“Of course I can!”
Lin Xing immediately nodded, carefully taking Lumiya’s tiny front paw, which was curled up to less than the size of his palm.
The moment his fingertips touched her scales, the cool, delicate texture made him subconsciously slow his steps, afraid that walking too fast might hurt this newly contracted little one.
As soon as they stepped out of the Light Gate, blinding sunlight mixed with a cacophony of noise washed over them.
Outside was the Contract Plaza, paved with bluestone slabs.
More than a dozen groups of new students were gathered around their own Contract Beasts, chattering and discussing.
Under the Notice Board at the center of the plaza, several senior students in uniform stood, casting scrutinizing sidelong glances their way.
“Yo, isn’t that Lin Xing? Done with the contract already?”
A lazy, mocking voice rang out.
The speaker was a blond boy holding a shiny-coated Wind Fox in his arms.
“I thought you’d need at least another half an hour in there, since you’d have to stand in front of the empty gate and make a wish or something.”
Laughter instantly erupted around them, and several new students chimed in:
“Making a wish at the empty gate, huh? The Contract Beast Domain is endless—if you can’t sense the coordinates, you’ll end up contracting with the weeds on the ground!”
“Yeah, I heard he was so nervous his hands were shaking before the contract. I thought he’d end up with some kind of amazing partner.”
“Oh? You really did contract something? What’s this? A Newborn Dragon?… Why is it so small? Don’t tell me it’s some kind of crossbred lizard?”
“Compared to Zhang-ge’s Wind Fox, it’s basically a kitten that hasn’t even been weaned!”
Lin Xing immediately shielded Lumiya behind him.
Usually, he couldn’t be bothered to argue with these people, but today was different.
Lumiya already looked somewhat timid behind him, and there’s no way his future wife could be slandered as a lizard.
He clenched his fist, his tone turning cold.
“Yate! Don’t talk nonsense! Lumiya is a rare dragon breed, she just hasn’t grown up yet!”
Yate sneered, deliberately stepping forward two paces.
The Wind Fox in his arms bared its teeth, letting out a threatening growl at Lumiya.
“Rare dragon breed? Looks to me like one of those ornamental mixed dragons you see everywhere at the market. Look at my Xiao Feng—only three months old and already awakened the Wind Blade skill. What about your little dragon? Can she even blow hard enough to ruffle a piece of paper?”
Lumiya lay at Lin Xing’s feet, appearing timid as she buried her head in her paws, but the tip of her claws quietly gathered a faint thread of golden light.
If she wanted, she could make this noisy brat and his stinky fox vanish on the spot.
Lin Xing straightened his back, his voice calm.
“What can she do? Want to try and see if your fox will get roasted with a single breath?”
“Breath fire?”
Yate acted like he’d heard the world’s funniest joke, laughing so hard he nearly doubled over.
“That little mongrel in your hands? Come on, show us. If you can ignite this piece of straw, I’ll admit she’s a rare dragon breed.”
He pulled a stalk of dry grass from his pocket and waved it in front of Lin Xing.
The laughter around grew louder. Even the senior students under the Notice Board were looking on with amusement, watching Lumiya.
Lin Xing squatted down, gently stroking Lumiya’s head and softening his voice.
“Lumiya, don’t pay them any mind. Let’s go.”
He knew Lumiya’s magic was weak, and he didn’t want her to embarrass herself in front of everyone.
But Lumiya gently nuzzled his palm, slowly raised her head, and blew a small tuft of golden flame at the stalk of grass.
The flame wasn’t big, but it ignited the grass precisely, even burning up the stalk to the Wind Fox’s fur before going out, making the fox yelp and dive behind Yate.
The laughter on the plaza froze instantly. Yate’s smile stiffened as he stared in disbelief at the burnt straw and the Wind Fox with its fur standing on end.
“This, this is impossible…! That mongrel you just contracted actually hurt my Wind Fox at 0th Tier, 5 Stars?!”
Lumiya lowered her head again, resuming her timid appearance, as if what just happened was pure coincidence.
Lin Xing was briefly stunned, but quickly snapped out of it. Hugging Lumiya, he couldn’t help but show off a little in his voice.
“I told you, Lumiya is a rare dragon breed, Yate!”
Yate’s face alternated between green and white. He glared fiercely at Lumiya.
“Consider yourself lucky!”
The students around put away their mocking expressions, and a few even came over to examine Lumiya curiously:
“This little dragon looks ordinary, but her flames are that strong?”
“Maybe she really is a rare dragon breed. Lin Xing really scored this time.”
Holding Lumiya, Lin Xing’s face was full of pride as he whispered to her.
“Lumiya, you were amazing! That was so cool just now!”
Lumiya proudly poked his cheek with her paw, but her mind was turning over what Yate said about “0th Tier, 5 Stars”?
Could it be? No way, right?
“Um… How should I address you, honorable Beast Tamer?”
Lumiya lifted her small head, her voice soft and gentle.
“And that fierce Beast Tamer just now mentioned ‘0th Tier, 5 Stars’—what does that mean?”
Lin Xing was caught off guard by her calling him “honorable Beast Tamer,” and scratched his head, embarrassed.
“No need to call me that—just call me Lin Xing. We’re partners.”
He walked with Lumiya toward the edge of the plaza, patiently explaining the Tier-Star System as they went.
“That’s our unified way of evaluating the strength of Beast Tamers and Contract Beasts. 0th Tier, 5 Stars is about average after a new tamer and beast have gotten used to each other. The ranks go from 0th to 9th Tier, and each tier has ten stars. When you fill up the stars, you can move up a tier.”
Lumiya pretended to suddenly understand, her tail tip swaying slightly.
“So that’s how it is! Then Lin Xing, what rank are we now?”
But inside, she was complaining madly—so it’s really this kind of cliché Tier-Star System. She remembered thinking it was lame when she read that desk-propping novel years ago, and now she had to live through it herself.
“I’m currently 0th Tier, 7 Stars!” Lin Xing puffed out his chest, a bit proud. “My training speed is faster than most, so I ranked up ahead of time! As for you…”
He lowered his head and poked the scales on Lumiya’s chest.
“There’s no level marked in the contract manual, but since you were able to injure a Wind Fox at 0th Tier, 5 Stars, you’re probably around 0th Tier, 3 Stars. That’s way stronger than the average new Contract Beast!”
Lumiya froze, then became irritated inside.
Stupid human. If she didn’t want to go back to that empty Sea of Clouds, would he really dare touch the chest of the Sovereign of the Sea of Clouds?!!
Forget it, it’s just scales. No need to stoop to his level.
Speaking of that fox’s 0th Tier, 5 Stars—if she, the Sovereign of the Sea of Clouds, sneezed, her pressure alone could wipe out a whole area of those creatures that didn’t even count as low-tier magical beasts.
Were people here really this weak?
But on the surface, she still acted surprised and delighted: “Really? Then am I considered a powerful Contract Beast?”
“Of course!”
Lin Xing hugged her even tighter, his steps growing lighter.
“Let’s go to the Academy’s Assessment Room and get your exact rank measured, then collect the New Student Gift Pack. There’ll be basic Magic Crystals and the Dormitory Key in there, which you can use as snacks!”
The Assessment Room was a small house filled with Crystal Balls. The teacher in a white robe’s eyes lit up the moment he saw Lumiya.
“Oh, is this a newly discovered Newborn Dragon? Contract Beasts of the dragon line are only in legends, but we do find new Newborn Dragons every year.”
He smiled and handed over a fist-sized Crystal Ball.
“Let her put her paw on this, and it’ll measure her rank and potential.”
Lumiya obediently complied, carefully releasing only the magical power fluctuation of a 0th Tier, 3 Stars.
The Crystal Ball instantly glowed with a soft green light, with a line of text clearly appearing on its surface.
A line appeared: [Contract Beast: Unknown Dragon Species; Rank: 0th Tier, 3 Stars; Potential: SSS]
“Hiss—” The teacher sucked in a breath, pushing his glasses up and confirming again and again, his tone more excited.
“Potential: SSS? That’s top-tier, seen only once in a century! Student, if you train this Contract Beast well, it’ll absolutely grow into a Legendary Beast!”
Lin Xing’s eyes went wide as copper bells, grabbing the teacher’s arm in excitement, his voice trembling.
“Really? SSS Potential?!”
After being reassured, he nearly jumped on the spot with Lumiya in his arms, his tone full of joy.
“Lumiya, you’re incredible! SSS-level potential! You’ll be my ace partner from now on!”
Lumiya lounged contentedly in his embrace, the tip of her tail swaying with pride.
Please, even with almost all her strength suppressed, if she didn’t rate SSS, she’d just breathe fire and torch this useless evaluation system right now.
After picking up their cultivation resources and Lumiya’s basic rations, the two arrived at the bottom of the dormitory.
Lin Xing looked at the key in his hand, scratched his head, and looked a bit embarrassed.
“The dorm is for two people, so I’ll have to put you in the Contract Space. I’ve already set it up—a fluffy Beast Nest and some Magical Crystal Biscuits.”
“Okay.” Lumiya nodded, watching Lin Xing as he silently commanded:
“Store.”
The next second, she entered the Contract Space.
Compared to her Sea of Clouds domain, this place was far smaller, but it did have a cozy vibe.
The Beast Nest was covered in soft fluff, a wooden rack nearby held several bags of Magical Crystal Biscuits, and there was even a small Clear Water Pool prepared specially.
She tentatively gathered her power at her claw tip and gently touched the space’s barrier.
With her strength, she could shatter it with a light swipe—so safety was no issue.
Lumiya lounged idly in the Beast Nest, batting at the Magical Crystal Biscuits on the wooden rack with her paw.
Outside the space, she heard Lin Xing talking with someone else.
Her ears twitched, and she peeked out through the barrier—it was Lin Xing’s roommate who had come back.
“Lin Xing, you’re finally back! Did you succeed with the contract?”
“Did you get the New Student Gift Pack yet? Let me tell you, this time the Magic Crystal Biscuits are super tasty. Even my Dundun keeps trying to snatch them!”
His roommate’s voice was full of excitement, along with the rustling sound of claws scratching.
“I did it, and got the gift pack too. Lumiya’s still in the Contract Space.”
Lin Xing replied with a smile, unable to hide his happiness.
After all, he’d searched the ocean for a needle from the empty gate and was seven days behind his peers. If he’d failed again, he would’ve had to accept his family’s help.
Lin Xing replied with a laugh.
“Oh right, your Dundun is a marmot, right? Tomorrow is the basic beast-taming class, and the teacher said to bring Contract Beasts. It’ll be good for them to get to know each other.”
“Sure! Dundun loves playing with other Contract Beasts!”
As soon as his roommate finished, Lumiya felt the Contract Space shake, and the next second, Lin Xing released her.
When she emerged, she saw that the dormitory wasn’t large, with two desks by the window.
In the corner crouched a round, chubby marmot, clutching half a biscuit and gnawing away, its face covered in crumbs, looking adorably silly.
Seeing Lumiya, the marmot paused, then carefully approached with its biscuit in its mouth.
It was just about to nudge her scales with its nose when Lumiya’s casual release of dragon might made it shrink back, its paws trembling.
“This is Dundun, my roommate Zhao Kai’s Contract Beast.”
Lin Xing introduced them.
“Dundun, this is Lumiya.”
Lumiya had no choice but to restrain her aura a bit and waved her paw to beckon the marmot over, giving its fur a gentle pat.
The soft, fluffy feeling was surprisingly pleasant.
Dundun seemed to sense something, chirped happily twice, and pushed its half-eaten biscuit toward Lumiya, as if sharing.
Lumiya glanced at the half-munched, crumb-covered biscuit.
She immediately shook her head.
Honestly, as the Sovereign of the Sea of Clouds, if she accepted this biscuit today, she’d probably feel sick for a whole week.