Free Web NovelChapter 392: Chapter 379: Contract Formed
A Beastmaster can form contracts with multiple Pet Beasts throughout their life, but as their Spiritual Power fades or diminishes in quality, the number of contracts becomes limited.
Therefore, some Beastmasters are extremely cautious during their university years, never lightly contracting a third or fourth Pet Beast.
Even if they have a Pet Beast with whom they share a deep bond, they might maintain a close, contract-free relationship to save a slot for a more powerful Pet Beast in the future.
Gu Ming didn’t think about how many he would contract in the future.
He always treated his Pet Beasts with genuine affection, pouring all of his emotions into their bond.
Establishing a Pet Beast Contract meant opening a channel for their hearts to connect, making their bond even closer.
To him, a contract was a sign of recognition for a Pet Beast, something of great significance.
Of course, he also knew.
If a Pet Beast was severely injured or died, the contract’s backlash would affect the Beastmaster, possibly accelerating the decline of their Spiritual Power.
Gu Ming explained all of this, along with the significance of the contract, to the inexperienced Ah Ji.
Ah Ji had only ever wandered through the old school janitor’s secret realm and around the school. Most of its knowledge about the Pet Beast Contract came from overheard fragments and observation.
As Gu Ming explained everything with solemn sincerity, the silly-looking cat tilted its head to listen, a light gradually dawning in its slitted, feline pupils.
’So, a contract is both a restraint and a stepping stone to a closer relationship?’
Ah Ji thought, nuzzling its head against Gu Ming’s palm again.
Its meows were filled with a mix of confusion and anticipation.
"It’s a bond." Gu Ming crouched down to its eye level. "Are you willing?"
Ah Ji looked into Gu Ming’s eyes and fully understood the meaning of accepting the contract.
In fact, it was precisely its desire to better protect its master through the contract that made this bond even more meaningful.
It nodded emphatically, meowed once at Gu Ming, and raised its paw, placing it on Gu Ming’s palm.
In that instant, Gu Ming’s palm began to glow faintly. Ah Ji’s paw pad also lit up, and the light of a ritualistic Array flickered between them.
In that single moment, their minds connected.
As the contract was formed, a mysterious connection appeared in both of their Seas of Consciousness.
It was like invisible threads winding their Spiritual Powers together. From that moment on, there were no more barriers to the mental communication between Gu Ming and Ah Ji; even their breathing rates faintly synchronized.
Ah Ji twitched its ears, its shadow wavering on the ground.
It suddenly transformed into a streak of shadowy light, diving into Gu Ming’s shadow. Then, it emerged from his shoulder, materializing as the Cat Demon, and licked his cheek.
"I’m glad to have you with me, Ah Ji."
Gu Ming smiled and ruffled the fur on its head.
Ah Ji let out a soft meow and wrapped its tail around his wrist in response.
Nearby, Mouse Treasure and Mianmian, who had witnessed the contract, also clapped excitedly.
’Gu Ming and his Pet Beasts have such a great relationship.’
Of course, Mouse Treasure felt that its bond with its own master was no weaker than the one between Gu Ming and his partners.
Mianmian was still young, but its eyes sparkled as if it had just grasped some truth about a pet’s life.
’This was the kind of relationship between a Beastmaster and a Pet Beast that it yearned for.’
’Will my master be like that too?’
Mianmian tilted its head. Seeing its master watching Gu Ming with sparkling eyes, it scratched its own head with its tail.
’Maybe.’
...
「That evening.」
Gu Ming held Lu You’s small hand, leading her and the Pet Beasts into the Dream Cultivation Space to train.
Before this, aside from studying theses and making medicine, Gu Ming hadn’t entered the dreamscape to cultivate.
He never would have expected that after entering the dream, an additional option had appeared in the system’s simulated environment.
"Current selectable simulated environments: Yichuan Ruins Outer Layer, Yichuan Ruins -1F Cavern."
The outer layer made sense. After all, he had personally paced out the nearby terrain, so it was only natural for the system to record the external geography.
But the -1F cavern was completely unexpected.
He had only glanced at the cavern entrance and hadn’t walked inside. He had spent most of his time outside the cavern, yet the system had given him a new option.
’Could it be that just by standing at the entrance, the system could collect geographical data from inside?’
He first clicked the option for the outer layer, and the visible environment changed into a barren, black rock face, surrounded by the paths he had already paced out.
Before Lu You could even adapt to the new environment, Gu Ming clicked the option for the -1F cavern.
Instantly, the surrounding ground converged and collapsed inward. Black rock formations, dozens of feet high, shot up and enclosed them from above, forming a pitch-black, deep cavern that extended far into the darkness.
Lu You finally let out a cry of alarm.
She could clearly feel that the pressure of the Spiritual Power inside the cavern was completely different from the outside.
Just by standing inside the cavern, she felt a wave of mental disorientation, as if a heavy weight was pressing down on her shoulders.
She subconsciously looked back and saw that she was about a hundred paces away from the world outside the cavern.
’This is...’ Lu You remembered. This was the world inside the cavern.
Researchers were lying scattered on the path, all of them Beastmasters with a higher Star Level than her.
And now, she had actually walked a hundred paces into the cavern within a dream.
The archaeological team had already endured dozens of dream trials just to cross these first hundred paces.
’But she had skipped this step in the dream. Didn’t that mean that with her next step, she would face an even more severe dream trial?’
Fortunately, she had already used Purple Essence Sand to stabilize her Spiritual Power.
Even if there were dream trials ahead, she could probably withstand them.
Just then, Gu Ming explained:
"I just used my Perception within the dream for a moment and discovered that my Sea of Consciousness had collected more hidden information than I imagined."
"So I took this information that was collected but that I wasn’t consciously aware of, tidied it up a bit, and presented it in dream form."
As he spoke, Gu Ming took a step forward.
He wanted to experience the dream trial within the cavern and see just how brutal it would be for him.
After all, in a dream where even death wasn’t permanent, he had nothing to fear from things he wouldn’t dare face in reality.
The worst that could happen was that his Spiritual Power would be depleted, and he would wake up from the dream.
And just like that, as he took his next step, the world began to spin.
It was as if his consciousness had entered a deep, dark ocean, where he saw a colossal black shadow in the water hurtling toward him to crush him.
’What is that?’
Gu Ming felt his body grow heavy, but the approaching object was heavier still, a weight so immense it muddled his mind and slowed his thoughts.
The next instant, he woke up, gasping for breath, his head covered in sweat.
He used what little Divine Sense he had left to perceive his own Spiritual Power and found it completely depleted.
Just that one terrifying dream experience had completely drained his Spiritual Power. It was too horrifying.
As expected, ruins where a Primordial Dream Butterfly existed were not something he could explore at his current level.
Lu You, standing beside him, hadn’t taken a single step and thus hadn’t experienced anything terrifying.
She just opened her eyes, heard Gu Ming’s heavy breathing beside her, and nervously let go of his hand. She took out a tissue to help him wipe away his sweat and asked:
"Are you okay?"
"I’m fine," Gu Ming said, panting as he waved his hand.
A minute later, after circulating the *Cyan Pine* technique and feeling slightly better, Gu Ming had another thought: ’If his experience was this bad, wouldn’t it be even worse for the upperclassmen who went in to explore?’
Their Star Level and strength weren’t that exceptional; most of the club members were at a three- or four-star level.
’Even if their Spiritual Power was several or even ten times greater than his, they could maybe handle one or two rounds, or even five or six, of such a terrifying trial. But what about more than ten rounds?’
’It was unimaginable.’
After a brief rest, Gu Ming got up. Lu You quickly followed him out of the tent, asking, "Where are you going?"
"I’m going to the cavern entrance to see why the club president and the others aren’t back yet."
It should be noted that simply looking into the cavern in the ruins wouldn’t cause any major problems.
The forbidden zones where dream interference had already occurred had all been marked by the archaeological team.
As long as one didn’t walk into the marked areas, nothing would be triggered.
Gu Ming walked to the cavern entrance and saw a few haggard-looking Beastmasters trickling out from inside.
He peered into the depths of the cavern, but there was no sign of the club president or the others.
Judging by the distance they had traveled, they had already gone past two hundred paces, entering an even deeper part of the cavern.
This made him click his tongue in amazement. ’Is the Spiritual Power Resilience of the upperclassmen really that high?’
’Looks like all I can do now is wait.’
