The most effective way to tame a vicious beast was first to beat it with a stick and then offer it a sweet date.
In other words, the method of combining both punishment and reward.
The stick represented might. It made the beast understand clearly that you were its master and that you possessed the strength to kill it whenever you wished.
The sweet date represented grace. It allowed the beast to understand that only by remaining obedient and loyal would it receive benefits.
In his previous life Alex had specifically used this method to train wild animals.
He never expected that using the same method in this life to train a dragon would prove equally effective.
After confirming that the Obsidian Jade Dragon had completely submitted to him as its master, Alex exchanged another five hundred pounds of Demonic Tiger meat and left it inside the cage so the dragon could continue eating at its leisure.
Only then did he clasp his hands behind his back and slowly walk out of the cave.
As he left the back mountain his mood was extremely pleasant.
After returning to the main estate Alex originally intended to go check on the cultivation progress of that foolish simp.
However at that moment Tobias suddenly appeared in front of him.
Tobias's expression looked unusually grim.
"Saint Lord, the Orchid Princess of the Heavenly Flame Dynasty, Selene, has arrived at the holy land together with Knox. They request an audience."
A trace of amusement appeared on Alex's face.
"That brat came back to get beaten again?"
"He truly only remembers the food but forgets the pain. He is not even as clever as a wicked beast."
Alex's expression was completely calm.
He had already prepared a detailed plan in his mind for dealing with them.
However Tobias still looked deeply worried.
"Saint Lord, this poor Daoist believes they have come prepared this time."
"Besides Knox and Selene there is another person with them."
"Oh?"
Alex raised an eyebrow slightly.
"And who would that be?"
Tobias answered cautiously.
"Your Third Uncle. Grand Uncle Daven."
Alex paused for a moment after hearing this name.
Soon after, a cold smile slowly appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"That old traitor actually dares to come here to embarrass himself?"
Daven Hale, Alex's Third Uncle.
Among the previous generation of the Hale family he was the only elder still alive today.
Although Daven possessed extremely high seniority, his aptitude was terribly mediocre.
After struggling through an entire lifetime his cultivation had only reached the Foundation Establishment Realm.
He was not even as strong as many juniors who were two generations younger.
During the era when the previous family head governed the clan, Daven had always been a useless scoundrel.
He wandered about idly all day.
He refused to learn anything and possessed no useful skills.
No matter how others advised him he simply ignored them.
However this worthless scoundrel possessed astonishing luck.
Before passing away Alex's grandfather, who had been the Saint Lord two generations earlier, left behind a will dividing the family estate.
The eldest son, Trever Hale, inherited the Primordial Chaos Secret Realm.
His descendants would guard that blessed land for generations.
The second son, Corin Hale, Alex's father, had shown outstanding political ability and ruthless decisiveness since youth.
Therefore he inherited the family's main land and the position of Saint Lord.
As for the youngest son, Daven Hale, he was nothing more than mud that could not be plastered onto a wall.
Although Alex's grandfather despised this useless son, he could not bear to see him starve.
Thus he gave Daven a command medallion that guaranteed him a permanent place within the family.
Relying on his identity as a Grand Uncle, Daven had behaved tyrannically within the Hale family for many years.
Because of the ancestral medallion, Alex had always treated him with great respect.
More than one hundred years ago, shortly after Aurelia ascended the throne, the Heavenly Flame Dynasty encountered a natural disaster unseen for thousands of years.
A devastating drought struck the land.
For three consecutive years crops completely failed.
Starving corpses covered the ground and bandits roamed everywhere.
The common people lived in misery.
At that time all the major Saint lineages sealed their gates to protect themselves.
The Hale family did the same.
Even the resources allocated to family disciples were reduced by half just to survive the crisis.
During that time the original Alex had been overwhelmed with difficulties while struggling to keep the family alive.
Yet at that very moment Daven stole two hundred thousand spirit stones from the family treasury and presented them to the Heavenly Flame Dynasty.
Aurelia was moved to tears.
She praised Daven's righteousness as reaching the heavens.
She granted him the title Duke of Hale and bestowed upon him a status within the Heavenly Flame Dynasty equal to the Empress herself.
From that moment Daven Hale transformed from a useless scoundrel into the Duke of Hale of the Heavenly Flame Dynasty.
Using the two hundred thousand spirit stones he had stolen, Aurelia managed to survive the disaster and eventually restore prosperity to the empire.
Meanwhile the Hale family suffered even more deeply because of the thief within their own house.
Alex personally led the disciples of the family across the world.
They accepted missions everywhere like mercenaries just to earn spirit stones.
Only through such efforts did he barely preserve the thousand year foundation of the Hale family.
When Alex first read this part of the story in the original novel, he was so furious that his liver ached.
Daven Hale was a senior of the Hale family.
Yet he shamelessly performed such an act that benefited himself while nearly destroying the entire clan.
He stole the reputation.
He stole the prestige.
And he nearly dragged the Hale family into the grave.
What made Alex even angrier was that the original Alex still treated Daven with extreme reverence afterward.
He addressed him respectfully as Third Uncle and obeyed all of his commands.
Later Daven became acquainted with Knox.
He personally brought Knox to the Hale family.
Standing before everyone he pointed directly at Alex's nose and cursed him.
He even demanded and seized the ancestral supreme treasure of the Hale family, the Rakshasa Demon Umbrella.
This was not merely favoring outsiders over one's own family.
The later destruction of the Hale family owed a significant portion of the blame entirely to him.
"Saint Lord, what did you just say?"
Tobias stared in disbelief and spoke cautiously.
"You called Grand Uncle Daven an old traitor?"
"I did not mishear you, did I?"
Among the younger generation of the Hale family, including the Four Great Elders, everyone regarded Daven as a traitorous thief and hated him deeply.
However Alex had always treated him with excessive respect, so none of them dared offend him.
Could it be that the Saint Lord had truly changed so completely?
He no longer blindly protected Isolde.
And he no longer showed foolish loyalty and blind respect toward Daven?