Chapter 2205 — The Contract Spirit Beast

"Woof, woof, woof…" Mighty General spoke up then too, barking twice as if to tell the Wind-Thunder Purple Lightning Beast something.

The Wind-Thunder Purple Lightning Beast did not speak again after hearing it. Instead it fell silent, lying alone at Wei Zhao's feet, and none could tell what it was turning over in its mind.

Mighty General and the Heavenly Thunder Pig said nothing more either, but waited quietly for the Wind-Thunder Purple Lightning Beast's answer.

Puzzled as he was, Wei Zhao could guess that the Heavenly Thunder Pig and Mighty General had already hit upon a way to suppress the Wind-Thunder Purple Lightning Beast—only the method was hard for the beast to accept, and so it hesitated, weighing its choice.

"ROAR—" At last the Wind-Thunder Purple Lightning Beast raised its proud head and loosed a long cry at the sky. Then it turned to the Heavenly Thunder Pig and Mighty General and slowly nodded—though after nodding, as if to add a condition, it let out a string of "roar, roar, roar" cries in succession…

Mighty General and the Heavenly Thunder Pig exchanged a glance. Then the Heavenly Thunder Pig squealed "ji, ji, ji, ji," seemingly explaining something to the Wind-Thunder Purple Lightning Beast. After a moment the beast nodded again, and the Heavenly Thunder Pig ran to Wei Zhao and pointed with its paw at a patch of soft sand not far off.

Wei Zhao knew the Heavenly Thunder Pig meant to write and so converse with him. He went with it to the soft sand, and the pig swiftly began tracing words there: "Since ancient times, there have been three ways for humans and spirit beasts to live together. The first is a natural friendship born of minds in accord, sharing sweetness and bitterness alike—like mine with Mighty General."

"The second is to forge a contract and make the spirit beast a human's slave. The human may drive the beast to do anything at all, and once the contract is forged, the beast cannot resist—it can only do whatever it is commanded. Put plainly, it becomes a puppet with a mind of its own."

"The third is to forge a contract of equals. This way is much like the first: mutual respect, the spirit beast a good friend to humans rather than a mere slave. So long as the beast does not betray its master, it keeps its own consciousness."

"The contract the Qianshan Sect establishes is of this third kind, and it is also the easiest to establish. The Wind-Thunder Purple Lightning Beast says it can accept becoming your contract spirit beast, but it must be this kind—for to become a slave would be far too wretched."

"Oh, that kind will do," Wei Zhao said with a nod. "In truth, you and Mighty General are much the same as such contract beasts—only ours is a bond forged in shared hardship, while the Wind-Thunder Purple Lightning Beast's time with me has been too short to prove its loyalty. This is the only way."

The Wind-Thunder Purple Lightning Beast had not expected Wei Zhao to agree so readily, and was somewhat taken aback. It had assumed Wei Zhao would seize the chance to press his advantage and demand the slave-style contract—and it had been utterly unwilling!

It wanted to advance, yes—but what meaning would advancement have if it cost it its very self?

In choosing the last option, it had even harbored the thought that if Wei Zhao refused, it would simply slip away in disappointment. That was why it had cried to the heavens and made its resolve. Who would have guessed Wei Zhao would be so easy to deal with? Had it known, it would have forged the contract with him long ago!

This contract imposed no burden on it whatsoever. While Wei Zhao lived, it would follow at his side; should Wei Zhao fall by mischance, it would regain its freedom, wholly unaffected. It had lived several thousand years and seen too many humans, yet one like Wei Zhao it had never met—so following him was no loss at all!

So long as Wei Zhao kept advancing, its own strength would rise with the tide. Where else could one find such a fine contract master?

So when it heard Wei Zhao agree, the Wind-Thunder Purple Lightning Beast nodded delightedly: "Roar, roar…"

It was even a little impatient now.

"How do we establish the contract?" Wei Zhao asked.

The Heavenly Thunder Pig wrote on the ground once more: "Nothing much to do. The Wind-Thunder Purple Lightning Beast swears a Heaven-and-Earth Oath, and then you drip a drop of your fresh blood onto its forehead. That is all."

"Good!" Wei Zhao nodded. He did not know what a Heaven-and-Earth Oath was, nor whether such a thing carried any binding force, but from the look of the Heavenly Thunder Pig, it was likely truly efficacious. So he followed its instructions and bit open his finger.

Meanwhile the Wind-Thunder Purple Lightning Beast was muttering roars of its own, things Wei Zhao could not understand. So this contract truly was founded on equality, workable only with the beast's willing consent—for one could hardly force a spirit beast to swear a Heaven-and-Earth Oath, could one?

As for the slave-style contract, Wei Zhao did not know how it was performed, but it was surely the coercive sort. He would have to ask the Heavenly Thunder Pig about it when he had the chance—after all, he could not count on resolving every spirit beast he met by such gentle means.

After a while the Wind-Thunder Purple Lightning Beast ceased its roaring, and the Heavenly Thunder Pig squealed "ji, ji," signaling that Wei Zhao might now drip his blood.

So Wei Zhao swiftly let the blood from his finger fall onto the Wind-Thunder Purple Lightning Beast's brow. To his amazement, the blood seemed to transform into a beam of light that sank straight into the beast's body—and not the faintest trace of blood remained on its forehead.

Wei Zhao clicked his tongue in wonder at this. Clearly there were still many marvels in all creation that he did not know or understand.

"Is that it?" Wei Zhao felt nothing special after establishing the contract with the Wind-Thunder Purple Lightning Beast.

"Ji, ji." The Heavenly Thunder Pig nodded, indicating it was done.

"All right, Little Wind. In a moment I will raise your strength to the peak of the late Mystic rank. You will stay at the villa and, together with Mighty General, protect Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu—understand? While I am away, they are not to suffer the slightest harm!" Wei Zhao said. "And the Han Jingyi siblings next door—you are to protect them as well."

"Roar, roar." The Wind-Thunder Purple Lightning Beast nodded in understanding.

Since even the Heavenly Thunder Pig declared there was no problem, Wei Zhao did not doubt it further. He sat down cross-legged right there on the ground, placed his hand upon the Wind-Thunder Purple Lightning Beast, and set the second layer of the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art in motion. Pure, refined energy surged from the jade pendant's space, through Wei Zhao's body, and into the Wind-Thunder Purple Lightning Beast!

"ROAR—" The Wind-Thunder Purple Lightning Beast let out a most comfortable, groaning cry, then began eagerly devouring the energy Wei Zhao channeled into it, as though savoring a feast!

What pure, what surging energy this was! Purer by far than the heaven-and-earth spiritual qi of the outside world—mere moments of it were worth a hundred years of its own cultivation.

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