After Rebirth, Even Fools Know to Choose Mystical Beasts as Companions

: Awakening

"Why did you suddenly faint for no reason?"

A cacophony of noises buzzed around me as I strained to open my eyes.

The eager face of my Second Senior Brother came into view.

My whole body felt as though it was being burned by fierce flames, leaving me breathless.

I was back to the day of choosing my Mystical Beast.

The cultivators of the Astral Sect were all present; the founder had entered the path through Beast Taming, a technique highly revered within the sect.

With my Single Wood Spirit Root, the school's legacy cultivated Beast Taming techniques, making me the favorite of the master on Ferrowind Mountain.

Forming a contract with a Mystical Beast was key to advancing in our sect.

I was at the Peak of Foundation Establishment, and to successfully form my Core, I needed to choose a Mystical Beast to contract with.

In my past life, the master gathered us outstanding disciples together.

He personally spent over three years selecting Mystical Beasts about to take human form for us to choose from.

My senior sister was quick-eyed and chose a White Tiger that was already at the Golden Core Middle Stage, rumored to have a trace of Zephyron's ancient Mystical Beast bloodline.

In the End of Dharma Era, it was extremely rare for a Mystical Beast to have even a hint of such a bloodline.

Yet I ignored the Divine Ox with its Mystical Beast blood and chose instead a peculiar and unattractive Streamer Snake.

The master said he found him half-dead on the road and brought him back, telling me he was neither a snake nor just a snake; he was an Underscale.

Seeing his weak and helpless appearance, my heart moved with compassion.

The master's face turned very ugly.

"Lily, have you thought this through? This Underscale has no spiritual root. I saved him merely out of mercy for his life. He has no connection or destiny with you. The Divine Ox was specially sought for you by me; do you like it?"

I shook my head like a rattle, believing in the connection at first sight.

Even though the Underscale was extremely weak, neither dragon nor snake.

But I distinctly saw in his vertical pupil a plea and a sigh, and I was adamant that with my excellent talent, no matter which Mystical Beast I formed a contract with, I could take him to ascend together and stand at the peak of the mountain.

The master looked at my stubbornness and shook his head helplessly as he turned away.

I wrapped that Underscale around my arm and brought him back to my own cave residence.

Day and night for seven days without rest, the Underscale gradually showed a sign of vitality.

After washing the little creature clean, I discovered he actually had a pair of black horns on his forehead.

They were very similar to dragon horns.

It turned out he was more than just a dying Underscale; he had the bloodline of the Soarnis Dragon, one of the last in existence.

As long as I help him transform, he would break through the Lurindale Gates and become only second to the Pyrosian Dragon as the Dragon King of Heaven and Earth.

To help him break through the Lurindale top, I searched every corner of the eight desolations and six harmonies Secret Realms.

I even risked my life to seek the Kun's eye to become a half-human, half-demon Immortal Ganoderma. With my Lingzhi blood, the Underscale's cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds.

On that day, he successfully reached Divinity Transformation, about to become my official Dao partner. But on the day of the Divinity Transformation ceremony, he transformed into a Soarnis Dragon, soaring to the ninth heavens.

The earth trembled, and the protective sect formation shattered by the Dragon Power.

I reached out to him amidst the collapsing stones, but he tenderly lifted my senior sister, Olivia Lane, with his white-phosphored long tail.

A dragon trapped in the abyss must ascend to the heavens.

"Lily, all the waiting was worth it. I have finally transformed into the Dragon King of Heaven and Earth; no one can trap me. I have fulfilled all the promises made to you that day."

He looked at Olivia Lane, full of deep affection, and the Dragon King's presence made the four seas lose their color.

Could the Heavenly Dao really tolerate him?

But my Astral Sect and Skycrest had been flattened by the Dragon Power.

Seeing my master and blood kin reduced to a bloody pulp, I was filled with intense fury.

As soon as I close my eyes, the horrors of that day seem vividly clear.

Seeing Olivia Lane smiling and petting the White Tiger's fur, I could barely restrain myself from devouring her alive.

Clenching my teeth, I desperately suppressed the hatred surging in my heart.

That Underscale lying amid the rubble seemed to know I would surely choose him, slowly swimming towards me.

Without hesitation, I stepped over that length of snake and fixed my burning gaze on the White Deer in the nearby forest.

His snow-white fur was even more splendid compared to the White Tiger's, and the antlers on his head branched out robustly.

At that moment, he was proudly lifting his front hoof, as if looking down on all beings.

This White Deer was not a Mystical Beast sought by the master; he just happened to pass through this mountain forest.

In my past life, he also settled here, but no one noticed his presence due to his extremely powerful cultivation, which was impenetrable to the eye.

Until people contracted their Mystical Beasts with blood, the cry of the deer was heard.

He soared on all fours, stepping on clouds.

No trace of him was found within the Three Worlds.

I heard about him again during idle chatter in Skylan.

The White Deer cultivated incredibly swiftly, reaching the brink of Divinity Transformation in just a few decades.

The Divinity Transformation Thunder Tribulation was supposed to help him ascend as the ancient Mystical Beast, Adrian Blake, but who knew he would be struck by the Purple Cloud Divine Thunder, annihilating him completely.

To know Adrian Blake is the emblem of peace—his bloodline more regal than that of ancient dragons and phoenixes.

At the time, I considered it idle gossip as I continued my quest for Heavenly and Earthly Treasures to aid the Underscale in ascending.

Looking back now, helping a mere impure-blooded half-breed Underscale turn into a dragon was within my capabilities, and aiding Adrian Blake in ascending shouldn't be such a difficult task.

Gathering energy in my dantian, I appeared beside Adrian Blake in a flash, directly grabbing hold of his antler-covered head.

"Master, disciple chooses this White Deer."

Everyone belatedly realized there was such a large White Deer hidden among them.

Upon seeing the White Deer, the master squinted his eyes.

Though the White Deer was not yet in human form, pride shone in his gaze, and as he gazed at me, hot breath exhaled from his nostrils.

Seeing no rejection, I felt slightly at ease.

The master, having seemingly discerned something, appeared joyous.

"Good, good..."

"Lily, forming a contract with this White Deer is your fate; your fortune lies ahead."

Hearing the master's words, my heart trembled as memories from my past life flashed through my mind.

Sneaking a glance at my senior sister Olivia Lane, I vowed that as long as I was there, the sect would remain secure.

At this moment, an ill-timed voice suddenly broke the harmony.

"No, you were meant to choose me."

The voice was filled with deep resentment, piercing everyone's hearts, leaving them wide-eyed in shock.

"Who's speaking?"

Several senior brothers anxiously searched around.

The master frowned, his long sleeves flaring, hitting the shield light on the Underscale entwined on the tree, causing it to tumble in front of them.

"Where did this big snake come from, unnoticed by us?"

The second senior brother, shocked, drew the long sword in his hand.

The Underscale, ignoring the pain, lifted its head with all its might.

"Lily, I am the one fated to contract with you. I have the Soarnis Dragon's bloodline. With you, I could break through the Lurindale top and become the Dragon King of Heaven and Earth."

"I am your true partner, destined to become your Dao companion, eternal and unyielding."

His words caused an uproar.

"Look at his disgusting appearance, utterly delusional, daring to covet our junior sister."

"Indeed, our junior sister is a treasure in the palm of our hands, never to be decided by an Underscale."

The second senior brother's sword was poised to strike the Underscale at its vulnerable spot, yet he neither dodged nor evaded but stared at me with his vertical pupils glinting dangerously.

An invisible pressure secretly surged as I squinted, wondering if Ethan Wells had also been reborn.

Truly, the Heavenly Dao hasn't treated me poorly. This is indeed well.

If he doesn't remember the past, how would I savor the delight of avenging when I strike?