On the side, Lu Caiyun was adding oil to the fire by showing off her broken wrist again and again. The sinister plans of these two against their fellow family, Lu Shiqian, are finally coming to fruition!

       The family rules state that there will be no scuffles, no conflicts, and no harming another in the family.

       Lu Ningxiang actually does understand her eldest daughter. She is incompetent and useless, and she does not really believe that her daughter is capable of harming Lu Caiyun. But Xu Jun and Lu Caiyun were of one mind on the matter, even the servants present at the time confirmed the validity of their statements, making the issue even more complicated. The reason is simple: if it is proven that Lu Shiqian did not harm Lu Caiyun, then Xu Jun would be guilty of slandering a fellow family member. This crime is very serious. But at the end of the day, if Xu Jun and Lu Caiyun are chased out of the family, their relation with the Xu family will take a major hit. She also has a lot of things she needs the help of the Xu family for… it’s still too early to shed all pretense and decorum with them! But if she doesn’t expose these two, then she would be harming Lu Shiqian and Zhang Jun!

       Why is this incompetent girl always getting into trouble? Lu Ningxiang thought about it and thought about it some more, but each solution left a more bitter taste in her mouth. She is a mighty fifth-ranked practitioner! Her talent is so exceedingly high that ordinary people can only point at her in awe; she even has a flexible mind, forming many ingenious strategies. So how come her daughter is so useless, somehow even managing to cause trouble in other domains?

       As a mother, she is able to tolerate her daughter’s incompetence and willfulness; but as the Matriarch, she wishes that her daughter will be talented and a high-achiever. Even being above-average is fine! At first, she was training her daughter to become the future head of the family but the higher the expectations, the greater the disappointment. Now she does not hold any hope for her; she has given up on her.      

       Perhaps giving the West County to her eldest daughter is still pretty good. There is an old Lu family residence there, and it still counts as part of the Lu family resources. The emperor was the one who gave the Lu family the West County. After sending her over there, her daughter won’t necessarily be bullied.

       Alright, this is my final decision.

       Ending her train of thought, Lu Ningxiang loudly ordered: “Someone come and bring that incompetent girl to me!”

       After a moment, a servant returned and reported, “Reporting to Matriarch! The eldest young miss isn’t in the West Courtyard.

       She’s not there? She actually dares to go out during the ban? Lu Shiqian is useless, lustful, a grass-bag, willful… and this list of bad traits had another crime added to it: rebellious!

       Then, where has Lu Shiqian gone to?

       Lu Shiqian is currently in the largest magical beast store in the country having a staring contest with a Swift-Wind Dog.

       There are many different species of magical beasts on the Devil Dance continent. Take dogs for example, there are Swift-Wind Dogs, Flame Dogs, Fork-tailed Dogs, Lightning dogs, etc, etc… Especially because there are many different magical beasts, they are unable to be counted and up until now, there are still species that haven’t been documented. The reason is because sometimes, random people would sometimes stumble upon a new species. Magical creatures are separated into plant type, beast type, and power type. The appearance of a magical plant type is usually in the form of a plant and often has some strange powers. Beast types are the most common; in fact, most magical creatures fit into this category. Power types are scarce and are generally high-grade magical beasts, seldom appearing in front of humans.

       It has to be said that this is a perfect world with a diverse population and ecology: a world filled with many different kinds of flora and fauna. 

       Contracting with a magical beast to become your pet is also a very interesting thing. In ancient scriptures, they called this the “gift of the gods.” A contract wasn’t some kind of magic but a rule of heaven and earth!

       This is known as the “gift of the gods” because in this world, magical beasts are born with magic power and are powerful. They can even cultivate and their numbers are large. Therefore, they are the dominant group on this continent. Apart from humans are the elves, whose magic power makes them unparalleled warriors and mages: the treasure of the heavens. Their strength is far beyond ordinary reach, and they are the other dominant group. Dragons also have superb wisdom, lots of magic power, a strong body, and are at the top of the strength pyramid… Only humans have average wisdom, average fighting prowess, average magic power, and an average body. The heavens must have taken pity on humans and gave them the ability to contract with a magical beast.

       A contracted magical beast can be joined with the body of its master. This joining can be classified in two ways. One is external: the magical beast can become a suit of armor or weapon for its master to equip for attack or defense. The other is internal: the master can use the skills of the magical beast, making it easier to attack.

       As the rank increases, the transformations- likewise- become more powerful and magnificent. There are more uses to it and advanced skills.

       According to the district, a contracted magical beast is divided, by people, into: one to ten stars, Earth Rank; ten to thirty stars, Heaven Rank; seventy stars and above, God Level.

       One-star magical beasts are commonplace; five-stars are rare while ten-stars above have only appeared in the records of ancient legends during the Era of the Gods.

       “The sky was covered in a blood-covered light as a huge demon emerged from within the magma. The opening of its huge mouth was the worst nightmare.” This record depicts a fifty-star God Level beast. The “blood-covered light” mentioned were the red flowers that bloomed under the monster’s feet.

       Just like human progression, magical beasts also have a pattern marking their progression.

       The ancient writings all recorded myths or legends: the age of the Hero, the age of the miracles, the age of chaos and destruction— what age didn’t happen?

       Lu Shiqian is currently an apprentice mage— okay, she may be an apprentice mage for the rest of her life— but she can at least contract with a magical beast, right?

       Yesterday, she had, in one breath, finished the “Contract Book.”

       The “Contract Book” is also known as the Infinite Contract Documents, and turned into golden dust and vanished after she took a short break.

       The contract method written in the book is very different from the norm. When contracting, an extremely complicated purple-colored pattern would appear at the foot of the contractor. Usually, there is only a flash of light when contracting with a magical beast. At most, there would only be a slight grain below the foot.

       The book states that as long as this method is used, a person can contract with as many beasts as they like. The only difference is that there will be an extra space each time a beast is contracted. The master and magical beast will be connected and can share power with each other. Additionally, magical beasts can add their powers together making them much more powerful in battle. Just too badass!

*(Translated by DL Scanlations. Visit https://divinelink2.wixsite.com/readahead to read ahead.)