Amidst the falling snow, the Sun Wheel Bird was glowing with a deep, crimson gold, the heat radiating from its body evaporating the snowflakes in the air.
It transformed into a small, falling sun, plummeting from the sky.
On the snowy ground lay a white cat, nearly 2 meters tall and 5 meters in length.
The Sun Wheel Bird’s wings were like blades, but its long-prepared strike failed to hit the white cat, which twisted away with a peculiar posture.
In the blink of an eye, a sharp claw seized the bird’s leg, and with absolute physical superiority, the Sun Wheel Bird was slammed to the ground without a chance to resist.
It tried to struggle, but the cat’s paw pinning it down felt like a towering mountain; it was completely unable to budge.
“Alright, that is enough.”
Only then did Nuobai release the Sun Wheel Bird, shrinking in size as she walked out from the snow and steam, her gait elegant and calm.
Wei Zhaowu tutted in amazement; Nuobai was winning more and more easily.
“It is truly incredible; in just 10 days, your Optimal Posture has reached the perfect level.”
That wasn’t even all; this was just what Nuobai was showing on purpose, for in reality, the skill had already reached the flawless level.
Her three skills, Shadow Split, Polyform, and Light Condensation, were only a step away from achieving Divine Mastery.
She owed it all to the Sun Wheel Bird, which had been acting as her punching bag day and night.
At the very beginning, the Sun Wheel Bird had chased and fought Nuobai, but as her skill proficiency increased, it soon became an even match.
Now, in a single encounter, Nuobai could easily take it down.
“Nuobai, you should be ready to advance soon, right?”
Wei Zhaowu carefully scooped up Nuobai, doing her absolute best to control her hands to keep from petting her too much.
After feeding Nuobai so many Heavenly Spirit Crystals, she had finally earned the right to hold the cat, ignoring the Sun Wheel Bird still lying on the ground.
“I still need a little bit more.”
She had enough Betrayal Power, so as long as the energy was sufficient, Nuobai could advance.
As for why she still needed a bit more, it was simply because she wanted to accumulate more of a nest egg to lighten the burden on her Beast Master.
“The amount of energy you need is truly astonishing.”
Compared to her own Sun Wheel Bird, the energy Nuobai had absorbed over this period was enough to advance 10 Sun Wheel Birds.
She glanced with disdain at the bird still lying on the ground, clearly questioning its own life as a bird.
Not only could it not beat her, but it couldn’t even out-eat her—what a disgrace to birds.
The time was about right, so she recalled the Sun Wheel Bird and carried Nuobai to find her sister.
Nuobai was very well-behaved in her arms, for she felt a bit guilty; as long as Wei Zhaowu didn’t go too far, she would pretend she didn’t know anything.
“Meow!”
Nuobai whipped her tail across Wei Zhaowu’s face, jumped onto Wei Wanqing’s lap, and glared huffily at Wei Zhaowu.
Bearing the red mark on her face, Wei Zhaowu gave a sheepish smile.
“Sorry, my hand slipped.”
“Don’t be angry; she’s just a fool who can’t keep her hands to herself. I’ll teach her a proper lesson for you later.”
Wei Wanqing fed a specialized Snowflake Piece into Nuobai’s mouth.
This was made specifically for Nuobai, and the luxury of the ingredients was so great that even Qin Nian would have to exclaim at what a spendthrift she was.
Nuobai loved this kind of food with maxed-out stats; it was delicious and packed with energy.
However, if she had to say which she liked the most, the one ranked first in her heart was still the Snowflake Ball that Bai Luxin prepared for her.
After letting the patron, Wei Wanqing, pet her for a while, she went back to training; she had to max out those three skills today.
……
“Are we just going to sit here and wait?”
Outside the training room, Wei Wanqing, Wei Zhaowu, and Bai Luxin sat in a row, watching the wind and snow raging inside.
“Nuobai should be done soon; if you are in a rush, Sister Zhaowu, you and Sister Wanqing can go back first.”
“I’m not in a rush, it’s just a little boring; you know me, I can’t stay idle.”
“Luxin, do you have any results regarding the curse?”
Wei Wanqing, who had been silent, suddenly spoke, and the group fell quiet.
Wei Zhaowu no longer looked restless; when it really came to challenging fate, it was she who usually avoided the problem, but her sister was brave enough to ask Bai Luxin.
They had long wanted to ask Bai Luxin, but a trace of desolation flashed in Wei Zhaowu’s eyes; they already knew the answer.
Asking it aloud was merely making a heart that was already dead die a second time.
Bai Luxin was silent for a moment and rubbed her brow.
During this time, she and Qin Nian had exhausted every possible method, but in the end, they could never escape one point: the Twilight Power.
This rare power had only ever appeared in the Funeral Twilight, and they found it difficult to even understand what such power truly was.
They only had the descriptions in ancient texts: when the funeral dirge of the twilight rings out, after the twilight, death is imminent.
The Wei family kept the information on Twilight Power tightly locked away, leaving only this one highly abstract description.
Bai Luxin didn’t know if she should ask the two of them; would they tell her about such classified matters?
It was Wei Wanqing who noticed her hesitation first.
“Luxin, is there something you want to say, but don’t know how to start?”
“It’s fine, you can say it directly, we can accept it.”
Having lived in the family’s curse since childhood, they had nothing they couldn’t accept aside from each other.
Just like the Twilight Love they shared, the bond between Wei Wanqing and Wei Zhaowu was profound.
They had chosen to run away from home together, tacitly choosing to distance themselves from each other on the road, yet ultimately believing in hope together, trusting Nuobai and Bai Luxin without reservation.
“Sister Wanqing, do you know about the Funeral Twilight?”
“A product of the curse.”
Wei Wanqing’s words carried no emotion, as if the matter had nothing to do with them.
Yet Bai Luxin felt a deep sense of disgust, carrying a strong hatred like a cold wind blowing from the horizon, freezing one to the core.
“Let me tell you.”
Wei Zhaowu sat between them, separating the two.
“The Funeral Twilight is the ultimate beast pet of the Wei family, and also the lifeline that sustains the Wei family.”
She used a very official description, smiling as she stated a fact: the Wei family had to give birth to a Funeral Twilight.
“Sister Zhaowu, do you know about Twilight Power?”
“If it’s convenient, can you tell me what it actually is?”
Wei Zhaowu hugged her arm. “It’s my oversight; you wouldn’t be able to find relevant information in a border city like this.”
“Twilight Power is a curse similar to a poison; it is composed of the sorrow of the Sun Wheel Bird and the lament of the Moon Wheel Bird.”
“Those infected by the twilight will constantly hear a dirge, and will eventually die before the sun rises.”
“It is a death that cannot be avoided by any means; the contract is linked, and if one dies, both perish.”
“Have you heard of the Dawn Theory?”
“Of course.”
Wei Zhaowu knew what she wanted to ask; of course they knew the Dawn Theory.
Every pair of Beast Masters involved in a Twilight Love had once been a devout follower of the Dawn Theory.
“The Dawn Theory suggests: after the twilight, dawn shall arrive.”
“Based on the duality of power, when one type of power reaches its limit, it will give birth to the opposite attribute; that is the deduction.”
“This theory once became the Wei family’s life-saving medicine; everyone hoped it would help the Wei family escape the curse and the cycle of rise and fall.”
Wei Zhaowu emphasized the words “cycle of rise and fall,” mocking the way they followed the Wei family’s cycle.
“However, it is a dead end.”
“Without twilight, how can there be dawn?”
“After the twilight, death is imminent.”
“Once the Funeral Twilight is born, no one will survive alone.”
As the passionate song in her ears ended, Bai Luxin saw a mournful bird standing on the spot, as the decaying twilight constantly drained its vitality.
There was no struggle, no lingering attachment, and no sense of relief.
“If I have the Twilight Power, I might have a way to save you both…”
Bai Luxin murmured in a daze, tears falling and splashing like water drops.
Wei Zhaowu let go of her and leaned into her sister’s arms instead.
It’s alright, they had known this for a long time.
It’s fine if there’s no way to save them…
“Have you been bullying my Beast Master?”
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