In the end, after much hesitation, Apep signed its name on the Summoning Contract.
The instant the contract took effect, Apep felt as though a faint connection had formed between itself and the human before it. It was a strange feeling for Apep, who had grown accustomed to living alone for over ten thousand years.
At the same time, a long-absent system notification sounded in Yucheng's mind, making him breathe a sigh of relief. Sure enough, the system had announced an achievement when he signed a Summoning Contract with Azhdaha back then. There was no reason signing one with the even stronger Apep would yield no achievement.
But when Yucheng saw the system's achievement reward clearly, he could not help growing excited.
[Ding! Congratulations on completing a hidden achievement: successfully signing a Summoning Contract with Apep, the Dendro Dragon King! Reward: the host's level of existence has risen. Your lifespan can now surpass human limits! Note: collect Summoning Contracts with all Seven Sovereigns of the elements for an additional reward! (Current progress: 2/7)]
The next moment, under the astonished gazes of Nahida, Apep, and Azhdaha, an incredibly rich aura of life spilled out of Yucheng's body. It seemed to share the same origin as Apep's power, as though a force were flowing back into Yucheng and nourishing his body. He could not help closing his eyes to savor the sensation.
Seeing this, Azhdaha hurriedly asked, "Apep, was that your doing?"
Apep stared intently at Yucheng's body. Seeing the life energy surging out of him, it instinctively assumed this was a phenomenon caused by signing that so-called Summoning Contract. It began examining its entire body, checking whether anything was missing.
But after sensing its own condition, it found nothing unusual about itself. It shook its head and said, "It