Searching and Searching

Bai Mo sat in a rideshare on his way home.

He opened the family group chat.

Bai Mo: Image.JPG documenting the Summoning Element talent, Return to Origin Contract.

Bai Mo: @Everyone, come worship this peerless genius. Cool/Cool/

Bai Hanxing: Bullshit. Do you know how much money that talent is going to cost?

Bai Mo: Nose-picking/ I can smell the jealousy through the screen.

Zhuang Xingyan: There's even a talent like this? I'm amazing—I actually gave birth to you.

Bai Mo: .

Bai Hanxing: Head-scratch/

Bai Yuanzhi: Got it. Meeting.

Seeing that, Bai Mo put away his phone. He had notified them, anyway. How many resources he could secure from the family would depend on Patriarch Bai.

As for himself, he began considering which Summoned Beasts to choose. There were seven elemental types of magic: light, water, earth, wind, ice, fire, and lightning.

Without special opportunities, a Summoning Mage could have at most one Dimensional Summoned Beast and two contracted Summoned Beasts, for a total of three.

However, certain magically crafted items possessed extraordinary abilities, such as allowing one more Summoned Beast.

But such magic items were hard to come by, and they could usually only be used once and could not stack.

So, at most, four.

After thinking for a long time, he still could not decide. Single-element elemental creatures were easy enough to find, but ones with high bloodline grades were something that could only be encountered by chance.

He did know where to find a Fire Element holy spirit, Flame Belle. But he would have to wait until his Summoning Element reached the Intermediate Level before considering whether to go after it.

What was most pressing now was Dimensional Summoning. In the Dimensional Plane, only consciousness could roam freely. He might not even encounter a single-element elemental creature with a high-grade bloodline.

If possible, Bai Mo thought wind, lightning, fire, or ice would all be good choices.

Also, his Summoned Beast's personality could not be like that of an Iron-Eating Beast—lazy to the point of death, preferring to sit rather than stand, and refusing to move whenever possible.

Otherwise, he would worry himself to death. One lazy bum was already enough.

What surprised Bai Mo was that when he got home, Patriarch Bai, Bai Hanxing, and Zhuang Xingyan were all there. Then he saw the dishes on the dining table.

He understood.

"I already ate."

"You ate already? Have some more, Mo'er," Zhuang Xingyan said with a beaming smile.

Bai Mo pretended not to hear her and dashed back to his bedroom.

His Summoning Element was so amazing, and he had not properly gotten close with it yet. Besides, a Summoner's cultivation determined the cultivation of their Summoned Beasts. If his own shortcomings prevented a Summoned Beast that could have broken through to a higher realm from doing so, wouldn't Bai Hanxing laugh himself to death?

Therefore, he still needed to take proper care of his Summoning Element.

What was more, Bai Mo had formed a suspicion during this awakening. Perhaps he was destined to clash with dimensional magic for the rest of his life.

He might possess an exceptionally strong talent for Dimensional Magic. To verify his guess, he began meditating.

The process of controlling Star Dust went extraordinarily smoothly. Reaching the Intermediate Level had already increased the efficiency of control, and what had happened when he controlled the Space Element Star Dust happened again with the Summoning Element Star Dust.

The seven transparent Star Dust, each with a multicolored black heart, were all incredibly friendly toward him. Thus, he effortlessly established a connection with all seven of them.

"Knock, knock, knock~"

A knock sounded at the door, signaling that the family of three outside had finished dinner.

Bai Mo dispersed the Summoning Element Star Orbit that was about to be completed and walked out.

"So? My talent's great, right?"

Before he even entered the living room, Bai Mo's voice had already carried over.

The two people surnamed Bai ignored him. Only his mom, Zhuang Xingyan, giggled and said, "Mo'er is the best."

Bai Mo was not pleased. His mom's tone, like she was coaxing a child, made him feel that she still saw him as a little kid.

"The family can find you a contracted Summoned Beast with a Monarch Level bloodline, but you'll need to become an official National Government Team Member in a few years."

Once Bai Mo entered the living room and sat down, Patriarch Bai took a sip of tea and spoke slowly, every word clear.

"Alright." Bai Mo nodded and agreed without a second thought.

"The family will not actively pull strings to secure your spot."

Bai Mo nodded, indicating that he had no problem with that, though he had no interest in promises of the future.

Generally speaking, families invested in their descendants and imposed requirements at the same time.

His elder brother was like that.

He knew the family had placed so many conditions on the resources invested in him because he was unwilling to shoulder the family's responsibilities in the future and refused to be controlled.

Thus, apart from the greater part of their attention being focused on his elder brother, the family distributed a smaller portion among him and the other family descendants.

So when it came to something as significant as a Monarch Level Summoned Beast, the family's investment in him took the form of assigning him a mission.

Compared to the future, Bai Mo cared more about the present. If the Summoning Element didn't require guidance and help from others to cultivate, he couldn't be bothered to take the initiative to ask.

So, after indicating that he accepted all the family's conditions, Bai Mo asked:

"What about my Dimensional Summoning, Patriarch Bai? Do you have any way to help me with it?"

"Take this book and read it first. When you're done, call this number. He's a Super Level summoner at Pearl Institute. Ask him to give you some guidance."

Bai Mo took it and glanced at the title, Encyclopedia of Dimensional Plane Summoned Beasts. He suspected it was a secondhand book Bai Hanxing had read before.

There was also a slip of paper inside the book. It read Professor Shi, with a phone number beneath it.

He saved the number on his phone, then looked up at Patriarch Bai. "Can't I go ask him now?"

"He's a Super Level mage. How could he have so much time to spare on you? Just because of your talent?"

"Isn't that enough?"

"..." Patriarch Bai thought about it and felt that it actually might be possible, but he still said, "Unless you become his disciple."

"Forget it." Bai Mo had no such plans. A Super Level mage's thigh wasn't thick enough for him to cling to; he couldn't be bothered.

"Professor Shi taught me before too. He likes red wine, so you can bring two bottles when you visit."

Bai Hanxing, who had been sitting to the side quietly listening to their conversation, spoke up.

"Got it. If there's nothing else, I'm going back to my room."

"Wait!" Bai Yuanzhi spoke, pulling a bracelet from his spatial equipment.

"This is a Star Cloud Magic Artifact. Take it and use it. Give me the one you're wearing."

Bai Mo raised his brow, removed the pendant the family had given him, and put on the bracelet. "How long can I wear it?"

"Until you reach the Advanced Level."

"There's such a good thing? Any more? If not, I'm leaving." Bai Mo looked at his father expectantly.

Bai Yuanzhi impatiently waved him off and skillfully opened the tablet beside him.

"Go. That's all!"

"Tch~"

Bai Mo curled his lip, took the book, and went to read on the swing in the courtyard.

The reason he hadn't hurried to cast Dimensional Summoning, travel through another plane, and find himself a partner—

Was because, aside from relatively common dimensional summoned beasts like Phantom Wolves—

He barely recognized any others.

What if he encountered a suitable one but missed it because he didn't recognize it? Or what if he got tricked by some summoned beast that looked ridiculously impressive on the surface but was rotten inside?

Wouldn't that be a massive loss?

Come to think of it, why had Mo Fan in the original story only needed to charge ahead recklessly?

Oh, right. He was the protagonist. Never mind. He mainly cultivated destruction, and was unmatched in lightning and fire.

He really only needed to charge ahead recklessly.

As he read, Bai Mo let his thoughts wander aimlessly, until he saw an illustration of a bird with a bluish-black body, wrapped all over in bluish-black lightning.

Thunderbird: Advanced Level Monarch bloodline. Said to be a descendant of the Emperor Phoenix, it possesses powerful Lightning Element abilities.

The more he read, the brighter his eyes became. He'd found one—but he should keep looking.

He read while humming.

"Looking, looking, looking for friends~ Found..."