Chapter 88 – Aftermath

Yun Xiguang ultimately failed to provide Chi Qiong with a villa in their contract space on his own because the state directly allocated it to them.

The story begins from the day of Zhuzhao’s fall.

On that day, Yun Xiguang passed out while holding little yellow chick, and they slept soundly for three whole months after that.

They were transported back to Jing City by a fighter jet dispatched by Li Zheng, and they were arranged to be treated at the country’s best military hospital. Because Yun Xiguang remained in a deep sleep, doctors feared he might become a vegetable and hooked him up to numerous monitoring devices, afraid he would simply sleep away.

Doctors also prepared countless nutrient solutions for Yun Xiguang, planning to administer them daily. They arranged for specialists to massage him to prevent muscle atrophy. In short, they aimed to ensure Yun Xiguang’s body was maintained, and his vital signs sustained no matter what.

Fortunately, Bai Ze intervened in time to stop the doctors. He informed them that Yun Xiguang had fallen into a coma due to absorbing the essence within the feather of fire. He was in a deep slumber because there was an excess of essence in his body, which not only replenished his nearly depleted soul abilities but also began to transform his body.

Yun Xiguang’s body had entered a state of deep sleep to adapt to this transformation. The day he woke up would be when he had fully absorbed all the essence.

At that time, Yun Xiguang would likely become the world’s first cultivator, the first person to surpass the power of spirit beasts with human form, effectively becoming the strongest person alive.

In such circumstances, there was no need to supplement Yun Xiguang with nutrients; he was already in a state of overnutrition. Forcing nutrient fluids upon him could provoke his body to defend itself by attacking those who tried to harm him.

The doctors didn’t understand Bai Ze’s explanation, so Bai Ze picked up Gu Shoulu’s Black Tortoise, asking the tortoise to demonstrate the consequences.

The Black Tortoise took the nurse’s IV line and accurately inserted it into Yun Xiguang’s vein.

The moment the needle touched Yun Xiguang’s skin, it was incinerated by a burst of flames. The Black Tortoise was also affected by the flames and could only retreat into its shell to avoid them, leaving half of its shell charred black.

The medical staff revealed expressions of fear after witnessing the incident.

If a human had attempted to administer the IV, there likely wouldn’t have been anything left but ashes.

With Bai Ze’s help, Yun Xiguang and Chi Qiong were granted the opportunity to sleep peacefully every day. The medical staff merely monitored his heart rate, blood pressure, and other vital signs daily without administering special treatments.

Once it was confirmed that Yun Xiguang and Chi Qiong were unharmed, Bai Ze departed with the Black Tortoise.

The Mirage, the Black Tortoise, Lu Wu, and other spirit beasts that were originally in a deep sleep were forced awake by the abundant heaven and earth essence released by Chi Qiong’s fall. Like all living things sensing the arrival of spring, they instinctively awoke to feel the vitality of the season.

Upon waking, these spirit beasts, which had once assisted the Law or Youying in attempting to destroy the world, found themselves in an awkward position.

They indeed committed errors, but they were coerced into doing so. Thus, Bai Ze suggested to the higher-ups that these spirit beasts be given a chance to atone for their sins, proposing that they assist the state in training the first batch of cultivators. Even if they lacked teaching skills, they could serve as sparring partners!

The responsibility of cultivating cultivators naturally fell onto Zhuzhao Academy. Bai Ze, who possessed knowledge spanning five thousand years, became the principal without hesitation, tasked with managing the spirit beast teachers.

The first group to undergo training were naturally the state warriors. Bai Ze was responsible for assessing everyone’s aptitude, selecting those with better potential for cultivation, and aiming to quickly train a group capable of taking the field to aid those engaged in external missions and spirit beasts.

Due to the abundance of heaven and earth essence and changes in the Law, spirit beasts hibernating underground also awakened simultaneously, and they no longer needed to be bound by contracts. This led to a series of disturbances, which were only contained by Azure Dragon leading a special operations team composed of over a thousand spirit beasts rescued from the Spirit Beast Codex. They suppressed spirit beasts worldwide to prevent larger disasters.

It wasn’t just the spirit beasts causing chaos, but humans as well.

The celestial phenomenon caused by Zhuzhao’s fall could be seen worldwide, and everyone witnessed a giant bird appearing in the sky, its feathers falling one by one, and transforming into massive flames that landed on the ground.

At the time, many people thought the end of the world had arrived and awaited their demise. However, the flames caused no harm, and those who took advantage of the “false apocalypse” to rob and hurt others were arrested by the police. During this period, law enforcement agencies were overwhelmed with work.

Before standards for punishment could even be established, new disturbances arose. Some individuals, particularly suited for cultivation, spontaneously awakened their abilities after the resurgence of essence. Despite lacking formal cultivation, these people still gained extraordinary powers, such as the ability to extend their hands to produce flames, turn water into ice, or charge their phones by placing the charging cables on their palms.

Such individuals grew in number, and some believed they had become superheroes from movies. One group wanted to save the world, while another sought to use their supernatural abilities for evil.

The state could never allow such a situation to occur. At the command of the highest official, all members of the Lingxi Department, the Special Affairs Bureau, and the Spiritbond Master Association mobilized to suppress unrest across the nation.

The existence of Spiritbond Masters and spirit beasts was no longer concealed. The gifted individuals who had just become cultivators hadn’t even tasted the joy of becoming superheroes before they were humbled by a group of Spiritbond Masters with overwhelming strength. They were left speechless by a troupe of spirit beasts similar to those from mythological legends.

News broke every day, and people took photos of new spirit beasts daily. Once ordinary people realized these spirit beasts were protecting rather than harming them, they began engaging in online competitions to see who could capture images of the most powerful spirit beasts.

[“Take a look at this tiger I photographed, ten meters tall. My God, it stands taller than my building when it gets up. I’d love to lie on it and pet it; I envy that troublemaker it smacked unconscious with a single paw.”]

[“What does your big tiger amount to? It’s mere brute force. Look at this silver wolf I captured on camera. My God, it’s like a monster from the icy world. It casually shook its body, and snow started falling from the sky. As someone from the south, it was the first time I saw so much snow!”]

[“You guys can’t compare. The butterfly I saw today was too beautiful, too beautiful. There aren’t enough words in the world to describe its beauty. It flapped its wings, and specks of phosphorescence drifted down, putting the troublemakers to sleep. Its Spiritbond Master is a stunning beauty, the kind who grows butterfly wings behind her back when she merges with the butterfly!”]

[“Growing wings is nothing. Today, I saw a man with an eagle’s head. Those feathers were so cool, and that beak, so fierce. I want to transform too!”]

Ordinary people, through the internet, transitioned from fear to delight and then from delight to being picky. Initially, encountering a spirit beast was considered beautiful, but later on, unless it was a deity-grade creature like a dragon or phoenix, internet users began expressing disdain.

Meanwhile, the instigators of it all, Chi Qiong and Yun Xiguang, were still asleep, unaware that the highest leaders of the state had visited their hospital room.

During these three months, Yun Xiguang had almost no metabolism. On one day, however, a large amount of black sweat suddenly gushed out from his pores. This was his body purging impurities; completing this step would result in Yun Xiguang’s complete metamorphosis.

Those assigned to care for him were ready to bathe him, but as the sweat flowed, a circle of flames emerged around Yun Xiguang, burning away all the filth. This spared others the trouble and prevented any odor. He remained the handsome and dashing Yun Xiguang throughout.

When Yun Xiguang opened his eyes three months later, the first batch of hastily trained cultivators had already been produced, and ordinary people had accepted the fact that the world was filled with mysterious powers, and that one day, they too might possess such powers.

Now, ordinary people walking down the street would not run away upon encountering spirit beasts bearing the marks of the Lingxi Department, the Special Affairs Bureau, or the Spiritbond Master Association. Instead, they would approach and ask for autographs.

This put the spirit beasts in an awkward position. Some spirit beasts were uninterested in learning human ways and couldn’t read!

By this point, the troublemaking spirit beasts had been mostly apprehended, and they didn’t understand the rules of this world either.

The state made a sweeping decision, specially opening classes to educate these spirit beasts, providing basic education and training. Bai Ze, Azure Dragon, and other spirit beasts interested in modern science taught them.

The state’s perspective was also quite open-minded. Since humans could cultivate, the spirit beasts could learn as well. Perhaps these spirit beasts, with their different thought processes from humans, could lead humanity’s technology to new heights.

Of course, this decision was also influenced by the Law.

This wasn’t the result of Li Zheng and others’ reports, but rather, on the day of Chi Qiong’s fall, all the world’s power figures received the Law’s command simultaneously.

The Law’s command was simple: Regardless of the methods used, they must suppress the surging heaven and earth essence with technology and strive to achieve a new balance. Otherwise, they would face a return to chaos.

Due to this rule, everyone in the world finally recognized that humanity’s fate was a shared community. Without quickly establishing rules to balance everything, the world as they knew it would cease to exist.

By the time Yun Xiguang awoke, the nine-year compulsory education crash course for spirit beasts and the cultivator crash course had gradually become established.

After Yun Xiguang woke up, the medical staff handed him a phone, allowing him to browse news on his own. After all, the changes during these three months were greater than those of the past century, and it would take days to explain everything. The group from the Literature Museum had already begun preparing books to record this significant historical transformation.

As for Azure Dragon, Bai Ze, and other spirit beasts that had befriended Yun Xiguang, they were overwhelmed with work! During the day, they were busy capturing people and spirit beasts worldwide, and at night, they tutored illiterate spirit beasts. It was already remarkable if they could spare a glance to visit Yun Xiguang; they certainly didn’t have the time to patiently explain the changes in the world to him.

Yun Xiguang spent seven days getting a rough idea of the changes that occurred during these three months, marveling at how the world had transformed.

As for Chi Qiong, he was still sleeping, but he was no longer in his little yellow chick form. Instead, he had transformed into a phoenix over two meters long, with nine phoenix feathers stretching three meters each. Including the tuft of hair on his head, his total length reached a full 5.5 meters, and his wingspan was also two meters wide. He often unconsciously spread his wings, covering Yun Xiguang’s body.

After Yun Xiguang woke up, he was somewhat confused. Before passing out, hadn’t he been hugging a little yellow chick? How did it transform into an adult form upon waking?

Fortunately, there were surveillance records available. Yun Xiguang reviewed them and discovered that Chi Qiong’s cultivation speed exceeded even his own.

When they entered the hospital on the first day, he was still a little yellow chick, but by the second day, he had grown his tuft of hair, and by the third day, he had developed tail feathers. On the fourth day, his downy feathers fell off, and he entered an awkward phase. By the fifth day, his feathers had fully grown.

During his growth period, Chi Qiong changed his appearance every day.

Around ten days later, Chi Qiong took on his current appearance, and his physical development ceased afterward. However, the internal changes he underwent remained unknown.

Yun Xiguang awoke before Chi Qiong, and by the time Yun Xiguang understood the changes in the world, Chi Qiong was still asleep.

Yun Xiguang sensed Chi Qiong through their contract and realized that he was waiting to awaken until he could completely transform into human form. Until then, Chi Qiong remained in a closed-off cultivation state.

During this time, a group of high-ranking officials met with Yun Xiguang, not only awarding him a certificate as a Heaven-grade Spiritbond Master and granting him a medal of national merit but also presenting Chi Qiong with a national gift porcelain lamp with the function of a wishing lamp.

Simultaneously, the officials asked Yun Xiguang what he desired, promising to fulfill his wishes as long as they weren’t illegal or against morality.

Yun Xiguang pondered for a moment and realized that his wishes had already been fulfilled. The state had treated him exceptionally well, and he wanted for nothing.

However, he still made a wish on behalf of Chi Qiong. He wanted a villa in their contract space, hoping that when Chi Qiong emerged from his closed cultivation, he would find himself in the dream house he had always yearned for.

This request was so simple that the officials easily granted Yun Xiguang’s wish. The location was even prearranged, precisely the mountain peak where the main residence of the Yun family stood.

Transforming the largest house into what Yun Xiguang desired, Yun Xiguang thus moved into the main residence of the Yun family in a different way, becoming the uncrowned master of the Yun family in a manner they never could have imagined.

It was in this dreamlike home that Chi Qiong awoke.