Chapter 16 – Little Black
Chapter 16 – Little Black
The Replenishment Hall was located in a western courtyard of the Ye Family and it mainly dealt with the logistics issues. When Qinghan arrived at the gate of this hall, a group of descendants were already walking out with magic crystals in their hands. In the middle of the group, a boy was striding arrogantly with a spirit wolf in his arms.
“I’m so envious of you, Qingfeng. You are allowed to collect 100 pieces of first-grade magic crystals per month! Oh, I only get 50 pieces each month for my sixth-grade battle beast. Since my beast is only one grade lower than your spirit wolf, why is the gap is so distinctive?”
“Yeah, I’m also annoyed with this. Look, I only get 20 pieces for my fourth-grade battle beast…”
Unintentionally, Qinghan overheard their conversation and started to calculate the quant.i.ty of magic crystal he was supposed to collect.
Qingfeng pa.s.sed Qinghan with a defiant look, and the latter responded with a careless frown. Indeed, right now, Qinghan’s only focus were the magic crystals, he didn’t give a s.h.i.t about Qinghan’s threatening eye contact.
“Excuse me, may I collect my magic crystals here?” Qinghan couldn’t wait to ask around.
“What’s your name? And what grade is your battle beast?” A middle-aged fatty replied in slouching voices.
“Ye Qinghan, my battle beast is a fourth-grade lion-nosed dog.”
“Oh…Here you go. These are your magic crystals for this month. You may come here again next month, on exactly the same day.” The middle-aged man read through the account book as he picked up five dark crystals and put them into a small bag.
Qinghan took the bag, wondering why these were lower than he had predicted, “Sorry, but am I not supposed to collect 20 magic crystals for a fourth-grade battle beast? Look, you’ve only given me five pieces…”
Unexpectedly, the fatty got annoyed by Qinghan’s detailed inquiry. He snarled at Qinghan, “Hey, how many do you think is proper for a rubbish beast?”
“Oh…” Qinghan held back his temper and reluctantly walked out.
“Since you have offended both young lord Qingkuang and Qingfeng, do you think you can still get the 20 pieces as per standard? In fact, these five pieces were our leniency for the sake of your deceased father.” The fatty added as he stared at the back of Qinghan.
……
In a small room full of sundries, in the eastern part of the Ye Castle.
Qinghan put his little unicorn onto the desk, holding a wooden plate in front of its mouth. However, the little unicorn was still sleeping.
Qingyu stood nearby, while she curiously picked up one piece of magic crystal, “Brother, is this a magic crystal? How do you use it? Are you going to put this into its mouth and make it swallow it?”
“Of course not. I have to melt the magic crystal down into a liquid. You know, I have learned how to do this in the School of Battle Beasts, I’ll show you. It is said that this process is a secret method of our Ye Family.”
Putting a piece of magic crystal on one of his flattened palms, Qinghan moved it towards the beast’s mouth. He began to exert Battle Qi on the magic crystal. Soon, the magic crystal started melting, the sound of which was just like the hissing of fire.
A second later, a puff of misty white smoke slowly rose up from the magic crystal.
“Why is it still sleeping? I remember that Elder Tianxing said that the beast would be woken up by the smell of the melting magic crystal.” Qinghan suspiciously stared at the little beast, wondering if this method was also suitable for his own beast.
Elder Tianxing had told them that the magic crystal would emit a special flavor while being melted, which would wake the beast up. So Qinghan decided to try it once again.
He exerted more Battle Qi on the magic crystal this time, trying to speed up the melting process. Gradually, the hissing sound became louder and louder… Finally, the room was filled with the smell of the melting magic crystal.
“It’s waking up, brother!” Qingyu cheerfully exclaimed. She was standing next to Qinghan, closely observing the unfolding events in front of her.
The little beast slowly opened its eyelids, staring at the magic crystal, while its eyes were beaming with radiating vigor.
Suddenly…
The little beast protruded its head towards the magic crystal in Qinghan’s hand, which was not fully melted yet. Surprisingly, it swallowed the remaining part of the magic crystal!
“How come?” Qinghan and his sister looked at each other in bewilderment.
Previously, Elder Tianqing had told the students that when the beast was in the weak period, it could only eat the melting magic crystal, which was soft enough for them to chew on. Now, it seemed Qinghan’s beast had already distinguished itself by eating the solid magic crystal.
Right now, the little beast was licking its palms while eagerly looking at Qinghan, as if it was begging for more food.
“More?” Qingyu picked up another magic crystal from the bag, smiling at his little beast.
- Whoosh! -
The beast dashed to Qingyu’s palm, almost like a streak of lightning. In a split second, Qingyu found that the magic crystal had disappeared and that the little beast was eating the solid magic crystal with relish.
- Crack! Crack! -
The little beast chewed on the solid magic crystal, as if it was a drumstick. Instantly, the second one was eaten up. Yet, the beast seemed to still be hungry, as it flew to the bag and took a third one.
“Ah… Terrifying speed and iron-like teeth!” Qinghan shouted in excitement.
It never occurred to him that a cub in its weak period could be so formidable. The most impressive part was the hardness of its teeth. The magic crystals were made from the essence of a demon beast, which was extremely solid. However, the little beast chewed on the crystal like it was a piece of tofu…
“What will happen if this little beast bites human beings with its sharp teeth?” Qinghan couldn’t help but wonder.
Given its terrifying speed and sharp teeth, Qinghan predicted that his beast would be able to match those in the Realm of the Commander once it stepped out of its weak period.
“I have to find more magic crystals to help my beast grow up!” Qinghan couldn’t wait to see how powerful his beast would become once it had matured.
“Brother! Look at this little beast, it is so black. Let us give him a nickname. Hmm, what about ‘Little Black’?” Qingyu suggested, chuckling at Qinghan.
“‘Little Black’… Ah, we’ll call it ‘Little Black’ from now on!” Qinghan replied approvingly.
During their conversation, Little Black had already eaten up the remaining magic crystals in the bag. Now, it was amusingly wiping its mouth.
Suddenly, Little Black stood up with its two rear legs, touching its belly with its front claws.
“Haha… Brother, look at Little Black, it is mimicking the way humans walk. It’s so smart and adorable!” Qingyu was quite amused by Little Black’s actions.
“Come, Little Black. Come over here.” Qinghan tried to direct his beast to where he was.
- Whoosh -
The little beast instantly squatted on the ground and bounced into Qinghan’s arms, as if it could understand human language.
“Get into my body!” Realizing how smart his beast was, Qinghan tried to get it back to the summoning s.p.a.ce in his body – the place from where the beast enters the world.
Little Black yawned slightly before it changed into a white figure and disappeared into Qinghan’s chest. Since each battle beast would have soul agreements with their masters, the two of them would find it easy to understand each other.
At first, Qinghan was stunned by this unexpected success, as Elder Tianxing had warned them that it would take at least ten days to summon it back into the summoning s.p.a.ce.
Now, Qinghan felt that there was a mini-beast, which was probably one-tenth of the size of Little Black, crouching in a s.p.a.ce in his chest.
“Oh! I made it! Is Elder Tianxing just trying to scare us by saying that it will take many attempts to successfully summon it back?” Qinghan merrily wondered.
Actually, Elder Tianxing just told them half the story. The higher the grade, the smarter the battle beast would be. Once the soul agreement had automatically taken effect, the battle beast would comprehend its master’s intention. That was why Little Black quickly followed Qinghan’s instruction and jumped into his chest. Or in other words, it implied a positive sign, that Little Black would definitely not be any of those low-ranked, stupid beasts.
“Brother, where is Little Black? Ask it out, I want to play with it!” Qingyu frowned over the disappearance of the beast.
“Hey, my dear sister. Little Black has returned to the battle beast s.p.a.ce within my body. By doing so, we can help it get out of its weak period and help it grow up.” Qinghan stroked the hair of his pouting sister, who was longing to spend more time with Little Black.
Qingyu eventually nodded her head obediently and went to her bedroom.
The oath he made in front of his deceased mother was buried deep in his heart, Qinghan was determined to speed up the realization of this oath with the help of Little Black.
The first thing he should do right now, was to raise Little Black so that it would be more powerful.
Sitting on his bed, Qinghan started cultivating by absorbing the essence of Qi between heaven and earth. Afterward, he would convert this Nature Qi into Battle Qi, which would be partly conveyed to his battle beast.
Fortunately, one third of the Battle Qi Qinghan converted had flown into the s.p.a.ce where Little Black lived and was eventually absorbed by Little Black.
“Perfect! I will spend at least six hours cultivating, so that Little Black will absorb more Battle Qi.” Qinghan continued his cultivation, smiling satisfactorily. Meanwhile, his sparkling eyes were filled with hope.