The wolf and the cat hesitated when they heard about the three wishes.
"You can no longer turn back now," Ritz said, confusing the beasts. "Besides, you've already passed the first trial. The first trial is the deadliest, but also the simplest. All one has to do is show no hints of mercy for humans while listening to my story. You two passed with perfect scores; you showed no signs of mercy, even when you heard that I killed the innocent. Neither of you flinched. It was as if you believe that no human is innocent."
Ritz continued, "To tell you the truth, I set this trial up hoping to choose a human disciple, not a beast. Although some beasts are so talented that humans can't compare, they take too much time to become powerful. I'll have to modify the trial to fit you two. This doesn't mean I'll be decreasing the standards. Instead, I'll be increasing the difficulty by at least two times. For your second trial, you must cultivate this technique to at least the second stage in half a year. Should you fail, I will kill you on the spot."
As he spoke, Ritz waved his right hand. A black tablet rose from the floor until it reached the height of a normal adult human. On the tablet, human writing described a cultivation art called the Faceless Transformations. The art was used to change one's appearance, and at the second stage, one could even transform into all manner of beasts. The only problem was that this was a human art, and beasts could never cultivate it without dying or worse.
After reading the art, the wolf was amazed by the technique and immediately began thinking of how useful it would be. The wolf was surprised to find that the cat also seemed to be able to read the human words. The wolf had always known something was off with the cat, but it seemed he had still underestimated the beast. The only difference between the cat and the wolf was that the cat seemed to be extremely worried. When the wolf thought about it, it realized that the art was meant for humans, and cultivating it as a beast could be fatal.
The beasts looked at Ritz, who smiled sinisterly. "If a demonic beast wants to be my disciple, it should at the very least be able to transform into a human form before reaching the Xiantian realm. This world is for humans, and a beast will never be able to move freely without a human form. Besides, in human forms, we will be able to talk properly; I am tired of reading your intent. If you are truly talented, you should be able to get inspiration from this human art to create a beast art that can be cultivated on the beast path." With that, Ritz disappeared like a ghost.
The cat swallowed its saliva loudly out of fear. The wolf just moved before the tablet and sat down to begin reading the art. The cat followed and sat down next to it.
The two sat there reading for weeks. The wolf was the first to leave the tablet area and sat in a corner of the hall. The cat followed after some time and sat in the opposite corner.
The wolf felt that it could cultivate the art as it was, but it also sensed that it would face a lot of difficulties. Although it understood the principles of the human path, it was not on that path since it used "world qi" instead of "origin qi." The best solution would be to create its own transformation art. The wolf began by trying to circulate its world qi according to the Faceless Transformations art. It then made small changes to the circulation path wherever it felt its qi was not flowing easily. In these places, it had to sense the flow of qi in its body to an extremely fine level. What the wolf did not know was that this ability to sense the flow of qi was its only bloodline ability. For five months, the wolf made alterations until the new circulation path was so different from the Faceless Transformations that the two could not be compared.
With one week left, the wolf was already done creating its new art. It walked towards the cat, who still seemed to be struggling, and began cultivating its new art to get used to it. It was able to transform into a black cat, a rabbit, and even a white wolf. The final transformation was that of Ritz himself. The wolf stood there, looking like a naked Ritz. The cat, who was now watching the wolf, showed no reaction whatsoever.
"Finally, I can get rid of this disloyal servant," said the man-Ritz in a hoarse, distorted voice. The cat understood the wolf's words and immediately stood up, ready to fight the "stupid wolf" to the death. How dare it bring up that dark past in the cat's history?
Before the two could begin their fight, Ritz appeared like a ghost in the center of the hall. He analyzed the naked man before him and was pleased with the transformation. In truth, he had thought that neither of the beasts would pass the trial and had come back to kill them. He appreciated the wolf even more now, as it seemed to know how to flatter him by transforming into his "perfect" body.
When Ritz was done inspecting the wolf, who had now transformed back into its own human form, he looked at the cat as though it was polluting his hall. He did not say anything as he raised his right hand, and the hall began to freeze. An ice spear appeared in his hand, and just as he was about to skewer the "talentless" black cat, it transformed into an extremely beautiful human woman. The woman was voluptuous, with black hair that reached her plump rear. Her eyes were seductive, and she was, by all means, perfect. "Master, have I reached your expectations?" the woman said, her seductive voice akin to heavenly sounds.
The wolf was flabbergasted by the cat's transformation. The wolf had thought the cat was male and, in fact, could have sworn the cat was male. When the wolf looked at Ritz, he seemed pleased with the cat.
When Ritz saw the wolf, who was still in his form, looking at him weirdly, he cleared his throat and regained his serious demeanor.
"You should now turn into the human forms that are true to who you are," Ritz said.
The two changed into two handsome young men whose features could easily captivate any woman. It turned out that the cat was indeed male and had just wanted to manipulate Ritz. The wolf realized this when it saw that Ritz no longer paid it any attention, and his bias towards the cat was evident.
"You over there," Ritz said, pointing at the young man who was the cat. "You will be my disciple from now on." And just like that, the cat had gotten itself a powerful master.