"I’m just an ordinary gatekeeper from Shazhou Beast Taming University. You don’t have to call me ’senior.’ If you like, you can just call me Old Man Tie," the old man said calmly.
Despite his words, Li Qian wouldn’t dare be so familiar. He dropped the "Man" from the name and respectfully addressed him as "Elder Tie."
"Elder Tie, I’ll be in your care for the next three-plus months." Li Qian didn’t dare act presumptuously, his tone remaining exceedingly respectful.
As for Elder Tie’s claim of being a gatekeeper, Li Qian paid it little mind, not believing it for a second.
Making a Dominator Level Beast Master work as a gatekeeper? Even for one of the Eight Great, Li Qian found that highly unlikely.
With Elder Tie joining him, Li Qian could rest easy, no longer having to worry about his personal safety.
Of course, that wasn’t his true objective. Having a Dominator Level Beast Master for protection was, in fact, merely a front.
Ever since the last attack by the Mechanical Desecration Association, coupled with the recent instability in Lingshui City, Li Qian had an instinct that something big was about to happen.
His reason for having Shazhou Beast Taming University send someone to protect him was simply to take precautions.
If something really went down, with Elder Tie present, he might be able to lend a hand at a crucial time.
Lingshui City was his hometown, after all. If he could lend a hand when it mattered most, he wouldn’t hesitate.
Three days flashed by in an instant, and during that time, Li Qian’s premonition only grew stronger.
Within those three days, two more explosions had rocked the small city of Lingshui, and the locations were shifting from the North Suburb toward the West Suburb.
Although the authorities had covered up both explosions with various seemingly plausible excuses.
But Li Qian, having been through similar events before, saw through the deception at a glance.
This was, in all likelihood, another attack by the Mechanical Desecration Association.
For the Mechanical Desecration Association to launch such concentrated attacks on a small city like Lingshui... any rational person could see it.
There was definitely something strange going on!
Despite seeing the suspicious nature of the events, Li Qian didn’t report or expose anything.
’If I can see that something’s off, then the authorities, who have far more information, must be even more aware.’
’They’ve probably already come up with a plan to deal with it.’
Settling his mind, Li Qian maintained his usual routine: studying nurturing knowledge, training Tan Tou and his other beasts, and cramming information about the Frostfire Array under Niu Fenjin’s tutelage.
By now, while he wouldn’t say he knew the array like the back of his hand, he had basically mastered it.
He’d become quite proficient in both controlling and deploying it. And just like that, without him realizing it, Niu Fenjin’s instruction had reached its final day.
But on that final day, something strange happened.
It was already past ten in the morning, yet Niu Fenjin still hadn’t arrived at the Cultivation Base.
’That’s unlikely,’ Li Qian thought. ’It’s the last day. There’s no reason for him to just blow it off.’
Li Qian knew that while Niu Fenjin might seem unreliable, he was actually a man of his word.
He always saw his promises through to the very end.
Just as Li Qian was frowning in thought, his phone suddenly rang.
The caller was none other than his teacher, Chu Xiran.
𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎
The moment he answered, Chu Xiran’s anxious voice came through the receiver. "Li Qian, is Niu Fenjin with you?"