"Contracting with Di Ying is only a stopgap! It can only be an equal contract, and the shortest term for such a contract is five years. When that time is up, you had better..." Di Xiao opened his mouth.
"I'll just dissolve the contract, alright?" Yun Jin rolled her eyes.
She could not be bothered with Di Xiao and instead walked straight to Di Ying. Without hesitation, Yun Jin initiated the contract ritual.
Di Ying did not resist in the slightest, simply waiting quietly. When Yun Jin completed the final step, the contract was sealed. A flash of white light swept across Di Ying's body, and the chaotic bloodline energy instantly calmed.
Between Yun Jin and Di Ying, a strange new tether had formed.
Di Xiao clenched his fists tightly, a deep helplessness welling within him.
The contract…
Was complete.
His sister, bound by contract to a human.
The only consolation for Di Xiao was that Di Ying's condition visibly improved, her bloodline stabilizing before his eyes.
Five years was but a short time. It was nothing, really. His sister would soon sink into slumber again. When the time came, the human could dissolve the contract.
That was what Di Xiao told himself.
But then—
Pain suddenly twisted Di Ying's expression, and she began to roll across the ground once more.
Di Xiao shot to his feet, glaring furiously at Yun Jin. "What is the meaning of this?!"
Yun Jin rolled her eyes. "What are you panicking for? The skill is taking effect. Di Qianbei, I truly do not understand how you became King of Spirit Beasts when you seem so ignorant."
Ignorant?
Di Xiao's eyes flared with fury as he glared daggers at Yun Jin.
Yun Jin remained perfectly calm.
Heh.
If earlier she had worried that Di Xiao might suddenly strike…
Now she feared nothing at all.
Even with an equal contract, any harm done to her would be reflected upon Di Ying. And this sister-obsessed maniac would never risk hurting his sister!
Wearing an air of brazen defiance, Yun Jin watched as Di Xiao's fingers twitched again and again before he finally forced himself to calm.
His sister was in her hands.
What could he do?
Endure it. Just endure it.
Five years. Only five years.
Di Xiao turned, watching Di Ying without blinking.
Though she still appeared wracked by pain, it was different from before. This was not the kind of torment that could shatter her body at any moment.
He could feel it.
Though she suffered, her breath remained steady, and her bloodline seemed to be shifting… evolving in a peculiar direction.
And it was not a bad direction.
Yun Jin's eyes flickered slightly as well.
From her system's probe, she knew the truth.
In the beginning, neither the Taiyang Zhuozhao nor the Taiying Youying bloodlines contained a Tian Zhao Stone or Xuan Yin Crystal. These had been forcibly implanted by someone.
Whoever orchestrated this had used some heaven-defying method to bind the siblings' cultivation and very lives to those two stones. But in their true, original form, they did not require such things.
Her skill, Bloodline Purification, could restore a spirit beast's bloodline to its purest, most perfect state. And the primordial Youying body had no need for a Xuan Yin Crystal!
There was a high chance…
That after this purification, Di Ying would never again be forced into slumber.
Di Xiao's expression shifted, and he turned toward Yun Jin. "Di Ying has suffered so long. She should already have succumbed to sleep. Why has she not?"
"Perhaps," Yun Jin arched her brows, her tone layered with meaning, "Di Ying will no longer need to."
Di Xiao's face shifted again.
Looking at Yun Jin's certainty, a thought sparked in his mind.
This skill…
Just what kind of skill was it?
A Beastmaster's technique… yet it had awakened his sister?
Accomplished something he had failed to achieve for thousands of years?
Could that truly be possible?
Disbelief warred with rising hope.
Di Xiao turned back, his attention locked on his sister's changes.
After enduring several hours of pain, Di Ying's bloodline aura gradually stabilized. It seemed as though some of her bloodline had been stripped away, but what remained grew ever more refined and potent.
Di Xiao's eyes widened with shock.
At last he understood Yun Jin's cryptic words.
This skill was aimed directly at a spirit beast's bloodline!
She could refine and enhance it, making it purer and more powerful. No wonder every one of Yun Jin's spirit beasts bore divine beast potential!
"Brother… I… I think I've really come back to life." Di Ying stood shakily, her own expression dazed with disbelief.
Before this, she had felt her life force bleeding away, knowing that she would soon be forced into another endless slumber.
But now…
That feeling was gone.
She was truly, unmistakably alive again!
Di Ying shifted into her human form and could not resist leaping high into the air. The solid sensation of landing on her own two feet assured her this was no dream.
She was free, at last, from that eternal cycle of slumber.
Di Xiao's eyes reddened as he watched his sister hop joyfully. How long had it been since he had seen her so carefree? His lips trembled. He longed to speak, but no words came.
Di Ying twirled about in delight, then turned to Yun Jin with a radiant smile. "Master."
The title slipped from her lips with perfect ease.
Di Xiao's heart clenched in agony.
Master…
How could such a word be uttered by his sister!
Yet Yun Jin had indeed saved her life. Clutching his chest, Di Xiao could say nothing.
Yun Jin, however, smiled warmly. "Try a few of your skills. Let's see how you fare now."
Di Ying nodded and began testing her abilities.
Yun Jin opened her system panel to inspect the data.
[Di Ying: Taiyin Youying. Originally of divine beast rank, but degraded to super spirit beast due to bloodline corruption. With complete purification, capable of restoring divine beast rank.
Skills:
Moon Wheel – offensive technique.
Moon Shadow – art of duplication.
Moonlight Radiance – absorbs moonlight to hasten recovery.
…]
Di Ying had more than a dozen skills in total, nearly all tied to the moon. She also possessed a passive skill, greatly enhancing her combat ability under moonlight.
Yun Jin rubbed her chin thoughtfully. She could borrow her beasts' skills, and Di Ying's arsenal was formidable. In battles beneath the moon, this would become a powerful buff for Yun Jin herself.
Di Ying unleashed several skills with ease.
Before, both she and Di Xiao could only channel their spirit energy through a Xuan Yin Crystal or Tian Zhao Stone.
Without those mediums, she had been reduced to helplessness.
But now—
Even without the Xuan Yin Crystal, she could wield her own power!
Di Ying felt it clearly.
This was how it was meant to be.
Strength that relied on external props was not truly one's own.
Only now…
Her hard-earned spirit power truly belonged to her.