The Beginning (3)

"To tell the truth, I'm quite taken with the secret art you mentioned. I want these Demon Talisman Seeds as well, and I'd also like to copy the notes your father left behind. No problem with that, right?" Lin Xin said, returning to the matter at hand.

"N-No problem." The boy began to stammer. "You're agreeing just like that?"

"Of course. What else do you want?" Lin Xin asked in return.

"It's just that... such a small price..."

"Then it's settled. You and I will form a contract." Lin Xin pressed a palm-shaped little pattern on the table.

The pattern immediately lit up. Following his will, a sheet of white paper appeared between them, its surface rapidly filling with the terms of the contract they were about to establish.

Once the contents had been completed, the paper split into two copies and slid before them respectively.

"Once you sign this agreement, both our names will be overseen by the Radiance Society. Should either party violate it, the Radiance Society will issue a long-term punitive mission. Think it through. It may not be only the Radiance Society—other similar organizations may also acquire this record."

Lin Xin spoke calmly.

"I have nothing to hesitate over." The boy decisively took it, bit his finger, and pressed it down hard.

Leaving behind a bloody handprint.

Lin Xin, meanwhile, signed his own name and codename.

Several dozen miles outside Na Xi City.

Dense forests encircled the land, mountain ranges rose and fell, and silvery-white streams wound through them.

Clang!!

Two gray-white figures abruptly separated in midair, silver radiance spraying between them.

A massive cypress tree emerged behind one man, while the phantom of a golden monkey flew above the other's head. After pausing briefly, the two slammed into each other again.

Below them, a large