit Control Master’s combat power but also affects their cultivation efficiency, especially for someone like Shen Hex, where each contract spirit beast is a cultivation pendant to him, one that can even take potions.

Thus, the professional abilities of the Emperor Sand Beast are imaginable. At Tier Three, it can contract three hundred Sand Beasts, and at Tier Four, it can reach a terrifying thousand. With so many contracted spirit beasts aiding cultivation, the speed of power advancement is perhaps even more terrifying than riding a rocket.

But its drawbacks are just as obvious, which is that it can only contract Sand Beasts.

Although Shen Hex started as the Pig King thanks to Sand Beasts, objectively speaking, he has to admit that as combat spirit beasts, Sand Beasts are indeed absurdly weak.

Don’t be fooled by today’s spectacular and shocking scene of him leading thousands of Sand Beasts to overthrow the Luo Clan, but the spectacle far outweighs the practicality.

Replacing them with spirit beasts with stronger combat abilities, with that scale and quality, he wouldn’t even need to step in. Just a barrage of Daoist Techniques would suffice to annihilate the Luo Clan. Apart from Guu Yunxiao, the Spirit-level Spirit Master, no one could have escaped alive.

But Sand Beasts can’t do it. Whether they are of the excellent species or elite species, their spell-casting abilities are weak, even his top spirit pet, the Earth Sand Beast King of Tier Three Spirit Lord Species, is absolutely at the bottom among Spirit Lord Species.

The reason they seem strong is all thanks to him, their owner, holding up the scene. If it weren’t for his dimension-reducing strike as a Transmigrator, today these thousands of Sand Beasts, including the Earth Sand Beast King, would have been slaughtered and eaten by the Luo Clan.

Therefore, the advantages and disadvantages of the Emperor Sand Beast are very clear, even somewhat extreme.

The Xingyi Spirit Master is pretty much the same, only it doesn’t focus on quantity but on quality, cultivating high-quality spirit beasts.

But its contract quantity is limited, and it can only upgrade contracted spirit beasts through combat, cultivation, and nurturing, not through the "pig farming" method of quickly gaining experience, which doesn’t quite align with Shen Hex’s wishes.

Therefore, after careful consideration, Shen Hex ultimately chose the King of All Beasts.

This profession can be said to combine the Emperor Sand Beast and Xingyi Spirit Master, valuing both quantity and quality. Though the contract limit isn’t a hundred times, tenfold isn’t low either, and it allows abundant experience through nurturing spirit beasts (whether contracted or not). It can be said to be a jack-of-all-trades profession that pleases both heads but doesn’t lean toward mediocrity.

So...

"Advancement successful!"

"Professional Talent ’Sand Beast Breeding Master’ advanced to Spirit Beast Breeding Master!"

"Professional Talent ’Super Sand Beast Feed’ advanced to Super Spirit Beast Feed!"

"Professional Skill ’Yuan-Devouring Skill’ successfully retained!"

"Professional Skill ’Feed Production’ successfully retained!"

"..."

"Professional Skill ’Potion Making’ enhanced—Spirit Beast Potion!"

"Professional Skill ’Spirit Fusion Secret Technique’ enhanced—Ten Thousand Spirits Fusion!"

Li Taiyi (Shen Hex)

Profession: King of All Beasts

Professional Rank: Tier Three Level 1.

Professional Talent: Spirit Beast Breeding Master, Super Spirit Beast Feed, King of All Spirits.

Professional Skills: Yuan-Devouring Skill, Xingyi Fist, Feed Production, Potion Making, Great Appetite, Spirit Fusion Secret Technique.

Professional Items: Ten Thousand Spirits Armor, Super Spirit Beast Feed, Spirit Beast Enhancement Potion.

General skills: Omitted.

...

Shen Hex sat high atop the peak, digesting the gains from this advancement for a long time.

By this time, the sun had set, darkness descended, enveloping the mountain and field.

The scent of blood still lingered, with torches being lit. The Spirit Control Guard Team of Sand Beast Valley and thousands of Sand Beasts patiently awaited his command.

Seeing this, Shen Hex said no more, directly standing up and leading the mighty army of Sand Beasts down the mountain.

So it was, several days later.

In the morning hours, Wind Thunder Tavern, top floor terrace.

Sunx Shubo stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the rising sun, not speaking for a long time.

Only the maid behind him respectfully reported the battle situation.

"Valley Master of Sand Beast, Li Qingshan, ambushed, leading thousands of Sand Beasts to attack the Luo Clan’s campaign team."

"Patriarch Luo of the Luo Clan, Ghost Wolf Master Guu Yunxiao, and eight upper-level Spirit Masters were killed. The elite disciples of the Luo Clan suffered heavy casualties, the rest captured, with no one escaping alive."

"According to our reports and some spectators’ accounts, aside from the Earth Sand Beast King, Li Qingshan also had a second unknown Spirit Lord Species spirit beast."

"He used the Spirit Fusion Secret Technique to merge with this unknown spirit beast and exhibited power similar to King-level combat skills, annihilating Guu Yunxiao in a single strike. Even the Tier Four Elite Species Ghost Wolf did not survive."

"After killing Guu Yunxiao, he still had the strength to act, further killing Luo Yue and others who tried to escape. All upper-level Spirit Masters could not withstand more than three moves against him."

"After annihilating Luo Yue and others, he led the Sand Beast Valley Guard Team and thousands of Sand Beasts out of the mountain overnight, successively capturing Luo Family Castle, White Water Bay, wiping out the Luo Clan. The Zhou Clan also fled in panic."

"Now Sand Beast Valley, Luo Family Castle, White Water Bay, as well as various estates and manor fields of the Luo and Zhou Families, have been occupied by his people. He’s extending his reach into Wind Thunder Town, aiming to take over the two families’ industries."

"..."

The maid spoke, describing all the battle conditions and subsequent developments.

Sunx Shubo stood with hands behind his back, gazing at the sky-piercing morning sun, still not speaking.

What could he say?

As the uncrowned king of Wind Thunder Town, the strongest Spirit-level Spirit Master in the area, all this should have been under his control, like a tiger ruling the mountain forest. No matter how other carnivores fought, they all had to obey his order and offer a tribute of flesh and blood in the end.

But now, he has wiped out the Luo Family, wiped out the Zhou Family, occupied Luo Family Castle, occupied White Water Bay, and even extended his hand into Wind Thunder Town, aiming to take over the two families’ industries, showing a full posture of snatching everything without leaving any scraps for him.

This is a provocation!

But one cannot deny that he has the right to provoke.

Being a Spirit-level Spirit Master as well, Sunx Shubo, though looking down on Guu Yunxiao and that Elite Species Ghost Wolf, has to admit, at most he could defeat Guu Yunxiao, finding it difficult to kill him, much less obliterate him without a trace.

So, he absolutely has the right to challenge him. This young man, who came to the Wind Thunder Mountain Range five years ago, has grown into the second King of the Hundred Beasts, trying to challenge his status as the Old Beast King.

How should he respond?

Should he confront him head-on, risking it all in battle?

Or.....

"Let him be!"

He sighed softly, words spilling out, tinged with some helplessness.

"..."

"Yes!!"

The maid paused for a moment, then bowed and retreated.

And just as she retreated, Sunx Shubo’s tall, robust figure bent down, like a monarch at the end of his reign at sunset, having to admit his aging and helplessness.