At Long Last, Earned Recognition

Time hurried by, and before long, dusk had fallen.

The setting sun melted like gold, and birds returned to their nests as the whole sky turned orange-red.

The sunset's fading glow spilled slowly across the desolate land, lending it a peculiar sense of loneliness.

"He still hasn't come back? I suppose I was being a little too optimistic..."

Ning Huan stood with his hands behind his back, his face expressionless. A flicker of regret passed through his eyes.

"Too much time has passed. Even solid rock can't withstand the merciless erosion of the years."

"What's more, the place has been looted so many times. Finding nothing is only to be expected."

Yet the collapse of his hopes didn't leave him feeling the slightest regret.

After all, he'd prepared a backup plan in advance.

He could summon a few of the more powerful Soul Beast spirits among those he'd already contracted and still achieve his goal.

But compared with summoning the sect's ancestors in front of everyone, that would be far less effective.

Perhaps he could temporarily contract one or two powerful sect members after returning.

But that carried too much risk and could easily sow the seeds of trouble.

It wouldn't be worth it!

There was no helping it. Though the [Spirit Bestowal Platform] was wondrous,

it could complete spirits on its own through the relics of the dead who acknowledged him, restoring their ability to grow.

And when spirits sharing the same origin as Soul Rings grew, they could in turn nourish those Soul Rings and gradually increase their age.

But its limitations could also prove fatal at certain times.

For one thing, the fact that the living could refuse a summons through sheer force of will had put an end to his plan of contracting living people in the early stages.

After all, what if a contracted being was in a bad mood at a crucial moment...

Whether he became a laughingstock didn't matter. What mattered was that he might die!

So, up to now, all the dozen or so spirits Ning Huan had contracted were Soul Beasts.

Even that had taken a vast amount of money and hundreds of attempts to build up.

Fortunately, those efforts had also allowed him to work out the prerequisites for a [Contract] through repeated failures.

His reason for coming alone to the ruins of Jialing Pass had likewise been a gamble.

He wanted to see if he could unearth the relics of Sword Douluo or Bone Douluo from ten thousand years ago.

If he was lucky enough to find a relic, and the [Spirit Bestowal Platform] acknowledged it and completed the spirit,

then, with his status as a disciple of the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect, Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo would surely be willing to help him.

Once he returned to the sect, many of the ideas in his mind could finally be put into practice.

Of course, as things stood, he'd clearly lost the gamble.

Ten thousand years was enough to erase everything in the mortal world.

"Alas, I didn't correct my thinking in time when my Martial Soul awakened."

"Because I hesitated for a moment, I was sent to the border. But misfortune turned into fortune when I gained such a wondrous spirit as the Treasure Seeking Mouse."

"And now I'm fretting over how to return to the sect without a care in the world."

"Fortune and misfortune truly go hand in hand..."

As his sigh faded, Ning Huan shook his head and laughed. He felt no regret over his immaturity in the past.

In the end, he'd never been shortchanged on the resources available to him at each stage.

And compared with being stuck in the sect headquarters like a prisoner, he'd spent six years as a nobody, unnoticed by any of the stewards.

Not even a Soul Power cultivation level of forty-two had attracted anyone's attention.

Heaven knew how free and easy he'd been.

If the border hadn't been so lacking in resources that he could no longer continue cultivating after reaching Soul Ancestor,

and if he hadn't lacked the experience and strength to venture deep into the Star Dou Forest and hunt a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring,

he might not have chosen to reveal his talent to the world so soon.

"The Titled Douluos I know from memory are hard to find, and my Soul Beast spirits are enough for now."

"As for the rest... no, I can't afford to burn through another hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins."

At the thought, Ning Huan suddenly recalled the losses he'd suffered at auction houses, from street vendors, and at the hands of grave robbers.

Instinctively, he pushed aside this last-resort option.

He'd already wasted hundreds of thousands of Gold Soul Coins on the relics of Titled Douluos. He couldn't keep throwing money away.

"After all this thought, what I'm really missing is a trump card powerful enough to decide the final outcome."

Just as Ning Huan was wearing a rare frown, unable to make up his mind,

the [Treasure Seeking Mouse], which he hadn't placed much hope in, emerged from the cave, brimming with energy.

Judging by its excitement, unlike anything he'd shown before, it had clearly found something valuable.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak!"

Its piercing cries broke the evening silence and forced Ning Huan to stop thinking.

He lowered his head and looked at the golden-furred mouse that had helped him more than anyone else.

The helplessness of being woken and the confusion of not knowing what was going on flashed across his face, before settling into the excitement of seeing light at the end of the tunnel.

"Jinbao! Did you find it?!"

As soon as he spoke, the [Treasure Seeking Mouse] quickly nodded its little head.

Then it rose onto its hind legs and, as usual, brought both forepaws to its mouth and rummaged around.

Ning Huan, watching without blinking, had never felt time pass so slowly.

Only a few seconds had passed, but it felt as though the wait would never end.

A moment later, Jinbao carefully took a finger-sized fragment of bone from its cheek pouch and offered it up in both paws, mimicking a human.

"Buried underground for ten thousand years, yet the bone remains smooth as jade, with a faint trace of sword intent lingering around it..."

Seeing it, Ning Huan didn't even care about the dirt and saliva on it.

He snatched the fragment from Jinbao's paws and clenched it tightly in his hand.

"Stay calm. I have to stay calm!"

But despite his words, the barely contained emotion on his face betrayed his inner turmoil at every moment.

"There's no time to waste! It all comes down to this!"

With that, Ning Huan closed his eyes. He raised his empty left hand to his chest and formed a sword-finger gesture.

His right hand faced palm-up, steadily supporting the bone fragment, as he carefully sensed it with his Soul Power and spiritual power.

He didn't know how long he maintained that pose. Then, suddenly, that familiar tremor finally stirred in his sea of consciousness.

A moment later, an unknown energy emerged from his palm and wrapped around the bone fragment, seemingly mending something as it did.

Ning Huan felt it too. Before he knew it, he was murmuring aloud.

"A dazzling ray pierces the endless sky; Seven Kill cleaves the rainbow!"

"The sword knows no self; ten thousand blades become a gale of astral force!"

"Ning Huan, a descendant, begs Your Excellency Chen Xin to protect the Nine Treasures once more and help this junior tread the path to heaven!"

The Contract incantation rang through the night sky. The shattered white bone suddenly began to glow with a pure white light.

The nearly vanished sword intent erupted as well, and the wildly dancing sword energy stung Ning Huan all over.

Yet even so, he gritted his teeth and stood where he was, refusing to move an inch.

I can't dodge! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

Realizing he had no obvious wounds, Ning Huan steeled himself.

He didn't give up, despite the unbearable pain. Instead, he poured in even more Soul Power.

All so he could win Sword Douluo's recognition as quickly as possible and complete the Contract.

The almost masochistic Contract process continued for a long time.

By the time stars dotted the night sky, Ning Huan had exhausted his Soul Power. His mind was hazy, his eyes vacant.

Only his body remained upright, still holding the exact same pose as when he'd begun.

"Mm. Not bad."

"Exceptional talent. Remarkable will."

"I'll trust you for now, young man. Don't disappoint me!"

As his consciousness lingered on the brink, an aged voice rang faintly through the void, cold yet unmistakably approving. Its words brought the youth a sense of relief.

Thud!

Bang!

The next moment, utterly exhausted in body and mind, Ning Huan finally collapsed. Before his consciousness faded completely, he still managed to utter one final respectful remark.

"Thank you, senior... for your help."