CHAPTER 76: CHAPTER 76: UNDERGROUND WORLD, FACELESS ASSOCIATION

"Kid, you’re a smart person. I like dealing with smart people."

"Will you break the contract yourself, or should I do it personally?"

The masked man lit a cigarette. The shadow under his feet twisted and squirmed, stepping on Chu Yi’s shadow.

Skill: [Shadow Step].

Chu Yi felt a web-like, invisible restraint forcibly controlling him.

In his shadow, a deep purple Demon emerged. It had short legs and a short, pointed tail. Its form was bloated, round as a ball, with a malicious smile on its face.

It was a Ghost-type Pet Beast, low-level War General class: Gengar.

"Oh? I also quite enjoy talking to smart people."

Chu Yi smiled faintly. With just this spiderweb-like binding force, it seems he only regards me as an average Red Copper Beast Tamer.

He calmly bent down, ignored the masked man’s surprised expression, gathered Lulina into his arms, and said lightly, "Bika, I’ll leave it to you."

"What?"

The masked man was shocked. Gengar’s [Shadow Step] always worked! How can it be ineffective on this kid?

Sensing something was wrong, he immediately ordered Gengar to first use [Hypnosis], then the most destructive [Shadow Fist].

"HEE HEE HEE..." Gengar cackled.

It glowed with a deep purple phosphorescence. In the next moment, a young fox appeared before it as if from nowhere, big eyes meeting small eyes.

Bika looked cheerful, while Gengar appeared unimpressed.

They shared a friendly gaze for a second.

"YIP!"

Sparks erupted from Bika’s orange-Golden Flame-colored fur, golden flames flashing.

BOOM!

A blazing fire erupted, and from it, three majestic foxtails made of Golden Flame flew out.

Gengar was intimidated by this explosive aura. Its entire round body was lifted by the foxtails as terrifying Spiritual energy poured into it, a layer of Ink Fire Crystal spreading over it.

[Frenzy] activated, turning the tables on the War General!

"WHIMPER! WHIMPER!"

A shrill cry echoed as Gengar was wrapped tightly by the domineering foxtails. It was as if a steamroller repeatedly crushed, shredded, and burst its fleshy structure, destroying its Spiritual body.

The mighty War General-class Pet Beast, in front of this strange fox, had no power to resist.

"How is this possible!"

The masked man gaped in shock, turning to flee.

Holy snap! Weren’t they saying this was just an ordinary Beast Tamer? he thought.

WHOOSH!

The three long tails began to dance wildly, flashing out a series of fox shadows dragging Golden Flames.

Seeing the masked man trying to run, Bika sent out a fox shadow. It shot forward like a dragon breaking through the air, wrapped around the masked man’s leg, and dragged him back.

"Ah, no!"

The masked man screamed in terror. Deep fear climbed from the depths of his eyes until the flames swallowed his figure.

「 」

Bika licked its lips, hugged a bag of chips, grabbed one, stuffed it into its mouth, and went to watch cartoons.

[Spirit Core *1]

Its pink, slitted pupils closed.

After using [Prophecy of Time] to predict the event’s outcome and gathering intel, Chu Yi sent this unlucky soul on his way, extracting a batch of materials.

The assassin came from the Faceless Association, an underground assassin organization that accepted reconnaissance, assassination, and investigation tasks. He was an outer member codenamed "Deceitful Shadow." With his Pet Beasts—Gengar, Dark Night Skeleton, and Nether Lantern—he had accepted thirty-six commissions, failing only three, making him a silver-level assassin.

Since the Faceless Association kept its clients’ identities confidential, Deceitful Shadow didn’t know who had sent him. He only knew the target was a Beast Taming Youth, and the mission was to snatch the opponent’s Pet Beast.

The Faceless Association? I should find an opportunity to make contact, Chu Yi thought, nodding. The intel included a contact point for the Faceless Association.

According to Deceitful Shadow’s description, the underground world was another realm entirely. The law of the jungle was brutally evident, and treasures unseen on the surface were readily available there.

Using his Divine Hand to mimic Deceitful Shadow and his three Pet Beasts, Chu Yi began crafting the [Pact of Twin Cups].

Soon, with the consumption of two portions of Divinity, two Golden Wine Cups appeared, the Light of the Sun and Moon reflecting within them. One cup he drank, and the other he poured over Lulina.

Lulina quivered. Again... I got wet again...

BOOM!

On Chu Yi’s forehead, a Sun Mark emerged, seemingly overlapping with the previous one. The core of Lulina’s flower also quivered slightly, revealing a small moon as it formed a pact with its Master.

"Lulina, can you hear me?" Chu Yi asked, holding Lulina up with a smile.

"WHIMPER..."

Lulina’s leaves stopped trembling. Dewdrops rolled off its pink-tinged purple, plump leaves, making it look resplendent and bewitching.

Huh? Master? Lulina was confused. I’m mentally connected with Chu Yi! Any thought I have, if I wish it, can resonate in his mind... Does this mean... the contract succeeded?

Chu Yi smiled. Now, I can channel nutrients to two main Pet Beasts. This is many times stronger than a Beast Tamer’s contract. More crucially, the [Prophecy of Time] can help me select the optimal plan.

He wasn’t in a hurry to enhance Lulina. Instead, he planned to return to the Starfire Sequence to find an opportunity to make its Mutated Evolution more natural.

"Bika, go get to know your new companion."

"YIP!" Bika chirped. Sure, sure...

Bika took a hapless, despairing Lulina off to play, while Chu Yi sat on the couch and began to digest his gains from the Bloody Wilderness.

He had Treasures like the Ring of Curse and the Golden War Axe. The latter could be placed in the kitchen, suggesting it could be used to create feast items.

Next, his Divine Hand had replicated the Gray Mist Authority, which could cloak an area, allowing him to control the gray mist and move unpredictably.

Secondly, there was the Divine Eye, with the devouring power of the Authority of Flesh and Blood, capable of turning Soul and flesh entirely into nutrients.

Chu Yi made some calculations. His Divine Hand consumed Divinity; he had 9 units of it. One unit allowed for one mimicry. One solar day (a full day, starting with sunrise) restored one unit.

However, Chu Yi preferred to call this Divinity "Divine Power," as it differed from the Wheat Ears Divinity in the kitchen.

To upgrade the Divine Hand, it needed to be fed certain special things: human nature, the Flower of Human Nature, Divinity, evil intentions, Heroic Spirits, Mad Will, supreme will, great Souls... certain conceptual existences.

The same applied to the Clock Eye; if its next stage of development followed the time route, it would need to be fed time-related items.

His Painted Skin ability was only in its first stage of evolution and would eat anything.

High-quality Deceit Beasts are extraordinarily strong, but cultivating them is equally extraordinary, requiring both significant time and resources, Chu Yi sighed to himself. Life isn’t easy; times are tough.

「Star Dragon Academy.」

The third-year director, Mr. Yang, was a middle-aged man with a receding hairline. Due to the Evil Gods’ invasion, he had gotten up early; his eyes were bloodshot, and his spirit was worn out.

The third year was close to graduation, so there usually wasn’t much to do. However, shortly after the semester started, the Blood Moon disaster struck. The very next day, a military drill was announced, with all students required to participate.

As the third-year director, this "old man," as he sometimes felt, was busier than ever. He wasn’t just swamped with work; he was also under pressure from his wife at home.