Chapter 21: The Power of a Single Glance

The God of Contracts, Morax, is known for his absolute fairness and impartiality, yet she misused the authority he granted her to forcibly bind the Nine Nether Azure Luan into a contract as her mount. This blatant violation of the fair contract principle supported by her master—would her master be disappointed in her?

With this thought weighing heavily on her heart, Qian Wenyu was deeply uneasy, but she did not hide the truth and candidly confessed what she had done.

“Master, Yu’er has taken a liking to a hundred-thousand-year soul beast and wishes to make it her mount. That is why she used divine power to forcibly activate the Earth Authority and establish the contract...” Qian Wenyu spoke softly, stealing glances at Zhongli’s expression. When she saw the smile fade from his face and his demeanor grow increasingly stern, her heart skipped a beat. Hastily lowering her head in apology, she pleaded, “Master, are you angry? I’m sorry, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have abused the authority to form an unjust contract. I’m willing to accept any punishment you deem fit, just please don’t stay angry!”

She rushed out a torrent of words—no matter what, she thought, showing a sincere attitude and admitting her mistake first was never wrong.

“A sigh.” Zhongli exhaled deeply, but his voice was not as harsh as Qian Wenyu had imagined; instead, it was gentle as usual.

“Yu’er, I am not angry about that. Soul masters hunting soul beasts is the rule of your world. I would never interfere, nor blame you for it. What angers me is that you recklessly put yourself in danger for the sake of a mere hundred-thousand-year soul beast.”

“You know well enough that with your current strength, forcibly activating the Earth Authority could backfire if the contract fails. How can your body withstand such a backlash?”

“A wise person does not stand beneath a dangerous wall. Have I not taught you this? Have you forgotten?”

Zhongli’s words, filled with concern and worry, startled Qian Wenyu. So her master was not upset that she formed a contract with the Nine Nether Azure Luan—that was a relief. The rest, then, was of little consequence.

She breathed a sigh of relief and timidly grasped the edge of Zhongli’s robe, looking up with her bright golden eyes sparkling like dewdrops, pouting helplessly. “But Master, you’re here, right? You wouldn’t let anything happen to Yu’er, would you?”

Seeing her like this, Zhongli’s heart softened, but he still scolded with a stern face, “You have a nerve! I’m not in the same world as you; if something really happened to you, how could I possibly arrive in time? By the time I get there, you’d probably be nothing but ashes.”

Qian Wenyu lowered her head, her voice drooping, “Alright, Master, it’s Yu’er’s fault!”

But she was sure she’d dare again next time—hehe!

Zhongli could see through her thoughts immediately. After all, she was the little girl he had raised, his apprentice taught hand in hand. What else could he do but cover for her?

After Zhongli gave her a gentle head pat, Qian Wenyu was revitalized, smiling radiantly. “Master, this time Yu’er found a great place. The Life Lake outside is brimming with potent life energy, which, when absorbed, can greatly enhance the Moon Angel’s fundamental power. This way, Yu’er can purify more of your wear and tear.”

She was genuinely happy that her strength could help Zhongli more.

“Hm, there’s no rush. Take your time within your abilities,” Zhongli replied, patting her head again. He seemed to really enjoy stroking her golden hair, which shone brightly and felt smooth to the touch.

“Master, Yu’er also used the Heavenly Star Lock to catch another hundred-thousand-year soul beast earlier, but another one escaped, wasting a set of Heavenly Star Locks.”

“That was just a toy for you to play with. Losing it doesn’t matter. I’ll forge more sets for you later—don’t be stingy using them.” Zhongli was unfazed. Though the Heavenly Star Lock contained spatial compression functions, to him it was merely a trivial item he could conjure at will.

Though he was the Earth God, his abilities extended beyond the earth element. Over six thousand years of idle time, he had dabbled in many arts and mastered numerous skills.

As the master and apprentice enjoyed their warm moment, Zhongli suddenly sensed a probing gaze from outside. His expression stiffened, amber eyes flashing sharply with intimidation as his gaze pierced through the system space toward a spot near the Life Lake.

Behind towering ancient trees near Life Lake stood several humanoid figures quietly. They were the formidable beasts dominating the core region of the Star Dou Great Forest’s Life Lake.

Leading them was a man dressed in black with golden eyes—imposing in appearance—none other than the supreme ruler of the Star Dou Great Forest and Soul Beast King of Douluo Continent, Emperor Tian, the Black Dragon King with Golden Eyes.

Beside Emperor Tian stood several humanoid figures: the Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear Lord, the Emerald Swan Biji, the Demon-Eyed Magic Tree King of Ten Thousand Demons, and the Three-Headed Red Demon Mastiff King. Each was a ferocious beast with cultivation spanning hundreds of thousands of years.

When Zhongli’s gaze fell upon them, Emperor Tian felt a powerful force locking onto him. A deadly sense of danger surged forth, chilling him to the bone.

“The aura of a deity! How is this possible? How can that human girl possess such a terrifying divine aura?” Emperor Tian’s mind was thrown into chaos. His hands clenched into fists at his sides. That human girl was protected by a god—this meant their previous plan was no longer feasible.

Perhaps because Zhongli’s gaze targeted only the strongest, Emperor Tian, the other ferocious beasts seemed unaware of Zhongli’s presence. The Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear Lord looked anxiously at Qian Wenyu and the Nine Nether Azure Luan absorbing the life energy at the lake’s center.

“Emperor Tian, are we just going to stand by while that human girl and the blue-feathered bird recklessly drain the life energy from the lake? That is the life energy emitted by our lord!”

Biji nodded worriedly. “Indeed, although that amount of life energy is negligible to our lord, letting them absorb it freely will still have some impact.”

Emperor Tian’s face darkened. “Do you think I don’t understand that? Do you think I don’t want to stop them? But right now, we cannot interfere—not even reveal a trace of our presence. Otherwise, not only will we be finished, but our lord will suffer as well.”

Hearing this, Biji sensed something was wrong and hurriedly asked, “Why? Have you sensed something?”

Before Emperor Tian could answer, the Bear Lord spoke in disbelief, “Emperor Tian, what are you saying? We are ferocious beasts with hundreds of thousands of years of cultivation. A mere human soul master and a hundred-thousand-year soul beast—no matter how strong they are—we can easily crush them.”

Emperor Tian glanced at the seemingly absent-minded Bear Lord and said gravely, “You are correct. With our power, that human girl and her soul beast cannot match us. But what if it is the power of a god?”