While Aotian happily reflected on which pavilion to assign the next three ancestors he planned to buy, he was abruptly startled by intense energy fluctuations coming from the kitten in his lap.

Startled, he quickly looked down and saw the small Red Tiger staring blankly ahead, with extreme doubt in his eyes.

If this were a cartoon, there would easily be a large question mark above his furry head.

And if there were, it would perfectly match the current state of the poor beast, who was truly completely confused about life.

‘Understand the world? Understand myself?’

Those words were very strange to him.

If the problem of human cultivators is that they abandon the world and increasingly focus on themselves, the problem with beasts is that they actually do not think very much.

They see the world, but they do not try to understand it. They have likes and dislikes, but they do not truly have much idea about themselves.

So, after Wen Tai’s sermon, Red Tiger’s mind was spinning.

‘Who am I? Where do I come from? Where am I going?’

The three essential questions had been asked.

If Aotian heard those thoughts, at that same second he would proclaim the birth of the Socrates of beasts.

RedCrates or SocTiger?

Jokes aside, one thing was certain: from that moment on, the tiger’s small brain seemed to have grown ten centimeters, totaling ten centimeters.

And with this new wave of awareness, or perhaps because the shock was too great for his small head to process, the result was that his mind went completely blank and his spirit reached a higher state.

His body and soul began to resonate with the world, and perceptions he had never had before suddenly became as clear as day.

The aura in his body also began to strengthen, and the body refinement technique started operating at an extreme speed, refining his bloodline more and more and bringing all of his potential to light.

And his potential was already not small.

A little more than a year earlier, his bloodline had transformed after the elders returned from Shadowfallen Burial Mountain with the materials he needed for his bloodline enhancement pill.

That was when he went from a mere Red Tiger to a more ancient beast, a Blood Tiger.

[Beast: Blood Tiger

Bloodline: Blood Tiger (Diluted)

Qualifications:

Perfect Stage Third-Level]

With the rise of that bloodline, his cultivation realm reached the mid-stage of a third-level beast at that time.

Later, with the powerful Body Refinement techniques of the sect, his cultivation speed continued to be extremely fast. This happened due to the resonance between a beast’s bloodline and the powerful body refinement techniques of the Infinite Dao Sect, which besides being extremely strong, were special and could be used by other races.

This caused the cultivation of beasts, which was normally the slowest, to shoot up like rockets, becoming even faster than that of the sect’s disciples.

Of course, if the beast no longer had potential to be extracted by the techniques, such as the limitation of the quality of its bloodline, it could still continue cultivating, but then the speed would be a little slower than that of normal disciples. Even with this disadvantage, however, it would already make all spiritual beasts go crazy with desire for it.

But the beasts of the Infinite Dao Sect not only gained this wonderful advantage, they could also be helped to improve their bloodlines, which created a terrifying synergy that seemed like a dream for those beasts.

And Red Tiger, with his privileges of having Aotian as his master, certainly would not stop as a mere Blood Tiger with diluted bloodline. In fact, he had already received two more bloodline enhancements over the past year.

Of these last two, the first happened when he reached the limit of his qualifications and received a new pill, evolving to possess a complete Blood Tiger bloodline, whose qualifications increased greatly.

[Beast: Blood Tiger

Bloodline: Blood Tiger (Diluted) → Blood Tiger

Qualifications: Perfect Stage Third-Level → Mid-Stage Fourth-Level]

And after several months, he truly reached that limit as well and evolved again.

[Beast: Blood Tiger Alpha

Bloodline: Blood Tiger → Blood Tiger Alpha

Qualifications: Mid-Stage Fourth-Level → Perfect Stage Fourth-Level]

The changes that happened to him since when he was just a Blood Tiger with diluted bloodline until becoming an alpha were not very large in terms of appearance.

His two black horns, which had already become somewhat larger with the previous purification, suddenly became five when he became an alpha, making the tiger appear to possess something like a crown on his head. The size of his body also grew considerably, but aside from that, the changes were not that great.

And when he reached that point, that would normally be the limit of his enhancement. No pill could further trace and awaken a more ancient bloodline within his purified and strengthened beast body.

Of course, that would be true elsewhere, not in the Infinite Dao Sect.

Despite all these things, Aotian, the real one responsible for evolving the tiger each time, at this moment looked incredulously at the red kitten in his lap, which had a small and cute crown of horns, exuding a terrifying aura that slowly stopped growing upon reaching the peak of the Nascent Soul.

Aotian’s eye twitched fiercely as he looked at that beast.

‘This guy… he’s even more perverted than Lei Yun!’

He found himself incredulous at comparing the kitten he had adopted to a powerful reborn former Mahayana.

Red Tiger had gone from a beast comparable to a Golden Core cultivator to one comparable to a cultivator who had perfected the Nascent Soul realm. All of that in just a little over a year, which was absurd.

It was at that moment that the kitten slowly awakened from his epiphany, lifted his little head, and looked at Aotian excitedly with his big red eyes, while his fluffy ears twitched.

Unfortunately, all the cuteness collapsed when he opened his mouth.

“Master, help me evolve again!”

He shouted happily to Aotian, making black lines appear on his forehead.

Aotian quickly grabbed the tiger’s mouth with his hand and looked at him angrily.

“Do you only know how to ask for things?!” he growled irritably at the little guy.

In the beginning, when he took the tiger with him, he respected him for his courage and majesty even in the face of death. Even though the beast called him its master, Aotian saw him more as a companion—someone he would help grow and who, in return, would fight by his side in the future.

Who would have thought that, as time passed, the majesty would disappear and the powerful tiger would turn into a shameless and greedy kitten who lived by asking things at his expense.

Aotian did not like to give things away for free to anyone, except his wife and family, because he knew people did not value much what was handed to them on a silver platter. There should always be some balance so as not to create the wrong mentality in people.

Red Tiger was included in that, because although he was his beast, he had a lot of autonomy in the beginning and was not that close to him. So much so that Aotian gave him several jobs, such as leading and teaching the sect’s beasts, in exchange for receiving techniques and cultivation resources.

But over time, the tiger began shrinking his body, rubbing his head against his master and mistress’s legs and, abandoning all majesty, turning into a house cat—all in pursuit of benefits. And the worst part? His tactics actually worked, softening the hearts of both Aotian and Rihai.

Thus, from a slightly distant beast companion, Red Tiger became the beloved house kitten of the family, who managed to get things without working, which almost made Aotian die of anger from being shamelessly exploited by the cuteness of a kitten.

At that moment, his mouth began to tremble fiercely as he looked at the teary and pitiful eyes of the poor little red ball of fur, whose jaw he was angrily holding.

Aotian’s eyes, unable to resist, began to avert themselves, because he could not bear to look at those big pleading eyes that tugged at a soft string in his heart.

‘Bad cat! Bad cat!’ he fiercely scolded in his mind.

But then he felt two soft and warm little paws land on his hand, which made him unconsciously look again at the pitiful kitten holding him sadly.

‘D-Damn it!’

The strength in his hand vanished, causing the cat’s little mouth to be released, and with cute eyes he softly cried out.

“Meow!”

“D-Devil!”

The milky call completely shattered Aotian’s defenses, making his heart tremble in helplessness.

With widened eyes and clenched teeth, he surrendered.

“You sly cat! Go later to find Elder Snake, he will take you to Ancestor Zhen. Tell her I sent you there.”

Helpless, he could only agree to the request. Besides, that was his cat, and he intended to help him anyway. So he would use the power of his ancestor and some items he already had in excess in the sect to help the rascal tiger—something that would basically cost him nothing.

The tiger, who did not know that he was selling his cuteness for Aotian’s scraps, at that moment had his chest puffed with pride and his eyes full of joy.

As for the dignity he had lost for this, he did not seem concerned.

‘Hmph! Dignity? What is that? Can it improve my bloodline?’

Thus, he stayed there, thinking he had made a good deal while wriggling and kicking frantically, with Aotian fiercely scratching his furry belly in anger.

While they were doing that, Rihai also woke from her epiphany with a small smile, clenching her fists and feeling her cultivation solidly reach the fourth level of Nascent Soul. Both of her bodies were at that same level.

“Well done, dear.”

Aotian’s voice sounded, drawing her attention and pulling her out of her thoughts.

Before, she had been deaf to the voices surrounding her, thanks to protections that enveloped her—and in fact everyone experiencing epiphanies at that moment—discreetly set by the elders to keep them safe.

“Thanks, Tian’er. The sect’s concepts regarding cultivation are always… breathtaking.”

She smiled lovingly at her husband and could not help but comment, with an impressed look, seemingly even lacking words to praise it.

Happy with her rapid progress, she stepped off her meditation mat and sat on Aotian’s, kissing him on the cheek with love, which made him smile.

Her gaze then turned to the kitten on her husband’s lap, who was being bullied by his hands and looked pitifully at her as if asking to be saved.

Smiling softly, amused, she reached out and scratched the kitten’s ear, who rolled his eyes at her when he saw her join the bullying.

The couple was having great fun at the expense of the poor Red Tiger, who suffered because his small form was many times cuter than any house cat they had ever seen.

It was at that moment that a shadow fell over them, prompting them to raise their heads together. They looked at the young man with black hair and eyes standing before them, who cupped his fists in greeting.

“Hello, Senior Brother Long, Senior Sister Liu.”

The young man greeted them softly and then unconsciously held his golden necklace with a green stone in the center, leaving the couple confused about why he was there. But he soon answered:

“My master would like to speak with you in private.”

Upon hearing Shen He’s request, Aotian and Rihai looked at each other, surprised, thinking the same thing.

What could old Liu want with them so urgently?

…

With the end of the Dao sermon, all the disciples and beasts were extremely happy with the results.

Although those who did not have epiphanies, which were the vast majority, were slightly disappointed, the gathering as a whole proved extremely valuable, as it would help them avoid many detours in the future and lay a strong foundation for their cultivation.

Thus, everyone chatted excitedly while leaving the place.

However, there was something different in everyone’s attitude. Elder Wen Tai’s words that day would forever change their perception of the world, and the effects had already begun.

In the Infinite Dao Sect, the disciples were actually already not very similar to those of other sects. Unrestrained arrogance, humiliation and contempt toward the weak, and alienation toward mortals did not exist there.

The sect’s wonderful cafeteria, together with the powerful techniques that made the impurities of food practically irrelevant, in addition to the various missions, challenges, and other activities, made the sect far more lively and joyful than any other, uniting the hearts of the disciples in solid friendships and companionship.

But there was still a slow and growing sense of detachment among the disciples, an increasing focus on pursuing cultivation rather than having companions and living life. However, after that day’s Dao sermon, that sense of detachment suddenly disappeared.

Through the elder’s words, they realized that life should be truly lived, and that even for a cultivator, merely chasing higher realms had its limits, while experiencing the world expanded their horizons.

The change was not complete at that moment. But with each day that went by, the disciples would come to understand those words more deeply, learning to value every moment they had, rather than desperately chasing extra time for a life they would never truly live.

That was the unique path of the Infinite Dao Sect, which taught not to abandon everything in pursuit of immortality, but to embrace themselves and all that surrounds them, advancing with confidence toward a higher and fuller state.

And that path, when fully revealed, would bring changes to this world beyond anyone’s imagination.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep