Beast Taming Patrol

[Chonglou Dongling: I just want to know the result of the draw—whom will Lin Su be competing against from the Holy Security Alliance?!]

[…]

Amid countless comments, the draw inside the battlefield soon concluded.

"Alright, let's look at the draw results…" Song Luo quickly spoke as the live stream's screen swiftly zoomed in.

"The first match, the Yanhuang Security Alliance against the Desert Soil Security Alliance! The second match, the Free Security Alliance against the Holy Security Alliance!" Song Luo announced loudly, then turned to look at Qin Yunzhang, "So it seems that Lin Su will be representing Yanhuang, competing against a Beast Tamer from the Desert Soil Security Alliance."

"Desert Soil…" Qin Yunzhang looked at Lin Su stepping out into the arena with a mocking smile, "I'm looking forward to it."

"Let's see who the opposing Beast Tamer is…" Song Luo quickly spoke, and the screen in the arena soon shifted towards the Desert Soil Security Alliance's side.

From the Desert Soil Security Alliance, the only Beast Tamer slowly stood up and headed towards the battlefield.

"The young Beast Tamer accompanying the visiting delegation from the Desert Soil Security Alliance this time is only this one named Sangla," Song Luo looked at Qin Yunzhang beside him, "Master Qin, do you think the Desert Soil Security Alliance only bringing one Beast Tamer shows confidence, or could there be another reason?"

"It's not so much about confidence." Qin Yunzhang chuckled, "The Desert Soil Security Alliance is different from us; their approach to training Beast Tamers is to focus on cultivating elites. They have almost the same number of basic-level Beast Tamers as us, but far fewer truly powerful ones, which is probably why they only brought one."

"As far as I know, the Desert Soil Security Alliance was at an advantage in repelling the invasion of the Red Flame Immortal Country," Song Luo's face showed more curiosity, "If they lack powerful Beast Tamers, how did they manage to gain an advantage on the frontline?"

"It's related to their method of managing Beast Tamers," Qin Yunzhang smiled faintly, "The Desert Soil Security Alliance's method is known as the Faith Evolution path, which is characterized chiefly by its dependence on the power of faith, allowing their creatures to evolve continuously in the direction they desire."

"The power of faith?" Song Luo's expression became serious, "Master Qin, could you elaborate on that?"

"No problem," Qin Yunzhang nodded slightly, "In the long years before the cataclysm, humanity always had beliefs and religions. Humans believed in gods or other powerful entities they conjured up, thinking they could protect them and that deities could harvest people's faith to strengthen themselves."

"This idea was once considered pseudoscience, mere superstition," Qin Yunzhang adjusted his glasses, "But after the cataclysm, researchers from the Desert Soil Security Alliance discovered that the previously imaginary power of faith actually exists and has miraculous effects."

"Thus, the Faith Evolution path was born."

"So that's it," Song Luo couldn't help but exclaim in amazement, "Then, the Faith Evolution path you mentioned that allows creatures to continuously evolve in the desired direction—how does that work?"

"The Desert Soil Security Alliance has collected various totem images from around the world and subtly influenced different groups to believe in different totems," Qin Yunzhang spoke calmly, "Those who believe in the same totem have their powers of faith converge, assimilating everything they contact like a river."

"Once a Beast Tamer believes in a certain totem and selects and nurtures their creature in a special way, they can, to some extent, use the power of faith to assimilate and transform their creature, allowing it to continuously evolve in the direction of that totem."

"The closer a creature's appearance and abilities are to that of the totem, the stronger the power of faith it can evoke, and the stronger the power of faith, the more it can drive the creature to evolve towards the totem."

"Evolving real-life creatures towards imagined, nonexistent totems?" Song Luo took a deep breath, "Such an incredible method of evolution is truly astonishing. So, Master Qin, has there ever been a real case of a creature evolving into a totem?"

"Not yet," Qin Yunzhang shook his head slightly, "According to my estimate, to truly evolve into a totem, one must first break through the 'immortal' rank, and at that stage, a creature can actively transform itself, getting progressively closer to the totem until it ultimately becomes the totem."

"It's evident that this system of managing creatures is quite unique and possesses a high potential," Song Luo nodded then inquired, "So, Master Qin, what are the advantages and disadvantages of the Faith Evolution path?"

"Let's start with the disadvantages," Qin Yunzhang cleared his throat slightly, "As I've said, the Desert Soil Security Alliance has far fewer powerful Beast Tamers than other alliances. The reason lies in the fact that the Faith Evolution path requires large masses of ordinary people to sincerely believe in the power of the totem, making faith the basis of everything."

"And, since the population of the Desert Soil Security Alliance is only so large, their power of faith is limited, not infinite, thus the number of powerful beings that can be born is naturally restricted."

"I see," Song Luo suddenly understood, "The power of faith is not as boundless as supernatural energy, so the Faith Evolution path is constrained by the total amount of available faith power."

"Yes, but the Faith Evolution path also has its own advantages," Qin Yunzhang smiled, "Creatures that evolve through faith can possess a third kind of skill, in addition to Talent Skills and learned skills, called Faith Skill. This skill is born from the believers' faith in the totem."