People with Many Secrets

"It signed a Life Contract with me."

"Waaah, Brother Chen, help!"

The fat kid clung to Jiang Chen's waist and wouldn't let go, afraid he'd die the moment he released him.

"Smack!"

The fat kid felt a sting on his face.

He froze in astonishment.

He turned and saw the little beast that had just been asleep. It seemed to be using all its strength to press its tiny paw against the fat kid's round face.

"Brother Chen, help! I'm being attacked!"

The fat kid was a coward. The moment he sensed something unusual that might threaten his life, his first thought was to call Jiang Chen for help.

If this counted as an attack, it was a pretty feeble one.

Jiang Chen said slowly, "Fatty, that's your Contract Beast. It can't hurt you."

"But it's about to die!"

"I can't take this anymore!"

The little beast, perched on the fat kid's shoulder, leaped onto his head.

"I've seen idiots before, but never one this stupid."

"I've seen people with lousy abilities, but never anyone as weak as you."

"I've seen cowards before, but never one as timid as you."

"And the worst part is, this person is my host."

"Oh my heavens, I'm going to lose it. What did I do to deserve this?"

Hearing the little beast speak, the fat kid was stunned.

"You can talk?"

"Don't use your intelligence to judge the wisdom of a Divine Beast."

As it spoke, the little beast held its head high with pride.

The fat kid was completely dumbfounded by the Divine Beast's words.

His ability was summoning-type, leaning toward the summoner class.

Everyone in his family had been a summoner for generations. He was the only one who had contracted an egg whose quality and level couldn't be determined.

Because of this, the other young people in his family had mocked him.

They called him a once-in-a-century good-for-nothing.

They said he couldn't possibly be his parents' child. His parents were the Empire's finest summoners, yet his ability had only produced a useless egg.

The fat kid had heard every kind of cruel remark countless times since he was little.

At first, he'd been angry, sad, and hurt. In the end, he'd resigned himself to his fate.

He'd thought he would live an ordinary life and never continue his parents' legacy.

But now, he'd learned an earth-shattering secret.

The egg he'd summoned wasn't one with no discernible quality at all. It was a Divine Beast Egg, something rarely seen in ten thousand years.

Was this real? Was this little fellow a Divine Beast...

"You already possess the Divine Beast Bloodline. Summoning a high-quality Divine Beast shouldn't be difficult, but unfortunately, your innate bloodline power was sealed."

"So, although you have the ability to summon a Divine Beast, you lack the strength to do so. All you could summon was me, while I was still in my slumber."

As if it knew what the fat kid was thinking, the Divine Beast explained, reluctantly.

As it spoke, everything around them fell silent.

Everyone stared in amazement at the summoning beast that could speak.

When it said it was a Divine Beast, everyone around them was so shocked they forgot to breathe.

They had never imagined that the fat kid, whom the whole school had always considered a good-for-nothing, could summon a Divine Beast.

Good heavens, it was a Divine Beast—a Divine Beast rarely seen in ten thousand years.

And it had become a good-for-nothing's Contract Beast.

It was enough to make everyone green with envy.

The Divine Beast naturally paid no attention to what the people around them thought.

The fat kid didn't care either.

He'd long since stopped caring what other people thought of him.

But now that the fat kid, who had settled into a carefree life, knew he wasn't a good-for-nothing, his feelings were incredibly complicated.

He still remembered the Beast Taming Art his family had taught him as a child.

He tried to communicate with the Divine Beast. "Hello. From now on, you're my partner. You can call me Fatty."

The Divine Beast looked at the fat kid strangely. Throughout the ages, contract holders had always demanded that their Contract Beasts call them Master.

Even when the Contract Beast was a Divine Beast, it was no different.

Why would this chubby, simple-minded fellow want it to call him Fatty instead of Master?

"You don't want me to address you respectfully as Master?" the Divine Beast asked in confusion.

"No need. My friends all like to call me Fatty. I'm used to it."

"You consider me your friend?" the Divine Beast asked uncertainly.

"From now on, we'll fight side by side and depend on each other through life and death. What else would we be if not friends?"

"Brother Chen says only true friends can depend on each other through life and death."

The fat kid answered naturally.

He'd been mocked as a good-for-nothing for so many years that his heart had long since become as calm as still water.

But he was especially attached to the word "friend."

Only a friend wouldn't look down on him for being useless and would protect him at any cost.

"Fine. From now on, we're friends. My name is Bai Ze!"

Bai Ze thought for a moment, then replied.

After they'd finished talking, the fat kid swaggered over to Zhang Banxian and said, "Zhang Banxian, this is my Contract Beast, Bai Ze. It's a Divine Beast!"

"What's so great about that? Once I've mastered my technique, I'll contract one too."

Zhang Banxian said, unconvinced.

"Sure. Then the two of us can compete and see whose Divine Beast is stronger."

The fat kid chuckled.

"Brother Chen, this is Bai Ze, the Divine Beast I contracted."

The fat kid went over to Jiang Chen as if showing off a treasure, then said to Bai Ze, "Say hello to Brother Chen!"

Bai Ze turned its head away, clearly reluctant.

It was a Divine Beast, for heaven's sake. It had its pride.

Say hello to a human? Dream on!

"Bai Ze, this is my Brother Chen. You can't be rude to him, understand?"

The fat kid reminded Bai Ze.

Bai Ze rolled its eyes.

It clearly wasn't impressed.

Jiang Chen, however, didn't think much of it.

He was happier than anyone that his friend had awakened an ability.

Unfortunately, he didn't have anything good to give the fat kid to celebrate his contract with a Divine Beast.

"Ding! Congratulations, host, on completing the rescue mission. You have received a special reward: one Beast King Pill and one intermediate-level formula."

Rescue?

Did that mean the classmate he'd just saved from the collapsed building?

He'd been worried about the fat kid at the time and hadn't noticed the system refreshing the mission.

He hadn't expected to complete a system mission by accident.

Still, he couldn't use the Beast King Pill.

He didn't have a Contract Beast.

The fat kid might need it.

Thinking this, Jiang Chen took the Beast King Pill from his system inventory and handed it to the fat kid. "This is my congratulatory gift to you. Congratulations on contracting a Divine Beast."

The fat kid naturally refused. "Brother Chen, if you and I are going to talk like this, you're being too formal."

"I want it! I want it!"

Bai Ze seemed to catch the scent of something inside the pill box and looked at Jiang Chen in shock.

Who was this person beside the fat kid? He could actually produce a top-grade Beast King Pill.

In the human world, this kind of thing was a top-tier treasure, something one could only hope to find by chance.

If it took the pill, it could increase its level by at least three.

Faced with something that could boost its strength, Bai Ze naturally refused to let it go.

It eagerly made its wishes known.

"Since the little fellow likes it, I'll give it to him!"

Jiang Chen handed Bai Ze the box containing the Beast King Pill.

Bai Ze grabbed it and immediately returned to its Spirit Pet Space, ready to take the pill and absorb its effects.

"How shameless can you be!"