Spirit Beast Pavilion

After Formation Arts class ended, Xu Lingling suddenly drooped. "I'm so jealous of you two. I want to go to Fallen Dragon Prefecture too."

Xu Ziqing glanced at her friend. "Didn't your uncle take you to Fallen Dragon Prefecture a few times?"

"It's not the same," Xu Lingling muttered.

She had gone to Fallen Dragon Prefecture purely for sightseeing and fun, whereas Xu Ziqing and Chen Beiwu were going to contract Companion Beasts. The two things were simply incomparable.

"Don't worry. You'll catch up with us soon," Chen Beiwu reassured her.

"How do you know? Chen Beiwu, can you tell fortunes?" Xu Lingling perked up.

"I can't tell fortunes." Chen Beiwu shook his head. "But I believe in your uncle's abilities."

A Golden Core True Person only had to let a little of the resources in his hands slip through his fingers for a Foundation Establishment Cultivator to benefit immensely, let alone an ordinary Qi Refining cultivator.

If her uncle was willing, Chen Beiwu wouldn't be surprised if Xu Lingling broke through from the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining to the Seventh Layer within a month.

At that, Xu Lingling choked and, for a moment, didn't know what to say. Dejected, she slumped over her desk.

She had thought about taking pills to break through, but the old man at home wouldn't allow it. He insisted that she cultivate the Nurturing Yang Method to improve her Spiritual Root Purity.

"Did your Homeroom Teacher notify you?" Xu Ziqing smiled gently.

"He did. We're meeting at the school playground at seven tomorrow morning. The director of teaching will lead us there." Chen Beiwu waved his hand, then rose and left under the two girls' gazes.

Early the next morning, Chen Beiwu got up and headed to Shouhe No. 2 Middle School.

As he approached the school playground, he saw eight young men and women standing near the lawn. They were gathered into two little groups, chatting together.

They were all students at the same school, so Chen Beiwu naturally knew its well-known figures.

The handsome boy at the head was named Lin Yi. He was a fifth-year senior, nineteen years old, at the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining, and possessed a Wood-Attribute True Spiritual Root. He was the son of the school's director of teaching.

The lively girl at the head was named Sun Yajing. She was a fifth-year senior, nineteen years old, at the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining, and possessed a Fire-Attribute True Spiritual Root. She was one of the school's only two student-level certified artifact refiners, and could be considered Xu Ziqing's senior apprentice sister.

Noticing someone approaching, several girls who had been chatting happily immediately looked up in Chen Beiwu's direction.

"Qingqing, your good classmate is here." Sun Yajing nudged Xu Ziqing, teasing her. "Aren't you going to introduce him?"

With several young senior girls watching him, Chen Beiwu remained composed and politely greeted them.

"There's no need for an introduction. Who at Shouhe No. 2 Middle School doesn't know the name of junior Chen Beiwu, who broke through to the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining at just sixteen?" Lin Yi said with a gentlemanly smile, then turned toward the teaching building.

"Has everyone arrived?" A middle-aged cultivator with an immortal air about him walked over.

"Director Lin, everyone's here," Lin Yi replied.

"Good." Director Lin nodded in satisfaction. With a thought, he took a finely crafted, jade-like Flying Shuttle Spiritual Artifact from his Storage Ring.

"Rise!"

As Director Lin released Magic Power to activate it, the Flying Shuttle Spiritual Artifact rapidly expanded, transforming in the blink of an eye into a five-zhang-long silver-white shuttle of imposing presence.

"You can all get on now." With that, Director Lin was the first to step aboard the shuttle.

Following behind Xu Ziqing, Chen Beiwu stepped onto the shuttle without hesitation, making no attempt to hide his curiosity.

Xu Ziqing came closer. "Do you really like Flying Shuttle Spiritual Artifacts?"

"Yeah." Chen Beiwu nodded.

Xu Ziqing's eyes shifted. Pretending not to care, she said, "My family has a few Flying Shuttle Dharma Artifacts. If you have time, we can ride a shuttle together to Still Abyss Lake for an outing."

"No need," Chen Beiwu said with a smile.

"Huh?" Xu Ziqing froze.

The Spirit Beast Pavilion was located in Jinyang County, Fallen Dragon Prefecture, nestled among the islands of the Nameless Immortal Mountain Wreathed in Clouds and Mist. It covered an extremely vast area.

After flying for more than an hour, Chen Beiwu and the others finally arrived at their destination.

Looking at the islands floating in the sky in the distance, like a fairyland on earth, Chen Beiwu couldn't help showing a trace of astonishment.

"So this is the Spirit Beast Pavilion?"

Just then, a beam of light descended from the Nameless Immortal Mountain and moved the entire shuttle to the nearest Inspection Station.

"Welcome to the Spirit Beast Pavilion, everyone. I'm Wei Lian, a deputy steward of the Spirit Beast Pavilion, in charge of this inspection." A young cultivator in a long robe came forward.

After a series of complicated inspections, Chen Beiwu and the others soon arrived at the Spirit Beast Pavilion's main hall, led by Steward Wei.

"You've attended plenty of Beast Taming classes, so you should all know that a cultivator's Spiritual Root aptitude is hard to change and cannot be chosen, but a Companion Beast is different." Director Lin gave them a solemn reminder.

"The right Companion Beast is crucial to a cultivator's future cultivation. If you choose well, even with an ordinary Spiritual Root, your path of cultivation can be twice as effective with half the effort. But if you choose poorly, even with a superior Spiritual Root, you'll have cut off your own Dao Path with your own hands."

At this, Director Lin looked around at the students' faces. "So you must be careful when choosing a Companion Beast. Try to pick a Spirit Beast with the same attribute as your Spiritual Root. Do you understand?"

"Understood," everyone replied in unison.

"Good." Director Lin nodded slightly, then looked at Wei Lian. "I'll leave the rest to you, Steward Wei."

"It's my duty." Steward Wei casually waved his hand, and several streaks of light immediately hovered in front of Chen Beiwu and the others.

"These Jade Slips are your proof of identity, and also your passes. They're valid for half a month.

"They can connect to the Spirit Beast Pavilion's Artifact Spirit to answer your questions. If there's anything you don't understand, touch the Jade Slip with your Divine Sense and ask.

"You're now free to explore the Spirit Beast Pavilion and contract the Spirit Beast you desire."

Taking the warm, smooth Jade Slip, Chen Beiwu looked at Xu Ziqing. "What Companion Beast are you planning to contract?"

"Scarlet Flame Foxes, Flamefeather Crows, Redtail Sparrows, and Flamefang Tigers are all quite good. I'm going to start by testing the Scarlet Flame Foxes and see which Second-Tier Spirit Beast suits me best. What about you?" she asked curiously.

"I'm planning to look at the Azure Spirit Newts first, then check out the Darkwater Spirit Turtles and Azure-Wave Spirit Carps," Chen Beiwu mused.

He wasn't entirely satisfied with any of those three Second-Tier Spirit Beasts, and wanted to interact with them before making a decision.

After all, a Companion Beast concerned one's future Dao Path, so having more choices was safer.

At that moment, Lin Yi suddenly came over and invited her. "Qingqing, want to go to Sulfur Reef Island together?"

"Shouldn't you be going to Greenvine Island?" Xu Ziqing asked, puzzled.

Lin Yi smiled. "Sun Yajing already has a suitable target. I thought I'd go over and join in the fun first. We have half a month to choose, anyway."

Xu Ziqing smiled sweetly. "Sorry, I'm planning to accompany my friend to Blackfall Island first."

Hearing this, Lin Yi turned away dejectedly, his heart holding both unwillingness and a measure of understanding and acceptance.

Compared with Chen Beiwu, he really was far inferior.

Chen Beiwu looked at Xu Ziqing in surprise.

"What, is that not okay?" Xu Ziqing smiled sweetly. "I just want to accompany you around Blackfall Island for a while."

"Of course," Chen Beiwu said. He wasn't about to spoil the mood.

(End of Chapter)