Sathius

Zhao Nan did not walk quickly, as he needed to search for a specific location.

After more than three hours, Zhao Nan finally found the small mountain that housed the deep cavern.

Zhao Nan first glanced at the magical beasts far away from him, not paying much attention to them.

High above, the fire dragons, green dragons, and other magical beasts were all struck with terror upon seeing Zhao Nan's actions.

After all, the place Zhao Nan was heading toward was a forbidden zone in their eyes.

Seeing this scene, countless magical beasts let out roars before slowly scattering away.

Clearly, they believed that once Zhao Nan entered the forbidden zone, he would perish immediately.

After entering the underground cavern, Zhao Nan did not rush to act.

He had some understanding of this underground cavern, so he rested for a moment before slowly walking deeper into the cave.

Inside this underground cavern was a winding yet very wide passage, measuring a full dozen meters in width.

Although the depths of the cave were vast, they were extremely dim, and after walking for a while, it became pitch black.

But not long after, a glimmer of light suddenly appeared in Zhao Nan's eyes, though this light was glowing with a red hue.

Through his soul perception, he discovered a creature ten meters long and nearly three meters tall, covered in dark, tightly and regularly arranged scales, which were not very large—only the size of a palm.

At the same time, there were sharp spikes thirty centimeters long running along its spine.

These spikes extended from the tip of its tail all the way to its forehead.

Its eyes were a dark, golden color.

It was the Armored Spined Dragon that Linley would eventually drain of blood: Sathius.

Zhao Nan's arrival went unnoticed by Sathius, as Zhao Nan was a Saint-level powerhouse, while Sathius was only a level nine magical beast.

Sathius did not see Zhao Nan, yet Zhao Nan had already walked into the cave.

"Sathius?" Zhao Nan's sudden voice caused Sathius, who had been lying on the ground resting, to wake up in an instant.

"Who are you?"

Sathius looked at Zhao Nan, his dark golden eyes staring coldly at him.

However, since Sathius was only a level nine magical beast, he did not speak in a normal language, but rather through soul transmission.

"You can call me Zhao Nan." Zhao Nan introduced himself, then looked at Sathius and nodded with satisfaction before speaking to him: "I imagine that as a level nine magical beast, you have always been pursuing the opportunity to reach the Saint-level.

I can give you this opportunity, but it requires you to pay a price!"

"What opportunity?"

Sathius's eyes were cold, but they were filled with a hint of anxiety.

Zhao Nan waved his hand at Sathius and said: "Become the contracted magical beast of one of my disciples."

As soon as Zhao Nan finished speaking, he saw that Sathius's eyes were immediately filled with endless rage.

Zhao Nan naturally saw the anger in Sathius's eyes and hurriedly said to him: "You should know that the dragon race—or rather, all dragon races—are very proud and arrogant.

And the Armored Spined Dragon is an outlier among dragons, even more arrogant and proud.

Therefore, if you want to become a Saint-level powerhouse, you must cast aside your pride and arrogance.

My requirement for you to become my disciple's contracted magical beast will slowly wear away your pride and arrogance.

When that time comes, that will be the moment you become a Saint-level magical beast."

As Zhao Nan's words fell, Sathius fell into a silence.

Seeing Sathius fall silent, Zhao Nan continued: "Don't worry, I only want you to become an equal-contracted magical beast for my disciple.

Besides, my disciple has the potential to become a god."

Sathius had been silent, but upon hearing this, he couldn't help but let out a snort of laughter.

However, because of his terrifying head, even when he laughed, Zhao Nan couldn't really tell.

"You are only at the Saint-level yourself, yet you claim your disciple has the potential to become a god."

Hearing this from Sathius, Zhao Nan knew that the other party certainly wouldn't believe him.

However, Zhao Nan was not without options; he spread his palm slightly, and a terrifyingly oppressive force of space slammed down, pinning Sathius firmly to the ground.

This move was something Zhao Nan had comprehended from the spatial pressure used by Doehring Cowart.

However, since he hadn't formed his own specific ability, he used it just like Doehring Cowart, employing a Gravity Space to render the opponent unable to move.

After pinning Sathius to the ground, Zhao Nan said: "Alright, now tell me if you agree!"

Feeling the endless oppressive force upon him, Sathius circulated the energy in his body, trying to break through Zhao Nan's suppression.

But no matter how much Sathius struggled, he couldn't move even a fraction of an inch from the ground.

As a proud member of the dragon race, how could he admit defeat like this? He let out an angry roar and erupted with energy once more.

Unfortunately, this burst of energy was still of no use.

Sathius understood at this moment that the gap between him and his opponent was far too vast; it would be effortless for the other party to kill him.

If Zhao Nan had arrived with nothing but sarcasm or provocation, Sathius might have chosen to self-destruct immediately to defend his dignity.

However, from the moment Zhao Nan entered, he had spoken with great courtesy, and even when asking for his submission, he had only requested an equal contract.

This was why, although Sathius felt a sense of shame, he did not feel the same desperate resolve he had shown when fighting the Purple-Striped Black Bear in the original story.

Of course, this also had to do with Zhao Nan's promise to help him reach the Saint Realm.

Therefore, Sathius simply lowered his head and remained silent, standing in a standoff with Zhao Nan.

Seeing this, Zhao Nan could not help but frown.

To be honest, Zhao Nan had intended for Sathius to become the equal-contract magical beast for Ace, and then he would take Sathius on as his own disciple.

It wasn't that he wanted to share any of Sathius's abilities, but rather that Sathius's rating within the system had actually reached the SSS-rank.

Although he currently only wanted to focus on his own Earth Water Fire Wind elemental talents, taking on more disciples could increase the system's cultivation growth rate!

The system's acceleration was currently only at level three, but if he took on Sathius, the acceleration could reach level four.

Yet, Zhao Nan had not expected Sathius to be this stubborn.

If he hadn't intended to take him as a disciple, he could have used all sorts of methods to break him and force his submission, but since he wanted to take him as a student, many of those tactics were off the table.