"I see." Yue Shen fell silent.
Although he had anticipated this outcome, the only one he wanted to choose was the Starshine Unicorn King.
"To make it up to you, I am willing to gather light element for you and help you cultivate for a while before you leave." The Starshine Unicorn nuzzled Yue Shen's trouser leg. "I can sense that you are about to break through."
"Would that really be all right?" Tempted, Yue Shen said, "Before I entered Knight Sacred Mountain, I was told I couldn't absorb light element here to meditate and cultivate."
"This is light element I gather for you. It does not belong to Knight Sacred Mountain." An aura of light element immediately flowed from the horn atop the Starshine Unicorn King's head, surrounding Yue Shen.
Yue Shen's face lit up at those words. The Starshine Unicorn King had no reason to deceive him. In other words, meditating and cultivating here with the unicorn's help would not break the rules.
He was on the verge of breaking through to the fifth tier. Now that this opportunity had presented itself, he naturally could not let it slip away.
"Thank you." Without hesitation, Yue Shen sat cross-legged and entered a meditative state.
Before entering Knight Sacred Mountain, his Spiritual Power had already been close to the threshold for breaking through to the fifth tier. After several days of natural growth, he was now only one final step away from completing his breakthrough.
The key to breaking through to the fifth tier lay in compressing his Spiritual Power. Yue Shen cautiously began attempting the process.
While Yue Shen worked on his breakthrough to the fifth tier, Long Haochen trekked across mountains and streams throughout Knight Sacred Mountain, constantly searching for a magical beast willing to enter into a Mount Contract with him.
Although he had already decided to try his luck at the teleportation array, he still wanted to see whether he could earn the approval of another powerful magical beast.
But just as the Starshine Unicorn had said, none responded to his requests.
During that time, he also passed the Starshine Unicorns' watering place once. He saw Yue Shen strolling by the lake, with a Starshine Unicorn following beside him.
"Has Brother Yue already earned a Starshine Unicorn's approval?" A hint of envy shone in Long Haochen's eyes. "My time isn't up yet. I absolutely won't give up."
Thirty days passed in the blink of an eye. Yue Shen opened his eyes reluctantly.
It must be almost time to teleport out, right? Yue Shen took the token from his pocket. It had already begun flashing with a reddish-gold light, signaling that he would soon be teleported out of Knight Sacred Mountain.
"Hello. Is your time almost up?" The Starshine Unicorn King beside him drew closer.
"Yes." Yue Shen stretched. "I'll be leaving soon."
"Thank you all so much for these past few days," Yue Shen said sincerely. "Not only did you help me break through to the fifth tier, but you also took turns gathering light element to help me cultivate."
Yue Shen bowed deeply to the several Starshine Unicorns gathered around him. You're all such good beasts.
Not only had he successfully reached the fifth tier, but his Spiritual Power had also increased by over a thousand, bringing his total to three thousand.
Twenty-five days, and he had reached level five of the fifth tier. Yue Shen had never dared imagine progressing at such a speed, but now he had done it.
"It is our honor to be of assistance to you." Sensing the aura of light around Yue Shen, the Starshine Unicorn King said gently, "You may now choose one member of our herd to leave with you as your mount companion."
By now, the reddish-gold light from the token in Yue Shen's hand was growing increasingly dazzling. Clearly, it was almost time for him to be teleported away.
"Huh?" Yue Shen asked in confusion. "Choose what?"
"Didn't we agree that we would help you break through to the fifth tier and assist your cultivation?" the Starshine Unicorn King said, sounding a little anxious. "Then you would choose one member of our Starshine Unicorn herd to take with you,
"as your mount companion?" "Yes, but didn't I choose you, and then you turned me down?" Yue Shen replied, bewildered.
Besides, he had never once said he wanted to choose another Starshine Unicorn as his mount companion.
When the Starshine Unicorn King rejected his request, he had already decided to try his luck at the teleportation array, just like Long Haochen.
The Starshine Unicorn King seemed at a loss for words, unsure what to say.
"I'm sorry. I never meant to deceive you," Yue Shen said apologetically. "Please allow me to decline your request."
Time was up.
A blinding golden light flared before the Starshine Unicorn King, and a reddish-gold teleportation array appeared beneath Yue Shen's feet.
In the next instant, light enveloped Yue Shen. When he opened his eyes again, he had already been teleported outside the sacred mountain.
Watching Yue Shen vanish without a trace, the Starshine Unicorn King could not help sighing inwardly.
When Yue Shen stepped out of the curtain of light, he found everyone waiting outside staring at him in bewilderment.
Not only were his instructor Wei Ping and the mountain guardian elder present, but Gui Ying father and son, who had left Knight Sacred Mountain long ago, were also there, along with Long Haochen and his master, all watching the spectacle.
"Yue Shen, where's your Starshine Unicorn?"
Wei Ping ran up to him and looked all around. He even stuck his head into the curtain of light, but he could not find so much as a single Starshine Unicorn hair.
"Since when did I have a Starshine Unicorn?" Yue Shen spread his hands. "Can't you see I came back empty-handed?"
Wei Ping: "???"
Wei Ping could not understand how anyone could be so nonchalant that, after spending thirty days inside Knight Sacred Mountain without finding a mount, he could still speak with such complete self-assurance.
The old man who had sent them into Knight Sacred Mountain stood to one side, his expression even more remarkable.
He had never expected that neither of the two young men he had placed the greatest hopes in would earn a Starshine Unicorn's approval.
Worse still, both had returned empty-handed.
"Brother Yue," Long Haochen could not help speaking up from beside him. "I passed that place again afterward, and I clearly saw a Starshine Unicorn following you."
"Why didn't the unicorn come out with you?" Long Haochen asked with an odd look. "Don't tell me that was another friend you made inside Knight Sacred Mountain?"
Yue Shen: "..."
When you put it that way, you're not actually wrong...
"Ahem." Yue Shen gave two awkward coughs.
However, having only just taken advantage of the Starshine Unicorn herd, he really did not have the confidence to call himself their friend.
"What exactly happened?" The old man's eyes widened as he listened. "Tell me clearly what was going on at the time."
Yue Shen scratched his head awkwardly. "I've even forgotten which day it was. How am I supposed to remember what was happening?"
"It was the twenty-third day. I remember it very clearly. That evening, just before sunset," Long Haochen added from beside him. "You had both hands behind your head and were strolling along the lake with a Starshine Unicorn."
"Oh, that was when it happened. Let me think." Yue Shen rubbed his chin and began recalling the events of that day.
"Brother Yue, don't tell me... you spent all those twenty-odd days with the Starshine Unicorns?" Long Haochen asked cautiously.
Before you continue