Mushroom's Little Spore

Chapter Five

Aili was very kind, but Ye Nanxun had grown used to being alone.

With no one else left in the lounge, Ye Nanxun tipped back his head and took several gulps of water.

Only when the cup was empty did the tremor in his fingertips, which he had been desperately suppressing, finally settle.

His pale fingers lightly pressed against his chest as his gaze fell on the bouquet that occupied the entire tea table.

Ye Nanxun walked over and sat on the sofa beside the tea table. Bending down, he took out the small cards tucked among the flowers one by one, read the names on them, then put the cards away in his pocket.

The hall seemed exceptionally lively. Even from the lounge, he could vaguely hear melodic music and bursts of cheerful laughter.

He wanted to sneak out for a look, but he was afraid of being discovered.

With a thought, a tiny spore, like a snowflake, appeared before Ye Nanxun.

This was his Companion Beast, Mushroom Spore.

Generally speaking, the higher a person's spiritual power level, the more likely they were to awaken a Companion Beast.

A Companion Beast was the physical manifestation of a person's spiritual power. When first awakened, it was a basic Companion Beast.

They were usually common small animals, such as kittens, puppies, little butterflies, little spiders, and the like.

It could share all five senses with its host.

Because of his pheromones, Ye Nanxun rarely went out, but he was not unfamiliar with the outside world.

Many times, he would let the snowflake-sized spore drift away on the wind, taking the place of his eyes to see this colorful world for him.

"Go on. Go take a look at the dance in the hall."

The tiny white spore swayed along with the breeze and floated out the window.

Ye Nanxun leaned on the windowsill, watching his little spore fly farther and farther away.

Beyond basic Companion Beasts, some people with even stronger spiritual power had the chance to evolve their Companion Beasts into more powerful creatures.

For example, Yan Beiyou, the ruler of Ye Nanxun's star system and the world's only SSS-class alpha—his evolved Companion Beast was a Black Dragon capable of devouring the starry sky.

"Eh? Your Majesty!"

The moment the private room door opened, Zhu Yucheng, who was holding Teacher Jiang's arm, instantly widened his eyes.

The nearly two-meter-tall alpha was still dressed in formal attire. He looked as if he had just finished a meeting and rushed over without even having time to change.

Yan Beiyou stood outside the door. "Where are you going?"

Zhu Yucheng pulled Teacher Jiang aside to make way for him and said with a smile, "An omega surnamed Ye just performed a solo onstage. My Teacher Jiang wants to get acquainted with him, so I'm taking him downstairs to look for him."

"Your Majesty, come in!"

Inside the private room, Ji Yunqi and Song Ren called Yan Beiyou over.

Zhu Yucheng and Jiang Yuenian went downstairs to find someone, while Yan Beiyou sat down near the floor-to-ceiling window.

Ji Yunqi sat opposite Yan Beiyou. "Your Majesty, would you like a glass of red wine?"

"Yes." Yan Beiyou's gaze swept to the right.

Through the one-way floor-to-ceiling glass window, he had a full view of the ceremonial hall downstairs.

An extravagantly luxurious crystal chandelier illuminated the golden hall in dazzling brilliance. In the center of the dance floor, young omegas danced like fluttering butterflies.

"Your Majesty still came a step too late. The most exciting first dance just ended." Song Ren sat farther inside the private room and seemed rather uninterested in today's ceremony.

Yan Beiyou smiled faintly, accepted the wineglass Ji Yunqi handed over, and said nothing.

Ji Yunqi and Song Ren exchanged glances, each seeing a trace of surprise and amusement in the other's eyes.

At the omega coming-of-age ceremonies previously held in the Imperial Palace, Yan Beiyou had been in the Imperial Palace, yet he had never attended even once.

This time, although he had not shown himself, he had at least come.

Zhu Yucheng started a conversation and chatted idly with Song Ren.

Yan Beiyou listened quietly, occasionally adding a word or two.

His distinct-knuckled fingers held the red wineglass as his gaze wandered lazily across the lively golden hall.

The extravagantly dressed young omegas danced gracefully on the dance floor to the music and lights.

Eighteen years old. A coming-of-age ceremony.

Yan Beiyou suddenly realized that he had overlooked something.

That Little Mushroom from the game had tirelessly challenged the Black Dragon Boss for twelve years.

When he had started playing the game, hadn't he only been six?

Twelve uninterrupted years, logging in every day at the exact same time to challenge the boss.

Was he a gaming addict?

Yan Beiyou had discovered that Little Mushroom three years ago.

He had used his own Companion Beast, the Black Dragon, as a prototype to project an unbeatable ultimate boss into the game.

On the challenge leaderboard's attempt-count ranking, the second-place player had challenged it at most 1,563 times.

But Little Mushroom, ranked first, had more than twice as many attempts as second place.

Little Mushroom happened to be in the boss challenge instance, and on a whim, Yan Beiyou entered the Black Dragon Boss's game interface.

Little Mushroom was knocked down in less than two seconds. He lay alone on the ground, chattering away as he sent voice messages in the current channel.

He wasn't challenging a game boss.

He was treating the Black Dragon Boss like a confession booth.

[Those big bosses are all wealthy, powerful bad people. I can only defeat them if I become even stronger than them, or find a powerful backer who is wealthier and more influential than they are.]

Remembering what Little Mushroom had said the last time in the game instance, Yan Beiyou unconsciously frowned slightly.

The omega coming-of-age ceremony held in the Imperial Palace would not make anyone stronger, but this place was filled with wealthy and powerful aristocratic alphas watching the omegas at every moment.

Yan Beiyou set down his unfinished glass of wine and stood up. "I'm leaving."

Ji Yunqi and Song Ren hurriedly rose to their feet.

Yan Beiyou said, "Stay and enjoy yourselves. No need to see me off."

Ji Yunqi and Song Ren exchanged looks.

He had only been sitting for a few minutes, hadn't he? He was leaving already?

Song Ren gave a soft laugh and sighed. "Looks like no one caught his eye."

Ji Yunqi considered it for a moment. "Finding someone who can catch His Majesty's eye... won't be easy."

Yan Beiyou had come alone.

When he left, he was alone as well.

Compared to the bustling hall, the garden outside was tranquil and peaceful.

Bright moonlight cast a gentle haze over the snow-covered garden. Shoes rustled across the snow, while the streetlamps stretched the man's shadow long behind him.

A round-headed little yellow dog dashed out of the shadows, joyfully running back and forth through the garden.

Yan Beiyou gave his little Companion Beast an indifferent glance, then sat down on a nearby bench.

Thinking of how he had actually rushed here as soon as his meeting ended because of a single sentence from Little Mushroom, he could not help shaking his head with a quiet laugh.

He had just been in the second-floor private room and looked over everyone in the hall, yet nothing had particularly moved him.

"Woof—woof woof—"

The little yellow dog seemed especially lively today.

Yan Beiyou glanced toward it.

The little yellow dog bounced about energetically, its bright black eyes fixed on something drifting back and forth before it, like a snowflake. It seemed to want to pounce on that floating "little snowflake."