You're Excellent, but I'm Not Worthy

Within the entire Knight Holy Mountain, Starshine Unicorns were already considered among the finest magical beasts.

After all, Starshine Unicorns stood out even among Unicorns.

Once they reached adulthood, they became peak eighth-order magical beasts, only a step away from the ninth order.

Moreover, a special kind could occasionally emerge among Starshine Unicorns: the Sacred Unicorn, evolved from a Starshine Unicorn through a unique opportunity.

"Probably no magical beast would be more suitable than a Starshine Unicorn. I'll give it a try first!"

Ye Tian put away the Refined Iron Sword in his hand.

As he cautiously approached, one of the Starshine Unicorns suddenly raised its head and silently watched him.

It was not only larger in stature, but its aura was also the strongest among all the Starshine Unicorns. Yet it showed no resistance to the appearance of an unfamiliar human.

Without a doubt, this Starshine Unicorn was the leader of the herd.

Seeing that it did not reject him, Ye Tian continued forward.

He finally stopped about three steps away.

"My apologies for approaching and disturbing you so abruptly. I am a knight from the Knight Holy Temple, and I have come here in search of my partner. Might I have the honor of speaking with you?"

High-level magical beasts possessed immense intelligence, sometimes no less than that of humans. Naturally, they could understand human language.

The Starshine Unicorn's golden eyes flickered. Its gaze lingered on Ye Tian for a long while, as though examining the human youth before it.

A moment later, a dense golden light shot from its horn and fell upon Ye Tian.

"Hello, human youth. It is a pleasure to meet you."

A gentle, sweet female voice rang out in Ye Tian's mind.

"Hello, Starshine Unicorn. Might I have the honor of gaining your recognition and becoming partners with a Starshine Unicorn?"

Ye Tian barely hesitated before speaking directly.

Yet upon hearing those words, the Starshine Unicorn before him fell silent.

The light emitted from its horn flickered continuously, revealing the turmoil in its heart.

"I'm sorry. Although I truly wish for my kin to follow you, even including myself, I cannot do so."

"Your Light origin is so pure, far beyond mine. If we followed you, we would surely advance into ninth-order magical beasts in the future, perhaps even tenth-order magical beasts."

"But with our talent, we are not even qualified to serve the Son of Light, much less someone like you!"

"So I'm sorry. I can only refuse your invitation!"

By the time it finished its final sentence, the Starshine Unicorn's tone had become subdued.

"That truly is a pity."

Though Ye Tian had mentally prepared himself, he still felt somewhat helpless upon hearing those words.

In short, the Starshine Unicorn meant only one thing.

You're excellent, but I'm not worthy of you. You deserve someone better.

It sounded rather like the sort of line used by scumbags and heartless women.

But Starshine Unicorns symbolized honesty. These were words from the bottom of its heart.

"Then can you tell me where the other ninth-order magical beasts in Knight Holy Mountain are located?"

"Of course!" The Starshine Unicorn nodded, but still gently reminded him, "I can take you there, but you will most likely make the trip for nothing. The ninth-order magical beasts in the holy mountain probably aren't qualified to become your partners either!"

"Then I'll have to trouble you."

Ye Tian still wanted to give it a try.

He was already here. Even if he could not choose a mount, he could treat it as sightseeing.

He swung himself onto the Starshine Unicorn's back. It felt far more comfortable than riding the Rose Unicorn.

"Neigh!"

The Starshine Unicorn let out a long howl and suddenly spread its wings.

After sprinting to build momentum, it left behind dazzling golden trails and soared into the air with Ye Tian on its back.

The other Starshine Unicorns followed closely behind, spreading their wings one after another and vanishing into the clouds amid countless brilliant streaks of light.

With a local guide leading the way, Ye Tian did not need to wander around blindly.

However, things did not go smoothly.

Just as the Starshine Unicorn had said, the ninth-order magical beasts were even prouder than he had imagined. He was driven away the moment he explained his purpose.

The rare one or two willing to speak with him shared the same attitude as the Starshine Unicorn.

In the blink of an eye, the selection deadline was drawing near.

Ye Tian sighed helplessly.

Looks like I can only try my luck at the Teleportation Array later!

Thirty days soon passed.

The black token in Ye Tian's hand suddenly lit up with golden radiance.

The Starshine Unicorn slowly raised its head, its golden eyes revealing humanlike reluctance.

"Is the time up?" Ye Tian reached out and stroked the spiral horn atop the Starshine Unicorn's head, gratitude on his face. "You've truly gone to a lot of trouble for me this past month. I hope we can meet again someday."

"I also hope to see you again. Though I cannot stay by your side, I still wish you smooth sailing!"

The Starshine Unicorn offered its blessing in a gentle voice.

As its words fell, Ye Tian completely disappeared within the light.

Ye Tian only felt his vision blur, and the scenery around him had completely changed.

"Little brother!"

Li Xin's voice sounded beside him.

She had waited outside for thirty days. Since Ye Tian had never taken the initiative to teleport out, and as someone who had entered Knight Holy Mountain before, she knew exactly what that meant.

Who would have thought that after thirty days, he would still emerge alone?

The One-Armed Elder also frowned slightly, a trace of confusion flashing through his single eye.

A Great Knight not yet eleven years old—shouldn't the magical beasts in Knight Holy Mountain have been fighting to become his partner? Could it be that this little fellow's standards were simply too high?

"Little brother, are you all right?" Li Xin could not help worrying.

Ye Tian gently shook his head and looked directly at the elder. "Senior, I would like to try my luck through the Teleportation Array."

"Come with me!"

Seeing that Ye Tian showed no sign of dejection, the elder nodded.

With a wave of his hand, a golden token appeared out of thin air. Immediately afterward, a layer of golden light enveloped the three of them.

Six strange symbols suddenly appeared in the sky, and space began to warp around them.

A brilliant light flashed, and all three vanished from the entrance to the holy mountain.

When they appeared again, they were already inside a cave.

The cave was extremely spacious, like a vast plaza. Faint golden light provided weak illumination, while countless pale golden gemstones were embedded in the surrounding rock walls.

At the center of the cave, countless runes of unknown meaning converged inward.

Together, they formed a magic array.

"Sit inside. Once the grand array activates, you will naturally feel it."

Ye Tian entered the center of the array and sat down.

The elder clenched the golden token in his right hand and raised it high. His body seemed to turn into a gemstone, and a vast, ocean-like sacred aura erupted from him.

Immense Light Spiritual Energy poured into the token, spreading out in a circle of dense golden light.

In an instant, the runes around Ye Tian were completely ignited as well.

Countless patterns of light rippled out from the runes. The intense golden glow lit up the entire cave, rising upward to form a terrifying golden vortex.

"Buzz—"

A beam of golden light shot down from the vortex, enveloping Ye Tian as he sat directly below it.

The One-Armed Elder's somewhat weathered voice rang out once more.

"Hurry and begin. You only have a quarter of an hour. Choose one aura from among them all that feels close to you, then use the Equal Contract on it."

"Remember, you must seek out the aura that feels the closest to you. Otherwise, even the slightest resistance will prevent the Equal Contract from succeeding, and it will be impossible to bring it into our world."

Ye Tian did not respond. His mind had already completely sunk into a vast ocean of life.