Nine Astra Skies

Ye Chen stood up feeling all refreshed. He turned to look at Little Tanuki. Its shimmering eyes were staring back into him in the night.

"Coo coo." Little Tanuki waved its cute little claws.

"You want me to head outside of the Ye Castle with you? What for? Hmm, I think I know what you mean!" Ye Chen was a little confused but he sort of understood Little Tanuki's message. Thinking about it, maybe all of it had something to do with the Astral Body, just maybe.

The Astral Body was an extremely mystifying matter.

Where was Little Tanuki taking him? To its home? With Ye Chen and Little Tanuki's combined power, they did not have to worry about running into some Ninth Level combatant or beast. At worst, they could just make a run for it.

While Ye Chen was in deep thoughts, Little Tanuki had already darted outside of the castle.

Ye Chen followed suit. The silhouettes of a man and a beast passed by quickly.

"Who's there?" a voice called out. Five figures from the walls came to inspect the situation. It was a group of youths from the clan - all Sixth Level at least.

"It's me," Ye Chen responded. The castle had tightened its defenses recently. Even if a Ninth Level combatant tried to sneak in, they would have been detected too.

Under the moonlight, the people could make out Ye Chen's face. They immediately saluted him. "Elder Chief."

Ye Chen cleared his throat. "I came to inspect the area. You guys are doing good. Keep it up." Ye Chen's face was red from lying but he carried on. "Continue with your night watch duties, I'm just going to head out for a bit."

The youths were happy to receive Ye Chen's praise.

Like a large vulture, Ye Chen darted out of the Yun Castle.

"The elder chief is so cool. Seventeen years old and he's already Ninth Level. It's so rare for Donglin County to have such a prodigy!"

"Back at the battle earlier today, Ye Chen took out Yun Yixuan with a single strike. I bet he's way above Ninth Level."

"Maybe the elder chief's on the same power level as Granduncle Ye Changxuan? Mid Ninth Level?"

The fellow men looked on Ye Chen with admiration. They all hoped to have half of his power someday.

After getting out of the castle, Ye Chen finally relaxed. Being an elder chief was not easy as there were many expectations that came along with it. Had it not been for granduncle and father shoving the title onto Ye Chen, he would have refused the role. Thankfully, it was merely just a title. Major matters that concerned the clan were still handled by Ye Chen's granduncle and father so all he had to do was live his life and focus on his training. In half a year, he would depart from Donglin County for the city and learn the art of Alchemy from Master Apothecary Xuanyi. Hopefully, the matters concerning the Yun Castle would be resolved quickly.

Woosh. The sounds of wind billowed in Ye Chen's ears. Both sides of trees swayed as Ye Chen ran after Little Tanuki.

'Wait a minute. This path looks different from before.' Ye Chen thought to himself. It seemed like Little Tanuki was heading elsewhere, not home.

After a moment, the two had descended deep into Lianyun Mountains where beasts' howls could occasionally be heard.

They were deep in uncharted territory. Ye Chen had not set foot into this part of the region.

Little Tanuki continued to run ahead and Ye Chen followed without a second thought. Sending his Astral Body to inspect up ahead, he could see a massive tiger in bright crimson color. Its eyes shimmered in the dark. It was hidden away in a thicket, ready to pounce on its prey. The tiger had appeared within the detection radius of his Astral Body hence Ye Chen was worried. It was a Ninth Level beast or even stronger - the Scarlet Sky Tiger!

Little Tanuki was within the tiger's hunting grounds. Oh no, Little Tanuki was in danger. Ye Chen picked up his pace and dashed up ahead.

Roar!

An ear-numbing sound came from the side. The Ninth Level Scarlet Sky Tiger was going for Little Tanuki!

Ye Chen was worried sick but Little Tanuki merely dodged to the side and evaded the tiger's attacks. In defiance, Little Tanuki swooped its claws down on the tiger.

Ye Chen was a little thrown off and amused, there was no need for him to worry at all. It looked like Little Tanuki was pretty strong. Back when it had four tails, even a common Eighth Level combatant could not lay their hands on it. With a fifth tail growing out now, Little Tanuki's powers would have increased somewhat. Coupled with its Illusions and demonic speed, even if it could not defeat the tiger, the tiger would never have its way with Little Tanuki!

Sensing Little Chen nearby, Little Tanuki who had the Scarlet Sky Tiger engaged in a tango disappeared and landed back on Ye Chen's shoulders.

Sweeping left and right, the tiger was left feeling frustrated at its inability to grab hold of Little Tanuki. When it noticed Little Tanuki disappearing and landed on the shoulders of a human, it stopped in its tracks and stared at Ye Chen, letting out a growl as it brandished its bloody mouth. It could feel a sense of terrifying aura coming from Ye Chen.

Ye Chen was cautious with the tiger. It was far stronger than Yun Yixuan or Niu Er. It was probably even on Yun Yiyang or Granduncle Ye Changxuan's level!

Ye Chen assumed a stance and channeled the Celestial Chi in him. Wood birthed Fire and now fire elemental Celestial Chi was flowing out of him. Guess there was no escaping the Scarlet Sky Tiger.

"Little Tanuki, you've gotten me in a deep mess this time around." Ye Chen smiled forcefully. With his powers, it was going to be a challenge to take on a Ninth Level beast.

"Coo coo." Was Little Tanuki trying to say something?

Ye Chen was distracted momentarily. "What, you want me to enslave it?"

Little Tanuki nodded its head, its dewy eyes spoke of joy.

Oh right! The Astral Body! Ye Chen suddenly thought of it. It was said that when a Celestial Beast could cultivate an Astral Body, they could enslave a beast. Maybe his Astral Body could enslave the Scarlet Sky Tiger. Would it work if his powers were weaker than the tiger's though?

Forget it, Ye Chen was determined to give it a shot!

Ye Chen summoned his breath, his strong Astral Body charged toward the tiger.

Just as the tiger came closer, it detected a large presence of Astral Body. The Astral Body intimidated it to the point where its legs were beginning to tremble. Only a Celestial Beast would possess such a strong Astral Body.

It trembled in its place, not daring to move.

In Ye Chen's previous world, tigers were considered the king of beasts in this world but here, there were far stronger beasts than the tiger. Of course, there was no denying a Ninth Level Scarlet Sky Tiger was equally a force to reckoned with.

Ye Chen was astonished at the sight of the tiger fearing his Astral Body. The saying that beasts were afraid of Psyche was true. Ye Chen used his Astral Body to penetrate into the tiger's mind, only to realize that the tiger's Psyche was only the size of a fist.

So, a beast's Psyche was inferior! It was probably much more inferior compared to the sanguine wolf. If that was the case, then the sanguine wolf must be a Celestial Beast!

With a weak Psyche, beasts should be easy to enslave. Now, for the big question, how was he going to enslave the Scarlet Sky Tiger?