Su Nian changed into a light goose-yellow dress, the soft fabric perfectly outlining the girl’s slender curves and youthful, vibrant figure.
Around her fair, slender neck, the exquisite necklace formed by the Lover’s Prison Collar shimmered in the morning light.
Just as in the past few days, she was preparing to head out for the Magic Feather Fantasy rehearsal but at that very moment, outside the window, a black-violet long-haired cat slipped into the room with a swish.
It was none other than Su Nian’s contract beast, Little Violet.
The girl reached out and gently stroked the soft, smooth fur of Little Violet in her arms.
The little creature, as if it had found the perfect place to sleep, curled up in her embrace and quickly fell into a deep slumber, its even breathing carrying a faint trace of exhaustion.
These past three days, Little Violet was indeed worn out.
Under Su Nian’s constant nourishment with Holy Light magic, Little Violet’s depleted magic power had finally been fully restored.
Once it recovered, it immediately set out with the Wind Elemental Holy Dragon, Little Green, to resume the journey of retrieving the spirit turtle, Big Mountain.
Little Violet, relying on the spatial marks it had carved on Big Mountain with a magic array earlier, directed the enormous Wind Elemental Holy Dragon, Little Green, to race across the sky.
Little Green was incredibly fast, its speed already surpassing the speed of sound.
Soon, they found themselves above the calm, blue expanse of the Blue Sea, where they spotted the enormous spirit turtle—Big Mountain—who looked like a moving island.
Su Nian had thought that this time, she could finally summon back her powerful partner, who had accidentally gone “missing” during the battle at Blackstone Gorge, to the Void Beast Nest Space.
With that, she could finally set her mind at ease.
But she never expected that this truly ancient spirit turtle, Big Mountain, who had lived for nearly a thousand years, would actually… become so enamored that he didn’t want to leave.
When Little Violet found Big Mountain, he had become completely obsessed with this abundantly rich and almost unnaturally peaceful Blue Sea.
According to Big Mountain, this sea was overflowing with food.
Giant, slow-moving, utterly harmless sea beasts were everywhere—open your mouth and they came right to you.
Even just cruising with his mouth open, he could swallow plenty of fish and shrimp.
Compared to his original world, where he had to exhaust himself hunting down cunning and ferocious Magic Beasts, this was just so much better.
Compared to that crisis-ridden, survival-of-the-fittest world, this Blue Sea was nothing short of a paradise for retirement.
Clearly.
Unlike Little Green and Little Violet, Big Mountain was quite laid-back; just finding a place to retire was more than enough for him.
Su Nian was left both amused and exasperated after hearing this but she was happy, too, that Big Mountain had found such a “paradise” of a retirement sea.
To her, this was also a good thing.
The reason being…
Contract beasts had to eat, too!
Now that she was the master of the three little ones, she naturally needed to supply them with food.
Little Violet didn’t eat much; she could simply share Su Nian’s human food.
As for Little Green… as an as-yet-unmatured Wind Elemental Holy Dragon, its appetite was shockingly enormous.
It wasn’t just that it ate a lot.
This guy would only eat high-energy Magic Beast meat, never touching cheap, ordinary beast meat, let alone grains or vegetables.
Raising a dragon… was really expensive!
In order to provide Little Green with enough food, she had no choice but to steel herself and “apply” to that damned Horned Demon for food expenses.
After all, in the state of Master Recognition Lv3, she had no control over her own money.
Fortunately… as long as she asked, the Horned Demon was never stingy with money.
Still, she’d have to pay a price for it.
She could just about keep up with Little Green’s appetite but Big Mountain… for this ancient giant turtle, there was really nothing she could do.
Given Big Mountain’s size, even if he only ate ordinary food, the amount required was astronomical.
Now, Big Mountain was foraging freely in this vast sea, completely self-sufficient.
‘That was good, too.’ Su Nian comforted herself, ‘At least Big Mountain was safe, and by hunting those sea beasts, he could slowly accumulate strength and grow stronger.’
That was far better than keeping him in the Beast Nest Space, constantly worrying about how to feed him.
Moreover, as her contract beast, Big Mountain was more than just a fighter.
The clever Little Violet had spent a great deal of effort and magic power to inscribe a complex and precise long-range Space Transmission Magic Array on Big Mountain’s island-like back.
From now on, the spirit turtle Big Mountain became an extremely secret rear base and vital strategic reserve point for Su Nian.
As for that ultimate move—summoning Big Mountain from the sky to crush enemies like Mount Tai—
She’d better not use it again.
That was a reckless, desperate act born of panic.
She’d almost taken herself and her companions down with it.
Besides that, Little Violet had also dug up a rather practical Ancient Miniaturization Magic from the inherited memories of the Spirit Cat Clan.
Not only had it learned it itself, but it had also successfully taught the Wind Elemental Holy Dragon, Little Green.
A flash of white light.
That once imposing and mighty, mountain-sized blue dragon appeared from the Beast Nest Space, transforming into a pale blue little ball of fluff, no bigger than a palm.
Its blue feathers glowed softly in the morning sun, and its plump, round body looked especially adorable.
‘So… so cute.’
The previously awe-inspiring and fierce Little Green had suddenly turned into this little ball of blue, creating such an adorable contrast… what was going on…
‘Hahaha.’
Su Nian subconsciously stepped forward, extending her slender finger to gently squeeze the fluffy body of the little ball of blue that Little Green had become.
The feel was unexpectedly wonderful, soft and warm.
Little Green seemed unaccustomed to this intimacy, but didn’t resist, simply standing quietly on Su Nian’s smooth, rounded, fragrant shoulder.
Its pair of sharp golden eyes swept warily over every corner of the room, dutifully playing the role of close bodyguard.
For Little Green, now that it had mastered this miniaturization magic, it could stay by its master’s side at all times to protect her!
To ordinary people, though, it now looked like a harmless little pet—maybe even a bit silly and cute.
Unable to refuse Little Green’s request to go out with her.
This time, Su Nian was taking Little Green out for the first time, but she warned him repeatedly not to revert to his original form and not to hurt anyone.
In the Academy City, it wasn’t unusual for people to take pets or magical pets outside, so she wouldn’t attract much attention.
Little Violet, having depleted herself casting and carving that huge magic array all night, was looking rather tired and since she was a natural sleepyhead, she was now sleeping soundly—best to let her rest at home.
She boarded the carriage and left Shadowmoon Manor’s ornate and solemnly carved gates.
Squeezing the plump body of Little Green, now a little ball of blue, time passed quickly on the way to Magic Feather Fantasy.
When Shadowmoon Manor’s carriage stopped in front of Magic Feather Fantasy—
Su Nian looked outside… and saw a row of splendid, beautiful carriages, each one displaying the wealth and nobility of its owner.
The most eye-catching “carriage” of all was pulled by a tamed Magic Beast.
To be able to use a Magic Beast as a carriage-puller, the person inside was clearly not ordinary.
As Su Nian was observing, the curtain of that most prominent Magic Beast carriage was carefully lifted by a maid.
A young lady, dressed in luxurious clothes and crowned with dazzling jewels, stepped down gracefully amidst a group of attending maids.
At the same time from the other carriages nearby, several more young women, each dressed just as exquisitely, also began to step down.
Their skirts brushed the ground, bringing with them faint, drifting fragrances and their gazes, almost simultaneously, all settled on Su Nian, who had just stepped down from her carriage.
In those eyes were scrutiny and curiosity, and—barely discernible—hostility.