Chapter 38 – Courtship

With these thoughts in mind, Yun Xiguang subtly let his hand drop, gently tapping on his pocket before covering it with his palm.

Chi Qiong wriggled inside the pocket.

This was the arrangement between Yun Xiguang and Chi Qiong.

Yun Xiguang couldn’t understand Chi Qiong’s “chirping” language; he occasionally guessed right, but most of the time, he was wrong. Even when he was wrong, the proud Chi Qiong refused to deny it, making communication between the human and the bird far more challenging than with other Spiritbond Masters.

Fortunately, Chi Qiong could comprehend Yun Xiguang’s speech.

While waiting for Li Zheng’s report at the Special Affairs Bureau, Yun Xiguang had resolved to help Chi Qiong recover his nine lost spiritual energies. They agreed that if Yun Xiguang discovered traces of the spiritual energy but couldn’t speak due to others around, he would lightly tap his body three times in a pattern of two short taps followed by a long one.

Upon receiving the signal, Chi Qiong would wake from his slumber and search for the spiritual energy.

If there truly was spiritual energy nearby, Chi Qiong would prod Yun Xiguang’s palm.

Chi Qiong, who was half-asleep, opened his eyes and took a deep breath that filled him with the fresh essence of heaven and earth.

What an abundant source of spiritual energy.

He then extended his divine sense to explore the surroundings and indeed sensed the presence of two of his spiritual energies within the mountain’s core.

The state of these two spiritual energies was peculiar — they were not only bound by the laws but also suppressed by some other force.

Chi Qiong felt a vague discomfort.

It seemed as if his phoenix feathers were submerged in something filthy, which left him in a foul mood.

Through the fabric of the pocket, Chi Qiong pecked hard at Yun Xiguang’s hand, almost creating a hole in the pocket.

Upon receiving Chi Qiong’s acknowledgment, Yun Xiguang felt a surge of joy. The Yun family possessed spiritual energy, and now he wouldn’t have to bear the burden of lying anymore.

Professor Ji Xuan always said that he had some luck on his side, and it seemed his fortune indeed held true.

Not only could he help the little spirit bird retrieve two phoenix feathers, but he could also spare Li Zheng from punishment. It was truly a win-win situation.

Just as Yun Xiguang was reveling in happiness, he suddenly felt the little spirit bird peck at his palm again.

This time, it wasn’t just two pecks — it was a chaotic, unregulated flurry, almost as if it were venting anger.

Was the little spirit bird angry?

Yun Xiguang felt that his pocket was about to tear, so he hastily reached in to pinch the bird’s beak and gently stroked its tip with his fingertip to soothe its emotions.

Chi Qiong was taken aback.

His servant was being far too presumptuous!

In all his millions of years, no creature — human, bird, beast, fish, insect, or plant — had ever dared to behave so audaciously toward him. Those who served him and his spirit beasts would at most help groom his splendid feathers, but none had ever dared touch his noble lips!

Recalling similar actions humans had taken against each other throughout history, Chi Qiong realized they were all invariably related to love and courtship — a form of wooing.

How outrageously presumptuous!

I merely intended to take Yun Xiguang as my servant, and yet, he dares to court me? And not only that, but Yun Xiguang didn’t even follow his rules.

It was known among their kind that courtship involved displaying splendid feathers to please the other party.

Yun Xiguang didn’t have feathers, but he did possess a human body. Without showcasing himself, he had the audacity to touch his lips. How disrespectful!

Next time, he would make sure Yun Xiguang followed the rules before rejecting him! Chi Qiong thought to himself.

As Chi Qiong’s thoughts wandered far and wide, a momentary silence ensued.

Feeling that his soothing efforts were effective, Yun Xiguang tucked the little spirit bird’s beak back into the pocket.

Since the pocket had been pecked through, Yun Xiguang kept his hand hanging awkwardly by his side.

Fortunately, everyone’s attention was focused on the formation, so no one noticed his hand.

Li Zheng approached the center of the formation with the resolve to face death, standing at the spot marked by the two snakeheads. Yun Xinglei gave a cold smirk and positioned himself at the snake’s tail.

Yun Xinglei glared fiercely at Li Zheng, occasionally licking his lips as if anticipating a grand spectacle.

It appeared that the Yun family had deceived him, telling him this position was for the executioner, the one who would personally end Yun Xiguang’s life, rather than being a sacrificial lamb himself.

Li Zheng and Yun Xiguang simultaneously sighed inwardly for Yun Xinglei.

Pitiful and hateful, born into the Yun family, taking pride in it, and yet cruelly abandoned by it, dying without understanding the truth.

Yun Xiguang raised his gaze to the sky, the summit’s sky, brimming with spiritual energy, was particularly blue, a clarity untouched by modern pollution.

Yet, basking under such pristine skies was the utterly tainted Yun family.

It was time to draw the curtain on this century-old preeminent family.

After Li Zheng and Yun Xinglei took their positions, Yun Xiguang took the initiative to ask, “Yun Family Head, how can the Spiritbond Master Association and our Special Affairs Bureau’ healers assist in treating Yun Xiguang in a timely manner?”

Yun Boquan glanced at Ji Xuan and asked, “Is the healer from the Spiritbond Master Association genuine?”

The Yun family wasn’t familiar with the two A-grade experts sent by the Special Affairs Bureau, unsure if they were healers. However, the teachers from Zhuzhao Academy interacted with students daily, and the Yun family knew them well. Among the four, only the Earth-grade Spiritbond Master had some healing abilities, while the rest were combat-oriented.

Yun Xiguang and Li Zheng were startled.

But Ji Xuan responded, “Naturally, not all are healers, but isn’t psychological therapy a form of treatment as well? Yun Xiguang is my student. We watched this child grow up. Our presence here provides immense psychological comfort to him.

“Sometimes, whether a person can persevere depends on their will to live. Psychological factors are crucial, and our presence here is necessary.”

His argument was compelling, leaving even Yun Boquan without a retort.

After a brief pause, Yun Boquan said, “See the eight positions around the perimeter of the formation? We only need four people to operate the formation. The remaining four spots are reserved for healers. However, Director Li is not a healer. The Special Affairs Bureau has brought only two healers, and Deputy Dean from Zhuzhao Academy can barely be considered one. In total, there are three healers, and we are still short of one.

“How about this: I suggest Director Li takes the fourth position. Although Golden-Winged Great Peng doesn’t possess healing abilities, its Divine Eye can observe the situation inside the formation at all times, providing healers with precise timing for treatment.”

Those eight positions, it turned out, had four reserved for the people they had sent!

Li Zheng and Yun Xiguang exchanged swift glances, both understanding the Yun family’s scheme.

They were worried that the Spiritbond Masters from the Special Affairs Bureau and Zhuzhao Academy might disrupt their plans, so they planned to trap them within the formation. The four positions offered to them were likely to be positions that would be restrained by the formation itself.

Moreover, once the formation was activated, it might even absorb the power of these four individuals, inadvertently providing the spiritual energy needed for the Yun family’s conspiracy.

Trapping the two major Earth-grade experts from the Special Affairs Bureau and Zhuzhao Academy while simultaneously supplying spiritual energy to the formation — it was a double-edged sword, a cunning move.

Li Zheng’s gaze at Yun Xiguang was filled with disapproval.

He disagreed with Yun Xiguang standing on the formation.

Li Zheng wanted Yun Xiguang to utilize the Crimson Chi’s ability to escape. The Crimson Chi had managed to escape under the noses of Hai Ruobo and Li Zheng himself, as well as escaping from the Beast Codex. This proved that the Crimson Chi had methods of survival and might find a way to escape the Yun family. a way to escape the Yun family.

Once away from the Yun family, he could relay the intelligence!

However, Yun Xiguang felt that incredible luck had fallen upon him.

Having the only spirit bird capable of suppressing spiritual energy stand on the formation, without the support of two powerful spiritual energies, would render the formation’s success doubtful!

He had been agonizing over how to get close to the formation and the spiritual energy.

Yun Xiguang pretended not to understand Li Zheng’s look and nodded in agreement, mimicking Li Zheng’s gesture. “That sounds good. I can contribute to protecting the outstanding employees of the Special Affairs Bureau.”

Yun Boquan’s expression remained unchanged, but a faint smile flickered in his eyes.

In reality, even if Yun Boquan was a Heaven-grade Spiritbond Master, he still feared Li Zheng’s power.

Yun Boquan’s status as a Heaven-grade Spiritbond Master wasn’t entirely legitimate.

A true Heaven-grade Spiritbond Master meant complete harmony of body, soul, and spirit with a divine beast, allowing them to merge with the beast in critical moments and fully revert to human form. That was what defined a Heaven-grade Spiritbond Master!

The spirit beast must be a top-tier divine beast, and the individual must possess a strong sense of self-recognition as a spirit beast while maintaining their humanity, able to transform back into a human.

Yun Boquan struggled to achieve this.

The Yun family required a Heaven-grade Spiritbond Master to maintain their standing in the Spiritbond Masters’ world.

But finding a Heaven-grade Spiritbond Master was difficult, and the Yun family’s divine beast, Azure Dragon, was increasingly unwilling to form a contract with a Spiritbond Master.

The first Spiritbond Master of Azure Dragon was the son of Yun Qi, the Yun family ancestor.

He was born after Yun Qi escaped from a mine cave with the spirit beast Kui Niu and got married, originally named Yun Dashan. Yun Qi, lacking education, could only come up with names like Yun Dashi.

It was Kui Niu who found such a name too vulgar and renamed him Yun Guanyue. Thanks to this, the Yun family’s genealogy avoided becoming too ridiculous.

Born in a time of war and educated by Kui Niu, Yun Guanyue developed a natural fondness for spirit beasts. His heart was even more suited to becoming a Spiritbond Master than his father’s.

Under Kui Niu’s guidance, on the day of the Awakening Thunder, he went to Two Principles Mountain and gained the favor of Azure Dragon.

He organized Spiritbond Masters to devise ways to save the country, saving countless lives throughout his lifetime.

Yun Guanyue loved Azure Dragon and willingly became a spirit beast, lending his body and soul to Azure Dragon to unleash its full strength.

At the same time, he deeply cared about the world and desired to do something for the suffering humans, a mindset that allowed him to retain his human identity.

Yun Guanyue became the world’s first Heaven-grade Spiritbond Master, elevating the power of spirit beasts to the pinnacle.

After his death, Azure Dragon inherited his karma, earning countless merits and gaining freedom in this world.

Azure Dragon could have left, seeking seclusion in majestic mountains and rivers, creating intriguing legends, or transforming into a human to experience the mortal realm.

But Azure Dragon didn’t leave, because Yun Guanyue’s dream hadn’t been fulfilled. He wanted to see the country become strong and independent.

Thus, Azure Dragon formed a contract with the Yun family’s descendants, willing to accompany them in safeguarding the country until it became a world power.

As a result, every generation of the Yun family produced a Heaven-grade Spiritbond Master.

However, in recent years, Azure Dragon believed the contract had been fulfilled and wished to depart from the Yun family in this generation.

The Yun family couldn’t bear to see Azure Dragon leave, so while the previous Spiritbond Master was still alive but on his deathbed, they extracted a segment of Azure Dragon’s dragon bone and transplanted it into Yun Boquan’s spine, imploring Azure Dragon to protect the Yun family until the lease on this mountain expired.

Enraged, Azure Dragon agreed in order to reclaim its dragon bone.

However, this forced arrangement created a rift between Azure Dragon and the Yun family.

Even with the dragon bone serving as the foundation of the contract, Yun Boquan couldn’t fully harness the power of a Heaven-grade Spiritbond Master.

If Li Zheng unleashed his full strength, Yun Boquan might not be able to stop him.

But now, Li Zheng had entered the formation as well, and he would surely be locked down by the two powerful spiritual energies within the mountain. Truly, fate favored the Yun family!

Yun Boquan chuckled triumphantly in his heart.